The ties that bind Shinrone together as they prepare for Senior Final showdown with Kilcormac-Killoughey

WITH a plethora of Cleary's on their team and subs, the family connections in Shinrone is obvious to all but that surname alone only touches on the tip of the iceberg.

The Cleary's are also related to the Sampson's and Doughan's while there are connections through marriage to the Morkan's.

There are an incredible amount of family connections in the Shinrone squad who will take on Kilcormac-Killoughey in the Senior Hurling Championship final on Sunday next.

It adds another appetising incredient to a pairing that is whetting the appetite of Offaly hurling supporters.

Eamon, Peter, Michael, Declan, Sean, Adrian and Ciaran Cleary all started in the semi-final and Shinrone are unlikely to change a winning team for the final – Joe and Paul Cleary came on as subs against Belmont while Darragh Cleary was an unused sub and another Cleary, JP is injured and Coly Cleary will be added to the panel for the final. Michael, Sean, Adrian and Ciaran Cleary are brothers, as are Eamon and Declan, Paul and JP while Darragh and Joe haven't brothers on the panel.

It goes way deeper than this though. A sister of Michael Cleary (club chairman and father of Michael, Sean, Adrian and Ciaran), Fionnuala is married to Ger Sampson and they are the parents of brothers Jason, Killian and Shane Sampson) – this means that the Sampson's are first cousins of Sean, Michael, Adrian and Ciaran as well as Darragh Cleary. Declan, Joe, Eamon, JP and Paul are second cousins of them – team captain Jason took us on a journey through the family ties when interviewed ahead of the county final last week.

Coly Cleary is a cousin of Joe Cleary and related to the rest of them. Sean Cleary is married to former camogie star, Michaela Morkan which brings Donal and Mark Morkan onto the family tree and Dan and Conor Doughan are related to JP Cleary. Full back Darren O'Meara is a second cousin of Eamon and Declan Cleary and is related to the rest while corner back Darren Crean is a first cousin of Donal and Mark Morkan.

“There are loads of connections and it's great. I think you have that in any small club,” said Jason Sampson last week, adding: “It's definitely a help. We would be a very close group anyway. There would be a good group of really good friends even if we weren't hurling. Obviously the hurling brings it together an awful lot more, it makes a difference, we have a good bond.”

He agreed that it is a dream come through for Shinrone to reach the final.

“We are delighted to be there first and foremost. Down through the years we would always have thought we were good enough to get further in the championship but we suffered some bad losses and things like that. But it is definitely a dream come true and we are delighted to be there. I suppose there is no real pressure on us going in at this stage. The last day, the way we won and everything, we're not going to be given much of a chance going in but we look forward to it anyway.”

Shinrone blew hot and cold at times this year but had two huge wins over Coolderry and St Rynagh's. Sampson reflected on their year.

“Actually Ballinamere was probably one of our better performances as well. We hurled for a good bit of that game and didn't hurl too bad and we got the draw and were lucky to get the draw as well, we came from behind, which has been a bit of a feature, coming from behind in a couple of the games. Against Clareen we did OK, and then the Coolderry game we came from behind in that as well, we left it late, we left ourselves a lot to do but we have been going and we start OK and in the middle of the game we dip out of it a little bit and we finish strong in a lot of the games, which is a good sign, I suppose. Maybe it is something we weren't doing in previous years, closing games out, which we seem to be doing now which is good.”

The low point of the year was a bad defeat by Belmont in the group with a semi-final place up for grabs for the winners. When it was put to him that it was a horrific display and that people expected Shinrone to be flat out to win, he replied:

“I don't know about horrific. We finished very strongly in that game, we scored 1-6 without reply in the end, fair enough they took off one or two and took the foot off the gas, but still we finished strong. We were very disappointed afterwards with how we hurled, it was a poor performance but we were through. We approached it the same as any of the other games, we went at it and thought we had prepared really well but I think they set up really well. Their set up is different to many other teams, they set up really well and maybe we hadn't come up against that this year yet and when we came up against it we didn't have the answers and maybe we learned a little bit from it.”

He insisted that it wasn't on the back of their minds that a quarter-final place was secure but Shinrone went out an proved a major point in the quarter-final against St Rynagh's.

“Yeah, it wasn't bad. We started OK and in the first half it was nip and tuck, and then they got those three points before half time and we went in at half time saying we are playing the game we want to play, we are creating a lot of chances and we had a lot of possession and we were giving away some frees, which they scored. We said if we cut down on the frees and probably just tidy up our final pass and our shot selection that we would have a fair chance going down the stretch and that is kind of the way it turned out. In the second half we were turning the tide, turning the tide and we got the three points up and then obviously they came back with scores here and there, and we were lucky in the end, we were one up and Aido (Adrian Cleary) got a score near the end to see us through by two. That was a big thing to get over the line in that game, a quarter final and get into the semi-final again where we were last year, and we were delighted with that. I suppose it was like, we felt at half time we were good enough to win the game, it was there for us, we had that feeling and we knew if we applied ourselves an extra bit more we would get there.”

He was delighted with the way Shinrone came back from the dead against Belmont in the semi-final.

“We were well behind, we were six down at half time and similarly enough, we were doing a good bit of hurling in the game and in fairness, they were getting scores a bit better, frees were killing us a bit again. After half time we got three points and I think getting those three points settled ourselves, we rattled them off quick enough, we said we are in this game still. I know they went out and went back up seven again, which was a killer and it left ourselves a lot to do, but we still knew the scores were there and we were able to get the scores and we just drove on again and stayed going.”

Obviously you couldn't let Kilcormac/Killoughey get that far ahead of you in a county final?

“No, they looked really, really impressive on Sunday. They were very good in the semi-final. We would be hoping not to let them get that far ahead of us anyway but we will see how it goes. Look there is no real pressure on us, we will just go in and hurl and first final in 62 years but that's not for us to be worrying about.”

29 years of age, Jason Sampson first played seniorhurling at 17 years of age – his first came was as a sub in a quarter-final against Coolderry and he had dipped his feet in the water at intermediate level befor that.

During his career, Shinrone have progressed from also rans to a team with genuine prospects but a tendency to lose big games to one now in a final. He agreed with that summary.

“Yeah, I think so. Over different years, we would have won big games, we would have beaten some of the perceived bigger teams, maybe beaten one a year, or put in really good performances, but we have always believed we were good enough to beat any of them on our day. There's no reason why we can't. And it's actually something in the championship itself, I think there's probably six or seven teams and any of them could beat any of them on their day and I genuinely believe that. I think there is a championship there for any of the teams. We got to a semi-final in 2012, which was my first one and we hadn't got back to one until last year, which is a long time. Last year we let it slip by a bit in the semi-final. With Covid and no quarter finals, it was a funny year last year. Getting back this year it was really important to get back to the semi-finals and push on.”

A semi-final defeat by Coolderry last year whetted Shinrone's appetite and gave them confidence that they could take the next step.

“Yeah, like I said already, we would have always believed that we were there or thereabouts, it was only small things that we needed to brush up on. Last year we were definitely in that game. I think the goal before half time was a sucker punch and the goal after half time was worse as we were nine down, and we had a lot to do and we got it back to three before the water break and Coolderry then saw it out in fairness to them.”

He was asked about Shinrone's defeat in big games in recent years and what has changed this year?

“I think it is a bit of maturity. We've two or three over the 30 mark and then a couple around the 30 mark, and then there's four or five of us around the 28-29 mark, maturity is a lot of it. If you look back at the Kilcormac team, they were mature before they won, they had lost a few before they won. Coolderry are a really experienced team, Rynagh's really experienced team, I think that maturity has developed in us, we're older and gaining more experience all the time and I think that has stood to us.”

The O'Connor Park venue doesn't bother thm. “It's a field with four lines and a goals, it won't be a factor.”

Sampson talked about the excitemnt in the area.

“It's great, it's unreal, it's brilliant. The way I look at it is the build up is for everyone else. We are going out to hurl a game. We are not going to prepare for it any different than the game last Saturday or the quarter final against Rynagh's. We won't be preparing any different. It's going to be the same team. Obviously there are loads of extra distractions but they are for everyone else.

“We've been working toward it, we have to embrace it a bit too. There will be loads of other things going on and all the rest but we still have to go and hurl and that's the most important thing. But it is great, it is great to see people around the village and they are all buzzing and people in the club, everyone is really enjoying it so far but finals are for winning.”

He is not thinking about what it would mean to be the first Shinrone man to lift the Sean Robbins Cup.

“We have a game to go and play so you are not going to be thinking about that, that's for another day. You are just going out to prepare the same as you are preparing for a semi-final or a quarter final. Obviously if you get there it would mean an awful lot but that thinking is not for today.”