Contrasting backdrops make for fascinating Clara vs Ballinagar final
By Kevin Egan
Weighty expectation meets unprecedented elevation in an Offaly senior ‘B’ football final that could scarcely have been imagined even a few short years ago.
Looking back a bit, 2022 was a wonderful year for both participating clubs. Clara bounced back from their relegation and reached a Leinster intermediate final, losing out narrowly to Trim, the eventual All-Ireland finalists. Meanwhile Ballinagar won the Offaly junior 'A' title for the first time in 34 years, adding junior 'C' honours for good measure. That was only the start of an historic run for the club.
Given Ballinagar’s strong representation on Offaly underage teams at the time, they were never likely to have to wait too long to be serious contenders at the intermediate grade and sure enough it took them just two campaigns to secure yet another promotion, with Leinster honours added for good measure.
When Clara got back up to the top flight, they would have been expected to hold their own immediately. Reaching a quarter-final in their first year back up, running Ferbane very close in that game, suggested that they were about to consolidate their position as consistent contenders for the Dowling Cup sooner rather than later.
Instead, their 2023 campaign went askew, and they suffered last-ditch heartbreak in the semi-final of the senior ‘B’ championship last year against Cappincur. Therefore they would have carried quite a bit of pressure and expectation into this year’s competition.
Add those two contexts together and the psychology behind Sunday’s game is fascinating. Ballinagar have an upward trajectory and it doesn’t matter how any team reaches a county final; once they get there, anything other than victory will feel like heartbreak. Yet when viewed through a wider angle lens, bouncing back from defeat would be pretty straightforward when the players regroup after Christmas, if that’s how things fall for the club.
The situation for Clara, with six county titles and one of just five clubs to have won the big prize since Shannonbridge had their solitary win in 1996, is different.
The incoming format means that even if they do win on Sunday, they’re still a year away from getting consistent games against Rhode, Ferbane, Edenderry and county champions Tullamore. Their potential placement in the newly-formed section B in 2026 would give them good competitive games, but not the glamour ties that they would like to get in order to raise the profile of Gaelic football in what remains one of the most well-populated towns in the county.
For the Magpies, history raises the bar, and it puts weight on the shoulders at the same time. Ballinagar will come into Sunday’s game (Glenisk O'Connor Park, 2.15pm) with hope and momentum, but no precedent or experience at this lofty standard.
Clara will arrive with an incredibly parsimonious defensive record (they conceded 0-9, 1-6, 1-6 and 0-7 in their first four games in 2025) and no small amount of pressure and expectation. Sixty minutes of football - or possibly more - will reveal which is the stronger hand to hold.