BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR
SPORTSEDITOR@KILKENNYOBSERVER.IE
St Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling League
Saturday sees the first silverware at senior level on Noreside up for grabs as the 2026 St Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling League Final and Shield deciders take place at Kilkenny GAA headquarters. First up at 2pm is the meeting of O’Loughlin Gaels and Graigue Ballycallan in the Shield final, while at 4pm, Shamrocks Ballyhale clash with Thomastown in the main event. As usual, both games will finish on the day, so the prospect for some exciting hurling lies in store at UPMC Nowlan Park tomorrow.
As we move towards the business end of the club season on Noreside, it will be interesting to see how the quartet of teams competing for tomorrow’s silverware line out, will they go full strength or try and get some minutes into the legs of those players that haven’t seen as much action during the group stage. I’d imagine it will be a mixed bag when the line-ups are announced in headquarters. Given the load on players, the last thing managers will want are injuries to key players as we slip into championship mode. For the teams involved in relegation matters, they perhaps don’t have the luxury of resting and rotating, as so much is on the line.
The Shield final pits 2023 County Champions O’Loughlin Gaels against Graigue Ballycallan, the latter narrowly missing out on a place in the league final, following a round 5 defeat to Glenmore. What a turnaround it has been for Richie O’Neill’s side in 2026 as they put in some fine displays in Group A following their struggles last season, when they defeated Lisdowney in the relegation decider to retain their senior status. The fact that they have been without their talisman, intercounty star, Billy Ryan shows the quality hurlers that are plying their trade at Tom Ryall Park. In Ryan’s absence, Aaron McEvoy has really stood up and been the sky blue’s top scorer and the man that keeps the scoreboard ticking over. McEvoy along with Jesse Roberts, Ryan Corcoran and Conor Flynn have been in good form and attacking with real purpose through the group stage. With Jeff Neary patrolling the middle of the park and captain Tom Dunphy doing likewise at fullback, GBC have been a breath of fresh air this season.
Brian Hogan will have prepared for this game with an eye on the coming weeks. The Kilkenny U20’s boss has had to shuffle his pack many times this season as injuries have plagued the St Johns Park side. With Huw Lawlor off travelling, they have also been missing the dynamic Jordan Molloy, David Fogarty, Owen Wall and experienced duo, Mark Bergin and Conor Heary for much of the action to date. The latter two men have recently returned to the panel with Heary seeing some minutes and showing his class, notching some nice scores. The name on everyone lips when it comes to O’Loughlin’s this season has been Ruarc Sweeney, the young man has gone goal crazy and has led the forward line well, troubling most defences that he has come up against. Two players that have also been in good form for Hogan’s charges are Fionan Mackessy and Conor Kelly. The former Kerry star has hit some monstrous scores and looked very much the part, especially when deployed at ‘6’. The accuracy of Conor Kelly from placed balls has been vital, while Robbie Buckley and Cian Byrne have been in menacing form. With the experienced Stephen Murphy in goals, his restarts are crucial in getting the Loughs on the front foot. This game could go either way, but history sees O’Loughin’s go in as favorites, but Richie O’Neill’s team will give it a good lash.
The two most recent sides to claim the Tom Walsh Cup will contest the league decider at 4pm. Shamrocks Ballyhale have hit the ground running from round 1 of this league campaign, something that they are perhaps not renowned for. Mark Aylward’s side had a perfect record ahead of their round 5 clash with struggling Danesfort, and they lost their unbeaten record, going down by 3 points, having made several changes to their lineup. Take nothing away from the ‘Fort; they deserved the victory on the day. Again, the Shamrocks bainisteoir may opt to rest the likes of TJ and Richie, Joey Holden and Adrian Mullen and give another chance to others ahead of bigger games over the coming weeks. Eoin Cody and Niall Shortall were two players not afforded a rest last time out, and both did well in the defeat to Danesfort, contributing eleven points between them. Darragh Corcoran has been ever present in the half back line and continues to look a class act. The emergence of Killian Ryan and continued improvement in Killian Corcoran have been vital for the Páirc na Seamróg sides defence, which will aim to tighten up with championship tests ahead. Mikey Barron is another youngster to catch the eye, especially when being sprung from the bench and he will be keen to get more action under his belt in UPMC Nowlan Park tomorrow.
For Thomastown, they emerged as winners in Group A, three wins, one loss, and a draw as they qualified for the league final. Noel Doherty’s charges had the best defensive record of all twelve senior teams, and this is going to be key for them as they try to get the better of Shamrocks tomorrow, and back to the form of 2024 that saw them oust O’Loughlin Gaels as County champions. As usual, this ‘Town side are back boned by Clan Donnelly who have delivered for their side in spades this season. Robbie’s accuracy has been to the fore for Doherty’s outfit, while Stephen and John are vital cogs in the Thomastown machine. Luke Connellan continues to develop while Peter McDonald puts in a serious shift every time, he dons the club colours. Zach Bay Hammond has been getting some minutes again and he can bring great drive to the side. Captain Eddie Donnelly and Brian Staunton anchor the meanest defence in the Marble City, while Peter Connellan is maturing nicely in the full back line.
Both finalists would take the win, but both are hoping and expecting bigger days ahead, hopefully into October. Perhaps some shadow boxing at headquarters tomorrow, but for two sides, there will be silverware lifted with knockout action on the horizon.
SHERRY SAYS………….
A big double header at headquarters tomorrow. The question may be – who wants to win, do teams risk their main men with a bigger prize down the road? Perhaps for Graigue Ballycallan the chance to secure silverware and build momentum could see them go more full tilt than the other three teams on duty in UPMC Nowlan Park. Hopefully there will be a sizable crowd in attendance for the games.
Last weekend saw the conclusion of the Michael Lyng Motors Hyundai Intermediate Hurling League, with James Stephens and Lisdowney taking the league and shield titles respectively. The Village ran out 5-points winners over Dunnamaggin despite Cian Kenny not being involved on the day. Tadhg O’Dwyer top scored for The Village, hitting 0-11, while the majors came from Willie Spencer and Eoin Guilfoyle. The towering Ed Lauhoff did well from the engine room, notching 0-3 while fellow Ed; McDermott hit 0-2. Denis Walsh was Dunnamaggin’s main man, finishing his afternoon’s work with 0-15 while Brian Hickey registered 0-3.
In the Shield final, Lisdowney overpowered Rower Inistioge with 12 points the difference at the long whistle. Majors from Luke Holohan and joint captain, Richie McEvoy saw Lisdowney hold a double score lead by the 47th minute and they were never really troubled in truth by a much-changed Inistioge side. Richie Leahy did his bit, hitting 1-6, but the loss of Eoghan Lyng in the 29th minute and an opening period scoring drought that lasted some 19 minutes left the Rower too much to claw back. Comhghairdeas James Stephens and Lisdowney, two teams with senior desires.
