THERE WERE A couple of second-half moments to give pause for thought that a landmark All-Ireland final day was in the offing yesterday in Croke Park.
The Dunloy club have had national hurling heartbreak visited upon them more than most, yet twice as they moved a point adrift, in the 44th and 50th minutes, those connected with their team must have started to dream of a breakthrough.
And yet ultimately the Antrim side discovered just how formidable an opponent they were facing.
Ballyhale Shamrocks are the benchmark in the national club hurling ranks. Their position as kingpins reaffirmed by the manner in which they outscored Dunloy 0-8 to 0-2 in the 50th minute, effortlessly knocking over points and showing their ruthlessness to place this result beyond doubt.
Their community in Kilkenny continue to set a remarkably high standard that the rest of the country gazes up at.
Glittering History
The latest success was the ninth Ballyhale Shamrocks have achieved in an All-Ireland senior club hurling final. That record alone in deciders is sparkling, nine wins from 11 games with just a two-point loss to Blackrock in 1979 and that dramatic one-point defeat to Ballygunner last year, preventing them from having a clean record.
As it is their numbers make for staggering reading when the roll of honour is examined. They are on top with nine titles, comfortably clear of the pair in second place, Birr and Portumna who have won four apiece, impressive hauls in their own right.
But Ballyhale’s heroics elevate them into a different stratosphere. They have now matched the overall title tally of Cork clubs in All-Ireland senior hurling championships. Their nine wins is more than that achieved by the combination of clubs from Tipperary, Clare, Limerick and Waterford (seven overall).
The success has flowed in spurts, three championship hoovered up between 1981 and 1990, two more collected between 2007 and 2010, another success arriving in 2015, before mining three All-Irelands from the last four national campaigns – Covid scrubbing the 2021 championship from the landscape.
Current Team Brilliance
Comparing teams from different eras is an enjoyable debate in GAA circles and one to fuel arguments in clubs over the merits of various collectives. The original Ballyhale team in the ’80s helped raise the profile of their club but the current group compare favourably with their predecessors.
Ten of the Ballyhale team that won the 2019 final against St Thomas started yesterday, while Darren Mullen and Brian Cody came on as substitutes, Eoin Reid was part of the panel and Adrian Mullen would have been involved but for injury. Only the injury-enforced retirement of their stalwart Michael Fennelly has removed a player from that 2019 side.
They have built on that victory, that team pushing on together and enduring. They have won the last five Kilkenny championships, the last four Leinster championships (there was none in 2021) and three All-Irelands. Their gut-wrenching loss to Ballygunner last February is the only blemish on that run, yet their response adds another layer to their greatness.
It is a stunning rate of consistency. Since 2018 in a national sense they have taken down the dominant Munster side in Ballygunner, the dominant Connacht team in St Thomas and the dominant Ulster outfit in Slaughtneil. Wins against Tipperary’s Borris-Ileigh and Antrim’s Dunloy have also been claimed.
11 Leinster clubs have suffered defeat against them in that period in the province and they have overturned four Kilkenny rivals across five finals. To illustrate their scoring power, consider that in 24 games (Kilkenny finals, Leinster games and All-Ireland ties), Ballyhale have fired home 59 goals and 15 of their wins have been by a margin greater than six points.
Star Players
Eoin Cody stole the show for Ballyhale Shamrocks yesterday as he pickpocketed the Dunloy defence for 1-5. Adrian Mullen has frequently dazzled in recent years, Evan Shefflin has become a defensive mainstay while Dean Mason and the Corcorans have become indispensable.
Yet perhaps it is the elder statesmen that grabbed the attention most by being part of this victory. Joey Holden came on as a sub for the 2010 final win, started in 2015 and yesterday won his fifth medal. Richie Reid was gathering his fourth, a centre-back colossus over the last few years and a goalkeeper eight years ago when they dismantled Kilmallock.
And then there is the remarkable quartet who were claiming their sixth medal – TJ Reid, Colin Fennelly, Mark Aylward and Eoin Reid. When it is factored in that no other club has won more than four All-Ireland senior championships, that four players alone have won six is a wonderful testament to their hurling longevity and range of abilities.
Aylward and the elder Reid were both on the bench yesterday, still committed and valuable squad members. Fennelly was starting for a fifth time in a winning final, while the achievements of TJ are incomparable with starting roles in all six deciders, racking up a tally of 2-35 in those six victories.
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