GAELIC GAMES:It's a busy time for both hurlers and footballers of Ballyboden St Enda's. IAN O'RIORDANlooks at the preparations for their next challenge – Ballyhale.

DESPITE THEIR considerable exertions of recent weeks it appears Ballyboden St Enda’s are rounding into peak shape at just the right time.

On Sunday, the club’s senior hurlers take on reigning Leinster and four-time Kilkenny champions Ballyhale Shamrocks, boosted by the return of Dublin captain Stephen Hiney and the ongoing success of the club’s senior footballers. It’s a tale of two teams, one effort.

The hurlers haven’t been quite as busy as the footballers, whose success in Dublin included a three-game effort against Kilmacud Crokes. But with four dual players, including Hiney, the need for understanding and compromise between the Ballyboden hurling and football managers has been paramount.

Liam Hogan, the Offaly native who has already guided the south Dublin club to their third successive county hurling title this year, has never seen it as a problem.

“It’s fairly straightforward, actually,” he says, “in that when it’s a hurling week we get them, and when it’s a football week they get them. We certainly haven’t found it a problem, and even if it was, there is always a way to find a solution.

“The important thing is that the two managers are not pulling in the opposite direction. The lads are fit, and all they really need with us right now is a puck around with us and some light practice to stay fresh.”

Liam O’Dwyer, the Ballyboden football manager, has a similar belief. And all four dual players are typically central to both teams – Conal Keaney, Simon Lambert, Shane Durkin, and Hiney.

The only issue regarding Hiney is that he’s been out with injury for the past six weeks, having fractured a bone in his left knee in the Dublin championship quarter-final against Lucan Sarsfields. He spent the first few of those weeks on crutches and by all accounts was lucky the injury didn’t end his career.

But he never gave up hope of playing some role for either the hurlers or the footballers, staying fit in the gym even though he wasn’t able to train on the field.

And he may yet get the chance to play for both again before the season is out, as Hiney has been back with Ballyboden this week, having made a somewhat quicker recovery than expected.

While he is likely to make the trip to Kilkenny on Sunday, it’s not yet entirely clear what role he will play: “He’s been back training for the past week, more or less at full tilt,” explains Hogan. “I’d be reasonably optimistic that he might play some part, but the final decision really rests with the physios.”

What is clear is that Ballyhale present a daunting challenge. Last month, they collected a fourth successive Kilkenny title for only the second time in the county’s history, overcoming the challenge of old rivals James Stephens, and have already got the better of Wexford champions Oulart-the-Ballagh, albeit in a very close contest, 2-20 to 1-21, after extra time.

“I didn’t see the Kilkenny final myself,” says Hogan, “but from what I’m told, it was a tough, hard fought game. It wasn’t high scoring because scores were hard to come by. But look, Ballyhale are a great team. They’re the Leinster champions, but more significantly, they’ve now won four Kilkenny titles in succession. Even to win one title in Kilkenny takes some going.”

Next Sunday, the Ballyboden footballers take on Westmeath champions Garrycastle in their Leinster semi-final – a slightly less daunting task, perhaps, than for the hurlers.

There’s no denying Ballyhale’s experience (with names like TJ Reid, Henry Shefflin, James “Cha” Fitzpatrick, Michael Fennelly, etc) yet Ballyboden have gained plenty experience of their own in recent years (and boast other Dublin hurling names such as Gary Maguire, David Curtin, David Sweeney and Wexford’s Malachy Travers).

In 2007, and their first run in Leinster, they lost out to Birr in the final, before losing more heavily to the Offaly side in the first round last year.

“We’ll give it our best shot,” says Hogan, “and if we let ourselves down like we did against Birr last year, then we only have ourselves to blame”.