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\nBallygunner tasted All-Ireland club hurling success in 2022<\/p>\n
This is a very special weekend.<\/p>\n
It’s All-Ireland club finals Sunday in Croke Park.<\/p>\n
Every club in the country aspires and dreams of getting to GAA headquarters to participate in the biggest day in their history.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s phenomenal.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unique.<\/p>\n
I should know.<\/p>\n
My club was in Croke Park 15 years ago. Forgive me if I boast just a little but we are to this day the only Clare club to ever reach an All-Ireland Club Football Final.<\/p>\n
When I was playing with my home parish of Kilmurry Ibrickane on the Wild Atlantic Way in west Clare, we were lucky enough to win a first-round match or maybe get to a quarter final.<\/p>\n
We always had the footballers and the talent but not maybe the know how to win tight games.<\/p>\n
Our philosophy had to change.<\/p>\n
Our style had to change.<\/p>\n
My fellow parishioners were heroic, starting to coach in our five primary schools in our rural parish.<\/p>\n
We won F\u00e9ile, every underage grade and eventually Cusack Cup (senior league), senior championships and two Munster club titles.<\/p>\n
\nBallygunner tasted All-Ireland club hurling success in 2022<\/p>\n
My best friends at home tell me all the time the best thing I ever did for the club I love so much was to stop playing, retire and concentrate on getting into broadcasting and RT\u00c9.<\/p>\n
They started winning matches when I left.<\/p>\n
Clearly, I have great friends… I\u2019m sure they were joking.<\/p>\n
In 2010, the buses left Quilty on a Tuesday, although the match was not until Thursday in Croke Park.<\/p>\n
We were going to enjoy this experience.<\/p>\n
A little gesture meant a lot to me.<\/p>\n
Croke Park, via the kindness of Alan Milton, Head of Communications for the GAA, allowed me the honour of announcing the team selections for my club and St Gall\u2019s of Belfast over the public address system on All-Ireland final day.<\/p>\n
It also gave my great friend Jerry Grogan, who normally does the announcing, a five-minute break.<\/p>\n
It was incredibly emotional but it meant the world to me and I thank Alan for that unforgettable gesture.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, we lost to a great St Gall\u2019s team from the Falls Road in Belfast who fully deserved their All Ireland.<\/p>\n
They were also a fierce nice crowd and gave me a great welcome when I went up to do previews for our news bulletins.<\/p>\n
From what I have written above, you will realise that I fully understand and appreciate what Sunday means to Daingean U\u00ed Ch\u00fais, St Brigid\u2019s, Ballygunner and Loughrea.<\/p>\n
While there won\u2019t be 82,300 people packed into Croke Park this Sunday in the way there will be for the inter-county All-Ireland finals in July, do not for a moment underestimate the significance of what lies ahead.<\/p>\n
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\nLoughrea players celebrating after their Galway hurling success in 2025<\/p>\n
This weekend belongs to the clubs, and for the four teams involved, it represents the very pinnacle of their sporting lives.For Loughrea, Ballygunner, Daingean U\u00ed Ch\u00fais and St Brigid\u2019s of Kiltoom in Roscommon, Sunday\u2019s All-Ireland club finals are not just another fixture on the calendar.<\/p>\n
They are the culmination of years of dedication, sacrifice and belief, not just from players and management, but from entire communities who have travelled every step of the journey with them.<\/p>\n
The hurling final promises to be a fascinating and compelling contest.<\/p>\n
Ballygunner arrive with a reputation that needs little introduction.<\/p>\n
For over two decades they have dominated the Waterford club scene, claiming 12 consecutive county titles and adding six Munster crowns along the way.<\/p>\n
Their hunger for a second All-Ireland title has been clear for some time, and few could argue with the assertion that Ballygunner have set the standard for modern club hurling.<\/p>\n
But standing in their way is a Loughrea side determined to write their own chapter of history.<\/p>\n
To lift the cup on Sunday, Loughrea must not only meet Ballygunner\u2019s benchmark, they must surpass it.<\/p>\n
That challenge, that sense of occasion, is what makes this final so captivating.<\/p>\n
It is the ultimate test of character, composure and courage.<\/p>\n
Turning to the football, the storyline is just as compelling.<\/p>\n
Like Ballygunner, St Brigid\u2019s are chasing a second All-Ireland title, having previously tasted glory in 2013 when they defeated Ballymun Kickhams in a memorable final.<\/p>\n
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\nSt Brigid’s of Roscommon won the All-Ireland club football title in 2013<\/p>\n
Since then, expectation has followed them, and this campaign has been about answering it once again.<\/p>\n
Their opponents, Daingean U\u00ed Ch\u00fais, have produced one of the most remarkable club journeys in recent memory.<\/p>\n
The Kerry champions have shown extraordinary resilience, battling back from the brink on multiple occasions in the Kerry championship, in the Munster final against St Finbarr\u2019s and most memorably in their All-Ireland semi-final triumph over Ballyboden St Enda\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Time and again, they have refused to yield.<\/p>\n
I was on my way to Thurles to commentate on the club camogie final replay for television and was listening to Pauric Lodge on the radio and genuinely thought Ballyboden would win, with the scoreline of something like 1-14 to 0-5 at the start of the second half. Goodnight Daingean U\u00ed Ch\u00fais!<\/p>\n
At half time in the camogie final, Finbar Mc Carthy from 96FM in Cork poked his head around the corner of the commentary box to tell me Daingean U\u00ed Ch\u00fais and Ballyboden was gone to extra time in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.<\/p>\n
What? It couldn\u2019t be?<\/p>\n
But it was true.<\/p>\n
As a commentator, these are the days you live for.<\/p>\n
The emotion, the tension, the sense that something truly special is unfolding.<\/p>\n
Win, lose or draw, Sunday, 18 January in Croke Park will be etched forever in the memories of those who take the field and those who stand proudly behind them.<\/p>\n
So please don\u2019t underestimate All-Ireland club finals day in Croke Park.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a dream to get there.<\/p>\n
Very few achieve it.<\/p>\n
Even fewer know what it\u2019s like to win and lift the cup that signals you are the best team not just in your county, not just in your province, but in the country.<\/p>\n
Now that would make any human being cry with sheer pride.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is a very special weekend. It’s All-Ireland club finals Sunday in Croke Park. Every club in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":{"0":"post-249286","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}