Ballyhaunis in the Hunt for Tyrell triumph

Ballyhaunis and Tooreen have been Mayo’s undisputed top two hurling teams for over 25 years. Given that these two are the likely duo to meet in every final – only on seven occasions since 1997 have Tooreen or Ballyhaunis failed to make the decider – it comes as no surprise that they immediately look for their championship meeting as soon as the fixtures become available.

“I think we both have each other's cards marked pretty early in the year,” said Ballyhaunis captain Brian Hunt. “We nearly know how it’s going to unfold in Mayo with the lack of senior clubs. We know what's coming down the track at some stage in the year, we'll be getting together for the final.

“In fairness to Castlebar and St Ciaran’s, they're putting in great work. They probably don't have the strength in depth that we have committed in Ballyhaunis and Tooreen, no disrespect to them. They're tough competitors when they get going.

“Even Ciaran’s there, they're probably a bit unfortunate that they miss out on a few players with the Mayo football championship as well.” As evidenced by the semi-finals, the gap remains as large as ever. Ballyhaunis themselves recorded a 21-point win over St Ciaran’s while Tooreen routed Mitchels 3-30 to 0-5. Ballyhaunis played that semi-final without the Coyne brothers Jack and Jason, Eoghan Collins and Keith Higgins, as all four were nursing injuries picked up with the club’s football team, but the margin of victory could have been much bigger were it not for a string of saves by St Ciaran’s goalkeeper Kevin Duffy.

Hunt, a former Mayo senior hurler, knows that their neighbours won’t be as forgiving if chances go abegging this Saturday but says most of the injured absentees are back fit for the final.

“The Ciaran’s game was tricky alright. We made the keeper look like a bit of a hero. We hit a lot of them straight at him, so it's something we've been working on the last couple of weeks to try and make sure if we do get our goal chances – or when we get our goal chances – that we absolutely nail them. That's definitely something we've been looking at.” 

Given the respect and knowledge both sides have for and of each other, there is rarely ever a puck of the ball between the two in county finals. The traditional October weather normally also means space and free-flowing hurling is at a premium. It would come as no surprise should a similar game occur at Adrian Freeman Park, although one wonders if this game was played earlier in the year it could lend to the hurling classics we are becoming accustomed to during the inter-county season.

“We know their strengths, we know the forwards we have to nail down,” assures Brian Hunt. “We have to get our matchups right for our defenders to go man on man with their players to keep their scorers down.

“They’ve some serious operators with the Bolands, Liam Lavin and them type of lads. They take watching so we have to put a bit of a plan in place together. Yeah, it can be cagey to the two teams, you know, that kind of local rivalry. It's on the line for the year, you know, that sort of way.” 

Hunt added: “You're kind of a bit nervous going out there too. It usually doesn’t lend itself to the most free-flowing game. The weather plays a factor with hurling. You’d prefer to playing hurling in the summer.

“It's amazing that we never get to. We could be playing this final a month ago really if things were right in better weather conditions, so that kind of makes it a bit more cagey. It doesn't necessarily lend itself to the most attractive game to watch I suppose.” 

Ballyhaunis are looking for a first TJ Tyrell Cup triumph since 2020 and would love to have a crack at Connacht. There was no Connacht championship that year due to Covid and Hunt admitted that was a ‘disappointment’, but they are looking no further than this Saturday.

“We’re not looking beyond Tooreen. We’d be fairly close to them so if we got by them, I suppose we’d have a fair opportunity at that stage.

“Tooreen have been a serious outfit in Connacht and the All-Ireland series as well. They've kind of pushed Mayo hurling on the map I suppose in that sort of sense, especially the second and third tier counties and competing against clubs in Limerick and Cork in semi-finals and All-Ireland finals.

“They've really done great stuff from Mayo hurling and we'd be happy to do something similar down the line as well.”