Slaughtneil aim to end All-Ireland Hurling hoodoo

Mark McGuigan and Conor McAllister are among a large contingent of Slaughtneil players that remain from their first All-Ireland Club campaign in early 2017 but the Derry outfit have still to reach the Croke Park decider

"If us boys retire without making an All-Ireland Final, it will be a massive regret. There's no point shying away from that. We really want to get to an All-Ireland Final."

So said Slaughtneil skipper Mark McGuigan as he signed autographs for hordes of excited youngsters while conducting an interview with BBC Sport NI's Mark Sidebottom after the Robert Emmet's dramatic Ulster Club Hurling Final win over a heartbroken Portaferry two weeks ago.

McGuigan has played in all four of Slaughtneil's defeats at the All-Ireland semi-final stage which began with the 2016-17 loss against a Con O'Callaghan inspired Cuala at the Athletic Grounds.

The current Slaughtneil captain is among nine of the side that started against Portaferry on 1 December who also took to the field in February 2017 against the eventual All-Ireland champions.

So while there is undoubtedly new blood in this Slaughtneil class of 2024 as both the management and players have been keen to emphasise, there are still plenty of men in Paul McCormack's squad who know all about the anguish and pain of All-Ireland Club semi-finals defeat.

Let's take a look back at Slaughtneil's four previous All-Ireland semi-finals encounters.

Slaughtneil found Con O'Callaghan and Cuala too hot to handle in their first All-Ireland Club campaign in early 2017

Cuala 3-21 Slaughtneil 2-11

In their first All-Ireland Club Hurling semi-final on 25 February 2017, Slaughtneil were aiming to emulate the achievement of their footballers who had beaten St Vincent's a fortnight earlier in the All-Ireland Club Football semi-final.

The match threw in at the Armagh Athletic Grounds with Slaughtneil manager Michael McShane selecting eight of the same players who had started against St Vincent's but the contest was effectively over by half-time as Con O'Callaghan's 11th-minute goal helped Cuala to a 1-13 to 0-5 lead.

Gerald Bradley and Se McGuigan did manage to net in the second half but Cuala were never threatened as they were 13 points ahead at the final whistle, with a dispiriting day for Slaughtneil rounded off by Cormac McKenna's late red card.

Cuala went on to beat Ballyea 2-19 to 1-10 in the decider as they clinched a first All-Ireland Club Hurling title.

For the record, the surviving Slaughtneil starters from the Cuala contest who lined out against Portaferry two weeks ago were captain McGuigan, goalkeeper Oisin O'Doherty, Conor McAllister, Paul McNeill, Shane McGuigan, Meehaul McGrath, Brendan Rogers, Se McGuigan and Cormac O'Doherty.

Brian Cassidy's reaction after Slaughtneil's All-Ireland Club semi-final defeat by Na Piarsaigh spoke volumes about a huge missed opportunity

Na Piarsaigh 3-15 Slaughtneil 3-8

The 2017-18 semi-final which took place on the 10 February, 2018 at Parnell Park represents the All-Ireland Club Hurling semi-final which Slaughtneil really let slip.

The Ulster champions led 2-6 to 0-6 at half-time and while a Conor Boylan goal immediately after the break cut Slaughtneil's lead, the Limerick outfit were then reduced to 13 men as Boylan and Tommy Grimes both received straight red cards.

However despite that seemingly huge double blow, Na Piarsaigh hit an unanswered 2-5 following the resumption as a Kevin Downes goal put them 2-11 to 2-6 ahead.

With free-taker Ronan Lynch going on to accumulate 0-14, which included 11 placed balls, the outstanding Shane Dowling rattled in a third Na Piarsaigh goal, which made Gerald Bradley's late major scant consolation for the shell-shocked Slaughtneil contingent.

Na Piarsaigh went on to play two thrilling final contests with Cuala as the Dubliners eventually retained the title thanks to their 2-17 to 1-17 replay victory.

Kevin Fennelly's two goals helped Ballyhale Shamrocks hold off Slaughtneil in the All-Ireland semi-final at Newry in January 2020

Slaughtneil 2-19 Ballyhale 2-24

Slaughtneil's hopes of third successive provincial title had been dashed by a shock 4-15 to 1-14 semi-final defeat by Ballycran in October 2018 but the Emmet's were back on top in Ulster a year later after beating Dunloy by eight points in the decider.

That set up an All-Ireland semi-final on 5 January, 2020 against defending champions Ballyhale Shamrocks in Newry and the Ulster champions produced a brave effort before being edged out 2-24 to 2-19.

Jerome McGuigan and Colin Fennelly traded first-half goals and there was only one between the sides at half-time.

With TJ Reid eventually finishing with 0-11 for Ballyhale, the Kilkenny men moved five up with 10 minutes remaining and while a 58th-minute Brendan Rogers cut the margin to only two, Fennelly's second goal immediately closed the door on Slaughtneil.

A couple of weeks later, Henry Shefflin's Ballyhale side were celebrating back-to-back All-Ireland Club triumphs as they edged out Borris-Ileigh 0-18 to 0-15 at Croke Park.

Billy O'Keefe's two goals helped eventual All-Ireland champions Ballygunner beat Slaughtneil in the semi-final in January 2022

Slaughtneil 1-17 Ballygunner 2-19

The first year of the Covid-19 pandemic meant no 2020-21 All-Ireland Club Championships but Slaughtneil clinched what was effectively a fourth provincial title in five seasons the following year by avenging their 2018 Ulster defeat by Ballycran when earning a 1-14 to 0-10 over the Ards men.

That set up another All-Ireland campaign for Michael McShane's side but for the third time, the Derry side were downed by the eventual Tommy Moore Cup winners as Billy O'Keefe's two goals helped Waterford club Ballygunner clinch a 2-19 to 1-17 victory at Parnell Park.

O'Keefe's fourth-minute goal helped the Waterford men to a slender 1-8 to 0-9 lead at the interval and the key moment of the contest came just after the resumption when his second goal put them six up.

Slaughtneil couldn't get any closer than four in arrears during the remainder of the contest with Shane McGuigan's injury-time goal coming too late for the Emmet's.

Ballygunner celebrated the most dramatic of All-Ireland Final victories over three-in-a-row seeking Ballyhale a fortnight later as substitute Harry Ruddle's last-puck goal from 25 metres earned a 2-17 to 1-19 victory.

The Waterford men were strongly fancied to be Slaughtneil's opposition once again in Newbridge this weekend but Cork side Sarsfields had other ideas as they denied Ballygunner's four-in-a-row ambitions in Munster by clinching a shock 3-20 to 2-19 provincial final triumph two weeks ago.

Sarsfields, who were beaten by divisional team Imokilly in their county final, did not have any starters in Cork's All-Ireland Final team in July although Jack O'Connor and Cathal McCarthy are part of the Rebels squad.

Their Munster Final matchwinner was Shane O'Regan who plundered 2-3 after being introduced as a second-half substitute.