K-K injury setbacks give some hope to chasing pack
By Kevin Egan
After a surprisingly competitive start to the senior football championship, where three draws would suggest that the two groups could well go down to the wire, it’s time for hurling to take centre stage this weekend.
Rewind back a few months and it would have been utterly impossible to make a case for anyone other than county champions
Kilcormac-Killoughey, with the chasing pack all simply doing their best in the hope that the reigning Seán Robbins Cup holders just might be guilty of a slip up somewhere along the line.
Now they’re going into the first round with no Charlie Mitchell, no Adam Screeney and no Daniel Hand – among other absentees - and it’s very hard to win championship matches if you don’t have players to put the ball over the bar at a steady rate.
In what looks like the more lightweight group of the two, they’ll still secure knockout hurling, possibly straight into the semi-finals, and by then they’ll have Brecon Kavanagh, Daniel Hand and possibly Screeney all back in the fold and match fitness for those key men will be their primary aim. So it remains their title to lose, but these are less than optimal circumstances for Declan Laffan and his coaches, even if they add to the intrigue of the competition for those watching on with no dog in the hunt.
The champions will open their campaign with a home tie against Coolderry this Sunday evening and while Coolderry’s injury list is nowhere near as long, losing Kevin Connolly and Daniel Miller for the season and David King for the shorter term is just too much for them to overcome.
Andrew Hogan is a huge addition to the setup, albeit his deployment in the full-forward line is more than a little surprising, but it’s hard to be overly positive about their prospects, and the same could be said for Kinnitty and St Rynagh’s.
Rynagh’s didn’t have Shane Rigney available to them last year and they will immediately be a better side for his presence, though Aidan Treacy’s absence counts against that. Overall, however, it’s the same long-term issues that have plagued the blue and gold outfit for some time - their dependence on the same cohort of players that won three-in-a-row across the Covid years.
Both Rynagh’s and Coolderry could well be grateful for the presence in Group One of a depleted Kinnitty side that looks to have sustained one blow too many to keep dodging the relegation bullet. Michael Dooley will play a big part this year and Conor Hardiman is a fine leader but the league form is worrying and without Eoghan Callaghan, Shane Kinsella and others, survival looks like a big ask.
Out of all the group one teams, that leaves the conundrum that is Birr, who are quietly rebuilding a championship calibre team under Barry Whelahan. Their handicap for several years now has been their need for Eoghan Cahill to score double figures every game, but a forward line containing Luke Nolan, Ailbe Watkins and team captain Morgan Watkins should have as much firepower as anyone at this level. Out of all the leading contenders, they’re the side most likely to go into a knockout game against Kilcormac-Killoughey with belief and confidence.
On paper, there are three strong championship contenders in group two, with Shinrone and Ballinamere leading the hunt. Mark Morkan did a fine job in charge of his home club last year and any reasonable review of the 2025 campaign will conclude that they’re not far away at all.
In what was a good year for the Offaly hurlers, Shinrone were well-represented on the panel but it’s not unfair to Luke Watkins, Ciarán Cleary or Dara Maher to say that all three would have aspired to make a much bigger individual impact than they did.
All three are very capable hurlers, however, and there are plenty more like them on this panel. Add in the likelihood of stronger contributions from U-20s like James O’Sullivan and Gearóid Maher, and they’re in great shape.
Ballinamere tick a lot of the boxes as a club that can capitalise if Kilcormac-Killoughey slip up, but the age-old issues of depth and how they manage their dual commitments will determine a lot. In a club where those last couple of names on the teamsheet and the relatively shallow bench have been their ball and chain, keeping that delicate balance in place and ensuring that they have everyone available to them will be crucial to whether or not the collective unit can follow their undoubtedly stellar front line of players across the finish line.
Belmont are the real enigma of this championship, a team that absolutely cannot be dismissed from consideration. There was a school of thought that the club’s championship window had come and gone, but all of a sudden they’re heading into a championship with Leon Fox back into the team, Patrick Taaffe arguably the most improved player in the Offaly panel, and an extra year into the legs of a cohort of fine young players, including Ronan Flynn, Adam Egan and Brian Carroll.
They’ll need some of those to push on again and a bit of luck to go with it – which they haven’t got from a fixtures that gave first round byes to both Ferbane and Belmont - but if they avoid slips and make their way into the knockouts, they’ll be a dangerous opponent for anyone.
In 2025, Tullamore were very close to doing something special. While Cillian Bourke is a loss, the decisions of Aaron Leavy and Diarmuid Egan to rejoin the hurling panel gives them two more strong powerful players to bolster a team that is already a match for anyone in the physical and athletic stakes. Shane Hand is an astute manager who has now had an extra year to get to know this team, so even though they’ll have to pull off at least one upset to get into the knockout stages, don’t rule it out.
Had Lusmagh found themselves in a group with Kinnitty or even Coolderry, they might have fancied their chances of staying out of the relegation play-offs, but as it is it’s probably all eyes on their clash with Tullamore in August. Give Brian Mullins a full panel to choose from and this is a competitive group with plenty of natural hurling ability, but one or two absentees really hurt them and there are doubts about when Andy Flynn will be available to take up arms in defence.
Ruairí Kelly, Eimhin Kelly and Graham Lynch are stylish hurlers who can hold their own against anyone but they need to find more scoring power to bolster Darren Healy and Paul Kinsella up front if they’re to pick up the couple of wins they’ll need.
For this weekend, Kilcormac-Killoughey, Birr, Shinrone and Ballinamere will be the clear favourites for their respective ties and it’s hard to look past any of them, though Sunday's game in O’Brien Park (2pm) will be fascinating. Tullamore came very close to securing a big win on their first championship appearance last year, they’ll feel that they can push Shinrone to the wire in this one too.
At the Senior B grade, Seir Kieran have no shortage of expectation on their shoulders on the bag of their league win but they’ll have to be at their best against Drumcullen, and it’s hard to pick out an obvious favourite between Clara and Clodiagh Gaels tonight (Friday) in a game where the losing side will be under pressure right from the off in a very competitive group of six.