And then there were four.
In the race for the All-Ireland club hurling title, all the remaining teams are chasing a maiden Tommy Moore Cup triumph.
Ballygunner’s exit from the competition removes the long shadow of previous champions. They won’t declare it over megaphones but the hurling folk of Loughrea, Na Fianna, and Slaughtneil will all feel Sarsfields have done them a significant favour in taking out the standout favourites.
Wherever the sliotar lands over the coming weeks, there will be new All-Ireland club hurling champions crowned in January.
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Na Fianna won their first Leinster club title on Saturday night. Sarsfields claimed their inaugural Munster crown on Sunday.
Slaughtneil have now won five Ulster senior hurling titles – but the Derry champions have never progressed beyond the semi-final stages of the All-Ireland series. Of the quartet remaining, only Loughrea have previously played in a final – the Galway side lost the 2007 decider to Ballyhale Shamrocks.
The All-Ireland club hurling semi-finals take place on Sunday, December 15th and will effectively close out the 2024 GAA season; Sarsfields v Slaughtneil in Newbridge at 1.30 and Na Fianna v Loughrea in Thurles at 3.30.
Galway and Cork have both produced several previous All-Ireland-winning clubs – St Thomas’ were crowned champions last January while Newtownshandrum in 2004 are the most recent Leeside club to win the title. No Derry side has ever won the competition.
Cuala are the only previous winners from Dublin – but Na Fianna will be hoping to amend that particular stat in the weeks ahead. The Mobhi Road outfit only won their first Dublin SHC in 2023, and subsequently lost a Leinster final to O’Loughlin Gaels.
Niall Ó Ceallacháin’s side returned to the provincial final this season and got over the line against Offaly’s Kilcormac/Killoughey at Croke Park last Saturday night.
“We lost by a point to O’Loughlin Gaels last year so we were really determined to get back and play in Croke Park,” said Na Fianna’s Seán Currie. “To go even further this year and win our first Leinster championship is an unbelievable feeling.
“We have an All-Ireland semi-final up next, another big opportunity. For the players, we will probably block out all of that noise if there is any around the club [about winning an All-Ireland].
“We are fully focused on winning the semi-final, it’s the furthest we have ever got, so until we win an All-Ireland semi-final we can’t start thinking ahead.”
And yet there was a composure and calmness in their play last Saturday night that belied a general lack of exposure to hurling against opposition from outside of the capital.
In particular, Na Fianna’s response to Kilcormac/Killoughey’s first goal was a key moment in the match. The Dublin champions had been in control for much of the contest but Kilcormac harnessed some momentum early in the second half and a rather fortuitous goal cut the gap to just a single point.
Na Fianna’s mettle was about to be tested. But in the very next attack the northside outfit worked the ball up the field and AJ Murphy scored a goal. Test passed.
“When they got that goal to bring it back to a point, the great thing was everybody stayed calm, nobody panicked,” explained Currie.
“It was always just about the next ball. We made sure we won the next puckout, we got the goal shortly after – I think it might have come from that puckout.
“The main thing there was for us to get the next score, secure the puckout, the goal opened up and when the goal opens up we always go for it. That was huge.”
And it proved to be quite a huge night for the Currie family.
Seán scored Na Fianna’s opening goal while his brother, Colin, finished the game as their top scorer with 0-8, seven from frees. Colin’s accuracy from placed balls – several of which were hit from different postcodes – was the glue that held their lead together throughout the game.
Seán, wearing 12 but operating at midfield, stormed forward to score the game’s opening goal in shortly before half-time.
“I haven’t got too many this year – as a few of the lads have reminded me,” he said. “We love playing at Croke Park, I think it suits us with how we play our running game, we really make use of the space. We get great support from the club, we love playing there.”
And they could be back there very soon. The All-Ireland club finals will take place at GAA headquarters on the weekend of January 18th-19th. Loughrea are hoping to be there for the first time in 17 years while Na Fianna are gunning for a maiden appearance.
“Every year since I have come out of minor we felt like we had a good chance of winning a Dublin championship,” added Currie.
“We don’t really think further until we win that Dublin championship. Every year we come back and we think we can improve on last year and go a step further.”
All four clubs left in the race for the All-Ireland club hurling championship could say something similar. One of the quartet will soon make history.
Just a few steps remain.
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