Nenagh looking for that crucial inch

A quarter of a century has passed since Nenagh Éire Óg first crossed the whitewash to play in a County senior final.

It might not always seem like that for the club but it has been a time of remarkable plenty since then. When Nenagh travelled the Thurles for that County final against Toomevara, they did so on a wave of optimism governed by the winning of consecutive North titles and a couple of County minor titles to suggest plenty of talent in the pipelines. Nenagh never quite became the dominant presence on the county scene that they might have been entitled to expect but despite this have never been far off the top table since that modern-day breakthrough in 1992.

One County senior title from six final attempts is a statistically poor return yet consider that three of those losses were by just a point. Whatever else might be said of Nenagh, and whatever clichés might be spouted when they lose, evidence suggests that they cannot be accused of not performing.

A performance will be the least required on Sunday as they will face seasoned campaigners. Nenagh themselves fell short by the minimum margin against Thurles Sarsfields in 2014 and in the final a year later. At the same time Clonoulty were being knocked out only by teams reaching the County final at least. There is a sense that both teams will see it as an opportunity with no great fear of each other influencing pre-match thinking.

 

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