Plenty of managerial movement as County Leagues get underway

By Shane Brophy

A sure sign the summer is coming is the start of the club season in the GAA and this week sees it begin in earnest with the start of the County Hurling Leagues.

All hurling clubs in the county are taking part in the leagues with the twelve teams each in the top four divisions, with seventeen in division 5 and eight in division 6.

With it being the first full league since 2019 with the last two impacted because of Covid, the divisions have been determined by clubs finishing positions in last year’s championship.

The winter months have seen chopping a changing of management teams at clubs across the division. In terms of division 1, Toomevara will be into action on St Patrick’s morning at home to Upperchurch/Drombane and the greyhounds have new management this year, headed up by Aaron Considine from Clare, with his selectors David Kennedy and Pat King.

One of the big round 1 games is on Friday when Nenagh Eire Og and Thurles Sarsfields clash in MacDonagh Park where Noel Maloney returns as manager of Eire Og but the inclusion of former county and Munster winning manager Johnny Kelly as coach is one of the eye-catching changes from the offseason.

There has been a trade of sorts with Borris-Ileigh as the maroons are now managed by former Nenagh Eire Og manager Shane O’Neill, with the Limerick native joined in the management team by former Nenagh and Galway coach John Fitzgerald.

Kilruane MacDonaghs enter the fray on Monday night when they take on JK Brackens with Liam O’Kelly remaining at the helm along with coach Christy Morgan.

Dan Hackett returns to the helm in Kiladangan, after Brian Lawlor stepped down at the end of last season and is joined by George Hannigan and Sean O'Meara when they get their campaign underway against Drom & Inch on March 24th. Their premier intermediate management team are Michael Quigley, Brian Kelly, and Eoin Butler.

Division 2 got underway last Sunday with Roscrea defeating Gortnahoe/Glengoole 0-20 to 1-11, with former club player Liam England now at the helm of Roscrea, returning home after guiding Moyne-Templetuohy to the county intermediate title last year. Alan Tynan senior is the coach with Paul Delaney, Ger Fitzpatrick, and Aidan Shanahan among the management team.

Unsurprisingly, last year’s O Riain Cup champions Templederry Kenyons go with the same again with Cormac McGrath as manager and they start off away to Holycross/Ballycahill on Saturday. Another former O Riain Cup winning manager in JK Brackens clubman Paudie Bourke is now at the helm of Clonakenny who begin at home to Killenaule while Portroe are headed up Bob Duff, Greg Baker and Padraig Conroy remaining on as they begin at home to St Mary’s on St Patrick’s Day.

The third tier has a strong North division vibe to it with plenty of local derbies, starting with Newport and Sean Treacys on St Patrick’s Day. Tipperary County Board secretary Tim Floyd is at the helm of Newport and has Limerick man Ger Downes in as coach with former club stalwarts Dinny Ryan, Ger Bradley and Eoin Shinners part of the management team. Meanwhile, Brendan Ryan from Holycross takes over at Sean Treacys.

Ballina start off at home to Moyne-Templetuohy on St Patrick’s Day with Eamonn Power taking over the lakesiders while neighbours Ballinahinch have secured the services of former Burgess and Shannon Rovers manager Pat Cremin for the coming season as they start off away to Knockavilla Kickhams.

In group 2, Burgess, now managed by Brian "Chopper" Hogan and with Limerick man Nathal O'Grady as Coach/Selector, start off at home to Silvermines on St Patrick’s Day, managed by Sean Quirke with former Nenagh joint manager John Brennan also involved.

After their relegation to intermediate last year, Lorrha have looked no further than Ken Hogan to try and work the oracle and he has enlisted the services of Brian Carroll as coach, the Offaly man who coached Moyne-Templetuohy to last year’s intermediate title. They start off against a Moneygall side who will be one of their rivals for North and County championship honours later in the year and after a positive 2021 in which they won the North title and reached a county semi-final, they go with the same management with Paul O'Brien as manager with Nenagh’s Shane Connolly as coach.

Borrisokane and Shannon Rovers are both in division 4, with Shannon Rovers starting off on St Patrick’s Day away to Galtee Rovers where new manager John Flannery has secured the services of 2020 Kiladangan county senior championship winning manager Brian Lawlor as coach.

Borrisokane have gone back to a familiar face in Kiladangan’s Seamus Gleeson who was manager of the side that won the county intermediate title in 2010.

County Hurling Leagues

Division 1

Group 1: Borris-Ileigh, Clonoulty/Rossmore, JK Brackens, Kilruane MacDonaghs, Nenagh Eire Og, Thurles Sarsfields

Group 2: Drom & Inch, Kiladangan, Loughmore/Castleiney, Mullinahone, Toomevara, Upperchurch/Drombane

Division 2

Group 1: Eire Og Annacarty, Moycarkey/Borris, Clonakenny, Killenaule, Portroe, St Mary’s

Group 2: Holycross/Ballycahill, Templederry Kenyons, Cashel King Cormacs, Carrick Swan, Gortnahoe/Glengoole, Roscrea

Division 3

Group 1: Ballina, Moyne-Templetuohy, Newport, Sean Treacys, Ballinahinch, Knockavilla Kickhams

Group 2: Burgess, Silvermines, Lorrha, Moneygall, Ballingarry, Kilsheelan/Kilcash

Division 4

Group 1: Arravale Rovers, Ballybacon/Grange, Ballingarry, Carrick Swan, Moyle Rovers, Skeheenarinky

Group 2: Borrisokane, Boherlahan-Dualla, Cappawhite, Golden-Kilfeacle, Galtee Rovers, Shannon Rovers

Division 5

Group 1: Ballylooby/Castlegrace, Cappawhite, Cahir, Lattin Cullen, Upperchurch/Drombane, Knockavilla Kickhams

Group 2: Grangemockler/Ballyneale, Killenaule, Mullinahone, Newcastle, St Patricks

Group 3: Boherlahan-Dualla, Clonmel Og, Carrick Swan, Fethard, Father Sheehy’s, Clonoulty/Rossmore

Division 6: Clerihan, Killea, Knock, Knockshegowna, Rosegreen, Solohead, Thurles Gaels, Loughmore/Castleiney