Hurling takes centre stage ahead of exciting weekend
Daragh Kirwan has proved to be an excellent addition for the Naas hurlers this year. Photo: Sean Brilly
Last weekend was all about the football championship but this weekend, hurling takes centre stage as the UPMC Senior and Intermediate Hurling Championships have reached the semi-finals stage while the Junior and Junior A are also down for decision this weekend. RICHARD COMMINS previews the action.
For Ballygunner in Waterford read Naas in Kildare. Ballygunner clinched their thirteenth successive title recently and Naas are gunning relentlessly for their eighth. But the distinction perhaps is that the Waterford champions are meeting increasing competition within the county, only beating Fourmilewater by four points in their final while Naas seem to be pulling away from the field in Kildare.
Look at the margins of Naas’ wins this year and in particular their goal tally. The champions won their three group games by 118 points, an average of just over 39 points per game, scoring 19 goals in the process. Last year it was a 73-point margin and 15 goals scored.
Their win over Celbridge was particularly awe-inspiring. There was only a nine-point gap between them last year, this year it was forty.
Éire Óg Corra Choill’s final quarter comeback to edge out Coill Dubh in the final group A game pitches them in as the latest contenders attempting to end the incredible winning run of the champions. That was a disappointing display from them, though they ran Maynooth to three points in the opening round. Expect a difficult day at the office for the Caragh/Prosperous men.
The other semi-final sees Maynooth, beaten county finalists in three of the last four years, meet a Celbridge team who recovered well from that Naas drubbing to outscore Ardclough by a couple of points the last day.
Maynooth once again look the closest challengers to Naas, even with David Qualter and Oran Byrne on the injured list, Ciaran Flanagan playing with the footballers and Cathal McCabe only finding his way back to fitness after injury.
The Fordes, the Dunnes, Dan O’Meara, Tom Power, Martin Quilty and Conor O’Grady have risen to the occasion for them in their three wins to date and on that evidence they should have too much for a Celbridge outfit for whom Michael Owens has been impressive alongside Gerry Keegan.
The four teams who didn’t make the senior semi-finals play off to avoid relegation with Clane meeting Coill Dubh and Ardclough facing Confey Clane have had a torrid return to senior after last year’s success at Senior B and their twelve-goal concession to Naas won’t help the mood heading into a tough encounter with Coill Dubh. The latter will presumably be without Mark Delaney and John Dee after straight red cards against Maynooth, but will still fancy their chances, while Ardclough and Confey in the other game will both take comfort from their last performances against Celbridge and Éire Óg Corra Choill respectively. Both games could be close; a tentative vote goes to Coill Dubh and Ardclough.
The semi-finals in the Intermediate grade, previously known as Senior B, pitch Leixlip against Broadford and Naas against Moorefield with three of those teams aiming to make the step up to next year’s Senior competition (Naas as a reserve team cannot do so).
Leixlip are the clear favourites, not just against Broadford, but for the championship itself, having won all five group games. They shrugged aside the loss of Jack Travers to injury and with Darragh Melville topping the grade’s scoring charts with 3-42 (3-16 from play) they edged out both Maynooth and Naas by three points before more comfortable wins in their last three games including a fourteen-point win over Saturday’s opponents in Round 5.
The second semi-final has now been moved to Tuesday evening. Naas, for whom former Kildare underage stars Fionn Maher and Charlie Carroll have been topping the scoring charts with 8-17 and 3-20 respectively, finished on eight points with Moorefield on five and crushed their Newbridge opponents in the group stages by 21 points. Moorefield have been improving but don’t look fully recovered from last year’s relegation from Senior. Naas are fancied and if they make the final the winners of Leixlip and Broadford will be guaranteed promotion.
Thursday night’s Junior A final sees Rathangan and Round Towers clash in a historic local derby at Manguard Park on Thursday night. The clubs of course once competed together, along with Ellistown, under the St Brigid’s banner, appearing in four county titles, winning one in 1978, before disbanding in the early 2000’s.
It’s a testament to the superb work at underage level that Towers have been competing at adult level since 2023 in their own right and Rathangan played their first match at senior adult level just this April when they faced Thursday’s opponents in a challenge match.
The sides were in opposite groups in the Junior Championship, and both have had good wins over Athy and Ros Glas along the way. Towers, with a little extra experience, will go into the final as slight favourites.
The Junior final on Saturday in Newbridge is a mouth-watering affair with an upwardly mobile Wolfe Tones, the Division 2 finalists from the league, facing a Kilcock side who played Senior B last year.
This is the final that many would have anticipated, though Cappagh pushed Kilcock to two points in their group opener and were also competitive against Wolfe Tones, the Sallins and Kill amalgamation, in the semi-final.
Kilcock may have the experience of playing at higher levels, but Wolfe Tones have been impressive all year and could well spring a surprise on this occasion, particularly if sharp-shooting forward Mark Kiernan, son of manager Luke, is on form. It has the makings of a high-scoring affair in Cedral St Conleth’s Park.
