Building a winning mentality

Senior ‘B’ glory

A slick and cohesive St Oliver Plunkett’s outfit were full value for their 17-point winning margin (2-21 to 0-10) against an out-of-sorts Ringtown side in the 2023 Westmeath Senior ‘B’ hurling final, at TEG Cusack Park.

The Mullingar men already looked champions-elect at half-time, leading by 2-9 to 0-6, after producing one of the best half-hours of hurling in the club’s 47-year history. Colm O’Leary and Ciaran Curley bagged the goals to ensure a commanding lead. Naturally enough, Ringtown continued to plug away on the change of ends, with Luke Moore especially prominent, but there was no way back for the Whitehall-based team against Ciaran McKenna’s very fit and focused troops.

Scorers – St Oliver Plunkett’s: P Lynam 0-9 (4f, 1‘65’), C Curley 1-3, C O’Leary 1-2, D Gavin 0-3, S Ormsby, A Craig, C Lynch (f), L Carey 0-1 each.

Ringtown: L Moore 0-7 (3f), M Cunningham, S Boylan, E Corrigan 0-1 each.

St Oliver Plunkett’s: Conor Lynch; John Fry, Zach Aherne, Brian Reidy; Sean Kelly, Aaron Craig, Liam Carey; Paddy Lynam, Cathal Craig; Shane Ormsby, Davy Gavin, Conor Bracken; Greg Gavin, Ciaran Curley, Colm O’Leary.

Subs used: Matthew Cunningham for Bracken (42), Donal Liddy for D Gavin (52), Stephen Conway for Fry (53), Ross Corroon for Curley (inj., 53), Steve McManus for Lynam (57).

Minor victory

For the first time in 24 years, St Oliver Plunketts celebrated a premier minor hurling title and it brought a great buzz to the club, generating a feel good factor among players, mentors and supporters. The breakthrough augurs well for the future, with this talented group feeding into an already successful U20 side.

The emphatic 6-12 to 0-7 victory over hat-trick chasing Clonkill was a powerful statement. Hurling is clearly on an upward curve in Mullingar, long overdue given the club’s proud standing and rich history. A superbly drilled Plunketts side played brilliantly and full-forward Adam Buckley planted seeds of doubt in the Clonkill defence from an early stage, his first half hat-tick giving them a sizeable lead at the interval - 4-7 to 0-3.

Scorers - St Oliver Plunketts: A Buckley 4-0, P Casey 0-7 (3f; 1 ‘65’), B McNamee 0-4, E Meehan and H Corroon 1-0 each, M Fry and M Weir 0-1 each.

St Oliver Plunketts: Ryan McNamee; Robert Hogg, Mikee Weir, Conor Walshe; Charlie Foy, Seán Hayes, Hugo Sleator; Ben McNamee, Críostóir Ormsby; Padraig Casey, Rory O’Brien, Eoin Meehan; Michael Fry, Adam Buckley, Will Scahill

Subs: Hugo Corroon for Fry (37), Seán Byrne for Foy (54), Oisin Gavin, Cillian Traynor and Oisin Murray for Walshe, Hogg and Meehan (58).