Fired-up Shamrocks return to Leinster club action this afternoon
The Ballyhale club are in Portlaoise to meet the Harps later today
After scooping their 22nd Kilkenny SHC crown a fortnight ago, Shamrocks Ballyhale are back on familiar winter terrain as they prepare to kick off their Leinster Championship campaign this Sunday afternoon.
The county champions will travel to Portlaoise for the quarter-final clash against unknown opposition as first time Laois winners the Harps lie in wait for a 2pm throw-in.
For the Shamrocks it’s back in a sphere where they’ve excelled more than other club in the province as they lead the roll of honour with 12 titles. With only three final defeats, the club will go into the next few weeks with huge expectation.
With one of those three final losses coming against St Martin’s in Croke Park last December, the motivation will be strong within the club to get back on top.
The Laois side in opposition are a merger of clubs from the villages of Cullohill and Durrow. As they sit right on the Kilkenny border near Ballyragget, it’s set to be a big occasion when the clubs lie up in opposition.
The Harps may have only won their first senior title in Laois when beating Camross a few weeks ago but it was a success that was definitely anticipated after the club won the last four under-21 titles in succession in the county.
The county title success would have been a sweet one for the club as they lost out to Camross in the opening round of the championship before gaining re venge with a 16-point success on final day. In the likes of Ciaran Comerford, Justin Duggan, Ross Deegan and Eoin Delaney, the Laois champions have some serious firepower that Ballyhale will need to be wary of.
The Shamrocks won’t need to go too far back to the last time they were seriously tested by a side from the O’Moore County in the Leinster campaign. The Ballyhale club faced Clough-Ballacolla in last year’s Leinster semi-final at Nowlan Park and were pushed to the pin of their collar.
It was only a late surge which saw TJ Reid, Darragh Corcoran and Eoin Cody split the posts which ensured the Sha rocks ran out three point win ners. The Harps will take solace from that as they try to emulate a similar display on Sunday.
The club is also managed by former Tipperary hurler Ken Hogan, who has a history of leading teams to county success after steering Borris Kilcotton (Laois), Birr (Offaly), Coolderry (Offaly), St Rynagh’s (Offaly) and Lorha (Tipperary) to victory in different grades on the big day.
There is no doubting that the 2026 version of Shamrocks looks a few notches above last year’s one though and the influx of youth has had a huge influence in that regard. Teenagers Killian Ryan, Jake Mullen and Cathal Coogan have broke through and got plenty of gametime over the course of the season with Ryan and Mullen both starting in the county final success over Tullaroan.
Despite all their victories over the years, Ballyhale is still a relatively small rural club so any new talent is welcomed and with the club also competing at Roinn A in minor this season for the first time in a few years, it shows that a new generation is growing.
On the back of TJ Reid’s inter county retirement with Kilkenny earlier this week, all eyes will be on the 39 year-old as he returns to club duty. While his winning days with the Cats may be at an end, his form this year suggests he’s very motivated to add to his club honours list over the next while.
With Adrian Mullen returning from injury and Eoin Cody and Niall Shortall really hitting peak performances in recent weeks, the Shamrocks attacking line has been purring and after racking up 2-24 in the county final success over Tullaroan, they look like a team that could take some stopping.
Alongside Joey Holden, Daragh Corcoran and Richie Reid providing a hugely experienced block through the centre of defence and midfield and Brian Cody, Evan Shefflin and Killian Corcoran continuing to excel, the Kilkenny champions have a lot going for them.
With all that thrown into the mix it’s hard to look beyond Shamrocks possibly setting up a semi-final showdown in Nowlan Park with Kilmacud Crokes provided they get past Mount Leinster Rangers of Carlow.