And so it came to pass that on the 3rd day of November two thousand and nineteen the parish finally landed it's first ever Senior hurling title. That it came in such dramatic fashion made it all the sweeter and the outpouring of emotion on the famous sod will be etched forever in the minds of all present. To stand and watch as Paddy lifted the O'Riain cup was so rewarding for everybody associated with the club. To gather in Clonmore afterwards and then travel in convoy to Templemore made memories that will last a lifetime. Isn't that what the Chairman says it's all about. A greasy old day made for tricky hurling conditions with very little between the sides in the opening twenty minutes. Shane Bourke (2), Shane Doyle and Cathal Scully had points from play while Lyndon landed one from a free. Such are the skill levels nowadays a line ball is almost as valuable as a free and Dara Woods floated over a beauty in the 24th minute to nudge the Abbey boys ahead once more and they followed up with two more to go three up. Andy Ormond's switch to the half forward line reaped instant rewards with two smashers from play. Holycross landed two more from Jamie Woods and Dara Woods (free) to lead 0-10 to 0-7 before a pressure free from Lyndon in the 33rd minute reduced the half-time margin to two. Another late first half score - crucial in the end. The opening 18 minutes saw the sides share eight points with Tom Murphy contributing an inspirational point from full back. Dinny Ferncombe in the Holycross goal must be commended also for a great save from Darren Russell's well struck 17th minute penalty. Brackens then hit a purple patch with Dean McEnroe and Lorcan Egan pointing from play before a Lyndon free put as ahead for the first time since the sixth minute. Up popped Woods again with a peach of a line ball to tie it up in injury time. Liam Moloney and Dara Woods landed two from play and it looked all over. Muller was heard to say in Cashel the previous week that Brackens don't lose tight games. How right he was. Following an almighty scrum in the Town end square the ball eventually came to Cathal Scully who won a free 25 yards out. The next strike of the sliothar brought the whole parish together for an evening of unbridled joy as Lyndon's bullet raised the only green flag of the day to leave JK Brackens as the last team standing. Unbeaten. Fifth County title in 597 days. Hopefully the average will be 1 every 100 days come Saturday evening. We're on the road again. Best of luck boys.

Team and Scorers: Darren Russell Keith Kennedy Tom Murphy (0-1) Martin Delaney Eanna McBride Neil Quinlan Lorcan Egan (0-1) Paddy Cadell Cathal Scully (0-1) Shane Scully Lyndon Fairbrother (1-6, frees ) Dean McEnroe (0-1) Andrew Ormond (0-2) Shane Doyle (0-1) Shane Bourke (0-2). Subs Used: David O'Shea and Eoin Fitzpatrick.