Kepak Roscommon SHC Final: St Dominic’s v Four Roads on Sunday at Dr Hyde Park at 2 pm
Title number 37 for Four Roads, or number 4 for St Dominic’s? That’s the question that will be answered on Sunday in Dr Hyde Park as the aristocrats of Roscommon hurling meet the new kids on the block.
It has been 23 years since St Dominic’s were in a final (they lost to Four Roads in that decider) and it is 25 years since they last won the title (they defeated Oran in that final) so there is a real novelty to this clash on Sunday.
St Dominic’s have been a revelation in this year’s championship, racking up big scores along the way. They are in this final totally on merit.
Martin ‘Thady’ Beirne and his selectors have performed miracles this year. They’ve been transformed from a team that was used to being knocked out of the championship in the early rounds, to a stage where many pundits are giving them an excellent chance of knocking the mighty Four Roads off their perch.
Naos Connaughton may have been grabbing the headlines with all the goals he has been scoring, but the St Dominic’s story is far bigger than that. They are a young, determined, and very fit team, one with plenty of excellent hurlers.
Mark Miley is back between the posts and his experience is crucial. In defence, Micheal Byrne is the leader and a top class performer at centre half-back. Jason Martin and Mike Feeley have also been excellent in defence.
Further up the field, Aidan Hoare, team captain Jack Lohan and Cian Martin have been doing well, while the experienced duo of Mickey Joe Egan and Naos Connaughton have been getting the scores. Connaughton has been a revelation in this campaign and notched a stunning 4-5 in the semi-final alone.
There has been an energy about St Dominic’s this year that we haven’t seen for many seasons, however they will be the first to admit that playing Four Roads in a county final is a different prospect to anything they have faced in this championship to date.
Four Roads may not have made too many headlines this year but they have breezed into this final with the minimum of fuss. While they may not have been at their brilliant best, they have never really been under pressure, and the draw with Dominic’s in the opening game of the championship is their only slip-up this year.
Noel Fallon is an outstanding goalkeeper while Darren Fallon, James Dillon, Tommy Morris and Jack Donnelly are amongst those who have shone defensively.
Conor Coyle and Mikey Lohan form an excellent midfield partnership, while up front Brendan Mulry is a super target man at full-forward. Liam Og Coyle, Brian Mannion and Conor Mulry are outstanding attackers.
Most neutrals would love to see St Dominic’s win this final and on form they have a great chance. Four Roads won’t care about that. They pursue titles relentlessly and out their way the hurling year is looked on as a failure if the Black and Amber don’t win the Mickey Cunniffe Cup.
One can be certain that Four Roads will have formulated a plan aimed at curbing the impact of Naos Connaughton and the free-scoring Dominic’s attack.
There will be a huge Knockcroghery crowd in Dr Hyde Park and this could well be a high-scoring and very well contested final.
Tradition would say that Four Roads will win it but there is an energy and momentum behind St Dominic’s this year that is hard to ignore. Can they bridge that 25-year gap on Sunday? It’s probably unwise to tip against Four Roads, but I have a feeling that Dominic’s can do it.
Prediction: St Dominic’s.
Captain Jack hails players’ hunger
For a 23-year-old, Jack Lohan has a lot of experience gathered over the years in both football and hurling. The St Dominic’s captain has already played in an intermediate football final and in an U-20 football final for Roscommon, but this is his first major hurling final.
“This is my first major senior final. I played in U-16 and U-14 finals. But this is a year of firsts for our entire panel… our first semi-final and our first final in 23 years, but we are ready for it. The preparations started last March so we are ready for the final now”.
So what’s the difference this year compared with the campaigns gone by when St Dominic’s were often also-rans in the senior hurling championship?
“The buy-in to the set-up from all the players this year is the key. When I started in 2018 we would be lucky if we had 10 or 12 players training. Now this year we would be annoyed if there wasn’t 25-plus at training. There is a great crop of young players there and that’s thanks to the coaching all the way up. Lads like Pronsias (Killion), Mike Kilcline, Declan Kilcline and others have put in a huge effort to push the hurling on in the club.
“It’s a young panel. Naos (Connaughton) is the oldest starter on the team which shows you how young the panel is. Between the coaching and the hunger shown by all the players on the panel… that’s why we have done so well. We want to come out in every game with all guns blazing and that’s been the difference this year.
“We didn’t have any consistency in the years gone by. But this year we have been able to put good performances together and to build a bit of momentum”.
St Dominic’s have scored many goals in this year’s championship – with Naos Connaughton the main scorer – and their captain agrees that it has been a huge factor in the campaign.
“Goals win games as they say. I’m not sure how many we have scored so far but I’d say it’s twice as many as we have ever scored in the championship (in one season). Naos has a lot of goals to his name but we can thank the lads out the field who are giving in great ball. Runners through the middle have also been vital and it’s the hard work of everyone out the field that is the key. It’s a team effort”.
Finally, Jack agrees that to win a county senior final and to beat Four Roads in that decider would be a dream come true.
“We are 25 years without a senior title. Four Roads have won so many titles since then. They are a formidable force all the time. They are not new to this, whereas we are. It’s the first senior final for everyone on our panel. But if we take the reins from the off and get a good start and if we show the form we have shown in the last few games we have every chance”.
We’d play this final in the Green in Knockcroghery if we had to!
St Dominic’s manager Martin ‘Thady’ Beirne was in sparkling form when he discussed Sunday’s final, and the campaign at large, with Seamus Duke…
Martin ‘Thady’ Beirne is St Dominic’s through and through. He has been involved with the club’s senior hurling team for almost 30 years. Martin admits himself that he “fell into” the manager’s job towards the end of 2023. This year he set about getting the best out of what is essentially a very young panel – and it has paid off in spades.
Coaching and hard work are the key phrases that Thady likes to use when he speaks about the team and their excellent form this year. When the St Dominic’s manager spoke to the local media recently, his infectious enthusiasm was a joy to behold. He says that the entire club have embraced the upcoming big occasion.
“There’s great excitement around the place. We have 35 lads training tonight. There’s a bit of banter with the press and we’re getting photos taken. We’re not used to this craic. It’s mighty… 23 years since we were in the final. A lot of the boys weren’t born the last time we were in a final. It’s brilliant for the club. It’s great for hurling in general. Other clubs see that it can be done with a bit of work”.
Thady says that top class coaching is the key to the improvement shown by his team this year.
“We brought Joe Keane in towards the end of last year and he got a bit of work done with them. We had him in from the start this year and his input has been massive. Joe’s the best I’ve ever worked with. I was with him when he was in with the county. He’s very good, all ball work.
“But at the end of the day it’s all about the players. It’s no good paying a manager that will just stand on the sideline. The money should be spent on coaching, just to improve players and bring them on. From the first day we’ve played Four Roads this year, we’ve improved 40 per cent, and the results prove that”.
It has been an excellent championship so far for St Dominic’s, apart for a slip-up against Oran. Their manager has been reflecting on the campaign.
“Every day we went out, bar the blip against Oran, we’ve performed. No disrespect to Oran, but we probably took them a bit for granted. They were struggling for numbers but Oran are never really struggling. They’re tight, and we just didn’t get going that day.
“I knew from the warm-up that we weren’t bouncing the way we usually are. In hindsight it (the defeat to Oran) was the best thing that could have happened to us. It was better to underperform that day than in a county quarter-final or semi-final”.
Beirne says that the fact that his team didn’t have to play a quarter-final this year was an advantage for them.
“Since this format came in, St Dominic’s have never went straight to the semi-final, only this year. That was a huge boost to us. Some say the gap is a bad thing but we used it to train hard, and it showed against Athleague in the semi-final. Micheal Byrne came bursting out with a ball in the last two minutes. He breezed by two Athleague lads. You’d swear it was the first minute”.
Thady says that the positive attitude within the squad is a major factor in their progress. “Fitness isn’t an issue. Every lad is bouncing, mad for action. Most of them are young. Jack Lohan is only 23 and he’s our captain. Micheal Byrne is only 26 but he has a world of hurling played. I think he’s the best hurler in Roscommon to be honest”.
Thady paid tribute to several well established Dominic’s hurlers who are not on the panel this year for one reason or another… lads like Robbie Byrne (retired with a knee injury), Pauric Halpin (work commitments), and Ronan Kilcline (abroad).
The manager has been looking at his own participation with the club, a commitment that has stretched over the decades.
“Since I started hurling with Dominic’s from U-12, it has been constant. I was a selector with Micheal Mulry when I was still playing. I played my last game three years ago. I was a selector with Noel Moran. I was a selector last year. The management weren’t getting the commitment and two lads walked. I sort of fell into the job at that stage, so it was very hard to get things together. But we sat down at the end of last year. We put a plan in place and here we are”.
Thady says that there was a stage when the end of the St Dominic’s hurling club was a possibility. “I’m involved for the guts of 19 years with senior hurling in St Dominic’s. There were bad days. We had a meeting here one night 12 years ago about possibly disbanding the club. But we decided to keep going because we knew that we had a crop of young lads coming”.
He is convinced that his team have what it takes to win this county senior final.
“We wouldn’t be here tonight if we didn’t think that we could win the final. I watched the video of the two games (semi-finals) and the standard was like night and day when you compared them. So if our lads can bring what they’re capable of, if they play the game and not the occasion, we’ll be bang in this final. I think we’ll win it and that’s not me saying that just for the papers. It’s in us, there’s no fear in those lads. If we get a good start and keep plugging away, we’ll be right there with a few minutes to go”.
The St Dominic’s manager says that there are mixed feelings about the final being played in Hyde Park.
“We love playing in the Hyde, good open spaces. But for an atmosphere, you can’t beat Ballyforan like it was for the semi-final. There will still be a good atmosphere if we win it. We’ll have more support. All the neutrals will be shouting for Dominic’s. Having it in Athleague or Ballyforan, it would be nice and tight, especially for the parade. Maybe, if there are nerves, it will be better if everyone isn’t on top of you and there is a bit of room. But it’s only a small thing, we’d play this final in the Green in Knockcroghery if we had to” he concluded.
‘It’s our biggest test… and their biggest too!’
Four Roads are the undisputed kings of Roscommon hurling, and on Sunday they will be attempting to win their 37th title, and their third in a row. This year the team is managed by former Galway star Kerril Wade from the Sarsfields club. He told the local media that the preparations for the final are going well.
“We have trained hard and are looking forward to it. The weather is good and Sunday is the big test. We have a few niggly injuries. With St Aidan’s going well in the football we hope all the lads will come through for the final”.
The Galway man says that the campaign so far has been satisfactory.
“The campaign has been good so far. We had a number of things we needed to improve on and I feel we have done that. Hopefully it will all come together for us on Sunday. This is our biggest test so far. St Dominic’s are the form team. They have put up some huge scores. But if they will be our biggest test so far we will be their biggest test so far as well. I think it will be a cracking game of hurling”.
When the sides met in the first round of the championship the game was a draw, but Kerril Wade says that clash will have no bearing on what might happen in the final.
“It will be a completely new game on Sunday. It’s a county final and whoever has prepared well and performs best on the occasion will win it – and of course you need a bit of luck as well”.
The manager says that it is not difficult to keep the hunger going in Four Roads, despite all their success over the years.
“It’s all player-driven. They (the Four Roads players) are a really determined bunch and they want to perform to their best every day they go out. This county final will be no different. The fact that we only drew with St Dominic’s in the opening round means that the lads want to improve on that result on Sunday.
“We felt we missed a lot of scores when we met them before. We were not long back training at that stage and our touch was poor. I have tried to bring in a new set-up and that was our first day out and we learned a lot from it”.
Four Roads had a long break between the end of the group stage and the semi-final, but their manager says it was an advantage.
“The break was great. We gave the players time off to relax and enjoy themselves. They came back then and the batteries were recharged and we are ready to win this county title. Players perform best when they are fresh”.
Kerril says that his team have improved throughout the campaign although he admits it was a tricky semi-final against Roscommon Gaels.
“There was a very tricky wind that day in the semi-final. It was hard on both teams and there was no real flow to that game. There was a lot of frees. But that’s all in the past. I think this will be a great game and I also want to wish the officials all the best too. Everyone can play their part in a good game of hurling”.
Finally, the game is fixed for Dr Hyde Park and the Four Roads manager says he is looking forward to playing at the headquarters of Roscommon GAA.
“There will be a great buzz in both clubs going into Hyde Park. It’s one of the finest stadiums in Ireland –
never mind in Roscommon – so we are looking forward to getting in there and I am sure St Dominic’s are too” he concluded.
Lohan: We need to be ready for ‘hungry’ St Dominic’s
Damien Lohan is a Four Roads legend. Having played senior hurling for over 20 years for the Black and Amber the Roscommon Town-based accountant has always been associated with his home club. He is a selector in 2024 and his son Mikey plays midfield for the defending champions.
Damien says that it’s a unique pairing in the final this year.
“It’s 23 years since Dominic’s have been in a final and I played in that final in 2001 myself. But Dominic’s are going well this year and they are hungry. They will bring a big crowd and they will fancy it, but we will be there and we will give it a great shot too”.
Damien understands probably better than anyone else how high the expectations are in Four Roads.
“The standards are always high here in Four Roads and nothing less than a county final win is good enough. We are under pressure this year. Numbers (at training) have been down a bit this year. St Aidan’s are going well in the football and that is a factor. But we are hopeful that we can get over the line on Sunday”.
Damien has been reflecting on the campaign so far for Four Roads. “The draw with Dominic’s was a very interesting game. We conceded four goals that day but we scored 20 points. We have improved since then and so have St Dominic’s so I am looking forward to another clash with them”.
He has vivid memories of the last time the sides met in a final. “That was in 2001. Mickey Cunniffe was in our team that year and he passed away the following year. We had a great team that time. I was captain that year myself. We won the Conlon Cup that year. Now of course it’s the Mickey Cunniffe Cup”.
The Four Roads selector says that St Dominic’s will be formidable opposition on Sunday.
“Dominic’s have been excellent this year. They have had great numbers at training. They have put in a huge effort and have some very good hurlers. We are wary of that.
“The final is in Hyde Park. There will be a big Dominic’s crowd there and they have been starved of success for many years. We will have to be ready for that on the day and I think we will be” he concluded.
