Intermediate Hurling

[Plain of the Herbs]

Brosna Gaels played in the Leinster Championship the year they won the Intermediate title. Borris-in-Ossory beat them by a few points.

This issue is detailed in the Brosna Gaels history published last year. It seems they are a club alright, the parish club of Leamonaghan Parish, with players from Tubber playing under permission.

They were denied the opportunity to play in Leinster the year they won the Junior title. Killurin (beaten by BG in the final) were nominated to take their place and ultimately got that trip to The Hague. Seems there was also confusion over whether they are a club or an amalgamation when they won the Intermediate in 2009. According to the book the Board (wrongly) were of the view that they were an amalgamation but Brosna Gaels argued their case successfully. Sadly for them they only got word a few days before the Borris-in-Ossory match and the momentum built up by winning the IHC title was lost somewhat.

So, going on that, Brosna Gaels ARE a club and, being the last Intermediate CLUB left, will represent Offaly in the Leinster Junior championship.

[Long John]

They played in the Leinster junior B championship also. Lisdowney of Kilkenny beat them in the semi final of that. Think the game was played last February. So it appears they will be hurling well into the winter again.

[Conrad]

I wonder whats the feeling in Lusmagh on the intermediate final.. It seems like a lose lose situation either way!! Would they prefer a Brosna Gaels win and go down to intermediate OR being saved from relegation by their bitter rivals St.Rynaghs and suffer the torment of having the Rynaghs lads having that ammunition alone for the rest of their days!?

[Plain of the Herbs]

Jaysus reverse the truck there Connie. I don't know where you're getting this "bitter rivalry" thing. Most of the lads would have gone to school together and there are cousins, uncles, nephews, grandparents and grandchildren on opposite sides. 'Bitter' is waaaay over the top.

That said, there is a healthy rivalry there, as there is with most neigbouring club up and down the country. It must be 20 years since a lad was sent off in a Lusmagh v Rynaghs match.

There's nothing Lusmagh can do about the result of the Intermediate final. Whatever happens there'll be some slagging in Banagher that night and for a week or so. Then life will go on.

I wonder whats the feeling in Lusmagh on the intermediate final.. It seems like a lose lose situation either way!! Would they prefer a Brosna Gaels win and go down to intermediate OR being saved from relegation by their bitter rivals St.Rynaghs and suffer the torment of having the Rynaghs lads having that ammunition alone for the rest of their days!?

[puzzled]

Second part of what should be a very good double header in Tullamore on sunday.
Tough one to call Rynaghs will be eager to make up for losing last years final and Brosna Gaels will be trying to go straight back up senior,Brosna Gaels will be helped that all of their players have been able to concentrate totally on hurling for the last month or so,they will need big performances all over the field if they are going to return to senior hurling next year Dan Kelleher Tom Spain and Chris McDonald will all need to play top games!
Rynaghs have a lot of experience to call on Colm Keane Shane Horan Ciaran Butler Stephen Clancy Rynaghs will be very anxious not to lose two finals in a row but I think they will struggle to get scores against a very fit Brosna Gaels backline!
I'm going to go for Brosna Gaels to win by 5 points!
Brosna Gaels 2-12 St.Rynaghs 1-10!

[Lone Shark]

It's a good Rynaghs team but I'm inclined to agree with Puzzled - I've seen Brosna Gaels twice this year and an extra month hurling should stand to them considerably. I've huge time for their full back line, while up front you can guarantee that even if they don't win the ball first time, they certainly don't let the defenders come out too easily.

I'll be very interested to see who refs the game - if they get Tony Carroll or Brian Gavin who let the players get on with it and don't blow the whistle every time there is contact, then I'd fancy Brosna Gaels by the tiniest of margins. Should be a good game though.

[puzzled]

I'll be very interested to see who refs the game - if they get Tony Carroll or Brian Gavin who let the players get on with it and don't blow the whistle every time there is contact, then I'd fancy Brosna Gaels by the tiniest of margins. Should be a good game though.

Tony Carroll got the intermediate final Ciaran Groome is reffin the junior final!

[joe bloggs]

I'll be very interested to see who refs the game - if they get Tony Carroll or Brian Gavin who let the players get on with it and don't blow the whistle every time there is contact, then I'd fancy Brosna Gaels by the tiniest of margins. Should be a good game though.

Tony Carroll got the intermediate final Ciaran Groome is reffin the junior final!

I reckon that if someone counts the frees awarded that groome will give twice as many as carroll

[Runner_bean]

Lads. Anyone at the game? Good win for the gaels

[Plain of the Herbs]

Brosna Gaels were very impressive in the Final. Conditions made it a lottery to a good extent but, backed by the elements once Gaels hit the front they were totally dominant.

Gaels might benefit from having actually gone down a grade last year, regrouping and winning promotion again. This year’s team is quite an improvement on the 2009 equivalent. There are four newcomers who have made a big impact. Chris McDonald is a huge addition at centre half-back. Danny Kelleher is a mighty full-back in the making. Conor Robbins is a good goalkeeper. Lee Colgan is a fine hurler too. Jason Devery lined out two years ago but he is a mighty ball-winning half-forward. He can take a score too. Then there’s Thomas Spain, Des Egan, Fergal Daly and the rest.

I thought last year that if Drumcullen didn’t win Leinster that no Offaly Intermediate champions would. Brosna Gaels though might be doughty enough to succeed in Leinster. They face Wicklow Town on Sunday. One of two things will happen – either they will lose or they will win well. A win would set up a probable trip to Ballyraggett to face the Kilkenny Junior champions. Endless possibilities.

As for next year, Gaels, much improved from two years ago, stand a decent chance of reaching a quarter-final. That would be a realistic goal at any rate. They’ll be good for Senior hurling in the county. They’ve now beaten Birr and St Rynagh’s in Intermediate Finals. They fear nobody, which is a great asset to have.

[durra1]

There appear to be little or no contribution from Brosna Gaels insiders on this website.

Could somebody tell me precisely what the catchment area is and why the area has produced decent hurlers in an area which I thought had little or no underage penetration?

Does it take in hurlers from Aras outside the catchment who declares for them?

For instance has there been intense work going on at national school level in the area?

[Long John]

Brosna were full value for their win. They adapted better to the terrible conditions for hurling. It is a shame as some people have pointed out on other threads the big games of the year are played in such terrible conditions. Hopefully there will be a complete revamp of the fixtures schedule.

In such conditions the value of a reliable long distance free taker is massive. This was the key to Brosna getting over the line last weekend. When it mattered most their frees were flying over and they gained huge momentum from that. They will do ok in senior. They have a massive pick of players and the interest is clearly there. Their management have put in huge work and it has paid off. To come from where they were to where they are is a good achievement. They might not have the most stylish hurlers but they work very hard as a team. McDonald, Devery, and Des Egan are good hurlers that drove them on.

Rynaghs were pretty disappointing. I was in to see both games and couldnt help but think that they had 3 or 4 better hurlers playing for their junior team than was on the intermediate side. I know Mulhare, and Martin are around a while now but they would have been big additions to their intermediate squad. Same as with Ger Rafferty. While not the best stick man in the country he would have done a job for the intermediate team. Why were the likes of these lads not hurling intermediate. Maybe its a decision they made themselves or maybe they were kept to try win a junior. Rynaghs have had a decent year though.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Brosna Gaels have been building from the bottom up alright, Durra.

They brought out a brilliant history a couple of years ago. I’m not sure if they are still readily available – I was told I got the last one in the shop in Ballycumber anyway!

That book tells us Brosna Gaels are the hurling club of Leamonaghan Parish, which contains the football clubs Doon, Ballycumber and Erin Rovers, while fielding permission players from Tubber.

They started out as Doon Óg in 1996 fielding U12 and U14 teams and changed their mane to Brosna Gaels a few years later in order to be more inclusive of the area as a whole. They went up along the age groups and fielded in the Junior B championship for the first time in 2002. As everyone now knows they won Junior B in 2005, Junior A in 2007, Intermediate in 2009 and 2011.

They certainly have put in the work at underage though. In the early days they won an U12 B Shield in 1997, U14 B championship in 1998 and U16 B championship the following year. A number of competitions have also been won by some of the schools in the parish like Boher NS and Rashina NS.

They went on to win the U16 B championship in 2002 (beating Drumcullen in the final) and again in 2003 (beating Clareen in the final). BG won their first ever Minor B title in 2008, beating Tullamore.

They were also a part of the St David’s amalgamation which gave them the chance to hurl at A grade at underage level. St David’s reached the Minor A semi-final a few times in recent years. The sane area was part of St Malachy’s combination which reached U21 semi-finals in 2008 and 2010. The same area, under the banner of Ballinamere Gaels won the U21 championship earlier this year beating Coolderry in the Final.

There appear to be little or no contribution from Brosna Gaels insiders on this website.

Could somebody tell me precisely what the catchment area is and why the area has produced decent hurlers in an area which I thought had little or no underage penetration?

Does it take in hurlers from Aras outside the catchment who declares for them?

For instance has there been intense work going on at national school level in the area?

[brosnagaels]

Plain of the Herbs, Many thanks for your comment on our book ‘ A History of Brosna Gaels’, while a relatively short history our book covers all our success and seeks to inform those on who we are! For anyone who’d like a copy, we have a few remaining & are available from the PRO on 0857201341, at a cost of €20.

Durra1, Brosna Gaels is the parish of Leamonaghan (Doon, Erin Rovers & Ballycumber), with permission players from Tubber. We do not field any players from outside this area. We have produced decent hurlers because we have worked consistently from underage level up. Many of the players winning a second Intermediate medal on Sunday last were part of the first Doon Og teams in 1996.

Long John, we unfortunately do not have a massive pick, we struggle to have numbers at every age level but work hard at underage level to bring hurlers up through the ranks & receive great support from the four clubs involved and the local community. We try to have teams at every level, to encourage every child to play and for the last three years have run our own summer camp, as we realise our underage structure is vital to our success.

We were disappointed in 2009 with our Leinster campaign & seek this year to progress further. We play St. Patrick's of Wicklow in the AIB Leinster Championship at Pairc Dunbar in Wicklow Town at 2:30pm on Sunday.

[durra1]

Genuine congratulations to all involved - it’s a fantastic example of how to reap rewards from hard work done at youth level and cooperation from the clubs involved. I remember the u-12 and u-14 Doon teams in the nineties – from memory there was a teacher in Doon NS who started the whole things off. That man, if he’s still around, can be very proud of his efforts.

Importantly I think it shows two things –

1. Club amalgamations work when done well and the participating clubs buy into it. All the more important now with dwindling club numbers.

2. Football areas can produce quality hurlers. Something we have all known in North Offaly!

Best of luck in Leinster and for the 2012 SHC.