The Brosna Press Division 1 and Division 2 hurling league finals will be decided on Saturday evening, when Coolderry meet Seir Kieran in the Division 1 Final at Shinrone, while Tullamore face Shamrocks in the Division 2 Final at Killurin with both games throwing in at 6.30pm.
Division 1 Final – Coolderry v Seir Kieran at Shinrone
These neighbouring clubs will contest for the Pat Carroll cup on Saturday, a trophy they have won 15 times between them. Coolderry previously took the cup home in 1993, 1995, 2001, ’03, ’05, ’07, ’08 and ’09, while Seir Kieran’s seven wins were in 1988, ’89, ’94, ’96, 2000, 2011 and 2016. This is the third Final meeting of the pair, with Coolderry winning in 2001 and 2007 while Seir Kieran beat Coolderry in a replayed 2000 decider.
Coolderry topped the group on the way to reaching Saturday’s Final. They lost the first round to Birr (1-21 to 3-18), but won their four remaining games, scoring big tallies on the way. They beat Seir Kieran by 3-20 to 3-16, Shinrone 1-17 to 2-10, Kilcormac-Killoughey by 4-19 to 1-17 and Kinnitty by 4-14 to 1-14.
Seir Kieran finished second in the group, winning three while losing two. Like Coolderry, they lost their opening round, a 1-6 to 1-11 defeat by Kinnitty. They won their second game, beating Kilcormac-Killoughey by 1-12 to 0-14, before losing to Coolderry in their third game. The remaining wins saw them reach the final, a 0-18 to 1-9 win over Shinrone and a 1-17 to 0-18 win over Birr.
Division 2 Final – Shamrocks v Tullamore at KIllurin
As the Division 1 Final, the Division 2 Final will be contested by neighbouring clubs. The Shane Ryan cup is the trophy on offer for the winners, and both finalists are attempting to win this trophy for the first time. When they met in the league stage of the competition, Shamrocks emerged with a 2-23 to 5-9 win.
Shamrocks reach the Final with a 100% record. They did this with wins over Lusmagh (1-17 to 1-11), Carrig & Riverstown (1-8 to 0-8), Drumcullen in a high scoring game 0-28 to 0-15, Tullamore by 2-23 to 5-9, Clodiagh Gaels by 0-16 to 0-14 and Ballinamere in another high scoring encounter by 4-17 to 3-13.
Tullamore finished second in the group. They opened their campaign with three successive wins, beating Carrig & Riverstown by 2-17 to 3-13, going on to beat Ballinamere 3-10 to 2-11 and Lusmagh by 2-12 to 1-14. They then stutterd, losing to Clodiagh Gaels by 1-13 to 0-21 and to Shamrocks by 5-9 to 2-23, in what would be a fore runner to Saturday’s final, but had done enough to edge out third placed Clodiagh Gaels by one point.
