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THE Offaly GAA Molloy Environmental Systems Senior “B” Hurling Championship starts next weekend. The following are profiles of the teams with management and personnel details:

CARRIG-RIVERSTOWN

Manager - Stephen Killeen

Selectors - Patrick Maher, Eamon Maher, Shane Delahunt

Captain - Patrick Bergin; Vice captain: Peter King

New players – None;

Absentees – None;

Star player – Cathal King;

Last year – beaten finalists;

Prospects – Carrig-Riverstown have made huge progress in recent years and it is great to see them providing so many hurlers on Offaly teams. Clearly a club going well and doing the work, they are very high up the list of contenders in this grade and have the potential to upset Seir Kieran's ambitions. They are second favourites.

DRUMCULLEN

Manager - Mark Dunne

Selectors - Kieran Dooley, Tadhg O’Brien

Captain - Eoin Gath

Any new players - Cian Mannion, Cormac Nugent, Gearoid Dooley, James Hennessy, John Foley, Mairtin Ryan, Ryan Hollywood

Any retirements, long terms absentees through injury, emigration or other reasons - Padraic Guinan (long term injury), Barry Kinsella (long term injury);

Last year – Intermediate champions;

Star player – Colm Gath;

Prospects – the joy of this grade is that every team has a chance of claiming one of the four semi-final spots on offer and that will be the target for Drumcullen. At the same time, they will also be very aware that the jump up from intermediate is a big enough one and that staying up is an absolute priority for them. They will be competitive but relegation does look to be a bigger possibility for them than back to back promotions.

CLODIAGH GAELS

Manager - Ned Casey

Coach – Stephen Corcoran

Selectors - Alan Dunne

Captain - Ruairi Dunne

Any new players - Conor Berry, David Berry, Sean Dunne, Josh Sheeran

Any retirements, long terms absentees through injury, emigration or other reasons - Pat Lyons;

Last year – Beat Coolderry in the relegation play off.

Star player – Cathal Brady;

Prospects – Having been very close to winning this grade in recent years, Clodiagh Gaels took a definite step back last year when they had to survive a relegation play off to stay up. We wouldn't want to read too much into that as they were very close in some games and they remain a side with prospects. At the same time, they do look to be heading into a rebuilding phase and while they can make a semi-final, it wouldn't be a surprise if they are in relegation peril again. We will have to wait and see with them but they are down the list of leading contenders at the moment.

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KILCORMAC-KILLOUGHEY

Manager - Mark Leonard

Selectors - Ciaran Kenny and Shane Melia

Coach - Hughie Hannon

Captain - JK Kilmartin

Any new players - Brian Guinan; The make up of this team will be largely determined by the players the seniors opt to use.

Any retirements, long terms absentees through injury, emigration or other reasons - Shane Guinan is injured

Last year – Beaten in the semi-final;

Star player – Lochlann Kavanagh;

Prospects – Kilcormac-Killoughey's achievement in winning senior and senior B titles in 2023 and 2024 was a remarkable one. It was also no harm that their three in a row bid ended last year as their dominance was very good for their club, not so much for Offaly hurling. They remain contenders at this grade but they do look to have slipped back into the pack a bit. They may also lose players to senior but will still have a great chance of making the semi-finals. They definitely have the potential to win another one but the odds do look to be stacking against them a small bit.

CLARA

Manager – Sean Nolan;

Selectors/Coaches – Patrick Phelan, Ciaran Flannery, Niall Wynne;

Captain – Conor Egan;

New players – Callum Bracken, Rhys Johnson;

Absentees - None

Last year – Beaten in the semi-final;

Star player – Conor Doyle;

Prospects – Clara have a good outside chance at this grade. They have one of the best hurlers in Offaly in Conor Doyle and a very good back bone, including Barry Egan and Marcas Dalton who played in the 2024 All-Ireland U20 hurling final win. They are well able to hurl and they are very competitive at this level. They have a heavy dual commitment and this could go against them while they can be stretched at times. A semi-final is a realistic goal for them.

SEIR KIERAN

Manager – Brian Troy

Selectors – Billy Connors, Patrick Gilligan, Emmet Scully and s and c, Stephen Mahon

Captain – Michael Gilligan

New players – Sean Carey

Absentees - None

Last year – Relegated from senior;

Star player – John Coughlan;

Prospects – The championship favourites and they did really well to win the Division 1 Hurling League recently. Seir Kieran would have been favourites anyway after coming down from senior but they played very well in the concluding stages of the league and winning it was a serious statement of intent. There are plenty of teams in this grade who will relish having a cut at them and they are not unbeatable but they are very much the team to beat and it will be a surprise if they don't return to the top flight.