The Intermediate grade has grown from strength to strength over the past few years.
2024 Carlow IHC Final Preview
St Mullins v Mount Leinster Rangers, Saturday 10th of August, 6pm, Netwatch Cullen Park
By Leo McGough
St Mullins have been the form team of this championship, racking up big scores every day out including a group game against Saturday’s opponents in Borris but the Southerners from experience at all grades will be aware that group results can be notoriously poor guides to the outcome of a knock-out game.
Still, the green and white brigade can call on the services of seven of the men who played in the victorious Intermediate final last year – Laurence Brennan, Sean Doyle, James Kelly, Brian Kealy, Alex Doyle, Fearghal Doyle, Jake Kelly – while the additions of Chris Kavanagh, Cathal Connolly and Eddie Doyle, three very useful hurlers has made up for the loss of a few players to the senior set-up.
And then you have Seamus Murphy, winner of six SHC medals, one as recently as 2022, a potential 7th next Sunday as the former county star is on the bench and ready to do a job if required. However his first priority this weekend is to help steer St Mullins ‘second string’ to the club’s 6th Intermediate title and their 7th Tier Two title {see separate article for explanation}
Manager Pat Fenlon is a mighty club man and his infectious enthusiasm for all things green and white is bound to rub off on this charges, young and old. Guaranteed their usual sizeable support the holders will not lack for vocal encouragement from sideline and terrace.
Mount Leinster Rangers ‘second string’ are contesting a remarkable 14th IHC final sine 2007 and maybe even more remarkable is the fact that the Borris/Rathanna/Ballymurphy club have been involved in no fewer than five final replays! From all those finals the red and black brigade have harvested five Intermediate titles to go with the two won by the club’s flagship team in 1988 and 1996.
The 2024 Intermediate team are anchored by men with pucks of senior experience, two with Leinster Club SHC medals on the field of play, namely sharpshooter Denis Murphy, happily recovered from a scary injury and all-action defender Gary Kelly, albeit his action is now confined to between the Rangers posts.
Tidy defender Richie Kelly was also on that Leinster winning panel and has won 6 Carlow SHC medals on the field of play while Michael Malone has three Carlow SHC medals to his name. All the above have hurled inter-county too. The ‘back-up’ is handy too, every man-jack of them having played several county finals and underage level, successful finals for the most part and all have been blooded with the club’s intermediate and junior (third team) in recent years.
Manager Patrick Kealy is a dyed-in-the-wool clubman, big ball or small ball, Patrick will put his shoulder to the wheel, knows all these players since they were chaps, knows their potential and well practiced at getting that potential out on big days. Saturday is one such day and with the Rangers support in the stand ready to roar his team are primed to give them reason.
This has the ingredients to be a rollicking good final with St Mullins given a hesitant vote to frank the form of the group game which they won 2-17 to 1-13.
Say 1-15 to 1-12 this time!
