All-Ireland club IHC final: Tullaroan leave it late as Walsh savours Croker glory one last time

January 18, 2020

Tullaroan of Kilkenny edged an epic against Cork's Fr O'Neills at Croke Park

Tullaroan (Kilkenny) 3-19

Fr O'Neill's (Cork) 5-12

Captain Shane Walsh split the posts with the last puck of the game to give Tullaroan a dramatic All-Ireland club IHC final victory over Fr O'Neill's.

It was a fitting Croke Park farewell for the captain's older brother and Kilkenny legend Tommy Walsh who scored two points from full forward in a magnificent contest that went right to the wire. The winners turned a five-point deficit into a five-point lead inside the final quarter, only for substitute Jason Hankard to score an equalising goal for the Cork champions in the second minute of injury-time. But there was still time for Walsh to fire over his 10th point after being set up by John Walton and send the Tullaroan supporters in the  5,498 crowd into raptures.

Declan Dalton's first goal helped Fr O'Neill's to a 1-4 to 0-1 lead after 20 minutes before points from Shane Walsh and a goal apiece from county man Martin Keoghan and Peter Walsh sent Tullaroan into the break with a 2-5 to 1-6 lead.

Despite the absence of the suspended Billy Dunne and Mark O'Keeffe, Fr O'Neill's wrestled back control in the third quarter when a hat-trick of goals from Dalton, Eoin Conway and Cillian Broderick propelled them into a 4-8 to 2-9 lead.

But an unanswered 1-7, including Keoghan's second major, enabled the Kilkenny men to retake the lead before the late drama unfolded.

Tullaroan - P Buggy; D Doheny, Tommy Walsh (Village), S Maher; J Keoghan, Padraig Walsh (0-1), Martin Walsh; T Dunne, Mark Walsh; B Gaffney (0-1), M Keoghan (2-1), J Walton (0-2); S Walsh (0-10, 4f, 1'65), Tommy Walsh (Mountgale) (0-2), Peter Walsh (1-2). Subs: K Coogan for T Dunne, A Tallis for Mark Walsh.

Fr O'Neill's - C Sloane; P Butler, G Millerick, M Millerick; T Millerick (0-1), D Harrington, J Barry; J Millerick, K O'Sullivan (0-2); R Cullinane (0-1), P McMahon (0-2), E Conway (1-1); L O'Driscoll, D Dalton (2-4, 0-2f, 0-1'65), C Broderick (1-0). Subs: J Hankard (1-0) for E Conway, S O'Connor (0-1) for J Barry, E Motherway for C Broderick.

Referee - T Walsh.


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