Kilshannig claimed the County Minor B Hurling Championship title for the second time following an emphatic final victory over Kilara Óg at Ballinlough on Saturday last.

Kilshannig overcame the Kilworth/Araglin combination by a solitary point in the Northern Region final and a close encounter was expected once more but on this occasion Kilshannig completely dominated to win back the title previously won in 2009. It was a superb team performance all through with an abundance of skill and excellent work ethic evident. The Kilshannig defence in particular were outstanding restricting the opposition to one goal from play over the entire hour which arrived in the final minute. Conor Murphy and Cillian Murphy dictated affairs at midfield while in attack Jack Twomey was in terrific form and he was ably assisted by the excellent Patrick O'Callaghan, Tony Brennan and Kieran Twomey. Kilshannig set the tone right from the beginning to get off to a brilliant start as Brennan cut in from the endline to set up Cillian Murphy for the game's opening goal. Jack Twomey and Diarmuid O'Sullivan struck for Kilshannig's first points but Kilara Óg remained in touch thanks to a couple of Cormac Donnellan frees to trail 1-3 to 0-2 by the end of the opening quarter. Kilshannig though began to show signs of their dominance by this stage with their defence in complete control thanks to the impressive play of Joseph Cronin, Brian Guerin and Jack Kearney while Darragh O'Sullivan made a number of timely interceptions. Jack Twomey continued to add to his account while captain Kevin O'Flynn also split the posts as six unanswered points pushed their side into a commanding 1-9 to 0-2 lead at the break.

Kilara Óg fought back from a similar deficit in the Northern Final but there was to be no repeat this time as Kilshannig extended their advantage to 12 by the time Kilara Óg managed their third point of the afternoon in the 35th minute. They added two further scores to narrow the gap entering the final quarter, 1-11 to 0-5, but Kilshannig began to resume control in the closing stages. Both O'Sullivan and O'Flynn missed a number of goal scoring opportunities to kill the game off before O'Sullivan eventually struck the net five minutes from time. Donnellan found the net late on but there was no stopping Kilshannig from claiming the title.

A special mention must go to both the players and management for their hard work throughout the year and they got their deserved rewards on Saturday afternoon with a truly outstanding display to complete a hugely successful season. The club would also like to pass on their best wishes and a full recovery to the Kilara Óg player who was stretchered off the field towards the end of the game. 

Scorers for Kilshannig: J Twomey, K O'Flynn 0-6 (0-2 frees) each, Diarmuid O'Sullivan 1-1, Cillian Murphy 1-0.

Kilshannig: J Murphy; M Ring, J Cronin, Darragh O'Sullivan; K McMahon, B Guerin, J Kearney; Cillian Murphy, Conor Murphy; P O'Callaghan, J Twomey, K Twomey; T Brennan, Diarmuid O'Sullivan, K O'Flynn.

Subs: A Wallace for P O'Callaghan (55), W Kelleher for Diarmuid O'Sullivan, E Curtin for K Twomey, C Sexton for T Brennan, B Curtin-O'Halloran for K McMahon (all 58).