Cracking ties during round 1 action
BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR
SPORTSEDITOR@KILKENNYOBSERVER.IE
St. Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling League
So, we are up and running on the club front. All teams have got a little action under their belts as spectators were treated to plenty of rip-roaring action during round one of the St. Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling League. Proceedings got underway with the meeting of Shamrocks Ballyhale and Bennettsbridge in Thomastown. As you would expect, there was a decent crowd in attendance to witness the return of Henry Shefflin to managerial duties with his beloved south Kilkenny club. Supporters of both sides and many neutrals watched an extremely competitive game which yielded no fewer than four goals and over 40 points as Shamrocks ran out 7-point winners.
Despite being renowned as slow starters to league action, there appeared to be more of a spring in the step of Henry’s charges as they lined out with the likes of TJ and Richie Reid, Eoin Cody and returning travellers, Corcoran’s Darragh and Ronan, and Evan Shefflin. Veteran legend, TJ Reid led the way early on for his side and was the only scorer in the first quarter for the Holden Plant Rental’s sponsored side as he notched 0-5, while the honour of being the 2025 league’s opening scorer fell to the ‘Bridges Bill Hughes inside sixty seconds. Hughes’s Bill and James, along with Jamie Harkin and Liam Blanchfield saw the Bridge trail by just the bare minimum after 15 minutes. The first goal of the game came as Dean Mason utilised the wind at this back to send a booming delivery towards TJ. The forward took the catch before giving a hand pass in the direction of the on-running Niall Shortall, who flicked the sliotar up before rifling his shot past Enda Cleere.
Intercounty star Eoin Cody notched the Shamrocks second major of the evening on 22 minutes and that goal gave Henry’s side a five-point lead but one thing Bennettsbridge always do is battle, and that they did and their endeavor was rewarded with points from Timmy Kelly and Hugh O’Neill and a brace from the impressive Jamie Harkin. As the short whistle approached, Enda Cleere denied Liam Barron a certain goal, his second vital save, having prevented TJ earlier in the game. A pair of placed balls from James Hughes cancelled out efforts from Ronan Corcoran and Richie Reid, the former looking right at home in the engine room following his travels as Shamrocks went into the interval 7-up.
TJ popped over a placed ball to get the second half scoring underway, but with the wind now at theirs backs, the Bridge raised a green flag of their own when some fine work from Timmy Kelly saw the ball moved to young Jack Campion who blasted beyond Dean Mason. Any prospect of the gap narrowing further was quashed when the eye catching Darragh Corcoran struck the third Shamrocks major following a strong run by the number 18 who took a nice pass from Niall Shortall before rifling his shot high beyond the unfortunate Enda Cleere. Shefflin’s side had good performances all over the pitch, household names TJ Reid and Eoin Cody hit 0-11 and 1-4 respectively, while Corcoran’s Ronan and Darragh notched 1-6 between them. There’s no doubt the Shamrocks looked sharp and will be keen to put last season’s disappointing campaign behind them.
Last season’s league champions, O’Loughlin Gaels had a highly entertaining clash with Glenmore in Mullinavat which saw them win out with just two points to spare. This game swung any matter of ways, and had it have not been for an excellent stop late on from Stephen Murphy which prevented a near-certain goal for Jason Cody whose effort was brilliantly deflected over for just a white flag, when green looked likely. Brian Hogan’s charges had county stars Huw Lawlor, Mikey Butler, Paddy Deegan and Jordan Molloy all in action, while the men from the south had Cats netminder Eoin Murphy between the sticks and brother Shane at centre back.
The St Johns Park side had Conor Kelly in lively form and the talented forward finished his evening with 0-11, five of which came from play, while they had telling contributions from Fionan Mackessy (0-3) and four points shared between Paddy Deegan who was operating at centre forward and second half sub, Conor Heary. Along with his wonder save from Jason Cody, OLG keeper Stephen Murphy also saved smartly to deny Charlie Phelan just before the short whistle. Glenmore will have been disappointed not to take something from the opening weekend, having contributed massively to the contest thanks to good performances from Ian Byrne (0-11), Cathal Beirne (0-6) and Charlie Phelan (0-2).
County champions, Thomastown got off to a winning start in Callan, edging Tullaroan by two points in a very interesting affair, having gone in trailing by five at the interval. Ken Coogan’s team started quickly and raced into a 2-point lead with nine minutes played in John Locke Park. The game’s first major was struck two minutes later, and it came from The Sash. Jack Keoghan played a long diagonal ball towards Shane Walsh who showed his class in beating Eddie Donnelly before dispatching a fierce shot beyond Diarmuid Galway in the ‘Town goal to extend the lead to five points. Noel Doherty’s side emerged from the changing rooms a different side and set about reducing the arrears, which seemed to take no time at all as they took the lead with just over five minutes played of the second half. A brace of goals from youngster Colm Treacy coupled with plenty of Donnelly input saw Thomastown claim victory.
There were also wins for Mullinavat, who shot themselves into a commanding 13-point lead, but to their credit the Castlecomer side fought back to make things a little more interesting, but the Vegas Boys did enough to claim the points. Bennettsbridge was the venue for Clara’s narrow win over Graigue Ballycallan as one of the Cats U20 side, Rory Glynn crucial green flag that helped secure the win, having taken a pass, turning and racing towards goal before firing to the net after 19 minutes. Senior county star, Billy Ryan was denied a goal of his own, when Clara netminder Kevin Nolan, somehow managed to deflect the GBC man’s shot behind when a goal seemed likely.
Dicksboro got off to a flier, running out comfortable winners against newly promoted Lisdowney in Páirc Lachtain. Fresh from his USA travels, the talented Cillian Hackett bagged a brace of goals for the Palmerstown based team, while rising star Patrick Lacey put in an eye-catching performance in the absence of more established attackers, Shane Stapleton and Matthew Kelleher. This round one win will bring renewed hope that the ‘Boro can really lay down a credible challenge this season, with an interesting blend of youth and experience.
Round two this weekend will see six games taking place across both senior groups. For me, the most interesting encounters will take place In Clara and Pairc na Ratha. First up, on Saturday evening see’s the meeting of Bennettsbridge and Dicksboro. The Bridge will be looking to bounce back following the opening round defeat to Shamrocks, while ‘Boro will want to build on the victory over Lisdowney. Sunday give’s Gaels the chance to take in the clash between Glenmore and Shamrocks Ballyhale. These near neighbours will relish this derby and no quarter will be given on either side.
In other news, it appears that there will be a number of changes on the county front, with bother the minor and U20 sides seeking new managers ahead of the 2026 campaigns. Coming in the wake of the news that Kilkenny great Michael Fennelly will not look to extend his time as Performance Lead with the Na Cait Óga. Lots of sterling work has been done on Noreside in recent seasons and there are some big decisions to be made over the summer.
