Ferbane bid to turn the tables on familiar foes
By Kevin Egan
Despite the fact that there is a considerable degree of familiarity about yet another Dowling Cup showdown between Tullamore and Ferbane, there are reasons why this Sunday’s Offaly senior football final (3.45pm) might follow a different path to that of the three previous deciders between these two clubs.
Firstly, there are the personnel changes, and the injury issues. The absence of 2025 Footballer of the Year Cathal Flynn is the most obvious difference, though on the other side of the coin, the absence of Cillian Bourke and the return of Leon Fox balances that out. Is John Furlong the same player he was before his injury? Early indications are that he is, albeit he’s spending more time than ever parked in front of the opposition goal, which means that his role with Tullamore feels different.
In last year’s final, both Kyle Higgins and Diarmuid Egan were brought on as second half substitutes; this year both men should play key roles. Then there are the emerging stars, with Jack Maker and Patrick Kenna freshening up the Tullamore back division while Eoghan Grennan, James Wren and Jake Maher have all bolstered the Ferbane panel.
At management level, Paul McConway leads a very strong Tullamore backroom team that is packed with intercounty playing and management experience, while Ferbane have also put their faith in a home-grown club man. George Digan has already caught the eye with underage Offaly teams, club teams and college teams, even at this early stage in his coaching career, and will have commanded the faith and trust of the dressing room from the first moment he stepped into it.
All that said, most games are ultimately decided by the talent, the mindset and the performance on the day of the players on the field, and since the last three finals have proven that there isn’t a lot between the two sides when it comes to talent, it’s the other two legs of that stool that will have the most bearing on the result.
Concerns about Tullamore’s ability to go to the well with the same relentless focus and energy were raised by their performance in the group stages, but the structure of the 2026 Offaly SFC meant that it was only when knockout football began that we would get a true picture of where Tullamore are as a team.
The first half of their quarter-final against Ballycommon suggested that the wrinkles that showed up against Ferbane and Rhode were still present, but the ironing happened in the second half of that game, and Rhode felt the brunt of that a fortnight ago.
The only holes that could be picked in that 2-13 to 1-6 win for the Blues are that they weren’t pushed as hard as Ferbane were pushed by a feisty and competitive Shamrocks team. And it’s unlikely that Ferbane will give players like Cormac Egan and Aaron Leavy as much scope to step forward and completely control the game this Sunday afternoon.
Still, Tullamore could only beat the opposition that was put in front of them in that game, and they did so with ruthless efficiency. Anything other than an eight or nine out ten performance from the Blues this Sunday seems highly unlikely.
For Ferbane, the mindset questions will be answered from around 5pm on Sunday, when the game moves into the last five or ten minutes. It’s not a question of will, or commitment – if there were any traces of failings in that regard, they would have shown up before now – but instead, the issue is if there really is the self-belief in the group to overcome a Tullamore side that has made a habit out of winning.
Whether that transformation in mentality comes from a place of optimism, bitterness, anger, confidence or envy doesn’t matter. Without it, the same inputs will yield the same outcome. With it, then just maybe, the familiar pairing in the county final could return an unfamiliar result.