Raheen storm into IFC semi-finals as K-K concede another walkover
Knockout lineup finalised in intermediate football
THE group stages of the Tullamore Court Hotel Offaly Intermediate Football Championship concluded on Thursday evening with a delighted Raheen coming up on the rails to claim an unexpected semi-final berth while Kilcormac-Killoughey conceded their second walkover.
Raheen produced an excellent display and big surprise when detroying high flying and fancied St Brigid's by 1-15 to 0-5 in Edenderry in group 2. It was a big wake up call for the Croghan men who had been going well with two wins and their misery was compounded as they missed out on a semi-final on scoring difference.
Walsh Island were also big winners on the night, beating Rhode by 0-14 to 1-8 in Daingean to qualify in group 2. With Raheen winning, a defeat would have put Walsh Island out on the head to head rule but once again, they showed a great capacity to perform to potential, to extract the most from what they have.
Those results left Raheen, St Brigid's and Walsh Island tied on four points with Raheen earning top spot on scoring difference. Raheen's scoring difference was +8 points with St Brigid's on +3 and Walsh Island out of the equation on -4.
St Brigid's return of only five points and a 13 point loss to a side who had been blowing more cold than hot raises serious questions. Had they been a bit more competitive, they would have qualified for the semi-finals – a loss by ten points would have still earned them top spot and a 13 point one was just not on the radar.
Ferbane earned top spot in group 1 with a convincing 5-12 to 2-13 win over Gracefield while Kilcormac-Killoughey's campaign came to an ignominious end with the concession of a walkover to Edenderry. It means that Ferbane go into the semi-finals as the only side with a 100 percent record while Edenderry meet Walsh Island and St Brigid's face Gracefield in the two quarter-finals.
The season is now over for St Rynagh’s, Kilcormac-Killoughey and Rhode.
Kilcormac-Killoughey's campaign provides a real dilemma for both the club and the County Board. They started it with a walkover to St Rynagh's, ended it with one to Edenderry, were hammered by Ferbane and let Gracefield off the hook with a catalogue of misses in a two point loss.
In a club where numbers are not an issue, the concession of walkovers is just not good enough but this has been going on for several years. Football has died a death in this huge parish since the 1986 amalgamation of Kilcormac and Killoughey – Kilcormac were beaten by Ferbane in the Senior Football Championship in 1986 but hurling took primacy from the minute they amalgamated with Killoughey and its dominance has grown more pronounced as time wore on.
Hurling is king in the parish and that is the way it should be but their love-hate relationship with football is a big issue. They just shouldn't be conceding games but with very little football training taking place and both their senior and senior “B” hurlers facing huge group games in a few days time, it would have been a bigger surprise if they had fielded against Edenderry – they couldn't qualify and there is no relegation this year as intermediate goes to ten teams next year.
That is the one positive in this as relegation would be no good to Kilcormac-Killoughey or the clubs back in junior football. Back a decade plus ago, K-K were able to win occasional junior and intermediate titles with minimal effort but that day is gone as intermediate clubs are now very well prepared and soft championships can't be won.
They would, however, be more than capable of winning junior with limited preparations and last won that grade in 2018. Several of K-K's hurling stars are capable footballers but some have opted out of the game, which is the right thing to do if that is the road they want to go, while others play it but mainly when it doesn't interfere with hurling.
This year's campaign should result in serious soul searching in Kilcormac-Killoughey GAA Club. They have fielded underage football teams in various grades and actually topped their groups in minor and U14 football. That suggests plenty of young interest but any young player that develops a genuine footballing passion over hurling is then failed at adult level.
A player in this category Cathal Donoghue transferred to Oughterard in Galway a few years ago. An All-Ireland U20 football winner with Offaly in 2021 and on the senior panel in 2024 and 2025, Donoghue has family connections with the Galway club but it is very doubtful that he would have went if K-K were playing football anyway seriously. He was also on the K-K senior hurling team and would be challenging for a place on their current team if still there.
It would be a nuclear option but unless K-K are going to take really positive action about adult football, there is a strong case to be made for them not fielding an adult team. This would allow the few who want to play football to get permission with a neighbouring club who is serious about the game – it's not necessarily the right road to go but it would be better than what has gone on this year and other years. The County Board should also take a more proactive role in it. It is of course a matter for Kilcormac-Killoughey but this has been going on for a while, and they have a duty to both footballers in K-K and in other clubs – junior clubs have to be consisered if KK do go back in the coming seasons as do the St Rynagh's and Edenderry players who were denied a game they wanted to play this year.