This coming Saturday evening, Tooreen will make history when they become the first hurling club from Mayo to contest an All-Ireland club final. Their All-Ireland IHC decider against Limerick’s Monaleen takes place at Croke Park that evening, where throw-in is 7pm.
The significance of Tooreen’s long journey to this national decider is captured perfectly in a wonderful feature piece by Michael Commins in this week’s Mayo News. Make yourself a brew, pull up a chair and read it here.
As Michael points out, Monaleen are strong favourites to prevail on Saturday night. But of course they are – they were only recently relegated to Intermediate status in Limerick, a county in which hurling standards are at an all-time high. They beat high-quality opposition, in the form of Tipperary’s Roscrea, in the Munster final and they also defeated Bray Emmets of Wicklow in the All-Ireland semi-final.
If our lads are going to win the title on Saturday night, then it’s clear they’ll have to do it the hard way.
That said, Tooreen’s cause is far from hopeless. They’ve hurled to great effect against strong Galway teams in recent years, winning their latest Connacht IHC title late last year by sealing a dramatic comeback win over Killimor.
Tooreen’s march to Croker has won them fresh admirers, not just within the wider Aghamore parish (we’ve basked in their reflected glory for some time) but across the county as a whole. Contesting a national decider at GAA HQ, in a match that’ll be broadcast live on TG4, will raise the profile of hurling in Mayo several notches.
This is evidenced by two preview pieces on the GAA website this week, focusing on Saturday evening’s contestants. The one on Tooreen, featuring Fergal Boland, is here and the one on Monaleen, featuring Andrew La Touche Cosgrave, is here.
If you haven’t yet got your tickets for Saturday night (a job that’s still on the to-do list for me but I’ll sort it later tonight), the link for that is here. As I mentioned above, the game will also be broadcast live on TG4.
Tooreen have done us all enormously proud for their achievements to date and it’s obviously the case that they’ll give it all in their quest for ultimate glory on Saturday night. All the very best to them as they shoot for the stars under the Croke Park lights the next evening.
I see Paul Galvin had a pop at Mayo tonight on twitter where he applauds Lee but then says he would have won an All Ireland with either Donegal or Tyrone.
Lets remind him of the facts himself Colm Cooper , Marc O’Se , Donaghy, Declan O’Sullivan , Darren O’Sullivan and Co got a good few chances at the best Dublin team ever 2011 to 2020 yet failed to beat them every time in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2016.
He barely got a kick of a ball in the 2015 final in the rain from what I remember.Also failed to beat the great Tyrone team on 3 occasions in 03, 05 and 08.
To be be fair to Galvin Donegal beat us in the final and 12 and Tyrone of course beat us in the final as well so he’s sort of right. In some peoples eyes we will always be chokers until we win at least one all Ireland. No point getting too hung up about it it will happen one day when we are good enough and finish off all the chances we create. Best of luck to Toreen in the final I would love to see them win it
A lovely interview with Fergal Boland on Morning Ireland this morning and great coverage on their upcoming All Ireland Final on Saturday on the Mayo News. There seems to be great comeraderie/enthusiasm/ drive/determination in the Tooren parish. Great to see rural clubs thriving!
Go neiri le foireann Tooreen v Monaleen De Saturn.
Tooreen abú!
There’s only 12 senior teams in Limerick and given Monaleen (relegated in a harsh system in 2021) bounced straight back up it shows they’re certainly in the top 12 in the county which is obviously a very high standard.. they were very impressive beating Doora-Barefield and Roscrea in Munster this year also. No real marquee names but obviously a formidable side at this level
Shane Boland is an absolutely massive loss if he’s out, as Tooreen really will need everyone. Still its a great occasion and regardless of result hopefully it goes a long way towards raising the profile of hurling in the county
Good luck to the club on Saturday, it’s a great occasion all involved! Great opportunity to showcase their skills and Croke Park will suit them.
But as Ciaran points out Monaleen will be really tough opponents.
When you consider 90% of the Tooreen panel went through one 4 teacher national school, it’s a fair achievement to make an intermediate final in Croke Park!
Come on Tooreen!!!
Hi John. The link above for the Michael Commins piece is redirecting me to all about lee
Thanks FrostHammer – wrong link obviously, I’ll fix it shortly.
FrostHammer – that link is corrected now. Thanks for pointing out the error!
No problem John
Good luck to Tooreen on Saturday.
Good luck tooreen. Go get the job done.
Good luck to Tooreen on Saturday!
Good luck to the Tooreen Hurling team and panel on Saturday evening
I believe that they have lost by two points,at risk of sounding like praising a losing team,I want to congratulate them,it is a brilliant result against one of the strongest hurling counties in the country,and whilst they will see it as a loss ,it is a giant step forward for them it is a stepping stone towards next year ,hopefully they will give it a big .effort next year,I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Henry in Oxford many years ago and he used to tell many stories about the club,may the players get all the praise they deserve