The County Senior Hurling Championship (1984)

Centenary Year Book pp. 35-37

 

The county quarter-finals saw the teams from the north play the west and those from the mid against the south. The north representatives were Lorrha and Eire Og. Lorrha had defeated Eire Og to win their first divisional final since 1966. The west representatives were Cappawhite, who had won the west for the second year in a row and had done so impressively under the watchful eye of Theo English, and Eire Og, the winners of the Crasco Cup. Both teams had defeated Kickhams in the finals. 

In the mid Drom-Inch had created something of a sensation in beating Moycarkey-Borris in a replay of the divisional final. The south sent out the same teams as in 1983, Carrick Swan, who had won the title for the second year in a row, and Eire Og, a combination of Killenaule and Mullinahone, under the tutelage of Phil Shanahan.

The north-west encounters took place at Templemore on September 9 in stormy and wet conditions. Lorrha played Eire Og in the first game and faced the wind in the first half. Wasted chances by Eire Og and good goalkeeping by Lorrha's Ken Hogan, ensured that Eire Og had only a 0-6 to 0-3 lead at the interval. Lorrha took over after the interval and within fifteen minutes they put paid to Annacarty's challenge. They eventually won by 3-11 to 0-7, Eire Og's only point coming eleven minutes after the interval.

Conditions were appalling for the second game. Cappawhite were against the wind in the first half but led by two points at the interval. Their good performance was mainly due to the mobility of their centrefield pair, Mike McDermott and Deasun Hennessey, and the flair of their half-forward line.  Eire Og on the other hand had too many weak links exposed and their younger players were not suited to the heavy going.  In the second half they could only manage 1-1 against a rampant Cappawhite team who went on to win by 5-6 to 1-6.  

The mid-south clashes took place at Cashel on September 16. Moycarkey Borris recorded an easy victory over Carrick-Swan, who never captured the form that brought them the south title.
The loss of Sean Fitzpatrick at centre forward was a major blow to their challenge. 

The second game, between Drom-Inch and Eire Og, ended in a draw 3-10 to 2-13. Tommy Butler scored the equalising point for Dram-Inch, from a sixty five metre free, in the last minute. The game was made exciting by the closeness of the exchanges and the tension all through. Drom-Inch had gone into the game as favourites but they never reproduced the form which had brought them the mid title the previous Sunday. 

In the replay two weeks later Drom-lnch had the upperhand, chiefly due to two goals which they scored, one four minutes before the interval and the second two minutes after the resumption. The mid champions were much improved and they finished much sharper and took their chances in the last quarter. However, their margin of success did not due justice to the efforts of Eire Og, who had to turn out without their top defender, Joe O'Dwyer, who had injured his collarbone in the drawn game. The final result read 2-12 to 0-11.


SEMI-FINALS

The county semi-final draw pitted Moycarkey-Borris against Cappawhite and Lorrha against Drom-lnch. The first of the two games was played at Cashel on September 30, in conjunction with the replayed quarter-final game. The result was another draw when Moycarkey scored two points in the final minutes to give them 2-10 against Cappawhite's 1-13. The game will be remembered for some brilliant points by Austin Buckley for Cappawite in the first half. Moycarkey were lucky to be only two points, 0-9 to I - 4, behind at the interval. John Flanagan, got a goal in the twenty-fifth minute and showed that all he needed was the smallest of space and the shortest of time. During the second half the sides were locked together with Moycarkey just slightly ahead when Cappawhite got a goal, from a goalkeeping error by Moycarkey 's Doran, and left them two points ahead with only minutes to go. In that final period Moycarke y scored twice, drawing on all their reserves of experience, to snatch a draw.


REPLAY

The replay took place in Nenagh, in conjunction with the other semi-final, on October 7. Moycarkey-Borris put in a storming performance to win by 3-14 to 2- 12. Without doubt it was Moycarkey's best performance of the year. They were sharp and keen and far more aggressive than in previous encounters. The decisive period of this game began in the end of the first quarter , when Cappa white were ahead by 0-4 to 0-1. In a five-minute period Moycarkey scored three goals and they never subsequently relinquished their lead, despite the best efforts of the west champions. Moycarkey hovered between a one and four point advantage throughout the third quarter but only a goal separated them with six minutes to play. Cappawhite threw everything into those final minutes but they failed to get the goal they so badly needed and it was Moycarkey who got the insurance points that gave them five-point victory.

In the second semi- final the result hung in the balance until ten minutes from the end. Lorrha had the breeze in the first half and, despite plenty of possession their forward s failed to take the chances. At half-time the score stood at 0-6 to 0-4 in their favour. During the first twenty minutes of the second half each side could only manage a point and the Lorrha backs were under heavy pressure. Then in the nineteenth minute Tommy Butler got possession on the Lorrha 20 metre line and seemed certain of a goal. However, he was blocked, the ball was cleared up the field, Ciaran Hough got possession and raced for goal. His shot was blocked and eventually finished to the net by Aidan McIntyre. This score gave Lorrha the upper hand and they eventually won by 2-7 to 0-6.


COUNTY FINAL

All was in expectation for the county final at Thurles on October 14, with Moycarkey-Borris favourites and heading for their sixteenth title and Lorrha heading for their first. Lorrha had suffered a number of injuries in their semifinal clash with Drom-Inch and looked for a postponement. A special sitting of the county board on Tuesday night turned down their request. Lorrha considered the refusal and decided there was no way they could play the county final on the date fixed. The club, therefore, informed the county secretary on Thursday night of their inability to field a team and their withdrawal from the final. The county board met the following Monday night and refixed the game for October 21. Both teams agreed with the decision.

Moycarkey-Borris were firm favourites going into the game but they got a shock in the first twenty minutes when Lorrha put on a magnificent performance against the wind and led by 0-6 to 0-2. Moycarkey gradually found their rhythm and came back into the game before the interval with two points to leave the half-time score 0-6 to 0-4 in Lorrha 's favour. 

By the end of the third quarter Lorrha were three points ahead with neither side being able to establish superiority. Then Moycarkey struck a blow from which Lorrha never recovered: they scored two goals in the space of four minutes to take the lead and they went on to win by 2-8 to 0-9. In the end they were the fitter team and worthy champions for the Centenary Year. For Lorrha there was the unsatisfactory consolation of a good display and the memories of chances that were and goals that might have been. 

The centenary champions were: T. Doran, J. Hackett, W. Ryan, T. Mullens, E. Darmody, J. Bergin (Capt), J. Leahy, L. Bergin and L. Dempsey, T. Cullagh, J. McCormack, D. Fogarty, N. Slattery, D. Quigley, J. Flanagan.
Subs: R. Hayes, for J. Leahy, J. Flanagan for J. Hackett. 

The defeated Lorrha team was as follows: K. Hogan, M. Young, M. Brophy, P. Kennedy, E. Sherlock, J. McIntyre, E. Maher, P. Kelly, B. Mannion, J. Kennedy, J. O'Sullivan, C. Hough (Capt), A. McIntyre, J. Shelly, W. Fogarty. 
Subs: C. McIntyre for Maher, D. O'Donoghue for A . McIntyre.

 

RESULTS IN BRIEF


DIVISIONAL FINALS: 

North -   Lorrha 4-11, Eire Og (Nenagh) 3-9.
South - Carrick Swan 2-8 Eire 0g (Killenaule/Mullinahone) 0-13.
Mid - Drom-Inch 0-13. Moycarkey- Borris 2-7.  Replay: Drom-Inch 1-9, Moycarkey Borrls 1-8.
West - Cappawhite 2-18, Kickhams 3-7.
Crosco Cup - Eire og (Annacarty) 0-11, Kickhams 0-9.

 

COUNTY QUARTER FINALS:

Lorrha 3-11, Eire Og (Annacarty) 0-7.
Cappawhite 5-6, Eire Og (Nenagh) 1-6.
Drom-Inch 3-10, Eire Og (Killenaule Mullnahone) 2-13.  Replay: Drom-Inch 2-12, Eire Og
(Killenaule-Mullinahone) 0-11.
Moycaikey-Borris 1-15, Carrick Swan 3-1

 

COUNTY SEMI-FINALS:

Moycarkey-Borrls 2-10, Cappawhite 1-13.  Replay: Moycarkey-Borris 3-14, Cappawhite 2-12.
Lorrha 2-7, Drom-lnch 0-6.

 

COUNTY FINAL:

Moycarkey-Borris 2-8, Lorrha 0-9.