Shane Elliott – The hardest column to write

I have been doing this column for over a year now and without a doubt this has been the hardest one to write.

I have just returned form Paric Esler in Newry, defeated, deflated and disappointed following Sleacht Neill’s slaying of my club Dunloy in the Ulster final.

Having said that I am far from dismayed as the future of our club is as bright as it was before Sunday.

It’s at times like this you always find solace in life events that put sporting disappointment into perspective.

My job as an Occupational Therapist quickly does that as a I frequently encounter people dealing with serious health issues with much greater things to worry about than losing a hurling match.

Bill Shankly famously stated that football was much more serious than life and death, but we all know that is never the case. Whilst winning is very important and brings enormous joy and satisfaction it should never be the most important thing in anyone’s life. Disappointment and devastation can go hand in hand with something you care about, but it should not be all encompassing as there are many more important things in life.

I have certainly no intention of using the column to lament about where it all went wrong, or to look for excuses as that would be unfair to Sleacht Néill who, in truth, were thoroughly deserving winners.

I thought they were very impressive in every department and the performance suggests, as if we didn’t already know they will be a match for anyone in the All-Ireland series.

They have every right to move into January believing they are serious contenders to get to an All-Ireland final.

The semi-final is to be played on the 4th January so the players and management will have to put Christmas on hold.

It does seem a bit ridiculous to be talking about an All-Ireland semi-final on a date generally reserved for meaningless pre-season friendlies at a time of year more commonly associated with burning off the winter excesses.

In the semi Sleacht Néill will face the champions of Leinster with current champions Ballyhale Shamrocks still very much in the mix. They face St. Martins of Wexford at the weekend in the semi-final whilst St.Mullins of Carlow are up against Rathdowney of Laois in the other. St. Mullins are the real underdog having surprised everyone except themselves when overcoming the highly fancied former All-Ireland champions Cuala of Dublin so what a story it would be for them to go a step further and get to a Leinster final.

Of the teams remaining though it is hard to look past Ballyhale who have been imperious in their march to this stage with old stagers TJ Reid, Colin Fennelly and young gun Adrian Mullan very much to the fore.

Slaughtneil will be watching the games with real interest, weighing up their next opponents and chomping at the bit, brimming with the confidence of another Ulster success.

Being the team they are, they will relish the chance to take on the best and a semi against Ballyhale would really focus the minds over the Christmas period.

In Munster, Ballygunner of Waterford have been very impressive in brushing aside the twin challenges of Sixmilebridge from Clare and Patrickswell of Limerick to reach the final without conceding a goal.

Ballygunner have always flattered to deceive a bit in the Munster series but this year they look a different beast altogether and have shown a ruthlessness that will make them hard to beat.

In the final they face Borris-Ileigh the Tipperary championships who are driven on by the brilliant Brendan Maher at Centre half back. He has certainly not lost any appetite for the game following his All-Ireland and All-Star success this year and deserves enormous credit for returning to such shape and form following cruciate surgery.

His club’s defeat of Cork representatives Glen Rovers sets up an intriguing clash where I fancy Ballygunner to ultimately prevail.

I have to say though I think it is a bit unfair that Glen Rovers go through as Cork representatives having tasted defeat in the Cork final to Imokilly- the East Cork Divisional side or amalgamation as we like to call them up here.

I am sure it was near impossible for Glen Rovers to motivate themselves after that defeat and I am equally sure they must be asking questions in Cork about the set up given that it is Imokilly’s third county success in a row.

Meanwhile in Connacht St.Thomas retained their title defeating Liam Mellows in the final for the second year in a row and will fancy another crack at getting back to an All-Ireland final following last year’s defeat to Ballyhale.

Overall it must be said the standard of teams left in the competition is very high and Slaughtneil will know that at least a repeat performance of the Ulster final will be required to compete.

However, they can bask in the glory of Sunday’s success for the next few weeks and look forward to January in the knowledge that they are the equal of any of the teams left.

As for the rest of us, the world keeps turning and life goes on!!