Spirited Dripsey ready to take the final step

A MERE four years in GAA existence, and Dripsey find themselves within touching distance of the honour they crave.

Tomorrow evening, in Coachford, they have a tilt at the Mid-Cork junior hurling championship crown with a final showdown against Donoughmore and the memories of 12 months ago will be fuelling their desire to achieve success.

Last season saw their maiden appearance in a divisional hurling decider but in a two-game saga against Grenagh, they came out second best. The loss was exacerbated by the fact that in the drawn game they had a golden chance to land the spoils.

“We played very well in the drawn game,” recalls Dripsey selector Martin Griffin.

“We suffered a few injuries before the replay which didn’t help. The experience will hopefully stand to us now.”

Certainly they have weathered plenty storms en route to this stage. Despite collecting league titles over the last few seasons, Dripsey had not ousted Muskerry heavyweights Grenagh or Cloughduv in the championship climate.

This year the draw pitted them amongst those contenders and they responded in a spirited fashion.

“We were put in the tough half of the draw,” states Griffin.

“To beat both Cloughduv and Grenagh was going to be a tough target. It took a replay before we got past Cloughduv and we beat Grenagh by a point last week. The general consensus now is that Dripsey are hot favourites but Donoughmore will see this as a big chance. And we only beat them by three points in last year’s semi-final.

“To win now would be fantastic for everyone. Our goal is to win Junior A titles. People have been very supportive of this club and hopefully we can win our first junior to repay that.”

Dripsey may yearn for success but their famine does not equate to that of Tullylease, who contest tomorrow evening’s Duhallow junior hurling final against Banteer in the hope of ended a 47-year wait since their last triumph. In the interim, Tullylease have been heavily tutored in the school of hard knocks, coming up short in 10 divisional deciders.

“It’s been a long wait,” admits club official Simon Stokes.

“We got to the final last year and that was the first time since 1981. We lost to Kilbrin last year and maybe the occasion got to our lads.”

The plan now is to utilise that experience to chisel out a famous win. The present Tullylease outfit have been coming strong in recent years by collecting two junior league crowns and maturing nicely as a unit.

“The average age of the team is 25 so they’re coming together well now,” says Stokes. “It’s a massive occasion for everyone. There’s about 500 people in the parish and there’s nothing else but hurling here to keep people interested. There’s a big buzz about this game and hopefully we can do it.”

Meanwhile, the junior divisional final schedule begins tonight with the Carrigdhoun JHC final between Ballinhassig and Ballymartle in Belgooly at 6.30pm. Also tonight Bandon clash with Tadgh MacCarthaighs in Dunmanway in the Carbery JFC final at 6.45pm.

Tomorrow, the Avondhu hurling decider between Charleville and Fermoy is on in Mallow at 6pm, along with the Muskerry and Duhallow finals.