Kilcormac-Killoughey and Ballinamere on high alert for Offaly Senior Hurling Championship semi-final showdowns

O'Connor Park, Tullamore will host an absolutely intriguing Molloy Environmental Systems Senior Hurling Championship double bill next Sunday.

Title holders and favourites, Kilcormac-Killoughey will take on a rejuvenated Coolderry while Ballinamere, arguably the second best team in the championship to date, will need no warning about the pitfalls that lie ahead against St Rynagh's.

Kilcormac-Killoughey v Coolderry: Sunday in O'Connor Park at 3.45pm

Kilcormac-Killoughey have been red hot favourites for the Sean Robbins Cup since before a ball was pucked and their group form backed up this synopsis but a huge test awaits them against Coolderrry.

With a golden generation now establishing themselves on the team, Kilcormac-Killoughey played some scintillating hurling in the group to win all four games and qualify direct for the semi-finals.

They looked unbeatable at times but received by far their toughest test from Sunday's opponents Coolderry and K-K will be fully aware about the potential for an upset here. Knockout hurling will be the true test of their mettle and this represents a very big challenge for them.

It is an endearing part of Coolderry's psyche that they will travel to Tullamore expecting to win and with no fear whatsoever of Kilcormac-Killoughey. That does not mean that their dreams will be fulfilled. It doesn't mean that they won't be well beaten – that possibility is present for this game and let no one be under any illusions about that.

However, Coolderry will positively relish the opportunity of taking on Kilcormac-Killoughey, seeing what they are made of and they have a very good outside chance here.

Coolderry did what they had to in the group, recovering from a poor opening defeat by St Rynagh's to beat Seir Kieran and Tullamore. Those wins meant they were out of the group, the last match against Kilcormac-Killoughey was all about their performance and they were happy with the way they played in a 1-18 to 0-15 defeat.

They weren't that far away and that will give Coolderry optimism that they can compete here. The K-K group game does come with a caveat as the holders were assured of top spot irrespective of the result and were also coming into it on the back of their free round. They were likely to have availed of that gap to engage in heavy training and Sunday's game will be the true indicator of where both sides are.

K-K have been very impressive so far and before that game, they had destroyed Tullamore, St Rynagh's and Seir Kieran with their demolition of St Rynagh's really commanding attention. They have a great mix of youth and experience. The talent of emerging stars, James Mahon, Brecon Kavanagh, Ter Guinan, Colin Spain, Charlie Mitchell, Adam Screeney, Leigh Kavanagh, Daniel Hand et-al is known far outside of Offaly borders.

Part of K-K's strengths, however, is the presence of some vastly experienced older players who are contributing powerfully. Elder statesmen, Damien Kilmartin and Conor Mahon are in mighty form, showing great leadership while Cillian Kiely is arguably their single most important player – his ability to dominate games from centre half back, to run the show and drive everyone on, is a huge part of the K-K arsenal.

Coolderry have found form at the right time. They did very well to pull away from Shinrone in the closing few minutes of the quarter-final and if they are beaten, it won't be for any deficits in belief and will power.

It is a transitional period for Coolderry as some of their elder statesmen have drifted away. Brian Carroll, their long time most influential star, is now the manager and playing intermediate hurling. Kevin Brady, Joe Brady and many others of their long serving stalwarts have either retired or are playing in lower grades.

They have developed some good young talent. Eoin Burke missed the quarter-final through injury and they could do with him back here. The veteran David King is still playing great hurling for them in the heart of their defence and overall, they have a very solid team. They don't have the star names that K-K have but they have a combination that will generally perform close to maximum.

They do need certain players to click and the attacking displays of their full forward line of Kevin and Andrew Connolly and Daniel Miller is pivotal to their prospects.

Coolderry have to drag K-K into a dogfight. They have to work like dogs and make everything very tight. They have to shake up K-K's feathers, get under their skins, see how they react in a really tight battle.

The evidence of the group games suggests that they can do this, as does past history. Traditionally, Coolderry would expect to beat Kilcormac-Killoughey while there have been plenty of times over the years when the favourites have been brittle when the pressure was at its most severe. Whether that will be the case now, remains to be seen, and it is doubtful.

The new breed of Kilcormac-Killoughey hurling does seem to be made of stern stuff but there will be days when things won't go their way, balls won't rise, chances will be missed and results have to be ground out. We have yet to see how this K-K team will be in that situation, what their composure will be like if a game goes right down to the wire.

Those are the questions that Coolderry will be attempting to ask of them and they look to have a very good outside chance. At the same time, you have to predict a K-K win. Talent wise, Kilcormac-Killoughey are on a different level at the moment. Coolderry didn't have any starter on the Offaly U-20 hurling team this year, David King was the only established player on the senior hurling side whereas K-K made a powerful contribution to both.

Expect Coolderry to hit the ground running and to bring huge intensity to the table. They should be competitive but it is impossible to escape the impression that at some stage, K-K will be able to open up a bit of a gap and return to the final.

Verdict – Kilcormac-Killoughey.

Ballinamere v St Rynagh's: Sunday in O'Connor Park at 2.15pm

There are plenty of similarities to be drawn between the two semi-finals. Ballinamere are an emerging team with loads of talent at their disposal while St Rynagh's look to be past their best but like Coolderry, they possess huge self belief and a great tradition of winning. Like Coolderry against Kilcormac-Killoughey, Ballinamere won't frighten St Rynagh's in the slightest and they will positively relish the opportunity of seeing what they are made of.

It would be wrong to suggest that all the pressure is on Ballinamere in this one. It is also there on St Rynagh's but there is more pressure on Ballinamere and that is a factor in this game.

So far, they have done everything expected of them. They drew with Birr in the first round on a day when some of their best players were a small bit off the boil, showing the effects of a long county season. However, they got going very well after that, beating Belmont, Shinrone and Kinnitty to top the group and qualify direct for the semi-finals.

Their performance in beating Shinrone was particularly praiseworthy but there has been a downside to topping the group. While they needed to do that and go direct into the semi-finals, Ballinamere had a bye in the last round of group games and have not had a competitive game since September 1. That is a long time and it is definite factor here.

St Rynagh's on the other hand have come through a very tough quarter-final against Birr, showing great character to win and that game will have brought them on in leaps and bounds.

It is unusual for Ballinamere to be favourites for a county semi-final against St Rynagh's but that it is the way it is here, though it is a quite tenuous classification. Kilcormac-Killoughey may not beat Coolderry in the other semi-final but you can make a convincing case for why they will advance to the final. You can't do the same thing with Ballinamere here. With the talent at their disposal, they should be able to win and it will be a devastating blow to them if they don't but they are in very new territory.

You have to go back to the first decade of the 20^th century for Ballinamere's last appearance in a senior hurling final – they were beaten by Drumcullen in 1908 while players from Ballinamere backboned the Tullamore side that won a year later. They are in virgin land here and the fact that they are favourites against one of the great powerhouses of Offaly hurling adds to an intoxicating mix.

Ballinamere's emergence has been one of the great stories of Offaly hurling in recent years. It is extraordinary, a great boost to the game and the presence of so many Ballinamere players on county teams is a tribute to the work that has gone on here. Dan Bourke was the Offaly U-20 hurling captain, and also played on the senior side along with Mark Troy, Ciaran Burke, Sam Bourke, Ross Ravenhill, Dan Ravenhill (also a key U-20 player), and Brian Duignan.

No other club had that many on the Offaly senior hurling squad this year, even Kilcormac-Killoughey, and it is why so much is expected of Ballinamere. Troy, Ciaran Burke, Dan Bourke and Brian Duignan were particularly important for Offaly senior hurlers in 2024 as they won the Joe McDonagh Cup and they certainly have the talent to make the final.

This one, however, is a treacherous banana skin for them and they could very easily land on their behinds. St Rynagh's will test every inch of their fibre but there are plenty of doubts about them.

They certainly haven't set the world on fire so far and the scale of their defeat in the group against Kilcormac-Killoughey, 4-26 to 0-15, raises legitimate questions. It won't have any bearing on the game and shouldn't be over analysed but it was still a shocking result and performance by them. They recovered well from that to qualify and they did very well to beat Birr by 0-20 to 0-17 in the quarter-final.

Ballinamere will be hoping Kevin McDermott recovers from an injury sustained while playing for Durrow footballers in their quarter-final defeat by Tullamore – while football is McDermott's strongest game, he has been in terrific form for Ballinamere this year, having his best hurling season ever and he brings a great work ethic to the table.

A key battle here will be between Ballinamere full back Ciaran Burke and St Rynagh's full forward Luke O'Connor. The Banagher man was in sensational form in the win over Birr and has blistering pace but Ballinamere will be hoping Burke can curtail his influence – and the Durrow man is a great example of a player who gets the job done most days. St Rynagh's also need a big attacking display from Shane Rigney – on his day, the U-20 star is brilliant but it does take time for some young players to fully bed into adult hurling and Rigney is one of those. He could, however, cut loose and he will be trying to break through for goals.

St Rynagh's do look to be heading into a period of rebuilding. Some of their greats of recent years are either gone or beginning to tip into the red but there could be a powerful kick in them.

We can expect St Rynagh's to perform fairly close to potential here but the same certainty is not there with Ballinamere. They are not the finished article and they certainly have weak links. They are beatable and we don't know what way the pressure of attempting to make a county final will play out with them.

Everything else being equal, however, Ballinamere have the potential to make it. They have a volume of county players and a pool of talent that St Rynagh's can't match at the moment but it is all about performing on the day. There are more doubts about Ballinamere than St Rynagh's in this one and that makes it fierce in intriguing. There is still a golden chance there for Ballinamere. They have some great hurlers, a lot going for them but it is all about doing it on the big day now.

Verdict – Ballinamere.