FARRELL TO MISS SEASON
OFFALY senior football boss John Maughan has been dealt a hammer blow with the news that star forward Cian Farrell will miss the 2022 campaign.
The Edenderry man suffered a cruciate ligament injury when playing for his club in their recent county quarterfinal defeat to Ferbane.
With the split- season model coming on stream next year, the county team’s business will almost certainly be wrapped up by the time he regains full fitness.
Farrell’s emergence in the past couple of seasons has eased the scoring burden on long- serving talisman Niall McNamee considerably.
He hit 1-17 in five League games as Offaly won promotion from Division Three to take their place in the top 16 of the League for the first time since 2006.
And in their two Championship games he slotted 0-7 and 0- 8 against Louth and Kildare respectively.
His absence is a significant setback to Offaly’s hopes of establishing themselves in Division Two and, indeed, it was hardly a coincidence that, having started well in that quarter- final, Edenderry lost their way and slumped to defeat after Farrell’s retirement.
Personal
Maughan’s panel had already been weakened of late with defender Eoin
Rigney having suffered a similar injury to that of Farrell.
Peter Cunningham, who serves in the Defence Forces, recently departed on a tour of duty overseas, which will see him miss a large chunk of the 2022 inter- county season, while Eoin Carroll is taking a year out to go to Australia.
Furthermore, Shane Horan has withdrawn for personal reasons.
The Kilmacud Crokes man, who was on the periphery of the Dublin squad at different stages, declared for Offaly in 2019 given that both of his parents hail from the county and had been quite the asset to Maughan over his three years in charge.
There has been a momentum about Offaly football this year as a result of the senior team’s promotion and the Under-20 All- Ireland success.
The senior football semifinals take place this weekend, with Tullamore facing Ferbane tomorrow and holders Rhode putting their title on the line against Durrow, who surprisingly beat them in the group stages, on Sunday.