1. Can Oulart end losing run?
Oulart-the-Ballagh are one of only four clubs who have lost three successive provincial senior club finals.
Offaly’s St Rynagh’s fell short in Leinster between 1973 and 1975. At least they had the comfort of previous wins in 1970 and 1972 while they would go on to collect further titles in 1982 and 1993.
In Connacht, Roscommon’s Four Roads were overturned in 2000-2002 but they also could reflect on victories from back in 1977 and 1988.
It never quite worked out for another Faithful club Kinnity who were defeated in 1983, 1984 and 1985. They’re still waiting to get back to a Leinster final.
No club has ever lost four senior finals in a row. That’s a piece of history Oulart-the-Ballagh will hope to avoid in Nowlan Park on Sunday after losing out to O’Loughlin Gaels, Coolderry and Kilcormac-Killoughey the last three years.
2. Mount Leinster Rangers boss aware of the Oulart threat
On Sunday he will be patrolling the sideline for Mount Leinster Rangers but Tom Mullally has already faced off against Oulart-the-Ballagh this year. Earlier this month, he was involved with the Kilkenny club Clara who lost out to the Wexford champions at the quarter-final stage.
It’s a unique situation and Mullally will have gained an insight into the capabilities of Martin Storey’s team. Indeed Clara were in the driving seat in that game when they lead by 2-11 to 0-14 entering the last 12 minutes.
What happened then should inform Mullally’s planning for Sunday. Oulart finished like a train to reel off six unanswered points and win by three. Similarly in their semi-final against Kilcormac, they finished the game in a strong fashion and outscored their opponents by 1-11 to 0-3 in the second-half.
Staying with the Wexford outfit until the finish is key for Mount Leinster Rangers on Sunday.
Tom Mullally
Pic: INPHO/James Crombie
3. Trying to bring down Dr Crokes
Dr Crokes this weekend seek to be only the second club to do a Munster senior football three-in-a-row. Nemo Rangers strung together wins between 2000 and 2002 with Dr Crokes 1/33 favourites to achieve that feat in the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday.
They have shown little sign of standards slipping in 2013, hammering Austin Stacks by 16 points in the Kerry county final before seeing off Cork’s Castlehaven and Tipperary’s Loughmore-Castleiney. Their attack oozes with talent as the current form of Kieran O’Leary, Daithi Casey and Brian Looney supplements their figurehead Colm Cooper.
Not since January 2011 have they been defeated in their province, in the delayed 2010 final against Nemo Rangers. Trying to bring them down is an onerous task for Cratloe. As an omen they will look to the last time Clare and Kerry clubs clashed in a final at the Gaelic Grounds, Kilmurry-Ibrickane beating Kerins O’Rahilly’s in 2009.
The Dr Crokes team celebrating their Kerry title win
Pic: INPHO/Donall Farmer
4. Cratloe hope for a hectic start to 2014
They are rank outsiders to win on Sunday but Cratloe will be keen to prolong their memorable season. A first Clare county senior title was quickly followed within 24 hours by a first ever victory in their first ever Munster senior club football game.
If they do spring an upset on Sunday, it will propel them into an All-Ireland semi-final meeting with Castlebar Mitchels next February. For Cratloe manager Colm Collins it would mean double-jobbing early in 2014 as he is the new Clare senior football boss.
For the bunch of Clare hurlers in the Cratloe team – Podge and Sean Collins, Conor McGrath, Conor Ryan, Cathal McInerney, Liam Markham – it would likely mean they’d have to stall their return Davy Fitzgerald’s ranks in the New Year.
Potentially hectic times ahead but still it would be a nice complaint for the Cratloe camp to have over Christmas.
Padraic Collins celebrating Clare’s All-Ireland final win
Pic: INPHO/Donall Farmer
5. Donegal’s Ulster club record in need of addressing
They are the Ulster county who have most recently seen Sam Maguire and have contested the last three provincial senior football deciders. Yet Donegal have been far from a dominant force at club level.
Only St Joseph’s, way back in 1975, have managed to bring the Seamus McFerran Cup back to Donegal. Killybegs went close in 1991 but lost the final to Castleblayney Faughs while Naomh Conaill were defeated in 2010 by Crossmaglen Rangers.
Glenswilly’s appearance on its own in Sunday’s decider is a rare sight for Donegal football. Managing to clinch the county’s second title would make them stand out even more.
6. Ballinderry’s long wait for Ulster glory
If this is all a new experience for Glenswilly, it’s familiar territory for opponents Ballinderry embarking on an Ulster journey. They have two days of triumph to recall from the Ulster finals of 1981 and 2001, the latter being the prelude to a groundbreaking All-Ireland final win over Nemo Rangers.
Members of that side that triumphed on the national stage have stuck with the Ballinderry cause since then. Big name players like Kevin McGuckin, Enda Muldoon and Conleth Gilligan have soldiered on as Ballinderry fell short in subsequent Ulster campaigns, being felled by Crossmaglen in the finals of 2006 and 2008.
Their form this year has been impressive in stringing together wins over Clonoe, Scotstown and Kilcoo. After a long wait, they’ll hope that Ulster glory beckons them.
Ballinderry players celebrate their Derry county final triumph.
Pic: INPHO/Presseye/Lorcan Doherty
