Gaelic Games

Weekend GAA previews: St Thomas’ to play Ballygunner while O’Loughlin Gaels to play Cushendall

Laura Ward should be available at least after fully overcoming a calf injury that bothered her during their All-Ireland semi-final win over Sarsfields of Cork

Logic suggests that a talented and ultra-experienced crew of players can’t keep losing All-Ireland semi-finals. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
Logic suggests that a talented and ultra-experienced crew of players can’t keep losing All-Ireland semi-finals. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
Paul Keane
Sat Dec 16 2023 - 06:00
Saturday

All-Ireland club SHC semi-final: St Thomas’ (Galway) v Ballygunner (Waterford), Portlaoise, 7.30pm

Logic suggests that a talented and ultra-experienced crew of players can’t keep losing All-Ireland semi-finals. We are talking about St Thomas’ here, six-in-a-row Galway champions, and eight-time county champions in the last decade or so, but with just two All-Ireland semi-final wins in that period. Both were against Ulster opposition – Loughgiel Shamrocks in 2013 and Cushendall in 2019 – when they were strong favourites. Other than that, the last-four stage has brought only heartache with defeats to Ballyea (2017), Borris Ileigh (2020), Ballyhale Shamrocks (early 2022) and Dunloy (late 2022).

David Burke could make his first start of the campaign following a cruciate injury for the team managed by his brother, Kenneth. Another brother, Eanna, scored 2-2 in the county final win over Turloughmore seven weeks ago. Their cousin, Fintan Burke, was Man of the Match from full-back. They will need them all at their best because Ballygunner have everything going for them. They’ve played three times since that Galway final, blitzing Sarsfields, Na Piarsaigh and Clonlara in Munster, and are purring nicely.

You could argue that St Thomas’ freshness may count for something but it’s not as if Ballygunner, the 2022 All-Ireland winners, haven’t been here before. Records are tumbling like dominoes in front of the three-in-a-row provincial winners who haven’t lost a championship game in Waterford since June, 2015. The three Mahonys – Pauric, Mikey and Kevin – struck 1-16 between them against Clonlara. Then there’s Dessie Hutchinson and Patrick Fitzgerald. Both sides have players who have been on the road for years and may view this as an opportunity that simply has to be seized. Verdict: Ballygunner

READ SOME MORE

All-Ireland ladies club SFC final: Kilkerrin-Clonberne (Galway) v Ballymacarbry (Waterford), Croke Park, 5pm

On a wet and miserable day in Dungarvan just over a year ago, Kilkerrin-Clonberne gave Ballymacarbry a big beating. That was an All-Ireland semi-final tie and the westerners ran out 2-10 to 0-2 winners, holding the hosts scoreless in the first-half. It remains to be seen how much ground, if any, Ballymac have made up in the meantime as the back-to-back Munster champions prepare to face the back-to-back All-Ireland winners all over again.

Kilkerrin-Clonberne are chasing a three-in-a-row of national titles. Photograph: Lorraine O’Sullivan/Inpho
Kilkerrin-Clonberne are chasing a three-in-a-row of national titles. Photograph: Lorraine O’Sullivan/Inpho

Ailish Morrissey did much of the damage last year, scoring 1-3 for Kilkerrin-Clonberne, while Eva Noone and Olivia Divilly led the scoring in this year’s semi-final win over Kilmacud Crokes. Kilkerrin-Clonberne are chasing a three-in-a-row of national titles. Ballymacarbry, who won 10 out of 12 finals between 1987 and 1998, are the last club to achieve better than back-to-back wins. They recently captured a staggering 42nd consecutive Waterford title though did require extra-time to beat Comeragh Rangers in the final. Verdict: Kilkerrin-Clonberne

Sunday

All-Ireland club SHC semi-final: O’Loughlin Gaels (Kilkenny) v Cushendall (Antrim), Navan, 1.30pm

There are a couple of ways this one could go. A big pitch and a quality surface – Páirc Tailteann was the GAA’s Pitch of the Year in 2021 – could make for an open and enjoyable encounter between two teams who know how to hurl. Alternatively, with O’Loughlin Gaels possessing three Kilkenny players in defence, two of whom are current All-Stars, and with Cushendall looking like they have the defenders to potentially tie up the Gaels attackers, this could also be a relatively low-scoring chess game.

All-Star Huw Lawlor will presumably track Cushendall danger man Neil McManus. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho
All-Star Huw Lawlor will presumably track Cushendall danger man Neil McManus. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho

The individual match-ups will be intriguing. All-Star Huw Lawlor will presumably track Cushendall danger man Neil McManus. You’d expect the highly-mobile Mikey Butler, another freshly minted All-Star with Kilkenny, to be assigned man-marking duties on Cushendall’s teenage talent Joe McLaughlin. That still leaves Gaels to account for Ed McQuillan, man of the match in the Ulster final defeat of Slaughtneil with 0-4 from play. Owen Wall is arguably the most potent Gaels attacker. Pace is his key asset and Antrim defender Paddy Burke may be assigned man-marking duties. Cushendall are big underdogs but arguably have the better forwards. It’s whether or not they can capitalise on that. Paddy Deegan scored five points from centre-back in Gaels’ Leinster final win over Na Fianna. He will be a marked man. The Kilkenny city club won the county and provincial finals with late bursts. Fitness is their friend – county S&C man Mickey Comerford is involved – so they won’t fear a tight game that goes the distance. Verdict: O’Loughlin Gaels

All-Ireland Camogie club senior final: Sarsfields (Galway) v Dicksboro (Kilkenny), Croke Park, 5.15pm

Could this be an All-Ireland final that is won between the ears, as opposed to between the four white lines? The venue, Croke Park, will certainly be a factor and Sarsfields’ experience there as back-to-back champions – they beat Loughgiel Shamrocks in last year’s Croker decider and Oulart-The Ballagh the previous season – has to help. But with a psychology teacher in the Dicksboro corner, and the players now apparently “comfortable being uncomfortable”, will that help elevate the first-time finalists to an against-the-head win?

Oulart The Ballagh’s Una Leacy and Laura Ward of Sarsfields. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
Oulart The Ballagh’s Una Leacy and Laura Ward of Sarsfields. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho

David Carroll, brother of manager Donal, joined the group this season and has been praised for his input while a third brother, Ted, is also involved. Dicksboro trailed by five points at one stage in their semi-final against 2022 runners-up Loughgiel but dug deep and eventually won by six. They weathered a storm whipped up by St Vincent’s of Dublin in the Leinster final too.

Interestingly, when Dicksboro and Sarsfields played a challenge game in August, Dicksboro won with some to spare. Sarsfields had former captain Niamh McGrath, absent this time due to pregnancy, for that one too. Current captain Laura Ward should be available at least after fully overcoming a calf injury that bothered her during their All-Ireland semi-final win over Sarsfields of Cork. Verdict: Sarsfields