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1980 was an appropriate year for Kildangan to win the North intermediate title, since it was the fifieth anniversary of the
club's first triumph. It was appropriate too that the team should include Rody Gleeson's son Roger, and Mick Foley's nephew,
Jimmy. The 1980 North final was described by the Nenagh Guardian as " a thrilling, spectacular, but always sporting
encounter ". The score line of 3-9 to 0-9 hardly reflected the brave display of Kilruane MacDonagh, but they had no
answer to their opponent's fast, determined hurling. Kildangan's speed and fitness were a tribute to the coaching of Sean
O'Meara (Belleen), himself a former Lorrha and Tipperary player. Seamus Hogan, as often before, led the way with a powerful
performance in the final. The Kildangan scores came from Pat Kelly 2-1, Martin Healy 1-2, Donal Flannery 0-5 and Seamus Hayes
0-1.
It took two meetings to dispose of Golden Kilfeacle in the semi final, the first was a dogged affair in which three players
were sent off, but the North champions improved in the replay and won by eight points. The county final at Thurles on a raw
wintry day was a huge disappointment to Kildangan. They were outclassed by Loughmore-Castleiney, the score line of 2-14 to
0-5 clearly showed the dominance of the Mid champions.
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