Ballygunner become first club to win three consecutive Munster ...

Clonlara (Clare) 0-17 

The anticipated day of history-making came easy in chilly Thurles as Ballygunner became the first club to win three consecutive Munster senior titles.

Joining Blackrock on the summit of the all-time provincial honours list with five, Kevin Mahony was in outstanding form as they pummelled a Clonlara team who simply couldn’t live with the Waterford champions.

The work-rate of the Ballygunner attack to spoil the quality of Clonlara’s ball from defence was a key feature of one of their most satisfying final shows. For the second game in a row, Pauric Mahony’s scoring total read double figures too.

Full value for their 2-12 to 0-9 half-time advantage, they pounded Clonlara with five blows without reply between the 39th and 46th minutes to conclude the contest long before the final whistle.

Joint-captain and goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe was a bystander for so much of the game but he showed his dexterity to keep out Ian Galvin’s low shot in the 46th minute. At the other end, Patrick Fitzgerald eventually found his range with a couple of points after posting four earlier wides.

Ballygunner found their groove from their fourth minute, scoring the first of four points without a response. Their first sniff of a goal came in the 12th minute when Kevin Mahony’s bouncing effort was tipped out over the endline by Logan Ryan although Pauric Mahony converted the 65.

Seimi Gully’s goalline was breached, however, less than two minutes later as Dessie Hutchinson collected Patrick Fitzgerald’s diagonal ball and finished with authority.

Points followed from Mikey and Kevin Mahony in a 1-3 blitz that propelled Ballygunner into a seven-points advantage, 1-7 to 0-3.

A Diarmuid Stritch point temporarily cooled Ballygunner’s artillery but they were cheering another green flag in the 19th minute, a sublime team goal that featured Mikey Mahony twice and Kevin applying the finish.

Pauric Mahony’s 25th minute point, his sixth of the game, extended Ballygunner’s lead to 10. It stretched as far as 11 before the interval before Clonlara finished out with the last two points of the half.

Scorers for Ballygunner: Pauric Mahony (0-10, 5 frees, 2 65s); K. Mahony (1-4); D. Hutchinson (1-1); P. Hogan (0-4); P. Fitzgerald (0-2): M. Mahony, C. Sheahan, H. Ruddle (0-1 each).

Scorers for Clonlara: M. O’Loughlin (0-6, 4 frees, 1 65); D. Stritch (0-3); J. Conlon, P. O’Loughlin (0-2 each); I. Galvin, A. Moriarty, D. McMahon, M. Stritch (0-1 each).

BALLYGUNNER: S. O’Keeffe (j-c); I. Kenny, B. Coughlan, T. Foley; S. O’Sullivan, Philip Mahony (j-c), R. Power; C. Sheahan, P. Leavey; P. Hogan, Pauric Mahony, M. Mahony; P. Fitzgerald, D. Hutchinson, K. Mahony.

Subs: H. Ruddle for R. Power (50); B. O’Keeffe for K. Mahony, C. Power for C. Sheahan (both 54); G. Corbett for Pauric Mahony, S. Harney for T. Foley (58).

CLONLARA: S. Gully; G. Powell, L. Ryan, M. Clancy; P. O’Loughlin, D. McMahon, D. Fitzgerald; A. Moriarty, J. McMahon (c); J. Conlon, C. Galvin, C. O’Meara; D. Stritch, M. O’Loughlin, I. Galvin.

Subs: C. Moriarty for C. Galvin (37); D. Moloney for M. O’Loughlin, M. Stritch for C. O’Meara (both 48); B. McLeish for J. McMahon (53); J. McCormack for L. Ryan (58).

Referee: C. O’Regan (Cork).