Whisper it quietly, but could Offaly be about to become a hurling force again? On this year's evidence, they have certainly turned the corner and are heading in the right direction, something which their captain Kevin Brady is greatly enthused by. Since breaking into the Offaly hurling squad six years ago, Kevin Brady has experienced more than his fair share of disappointment with the 6-28 to 0-15 mauling at the hands of Kilkenny in the 2a005 Leinster championship being the obvious low point. The future looked extremely bleak for the Faithful County back then, but the appointment of former county star Joe Dooley as manager sparked a major revival this year which saw the midlanders record a shock All-Ireland qualifier win over Limerick before losing narrowly to All-Ireland final runners-up Waterford. They could take further encouragement from their earlier facile Leinster championship win over Laois and their first half performance against an all-conquering Kilkenny side. "The two teams that beat us in this year's championship ended up in the All-Ireland final, so that gives us something to build on for next year," the Offaly captain says. "After a few difficult years, it was nice to get back to being competitive again this year. A lot of young players were blooded and the experience they gained will stand them in good stead for the future." The Coolderry clubman claims Joe Dooley made a huge impression on the players in what was his first season at the helm. The three-time All-Ireland winner continued the rebuilding process his successor John McIntyre had started, while instilling a winning mentality in his young charges. "Joe made us see the bigger picture," Brady notes. "Most of us grew up watching Joe play on successful Offaly teams and he's someone we all looked up to. He brought a lot to the table this year and made a big impact overall." Dooley's reign didn't get off to the best of starts as Offaly failed to win a game in Division 1B of the National League. The closest they came was when they drew with Ger Loughnane's Galway in Tullamore. But defeats to Tipperary, Limerick, Clare and Laois saw them relegated to Division 2 of next year's restructured National League. Despite their poor league form, Brady insists that there was no great concern in the camp at the time. "From the time he took over, Joe Dooley made it clear that the league would be used to try out new players and that the results would be only secondary. We had an extended panel of 40 in training and about half of them were under 21. Those guys needed to get games and looking back on it now, it was worth sacrificing a few league points because the policy of trying out new players paid off in the championship." Offaly's surprise league defeat to Laois at O'Moore Park had them on red alert when they renewed their rivalry with their midland neighbours at the same venue in the first round of the Leinster championship on May 25. Fielding five championship debutants, the Faithful County tore into their injury-ravaged opponents from the first whistle and were rewarded with a goal from James Rigney inside two minutes. A second goal from Birr's Dylan Hayden gave Offaly a six-point cushion after 14 minutes, and seven minutes later Derek Molloy ended the game as a contest when he lashed home goal number three. A trio of frees from the unerring Brian Carroll, who scored a whopping 0-16, preceded Offaly's fourth goal which arrived in the 51st minute when Ger Healion rose majestically to fetch Ger Oakley's clearance before turning and finishing with aplomb. Willie Hyland drove two close-in frees to the Offaly net in the 57th and 67th minutes, but they were no more than consolation scores for a badly-beaten home side who crashed to a 2-12 to 4-22 defeat. In the 10 years since Offaly defeated Kilkenny to win their fourth and most recent All-Ireland title, the Cats had beaten them seven times in the championship by an average of 14 points. To that cruel record, another crushing defeat was added on June 15 when Kilkenny powered to a 2-24 to 0-12 victory. But for the second year-in-a-row, Offaly were still in contention at half-time. And but for the concession of a Martin Comerford goal late in the first half, they would surely have stayed with the Cats for longer. Offaly were slow to settle and had to wait until the 20th minute for All-Star nominee Brian Carroll to open their account. Further scores in quick succession from Derek Molloy, Rory Hanniffy and Carroll brought them to within a point, 0-5 to 0-4. But that was the first and last sniff of victory they would get as Kilkenny responded with three unanswered points before, right on 35 minutes, the returning Henry Shefflin set up Comerford for the game's decisive score which gave the Cats a flattering 1-9 to 0-6 interval lead. That goal had a demoralising effect on the Offaly youngsters, who were completely overrun by the treble All-Ireland champions in a one-sided second half. While Offaly may be sick of the sight of Kilkenny at this stage, Brady remains hopeful that they will turn the tables some day. "Kilkenny are an exceptional team and they have given us some awful beatings in the past few years. But you have to believe you will beat them at some stage. They can't stay at the top forever and hopefully we might catch them on the hop in the next year or two." It was difficult to see a way back into the championship for Offaly but in a 180-degree turnaround from their second half collapse against Kilkenny, they produced a superb performance to sensationally send 2007 All-Ireland runners-up Limerick crashing out of the All-Ireland qualifiers on a 3-19 to 0-18 scoreline before a stunned home crowd at the Gaelic Grounds. From early on, the signs were there that an upset was on the cards. Within five minutes of the throw-in, Offaly scored three points, two from wing forward Carroll and one from Shane Dooley, son of the team manager. Limerick replied with three points of their own before a long ball from Kevin Brady wasn't cleared and the lurking Joe Bergin first-timed to the net. A second goal from the under 21 star after 21 minutes gave the Faithful County a 2-4 to 0-4 lead and seven points were added before the break to two from Limerick to leave the visitors perched on a 2-11 to 0-6 lead. Limerick resumed by scoring four unanswered points which reduced the margin to seven, but producing a 70-minute performance on this occasion, Offaly hit back with a third goal from Bergin to put the result beyond doubt. "It was a very satisfying result because everyone was expecting Limerick to win. I think they took us for granted and we duly capitalised on this," Brady remembers. Offaly's prize for seeing off the Treatymen was a meeting with Waterford at Semple Stadium. Eoin Kelly gave the Munster men an ideal start when he goaled after only three minutes, but Offaly soon recovered to hit eight points without reply between the eighth and 20th minutes. However, they were rocked for a second time when Kelly got in for another major which gave Waterford a 2-6 to 0-11 lead at the break. Having gone ahead for the first time within three minutes of the restart, Offaly led three more times in quick succession, only to be pegged back each time by Kelly scores. After putting his team back in front in the 40th minute, Waterford stretched their lead to three points and gradually won back control. Nevertheless, it was still a struggle all the way to the finish for Waterford to suppress an Offaly side that showed admirable skill and commitment, which was manifested by a superb individual score from corner back David Franks. But, in the end, they didn't have the scoring power to save the game as Waterford - inspired by Eoin Kelly's magnificent 2-13 - held on for a 2-18 to 0-18 victory. After the progress of the last 12 months, and Offaly's appearance in the Leinster under 21 final for the second year in succession, it's hardly a surprise to hear that Brady is looking forward to 2009 with much optimism. A supporter of Galway and Antrim's proposed move into Leinster (something which the Offaly county board ironically voted against), he concludes by saying: "We made big strides this year and we're eager to continue our improvement next year. Hurling needs Offaly, Wexford and Dublin to put it up to Kilkenny in Leinster and hopefully you'll see that happening over the next couple of years." Tweet

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