Holmes leads the way as Camross claim JHC ‘C’ crown

Camross were crowned the Laois Shopping Centre Junior ‘C’ Hurling champions after coming through a hard-fought battle against Clough/Ballacolla in the LOETB Centre of Excellence on Wednesday night.

This game was the first championship final of 2026, and both clubs will be hoping to add more silverware to their name in the coming weeks.

Although he received a late red card after a flashpoint, Niall Holmes was the Camross hero, finishing with eight points to his name, seven of them from placed balls.

It was a level game at half-time, but Camross got a goal from Kyle Moore in the 36th minute and never looked back from that point.

In a closely fought first half, with scores hard to come by, Clough/Ballacolla went into an early lead through Damien Bergin. It was soon level as Niall Holmes added his first point from a free. Camross then had a goal chance, but Kyle Moore's effort flashed by the post and went wide.

Clough/Ballacolla then hit two quick-fire points through Michael Harrison; his first came from a free and his second from play.

There was nothing between the teams midway through the first half as both teams traded points on multiple occasions, with Holmes and Mark Conroy getting the Camross scores, while Michael Harrison and Shane Hanlon were on target for Clough/Ballacolla.

The victors finished the half the stronger, with a brilliant point from Mark Conroy, while Holmes once again showed his accuracy with another free to leave it all square at half-time, five points apiece.

Camross picked up from where they left off and hit two points in a row through Michael Buckley and a free from Mark Conroy. Shane Hanlon replied for Clough/Ballacolla with a brilliant effort from play, but then Camross hit the killer blow.

It came through Kyle Moore as his effort for a point landed short and sailed over the keeper into the top corner of the net to give Camross a four-point cushion, and from there, they never looked back.

Holmes followed that up with two more frees as he punished every foul that was committed. Clough/Ballacolla finally replied through Damien Bergin, but Holmes once again nailed another three frees to end the game as a contest.

Danny Hanlon and Trevor Abbott traded points before a shemozzle broke out on the stand side of the pitch and, as a result, Niall Holmes for Camross was sent off alongside Brendan McEvoy for Clough/Ballacolla.

There was still time for a consolation goal from Cian Coffey, but it mattered little as Camross saw out the game to be crowned champions.

FINAL SCORE

Camross 1-13

Clough/Ballacolla 1-8

SCORERS- Camross: Niall Holmes 0-8 (0-7 frees), Mark Conroy 0-3 (0-2 frees), Kyle Moore 1-0, Michael Buckley and Trevor Abbott 0-1 each. Clough/Ballacolla: Cian Coffey 1-0, Michael Harrison 0-3 (0-2 frees), Shane Hanlon and Damien Bergin (0-1 free) 0-2 each, Danny Hanlon 0-1

CAMROSS: James Palmer; Patrick Ryan, Martin Moore, Jack Moore; Ben Cordial Lambe, Mark Conroy, Fionn Dowling; Colin Palmer, Kevin Lalor; Conor Deegan, Niall Holmes, Patrick Burke; Kyle Moore, Patrick Ryan, Trevor Abbott. Subs Used: Michael Buckley, James O'Keefe, David Hynes, Kevin Lalor, Tomas Burke, Kevin O'Leary, Shane Dowling, Dean Dowling.

CLOUGH/BALLACOLLA: Danny Hanlon; Aidan Bergin, Johnny Finane, Pat McEvoy; Matthew Bergin, Brendan McEvoy, Craig Saunders; Eoin Meade, Kevin Meade; Adam Gorman, Shane Hanlon, Ciaran Finane; Michael Harrison, Damien Bergin, Gearoid Boyhan. Subs Used: Cian Coffey, Evan Hawkes, Tommy Nolan, Aidan McCartney, Bryan Corrigan, Darragh McEvoy.

REFEREE: Craig Haslam (Portlaoise)