An Ghaeltacht to continue trend and bounce back up

RELEGATION from the senior ranks has seldom been too harmful to the club coming down, and as Kilcummin showed last year where there is a will there’s certainly a way to bounce straight back up by winning the Intermediate championship.

An Ghaeltacht are that team this year and they can have serious designs on going straight back but it certainly won’t be a smooth ride.

The West Kerry club certainly have the ability to get out of Group Three but the semi-finals are going to present a serious test for them, no matter who they face.

St Marys are our call to win Group 1 and even though they lost to Glenflesk in the penultimate round last year they will be no pushover for any opposition this time around.

Group 2 is another highly competitive group with if Templenoe get Adrian and Killian Spillane, Tadhg Morley and Gavin Crowley on the field for all their games they’re going to be hard stopped, not only in the round robin phase, but in the knockout phase too.

Group 4 is no easier to predict but the quality of team coming out of it might be a shade below the other three in the semi-finals. By our predictions the Group 4 winner will be the only non-Division 1 team in the last four, and while Championship intensity can make a mockery of these things - not to mention injuries, suspensions and other variables - the odds have to be in favour of one of those.

A St Marys team with Bryan Sheehan must always be respected but An Ghaeltacht look the best balanced team in the competition.

Champions: An Ghaeltacht

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