Who will claim Liam in 2025?
GAA: Munster Solar North Tipperary Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship Preview
By Shane Brophy
Five teams contest the fourth edition of the North Tipperary Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship for the Liam Devaney Cup.
Portroe, Lorrha and Burgess have been the previous winners with the latter putting their title on the line with two new teams entering the fray this year with Moneygall coming up from intermediate, replacing Newport who were relegated, while Templederry Kenyons have come down from senior level to play in the second tier for the first time since 2008.
Ballina
Ballina have seen a solid Premier Intermediate team in recent years but are hoping to kick on after a frustrating 2024 where they showed potential, but injury impacted them greatly.
“In the North semi-final last year, we felt we hurled very well for 45-50 minutes and put ourselves in a really good position but didn’t get over the line,” reflected manager Adrian Hurley.
“We have a very young team, and sometimes you have to experience those kinds of days to learn so this year we are looking forward to another championship and progressing further this year.
“It’s all about the panel and we have built depth through that experience. We played Carrick Swan with five key lads missing and really took it to them, conceding three goals which came from our own mistakes, and they went onto contest the county final.
Hopefully, this year, we get a bit more luck on the injury front.”
Ballina will be captained by David Grace, one of a number of players on the panel that enjoyed underage success in the division, but it hasn’t yet translated to adult level.
“We thought when we stepped up to premier intermediate that we’d be able to hurl the same way we did at minor, but it doesn’t work like that,” he admitted.
“It takes a couple of years to come through, to get stronger and more experienced against older and more experienced teams. Hopefully, this year we will go in the right direction.”
Burgess
Defending champions Burgess have stalwart Darrel Tucker at the helm this year, and while they were worthy North winners last year, it didn’t herald a smooth county championship campaign where they barely qualified from the group before exiting in a quarter final.
“We’ll be trying to continue on from last year’s success,” Tucker said.
“Last year, after the North, things didn’t go as planned, we picked up a few injuries, had a few suspensions, but we are looking for that bit of consistency this year and working hard on that, and hopefully we’ll bring that to the forefront this year.”
Stephen Murray will provide the experience in attack once more in a stable panel, added to by three under 17’s becoming eligible.
Murray has experienced the old and the new season structures and as admits taking a bit of getting used to.
“Getting used to it is the big thing, getting the body right to peak at a certain stage,” he said.
“Back a few years ago we’d have the North over with and be halfway through the county at this stage.
“We will be taking it one game at a time. We have a North semi-final to look forward to and worry about that first.”
Moneygall
Things are going well in Moneygall. Finally, winning the county intermediate title last years sees them on the front foot again as they look to benefit from that promotion bounce.
“We had a few disappointments over the last few years, and we eventually got over the line last year, and have come in this year really looking forward to the year and the step up,” admitted selector Donal Doughan.
“We are under no illusion at the same time of the task that is ahead of us. In the County League we went down to Clonmel for our first game against St Mary’s, a seasoned team at this level, and it was a bit of an eye-opener for us and showed us early in the year that it will be a step up.
“The numbers at training have been really good. The Junior ‘B’s won the league, so the club is in a good place. The boys are really enjoying it and buying in, so we are hoping to be competitive this year.”
Captain Paddy Fogarty admitted there was an element of pressure in recent years to get out of the third tier and now that they are up, they hope to kick on.
“We are hoping the shackles will come off a bit,” he said.
“There was probably a bit of expectation there to get over the line last year after a couple of years knocking on the door.
“When you have the young lads there you need to push on and make that step. “We have that ideal mix of youth and experience. There are young lads coming through constantly so it’s coming good.”
“It’s going to be a huge challenge, but this is what you hurl for, the moments you want, the pressure games, testing yourself against the best, pushing yourself and trying to get better, that is what we want.
Silvermines
Silvermines endured a frustrating 2024, getting to the North Final before a late Burgess burst denied them. Their county championship campaign started off poorly, but they regained their form in time to retain their second-tier status.
“Getting to a final was a plus with such a young group,” admitted captain Conor McKelvey.
“We are building on it now, six of our forwards were under the age of 21 last year.
“In the county championship, we just didn’t get out of the blocks early, struggled to find form but coming towards the end we got a result against Sean Treacys which kept us up.
“We have a lot to improve on for this year but are excited.”
“The margins are very small, it’s mainly on the day and how you structure the team around a certain thing. Every team in this championship have those one or two players that bring on a team with experience.”
Toomevara’s David Young is in as coach this year, with Silvermines having a fixture to focus on in terms of a quarter final against newly promoted Moneygall.
“Moneygall are a very exciting team with two inter-county lads, Joe and Seanie, and then under 20’s like Doughan and Hoolan so they will be a team to fear this year,” McKelvey added.
“They are there to come up and try and win again. We know that we need to match what they bring. But we have the likes of Jason and Mikey in the senior set-up. It’s a huge plus to integrate them into our squad, they bring our standard up a lot, drive the lads on, as they always do,” he said.
Templederry Kenyons
After a successful spell with camogie teams in Drom & Inch, Silvermines and the Limerick seniors, Pat Ryan has answered the call in looking to stabilise the fortunes of his native Templederry Kenyons following their relegation from senior level last year.
“We are still trying, it is still a work in progress,” he said of getting the heads right to go again.
“It’s not easy. If we had everyone last year, we wouldn’t be in this position but that’s the way life goes, so it’s a matter of gathering the troops, circle the wagon, just go again, and hopefully it works out.”
Key to that will be the experienced players such as the Ryan’s, Stapleton’s and O’Leary’s going again, to help the younger players settle in.
“Mentally is important,” Ryan said of accepting their new reality.
“We used them (the older players) sparingly (in the league). They were taking their time coming back, I totally agree with that as they have a lot of miles on the clock.
“So, we were able to get to see the younger lads that hadn’t got much of a chance before and are blooding them, and progress them so the youth and experience are coming together so we have to blend and see how it works out.”
One of those players charged with providing the leadership will be captain Dale Donnelly who is raring to go for the new campaign.
“With the way last year ended, we just want to get back on the field and start hurling the way Templederry have down through the years,” he said.
“Injuries were a killer but there are few younger lads there now and they are starting to push on which is good, and with the older lads as well, there is a good balance to have.
“There a few teams going well and lads having babies and staying around, which is always good to see, so it is about staying competitive at the highest level we can and hopefully get a bit of silverware and start to push again.”