1955-56 National Hurling League Division II Champions
In 1955-56, following a two year absence, Antrim re-joined the National Hurling League in Division IIA. Having won an Ulster Hurling League in 1947, Antrim had played a number of seasons in Division 1, first in 1931, then continuously from 1945 onwards with little success, including losing Division II finals in 1948 and 1949. Joining Division 1A in 1951, Antrim had a reasonably successful season in 1952-53, defeating both Laois and Kilkenny, but did not participate in Divison 1 or the Intermediate League the following year.
A return to league competition saw Antrim join other 'weaker' counties in a Special Hurling League at the end of the summer of 1954. In this competition Antrim had wins against Meath in August (4-6 to 3-8) and Roscommon on the 14th September (2-9 to 1-2). This set up a final on the 21st September against Offaly in Birr, who had beaten Antrim at the end of August in a tight All-Ireland Junior Hurling semi-final at Casement Park by 5-0 to 3-3. In a thrilling hard-fought match played at a fast pace, Antrim took a lead of 5-3 to 3-5 into the interval and held on to record a 8-5 to 6-8 victory and win the competition. Antrim scores came from Owens (3-0), McDonald (2-1), Anglin (2-0), Sheehan (1-0), McMullen (0-2), Cormican (0-1) and Mullaney (0-1).
Boosted by this, Antrim re-joined the National League in 1955 to contest Division IIA with Down, Meath and Wicklow, while Laois, Kerry, Offaly and Roscommon were in Division IIB.
The season began with the visit of Wicklow to Casement Park on the 17th October, with Antrim dominating midfield to easily win the game 6-12 to 1-1, with scores from R McMullan (2-3), Joe Gibson (2-1), Pat McManus (0-7), Pat Morgan (1-1) and Pat Gallagher (1-0).
Antrim’s next game, after the Christmas break, was a 3-8 to 2-3 victory over Down, setting up a decider against Meath for a spot in the Division II final. At Trim on 12th March, Antrim’s superior play took them into a 1-3 lead with a goal by Kevin Armstrong in the first five minutes and two points from McMullan. Meath replied with a Garrigan goal and point and two points from Kelly to go in level at the interval. Both sides exchanged points at the start of the second half, but goals from Armstrong and Cormican and a point by Cashman extended their lead to 3-5 to 1-4. A late Meath point from O’Halloran wasn’t enough to alter the final result with Antrim winning on a score of 3-5 to 1-5 to reach the Division II final.
After losing the Ulster Championship to Down, Antrim went into the final against Kerry, the Munster Junior champions, on the 7th May as the underdogs. The game was played at Croke Park as a curtain raiser to the Division I final. The Antrim team selected for the game included: A. McGaharan, G. Burns, B. Donnelly, S. Gallagher, P. Morgan, S. Wright, P. Gallagher, B. Barry, S. McDonald, Pat Mullaney, D. Cormican, A. Cashman, J. Gibson, K. Armstrong, R. McMullen.
Playing with a strong wind, Antrim nearly got a dream start as Buckley saved well from Armstrong, but Kerry got off the mark first with a point by Mitchell. Poor finishing stopped Kerry extending their lead and a goal by McMullen then put Antrim ahead. In the first of a number of talking points M. Hennessy’s free was directed into the Antrim net by Furlong, only to be disallowed. When T. Hennessy and Mullaney exchanged points, it left the score Antrim 1-1 Kerry 0-2, but two further points by Wharton and O’Connell brought the sides level. Another long range point by T. Hennessy edged Kerry ahead but was not registered on the scoreboard until half-time, by which stage B. Hennessy had added another to extend Kerry’s lead at the interval, 0-6 to 1-1.
The second half began with two further points by T. Hennessy stretching the lead to 0-8 to 1-1 only for McMullen to add two points for Antrim, including one free, to reduce the arrears to two. The sides then exchanged points again, a Mitchell point for Kerry being followed by a great ground stroke by Barry for Antrim to keep the sides in touch at Kerry 0-9 to Antrim 1-4.
Then, in a dramatic few minutes, Kerry gained the upper hand. First Collins finished a Kerry attack with a goal, soon followed by a Mitchell point to give them a six point lead, 1-10 to 1-4, with barely ten minutes remaining. Then, as tempers began to get frayed, Antrim’s Barry was sent to the line for a disputed foul on M. Hennessy. With fourteen men playing into a strong wind, six points down and ten minutes left, it seemed that it would not be Antrim’s day. But, inspired by McDonald in midfield and steadied by the Gallaghers and Donnelly at the back, Antrim forced their way back into the game. First S. Gallagher came up from left-back to crash a 21 yard free to the net. A point by White and a free by Mullaney then reduced Kerry’s lead to 1-10 to 2-6. In the last minute, Mullaney sent over a fine point to level the game and earn Antrim a replay.
The replay was also held in Croke Park as a curtain raiser to the All-Ireland semifinal. The Antrim team for the replay was A. McGaharan, G. Burns, B. Donnelly, E. Gallagher, W. Devlin, S. Wright, P. Gallagher, S. Gallagher, S. McDonald (capt), Pat Mullaney, D. Cormican, P. Flynn, P. McCarry, K. Armstrong, R. McMullen. Unlike the drawn game, Antrim got off to a roaring start and goals by McCarry and Armstrong, a point by McDonald, a goal and a point from a free by Mullaney, and, a goal from McMullen left Kerry with a 4-2 to 0-0 deficit before O’Connell registered their first score from a free. Mullaney then added two more points, one from a free before Armstrong added two points and Mullaney added a three free to extend the lead to 4-7 to 0-1. A Hennessy point for Kerry was followed by another Mullaney free to leave Kerry trailing 4-8 to 0-2 at the interval.
After the break, Antrim continued where they had left off with McMullen adding two points before Kerry rallied, switching M. Hennessy from the half-backs to centre-forward to great effect. In a burst of scoring, T. Hennessy, M. Hennessy and B. Hennessy all goaled to reduce Antrim’s lead somewhat to 4-10 to 3-2. However, there was to be no Kerry recovery. In the final minutes, Mullaney added three more frees and a Cormican point for Antrim were answered by a further two goals and point for Kerry. This left the final score Antrim 4-14 Kerry 5-4, giving Antrim the Division II title and promotion to Division I of the National Hurling League.
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