Thurles trip beckons for Offaly minor hurlers

By Kevin Egan

It’s been a long time since an Offaly inter-county hurling fixture has been as eagerly anticipated as the upcoming All-Ireland minor semi-final with Clare - a contest which both counties will feel offers a glorious chance to reach just a fourth ever All-Ireland final at this grade.

The news this week that the game will be played next Friday evening (June 17) at Semple Stadium (7.30pm) has been widely welcomed, as there was ample potential for the Competitions Control Committee (CCC) to come up with a decision that would have left one or both sides aggrieved.

For obvious reasons, Offaly were unwilling to countenance a double header with the Clare senior hurlers. Brian Lohan’s men will contest a quarter-final against Wexford or Kerry on the Saturday, and filling in as the curtain raiser to that might have left Offaly’s minors playing their game in front of as many as 15,000 or 20,000 Clare supporters.

Equally, Michael Duignan had expressed his unhappiness with the idea of splitting up the Offaly crowd, as would have happened if the game was fixed for Sunday, opposite the Tailteann Cup semi-final. Though for similar reasons, Clare were never going to be happy with their seniors and minors playing in different venues on Saturday.

Instead, a happy middle ground has been reached and these two teams will hurl in a venue that is entirely fitting for a fixture of this magnitude, and that is relatively handy for the bulk of supporters in both counties, albeit a little bit of a longer trip for someone coming from hardcore football territory on either side, such as Rhode or Doonbeg.

It’s an entirely logical solution – and when we see some of the daft venue choices that have been made by the CCC this week, Offaly (and Clare) supporters should be very grateful.