At some stage it always happens. All-Ireland champions Ballyhale Shamrocks had enjoyed an annus mirabilis last season, setting a new record for successive county titles and extending their lead at the top of the All-Ireland roll of honour. Such domination can’t be sustained indefinitely.
On Sunday in Nowlan Park, before 7,015 spectators, O’Loughlin Gaels cut it fine to be the team that took down the champions but in the second last minute of injury time Paddy Deegan, a galvanic presence at centre back, got forward and hustled the ball loose on the right wing before landing the winning score.
It was the club’s first county title since 2016. Manager Brian Hogan was on that team and after the final reflected on his new role.
“Nothing beats playing. That’s the reality of it but, as I said to you, the club does mean everything to me. I’m always going to be involved with them. When I retired I went back and got involved with the 15s and really enjoyed that for three years. I suppose it would have been an aspiration of mine at some point to come and do this. It was a bit earlier than planned, but one of the motivations was knowing the lads that are there.”
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His appointment as manager is though a complicated matter.
“That’s a long story. I was on the committee to select the manager, I was on it the last time – I was on this time and the joke is the boys said I selected myself but it wasn’t planned. I was in the middle of a masters and I said, ‘look, I don’t have time’ but, look, the club means everything to me and I guess I felt if I could get the right lads around me, you know, they could do some of the heavy lifting for a couple of months until I got that boxed off.”
His team started well but after the champions had caught up with them by half time, there was a sense of inevitability about the second half. But O’Loughlins hung on and stayed in touch, and although they were losing going into injury time a barnstorming point from wing back David Fogarty laid the ground for Deegan’s act of lèse-majesté.
The new champions play Carlow’s Mount Leinster Rangers in a fortnight.
Holders were also deposed late in Cork football when Castlehaven turned up the heat against Nemo Rangers. It is probably no surprise that the Hurley brothers Brian and Michael hit the thermostat. They finished with 0-10 between them. Brian’s free at the start of injury time put Haven ahead for the first time in the second half. After a frantic late search for an equaliser got turned over, it was Michael – loitering with intent – who sniped the final score, his fifth from play, in an 0-11 to 0-9 victory.
The west Cork club had not won the county for 10 years, a decade that Michael reflected on afterwards. “Ten years seems an awful long time. I still remember being inside in the bus driving home and one of the older crop fellas said, ‘Enjoy this, they don’t come around too often.’ I was 17 then. The Cork championship has gone very competitive so we’re just delighted here today.
“To kick five points from play? It’s a very small little bonus. I’m obviously delighted myself but this isn’t about me. I was lucky enough to be here 10 years ago. This is for the fellas who weren’t there. We’ve been grafting for 10 years, knocking on the door. This is for the fellas who didn’t have one in their back pocket. It’s for them today and all the supporters as well.”
Elsewhere, Na Fianna won their first Dublin hurling title after a dominant display, defeating Ballyboden by 2-19 to 0-9 with the Currie brothers Seán and Colin contributing 2-15 between them, 2-5 and 0-10, respectively.
