where they lived with a childless couple, Din Browne and his wife. Seir Kieran were a diminished force after Killeen went to Killdangan in North Tipperary in the mid-1930s (a time when many others were emigrating to England), but they recovered to claim the Offaly Intermediate Hurling Final of 1938 against North Portarlington. Played at Tullamore on 27 August 1938, this match also served as the Junior Final of 1937, with the result that Seir Kieran annexed both Titles in the one hour of hurling. The Clareen side, featuring players such as Pakie Troy (who served as club secretary for many years) and the great Jack Purcell, scored 6-8 to North Portarlington's 2-1. In 1939 the team reached a new high-water mark, by advancing to the Offaly Senior Hurling Final on 22 October against Coolderry. Coolderry relentlessly built up their winning margin of 6-4 to 2-2, to claim their 14th Title. Nonetheless, Seir Kieran matched their opponents well in a fast-paced, hard-hitting contest. Throughout the 1939 championship, their rain-maker was the brilliant Sean O'Neill at midfield. The eldest son of the Clareen schoolmaster, O'Neill was a student at St Kieran's College in Kilkenny, where he captained the team that won out the Leinster Colleges Hurling Championship of 1939. In the 1940s, despite an ongoing crisis of numbers, Seir Kieran won the Intermediate Hurling contests of 1943 and 1947. The 1943 championship was curtailed by wartime restrictions, especially rationing of petrol and food supplies. On 12 September 1943, Seir Kieran won the Final against Clara by 7-5 to 5-1. Rationing had hardly eased by the Springtime of 1947, when a brutal Arctic freeze was exacerbated by blizzards that set in on St Patrick's Day. Nonetheless, an entertaining Intermediate Championship ensued. In the Semi-Final against Shinrone at Killyon, a last-gasp Jack Purcell point saw Seir Kieran salvage a draw. Due to a "man of the match" performance by Tom Featherstone, they won the replay by 3-6 to 3-2. Featherstone was carried shoulder-high from the field, and Fr. William Brennan the club chairman declared: "This is our Jim Langton". Seir Kieran won the Intermediate Final against Carrig & Riverstown by 5-3 to 2-4. The medals were awarded in the Parish Hall on St Stephen's Night 1947. The schoolmaster, Mr. Sean O'Neill, the team trainer, Fr. William Brennan PP, and John Coughlan the team captain gave the speeches, in which they looked forward to