Clarinbridge and Oranmore Maree meet for the third year in a row in the County Minor A hurling final this Sunday in Pearse Stadium (12 noon). The two clubs have dominated the U17 grade in recent years, with Clarinbridge going for their 6th title in the last 9 years and Oranmore Maree looking to hold on to the Fr Griffin Cup they won last year for the first time since 1989. In last year's final, Oranmore Maree won by 2-13 to 1-12, with Colm Burke picking up the Man of the Match for the winners after scoring 0-3 from play and team captain Rory Burke notching 1-4. Clarinbridge relied almost entirely on the gifted Aaron Niland, who scored 1-11 out of his side's total. The previous year (2021) is still being talked about, as there was almost universal agreement that a penalty shoot-out was no way to decide a county final after both Clarinbridge and Oranmore Maree remained deadlocked after a tremendous battle that included extra time. Again Aaron Niland was to the fore for the Bridge, scoring 1-10 (0-9 from frees). Clarinbridge won the 2020 title in September of 2021, a championship delayed for almost a year because of Covid. They beat Kilconieron in that decider 1-19 to 1-15. In 2019, champions Carnmore defeated Clarinbridge in the quarter-final and Oranmore Maree in the semi-final.
Ahead of Sunday's Minor A hurling final, we spoke to both managers. First up, Sean Walsh gets the thoughts of Clarinbridge manager Jamie Cannon...
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/wajata/Jamie_Cannon_Clarinbridge_Minor_manager6w5ie.m4a
Niall Canavan spoke to the manager of the Oranmore Maree minors, Kieran Blake...
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/fnwwy3/Kieran-Blake-Oranmore-Maree-Manager.mp3
Last 3 Galway Minor A Hurling County Finals:
2022 Oranmore Maree 2-13 Clarinbridge 1-12
2021 Clarinbridge 1-17 Oranmore Maree 2-14 AET (Clarinbridge won 4-3 on pens)
2020 Clarinbridge 1-19 Kilconieron 1-15
