By Niall Gartland

THE Antrim Senior Hurling Championship final – it’s a special day in the calendar as acknowledged by Cushendall boss Brian Delargy ahead of Sunday’s showdown against Dunloy.

The Ruairi Ógs have won 15 senior titles out of a total of 27 final appearances in their history but in a sense it’s all about the here and now and solidifying their position as the leading team in the county.

Cushendall are bidding for the back-to-back but it’s no easy task. Dunloy won four titles on the spin between 2019 and 2022 and have an All-Ireland final appearance under their ranks and it makes for a hugely appetising proposition from a neutral perspective.

Respective fans will enjoy the build-up and the banter but for the protagonists involved, there’s a job to be done.

Cushendall manager Delargy said: “It’s an honour to be in the final and when you set out at the start of the year, it’s where you want to get to. The Antrim Senior Hurling final is a prestige event so we’re delighted that the club is involved again.

“It’s something we certainly don’t take for granted and everyone in the village gets involved, the corner shop’s selling the flags and the bunting will go up, but our boys know it comes down to a game of hurling, so we’ll let the supporters enjoy it while we get the work done in training.”

Cushendall got the better of their recent group stage encounter against Dunloy, but forewarned is forearmed and they know just what to expect from their opponents when the big prize is a mere 60 minutes away. They’ve lost out on county final day to Dunloy three times in the last decade – 2017, 2019 and 2022 – and that’s a trend they want to break.

Talking down their group stage win, Delargy said: “It’s completely different. Group stages are for getting through, the championship doesn’t really start until it’s knock-out and whenever it’s all on the line, that’s when it really matters. We played them in Cushendall on a lovely day and that’ll be different than county final day in Ballycastle at this time of year.

“We all know how good Dunloy are. Last year they were going for the five in-a-row and it was tough on them as they have so many dual players and they reached the football final as well.

“This year you can see they’ve got the energy back and they’re raring to go. We’re under no illusions about what’s facing us in the final.”

Cushendall topped their group with three wins from three but they needed extra-time to see off St John’s in the semi-finals. Victory was the only thing that mattered, said Delargy.

“We’d a tough group stage, we’d three really tough games and did well to come through it.

With the St John’s semi-final, we were just delighted to get over the line. Semi-finals are hard-won, they performed really well and there’s bits we can learn from it, but that’s the case with every game we play,” he added.