Fixtures made for last of Offaly GAA championships

THE fixtures have been made for the remaining Offaly GAA adult championships. Only a handful remain to be played with the Senior Hurling Championship final between Kilcormac-Killoughey and Shinrone in O'Connor Park next Sunday with an early 1pm throw in – the early time is to facilitate live TG4 coverage.

The Junior Hurling Championship final between Tullamore and Brosna Gaels is in Birr next Saturday at 2pm.

These will conclude the adult hurling championships and leave only the Senior, Senior “B” and Junior “B” Football Championships outstanding – the U20 Football Championship hasn't started yet and with a second chance saloon in that, it provides a whole different headache for fixture makers and clubs.

The Senior Football Championship final between Tullamore and Ferbane is in O'Connor Park on Sunday, October 26 at 3pm and will be preceded by the Junior “B” Football Championship final replay between Shamrocks and Tullamore – they had a thrilling draw last Friday in Clara.

The Senior “B” Football Championship is taking the longest to complete because of a seven team group. It is down to semi-finals now and the four teams have a week break before they play two consecutive weekends as the CCC aim to finish in time for the Leinster Club Intermediate Football Championship.

Title favourites Clara meet Cappincur on Friday, October 24 under lights in Daingean at 7.30pm. Clara will be very aware that Cappincur beat them in last year's semi-final and will be conscious of the damage that may have been inflicted in a 0-18 to 2-10 defeat to Ballinagar on Sunday. Clara were also going well last year but a defeat to Daingean in the group sowed the first seeds of doubt and they were taken out in the semi-finals.

Ballinagar and Daingean meet in what looks to be a real 50-50 semi-final on Saturday, October 25 at 2pm. Daingean beat Ballinagar in the group but came back from ten points down as the losers threw it away late on. The final is in O'Connor Park on Sunday, November 2 at 2pm. The other outstanding fixture is the senior “B” football relegation play off between Ballycumber and Gracefield and that is on Friday, October 24 in Tullamore's O'Brien Park at 7.30pm.

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The underage finals are nearly done too. The big ones are the Minor Football Championship final between Rhode and Tullamore, which takes place in O'Connor Park on Saturday, October 18 at 3pm – the minor “B” football final between Shamrocks and Clara is on before it at 1pm - and the U16 Hurling Championship final between Tullamore and Birr which is on after the junior hurling final in Birr the same day at 4pm.