(Last edited 12:50pm on 21/9/26 to correct several typos. Mea Culpa).
Seneschalstown…1-26
Simonstown Gaels…2-19 (AET)
It’s difficult if not impossible now to visualise a world without the ability to stream events online. Either in real time or to be able to go back and re-watch them after the fact.
In a sporting sense, the advent of the phenomenon that is Clubber TV has been an absolute God send. Especially for someone like myself who sometimes cannot get to as many matches in person as it is earnestly wished is the case. From a certain angle, one can only offer envious kudos to whomever it was that came up with the concept of Clubber.
For it is worth pointing out that, not only do they show club GAA from every county in the country as well as Europe and the US, they also cover second and third level colleges competitions and inter county fare at Minor and U-20 level. Also the pre-season competitions if they are left in situ.
Over the course of this current weekend, a mixture of frustration and admiration has promulgated. The former, partly because our own lot weren’t involved at the business end of things. But at least in that case it was the result of us making our own bed and having to lie in it.
The other modicum of frustration was down to the manner in which the broadcasts of some of the matches kept breaking up. However, conversely, what that in itself actually did was only underline the admiration which is due to the Clubber camera and technical support crews as well as commentators like Davy Rispin, Aaron Murray and my friend and club colleague Eamon Murphy.
Friday night in particular was like a cross between trying to round up mountain sheep and flag in aeroplanes in a hurricane. Yet the Clubber crews kept the show on the road. Quite the show it was too. As brothers Eamon and Cathal Finnegan combined with enough horsepower to enable Seneschalstown to dig out safety for themselves for another season at least.
Before undoubtedly returning to continue digging out the potato harvest for a sizable percentage of the nation on the renowned farm which bears the family name. Well known and popular as it is due to streaming services lauded earlier in this piece via the Finnegan’s Farm YouTube channel. Even though my admiration for and emotional connection to the Balrath bastions of agriculture dates back to a time which long predates social media and even before the two young bucks were twinkles in daddy Paul’s eye.
However, to focus on the conclusion to matters would be akin to licking up the few remaining crumbs of a sandwich without being able to savour the whole creation. Even though it was indeed Cathal who tapped over the opening score after about 40 seconds when the goalkeeper from the northside of Navan Robbie Burlingham was adjudged to have been too casual with a kickout.
Be that as it may, the Keegan Cup winners of 2016 and ’17 eventually found their feet as the mercurially talented but luckless Brian Conlon spun over a superb two pointer before the very promising Oran Meade tagged on another score for Tony Dunne’s team.
Colin Scanlon then stole forward to clip over his customary point before the languid Cian Common also burst into proceedings, registering three points on the spin. Which at that point left David Hosie’s troops a 0-06 to 0-03 buffer from their opponents.
Again, though, the fact that the two teams know each other so well having all gone to school together in St Patrick’s Classical meant that there was never likely to be much between them.
Thus, another monstrous double from Conlon left only a point between the sides before Cathal Finnegan and the burgeoning Alan Mulvany engaging the umpires in the run in to half time as the Fr Tully Park residents led by 0-07 to 0-05 at the short whistle.
The former of the two sharpshooters mentioned above put the gap out to three again before the two shades of blue took over.
Hitting eight unanswered points including a hat-trick of Shane McEnery two pointers. All of which meant the men from Tara Mines Park were suddenly catapulted into a four point lead and heading for home.
Or so it seemed. Mind you, despite being without their suspended county star Cathal Hickey, the Div. 2 league winners dug in and reeled off a five in a row of their own, the final of which was a Finnegan free after another Commons double had hauled them back to parity.
Mind you, their spell in the ascend was fleeting at best as the bustling Eddie Nash – brother of the unfortunately exported Conor – broke several tackles before driving over into the road goals of Fr McManus Park. Then Aaron Farrelly converted a cheaply coughed up free to give Simonstown back the lead, though it too was short lived as the classy looking Mulvany produced another superb score.
Again the pendulum swung as Cathal Finnegan shook off the effects of a hefty hit to split the posts. Though lead change was equally short lived as evidence, as if it were ever needed, that class and skill are permanent arrived in abundance when Padraig McKeever – for so long the fulcrum of attacks for the two shades of blue – came up trumps and kept their hopes alive for another while at least. 0-16 apiece at the end of normal time.
Repeating the pattern of normal time, again it was the men from the Furze who made the swifter start to the additional period. Finnegan once again emerging from the wars to hang up a massive score which was upgraded to a two-pointer on the nod of the line umpire. As they are now to be called, Lord help us.
I’ve no doubt that behind screens somewhere there are groans of ‘Oh he’s obsessed with the Finnegans’ but the number one guideline in this line of business – for me at least – is calling things as they are seen. Thus, if one thought the first double the citog corner forward nailed was classy, he only went and bettered it to edge his side’s side lead out to four.
Now, I’m not sure if Seneschalstown’s flying wing back Sean Carey is related to Mark of the same name who filled the same spot on championship winning teams in blue and gold, but the similarities between the two are obvious and, after Cathal’s latest double at that point, the current incarnation of the Carey wing backs unleashed a piledriver which, although diverted, ended up with Eamon Finnegan clipping over a point which put the chasm in their favour to 0-21 to 0-16.
Done deal? Hold that thought. That man McKeever interjected again when his point attempt dropped short only for ‘Flash’ Gordon to come unstuck in the monsoon conditions and the Gaels 40 yards man ended up being credit with a goal. Seconds later, it was a case of rinse and repeating. Which in itself, in a somewhat unlikely fashion, left himself and his colleagues 2-16 to 0-21 to the good.
I think it would be fairly widely accepted that, with the calibre of players at their disposal, David Hosie’s troops are far too good to be in the predicament in which they find themselves and to underline the fact Dylan Keating restored their two points lead with an exquisite two pointer.
At that point it was raining the aforementioned scores as much as it was water and Cathal Finnegan put another orange flag in the bank before Eamon negotiated the leather past Burlingham to make absolutely sure even though the promising Will Byrne had the last say in the scoring stakes.
Leave a Reply