Portumna Claim Third Meteor Kilmacud Crokes Sevens
Before a large attendance star studded Portumna from Galway overcame strong competition from 34 of Ireland’s most decorated hurling clubs to claim the 38th annual Meteor Kilmacud Crokes All-Ireland Hurling Sevens Senior Cup. This was the Galway outfit's third title and from the off it was clear the Michael Duignan trained side came witrh serious intent.
Nascent superstar, Joe Canning, was the stand out act and duly won the player of the tournament award. Whenever his side needed scores the gentle giant came up trumps. Against fellow Galwegians in the final Joe turned in a tour de force with a tally of 8 goals and 2 points - some of the scores being of the sublime variety. Joe was ably abetted by county colleagues Damien Hayes, Andy Smith and brother Ollie in a side that also included Ivan Canning and two other Hayes brothers. In the final Portumna led by 5-4 to 2-4 at half time and had extended that lead with two goals in quick succession in the opening minutes of the second half. They went on to take the title against a far from submissive Mullagh side by an impressive 11-9 to 4-8.
Portumna Panel:
Joe Canning (Capt.), Ollie Canning, Ivan Canning, Garret Heaghney, Kevin Hayes, Damien Hayes, Andrew Smith, Leo Smith, Niall Hayes and Eoin Lynch.
In the first Cup semi final Portumna lined out against Ballinahassig and proved to have too much fire power for the Cork outfit to handle running away with a 25 point win. Mullagh booked their spot in the final with a 5-11 to 4-2 win over Bishopstown (Cork) to complete the all Galway final. Defending Champions Moycarkey Borris from Tipperary were defeated in the quarter final by Bishopstown by 3-5 to 2-10.
In the Shield Monaghan’s Inniskeen Grattans overcameTyrone’s Eoghan Ruadh by 3-10 to 4-5 to claim their first title. The under 13 trophy was won by O'Loughlin Gaels (Kilkeny) who triumphed over Blackrock from Cork in the final by 1-10 to 1-5. The senior Friends of Dublin Hurling Balla Ball competition was won by Ger Flynn from Croom, Co. Limerick, while the under 16 title went to Ronan O'Meara, another Portumna standard bearer..
Philip McGauran, Sponsorship Manager for Meteor presented the winning teams with their trophies along with Seamus Howlin, Chairman of the Leinster Council, and Tom Barry Chairman of Kilmacud Crokes Hurling.
Commenting on the results of the day, Tom Rock, Chairman of the Meteor Kilmacud Crokes Hurling Sevens Workgroup, said: “I would like to congratulate everyone who took part today and in what is now one of the highlights of the GAA calendar. The tournament has been a huge success and it was fantastic to see such an amazing turnout with over 600 participants.”
John Penberthy Smith, Commercial Director for Meteor, said: “Congratulations to Portumna and Inniskeen as well as all the teams that participated in the competition today. The amazing turnout of teams and spectators is a true testament to the stature of the competition and to the superb organisation of our partners Kilmacud Crokes.”
He added, ”This is one of the most sociable events on the GAA calendar which make it such a great fit for us. We pride ourselves on being your social network, something we aim to convey through all our online initiatives and sponsorships.”
The event supported the ‘Headsup’, text referral service from Rehab Care, which aims to help young adults in difficulty by offering support group information for a range of issues via text on 50424. Visit http://www.kilmacudcrokes.com/hurling for details on the history of the event, past winners, maps and more.