*Ballyea’s Niall Deasy. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
YOU’VE undoubtedly heard of the second coming but Robbie Hogan is hoping to make third time a charm as he returns to the helm of Ballyea once more in 2025.
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Ballyea Factfile
Management: Robbie Hogan (Manager); Andrew Fahey (Coach); Jude Quinlivan, Raymond O’Connor, Diarmuid O’Sullivan (Selectors); Shane McNamara (S&C); Kieran Connelly (Physio)
Captain: Gearoid O’Connell
Key Player: Tony Kelly
One to Watch: Daragh Moylan
Fresh Blood: Morgan Garry, Pearse Lillis, Cian O’Callaghan
Departure Gate: Brandon O’Connell (Abroad)
Treatment Table: Conor Hill, James Murphy
Titles Won: 4 (2016, 2018, 2021, 2022)
Last season’s run: Group Stages
Schedule:
Round 1 v Kilmaley on Saturday July 26th in O’Garney Park Sixmilebridge at 15:30
Round 2 v Scariff on Sunday August 10th in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chiosóg Ennis at 17:00
Round 3 v Cratloe on Saturday August 23rd in O’Garney Park Sixmilebridge at 19:00
Championship power ranking (1=weak/unlikely winners, 10=strong contenders): 7
Having led his native club to the promised land of historic county and provincial senior successes in 2016, he and his loyal backroom band headed by Raymond O’Connor, Diarmuid O’Sullivan and laterally Jude Quinlivan would bounce back with another unprecedented feat when leading the Bally Boys to back-to-back Canon Hamilton titles at the beginning of this decade.
Describing that 2022 championship retention as his last dance, what exactly prompted Hogan to get back on the dancefloor once more? “We received a few phone calls and house calls to come back in and at the end of the day, this is our club, they are our neighbours and friends and there was a genuine cry for a bit of help.
“There are a few lads that are very hard to say no to and fundamentally the players feel that there’s a bit of life in them still but the main motivation really was to help out our club”.
It has provided a timely shot-in-the-arm for the four time champions who, having fallen at the group stage hurdle over the past two seasons, are pooled in their third successive ‘Group of Death’ this year.
“Across the board, having ourselves, Kilmaley, Scariff and Cratloe together, there are four very even teams that on any given day would fancy their chances of beating each other. But let’s be honest, looking at the whole championship, you ask every team and they’ll make a case that their group is the hardest so we are where we are now and have no control over the draw or whose in your group. The only thing you have control of is being ready for the first round and we just feel that in the last two years we’ve let ourselves down in the first round and all of a sudden then you’re in quicksand really as you’re playing catch up from then on. Look, the only thing that matters now is that first round on Saturday against Kilmaley and hope to set our stall out from the start.”
With the possibility of half of their 2016 breakthrough side still leading the line, Hogan will be banking on that experience along with a sprinkling of exciting new talent to hopefully get over neighbours Kilmaley in Sixmilebridge on Saturday.
“We are missing a few at the moment. Cathal O’Connor and Cillian Brennan are currently concentrating on the football which is understandable; James Murphy is carrying an injury; Conor Hill went off for Lissycasey on Saturday after making great progress with us but fingers crossed we won’t have any other injury worries to report between now and Saturday.
“On the flip side of that though, some lads got great exposure there through Flannan’s, the likes of Eoin Kennedy and Daniel Costelloe, Dillon Killoughery and Darragh O’Neill and the Kirby’s Cian and Fiachra in recent seasons. Both Kirbys are back fit this year having missed out last year and Daragh Moylan and Cian O’Callaghan are showing great promise too, not to mention a few on this year’s minors that will be eligible next year.
“We’ll need everyone on Saturday though as derbies are often real levellers as form goes right out the window. Obviously we know each other well, we played them four years ago in a quarter-final and just got over the line by a point but then they put twelve points on us in 2023 in the first round in the Park so that’s still fresh in our minds too that there possibly a bit ahead of us. Their management have been in place a while now and they’ve probably got a better block of work done that we have at the minute. But as management and squad we’re really looking forward to the game and the challenge”.
