THERE are no clear starters’ favourites in the Tullamore Court Hotel Intermediate Football Championship, though it is possible to separate the teams into three grades of contenders:
St Brigid’s, Tullamore and Raheen are in the top tier of title contenders.
Ferbane, Edenderry and Walsh Island are in the second class – they could win but Ferbane and Edenderry are second teams and you just don’t know what they will have while Walsh Island are just down out of senior “B” and have more than their quota of elder statesmen.
It may be a bit harsh not to place Walsh Island in the top tier as they almost won the Division 3 Football League. They are masters of getting the most out of what they have and while they have a few players who are heading down the wrong side of the hill, they could emerge as contenders and will be difficult to beat.
St Rynagh’s and Kilcormac-Killoughey are in the third tier of outsiders.
The top team in the two group qualifies for the semi-finals with second and third in two quarter-finals.
Profiles of the clubs are:
GROUP 1
WALSH ISLAND
Manager – Darren Quinn;
Selector – Mervyn O’Shaughnessy;
Captain – Willie Mulhall and Evin Galvin;
Absentees – James Dunne is a long term injury;
New players – Long serving player Thomas O’Connor has returned after a brief stint with Kilcavan;
Last year – Relegated from senior “B”;
Star player – Willie Mulhall;
Prospects – Having come back down from senior “B”, Walsh Island should be very strong contenders at this lower grade. They definitely have a chance but you wouldn’t make them favourites at the same time. They are an ageing team with a few players well in their thirties and you have to admire these for the way they stay going. Walsh Island are a great example of a team making the most of what they have, hungry to compete. They survived longer in senior “B” than they might have and they will be keen to get back up. They will be a match for everyone but their age could come against them and they may have to settle for another year in intermediate.
TULLAMORE
Manager – Brian O’Reilly;
Selectors – Pat Nolan and Ross Mannion;
Captain – Shane Enright;
Absentees – Tullamore could lose a couple of players to senior with Ben Heffernan, Luke Bourke and Jack Daly among the players who could go;
New players – there are young players coming onto the scene the whole time and regular movement between their teams. Martin Keogh has transferred in from Edenderry, Jake Moore is back playing. Devon Henchy and Sean Afolabi-Joseph are in America for the early rounds;
Last year – Beaten by Raheen in the semi-final;
Star player – Ben Heffernan;
Prospects – As usual Tullamore are the great unknown in this championship. They have huge numbers and a lot of really good footballers eligible for this grade. They are the county’s biggest club and their second football team really should be in the second tier. They have failed to get there in recent years and there is a myriad of reasons for this. Some of them are “big town” issues and not always having a settled team. They can lose players at any time to the senior grade. Even picking their star player is a shot in the dark. Ben Heffernan was a regular last year but has featured prominently for Tullamore in the Division 1 Football League and we don’t know yet if he will make their senior championship team when players start returning – he possibly will as he is a very good defender. Players such as Pa Robbiliard, Liam Dillane, Peter Fox, Tom Furlong and Jay Sheeran have also featured in the latter stages of the league but Tullamore have been down established players. The bottom line is that Tullamore have as good a chance as anyone in this grade and if they really go for it and keep their team together, they would be very difficult to beat. The evidence of recent years suggests that this won’t happen and they certainly couldn’t be accused of loading this team in 2024, giving early senior games to players who didn’t feature late on, but a Tullamore title win would surprise absolutely no one. They will be there or there abouts.
ST RYNAGH’S
Manager – Kevin Meehan;
Selectors – Willie Slevin, Christy Slevin., Gary Daly;
Captain – Conor Daly; Vice captain – Niall Flannery;
Absentees – Sean Dolan and Enda Flynn;
New players – None;
Last year – Beat Kilcormac-Killoughey in the relegation semi-final;
Star player – Aaron Molloy;
Prospects – A proud club with a great footballing tradition, St Rynagh’s have been struggling for a few years now. Numbers are an issue – even though they are in a big parish, hurling is very much the strongest game there. As usual St Rynagh’s will be a tough nut to crack and will give any team bother but they are outside the short list of main contenders and staying up in the first target for them.
KILCORMAC-KILLOUGHEY
Manager – Brendan O’Malley;
Selectors – Liam Melia;
Captain – Barry Leonard;
Absentees – None;
New players – None;
Last year – Defeated Erin Rovers in the relegation final;
Star player – Jordan Quinn;
Prospects – If Kilcormac-Killoughey got their best team out and trained the same as any of the other contenders, they would probably win this championship. They have an enviable array of excellent footballers but that IF is a silly one – K-K won’t train and prepare properly for this grade and while they have won championships with this attitude in the past, it doesn’t really work in the modern game where most clubs are very well prepared and fit. K-K can’t be written off but hurling is king there and the only focus in the club. Take Adam Screeney as an example. He was as exciting an underage footballer at U13, 15 level as there was in the county, breathtakingly skilful but apart from managing a groin injury at the moment, football doesn’t come into his orbit. Others will play the game but it is very much a fun thing for them, a release from the pressure of hurling. They are well capable of beating any team on any given day but when push comes to shove, their lack of a footballing ethos is likely to come against them at some stage.
GROUP 2
RAHEEN
Manager – Niall Carthy
Selectors – Brian Brereton, Pat Reynolds, Trevor Cahill
Captain – Conor Carroll
Absentees – Kealyn Thompson in Australia
New players – None;
Last year – Beaten by Ballinagar in the final;
Star player – Dylan Hyland;
Prospects – Raheen were bitterly disappointed to lose to parish rivals Ballinagar in the final last year. The whole build up to the final may have got to them to an extent, the rivalry in the parish, their long time superiority over Ballinagar and the myriad of family connections that added an enticing extra ingredient into the mix. The simple fact though is that they were also beaten by a better team and they gave it everything they had. Raheen have been very close in recent years and are desperate to win this grade. They are very strong contenders again and have one of the best footballers in Offaly in Dylan Hyland. That is also part of their problem – there is a tendency to expect Hyland to win games and this doesn’tand can’t always happen. He was outstanding in the final against Ballinagar last year but by containing him to a solitary point from play, Ballinagar had one of their big pre-game objectives achieved and no one else really stepped up to the mark. Raheen won’t be far away and could win it, though the impression is they will be caught at some stage again.
FERBANE
Manager – Brian Flynn
Selectors – Cian Johnson, Declan Nugent
Joint Captains – Saran Flynn, Liam Browne
Absentees, long term injuries, retirements from last year- With several seniors unavailable due to overseas travel, transfers, etc, some of last years strongest intermediates will be making the step-up to senior, remains to be seen which ones make the cut. Kieran McManus is taking a year out.
New players – Joe Maher, Ronan McGuire and David Dunican have opted for Intermediate for 2025;
Last year – Beat Erin Rovers in the relegation semi-final;
Star player – Joe Maher;
Prospects – Ferbane are one of the hardest sides to assess at the moment and we just don’t know how they will go. They were senior “B” for a few years before coming back down and they never got motoring last year. The decision of Joe Maher and Ronan McGuire to opt out of senior and play intermediate will strengthen them. You can never rule out the possibility of players such as this returning to senior but they seem determined to play intermediate this year. This will definitely improve their title prospects. Ferbane will be strong and are championship dark horses, albeit just outside the top favourites.
ST BRIGID’S
Joints Managers – Enda Egan and Ger Hannon
Selectors – Jody Kennedy and Sean Egan
Captain – Liam Cocoman
Absentees, long term injuries, retirements from last year – None
New players – None
Last year – Lost to Ballinagar in the semi-final;
Star player – Dan Molloy;
Prospects – St Brigid’s, Tullamore and Raheen comprise the initial short list of championship contenders and there is a case for making St Brigid’s favourites. They were dismayed at their semi-final loss to a fast improving Ballinagar in the semi-final last year. They have a few good young players and a vastly experienced leader in Cian Donohue. They will be very difficult to beat, though they are beatable. They have very good prospects.
EDENDERRY
Manager – Briain Reilly
Selectors – Fergal Swaine and Ciaran Reilly
Captain – Peter Butler;
Absentees – None;
New players – Stephen McGlynn;
Last year – Junior football champions;
Star player – Sean Moriarty;
Prospects – Edenderry are similar to Tullamore in that a lot depends on who goes senior. Cian Murphy was the junior footballer of the year last year but played for the seniors in their Division 1 League win and it looks like he is in their plans. They are a big club in a big town with a big pick and Edenderry should be competitive at this level. They will hold their own but intermediate is a step up from junior and you certainly couldn’t say at the moment that they will win the championship.
