Inside Hurling: County-by-county guide to the best of the Allianz League
STAR ATTRACTION: Tony Kelly of Clare. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
Brian Lohan (fourth season).
Having assisted Ballyea and St Finbarrs to county titles, Kilmallock man Adrian O’Brien is Clare’s new strength and conditioning coach.
Tony Kelly is set to lead the Banner once more.
Former skipper Patrick O’Connor announced his retirement in November. Jack Browne isn’t part of the panel nor is Shane Golden or Gary Cooney.
Feb 5 v Westmeath (h); Feb 11 v Limerick (a); Feb 26 v Wexford (a); Mar 12 v Galway (h); Mar 19 v Cork (h).
After his debut senior season in 2022, there had been high hopes for Robert Mounsey going into this year and he will be expected to take it up another level. Darragh Lohan started the two Munster HL games at centre-back.
Even though Clare could do with winning the league, I see Brian targeting a couple of key games in this competition to see if some of his key young players can make that step up. Mark Rogers looks like he can but there will be plenty of others who get their opportunity to audition this spring, especially Patrick Crotty, Cian Galvin, Brandon O’Connell, Paddy Donnellan, Robyn Mounsey, Mike Gough and Keith Smythe. This league will also give Aidan McCarthy a chance to make up the lost ground from last year’s injury enforced absence.
Pat Ryan (first season).
Ryan has brought several of his successful U20 management group – Brendan Coleman, Fergal Condon, Donal O’Mahony and Wayne Sherlock. Ryan’s coach is Cappoquin man Donal O’Rourke.
Seán O’Donoghue is the new captain.
Just how long Mark Coleman’s knee injury keeps him sidelined remains to be seen but at the very least the league looks a long shot. Alan Connolly is also out for a spell and Ben Cunningham’s injury against Kerry was unfortunate given his excellent club form. Mark Keane will be missed.
Feb 4 v Limerick (h); Feb 12 v Galway (a); Feb 26 v Westmeath (h); Mar 12: v Wexford (h); Mar 19 v Clare (a).
Brian Hayes did himself a couple of favours in the pre-season competition. Brian Roche and Cathal Cormack should provide Ryan with options.
With a new manager in Pat Ryan, I’ve a sneaky suspicion that Cork could win the league. They already have the Munster league in the bag and Pat will want to keep that momentum going. Cork could do with a national trophy, not having won one since 2005. Pat will be keen to test out some of the players he led to double All-Ireland U-20 success but his biggest priority this spring will be getting more out of the guys in their mid 20s like Darragh Fitzgibbon, Shane Kingston, Tim O’Mahony and Jack O’Connor.
Henry Shefflin (Second season).
Shefflin's management setup is unchanged with trusted ally Richie O'Neill accompanying him again, along with Damien Joyce and Kevin Lally.
Daithi Burke captained Galway last year. There has been no announcement of a change so far.
Versatile All-Ireland winner Johnny Coen confirmed his retirement in December. Aside from that, there have been no significant departures.
Feb 4 Wexford (a); Feb 12 Cork (h); Feb 26 Limerick (h); Mar 12 Clare (a); Mar 19 Westmeath (a).
Shefflin has stated that he needs to beef up his squad and looked at 37 different players in the Walsh Cup. Former minor star Jack Canning, Joe's nephew, is back on the panel though nursing a hamstring injury. Portumna colleague Declan McLoughlin played and scored in all three games. Ronan Murphy, Mark Kennedy and Sean O'Hanlon looked useful too. Free-taker Evan Niland continues to score heavily for college and county.
For Henry Shefflin at this stage, his only target is to win an All-Ireland, but have Galway the players to pull that off? For all the All-Ireland minors Galway have won, there doesn’t seem to be as much quality coming off the production line as you’d think. A guy like Evan Niland is around a long time now but Henry has to establish Niland as his number 1 freetaker during this league. He’s had that role before but last year’s championship proved that Niland is a more reliable freetaker than Conor Cooney. The other big question for Henry is does he go with Gearoid McInerney again for centre-back?
John Kiely (seventh season).
No changes to the winning crew of Paul Kinnerk, Donal O’Grady, Aonghus O’Brien, Alan Cunningham, Cairbre Ó Caireallain and Caroline Currid.
Declan Hannon will be aiming to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup for a fifth time in July.
Aaron Gillane does not appear to be in Kiely’s plans right now. Cian Lynch’s return after an ankle operation will be treated carefully. Hurler of the year Diarmaid Byrnes is expected back from travelling towards the end of the league.
Feb 4 v Cork (a); Feb 11 v Clare (h); Feb 26 v Galway (a); Mar 12 v Westmeath (a); Mar 19 v Wexford (h).
After strong club form these last couple of seasons, Micheál Houlihan, son of ex-Limerick midfielder Mike, could get some league outings. Wing-back Mark Quinlan impressed in games last month.
For Limerick, this league is very clearly defined and mapped out for John Kiely; getting game time into the legs of Cian Lynch and Peter Casey; finding out if Cathal O’Neill can nail down a starting jersey; nursing Mikey Casey back from injury; trying to discover if any fringe player is going to step up? Keeping the panel fresh while fostering competition should take care of itself with two marquee players back from last year’s Munster championship. Like last year, John won’t be worried about results in the league. Steady as she goes.
Joe Fortune (Second season).
It's steady as she goes for Dubliner Fortune and his backroom after an impressive debut campaign.
Killian Doyle will have the armband this year having shared it with Aonghus Clarke in 2022.
Experienced Clarke and Tommy Gallagher have gone travelling, two hefty losses.
Feb 5 Clare (a); Feb 12 Wexford (h); Feb 26 Cork (a); Mar 12 Limerick (h); Mar 19 Galway (h).
Galway man Davy Glennon's unfamiliar defensive role against Antrim in the Walsh Cup was intriguing. Ringtown rookie Mark Cunningham showed up well at midfield throughout January. Rian Holding and Jack Gallagher are also newcomers who featured in the Walsh Cup and will be expected to make National League debuts.
Joe Fortune had an outstanding year in his first season in the job last year – remember that Westmeath drew with Wexford a week before Wexford beat Kilkenny in Nowlan Park. But they need to build on that progress now because the last thing Westmeath need is to get relegated ahead of the Leinster round robin. After finishing the championship on such a high last year, hammering Laois, this league is all about consolidating and building on that progress now.
Darragh Egan (second season).
Neil O'Loughlin, who coached Rapparees to a Wexford Senior hurling championship title in 2021, has joined the backroom team.
Lee ChinÂ
Shaun Murphy and Paul Morris have retired.
February 04, Galway (h); February 12, Westmeath (a); February 26, Clare (h); March 12, Cork (a); March 19, Limerick (a).
Defender Conor Devitt saw a lot of game time during the pre-season and Egan praised him as man of the match after the Laois loss recently.
Bottom line for Darragh Egan will be to try and win a Leinster title but the All-Ireland defeat to Clare last June showed how much Wexford need to expand their panel when they just ran out of bodies. This campaign will present that opportunity because Darragh needs to unearth at least two more quality players if they are to really have a cut at winning Leinster. Don’t see them challenging for the league at all, but they’ll always be competitive.
Darren Gleeson (fourth).
Gleeson agreed a new two-year term at the end of last season with Johnny Campbell, Jim Close and Gary O’Kane all staying on.
Eoghan Campbell Unavailable: Ballycastle man Matthew Donnelly has retired. Gleeson has to contend with a lengthy injury list, which includes Ciaran Clarke and Conor McCann who are both recovering from ACL injuries.
February 4, Kilkenny (h); February 12, Dublin (a); February 26, Waterford (a); March 12, Laois (h); March 19, Tipperary (h).
After their run to the All-Ireland club final, the Dunloy contingent are now back training. Half-forward Nigel Elliott, brother of Seann, has made a return to the Saffrons having spent the last few years in Australia.
Darren Gleeson has also done a brilliant job in Antrim but it’s crucial for them not to get into that yo-yo pattern that has blighted Antrim so often in the past when they appear to be making progress. They have had some big results in Corrigan Park – in 2021 they beat Clare and drew with Wexford – so they need to try and turn Corrigan into a fortress now this spring. If Antrim are really ambitious now, especially with Dublin vulnerable with having lost so many players, they should be targeting that third spot in Leinster. But this league will prove if they are anywhere close to being able to think that big.
Micheal Donoghue (First season).
Donoghue brought selectors Francis Forde and Noel Larkin with him from Galway. Shane O'Brien, the former Westmeath manager, knows the local scene well as a Cuala man.
Eoghan O'Donnell had the armband in 2022. New boss Donoghue hasn't announced this year's skipper yet.
Dublin have lost some heavy hitters, around 10 in all from last summer's panel. Ex-captains Liam Rushe and Chris Crummey are unavailable, along with last year's vice-captain Cian O'Callaghan. There's no Mark Schutte nor Sean Moran either.
Feb 5 Waterford (a); Feb 12 Antrim (h); Feb 25 Tipperary (h); Mar 12 Kilkenny (a); Mar 19 Laois (h).
Donoghue used 43 different players in the Walsh Cup. Former Cork defender Chris O'Leary, who joined Lucan Sarsfields last year, played in the three games, scoring against Antrim and Westmeath. Naomh Barrog free-taker Joe Flanagan hit 0-14 and 0-10 against Antrim and Galway. Cian Boyle, Conor Donoghue and former U-20 star Dara Purcell impressed at stages too.
This is a fresh start for Micheál Donoghue with a totally new group. I don’t blame Mattie Kenny for staying with the same fellas for as long as he did but the whole scene was gone stale last year. Micheál has to plan now without Chris Crummey, Liam Rushe and Cian O’Callaghan, along with a handful of more players, so this is a serious rebuilding job. I’m sure the county board reassured him of that security. He blooded a lot of players during the Walsh Cup and that experimentation will continue during this campaign.
Derek Lyng (First season).
Peter Barry, Michael Rice and Peter O'Donovan are assisting Lyng while coach Conor Phelan and fitness expert Michael Comerford, both part of Brian Cody's setup last season, have stayed on.
Eoin Cody, with Ballyhale Shamrocks colleague TJ Reid as vice-captain.
Michael Carey and Conor Browne, starters in last season's All-Ireland final, are unavailable. Richie Leahy and James Maher have opted out too. But veteran attacker Richie Hogan will be back, as will midfielder Conor Fogarty.
Feb 4 Antrim (a); Feb 12 Tipperary (h); Feb 26 Laois (a); Mar 12 Dublin (h); Mar 19 Waterford (a).
Aidan Tallis and Niall Rowe, fresh off last year's All-Ireland U-20 success, featured in the Walsh Cup though Billy Drennan is the most exciting prospect from that group, hitting 0-9 against Offaly and 2-4 against Laois. Niall Brennan and Paul Cody are also newcomers who could catch the eye in the National League.
I don’t know Derek Lyng that well but he was a guy I always admired. It’s not in my DNA to have sympathy for a Kilkenny man at the outset of the year but you wouldn’t be human if you some small part of you didn’t want Derek to do well considering the huge shoes he’s been asked to fill. It’s like David Moyes trying to follow on from Alex Fergusson. I hope it’s less challenging for Derek but he’ll get a fair bit of slack from the Kilkenny public. On the otherhand, he won’t get that long either. His priority will be to bed in some of the successful U-20s and regenerate some of the older fellas. With Leinster not as cut-throat as Munster, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kilkenny won the league.
Willie Maher (first season).
Aaron Dunphy is a big name back, while Eanna Lyons and Podge Lawlor have also returned to the squad. Other new players worth keeping an eye on are recent U-21s James Duggan (an X-factor forward from the Harps), Fionan Mahony, Lawson Obular, Ciaran Byrne and Enda Parlon.
Clough-Ballacolla’s Willie Dunphy is the new captain. Dunphy takes over from Podge Delaney and John Lennon who were joint captains last year. He was previously vice-captain in 2020.
The Ballinakill duo of Sean Downey and Cha Dwyer are not available for the 2023 season as both are gone travelling. Ben Conroy is also unavailable this year.
4 Feb v Tipperary (A); Feb 11th v Waterford (H); Feb 25th v Kilkenny (H); 12 Mar v Antrim (A); 9 Mar v Dublin (A).
Tomas ‘Mossy’ Keyes is an excellent young player. Part of the IT Carlow Fitzgibbon Cup side last year while he also made his Laois senior debut last year before he’d even played senior with Camross. Man-of-the-Match in the Walsh Cup win against Wexford.
This is a big step up for Willie Maher trying to get Laois back up to the Liam MacCarthy, but that’s what makes this league so attractive ahead of the Joe McDonagh Cup because they can really go bald-headed for it. They won’t be expected to win many games but they can treat every match like it’s not far off championship. There will probably be a few heavy defeats but Laois have brought in a few decent young players and this is a great opportunity for them to learn the hard way.
Liam Cahill (first season).
A whole new set-up with his trusted coach Michael Bevans, his old U20 selector TJ Ryan, Declan Laffan, former Tipperary star Pádraic Maher and Waterford great Tony Browne, who assisted him in the Deise last year. Tommy Ryan is the physical trainer.
Noel McGrath leads the team this season, last season’s captain Ronan Maher his vice.
It would appear John O’Dwyer’s inter-county career is over. Goalkeeper Brian Hogan is travelling this year and Jerome Cahill has work commitments. Craig Morgan is making his way back from a cruciate operation.
Feb 5 v Laois (h); Feb 12 v Kilkenny (a); Feb 25 v Dublin (a); Mar 11 v Waterford (h); Mar 19 v Antrim (a).
Michael Breen’s switch to full-back seems one Cahill is determined to see through. Bryan O’Mara will be welcomed back after missing last year and Seán Ryan could be a useful figure in attack.
The Munster league showed how Liam Cahill has clearly targeted nailing down his defensive spine with Mikey Breen at full-back and Bryan O’Mara at number 6. O’Mara is a class player who went travelling last year but there is no doubt that Liam will be looking to show faith in the lads who did it for him at underage. Elsewhere, Cahill will surely continue with the experiment of playing Seamie Kennedy in the forwards during the spring.
Davy Fitzgerald (first season, second term).
Tipperary’s Eoin Kelly and Peter Queally are with Fitzgerald as selectors while strength and conditioning coach John Matthews is also on the ticket. Former Munster and Ireland star Donncha O’Callaghan has joined as performance coach.
Conor Prunty was in the role for 2021 and 2022. This year’s captain has yet to be confirmed.
Former Waterford captain Pauric Mahony has retired. After much speculation, Stephen O'Keeffe confirmed he will not be rejoining the squad. Kieran and Shane Bennett are based in Australia for 2023.
February 05, Dublin (h); February 11, Laois (a); February 26, Antrim (h); March 11, Tipperary (a); March 19, Kilkenny (h).
Earlier this month Padraig Fitzgerald hit 13 points for his club Kilrossanty to fire them to their first-ever county U20 hurling title. A day later he came on against Tipperary for his Waterford debut in the Munster Hurling League and hit 0-2. The forward started against Clare as well and scored 0-2.
After last year, do Waterford have any interest in the league? On the other hand, Waterford’s championship last year was in synch with their dire record in their two previous years in the round robin in 2018 and 2019. Sorting out that issue will be Davy Fitzgerald’s biggest priority but, knowing him as a player and having managed him, Davy just wants to win everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if his attitude was, ‘Forget about what happened last spring, let’s just try and win this thing’. He will experiment but Tadgh de Burca’s good form allows him to try and settle on Aussie Gleeson closer to goal.
Stephen Molumphy (second season)
Ten players have been brought in from last year’s U-20 side which rattled Tipperary but the return of three Causeway players to Kerry’s ranks – Brandon Barrett, Keith Carmody and Dan Goggin –is a massive boost. Kilmoyley keeper John Brendan O’Halloran has also returned to the squad for the first time since 2021.
After Causeway won last year’s county, Gavin Dooley was nominated as Kerry hurling captain for the 2023 season.
Former Kerry captain Colum Harty has retired from the inter-county game. Other absentees from last year’s panel are Martin Stackpoole and Jason Diggins while Michael O’Leary is still carrying a long-term injury.
Feb 4 v Derry (A); Feb 12th v Carlow (H); Feb 25th v Offaly (H); Mar 11th v Kildare (A); Mar 19th v Down (H).
Brandon Barrett has been around before but his form for Causeway as they won the county title showed what he can offer Kerry going forward.
I streamed Kerry’s game against Cork in the Munster league and I was impressed. They put up a decent score but being harder to beat and harder to score against will have been a real focus for Stephen Molumphy since last year’s Joe McDonagh final defeat. A third successive defeat in that competition was desperately hard to take but Kerry can’t be looking that far ahead yet – getting out of Division 2A is the priority for now.
Johnny Kelly (first season).
The Maher brothers of Borris-Ileigh Brendan and Martin are on board with Kelly along with ex-Galway goalkeeper Colm Callanan and existing selector Barry Teehan. Brian Roche is strength and conditioning coach.
To be confirmed.
Defender Leon Fox is sidelined with injury at the moment. Goalkeeper Conor Clancy and Luke O’Connor are not part of the set-up in 2023.
Feb 5 v Down (a); Feb 12 v Derry (h); Feb 25 v Kerry (a); Mar 11 v Carlow (h); Mar 19 v Kildare (h).
Teenager Charlie Mitchell looked sharp on his debut against Wexford in the Walsh Cup meeting and then followed up with a goal in the win over Laois. Sam Burke is also a hope for the future.
Mick Fennelly had the higher profile but Johnny Kelly was working with him the last few years and is the main man now. He has done it all at club level and had magnificent success. He’s in a lovely position and knows the scene well.  It’s a pity their brilliant minors are a year or two away yet. In reality though, it’s all about the Joe McDonagh for Offaly this year and Johnny won’t be too worried about the National League.
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