Offaly takesAll-Irelandhurling title

By Mark Jones

Offaly 2-16, Kilkenny 1-13

DUBLIN — Offaly went into the annals of hurling history at Croke Park last Sunday when they stormed to victory with a stunning All-Ireland final performance. The first county to lose a provincial decider and come back to lift the McCarthy Cup, Offaly might have entered the closing stages of the championship by the back door, but in the end, they marched proudly out of the front door and returned in triumph to the celebrating hordes in Birr and Tullamore.

In fact, counting referee Jimmy Cooney’s time-keeping error in the semifinal against Clare, Offaly "lost" two vital games during the summer and still survived to be crowned the best team in Ireland. A circuitous route to glory, to be sure, but no one in GAA circles was denying their rightful place following a truly dramatic championship.

Kilkenny, too, had no complaints. In front by 1-7 to 0-8 at the interval, they were very much in the hunt, yet they had no answers to Offaly’s barnstorming second half. Flu victim Brian Whelahan had been moved to full-forward and he somehow managed to shake off the cobwebs with an explosive contribution of 1-6 as Kilkenny were left chasing shadows.

If Man of the Match Whelahan stole the show, there were magnificent displays by the Offalymen all over the pitch. Michael Duignan dropped back into defense and mopped up the breaking ball with an irresistible combination of strength and skill, while the outstanding Kevin Martin kept D.J. Carey under wraps.

Johnny Pilkington, whose clash with Offaly’s previous manager, Babs Keating, had led to Keating’s resignation, proved himself once again with his best match of the summer. Johnny Dooley also hit form and the rearguard of Simon Whelahan, Martin Hanamy, Kevin Kinahan and captain Hubert Rigney gradually subdued the Kilkenny attack.

Goalkeeper Stephen Byrne, who couldn’t be faulted when Charlie Carter, plundered an early goal, underlined his remarkable progress with brilliant saves from P.J. Delaney and Ken O’Shea. Everywhere, there was evidence of Offaly’s phenomenal workrate and composure.

There were deserved plaudits as well for manager Michael Bond, who had taken over from Keating when team morale was rock-bottom. Bond was always adamant that he had the players, it was just a question of getting them in the right frame of mind. To say it was mission accomplished in a couple of short months would be the understatement of the season.

"It was a very special summer for me," said Bond, who many thought had inherited a poisoned chalice. "If you treat players right then things have a habit of working out. They had the talent, it was simply a matter of motivating them on the day."

Asked about the crucial switch that brought Brian Whelahan up into the forward line, Bond said: "It was sheer inspiration. he was suffering from a heavy flu, his legs were dead. It’s unbelievable that Brian could play at such a high level and he such a sick man."

Carter’s early goal, when he finished superbly with a crisp ground stroke, and quickfire points from Andy Comerford and Brian McEvoy had Offaly in a first-half spin. However, once they began to settle following Whelahan’s important switch with Duignan, they looked by far the hungrier side.

They were level soon after the break when John Troy whipped over a free and then Joe Errity bustled through for a goal to put Offaly ahead by 1-12 to 1-9. Soon Kilkenny were awarded a penalty when Delaney was floored by Hanamy, but Carey’s powerful drive skimmed the wrong side of the bar for a point and at that moment most of the 65,500 sellout crowd could sense Kilkenny’s chance had gone.

"I was definitely going for goal," Carey said. "Offaly deserved it, it would be more of a nightmare if we had lost by two points or something." Asked about the future, the player who had stunned sports followers by announcing his retirement last February and then changing his mind suggested he would continue. "If I’m wanted, I’ll be back," he said.

Meanwhile, Offaly were going for the jugular following Carey’s missed penalty. The usually imperious Pat O’Neill was struggling to contain Whelahan, while Errity, Troy and Joe Dooley were sweeping through gaps in the Kilkenny defense.

Although the winners were generating all the momentum, the margin was still only two points with five minutes remaining. But Errity surged forward once more, mis-hit his shot and Whelahan was on hand to find the net for Offaly’s second goal.

That settled the issue and Duignan celebrated his county’s fourth All-Ireland with a glorious late point. "They had a few games extra over the summer and that might have made a difference," suggested Kilkenny’s manager, Kevin Fennelly. "But overall no complaints. I wish it had been a bore of a game and we had won, but it wasn’t to be."

So, it was Offaly’s great day at the end of a roller-coaster season and appropriately the final word went to the modest, but brilliant, Brian Whelahan. "I felt weak at the start, but then I got one or two nice balls and that got me into the game. Sure, when the backs were playing like that, you knew the other side were in trouble."

Offaly: S. Byrne; S. Whelahan, K. Kinahan, M. Hanamy; B. Whelahan (1-6), H. Rigney, K. Martin; J. Pilkington (0-1), Johnny Dooley; M. Duignan (0-2), J. Troy (0-3), G. Hannify; B. Dooley, J. Errity (1-2), Joe Dooley (0-2). Subs: P. Mulhare for Hannify, 30 min.; D. Hannify for B. Dooley, 61 min.; J. Ryan for Johnny Dooley, 67 min.

Kilkenny: J. Dermody; T. Hickey, P. O’Neill, W. O’Connor; M. Kavanagh, C. Brennan, L. Keoghan; P Larkin (0-1), P. Barry; D.J. Carey (0-5), A. Comerford (0-1), B. McEvoy (0-3); K. O’Shea (0-2), P.J. Delaney, C. Carter (1-1). Subs: N. Maloney for O’Shea, 61 min.; J. Costelloe for Kavanagh, 67 min.

Referee: D. Murphy (Wexford).