Huge work rate and Dooley magic leads Tullamore to great shock win over Shinrone
Molloy Environmental Systems Senior Hurling Championship Group 2 Round 1
A HUGE energy sapping work rate that defied the high temperatures mixed in with some age defying magic from former county star Shane Dooley saw Tullamore turn the Offaly Senior Hurling Championship on its head with a shock win over last year’s beaten finalists in O’Brien Park on Sunday afternoon.
Molloy Environmental Systems Senior Hurling Championship Group 2 Round 1
Tullamore 2-24
Shinrone 3-19
It was a richly deserved win by Tullamore, who showed terrific heart, character and fighting spirit, battling for everything and not giving their fancied opponents a moment to breathe. It was way more comprehensive than the final scoreline suggests and it would have been a calamity for Tullamore if they hadn’t got the win that has thrown the anticipated progress of group 2 up in the air – Ballinamere, Shinrone and Belmont were the favourites to progress with Tullamore and Lusmagh pulling up the rear. This win gives Tullamore a great chance of qualifying, increases the likelihood of a big gun crashing out and will ensure the remaining games will make for fascinating viewing.
Tullamore’s hunger and desire meant that they looked like winning almost all the way through the second half. The scoreline flattered Shinrone as they got three late goals from the 57th minute on when the game was close to being out of reach. Two of them in the 57th and 63rd minute came from frees from goalkeeper Eamonn Cleary, that were poorly defended while DJ McLoughlin’s crisp strike in the 65th minute was purely a consolation one.
Tullamore were 1-21 to 0-19 ahead when Cleary got his first goal and in the wind up they were fortunate that they struck for a decisive second goal themselves. That 59th minute goal was a comedy in ways but no one in Shinrone was laughing as Shinrone sub Peter Cleary tried to pick out Eamonn Cleary with a pass back in front of his goals. Eamon Cleary, however, had drifted out right in anticipation of the delivery and his late sprint to keep the ball out of the net proved in vain. That gave Tullamore a 2-22 to 1-19 cushion and meant that the last two Shinrone goals were only of academic interest but it would have been a very different story without that calamitous goal.
As well as Tullamore played, their win was helped significantly by an uncustomary error ridden Shinrone display. They shouldn’t be pointing any fingers at Peter Cleary as his mistake was a symptom of what a very off colour Shinrone display. They were flat and subdued for the most part, lacking their usual vitality and pace. They didn’t match Tullamore’s hunger and work rate and it was a collective malfunction by them. Shinrone are very effective at playing a hard running, short passing game and it is a nature of the beast that when it doesn’t work or they are a fraction off, it can break down. That happened here and Tullamore’s work rate was a major factor in that but it is their unforced errors, the volume of mistakes that will most disappoint their manager Mark Morkan.
Too many passes went stray for Shinrone, their volume of errors uncomfortably high and not all of these were forced by Tullamore. When the issue was being decided in the closing quarter, Shinrone really fell to pieces. It was all over the field and no player deserves individual blame but a couple of incidents show the extent of their malaise – Peter Cleary’s own goal was one but that came when they were desperately chasing the game and there were others that won’t be remembered in the same way. Michael Cleary over carried carelessly for a 50th minute free that the brilliant Shane Dooley converted for a crucial four point lead, 1-20 to 0-19. Just before that Eoin Bailey O’Brien and DJ McLoughlin had collided with each other when going to gather a fairly straightforward ball in the middle of the field. There were more of this nature that won’t make pretty viewing when Mark Morkan forces his squad to watch the recording of the game during the week and it was that type of day for Shinrone.
Another factor was their county star Killian Sampson not being able to exert his usual influence from centre half back. Credit to Offaly senior footballer, Diarmuid Egan who was earmarked for marshalling him even though it was his first competitive hurling game in the guts of two years. His fitness and work rate ensured that Sampson had little space to thrive but the Shinrone man was also a bit off the boil and that was also the case with some of Ballinamere’s county hurlers on Saturday – a long, energy sapping season with Offaly has clearly drained the players and it may take a couple of weeks before they are firing on all cylinders for their clubs.
To focus on Shinrone’s short comings is to do an injustice to Tullamore, who have taken huge strides forward since appointing former Kilcormac-Killoughey boss Shane Hand as manager for the 2025 season. Hand has worked hard on their hurling and some players will come on with more of this but the most impressive thing about them is their work ethic and willingness to put hands in where they can be hurt.
This showed all over the field and Tullamore got themselves into a winning position when playing against a stiff wind in the first half. They were in a very strong position when they trailed by just 0-14 to 0-12 at half time. Their tackling, closing down and physicality ensured that Shinrone never got any true momentum but Tullamore wouldn’t have been in as promising a position without the influence of Shane Dooley. On the countdown to his 40th later this year, Dooley got seven of Tullamore’s first half points, three of them from play in one golden spell for him each side of the quarter way mark – the middle one of those in the 12th minute was the pick of the bunch, a brilliant flick of the hurl when Cormac Egan’s point shot dropped short.
Points from Adam Landy, Donal Morkan (free) and their best player, DJ McLoughlin had Shinrone 0-10 to 0-6 up by the 18th minute and briefly, it looked like they might open daylight, With players such as Cormac Egan, Mike Fox and Martin Keogh winning ball, they had no right to, Tullamore stopped the slide and would have taken a two point half time deficit every day of the week, even though we suspected that Shinrone had another gear to tap into and would find a way to win.
As things turned out, Shinrone never generated any real momentum in the second half and as it wore on, a Tullamore shock became increasingly likely. Shinrone kept their noses in front for a while and were 0-17 to 0-15 up after 37 minutes but three in a row from Mike Fox and Shane Dooley (two, one free) gave Tullamore the lead. With the scent of victory now powerful, Tullamore were relentless and Shane Dooley’s goal after a Niall Houlihan ball broke kindly for him gave them a 1-18 to 0-17 lead in the 43rd minute.
Mike Fox and Shane Dooley missed easy chances to turn the screw but Dooley’s 46th minute free pushed them five clear. Shinrone dug deep and points from Jason Sampson and DJ McLoughlin kept them alive but they were swimming against the tide. Eamon Cleary’s first goal reduced the deficit to two points and gave them a lifeline but Peter Cleary’s own goal handed the initiative back to Tullamore. Shinrone got two more goals but Tullamore struck for injury time points from Dooley (Free) and Luke Egan to ensure they had a winning cushion.
MATCH ANALYSIS
MAN OF THE MATCH
Shane Dooley (Tullamore): Tullamore had several players who contributed powerfully to their win. Mike Fox and Martin Keogh would have been man of the match contenders on another day – Fox is one of Tullamore’s most important hurlers and his display was no surprise to seasoned observers of them while Keogh had a great game on their half forward line, putting in the hard yards to go with his three points. Cormac Egan was excellent in the first half while Kevin Waters did fantastic defensive work.
The choice, however, is a straightforward one and Shane Dooley’s influence shone all over this game. His fitness has improved in recent weeks and his striking was deadly, matched by his hunger. He scored a sensational 1-14, 1-4 from play. That was a game defining contribution by any standards but he also worked hard, while conserving his energy, which was exactly the right thing for a man close to 40 to do – he had scoring assists and also hunted down opponents.
Shinrone’s season is still very retrievable and despite the defeat, they remain higher up the list of contenders than Tullamore. The death of the grandmother of defenders, Gearoid and Dara Maher may also have been in the background of this loss, it was just one of those days for Shinrone and the only thing they can do is quickly put it to bed and move on.
THE SCORERS
Tullamore: Shane Dooley 1-14 (10f), Mike Fox and Martin Keogh 0-3 each, Peter Cleary 1-0 (own goal), Luke Egan, Cormac Egan, James Houlihan, Niall Furlong 0-1 each.
Shinrone: Donal Morkan 0-7 (7f), Eamonn Cleary 2-0 (2f), DJ McLoughlin 1-4, Adam Landy 0-2, Dan Doughan, Killian Sampson, Jason Sampson, Ciaran Cleary, Paul Cleary, Sean Cleary 0-1 each.
THE TEAMS
TULLAMORE: Arron Hensey; Jack Daly, Dylan Hensey, Kevin Waters; Luke Egan, Niall Houlihan, Peter Fox; Mike Fox, Cormac Egan; Ger Crowe, Diarmuid Egan , Martin Keogh; Niall Furlong, Shane Dooley, James Houlihan. Subs – Killian Wynne for Daly, inj. (36m).
SHINRONE: Eamonn Cleary; Gearoid Maher, Michael Cleary, Darragh Landy; Dan Doughan, Killian Sampson, Dara Maher; Adrian Cleary, Luke Watkins; Adam Landy, Donal Morkan, DJ McLoughlin; Jason Sampson, Ciaran Cleary, Paul Cleary. Subs – Sean Cleary for Adrian Cleary, inj. (28m)k Eoin Bailey-O’Brien for Morkan (48m), Peter Cleary for Michael Cleary (51m), James O’Sullivan for Dara Maher (51m), Conor Doughan for Paul Cleary (53m).
Referee – Adam Kinahan, Clodiagh Gaels.
REFEREE WATCH
Adam Kinahan had to listen to the usual quota of “wannabe” referees on the sideline but rightly ignored them all. There were a couple of questionable calls made and he may have got some decisions wrong but he handled it very well and fairly. Decisions were applied evenly, there was no big game defining decision and his refereeing contributed to a very enjoyable game.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Shane Dooley’s 43rd minute goal gave Tullamore a four point lead at an important stage and they looked like winning from here on.
VENUE WATCH
Tullamore had O’Brien Park in fine order and there were no issues. They managed the large crowd well, had loads of steward and were excellent hosts.
WHAT’S NEXT
Tullamore make the short journey to Ballinamere for round 2 while Shinrone have their bye.
STATISTICS
Wides: Shinrone – 8 (5 in first half); Tullamore – 7 (2 in first half);
Yellow cards: Tullamore – 1 (Niall Furlong); Shinrone – 4 (Killian Sampson, Jason Sampson, Ciaran Cleary, Peter Cleary).
Black cards: 0
Red cards: 0