Ballygunner 60 minutes away from having two senior hurling teams

Ballygunner goalkeeper Stephen O'Keeffe has been named in the AIB GAA Hurling Team of the Championship. Pic: INPHO

Victory for Ballygunner’s second team in Saturday’s premier intermediate semi-final against Tallow could see them field two teams at senior level next season.

Competition regulations don’t prevent The Gunners from having two representations among the 12 top teams in the 2026 competition, although the decision may ultimately be left up to the Waterford city club. The senior team oppose De La Salle in Sunday’s semi-final in Walsh Park as they seek a 12th consecutive county title.

However, in the event both Ballygunner teams win, Tallow will represent Waterford in the Munster intermediate championship in November as no club can have more than one team in the same code at provincial level. The Déise senior and intermediate representatives face Limerick’s respective victors on November 1 or 2.

The possibility of two Ballygunner teams competing for the biggest honour in Waterford is yet another indication of their phenomenal success. Since 1995, they have won 19 of 30 senior championships. Also in Walsh Park this Sunday, their third team compete for the junior county title when they face Kilrossanty and in June they won the national Féile in Wexford.

Currently lining out for their intermediate team are Billy O’Keeffe, who scored two goals for the seniors to help the senior reach the first All-Ireland final in 2022, and Mark and Colm Hartley, son and nephew of former Waterford star Fergal.

Having two outfits playing in the Waterford SHC would not be unprecedented. Ironically, Tallow had a couple of outfits in it in the 1980s. In 2006, St Brigid’s A and B sides met in the opening round of the Dublin SFC, which the A side won comprehensively before the B team were later relegated.

In 2004, Nemo Rangers were crowned intermediate football winners in Cork when they defeated Carbery Rangers, but regulations meant they could not have two teams in the higher grade.

On top of senior A successes in Offaly these past two seasons, Kilcormac-Killoughey have won the senior B titles but opted to keep their second team in that tier. In 2023, Meath’s Kildalkey won both the county’s senior and intermediate championships but also elected to keep their second team at intermediate level.

Between them, Naas and Maynooth have won 11 of their last 12 intermediate hurling cups in Kildare but don’t field second sides at senior level where Naas have been dominant since 2019.

Two years ago, Thurles Sarsfields’s second side reached the Tipperary premier intermediate final but were beaten by Lorrha-Dorrha thus avoiding the possibility of them having double the representation at senior level.