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Are there any challenge games arranged for this weekend or next week?

I think they're playing Laois next Saturday in Laois.

Any word how the hurlers got on?

Best of luck to Liatroim man Peter Owens refereeing the All Ireland Final today between St Lachtain's and Russell Rovers.

Great to see a Down man getting the nod.

This will be going back a long time now, but I'm sure someone here will know something.

Does anybody know the story about Clann Uladh and Faugh-a-Ballagh in Newry?

Obviously the clubs are long gone, but would be interesting to know the stories about them back in the early days.

Where did they play out of? Where did they draw players from? What areas of the town did they serve?

Did they ever exist alongside Shamrocks/Bosco/Mitchells?

And what happened to them?

To the best of my knowledge, Clann Uladh eventually either morphed into, or amalgamated with someone else, to form Shamrocks in about the 50s.

Faugh-a-Ballagh seem to have disappeared about the 40s or 50s.

Anyone know much about them? Assuming no one here ever played for them, but anybody have any relations or know anybody that was involved with them?

Did they just rebrand as Shamrocks or Mitchells or what was the story?

See they were very dominant in the early days of the GAA in both codes- be interesting to know the story behind them.

Am I right in saying there was also a camogie team in Newry called St Bridget's in the 1940s?

Newry has changed a lot in ten years, let alone 100 years, but old stories like these are certainly interesting.

Be tough for Slaughtneil to take today. Came agonisingly close.

Realistically, winning the league is very feasible, and gaining promotion to Division One should be the bare minimum.

Having Kildare at home is probably beneficial to Down. Kildare have been a bit of a bogey team in recent years, and it will realistically be between us, Kildare, and Kerry for who goes to Division One.

Derry should be tough- be interesting to see what happens Slaughtneil further into the season, and how this impacts the county team.

Donegal and Meath could be well fit to spring a surprise on us.

Be good to see Tyrone in Ballycran. I would imagine they have another wee bit to go before they can compete with the next level of teams in Ulster, but they do seem to be going in the right direction.

I know the league has been restructured, but it's great to see 4 Ulster teams in Div 2.

Will be an important year for Down as this is the first time in a while they will probably be favourites to win a league, with Antrim, Offaly, Laois, Westmeath, and Carlow all playing in Div One.

National Hurling League Fixtures, 2025:

25/01/2025- Round 1: Down v Kildare, Ballycran

01/02/2025- Round 2: Down v Derry, Owenbeg

08/02/2025- Round 3: Down v Donegal, Ballycran

23/02/2025- Round 4: Down v Meath, Trim

02/03/2025- Round 5: Down v Tyrone, Ballycran

08/03/2025- Round 6: Down v Kerry, Tralee

Heartbreaking for Portaferry in the Ulster Final.

I think this is one of those times where you can say the better team on the night didn't win. That is not to take away from Slaughtneil- managing to not only get back into it, but to then push on and finish the last 5 minutes as the better team really says something about them. There is not too many teams who could do what they did at the end of the second half, and I hope they go on and make an impact in the All Ireland series.

But that won't make it any easier to swallow for the Ports.

Right from the throw it, Portaferry were on top. They dominated the first half, overturning Slaughtneil and punishing their mistakes. Slaughtneil couldn't seem to get anything right, and Portaferry took their chance to go into a good lead.

Their puck outs were on point, and their shooting was mostly good across the pitch. Their defending was top notch. Slaughtneil did not have too many attacking chances, and the ones they did, Portaferry dealt with well. They also did well to take Slaughtneil's main danger men out of the game, I.e., they kept Brendan Rogers very quiet. 

There was not much went wrong in the first half, and the second half started well again. They just did not look like giving Slaughtneil an inch.

I am still not really sure how Slaughtneil managed to get their first goal. They really did make it out of nothing. Portaferry were 8 points up when Slaughtneil found the net. Just far too much space in the Slaughtneil full forward line, and far too much space for men. It really did stun Portaferry, but the real damage came when they conceded another goal immediately afterwards in the next play.  That really rocked them, and despite still being 2 points ahead, Portaferry could not find that form they had had for the majority of the game, and suddenly the points weren't flying over the way they had been for the previous 50 minutes. Even their own rocket of a goal didn't seem to spark much life back into them, and the game was still very much there for the taking right up until the final whistle. I said before the game, Portaferry don't have a Neil McManus, but they have better overall forwards than the Dall. I think the Ports forwards inflicted more damage on Slaughtneil that Cushendall did, but tbey didn't have a one of a kind player like McManus to rescue it for them in the last few seconds. Swings and roundabouts.

They really gave it a good lash. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be.

I'm sure a lot of Portaferry people are sickened, but there is A LOT of positives to take from that. Most importantly, Down clubs are realistically competing for Ulster Championships again. The past few years, really Down clubs couldn't compete with Slaughtneil/Cushendall/Dunloy in the championship. Look at the last beating Slaughtneil have Portaferry only a few years ago. But now, both last year and this year, Portaferry have shown they are will fit to compete once again. Granted, there is still no provincial silverware, but they have shown they are now serious contenders, and not there to make up the numbers.

Realistically, no one in Down looks like they can stop the Ports any time soon- the closest being Ballygalget who still have a couple years to go, in my opinion. Im not sure how long Portaferry can stay at the top of the county, but they should be aiming for bigger things going forward. This should also motivate the rest of the teams to raise their standards.

Gerard McGrattan is likely a shoe in for the next Down manager whenever Sheehan decides to go I would imagine. He's brought that team on well.

It is particularly disappointing, as with Ballygunner shockingly getting dumped out of Munster, Slaughtneil will now face Sarsfields of Cork in the semi final- a team who have never made it to this stage. The winner of that will face  Loughrea of Galway, or Na Fianna of Dublin in the final- two teams who have never won an All Ireland. I am not saying Portaferry would have won the All Ireland, but this is a great opportunity with no Ballyhale, no St Thomas, no Ballygunner, no Na Piarsaigh, no Cuala, etc., for whoever does go on to win it. None of the teams in the All Ireland series have won an All Ireland before, and what an opportunity for each of them.  But I am sure Portaferry are all but too aware of this.

It is a disappointing way for Portaferry to end their year, but they did the County proud. A few years ago, you wouldn't have expected them to get within arms reach of Slaughtneil, let alone dominate them the way they did. If the Ports come out of Down next year, barring a massive upset in Derry, Slaughtneil will be there waiting in the semi final. I have no doubt there will be many discussions held about this fact in the Fiddler's Green over the winter.

There was no one you could say didn't stand up and play to their very best on Sunday night. It's massively disappointing for the Ports, but they know now, that they're not too far away.

Looking forward to next year to see how everybody else tries to take them down.

All in all, another good year of hurling action. It is disappointing that none of our county champions lifted any provincial titles, but they were far more competitive this year than last.

The senior championship is continuing to develop which is great for us as a county. Portaferry are flying, Ballgalget are back, Ballycran are still able to compete, Liatorim are still very much on the hunt, Carryduff have shown they belong at this level, and Bredagh have a lot more potential to utilise.

Down hurling is going in the right direction. Fair play to everybody involved- whether you lifted a hurl or just took a run out to watch. Down hurling  is in the best place now it's been for a few years.

Best of luck to Portaferry today in the Ulster Final.

10 years since they were last here, and that time, they won their only Ulster Title.

The last time Portaferry went up against Slaughtneil, it could only be described as a hiding. But Portaferry, without doubt, are a far better outfit now than they were in 2022.

Slaughtneil are still very justified favourites, but Portaferry as a team are older, wiser, bigger, stronger, fitter, and more dangerous now than any team to have come out of Down in the past few years.

Slaughtneil were unreal against Cushendall. The amount of one on one battles they won, the amount of things that came off for them, was amazing. No point saying otherwise, but Cushendall were very much kept in the game by McManus. Portaferry do not have a single star of the magnitude of McManus, but there is a strong argument that their forward line, on the whole, is stronger. Cushendall are of course a good side, but they depended far too much on McManus to keep the score board ticking over. Portaferry have a greater spread of higher quality forwards. The Sands, McGrattan, Turpin, etc., are all well capable of taking it to Slaughtneil. Portaferry's backs will also have to be performing well to deal with Rodgers, O'Doherty, Cassidy, etc., who were unmarkable in the last round.

Ultimately, Slaughtneil are a more physical team. They are bigger. But Portaferry will have put serious work into their strength and conditioning, and as they showed last year against Cushendall, they are well fit to take on bigger teams.

Last year would have been sickening for Portaferry. To have been so dominant over a team that went on to win Ulster and were unlucky not to make it to the All Ireland Final will have left a bad taste. All year, it had very much seemed like Portaferry were building to something bigger than a county championship. This is not to say they are expected to win Ulster, but they are clearly at a higher level than anyone else in Down at the moment.

The one area of the field you got the impression from watching the Ports this year was that their midfield presence was not always on par with other areas of the field. This is not to say their midfield was bad at all, but it perhaps is a chink in their armour, and Slaughtneil are very strong in the middle of the pitch. But, I have no doubt Gerard McGrattan will have a plan for all this.

It should be a good match. If anybody has little to be at, Armagh this evening isn't the hardest place to go to- probably a lot easier for some people in Down to get there than the Ards.

It will certainly be a challenge for Portaferry. Rumours of Slaughtneil's demise have been greatly exaggerated. They won't fear Portaferry one bit, and are far more comfortable with being in the Ulster Final than the Ports.

But you never know. Portaferry absolutely have the resources to go out and take a scalp. They probably had been preparing for
Cushendall, but I don't think the management would have slept on Slaughtneil.

If it is anything like the semi final, what an advertisement for Ulster Hurling that will be. If Portaferry can manage to bring a provincial title back to Down, it would be all the better.

Should be a good day of hurling. Looking forward to it.

Is there a GAA club in, or near, Holywood?

St Paul's are in Holywood

Thank you. What division are they in, or what championship do they play in?

Division 4 and junior

Thanks

Do St Paul's not play in the Intermediate Championship? Think they beat Drumaness this year and stayed up.

Would love to see them kick on and make it to the next level some day.

Could it be that Down are punching above their weight at county level, and Derry are underachieving at county level.

Down have the Ards which is primarily a hurling stronghold, whereas Derry would have more genuine dual clubs, ie Swatragh, Slaughtneil, Ballinascreen and I'm sure there are more.

Over the last few years Derrys best hurlers have also been their best footballers particularly the Slaughtneil contingent, the 2 McKaigues, Brendan Rodgers and Shane McGuigan, have all focused on football recently at county level.

You've hit the nail on the head there.

Derry certainly underachieve in the hurling. They only have a few clubs, maybe, but they're of a good standard.

Down are in a funny position where I could simultaneously make arguments that they are over achieving and under achieving.

We are a large county, with many clubs, and some good players, we should have higher ambitions than Division Two hurling.

But at the same time our clubs just aren't at the level of the clubs in other counties, and the fact we manage to compete as well as we do is admirable.

Next year will be interesting. Derry are coming up to a newly structured Division Two, and won their league quite comfortably.

Meanwhile, we just lost out on promotion to Division One, falling short against Laois in the semi finals. Based off of that, we should probably be favourites to get promoted next year, especially considering two teams can now go up, but at the same time, Down could slip up. It will be an interesting year.

Next year will see Down, Derry, Donegal, and Tyrone playing in Division Two, so will be great to see more Ulster Derbies and hopefully generate a bit of interest in Ulster Hurling again.

Derry definitely have the potential to overtake Down. If we could turn some of our clubs into true, dual, GAA clubs like the Derry clubs, as opposed to football clubs with a hurling team or vice versa, it would be great for the county.

Provincial championships come to an end for Ballela and Bredagh.

Disappointing, but it was always going to be tough.

Ballela really put it up to Ballinascreen, and came closer than anyone else in Ulster to giving them a scare. There were only a point behind with about five minutes to go.

I know it's been said over and over again, Ulster GAA would perhaps need to figure out whether to continue Ulster to be run that way. Fair play to Ballinascreen, they can only play what's in front of them and they were deserving junior winners, but surely they consider themselves more than a junior team and would like to mix it at a higher level? Anyway, that's for the powers that be to decide for next year. Fair play to Ballela. For a club that couldn't get the numbers during the league to go on and have the season they did was remarkable. Hopefully they continue well into next year.

Bredagh also fell just short of their Derry opponents. Swatragh are a good side, and you can't say Bredagh weren't in it. Thought Bredagh really seemed to be targeting Ulster this year, so it's a pity. They can only continue to build and hopefully try to start seriously challenging for a senior championship soon. Fair play to them, they're a good side, and had a good year all things considered. An improvement from last year. Hopefully they can take the next step in the coming years.

I wonder how Portaferry are dealing with preparation for Slaughtneil. I was under something of an impression than Portaferry were gunning for Cushendall, but I find it hard to believe the management would have ruled a Slaughtneil final out of the question. Slaughtneil gave the Ports a bad hiding a few years ago, but Portaferry were younger then, and Slaughtneil have lost some stars- although you could argue they've produced enough new ones for this not to be an issue. Still though, I expect Portaferry to bring a better game this time. They have massively kicked on. Slaughtneil will be favourites, but Portaferry aren't a million miles away either. If it's anything like last week's game, it'll be amazing. What an advertisement for Ulster Hurling that game between Slaughtneil and Cushendall was. Hopefully Portaferry and Slaughtneil can produce something similar, with the Down men coming out on the right side.


I feel like it is worth asking the questions- what are the Derry clubs doing that means they are so much more competitive than Down clubs? Okay, fine, Down play at a higher level than Derry on the inter-county stage, but Derry clubs are operating at a higher level than Down club.

If you remove Slaughtneil and Na Magha, and I suppose now, St Finnbarr's, all the clubs in Derry are more or less in and around the same standard, and it's a high enough standard. Banagher, Ballinascreen, Swatragh, Kevin Lynch's, Lavey, and Coleraine, are all the 'intermediate level' hurling clubs in Derry, and if you dropped them into our senior championship, they would back themselves to give it something of a rattle.

Derry Intermediate Champions beat Down Intermediate Champions, who were really a senior team. If you put Dungiven or Swatragh against a team like Clonduff or Warrenpoint, you would expect them to win comfortably.

If you look at the junior championship sides, Derry junior sides are also well ahead of Down junior sides. We could look at the hammering Swatragh gave Kilclief last year, but that's not really fair considering Swatragh aren't a junior club.

The only real junior club in Derry is Na Magha in Derry City. In 2022 they played the Point in Ulster, and gave them a 20+ beating. Keep in mind, the Point are well ahead of East Belfast, Ballyvarley etc.

Even St Finnbarr's, who don't play in the Derry Championship yet, have beaten some of our teams in Ulster Leagues, etc. (and fair play to them, they deserve it and show what can happen when you decide to set up a club).

This is not to sound like a whine about the Derry teams, nor is it me talking down on the Down teams for not being that standard, because I know there is an incredible amount put into our clubs, but I do think it's a question we need to ask ourselves.

Why, on the whole, are the Derry teams so much more competitive than Down teams? I wouldn't be an expert on the Derry club scene, but I don't hear as often as their teams struggling for numbers etc.

I understand we have more teams in Down, which is a big plus, and obviously the Ards teams are traditionally a level above most in Ulster, but what could we do to get the rest of our clubs on par with the lower clubs in other counties.

If our junior clubs and intermediate clubs were at the level of their Derry counterparts, it would be some boost for Down hurling.

Bredagh and Ballela are into the next round in Ulster after their great showings last week. Coaches and managers at club and inter county level love to pick players in their own likeness. The 3 men in Ballela have certainly got that with a mix of strength drive and skill. Johnny has been great from frees and crucially can do it from play too but Mal Magee has really stepped it up and led the way. The level of opposition goes up a notch or three this weekend but no doubt Ballela will give their all.
Bredagh have got a monkey of the back in Ulster with a great win and will be confident of further progress in the competition. Hughes Kennedy etc will feel they have it in them to take anyone at this level. Galway also did his job well and his saves were vital.

Ballela really unfortunate to meet Ballinascreen, but you may as well beat the favourites if you're going to try and win. It'll be a tough game, but I have no doubt Ballela will give it their all. Will need all their men to step up. Would be great to see them take down Ballinascreen.

Bredagh did well to win the game in the way they did. Seeing out a game like that will do them well in the long run. Swatragh next week will probably be a step up, but Bredagh seem to have bit something of a stride.

Best of luck to both Down teams.

Ballygalget will learn from final and as always maximise their resources and maybe a year in Antrim div 2 will help them bring on a few more. I expect to see them back again. Portaferry have the luxury of a 6 week break and will relish an Ulster Final with some unfinished business. Can't see any team toppling them in Down any time soon. The likes of the Sands brothers and young McGrattan would cause any team problems and the Ulster final will be cracker.
Bredagh v Carryduff was a good game and Bredagh will give Ulster a rattle though some very good teams in there at that level. Middleton, Carey. Swatragh, Carrickmore Donegal champions etc all capable on a given day. A man in work suggested Down should be putting the two SHC teams dropping down together on one side of draw to be fair to the other 4 competing teams. At least you have the luxury of so many teams competing... Bredagh have some serious talent coming and if they go about things correctly could be a top team in next few years.
As for the JHC went over to it and Ballela had the experience. Seen it many times before. The young lad was good from frees but it was 3 or 4 other stronger hurlers in the Castlewellan ranks who kept them in it hurling wise until Ballela ground them down. Magee McCusker and the GK dictated the play and as the game wore on the old heads prevailed. Not sure how good Buncrana are but they were all in the stand watching!
Great that so many games are in Newry as we are starved of getting to decent hurling games down here between Down and Armagh...

I think a year in Antrim Div 2 will do Ballygalget good to be honest. They have a lot good players coming through, and it won't do them any harm playing in the second division. I imagine they'll not be too far away next year.

If I recall correctly, last year, in the intermediate championship, Bredagh and Shamrocks came down, and Carryduff (an intermediate team) beat Shamrocks (a senior team) in the semi final, so not sure having two senior teams in the one semi final is right, either. Ultimately, the best solution is to not allow the senior clubs to drop. Not really fair on the intermediate teams. People will say if they want to play senior championship, they should be able to beat senior clubs, but it's not really the point, and it's not really fair.  The intermediate players of the year nominees are all from clubs that played in the senior championship. It needs to be addressed for next year.

Personally thought some of Castlewellan's more talented hurlers just didn't perform as well as they had in other games in the championship. It is, of course, unrealistic to expect a player to play out of their skin game after game, but Castlewellan were unusually quiet. Think Connolly was Castlewellan's best player and kept them in it- if you take out his accurate frees, and indeed the stuff he did from play, where were the scores coming from? Castlewellan really didn't create too many opportunities. Would agree that McMullan in nets, Magee up front, and McCusker everywhere were Ballela's keymen, and without them, it could have been different.
A lot of Ballela's other men stood up on the night and saw them over the line,  but you take away any of those 3, and Ballela will struggle to put on the same performance .

You're absolutely right- it's great to have the games in Newry. We don't have enough going on, and Armagh certainly don't have enough going on. Great to see.

Good luck to Bredagh and Ballela tomorrow as they start their Ulster campaigns against Donegal opponents.

Both teams should be happy enough with the draw, and should feel they can be competitive, but there are no easy games at this point.

Burt are traditionally a strong team and Bredagh can't afford to play the way they did against the Ards teams.

Don't know much about Buncrana, but if Ballela pull off another performance like they did against Castlewellan, they'll be a match for anybody. Ballela lads wearing the Down colours for a change will be a nice touch for the club.

Best of luck to both clubs- be great to see Down hurling clubs making an impact on the national stage.

A good way to finish up our season last weekend I thought.

Oddly enough, I think the game of the week, in terms of both quality and entertainment, was the junior final. Balllea with what was probably the shock of the weekend to deny Castlewellan.

Great game. Was a long time into the game before a shot went wide. Given the level of hurling, and the conditions on Friday night, that is remarkable.

Game could have gone either way, and nobody can say Ballela weren't full value for their win. McCusker was some player. He was everywhere. Would score a point from the 21 and then a couple seconds later would be collecting the Castlewellan puck out in his own half. Ballela men all stood up when it mattered. Magee playing the type of hurling that is great to watch, runs hard onto the ball, takes the knocks, and runs at the defence.

Castlewellan will be devastated. It looked for a long time they were going to see it out. For Connolly to score 14 points in a championship final and come out the wrong side is tough. Castlewellan just couldn't get playing the hurling they did against East Belfast and Ballyvarley. Another learning experience for them, but they'll be frustrated playing another year in the Junior Championship.

Looking ahead, you would imagine Castlewellan will be massive favourites for next year. It'll be the same championship as it was last year, with Kilclief coming straight back down from the intermediate, but they have lost a lot of the men they had last year when they won the championship.

Every team will love a go at Castlewellan next year, but we'll see how it goes.

Ballela have found themselves in a funny situation. That very much felt like a one last ride sort of team. Obviously they got massive numbers for the final, but it is no secret Ballela can struggle to field. If the old heads decide to ride off into the sunset, do they have enough to continue, and to be competitive? Hopefully they'll hold onto their new recruits, and enough players come through that they can field comfortably. Hopefully this acts as a catalyst for the club, and the next few years will hopefully be a good period for them.

Next years intermediate should be very interesting with Ballela, Clonduff, the Point and Shamrocks. Each team can give each other a game. If they stop the senior teams coming down to contest finals, it could be a great competition.

Someone mentioned Ballela had 16 men on at once? I never noticed it if they did, but I think the Glen/Kilmacud situation a few years ago has set a precedent and it wouldn't matter too much now. If it did happen, I don't think it had any outcome on the end of the game. When Ballela got the goal at the end, Castlewellan didn't look like they could rescue it.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Connolly from Castlewellan in with the Down Seniors next year, and McGreevy from Ballela could be a potential addition.


Intermediate was decent. Bredagh looked comfortable always.

It was a big improvement on last year's final. Whilst Bredagh never really seemed like they were going to give up their (small) lead, Carryduff were at their heels throughout.

Carryduff missing some of their big names such as Conor Cassidy through injury and it showed. But they still did well and managed to put it up to Bredagh regardless. There were a couple moments when Bredagh broke free and would go on a bit of a rampage, but Carryduff seemed to be able to reign them back in.

Each team seemed to be able to stifle their opponents danger men. Carryduff never let any of Bredagh's big names like Hughes or McFarland have anything easy, and Bredagh did a very good job of taking the threat of Beatty out of the game.

The goals probably make it looked like Bredagh were more comfortable than they were, and whilst it would be unfair to say Bredagh were not deserved winners, the Duff were in it right up until the end, and you could see the heads going down after a few late goals.

Carryduff will rue their wides from placed balls, but when Rooney took over frees he was superb and I think he could be worth a shout in with Down next year.

Bredagh will now go into Ulster on a mission, and whilst it'll be tough for Carryduff, long term they should have bigger ambitions of making an impact on the senior championship.


The senior game was probably as good as it could have been given the conditions, and was certainly better than the neighbours' final up in  Antrim from the sounds of it.

Portaferry are simply well ahead of everyone else in the county. No two ways about it.

Ballygalget stuck with them for the first 15-20 minutes, but when the avalanche started, it really started, and it was almost impossible to see how Ballygalget were going to get back into it.

A goal at the end of the first half, and soemthing of a first half blitz, showed they were still in it, but Portaferry were ruthless, capitalising when Ballygalget looked a bit lost and out of shape, and truth be told, probably could have slotted another few goals.

Portaferry will have concerns. Ballygalget capitalised on their weaknesses and got goals out of them. Cushendall or Slaughtneil will press those weaknesses harder than Ballygalget did. But they will know all this and I'm sure they'll address all this in training.

Disappointing for Ballygalget, but they are a young team, and it wouldn't surprise me to see them back in a final in the very near future. They will have realised what their weaknesses are, and I would expect them to be a good side next year, provided they can hold on to a few key players. Some good young players, but they will need to some of the more experienced heads to steady the ship.

Looking ahead to Ulster, as has been said above, it's very difficult to look past Ballinascreen of Derry. Derry's championship obviously works for them, and fair play to them for getting a structure that works- and bar Slaughtneil and Na Magha, all of the teams are in around each other's level. Not sure how the Tyrone Championship works but am I right in saying this is St Enda's second year in the Ulster JHC in a row? I do think its disappointing for teams like Ballela who may run into a team that could probably put up a fight in the Down Senior Championship, but it'll not be this year that Ulster GAA will fix it. Ballela will give it a lash, and their first game against Buncrana is a good one for them, so we'll see how they get on.

Not to put a curse on them, but Bredagh realistically should be aiming for an Ulster Intermediate. Carey of Antrim will be a very big obstacle to that I'd say, and there's no easy teams at this level, but Bredagh are every bit as good as anyone else in Ulster, and should be targeting a provincial title, hopefully.

Hard to call the Senior Championship. Cushendall are something of a bogey team for Slaughtneil (I think they're the only Antrim team Slaughtneil have struggled to beat?), but Portaferry are something of a bogey team for Cushendall. The way Ulster ended last year for Portaferry will have hurt them, and they've always felt this year like they were building to something bigger, but Cushendall and Slaughtneil are two big, strong, hard hitting teams, and will be a tougher test than anything the Ports have met in Down this year. But I do think Portaferry have it in them. They just need things to go their way on the day. But they are already in the final, and it is only one day they need things to go their way; it's a very, very good opportunity for them.

But we'll not tempt fate.

Was a good weekend of hurling on a weekend that didn't lend itself to playing good hurling. Think the general consensus is that it's fair to say it was better than the footballing show the week before from a neutral stand point? 

Some good, competitive games, and not too many complaints to be had. Fair play to anyone who braved the bad weather to go and see what all the craic was about- hope you enjoyed it.

Congratulations to Ballela, Bredagh, and Portaferry, and best of luck in Ulster. Was some good hurling on show this year- fair play to everybody involved.