All Systems go as 3 County Finals are ready to be played.

The opposition for three of this years County Hurling finals were confirmed in the Déise County over the past weekend.

In Senior, this years competition will see favourites De La Salle take on what to many is the surprize package of the championship – the 2009 county intermediate champions Dungarvan.

In intermediate hurling Portlaw and An Rinn will be the teams that have won the right to contest this years final, while in Junior Butlerstown who were in last years county final and were involved in three games with Ballinameela before the western club won out are once more back in the final and this year their opponents will be Ballinameela’s greatest and most deadly rivals – The Geraldines.

De La Salle won their place in the final on Saturday evening when they accounted for Mount Sion at Walsh Park.

The first half proved to be a very even affair with the Monastery Men holding a two point advantage at the break.

De La Salle opened the scoring on six minutes when the impressive Paudi Nevin pointed after some good first time hurling.

Mount Sion wasted no time in pulling De La Salle back with Stephen Roche scoring which was followed with Dean Twomey and Martin O’Neill trading points to leave the sides locked at two points a piece at the end of the first quarter.

Mount Sion at the start of the second quarter hit a purple patch. Points from Martin O’Neill and Austin Gleeson gave them a two point advantage. Points from Dean Twomey and Jake Dillon followed which had the sides all square for the third time with the clock ticking down in the first half.

Points from Martin O’Neill and Dean Twomey followed to keep the sides all square and it looked as if De La Salle were going to take control of the game when Jake Dillon pointed a free, but it was the Monastery men that retired in front after they gained possession after Stephen Daniels failed to clear the ball out of defence and when Michael Gaffney went close enough to goal he gave Stephen Brenner in the De La Salle goal no chance of keeping his shot out of the net.

De La Salle wasted no time in the second half in bringing the sides back level. Points from Bryan Phelan and Jake Dillon were quickly registered and went the latter put over a free after Martin O’Neill pointed for Mount Sion, the two time County and Provincial winners were level with their opponents for the sixth time in the game.

Points from Kevin Moran, a controversial effort from Shane McNulty and Jake Dillon looked to be setting De La Salle on their way at the end of the third quarter as they lead 0-12 to 1-6, but Ken McGrath pointed and then a Martin O’Neill free dropped short and Anthony Kirwan reacted quickest to plant the ball in the De La Salle net for the second time in the game, it was beginning to look like if Mount Sion could be about to dump one of the favourites out of the championship for the second successive round of games.

Bryan Phelan pulled the sides back level when he put over a free and when Kevin Moran set up John Mullane it gave De La Salle a lead that they never lost.

Eddie Barrett pointed for De La Salle six minutes from the end of the hour but Martin O’Neill followed up with a Mount Sion point.

It was De La Salle that finished the stronger of the sides however and points from Bryan Phelan, Dean Twomey and Paudi Nevin secured De La Salle’s passage to their third county final appearance since 2008.

The second semi final on Sunday evening saw Dungarvan come out on top in another tight game at Fraher Field.

While Dungarvan won the game by three points, they will have to thank their goalkeeper Darren Duggan for the roll he played in this win. He made at least five fantastic saves in this game. Had he been unable to keep the ball out of his net one at least one or two of these occasions, the outcome could have been much different.

The first half of this game proved to be a very close encounter. Maurice O’Gorman and Cormac Curran exchanged early scores in this game and when Jamie Barron and Cormac Curran did likewise before the end of the first quarter the game was not going to have the four gone conclusion that the bookies were seeing the game ahead of it starting.

Points from Jamie Barron and Colm Curran saw the sides tied at three points a piece after twenty two minutes.

On twenty five minutes had a chance for score through both Shane Walsh and Michael O’Gorman but the Old Boro’s defence was able to clear the danger and send the ball up field where Cormac Curran reacted quickest to plant the ball past Conor Ryan in the Fourmilewater goals.

Ryan Donnelly followed up with a Dungarvan point to give them a four point advantage, but Seamus Lawlor hit 1-1 for Fourmilewater inside a two minute spell at the end of the opening thirty minutes to level matters.

Time remained to be played and in this time both sides through Cormac Curran and Craig Guiry traded scores which left the sides locked at 1-5 a piece at the end of the first half.

The second half began as the first had ended. Jamie Barron missed an early free for Fourmilewater and when Justin Walsh at the other end fumbled the ball as he attempted to clear it, Jamie Nagle was able to put the ball over to give his side the lead.

Seamus Lawlor pointed for Fourmilewater on thirty four minutes and just seconds later, Darren Duggan in the Dungarvan goal performed heroics to keep both Jamie Barron and Shane Walsh at bay but was powerless to keep Barron’s second shot at goal from hitting the inside of the net.

Dungarvan hit back with a Shane Kearney point and this was followed up with efforts from Cathal Curran and Gavin Crotty to level the game once more ten minutes after the restart.

Inter county players Jamie Nagle and Shane Walsh swapped scores by the forty-eight minute mark. Gavin Crotty and Cormac Curran edged Dungarvan two in front by the fifty-third minute which Liam Lawlor managed to half when he pointed a ’65 five minutes from time.

With a minute of the hour to play Jamie Barron had the sides all square after he put over a free and Fourmilewater on the hour mark were unlucky not to have gone in front when Craig Guiry, Shane Walsh and Michael O’Gorman all combined but were unable to put the ball past Duggan in the Dungarvan goal.

It was Dungarvan however that finished the stronger of the two sides, and points from Cormac Curran, Ryan Donnelly and Gavin Crotty in added time at the end of the second half helped Dungarvan to a 1-15 to 2-9 victory and a place in their first county final since 1951.

In the two divisions there was both Intermediate and Junior finals to be played this weekend. In the east of the county Portlaw who have been getting better as the year progressed recorded a 1-19 to 3-9 victory over their neighbours Clonea at Kill while at the same venue the Junior final was down for decision where the champions of the last two years clashed.

Butlerstown won last years divisional title but lost out to Ballinameela in the county final after a second replay. They proved too strong for Ballydurn in this years eastern final winning 1-16 to 1-6. Two years ago Ballydurn beat Ballysaggart in the County Final but were relegated after just one year in the Intermediate ranks.

In the west An Rinn beat Cappoquin 2-10 to 0-14 at Fraher Field. An Rinn played Senior as late as 2009 while Cappoquin have been knocking about the latter stages of the intermediate championships in recent years and they must be asking themselves will they ever win the title.

In the Junior final also played at Fraher Field on Saturday evening, the Geraldines needed some late scores to overcome the challenge of Colligan who dropped down from the Intermediate grade at the end of 2011.

Dungarvan and De La Salle meet in the Senior County Final on October 14 in Fraher Field which should have its capacity tested on the day. It will be proceeded by the Junior County Final between Butlerstown and Geraldines which has a 2pm throw in. The intermediate final between An Rinn and Portlaw will take place on the weekend of October 20/21 with Fraher Field again set to stage the game.