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Do we really think its just coincidence every game Drumcullen play theres alot of controversy over either dangerous strokes or verbal abuse. Theres a very nasty element there.

Who is the small fat lad that is part of the Drumcullen management team thats always trodding up and down the line shouting abuse at lads to pull hard.

I note the references to Brendan Maher. I had the privilege of playing with Brendan Maher and a privilege it was as I always regarded him as one of the finest underage players I ever saw in any county. As a minor he was tall and fast with beautiful striking skill and whether playing with or against him one could only admire. He could play centre back , centre forward or midfield and but for the injury referred to would probably have been the difference between winning and losing the 1969 Leinster Final.
I remember calling to see him years ago when he was stationed in Blackrock / Dublin with An Garda Siochana but I have no idea where he now resides.

Yes Brendan Maher was not alone a skillful , stylish player ----- on a hurling field --- but a genius.

Well its back and thank god!
Friday 29th
St.Rynaghs v Belmont,top of the table clash in Lusmagh friday evening,Rynaghs will still be top after this one,5pts or more!
Saturday 30th
Kinnitty v Drumcullen,hard game to call if Kinnitty have their players home from the states they have to be favourites but if Drumcullen win they will have one foot in the quarter final,tight tough game here a draw isnt out of the question!
Shinrone v Coolderry,this will be closer than a few people may think Shinrone are improving all the time and have a lot of very good hurlers but Coolderry should have enough 4-6pts!
Sunday 31st
Birr v Shamrocks,only one winner here especially if Derek Molloy is still away,Birr by 10+!
Seir Kieran v Tullamore,not sure how Seir Kieran handle the favourites tag(Brosna Gaels last year) but if they have any intention of challenging they have to beat an understrength Tullamore! Seir Kieran by 7-9pts!
Kilcormac/Killoughey v Lusmagh,interesting to see how K/K respond to the league final defeat,Lusmagh will give everything to try and cause a shock but K/K should have too much for them! K/K 6-10pts!

The first round after the Summer is the most difficult to preview, even moreso than round 1. Clubs with a number of countymen will have done relatively little together during the Summer, teams who struggled in Spring will have got reorganised, and then there’s emigration. So not a preview, just a collection of thoughts in order of appearance.

St Rynagh’s and Belmont get the weekend underway on Friday evening with a Canal Bank derby, and can enjoy having the rest of the long weekend off. Diarmuid Horan is presumably still stateside, though ’Rynagh’s have enough talent to replace him. Perhaps Niall Wynne will get a callup? Stephen Wynne might benefit from a return to the defence having been used as a utility player with the county.

David Kenny should be somewhat nearer to optimum fitness. With Joe Kenny and Jamie Flynn having done well in the spine of the defence before the summer, Belmont might be better off leave that area as it is and use the countyman at centre-forward. Colin Egan will have benefitted from his extended run on the county team. Belmont have never beaten ’Rynagh’s and with ’Rynagh’s flying high pre-summer, that trend should continue.

Kinnitty were a big disappointment pre-summer. They’ve ditched their Manager, Mick Molloy is back, and they should get back to basics. That freshness that will bring should see them get the two wins they need to advance. A more central role for Colm Coughlan would set them in the right direction. Is James Rigney set to play, I wonder?

Drumcullen will have full-back William Spain suspended and, being short of numbers, they could do witout a re-shaped defence. I expect Stephen Ryan to go to full-back, with Harry Ryan at centre-back. Stuck for scoring forwards, they’ll be physical but Kinnitty will have enough physical strength, especially in attack. Kinnitty will have the belief to get a win here.

The extent of Brian Carroll’s ankle injury will decide Coolderry’s title hopes. Coolderry’s entire attacking plan revolves around making space for Carroll roving right-to-left into spaces left by decoy runners. If Carroll is absent that roving commission might well fall to Cathal Parlon. They didn’t have Joe Brady pre-summer so how they use him will be interesting. I liked the look of the defence with Trevor Corcoran at centre-back pre-summer.

To win, Shinrone need to close down the spaces Coolderry make. Specifically, their half-back line needs to keep behind the 65m line and not get dragged to midfield. The shorter pitch should assist in this regard. Beating Coolderry is a major psychological barrier for Shinrone. They have the hurlers to do so – whether they have the required resolve is in doubt. Too much doubt, and Coolderry should prevail.

Birr won’t learn anything about themselves in beating Shamrocks. Still, Shamrocks should have gained some spirit in reaching Croke Park in May for the Leinster League Final. The downturn in their footballers fortunes doesn’t scream ‘community spirit’ though. Birr win.

Kilcormac’s heavy defeat in the league final means one of two things. Either this was a reflection of their standing, or this was another Pat Joe stroke and Kilcormac should hit the ground running on Sunday. They are teambuilding again, with a number of very young players and some former defenders playing in attack.

Traditionally Lusmagh have been a bogey team of Kilcormac’s, though the pair haven’t met in a decade. Hurling in Birr will add some spice, making it a big day out for the small parish. Though on a losing streak, Lusmagh will catch a break some time, and their defence is decent enough though the attack lacks pace. This might be tighter than a match between title contenders and relegation contenders should be.

Clareen don’t like hurling in Tullamore. The recent league final win, won with Éanna Murphy at centre-forward, Joseph Bergin on the edge of the square and with Seán Coughlan now mature enough to line out at centre-back, there’s real potential there. Tullamore without the two Shanes, Kelly and Dooley, should struggle and on all known form Clareen should enjoy a rare O’Connor Park win.

St . Rynagh's v Belmont, Rynaghs look like a side who are going places this year Horan is still a big lost but they still should have to much
for Belmont and they should bring David Kenny back into the back line he is need their more so than the forwards Rynagh's by 5 points.

Kinnitty v Drumcullen kinnitty haven't had a good season so far coolderry gave them another bad beating before the break and things didn't look to bright
they have a new trainer so we shall see how this goes, Drumcullen were took apart by Birr in their second game after a good start again shamrock's
we might see a kinnitty backlash here they have the better hurlers kinnitty by 7 points.

Coolderry v Shinrone the county champions have been hurling along nice enough so far this year and are the team to beat this year for the Sean Robbins cup
Brian Carroll is a lost to them if out but there panel is strong enough to cope with this, Shinrone have the hurlers to asked questions of coolderry but i think they
will come up with the answers coolderry by 7 points

KK v Lusmagh Pa joe has work to do with his KK team besides the league final defeat they also were beaten in their last championship match after a good start
to there year, i fear for Lusmagh this year its between themselfs and shamrock's to see who stays up this year Kilcormac to get back on track with a big win KK by 9 points.

Birr v Shamrocks if Birr get into gear from the start this will be a turkey shoot out and it will be one way traffic from the throw in. shamrocks will hope for a win later on in the year
to keep them up or in the play off for the drop down but Birr are way ahead of shamrocks. Birr by 12+ points.

Clareen v Tullamore with Shane Dooley missing tullamore will struggle big time for scores and his lost will show big time as tullamore don't have good enough forwards
their back line and midfield have won them many a match over the last two years but with out Dooley they are doomed. Clareen are a fine young side with plenty of hurlers
and like St. Rynaghs they are a side that could make the break through if they get a few breaks with Bergin leading the forwards i think they will put this o'connor park myth
to bed and win well Clareen by 8 points.

Just back in from Lusmagh now, St Rynaghs 2-17 Belmont 2-15, good competitive game.

Obviously I'd be looking through Belmont tinted glasses, however I felt the game turned on three big decisions from Tony Carroll.

(1) The double sending off of David Cox and Gary Conneely. This was right beside where I was standing and while the two lads were wrestling with each other, I didn't see any striking. I'd say if everyone else hadn't spilled in to take part, he might have given two yellows. The reason this had a bearing on the game was because Cox was very influential around midfield and was picking up a lot of loose ball, while Conneely wasn't really in the match up to that point. Of course that could have changed as the game went on, but Rynaghs certainly won the vast majority of loose breaking ball around midfield from then on.

(2) The first half penalty that wasn't - I thought Declan Kelly was late to the ball and while I don't think he took Alan Egan out of it deliberately, the fact is that the ball had been flicked past him and he brought Alan down. It wasn't clearcut, but I thought it was a foul myself.

(3) The second half penalty that was - on balance, my gut feeling is that Tony Carroll got this one right, though I'm far from convinced. The high ball came in over the heads of Joe Kenny and Ciaran Flannery (I think) and the two lads were grappling with each other. Most would have said that one was as bad as the other, however if Harry Kearns had come out and claimed the ball in the first place, it might have been moot. As it was it was contentious, but my gut feeling is that it was the right call.


Overall there were good performances on both sides - for Rynaghs, Daniel Moloney hurled a lot of ball from the corner, Niall Wynne did a great job marking Alan Egan, Gary Kelly was very accurate throughout and took an excellent penalty, Joey O'Connor took some great points and used the ball extremely well and while Gary Healy, Ger Scales and Michael Lyons all went through quiet spells, they were very busy and put in a very solid hour's work. For Belmont Joe Kenny was outstanding at full back, the entire half back line was on top, Mark Egan's frees were on the money as well and Colin Egan caught some great balls - only to be fouled nearly every time. David Cox was also hurling brilliantly until the red card.

Overall Rynaghs keep moving in the right direction but they didn't look like county champions tonight, while Belmont missed a great chance to secure a quarter final place. Two tough games now looming against K/K and Clareen and while they'll be underdogs for both, you'd give them a shout if they could replicate what they did tonight.

St.Rynaghs 2-17 Belmont 2-15
This was a very good game of hurling it hinged on two big decisions made by the referee one in the first half when he didnt award a penalty to Belmont,when it clearly was,and one in the second half when he awarded a penalty to Rynaghs when many at the game thought it should have been a free out.Gary kelly buried the penalty and it changed the game Belmont were chasing the game from there to the end.Gary Kelly was outstanding in the middle of the field for Rynaghs I think he ended up with 1-10 in total! Belmonts best player was probably Jamie Flynn he was very good at centre back!
Both teams finished with 14 men David Cox(Belmont)and Gary Conneely(Rynaghs)were shown straight red cards in the first half,it seemed slightly hard on both players it wasnt a dirty game by any means and I think the ref was a bit quick to send them off!
Good game of hurling watched by a sizeable enough crowd Rynaghs are heading for the quarter finals and they wont fear anyone!
Belmont can take plenty of positives from this game and but for harsh calls from the ref they probably could have won!

Cox was a huge loss to Belmont alright, as obvious ly was David Kenny who was forced off with what looked like a hamstring injury around the quarter-hour mark.

While there was a fair degree if digging between Cox and Conneely, there was no striking and the red cards were a surprise. What made the situation look worse was that Tony Carroll merely stood by continually blowing on his whistle as players from all sides piled in.

You could argue the toss about the first penalty – I was watching the goalkeeper who was less thatn decisive under the dropping ball. That indecision led to Belmont’s first goal a few minutes later, although ’Rynagh’s did reply with 3 points to regain their one-point lead before the break.

I thought the ’Rynagh’s penalty decision arose from a stupid foul really. It was a goalkeepers ball, and whether the goalkeeper didn’t call, or the defender didn’t hear him we don’t know, but there was no need for the defender to hold the forward.

Also, ’Rynagh’s extended their lead to 6 points with a goal in the last 10 minutes, before a Colin Egan strike from 20m left just a single score in it. ’Rynagh’s were deserving winners and the top-two slot should see them avoid Birr and Coolderry in the quarter-finals.

Sorry, but I can't let this go . . .

The Tribune, in it's preview, notes "Lusmagh's tight pitch . . ." I want to point out that I can't think of a bigger pitch in the county than Lusmagh's, with the exception of OCP since they enlarged it. And it looked magnificent this evening, open spaces and all.

Plain of the Herbs wrote:Sorry, but I can't let this go . . .

The Tribune, in it's preview, notes "Lusmagh's tight pitch . . ." I want to point out that I can't think of a bigger pitch in the county than Lusmagh's, with the exception of OCP since they enlarged it. And it looked magnificent this evening, open spaces and all.

I think sometimes journalists can be a bit lazy and mentally they presume the pitch is the same size as the club or county that plays on it.

Lusmagh pitch was in perfect condition this evening and was a credit to those involved in maintaining it, while it certainly is a very decent size, at least as big as any other club ground I could think of in the county.

Briefly, because I’m going for a pint . . .

Kinnitty 1-11 Drumcullen 1-7 at Clareen

The rain that fell most of the afternoon ruined this, and there was very little good hurling. Kinnitty did what hurling there was during the opening 20 minutes and James Dempsey’s penalty goal gave Kinnitty a 1-4 to 0-1 lead, but Drumcullen came into it after that and Shane Molloy’s left to 1-5 to 1-4 at half time.

Drumcullen had their best spell during the third quarter and by the mid-point of the half they were level , 1-7 each, and had the momentum. Stephen Molloy came into it after this, and four successive points saw Kinnitty home.

Best for Kinnitty were James Rigney (as usual), Cathal Rigney & Brian Coughlan in defence. It wasn’t a day for attackers, but Molloy’s late points made the difference. Niall O’Leary stood out for Drumcullen.


Coolderry 2-14 Shinrone 1-14 at Ballyskenagh

This must be the most lifeless local derby I have ever attended. It was score-for-score during the first half, Coolderry leading 0-8 to 0-5 at a stage. Joe Brady was a colossus at centre-back for the champions, Mark Morkan best for the Reds, though Michael Cordial at full-forward was Shinrone’s sole attacking threat. Worth pointing out Coolderry lined out without Brian Carroll, Cathal Parlon and Kevin Connolly, while Kevin Brady was forced off with what looked like a hamstring injury.

Hurling up the incline in the second half, Coolderry tacked on the scores and two goals around the mid-way point left them leading 2-12 to 0-8 and the neutrals were heading for the car park. Then Shinrone came to lifeand picked off 4 points in a three-minute spell, Derek Morkan was switched to centre-back where he dominated and followed up with a goal to leave just a goal in it, 2-12 to 1-12. They exchanged points during the last 10 minutes and Coolderry never really looked like being overtaken.

The Coolderry backs all got the better of their men, Barry Teehan was busy at centre-forward until Derek Morkan moved to mark him late on, and Eoin Ryan was the main scoring threat. Willie Comerford hurled well for Shinrone.

The match will be best remembered for the most indecisive display of umpiring, despite being well positioned, with the fella at the ‘other’ post making ciontradictory calls to the fella whose call it was, and the fella whose call it was being shy about signalling one way or the other. Three times during the first half, the umpires at the bottom of the hill were indecisive while the umpires at the other end got caught out too.

Tullamore and Seir Kieran drew in O'Connor Par in a great contest.
Something like 1-14 to 17.
Tullamore were six points to the good a few minutes into 2nd half. Clareen took over in their half back line and gradually pulled the lead back. Stephen Egan played at full forward and goaled for Tullamore but Joe Bergin, who causing all sorts of problems throughout the game at full forward, led the relentless comeback.
Great performance from the blues without Dooley, Kelly, Dagg, Keane and Kerrigan. They were very unlucky not to take the points.

Kinnitty 1-11 Drumcullen 1-7
This was a dour affair the weather ruined any chance of this being a good game,but what it lacked in top drawer hurling was made up for with dogged determination and heart from both teams! James Rigney was Kinnittys best player its a pity he got injured earlier in the year missing the Offaly games when he was badly needed! Danny Maher and Pearse Gath were very good for Drumcullen!
The underfoot conditions were terrible it seemed like the grass hadnt been long cut and when it rained it made it nearly impossible for the players to keep their footing anytime they tried to turn at speed!
Have to say I thought Referee Martin Walsh had a very good game letting it flow as much a possible and as tough as the conditions were it never really looked like getting out of hand at any stage!
With 15mins to go it looked like Drumcullen might pull off a shock but Kinnitty finished strongly and perhaps getting Mick Molloy back in charge was the best move that Kinnitty made in a long time!

I hear Shamrocks are on the hunt for a new manager after relieving Donal Franks of his duties! Anyone else hear this? They are in serious trouble no matter who is in charge for the rest of the year!

Its hardly donal franks fault shamrocks lost by 20 points to birr. There isint much any trainer can do if he hasent got the numbers and the commitment. Who ever takes over shamrocks if he is gone has a serious job keeping them up senior.