Pressure on at hurling junction
By Shane Brophy
It promises to be a dramatic weekend as the group stages of the County Hurling Championships as the senior, premier intermediate and intermediate grades come to a conclusion with knockout quarter finals and relegation playoffs being determined.
At senior level, just Upperchurch/Drombane and Nenagh Éire Óg have secured places from the group stages with Holycross/Ballycahill and Moycarkey/Borris of the remaining clubs the only sides that cannot qualify ahead, although Holycross can play their way out of relegation trouble if they were to beat Mullinahone on Saturday.
In that same group, Toomevara need at least a point from their clash with Upperchurch/Drombane to make the quarter finals, but a win will see them through as group winners.
Sunday promises to be dramatic where Borris-Ileigh in all likelihood need to beat neighbours and great rivals Drom & Inch by 13 points to keep their season alive, although a straight win would be enough if Thurles Sarsfields were to fall to Templederry, who still have an outside chance of making the quarter finals, but realistically are battling to avoid the relegation playoffs.
In group 4, Kiladangan, JK Brackens, Loughmore/Castleiney and Éire Óg Annacarty can all progress from the group with the only certainty being Kiladangan cannot finish bottom.
However, the biggest game is likely to be in Templetuohy on Sunday when Clonoulty/Rossmore and Kilruane MacDonaghs play their rescheduled round 2 game at 12.30pm. The original fixture was abandoned just over four weeks ago following the tragic death of Clonoulty/Rossmore campaign Dillon Quirke.
The winning of this game has a lot riding on it.
Kilruane need to win to keep their season alive while Clonoulty require just a draw to progress as group winners. However, the West champions are guaranteed a preliminary quarter final if they are defeated as Nenagh Éire Óg cannot be usurped from second place in the group table, regardless of the result.
In light of the tragic events during the original fixture in FBD Semple Stadium, entry to the Clonoulty/Rossmore v Kilruane MacDonaghs game will be free of charge but Tipperary GAA, in consultation with both clubs, have decided to hold a collection at the game with all proceeds being donated to the Order of Malta.
A GoFundMe page has also been set up to facilitate donations from individuals who may not be able to attend the game but would like to donate. The link to the donation page is: https://gofund.me/2e9f5f92 and at the time of going to press they had secured €1,500 in donations.
Tipperary County Board and the clubs of the county have benefited greatly from the contribution of the Order of Malta for many years and were involved in FBD Semple Stadium recently in coming to the assistance of Dillon Quirke prior to his tragic death.
This collection is an ideal opportunity for all the GAA community to show its appreciation to the Order of Malta.