Shannon Rovers view ahead of the North Intermediate Hurling Final

By Liam Hogan

Shannon Rovers captain Matt Tierney is the latest of the great Tierney name synonymous with the club.

His father Brendan won a North Intermediate medal in 1985 while his uncle’s John (1974), Noel (1975), Michael & Martin (1974 & 1975) were also medal winners, as well as another uncle Timmy who leads the way with six winners medals, starting with a double in 1967 & ’68 along with four more in 1974, ’75, ’85 & ’86 while adding a County Junior in 1968 and a County Intermediate in 1986 for good measure.

“I hear about the six every Sunday,” said Matt laughed of Timmy’s pedigree.

“Look, we do a bit of slagging with each other, and he throws the medal thing at me. We are looking to bring a bit of balance to the thing,” Matt added who plays alongside his brother Michael who operates at wing forward and scored the goal that ignited their win over Portroe in the semi-final.

Matt Tierney admitted that his team got the breaks in that 1-18 to 0-15 semi-final victory, and its credited the work of coach Conor Sullivan who has instilled confidence into the team.

“He has created a lot of cohesion and good work,” he said of the Lorrha clubman.

“The first half was one of our best performances for some time, but we dropped it a bit in the second half. Overall, we are finding our feet.”

Next Saturday’s final will be Matt’s second North final appearance having played in the defeat to Lorrha in the 2022 decider.

“We are not afraid of a North final and are looking forward to it especially with players my age who have played in finals at under-16 and minor levels,” he added.

Another Tierney is to the fore over the team in John, who returned as manager in 2023. It’s not the first time. A winner of a North Intermediate medal in 1974 as sub-goalkeeper to the great Patrick McLoughney when Rovers defeated Borrisokane in the final, he was a selector in the 1985 & 1986, and was also in charge of the team that reached the 1994 North final but lost to Silvermines.

It's fifteen years since Shannon Rovers ninth and last North title and he hopes to end that drought this weekend.

“I was living away for the 2010 final but came home for the game and enjoyed it greatly when we won,” he recalls.

“It is fifteen years on, and we hope to write our own piece of history on this one. It will be great fun for the next week or so. We are neighbours, a big derby and both teams will be hell bent on winning for sure.”

Reflecting on the semi-final win over Portroe, Tierney said there are areas to improve on.

“It was a good performance from goalkeeper up to number fifteen,” he said.

“Yet, there is a lot to correct. Hitting fourteen wides is something we have to work on. Portroe had problems on that score too but with the first game of the championship, things are not going to be perfect.”