Brislane is relishing chance to avenge Belvo

By Daire Walsh

John Brislane believes it is all about ‘living in the moment’ as Nenagh Ormond prepare themselves for an historic foray in Division 1A of the Men’s All-Ireland League.

After securing the Division 2A title with thirteen points to spare in the 2023/24 campaign, Nenagh found themselves in the second tier of last season’s AIL alongside a number of firmly established opponents.

Yet in the wake of achieving the runners-up spot in the Division 1B table, Derek Corcoran’s side progressed to the Division 1A promotion/relegation play-offs.

Following subsequent victories at the expense of Blackrock College and UCC, Nenagh broke new ground as the first Tipperary club to earn promotion to the top-tier of the All-Ireland League.

This puts them amongst heavy hitters such as Cork Constitution, Lansdowne and Clontarf for the new season, and Brislane is extremely hopeful the 2025/26 term will be another one to remember for Nenagh.

“It could be a great year, we hope it’s going to be a great year, and we plan for it.

Everyone is just so excited,” Brislane remarked at a launch of the 2025-2026 All-Ireland Leagues at Energia Park last week.

“Even the supporters, just talking about it throughout the town.

“Getting to see these new clubs and new places, different experiences.

“Every moment is going to be a new moment, and every moment is going to be special. It’s all about taking it in and living in the moment.”

Now heading into his fourth season as part of the Nenagh Ormond senior squad, Brislane has witnessed first-hand the remarkable rise of the club’s first 15.

In the 2021/22 season, Ormond finished second from bottom in the AIL Division 2A table and only retained their third-tier status after coming through a play-off replay against Rainey Old Boys.

Yet Brislane’s debut campaign with the Nenagh in 2022/23 saw them narrowly missing out on promotion and since then the side has continued to go from strength-to-strength.

“We nearly got relegated to Division 2B and it wasn’t looking good at all,” he recalls.

“Derek Corcoran took us over and ever since it has just been stride for stride.

It is credit to him and the rest of the coaches that we are where we are now.

“When I first hit senior, I wasn’t really used to how things were going.

I kind of got thrown straight into the fire. For myself it was straight into the deep end but really enjoyed it.”

While there are a number of teams in Division 1A that Nenagh Ormond will not have encountered before in a league fixture, they are set to come face-to-face with familiar opposition for their top-flight debut this weekend.

In New Ormond Park this Saturday, Nenagh will take on south Dublin outfit Old Belvedere in the opening round of the new Men’s All-Ireland League season.

With 15 wins and just three defeats from 18 games, Belvo held off the challenge of Nenagh to claim the AIL Division 1B crown for 2024/25. The Metropolitan side claimed a 34-22 triumph over their

Munster counterparts in March of this year in Ollie Campbell Park, but it was an agonising 32-31 reversal at home to Belvo on October 19, 2024, that remains a vivid memory for Brislane.

“I remember it was the last play, and we had a scrum in our own half.

All we had to do was get it out and kick it off the field,” Brislane recalls.

“We were up two points, and they scrummed us off the ball in our own scrum.

They won the game from a penalty, from the last scrum.

They’ve really strong forwards, a really strong pack and really good set-pieces.”