Longwood’s senior hurling campaign came to a disappointing conclusion on Saturday in Páirc Tailteann when they lost out to Killyon in the Senior B Championship Final replay.

The old adage “goals win games” yet again proved to be true and it would be hard to argue that Killyon were not deserving winners.

Playing with the aid of a stiffish breeze, Killyon were quick out of the blocks and raced into a 1-7 to 0-1 lead after twenty minutes.  They were winning most of the individual battles across the field and, unlike last week when Longwood’s defence had shackled their direct opponents, most of the Killyon forwards were now impacting the scoreboard.  Adam Gannon, who scored the opening goal, Dylan Farrell and David Raleigh were looking sharp and up for the battle.

Credit to Longwood, they did stop the bleeding over the following ten minutes; an excellent point from the industrious Conor Dixon supplemented a couple of Anthony Healy points from placed balls and the margin was reduced to six points. Given the strength of the breeze, this seemed a manageable deficit.  It could have been reduced further as Longwood’s forward line did create multiple goal-scoring opportunities in the second quarter but were unable to raise a green flag.

These misses were to be punished in the closing play of the half.  Longwood’s Brian Stagg appeared to be the victim of a blatant push in the back as he tried to pick up the sliotar.  To the surprise of all, the referee waved play on and the ball was driven forward, ultimately finding the hand of Justin Coyne who rifled an unstoppable shot to the net.  A stinging blow on the stroke of half-time.

Half-time: Longwood 0-4 Killyon 2-7

To have any chance of getting back into the game, it was imperative that Longwood made a fast start to the second period.  Initial signs were positive with an Anthony Healy free and an excellent point from Ben McLoughlin getting things moving in the right direction. 

But the momentum quickly turned.  Points from David Raleigh and the impressive Coyne were quickly followed by another Adam Gannon goal and the game was up.

A quick response in the shape of a Damien Healy goal gave Longwood a brief glimmer of hope but they could not rack up a run of consecutive scores to fuel their belief and pose some nervous questions for their opponent.

As always Longwood battled manfully to the end and late scores from Mickey Burke, Sean Coloe and Anthony Healy put some respectability on the scoreboard.

A late skirmish, untypical of what had gone before in both games, which saw red cards issued to three players should not detract from what was a largely sporting encounter.

Full-time: Longwood 1-12 Killyon 3-13

We congratulate Killyon on what was a deserved success.  We look forward to doing battle with them again in next year’s revamped championship.

Longwood: Mark Kennedy, Gavin Griffith, Niall Mulvey, Brian Stagg, Joe Stenson, Mickey Burke (0-1), Conor Dixon (0-1), Billy Hogan, Sean Coloe (0-1), Sean Sheridan, Damien Healy (1-0), Ryan Moore (0-1), Ben McLoughlin (0-1), Kevin Heagney, Anthony Healy (0-7).  Subs: Harry Hogan for Brian Stagg, Conor M Dixon for Sean Sheridan, Aaron Ennis for Ben McLoughlin, Enda Dixon, Tomás O’Brien, David Coloe, Thomas Dorran, Kevin Maguire, Adrian Maguire.

 

So not the end we were hoping for but we can be rightly proud of the lads for making such a spirited defence of their Senior B title.  Losing a number of key players from last year, combined with an horrendous run of injuries was always going to make things difficult and ultimately, the final was just a bridge too far.  But with Conor M Dixon getting lots of game time in his debut season, Conor Dixon, Ben McLoughlin and Brian Stagg showing continued improvement in their second season of adult hurling, and a number of footballers picking up a hurley to great effect, there is plenty to be optimistic about.  And we can be sure that countless young children in the club have been inspired by our seniors over the past year.

We have a number of minors chomping at the bit to join the senior panel in 2026 and we look forward to welcoming them on board and seeing them develop their skills further.  If they follow the lead of the likes of Mickey Burke, Damien Healy and Sean Coloe they won’t go too far wrong!

We must thank Colum O’Meara for his lively training sessions over the past couple of months.  There was rarely a dull moment.

Credit to selectors Barry Clarke, who had the boys in great physical condition - no easy task for a small dual club, Eamonn Murray and Mick Noone.  All great hurling men who gave freely of their time over the past couple of seasons.

Special mention too for Julie Leigh, our physio, who looked after many a tired and broken body throughout the season, doing her utmost to ensure the boys were fit to represent Longwood on the field. 

And what can we say about Aaron Ennis, aka Mr Longwood?  Ron is a proper club legend who bleeds the white of his beloved Longwood.  To manage both football and hurling teams over the past couple of years was a monumental task, especially for a man with a young family and his own business.  But Ron would do anything for the club - he answered the call and gave his all.  Nobody could have done more.  He delivered a Senior B Championship in 2024 for which his name will rightly be forever etched in the record books. 

From all of Longwood we say Go raibh míle maith agat Ron! 

Maigh Dearmhaí abú!! 🤍🖤🤍🖤🏁🏁🏁🏁