O’Hagan pleased with Truagh progress

By Shaun Casey

COMPETING in back-to-back county finals is a sign of the brilliant process being made at the hurling side of the Truagh Gaels club, and manager Tony O’Hagan is pleased his side’s progress at the moment.

O’Hagan was a member of the management team last year, headed up by Brian Cummins, but took over the bainisteoir bib at the beginning of the season.

Having scraped past Monaghan Harps in the semi-final, by a point,, Truagh are hoping for a better showing in the decider against Monaghan hurling kingpins Castleblayney.

“It’s easy to just be grateful for getting to the final but our semi-final performance maybe wasn’t what we would have looked for,” O’Hagan said, looking ahead to the game.

“Still, the progress from the boys throughout the year has been great. We’re at a better level of hurling than we would have started the year with. Now we’ve got ourselves back to the final, it a reward for the work the boys have put in.”

Truagh have never got their hands on the Mick Quigley Cup before and this weekend will be just their fourth appearance in the decider. They reached the championship final previously in 2019, 2020 and 2025.

On all three occasions, Castleblayney proved too strong. Outside of the odd blip here and there, ‘Blayney have been the dominant force on the Monaghan club scene for almost three decades.

The two sides also clashed in the league final back in early August with Castleblayney again coming out on top, but O’Hagan is hopeful his men can turn the tide this weekend.

“It’s a case of taking your chances. We’ve earned the right to be in a final and it’s how well you perform on the day,” he added.

“They are a juggernaut of a team and you can’t disrespect the fact that they are so good in Monaghan. They definitely are the big dogs but if we turn up, win our own battles, the boys will be there or thereabouts.

“That’s all you can ask for. The lads have worked hard and if we can take our chances on Sunday, then, we have as good a chance as any. ‘Blayney are a very strong team, and they probably are a good step ahead of any team in Monaghan.”