The fixtures for the St. Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling Championship have been revealed following the conclusion of the league with some exciting clashes to look forward to.
The first round of the championship will also act as relegation quarter-finals with losing teams from each game being eliminated from the competition before entering the relegation semi-finals.
Tullaroan will face Erin’s Own in what promises to be a close encounter between two sides’ whose form pales in comparison to each other.
Tullaraon finished third in Group A following a draw with Lisdowney in their opener before a victory against Rower Inistioge and a heavy defeat against defending champions Ballyhale Shamrocks.
Erin’s Own will go into this weekend’s fixture on the back of a draw with Graigue Ballycallan that was sandwiched between two defeats against Dicksboro and Mullinavat respectively.
The clash of these two will see a repeat of their memorable game in last year’s championship that saw Erin’s Own triumph by a single point in a heated affair.
Champions Ballyhale Shamrocks will go up against Graigue Ballycallan after both teams finished fourth and fifth in their groups.
The Shamrocks, seeking to claim their fourth county title in-a-row, responded to defeats against Bennettsbridge and James Stephens in their two opening games with a 2-30 to 2-12 defeat of Tullaroan in their final league game.
Graigue Ballycallan’s only point came in their draw with Erin’s Own. They were eventually defeated by O’Loughlin Gaels in a tight opening round fixture and their disappointing league campaign concluded with a nine-point loss to Clara.
2020 intermediate champions Lisdowney will make their senior championship bow against last year’s beaten county finalists Dicksboro.
Both sides enter the championship with only one defeat to their names in the league.
Lisdowney suffered their sole setback in their second game when they were beaten by Bennettsbridge either side of impressive performances and draws with Tullaroan and James Stephens.
Dicksboro’s league campaign started with a defeat of Erin’s Own and a draw with Clara, but they were well under-par in their final group game against city rivals O’Loughlin Gaels as they lost that town derby by 2-17 to 1-14 in UPMC Nowlan Park.
The final Round One tie sees O’Loughlin Gaels go head-to head with Rower-Inistioge.
O’Loughlin’s only defeat came against Mullinavat in their second game with victories against Graigue Ballycallan and Dicksboro preceding and following that loss.
Rower-Inistioge are the only side to have lost all three games in either group. They enter the championship low in confidence following failure to pick up a point against James Stephens, Tullaroan or Bennettsbridge.
Elsewhere, table-toppers Clara and Dicksboro will meet in the league final while surprise packages Mullinavat face an undefeated James Stephens side in the shield final.
Both of those games will be played this weekend along with the four first round ties. Dates, times and venues have been confirmed for each game which you can see below.
St. Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling Championship Round One fixtures:
Ballyhale Shamrocks vs Graigue Ballycallan – Saturday, 2pm, John Locke Park
Dicksboro vs Lisdowney – Sunday, 3pm, Páirc Lachtain
Tullaroan vs Erin’s Own – Sunday, 4pm, UPMC Nowlan Park
O’Loughlin Gaels vs Rower-Inistioge – Saturday, 4.15pm, Thomastown
St. Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling League Final:
Clara vs Bennettsbridge – Sunday, 1pm, UPMC Nowlan Park
St. Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling Shield Final:
Mullinavat vs James Stephens – Saturday, 2pm, Bennettsbridge
