No hiding places left as supporters await tantalising Offaly SHC quarter-finals

THE anticipation of supporters will grow by the day in the build up to two absolutely intriguing Molloy Precast and Environmental Systems Senior Hurling Championship quarter-finals next weekend.

Champions Kilcormac-Killoughey face one of their great rivals, Ballinamere in a repeat of the 2024 final while the local derby meeting of Coolderry and Shinrone will set pulses races in that whole area.

The relegation play off between Kinnitty and Seir Kieran will also command plenty of local interest in a fantastic weekend of action for patrons.

Quarter-finals

Kilcormac-Killoughey v Ballinamere: Saturday, September 20 in O'Connor Park, Tullamore 5pm

The clash that many had pencilled in for the final will take place two rounds earlier with Kilcormac-Killoughey and Ballinamere set to provide one of the games of the year in Tullamore on Saturday

Kilcormac-Killoughey just got over Ballinamere in the final last year and there was a widespread opinion that this could be Ballinamere's year this year – that their age profile is almost perfect and that they may not get as good a chance to win a title when K-K's golden generation move towards and into their prime years.

Yet Ballinamere's form has raised far more questions than answers this year. They have fallen into the quarter-finals, losing to Coolderry and Birr and had Tullamore beaten Coolderry by a point in their last group game, instead of losing by that margin, their season would have been over.

With over half a dozen county hurlers in their ranks, Ballinamere have a lot of the ingredients to win a first even senior championship but for whatever reason, they have not recaptured their 2024 form. They just haven't got going yet and the pressure has been growing on them the whole time.

They flirted with disaster but they did make the knockout stages and that is the place for them to really fire on all cylinders. It remains to be seen, however, if they can turn it on now that a gun is to their head or if something more terminal is going on there. Certainly if Ballinamere lose this, there will be repercussions in the club.

Kilcormac-Killoughey also have their own soul searching going on and they have not been as good this year as 2024. They drew with Belmont in their first game but were missing a handful of key players for that. Their draw with Shinrone in the last group game denied them straight qualification for the semi-finals and instead set up this mouth watering shootout.

On paper, Kilcormac-Killoughey and Ballinamere have the two best teams in Offaly. This has not been backed up by their displays and the remaining teams, Belmont, Birr, Shinrone and Coolderry will have taken great encouragement from their form.

There have been times when K-K have looked unbeatable, like they would canter to the championship. Their display against Shinrone showed that everyone can be beaten and the expectations we have of K-K may be unfair on what is a young team. They have, however, earned this pressure by the quality of some of their hurling and wins and they remain title favourites.

No one should read too much into the Shinrone game. Firstly Shinrone are a serious team, well capable of winning a second championship. Secondly, it remains to be seen if K-K's stuttering hurling was an aberration or something else that day.

A lot more will be learned here. There are similarities in the way both sides have got to here but Ballinamere's form has been more questionable. The impression that they may find it hard to just turn it on now that they have to is valid and there are less clouds around K-K, who haven't been beaten yet whereas Ballinamere have lost twice.

A Ballinamere win, however, would not be a big shock and K-K are not the finished article yet. Three of their most experienced statesmen, Damian Kilmartin, Conor Mahon and James Gorman are capable of being man of the match here but they are clearly heading back down the hill. Cillian Kiely is back from injury but is not as influential as last year and some of their outstanding younger hurlers have plenty of developing to do.

On their day, however, K-K are a fantastic force of nature, capable of blowing teams out of the park. Ballinamere have a major task on their hands to turn things around. They could do it and with the quality of hurler at their disposal, there is very possibility of a big game emerging from them. Any team with as many county hurlers as Ballinamere have are capable of beating anyone in Offaly, and don't doubt this for one minute.

Options on the sideline are also important and Kilcormac-Killoughey are stronger in this department. They have Cillian Kiely and Peter and Thomas Geraghty to come in while Leigh Kavanagh is back, Ter Guinan is almost back from injury and both could feature at some stage. Enda Grogan, a long serving rock solid, defender, has played senior B this year and he is another very useful option for them.

Ballinamere took off Steven Doran and brought him back on in the Birr loss and irrespective of the questions some are posing in the area about the impact this has on unused subs, this is never a good sign. John Murphy is home from abroad, coming on as a sub against Birr, and there will be an obvious temptation to start this talented, accurate forward.

They are definitely missing a midfielder from last year, Kevin McDermott – he was outstanding in the group games, one of Ballinamere's best players at that stage, but didn't find his A game in the final. The Durrow man didn't wear the Ballinamere togs in last year's final, sporting Offaly ones instead, and this is all part of a messy background that saw him opt out of senior hurling in 2025. There is more to McDermott's absence than meets the eye and the togs is not the reason he is not playing this year - an entirely separate issue that cropped up in the wake of last year's final is the reason he opted not to come on board this year and no doubt, this talented dual player will play for Ballinamere again.

He was outstanding for Ballinamere intermediate hurlers this year and irrespective of what went on during and after last year's county final loss, it is a great pity it wasn't all sorted out, McDermott is a definite loss and Ballinamere would be stronger with him on board.

That is very unlikely to be healed for this game, though clubs can always pull rabbits out of the hat when least expected. It will be an absolutely engrossing, captivating afternoon, and I almost can't wait for it to all begin. We just don't know with Ballinamere and it will be intriguing to see how they perform now.

There just could be a huge performance in them but there are less doubts about K-K performing and for that reason, they get the nod but they won't need anyone to tell them of the peril they are in.

Verdict – Kilcormac-Killoughey.

Coolderry v Shinrone: Sunday, September 21 in Birr 4.45pm

The form book suggests that Shinrone will make the sem-finals but that is one thing that they won't be reading in the build up to their quarter-final with Coolderry.

Notwithstanding their group loss to Belmont, Shinrone's form has been more convincing. Their draw with Kilcormac-Killoughey in the last game will have done their confidence the world of good and Shinrone are clearly in excellent health.

Coolderry's only defeat was at the hands of Birr and they have won their other three group games. It is a decent form-line, yet there are more doubts about them than Shinrone.

Their first round win over Ballinamere set them up but their recent performances have not been convincing. They were poor against Birr and just scraped over Tullamore to book their quarter-final place.

The loss of Stephen Connolly and Will Malone to injuries are huge blows to Coolderry and they look to be sucking air, yet they will approach this game fully expecting to win, not fearing Shinrone in the slightest.

Of the six teams remaining in the hunt, Coolderry look to be the outsiders – it is hard to see them getting three big wins to extend their lead at the top of the Offaly senior hurling roll of honour and any further injuries could prove fatal.

That doesn't mean, however, that they can't win this game. They most definitely can and they will love the opportunity of taking Shinrone out. Coolderry's winning mentality is one of their great strengths and it has seen them win many games against the head over the years.

It doesn't save them every day and it was no good to them when Kilcormac-Killoughey destroyed them in the semi-final last year. It was, however, a great help when they beat an emerging Shinrone in the 2021 semi-final and it is part of Coolderry's psyche that they will make the short journey to Birr fully expecting to win this.

Shinrone, however, have definitely progressed since 2021. They won their first ever title in 2022 and are desperate to add a second one. They don't want to join the ranks of one title wonders and the window for doing this may not be open for that long. They have an opportunity this year and there has been something very impressive about their overall performances, their intensity levels and speed of movement.

This is a banana skin for Shinrone and if Coolderry are snapping on their heels inside the closing quarter, it will be very interesting to watch it unfold. Shinrone will have to be ruthless and if they can open up a gap at any stage, they need to push for home and put their opponents away.

If Coolderry are to win, it is likely to be in a real dogfight, going down to the wire. Shinrone have more potential to win by a few points but this is a huge test for them. Shinrone have been brittle in the past and Coolderry will test every fibre of their character.

Verdict – Shinrone.

Relegation play off

Kinnitty v Seir Kieran: Sunday, September 21 in Birr 3pm

Kilcormac-Killoughey's great achievement in winning the senior “B” hurling title in the past two years saved a couple of sides from the drop and they remain in contention for a three in a row this year.

If K-K do win senior B again, the losers of this will stay up but their prospects are far less certain this year, and the trapdoor is very definitely open for Kinnitty and Seir Kieran.

Two of Offaly's proudest hurling clubs, home to some of the county's greatest hurlers, Kinnitty and Seir Kieran are desperate to stay up.

Kinnitty are favourites to win this on form. They have been more competitive in general in their group games whereas Seir Kieran have been struggled, albeit improving significantly from a first round mauling by Birr when they were a mile off the pace.

SEE NEXT: Knockout draws made on messy, unsatisfactory weekend for Offaly football

It is more or less a 50-50 game. Neither side has a real marquee match winner and both have obvious limitations. It will be a fascinating contest. They know each other very well and both will be fully up for this. It's a hard one to call and the form book is not a reliable guide for this but it is all we have.

Verdict – Kinnitty.