O'Loughlin Gaels double dilemma results in Kilkenny county final switch

The rise in success in O’Loughlin Gaels has come back to bite Kilkenny GAA with the St Canice’s Credit Union senior hurling championship final and the JJ Kavanagh junior hurling championship final being forced onto different days the weekend after next.

The initial idea - credit to the Kilkenny County Board - was to have a double-header including the junior decider as it was felt that senior county final day was missing a bit of a spark the last few years.

This was still the plan prior to last weekend’s games, but once O’Loughlin Gaels beat St Patrick’s of Ballyragget in the junior semi-final, it quickly became apparent that a problem may arise.

Less than 24 hours later, the O’Loughlins senior side got the job done against Mullinavat and manager Brian Hogan summed up the uniqueness of having two teams on the go when speaking afterwards.

“It was an unusual situation at the end of the game when Owen Wall went down injured and half the bench were probably hoping they wouldn’t come on as a good few of them are on the junior team that are in their own county final,” he said.
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“It’s going to be a great two weeks for the club, there are places up for grabs on both teams and there’s a great buzz around the club so we are really looking forward to it.”

Once both teams had sealed their places in the county deciders against Shamrocks Ballyhale (senior) and Barrow Rangers (junior), a request for a change was lodged and duly accepted.

When you look at the two O’Loughlins squads from the games last weekend, it’s no surprise that a change was made. With 13 players named on both panels, the likelihood is that one or two may be needed to play a part in both games over the course of the two days.

The junior final is now fixed for Saturday October 25 with a 3pm start. The senior decider will be played at the same time a day later on what is a huge weekend for the city club.