In the build-up to Sunday’s highly anticipated Antrim Senior Hurling Final, both the Ruairi Og Cushendall and Dunloy Cuchullains Senior Hurlers took time out to visit local primary schools, bringing plenty of excitement, banter and rivalry to the classroom.
Ruairí Óg players made stops at Glenann Primary School and St. Mary’s Primary School, Cushendall where the children were treated to a morning of fun and laughter.
Meanwhile, Dunloy players accompanied with the legendary Father PJ McCamphill visited St. Joseph’s Primary School, where similar scenes unfolded.
There were mini-competitions with students proudly showcasing their hurling-inspired creations in support of their local heroes and plenty of craic, especially with staff members who found themselves working in opposing camps, heightening the rivalry ahead of the final.
The players engaged with the children, sharing stories, signing autographs and spreading the excitement of what promises to be a thrilling contest. Let’s hope the energy in the schools this morning carries onto the pitch come Sunday in Ballycastle!
TO SEE PICS FROM THE SCHOOL VISITS CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
Ruairi Og captain, Neil McManus has had a championship season troubled by injury but you won’t hear him complain. He’s exactly where he wants to be. Now part of Davy Fitzgerald’s Antrim backroom team, McManus has an agreement of sorts with the Saffrons manager that allows him to put all his energies into the Ruairi’s defence of the Volunteer Cup.
Would you really expect anything different from him, though? McManus epitomises Cushendall and the spirit within the club and town. He lives for hurling and thrives for the big occasion.
After a brief joke about looking some secrets of the Ruairi’s game plan and maybe even their starting 15, we spoke about that epic semi final against St John’s: “It was one of those game” started McManus: “brilliant to be involved in and exactly the type of game we needed at that stage of the championship.
“I actually said to a work colleague in the days running up to the game, don’t be surprised if it goes beyond 60 minutes. I don’t know what it is about our games with St John’s, it seems to be the way more often than not when we play them.
“I think it was a game 10 years ago when we were seven or eight points down going down the stretch but we got a couple of late goals and managed to get over the line. That’s championship hurling though.
“We knew there wasn’t going to be much between us with how Mickey Johnston had them going. The game itself maybe wasn’t the best in terms of quality but when it came to intensity and desire, it had them in spades.
“A great game for spectators but maybe not so much for the purists.
“We prepared for every eventuality and to get through days like that. It came down to small margins and thankfully we won enough of those big moments to get us over the line.”
The middle third in that opening half in Dunloy was so intense and played at such a high physicality, to come through that and gain experience for the younger members in the team was a huge bonus to Cushendall, said McManus: “You don’t get that type of game all the time. It’s very hard to replicate that in training but the experience of those days are invaluable.
“The more championship experience you get for the younger lads the better. You look at Dunloy who had the two McFerran’s starting in the semi final with (Paudie) Martin coming off the bench and Loughgiel with Ben (McGarry) in midfield). Playing alongside James McNaughton – an All Star nominee. St John’s brought on younger lads as well in the game against us.
“Those lads don’t realise it now but I remember when I played in my first championship match. Lining out along with men who would have been my heroes growing up. For those lads to get that in the championship, they might not think on it now but it’s special.”
Coming into this season as reigning champions and off the back of the disappointment in the All-Ireland semi final, McManus said that it was business as usual and there wasn’t any drastic changes made: “Nothing has really changed in comparison (to last year). We wouldn’t necessarily worry too much about the opposition, at the end of the day you can only control what you do in your preparations and how you train. You want to give yourself the best opportunity.”
Having already accounted for Dunloy in the group stages with a bit to spare, the Ruairi’s captain was key to point out that there is a marked difference between group games and knockout hurling: “Group games are funny and throw up strange results at times. You don’t need to look any further than our game against St John’s in Ballymena and fast forward a few weeks and they gave us a helluva fight in the semi.
“The group games mean nothing. It’s just about getting minutes into legs and trying out a few things, maybe giving different players a different opportunity. The Championship starts when knockout begins. You only learn about yourself in the knockout. It’s a different speed, intensity, even the crowd and the energy you get from them is different.”
Dunloy maestro, Keelan Molloy is one of the best players in the county but when it comes to interviews, he normally shies away. He prefers to do his talking on the pitch with his hurl or the size 5. After last year, he was one of a group of Dunloy players who elected to step away from the county panel before returning for the Leinster championship. Molloy gave us some insight into that decision and subsequent return to club action earlier this summer: “It was a combination of things. Long seasons with Dunloy, both codes and county commitments. It took its toll and we probably just needed that break. We needed to just forget about things for a while and it helped, it definitely helped.
“Greg (O’Kane) would give the lads that’s involved with the county an extra couple of weeks before coming back into the squad. It’s there and it’s up to you if you take it or not.
“We were keen to put last year behind us as soon as possible. We got together as a full group again from start of July and you could just see the hunger there again. There’s a desire to get back to the team that we know we can be and back to how we can play.”
From a Dunloy perspective, that decision has been vindicated. Molloy and the others have been looking back to their best, especially in the semi final against Loughgiel: “You look at that semi final against Loughgiel (2023) last year and we just weren’t at ourselves. We weren’t expecting what they brought and we were caught on the day. I think we definitely let some complacency creep in against Loughgiel.”
On this years championship and playing an additional game in comparison to previous years, Molloy was keen to look at the positives and how it’s worked in the favour of the Cuchullains: “We’ve been building all through the championship but not looking any further than the next game. Last year, we maybe took our eye off the ball a bit and looked beyond games but you couldn’t do that this year. It was a tough group with St John’s, Rossa and Cushendall.
“Things were going well but the Cushendall game definitely was a bit of a set back. It’s the first time we were in the quarter final but I honestly think it helped in the long run. It refocussed our minds again and it was maybe a wee bit of a reality check.
“We were maybe shocked more than anything. They did a number on us but we’ll take our learnings from that day.
“That Cushendall game was good for us in a strange way and having to dig deep against Ballycastle as well but we showed our hunger and resilience against Loughgiel in the semi final.”
The Cuchullains looked to be close to their best again in the last four as they swept aside the challenge of Loughgiel in the wind and rain. Molloy’s goal in the closing stages all but sealed the win and substitutes Nicky McKeague and Paudie Martin tagged on further scores. Molloy told us that they used the hurt from last years match and went out to right what they felt were a wrongs from 12 months previous: “It was in our head, there’s no point in telling you any different but we used that as the fuel, as a positive. We looked at ways that we could enforce our game. We were bullied and outplayed last year but we were a lot hungrier this time around.”
Sunday will be the fourth time in seven years the Cuchullains will meet Cushendall in the decider. These two know each other inside out at this stage and as Molloy finished off by saying, there’s an inevitability about the pair meeting: “When it comes to winning the championship, you know you’ll have to face Cushendall at some stage. We’ve nearly played them every year late in the day so you know you have them to contend with but look, we’re just preparing as best we can. We aren’t thinking on that game, that can bring a negative into your mind that just isn’t needed but we’re in a good place now. We feel like we’ve got our mojo back, the confidence is there and we’re in a good place coming into Sunday.”
Keelan Molloy: “We feel like we’ve got our mojo back”
With the storm forecast for Sunday casting a shadow over the senior hurling final between Cushendall and Dunloy in Ballycastle, Saturday’s Intermediate decider in Loughgiel should be played in more pleasant conditions.
The calm before the storm might be wishful thinking however as North Antrim rivals, Carey Faughs and Oisin’s Glenariffe go head to head in a final that is likely to dray a big crowd to Healey Park.
These sides are no strangers to each other and have met numerous times in league and championship over the years but we have to go back to 2000 for their last meeting in a championship decider.
Oisin’s won that one in Armoy but it’s been a while since the Waterfoot men have had their name inscribed on the Intermediate Cup.
Carey have had more recent success in the competition with a win over Creggan at Dunsilly in 2021 and gained promotion from division 2 the same year before returning to Division 2 the following year.
It’s been a mixed season for both sides with Cathaoir an Ri enjoying a great season in Division 2 of the ACHL where they finished top with 10 wins and 2 draws while Oisin’s finished mid-table with 7 wins from 14 starts.
Both sides were drawn together in Group 1 in the Intermediate Championship and were favourites to advance from the group and eventually that was how it panned out but not before a few hiccups.
Glenariffe, under the guidance of former Cloney Gaels manager, Hugh Dobbin and his assistant Shea O’Hagan have shown marked improvement as the season has progressed and have racked up some impressive scores in the championship.
They defeated St. Gall’s 5-18 to 1-21 at Milltown on day one and registered a 4-18 to 1-11 victory over a Shane O’Neill’s side who finished second to Carey in the league, on day two.
Meanwhile, Saturday’s opponents, Carey Faughs got their championship campaign up and running with a five point win over the Glenarm men in Ballyvoy before suffering a surprise defeat to St. Brigid’s Cloughmills on day two.
The week leading up to the game had been shattered by the untimely death of 6 year old Joe Hegarty, the team mascot and many felt that the tragic death of the young man had affected the home side’s performance.
It left Carey in a precarious position when they travelled to Belfast to play St. Gall’s on day 3 and early in the second half the Ballyvoy men looked in danger of heading out of the championship.
The home side looked to be heading for their first Group 1 win when they led the Ballyvoy side by 2-10 1-9, six minutes into the second half following a goal from the penalty spot from Ryan Ervine.
However St Gall’s lost two men to red cards, the second a double yellow, and the game began to turn in favour of the ‘Faughs’.
Immediately after Ervine’s success from the spot, Mark Napier had added a point to move St. Gall’s five ahead but Callum Cane’s second goal of the evening midway through the second period swung the momentum in favour of the Carey men.
They went on to win by five points but still needed something from their meeting with Oisin’s in Waterfoot on the final day of the group stages if they were to qualify for the knockout stages.
Carey held off a late rally from the Oisins to book their place in the semi-final against Tir na nOg. The Faughs came into the game knowing that anything less than a win wouldn’t be good enough and for most of the game it looked like they were going canter over the winning line, such was their superiority.
However the Oisins, who started without four of their first choice players who were rested because of the forthcoming Minor final, brought two of those players on at half time, and the other two midway through the second half, and suddenly the tide began to turn.
Trailing by six at half time, Oisins hit the first three points of the second half and when substitute Orrin O’Connor finished to the net and O’Boyle and Kearney followed with points there was only two between the sides.
Carey regrouped to hold on for the win and secure their place in the semi-final against Cloney Gaels while Oisins had already qualified prior to this game and faced Tir na nOg in their semi-final.
Glenariffe ran out winners against the Whitehill side at Slemish Park in Ballymena with second half goals from Oliver Kearney and Orrin O’Connor paving the way for a 2-14 to 0-14 victory.
The other semi-final in Glenravel provided a high scoring spectacle of hurling as Carey Faughs fought back from seven points down at one stage in the opening half to beat Cloney Gaels by 3-23 to 2-24 after extra time in an absorbing battle at Fr Maginn Park, Glenravel.
The Faughs outscored the Ahoghill men by 0-06 to 0-03 in the first half of extra time to lead by 2-23 to 1-21 with three points from Conor McBride, two from Calum Cane and one from Michael McVeigh.
A Tom McGlone point for Cloney Gaels cut the gap back early in the second period, but Conor McBride struck a telling blow for the Faughs when he fired in his second goal of the game.
By virtue of that win in Waterfoot, Carey Faughs will probably start Saturday’s final as slight favourites but they will face a free scoring Glenariffe side who have got better and better as the season has progressed and will have their full complement of championship winning minors available for selection.
Colum Cunning from Dunloy is the man in charge of Saturday’s final and the calm before the storm might not last too long as these two well matched sides battle for supremacy.
Cushendall manager Brian Delargy is in his fourth season at the helm of the Ruairi’s. He has overseen a resurgence in a side that some may have been too quick to write off. With Loughgiel and Dunloy having a monopoly on the minor championships for the better part of 10 years barring the odd exception, Cushendall’s consistency in the senior championship shows no signs of waning.
Sunday will be Delargy’s third decider as Cushendall’s main man and he has guided his team to the final unbeaten. A run that includes a comfortable win against Dunloy in the round robin. As reigning champions, they have coped well with the bulls-eye on their back this year and Delargy said that a lot of that comes from the squads desire and hunger: “Last year was parked as soon as we got the lads back together. We felt it wasn’t doing us any good to keep going on about it but the hunger was there in the lads to get going again.
“There wasn’t any pre-season as such. When the league started it was basically seeing who was fit and available when lining out. With the split season, we use it for preparing. Getting boys fitness levels back and maybe bringing through one or two others into the senior set up, looking at other lads who might have stepped up from the previous season.”
Cushendall’s win against Dunloy in the group stage at Páirc Mhuire ensured they would book their passage directly to the semi-final. It was the first time since this format’s inception that the Ruairi’s would go through a campaign unbowed and it’s fair to say they have impressed. They had to withstand a Rossa comeback and the Ballymena monsoon before accounting for the Cuchullains in their backyard and highlighting their credentials as county champions. It was a warning shot to the rest of the county but Delagry said they’ve been concentrating on the next fixture and the next fixture alone: “There was nothing about prioritising. We knew it was going to be three tough games but the way it’s scheduled, it works well for us. We had no other distractions in between our games and it allowed us to get ready.
“When you’re travelling to Rossa Park for a first round game, you know what you’re going to get. It’s never going to be easy. Once you get into the nitty gritty of the round robin, it’s about tailoring your way through it.”
On that Dunloy game, Delargy said: “We’ve been around long enough to know that there’s a huge difference between group stages and knockout championship hurling. The championship doesn’t really start until the knockout stage and you just have to look at the St John’s game for further evidence of that.”
That semi final against St John’s saw his side come back from the brink. They showed the infamous Cushendall trait of ‘mentality monsters’ and when Delargy spoke of that game, he gave a nod to those who stepped up to be counted when his side needed it: “We were obviously delighted to get through that game. When you consider we were four points down closing in on half time in extra time, it was a time for someone to step up and the boys turned it around well.
“It was a massive test and a test that we needed. That lads have learned from that and it’ll stand by us going into Sunday.”
It wasn’t exactly a flowing performance from the Ruairi’s and they had to dig deep into their reserves. Essentially though, semi finals are for winning and the Cushendall manager said he’s happy with where his squad are now: “There’s room for improvement but that’s no bad thing. It comes from the high standards and goals this group have set themselves. Some didn’t meet those standards, and others did. That was a pleasing aspect of the game. Hurling is a team sport and it took a team and panel effort to get us over the line.”
Delargy finished off by adding: “We both know each other well. The players probably know each other better than the managers do. It’s sounds like a cliché but it’ll come down to who wants it most on Sunday. With the weather forecast not giving great, it won’t be pretty and we’re under no illusions as to the task we have but the lads are ready for it.”
