Brendan McTaggart gives his views on Sunday’s showpiece final as Dunloy take on Ballyhale Shamrocks

We’ve all heard the saying.

“You have to lose one to win one.”

Well, for Dunloy they’ve tasted the bitter sting of defeat at this stage on four occasions.  Sunday will be the fifth time the Cuchullains will attempt to bring the Tom Moore Cup back to the Village.

1995 and ’96.  2003 and ’04.  Birr (twice), Sixmilebridge and Newtownshandrum, the conquerors of Dunloy in the past.

The past.

A generation has since past and this current crop of Dunloy players are looking to forge their own memories and carry no such baggage of previous final defeats at this stage. 

In a year where they’ve defied the bookies since coming out of Antrim, they will have to do the same on Sunday.

Ballyhale are an incredible 1/10 to win while Dunloy are 13/2.  Eye watering odds in a two horse race.  The handicap betting would suggest the bookies see the Shamrocks as an eight point better side than the current Antrim and Ulster kings.

However, all that being said, it will take a braver man than me to bet against the Cuchullains on Sunday.

Ballyhale have every right to be favourites, given their pedigree and history in recent times.  A side that boast the inclusion of modern day hurling greats such as TJ Reid and Colin Fennelly.  Joey Holden, Richie Reid, Adrian Mullen and Evan Shefflin are all household names and I’m probably doing the rest a disservice by not mentioning them.  But this has been brewing within the Cuchullain Village for the past number of years.

A belief that if they could ever get past Slaughtneil in Ulster, get that monkey off the back then who knows what could happen thereafter.

Dare to dream?

It dream has been the one constant in Dunloy for the better part of two generations.  Like every club that takes to the field, but for the Cuchullains to have come so close in the past, who would deny them the chance to realise their dreams?

The Shamrocks for one.  No, not those in red and white and across the north Antrim sheugh.  But those who will be draped in white and green on Sunday. 

All-Ireland Club Final Day is the pinnacle of the game for every small club and parish.  The old adage that club means more will be ringing through the ears of everyone in Croke Park come Sunday.  Dunloy look to be on the cusp of creating their own era, their own memories and banish the thoughts of final defeats in the past.

How do you beat a team like Ballyhale?  A question those in Kilkenny have been asking for the last five years.  One that Ballygunner were able to answer in the 2022 decider.  The brilliance of TJ, the goal threat of Fennelly and a half forward line that reads like a who’s who in hurling all over Ireland.  But you get the feeling that this Dunloy side will relish coming up against the hurling aristocrats from Kilkenny.

Some say that Dunloy are a bit of an unknown quantity and while it’s the Cuchullains first All-Ireland final since 2004, there really is no such thing as the element of surprise any longer.  There’ll be footage galore doing the rounds in Ballyhale, just like there has been in the Village in recent times of the Shamrocks.

With Aaron Crawford missing out because of a ridiculous challenge in the semi-final, it deprives Dunloy of one of their most consistent performers of the last season.  ‘Snoozer’ has been a tenacious entity and his use of the sliothar is almost unparalleled within the Cuchullain ranks.  Who fills the void he leaves behind is a conundrum for Gregory O’Kane and his management team.  They may look to the experience and physicality of Kevin McKeague.  A player who knows the position in the half back line inside out and having garnered further game time in a recent Antrim McGurk Cup game against Armagh, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest to see him back in the starting 15 if the Cuchullains look to match up the Ballyhale three-quarter line.  Another option could be dropping Ronan Molloy into wing half back but it would be a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.  Molloy was instrumental in the wins over Slaughtneil and St Thomas, his aerial ability, agility and work rate in the break down key in those successes.

Then there’s the Shorty problem.  I say problem with tongue in cheek.  Does O’Kane start the Dunloy G.O.A.T or does he use Paul Shiels as an impact sub which was so effective in the last two outings?  And if you do start him, who misses out?  Throw in a fully fit Deaglan Smith, Chrissy McMahon and Anton McGrath into the mix and it’s a selection headache.  Conor Kinsella and Eoin McFerran have been superb since forming their midfield partnership since the Ulster Final and you would imagine they will make the 15 again on Sunday.

If anything has been learned from the Ballygunner and Ballyhale games, it’s that Dunloy have the game style to cause the Shamrock’s problems.  Runners from midfield, breaking at pace and playing off the shoulder has been the Dunloy plan.  Support play, retaining possession and picking moments.  Bringing an element of patience to the helter-skelter nature of the game.  As a fan, it can make you reach for the quick of your nails in no time but it’s the Cuchullain way.  Methodically and surgically picking apart their moments.

Ballyhale are the standard bearers in the game.  The team at the summit of the hurling Everest.  Dunloy have established a solid base camp to make their assault with Gregory O’Kane leading the expedition.  Can they match their neighbours from Loughgiel in bringing the Tom Moore Cup back to the Saffron County?

A bookie defying performance awaits.

Dun Lathai Abu.

Brendan McTaggart speaks with Dunloy manager Gregory O’Kane as the Cuchullains prepare for the All-Ireland Final this weekend…

The green and gold continues into 2023.  With a fifth appearance in the biggest day in the club calendar booked following their win over a fancied St Thomas side from Galway, Dunloy have their eyes set on the Tom Moore Cup.  standing in their way?  Eight-time Club Champions and Kilkenny’s finest, Ballyhale Shamrocks.

Like the old GAA saying goes, ‘No one said it was going to be easy.’

During the media evening in the Cuchullains clubrooms, it wasn’t so much razzle dazzle but more hushed and relaxed.  If it weren’t for the green and gold flags on every lamppost in the village, you’d have been forgiven for thinking it was just another winters evening in Pearse Park.  But it’s how Gregory O’Kane and his team operate.  Happy to go about their business with minimum fuss and let their hurling to the talking.

That being said, it’s an All-Ireland final.  The RTE, TG4, UTV and BBC cameras had all been in attendance.  The ‘Cuchullains Song’ was recorded in the school for the TG4 camera and there is no getting away from it, Dunloy village is being swept away in the euphoria that reaching an All Ireland final brings.  The Dunloy manager told us it’s special times for the community: “It’s fantastic for everyone to qualify for the All-Ireland club final.  That’s been the biggest reward for everyone the community, young and old and the school.  Everyone gets something out of it.

“We’re blessed to live in a place like Dunloy and we’re just enjoying these times.”

Not many outside of the village would have foreseen a Dunloy victory in the semi-final against St Thomas.  The Galway men were unlucky to have lost out to Ballyhale in last years semi-final and had their eyes firmly set on trying to bring the Tom Moore Cup back to the West for a second time.  Dunloy manager O’Kane told us that while it was good to get the win, there is room for improvement and a need for improvement for the final: “We were good in spells.  We made a lot of mistakes and there is loads to improve on.  Would that level be good enough for the next day?  No.  In terms of we’re trying to improve the things we didn’t do so well and that’s all you can do.  Improve and see where it takes us the next day.”

With the GAA calendar still in the evolution stages, the Cuchullains are in unchartered waters.  Preparing for an All-Ireland final during the Christmas period.  The time of year matters little to the Dunloy manager however and he saw it as a time to recharge, refresh and re-energize his troops: “It was a lovely time.  A week out from Christmas and everyone was going off on holidays that following week.  Everyone spent time with their families over Christmas and had the promise of an All-Ireland final in the New Year.  It’s great times for the village and players.

“It’s a special time.  This new era we’re in where they’re trying to play the club championship in the one calendar year.  It’s unusual to qualify for an All-Ireland final a week before Christmas but it doenst really matter to us.  We’ll play it anytime and we’re delighted and thankful to be there.”

In terms of injuries, Conor McKinley is back in full training and played 35 minutes for Antrim in the McGurk Cup along with a few other Cuchullains.  Deaglan Smith and Chrissy McMahon will also be available for selection while the break would have done Paul Shiels no harm either.  The Final will come too soon for one of Dunloy’s most consistent performers of the 2022 year however, Aaron Crawford.  “Aaron has been outstanding for us all year,” said O’Kane, “he took a heavy knock the last day and he’s a huge loss for the team.  He was playing very consistently all year.  I’m gutted for Aaron and gutted for his family.

“The break has been good to us.  It was a nice time and good preparation in terms of the rest of the players and the injuries are starting to clear up.”

Having played in four finals, O’Kane looks back on those times with fondness but insists what has happened in the past has no bearing on anything this current crop of Dunloy players: “It was brilliant times and a great era for the club and players but this team now are creating their own era and own memories.  The only final they can play in or we can be involved in is the next one and that’s the only one we’re concentrating on.”

Kilkenny champions Ballyhale will provide the sternest of tests for O’Kane’s men.  A side who are synonymous with the Tom Moore Cup and have pedigree in every line of their team.  The Dunloy manager praised their final opponents when he continued: “What a club Ballyhale are.  What they have achieved is unbelievable.  They lost last years All-Ireland final in injury time and I think they’d be going for nine All-Ireland club titles.  That’s just totally ridiculous levels for a club.

“They’ve produced two of the finest hurlers who have ever played the game in TJ (Reid) and Henry (Shefflin) so in terms of the challenge that’s in front of us, it couldn’t be bigger.  It’s absolutely massive. “All we can do is be the best we can be on the day and perform to our levels.  Will that be good enough?  That remains to be seen but we need to perform to the best of our abilities.”

Brendan McTaggart speaks with Ballyhale manager Pat Hoban as they prepare for Sunday’s All-Ireland Final against Dunloy. Hoban is a vastly experienced manager having led Kilkenny to All Junior and Minor success

The Mullinavat native in his first year in charge of Ballyhale, Pat Hoban has been entrusted with one of, if not thee biggest club job in Ireland. Coming into a side who had won four Kilkenny championships on the spin and with the Shamrocks entering their 50^th year, the pressure was on from the word go for Hoban but he’s answered everything that has come his way….

Including a phone call from us.

“I suppose we’re in a bit of a unique situation where we have no one from Ballyhale in our backroom team.  I have Niall Lacey and James Maher, we did try to bring in someone with first-hand connections with the club but it didn’t materialise.

“It was never a deal breaker however. I’ve been in charge of Kilkenny Intermediate hurling sides, with the minors for a few years but look Kilkenny’s a small county in hurling terms. Everyone has a fair idea of what’s happening in each club and I suppose my own knowledge of the minor set up for a number of years gave me a good idea of Ballyhale as a whole.”

Having tasted defeat to Ballygunner in last years All-Ireland Final, Hoban gave us an insight into the Shamrocks psyche when he took over in February 2022: “They were all obviously very disappointed with how that game transpired so we were in no rush to get everyone back.  But this was always going to be a huge year for the club, regardless of what happened last year.  It’s the 50^th year of their existence and a chance to make a little piece of history of their own by winning five in a row.  Something that had never been achieved in the county before.”

Having won their 20^th Kilkenny crown, the Shamrocks are looking to bring the Tom Moore Cup back to Ballyhale for the ninth time.  Their pedigree can never be questioned.  Hoban said that he sees improvement in his side during their run through Leinster: “We were too strong for Castletown before playing a strong Naas side in the semi-final.  That was a competitive game and stood by us.”

Their game against Kilmacud Crokes was the one that caught the eye for most, given how Hoban’s side blew the Dublin men away in the first half before having to weather a storm to seal the Leinster title. Hoban said that it felt like his side had to win the game twice: “It was a bizarre game that’s for sure but what most people didn’t realise was the weather had a huge impact on the game. They hit us with a sucker punch and we took our eye off the ball for 10 or 12 minutes and they scored something like 1-7 or 1-8 in that time but I thought my lads showed plenty of character to dig that one out in the end.”

As fate would have it, Hoban led his team to the All-Ireland semi-final and a chance to avenge their defeat to Ballygunner.  With many tipping the Waterford men to reach the final again, the Shamrocks proved they are still the team to beat.  Hoban added: “What happened in last years final hurt this side.  We never had any issue with Ballygunner, it was more how the final went last year.  But this game was very similar in that the game was in the balance right up to the final whistle.”

With the fixtures calendar meaning a break between the semi-final and final that included the Christmas holiday period, Hoban told us it was something he and his backroom team welcomed: “We had a couple of knocks from the Ballygunner game so to have a bit of a break was ideal and for the lads who’ve been involved with the county as well, it was perfect.  It’s a year round season for them now so to have some time off with family and friends was ideal.

“It’s been tough with the weather down this part of the country.  It’s been hugely challenging to get pitches and it’s more challenging at this time of year but look you’d rather have this problem than wish you had this problem.”

The Shamrocks come into the final as hot favourites to take a ninth club All-Ireland crown back to Ballyhale.  Hoban said he is wary of the test Dunloy will bring on Sunday, saying the Cuchullains bring a style of play that’s very difficult to play against: “We didn’t take too much notice of it on the day, we had our own semi-final to worry about but look it was a big win for them against a side Ballyhale struggled against last year and when you consider they overcame Slaughtneil who pushed Ballyhale to the pin of their collar a few years back, they are a dangerous, dangerous side.

“In Kilkenny it would be a more traditional style of hurling.  But with Dunloy, you can see there’s lots of those guys who play football as well.  They play a possession type of game, similar to Kilmacud where they have runners off the shoulder and support play.  That type of thing is very hard to come up against.”

There is no such thing as surprise packages anymore.  In the digital world we live in and the wider hurling circles, Hoban has his homework done on the Cuchullains.  He added: “Off course I’ve watched them.  Against Cushendall, Slaughtneil and St Thomas.  I’d like to think I have my homework done but look I was speaking with the Thomas’ lads after their game and they thought they had their homework done too.

“A bit like ourselves in that they’ve won four Antrim championships in a row, five in six years.  That type of thing breeds confidence.  They have five or six lads in the Antrim set-up and have a forward unit that are flying.  Defensively they’re very strong as well, we know they are a serious outfit and fully aware of the dangers they will bring to the game on Sunday.”

Cousins Ryan and Nigel Elliott speak to Brendan Mctaggart ahead of Sunday’s final against Ballyhale.

All Ireland Senior Club Hurling Final

It is no secret that very few people outside Dunloy will be giving the Cuchullains a chance in Sunday’s showdown against Ballyhale Shamrock at Croke Park, but one of Ballyhale’s top stars doesn’t necessarily see it that way.

In an interview with the INDO’s Donnchadh Boyle ace forward Adrian Mullen said that the Ballyhale camp were not looking at it that way. Mullen does not like to hear this type of talk and feels Dunloy will be preparing for the game just the same way as his side will be down in Ballyhale. While he recognises that most people probably think his team will be favourites, but the DCU student says that is not that way among the Ballyhale players.

Mullen says that Ballyhale have seen Dunloy play and knows the challenge they will present. Mullen told Boyle that Dunloy have beaten very good teams on their way to the final, like Slaughtneil and St Thomas, teams that Ballyhale have struggled to beat in recent years.

Mullen, who will be lining out for DCU in the Fitzgibbon Cup group stages three nights after the final, talked about the satisfaction he got out of the semi-final win over Ballygunner, a team that had beaten them in last year’s final. Mullen added that win gave his team great satisfaction, but pointed out that they had won nothing yet and that focus will be totally on Dunloy, a game he is really looking forward to.