2 weeks Ago By Irishexaminer.com
The ‘Bridge cohort look to move another step closer to the Pantheon A few years back, the Sixmilebridge management asked Flan Quilligan to present the medals after the ‘Bridge had won another county title. Why? Why not? Quilligan is an institution in the club, being the only player in Sixmilebridge with eight county senior medals. There is a strong chasing pack behind Quilligan with seven medals; Danny Chaplin, Gerry McInerney, John Chaplin, John O’Connell, Niall Gilligan, Pat Morey and Seán Stack.
Behind them, six more former players have six medals; Christy Chaplin, Davy Fitzgerald, Jamesy Keogh, Kevin McInerney, Kieran O’Shea and Noel O'Gorman. Leo Quinlan has five county titles but so does 13 of the current squad that plays in today’s county final; Derek Fahy, Caimin Morey, Paidi Fitzpatrick, Shane Golden, Noel Purcell, Alan Mulready, Seadna Morey, Brian Carey, Jamie Shanahan, Conor Deasy, Barry Fitzpatrick, Brian Corry and Alex Morey. Another win now would move that crew up to six medals, and alongside some of the most iconic figures in the club’s illustrious history.
When Sixmilebridge enjoyed their real golden period between 1983-’96, winning two Munster clubs and an All-Ireland, they bagged six county titles across 13 years. Today, the ‘Bridge are warm favourites to win a sixth title in 12 seasons. Ballyea’s breakthrough in the middle of the last decade neatly encapsulated how much the Clare club championship had turned on its head from previous decades as they were the tenth different winners in the previous 13 seasons.
Seven of those ten sides were either first-time winners, or clubs ending significant famines. And yet, despite all the glasnost and proliferation of new contenders over the last 15 years, with Clonlara bridging a 15-year gap last year, Inagh-Kilnamona reaching a first final in 2021, Clooney-Quin, O’Callaghan’s Mills and Éire Óg contesting a first final in 73, 27 and 22 years respectively, and Feakle now back in a final for the first time since 1988, one of the anomalies of the Clare championship is how much it has been locked down by two sides since 2013, with Sixmilebridge and Ballyea having shared nine of the last 11 titles. Today is a chance for the ‘Bridge to move to outright second in the roll of honour with a 16th title.
And it’s an opportunity for the golden cohort of 13 to move another rung up the ladder and a few steps closer to Quilligan in the pantheon. Doon at last reach the Promised Land With 20 minutes remaining in the Gaelic Grounds yesterday, just after Darragh O’Donovan had levelled up the match, the Doon hordes in the Mackey Stand began to find their voice and finally start to believe that the dream was really possible. By the time they moved three ahead shortly afterwards, Doon had built up an irresistible momentum that looked set to carry them home.
Except it’s never that simple with Na Piarsaigh. Between the 40th and 55th minutes, Na Piarsaigh had nine shots to Doon’s six. They were suddenly level entering territory they’ve always been comfortable in, especially county finals.
The Caherdavin side don’t lose county finals. Except, this time, the narrative didn’t follow the anticipated script. It hasn’t for Doon all season.
When they met Na Piarsaigh in the group in August, Doon led by seven before seven unanswered points brought Na Piarsaigh level. When they went ahead in additional time, everything smacked of déjà vu, with the outcome looking like another self-fulfilling prophesy. Except Doon weren’t thinking that way anymore.
Adam English got Doon level again before a monstrous point from English from his own ’45 got them over the line. It was Doon’s first win against Na Piarsaigh since a group game in 2016, where the intervening years had been one sorry tale of woe and regret. Eight games, eight defeats.
Big games too, including two finals and two semi-finals. Facing Na Piarsaigh in another final was a whole different psychological challenge again. Na Piarsaigh’s 27-point winning margin in 2020 was the biggest since Young Irelands beat Bruff by 28 points in the 1922 final.
Na Piarsaigh won the 2018 final by nine points but a late Barry Murphy goal prevented the scoreline from being another double-digit win. After losing their first two finals in 1989 and 2000, the rebirth and the beginning of Doon’s third coming began with three minor titles in four years between 2012-’15, but Doon also began producing a calibre of player that they never had before, and never in such bulk; Darragh O’Donovan, Pat Ryan, Adam and Richie English, Barry Murphy. Before they played a Patrickswell side in the semi-final with three former Hurler-of-the-Year winners on board in Cian Lynch, Aaron Gillane and Diarmaid Byrnes, Doon reminded themselves that there was 19 All-Ireland senior medals in their dressingroom.
Doon’s biggest challenge yesterday was to do what they failed to manage on this stage in the past - perform, and be the best version of themselves. They knew if they did, history would be within their grasp. And they grabbed it.
Gloriously. St Thomas’ crusade finally grinds to a halt For the last number of years in Galway, there has almost been an unwritten acceptance, especially by themselves, when it came to St Thomas – if they reach the semi-finals, they won’t be beaten in the remainder of the competition. They were pushed hard in last year’s semi-final by Sarsfields, but that was just the second time during Thomas’ six-in-a-row crusade where there had only been one score between the teams in the semi-final.
There were signs of wear-and-tear during this year’s group when Tommy Larkin’s beat them by eight points and Thomas’ needed a last-gasp goal to draw with Gort, when a defeat would have seen them dice with elimination. After hammering Craughwell in a preliminary quarter-final, and scraping past Turloughmore in the quarter-final, the All-Ireland champions looked back on course again. Having beaten Cappatagle by 13 and six points respectively in the 2023 and 2022 quarter-finals, they were hotly fancied again on Saturday to reach another final.
Yet Cappy floored them, subjecting Thomas’ to a first knockout championship defeat since a 2017 preliminary All-Ireland quarter-final reversal to Killimordaly. In the 48 championship matches they had played prior to Saturday, that group defeat to Tommy Larkin’s this year, allied to a group defeat to Turlough in 2022, and a group loss to Liam Mellows in 2019 were the only three games Thomas’ had lost in Galway in seven years. Some record.
But it had to end sometime. The Tyrone curse strikes again Since Carrickmore were the last back-to-back Tyrone champions in 1995, it’s been an ordeal to even reach successive finals, never mind win them. Prior to Friday night, only a handful of teams had given themselves that opportunity to win successive titles; Dromore (2008), Trillick (2020) and Errigal Ciarán (2023).
All three teams went really close, with Dromore losing to Clonoe by one point 16 years ago, Trillick going down to Dungannon on penalties in 2020, and Errigal losing to Trillick after extra-time last year. What was even more unique again about Friday night’s refixed Errigal-Trillick final was that it was the first time in 46 years that the same two clubs contested the final for two years running. The last time that had happened was in 1977 and 1978 when Carrickmore and Dromore faced off in both of those finals, with Carrickmore winning both matches.
Could Trillick finally break the hoodoo and win back-to-back titles? No. Errigal edged the match by one point. No surprise.
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