They have been here before so often, and while familiarity can lead to things becoming stale, there will be nothing stale about the action on the field on Sunday when Ballyhaunis and Torreen get to grips with each other in the Mayo senior hurling final. The game which throws in at 3pm in Ballyhaunis has the makings of another classic, both of these giants of Mayo hurling have been the standard bearers for the small game in the county for decades now.
Ballyhaunis will be going into the game without the services of dual star Keith Higgins who broke a collar bone playing championship football at the tail end of the summer, and his loss will be a huge blow to the Ballyhaunis men. However they still have a vast array of experience to call all over the park. Niall Murphy, Paul McConn, Michael Walsh, Pierce Higgins, and captain Derek McConn have all been there and done it before for Ballyhaunis, who are looking for their third title on the trot this season, and manager John Paul Coen will be pulling out all the stops on Sunday to ensure victory.
In the opposition camp, Tooreen will be going all out to win the title this year to honour the memory of Adrian Freeman, who was tragically killed in a road accident in Australia earlier this year. There would be no more fitting tribute to the memory of the extremely talented hurler than his home club bringing the TJ Tyrrell Cup back to Tooreen. Adrian’s brother Cathal was the star man in their semi final win over Westport where they were pushed all the way before finally coming out on top. And it is to Cathal and Kenny Feeney who Torreen will be looking to lead them over the line on Saturday. Alan Freeman and Michael Martin put in good showings in the semi-final, along with the likes of Paul Hunt and Shane Morley. Throw in is at 3pm and a great afternoon’s hurling promises to lie in store.
