Inside Track
Offaly hurling is on ropes after their latest mauling
Inside Track with John McIntyre
Even the grimmest of forecasts for Offaly’s chances in last Saturday’s Leinster hurling championship quarter-final against Kilkenny wouldn’t have imagined a rout on such a humiliating scale. It was awful to watch as the Faithful men were simply crucified in an embarrassingly one-sided affair at Nowlan Park.
We all knew that Offaly would struggle to avoid a heavy defeat, but the final scoreline of 5-32 to 1-18 underlines how much Brian Whelehan’s charges were out of their depth. Even deploying a sweeper from the off in young Kevin Connolly couldn’t stop the haemorrhaging as Kilkenny ruthlessly took them apart in a shocking mis-match.
Frankly, the warning signs were there for much of the spring. Apart from an unexpected draw against Limerick, Offaly’s league campaign unfortunately served to underline the county’s ongoing decline as a serious hurling force. Ultimately, they had to overcome Kerry to prevent dropping to the third tier and that was only achieved after surviving some early scares.
Just 12 months ago, Offaly had rattled the Cats in Tullamore, but a couple of early goals had given them unexpected momentum while it also signalled the start of Kilkenny’s worst championship campaign in 15 years. Still, just five points separated the teams at the finish and it appeared there was some hope for Offaly, especially as they went on to also fight honourably in a qualifier battle against Waterford.
Ollie Baker subsequently stepped down as team manager, but the County Board’s attempts to find a successor did not go smoothly with approaches to several individuals eliciting little interest. Whelehan, Offaly greatest player of all-time, thought he was about to take charge of the county’s minors only for officials to offer the senior post to the Birr clubman.
Having cut his coaching teeth with Galway clubs Castlegar and Kiltormer, Whelahan knew what he was letting himself in for. He isn’t long retired from the club scene and would have been acutely aware of the lack of talent coming through, but his passion for Offaly hurling remained undiminished. Yet the team’s tribulations in the league and some heavy recent defeats on the challenge game circuit must have left him with a sense of foreboding ahead of the clash with Kilkenny.
Basically, Offaly no longer possess enough quality players in their ranks or else veteran Rory Hanniffy, a great servant down through the years, would never have been pressed into an emergency full back role. The Offaly players and management would have tried to convince themselves that they had a chance, but privately they all must have been aching at the prospect of being wiped off the field.
Only for some brilliant reflex goalkeeping from James Dempsey, sterling defensive resistance from Cathal Parlon and Hanniffy, and a fine haul of 1-10 from the excellent Brian Carroll, Offaly could have lost by 40 points. It was that bad. They just couldn’t match Kilkenny’s physique, power or quality with Colin Fennelly and Eoin Larkin going to town on an evening which showed the home team have rediscovered then energy which was lacking from last year’s campaign.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
THE Galway hurlers or team management would hardly have imagined a few weeks ago that they would be out of contention for a place in the semi-finals of the National League after just three rounds of the competition – and two of those matches going ahead at Pearse Stadium.
With a month’s break between the ending of the league group stages and the opening round of the Leinster championship against struggling Wexford, it’s not an ideal scenario for the Tribesmen, especially as Henry Shefflin, Kevin Lally and Damien Joyce have still some way to go in reaching a settled team.
It was no great surprise that Galway came up short for the second game running in Salthill on Sunday. Hosting the All-Ireland champions Limerick, the men in maroon didn’t have as many regulars on duty as the Shannonsiders, who were still missing a quartet of influential performers in Hurler of the Year Diarmuid Byrnes, Gearóid Hegarty, Declan Hannon and the currently out of favour Aaron Gillane.
With Tom Monaghan bouncing back to form, Galway were committed before a bumper crowd of over 12,200, but you rarely got the impression that they would end up carrying the day. Limerick always looked comfortable and, significantly, were able to lift the tempo and hit the final three points of the match when Galway were threatening a successful comeback.
There were new roles for TJ Brennan and Tiernan Killeen in as reshaped defence, while Cianan Fahy, Dónal O’Shea, Kevin Cooney and Martin McManus were given the opportunity of making an impression further up the field. But without Daithí Burke, Cathal Mannion, who will miss the rest of the campaign due to a hamstring injury Ronan Glennon, David Burke and Fintan Burke, together with Conor Whelan, Brian Concannon and Darren Morrissey only being introduced as substitutes, it was always going to be a big ask for Galway to stay in the league hunt.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Inside Track with John McIntyre
WITH nine All-Ireland minor hurling titles in the last 19 years, including five of the last eight, you’d imagine that Galway would be more than content with the championship structure. After all, they have to play less matches than any other county to capture the Irish Press Cup.
But Galway remains aggrieved over their continued exclusion from the provincial championship and that frustration has manifested itself in a motion at this weekend’s GAA Congress appealing for the county to be granted access to either Leinster or Munster at U17 level.
Galway claim to have no problem with the prospect of winning less All-Ireland titles if they are treated the same as everyone other team. Currently, they should be at a disadvantage facing into a robin-robin system against counties with heaps of matches behind them from their respective provinces, but it hasn’t stopped Galway from dominating the minor hurling landscape.
That scenario underlines the consistent high-quality teams being produced by the county, but Galway’s understandable argument is that the lack of games is denying their players the opportunity to develop more. Unfortunately, when you are winning minor titles hand over fist, it weakens that argument.
Though Galway can’t be blamed for the likes of Offaly and Wexford – who have a paltry three Leinster titles between them since 1989 – lagging well behind in minor ranks, the last thing these counties want is the boys from the West joining their championship. Whatever chance Offaly and Wexford have without Galway, they would have little or none with them being around.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
It was one of those grim days that the Galway footballers would prefer to forget. Apart from the serious knee injury sustained by Damien Comer in the opening quarter, the home team allowed a winning hand to slip late on in a dour encounter against Roscommon at Pearse Stadium.
Naturally, Comer’s injury dominated the post-match headlines. The Annaghdown man was central to Galway’s major progress in 2022, with his physicality alone giving the team a hard edge up front. To see him being stretchered off in Salthill and in obvious distress represents an incalculable blow to the Tribesmen.
Comer’s season being prematurely over only adds to Galway’s early-season woes. Heading into 2023, the team management knew they would be planning without two of their defensive pillars – Kieran Molloy (injury) and Liam Silke (work) – while the departure of utility forward Finnian Ó Laoí (travel) was also a setback.
To compound matters, Patrick Kelly is struggling to shake off a back injury, while Rob Finnerty faces at least another month on the sidelines after suffering ankle ligament damage in Galway’s opening Division One encounter against Mayo in MacHale Park. Throw in the fact that Shane Walsh is currently travelling, Padraic Joyce will be down at least six of last year’s All-Ireland final team when squaring up to Tyrone at Tuam Stadium on Sunday week.
This background will automatically test the in-depth strength of the squad in the weeks ahead, and with only one point on the board from their opening two league matches, the spectre of a relegation battle looms. Given the unavailability of so many players, Galway’s priority will now surely surround staying in the top-flight of league football.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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