After dominating Kildare, Naas hurlers have Leinster in their sights
Jack Sheridan was in top form for Naas in the county final against Maynooth and they will need him at his best again this Sunday Photo: Aisling Hyland
Six in a row Kildare Senior Hurling Champions Naas start their third senior campaign in Leinster on Sunday against St Martin’s of Wexford (Cedral St Conleth’s Park, 2pm) and it is arguably their dominance in Kildare that could hold them back from breaking the glass ceiling at provincial level.
Tom Mullally wouldn’t admit as much but surely they must have had one eye on the provincial campaign all season as they were beating all-comers in their home county throughout a prolonged local campaign that saw them clinch the title with a seventeen point win over Maynooth two weeks ago.
That margin of victory was quite typical this year for them. Indeed, over their six championship games Naas racked up an average winning margin of 22.5 points per game with the sixteen point preliminary round win over Maynooth proving to be their most ‘competitive’ game.
That those six games took seventeen weeks to play, a factor which Mullally feels has made it difficult for them to gain any sort of consistent form, surely needs a re-think by Kildare GAA if they want to send their hurling champions into the provincial campaign with the optimum chance.
Putting aside those challenges, Naas have built up quite a record outside of the county in recent years. They have beaten Shinrone from Offaly and Camross from Laois at this Quarter Final stage over the last two years before losing out in the semi-finals to Ballyhale Shamrocks and Na Fianna. They weren’t embarrassed on either occasion.
Add to that earlier wins in the Intermediate competition against the likes of Glenmore from Kilkenny, Mullally’s home club, and both Cloughbawn and Oylegate-Glenbrien from Wexford and Naas won’t see any reason to fear St Martin’s, particularly on home soil in Cedral St Conleth’s Park.
St Martin’s captured their fifth Wexford championship and their first since 2019 when beating St Anne’s of Rathangan on the same day Naas clinched the Kildare title and they belied a local reputation for not perhaps being the most resilient of outfits when battling to that six point win over a resolute St Anne’s.
A hard-earned, scrambled goal from Barry O’Connor, back home from five years in Aussie Rules, proved crucial that day while his cousin Rory O’Connor weighed in with eleven points to make him top scorer in the championship.
In all, five O’Connor cousins did duty in the final, with Paddy in defence and Jack in attack also earning rave reviews. Others to impress were Darren Codd and Joe Barrett while Daithí Waters, the former county football captain, is still going strong in defence with the hurlers at 37 years of age.
The club from rural Piercestown reached the provincial semi-final the last time they competed in it five years ago but were comprehensively beaten by a great Ballyhale Shamrocks side. That’s as far as they’ve gone in the competition.
Indeed, no Wexford club has reached the Leinster final since Oulart-The Ballagh beat Cuala in the decider nine years ago.
St Martin’s are not unbeatable by any means. Indeed, unlike Naas who are unbeaten in their own county since the 2018 semi-final, their opponents tasted defeat in the Wexford championship’s round robin stage when Shelmaliers edged them by a point back in July.
Naas will need plenty to go right for them on the day and they’ll be hoping Peter O’Donoghue, John McKeon and James Burke, none of whom started the county final, are available for selection. Burke would appear most likely to start having come on as a second half substitute against Maynooth.
In Jack Sheridan and Brian Byrne they have two men of huge experience and both are playing at the top of their game, having scored 2-10 in the Maynooth win, but what impressed most in that encounter was that the danger was coming from so many different angles.
Cian Boran has developed into an outstanding forward and Cathal Dowling seems back to full fitness. His work rate was top drawer against Maynooth. Ferran O’Sullivan came in and did a good job too up front and Simon Leacy is playing a little further forward than he has been in the past. He was particularly involved in an attacking sense in the second half and weighed in with two points.
Defensively, Naas were rock solid against Maynooth. Indeed, they didn’t concede a single goal in the Kildare championship with Cormac Gallagher in fine form in goal, well-protected by a defence in which the two Borans, Conan and Rian, have been outstanding.
Naas will need a lot to go right as this will be a significant step up on anything they have faced so far this year. But if they put their best foot forward it could be another special occasion for the county town club and for Kildare hurling generally.
Quarter Final beat Shinrone (Offaly) 4-21 to 0-18
Semi Final Lost to Ballyhale Shamrocks (Kilkenny) 1-16 to 3-22
Quarter Final beat Camross (Laois) 2-17 to 1-17
Semi Final Lost to Na Fianna (Dublin) 0-17 to 2-14
