Nursery Graduates make Tournament Debut (25th August)

The Naomh Eanna Club in Gorey attracted over 350 aspiring hurlers of the future to their annual under-8 hurling tournament on Saturday 25th August. Among the participants were such famous nurseries as Clara (Kilkenny), Mount Sion (Waterford), Oulart the Ballagh (Wexford) and, of course, our own Kilmacud Crokes. A party of 21 players, their parents and mentors left the car park in Glenalbyn at 8.45am and headed south along the N11 towards the Model County. On arrival in Gorey at 10am, each of the 16 participating teams were asked to don their Club jerseys and parade around the field lead by a lone Scottish piper. It was then time to stand to attention for Abhrán na bhfiain before the real business of the day commenced. In the opening match, against Carlow Town, Crokes got off to a flying start with an early Dylan Crossan goal. Further goals from Dylan, Niall Brady, Stephen Horgan, Sam Lynch and James Dillon opened up a big lead. Even though Carlow found the net, the boys from Kilmacud motored on and further goals from Nathan Slattery and a point from Lorcan O’Connor saw Kilmacud Crokes safely home. The second match, against Raparees from Enniscorthy, always looked as if it would have a crucial bearing on deciding the group winners. And so it turned out. In a very evenly balanced match, the Kilmacud Crokes youngsters fought tooth and nail for every ball before Nathan Slattery scored a magnificent point off the ground. In the end, this was the difference between the two teams, who gave it their all. A number of Crokes players caught the eye in this encounter, including Thomas Kehoe and Hugh Bermingham at mid-field as well as young Tom Stakelum and the Gibbons’ brothers, Michael and Edmund. Victory in the third match against Naomh Eanna would mean qualification for the Cup semi-final. After an intake of some liquid refreshment and a few “sandbos”, the Croke’s boys were rearing to go again. Among the stars in this rather one-sided encounter were James Dalton and Cian Coleman on the full-back line as well as Niall Bezeci, Stephen Keegan, Brian Rafter and Oisin Murray. In addition, Cathal O’Connor, Anthony Quinn and Sean Byrne, who scored an excellent goal, showed what good hurlers they are turning out to be. A feature of the match was the fact that both the Gibbon’s brothers got on the score sheet. As group winners, Kilmacud Crokes were drawn against a very good Tara Rocks (based outside Gorey) team in the semi-final. As the ball was thrown in, the time was approaching 4pm and young limbs were beginning to run out of petrol. Nonetheless, the Crokes boys fought hard before losing by seven points to a fresher looking opposition. All in all, these boys (and their parents) did the Club proud in their first tournament. Special mention must be made of the four Under-7’s, who supplemented the party – Edmund Gibbons, Tom Stakelum, Anthony Quinn and the talented James Dillon. Hopefully, the Under-8’s will build on this experience and develop into even better hurlers as Under-9’s next year. Kilmacud Crokes:- Edmund Gibbons; James Dalton, Cian Coleman, Niall Brady; Niall Bezeci, Michael Gibbons, Brian Rafter; Thomas Kehoe, Hugh Bermingham; Stephen Horgan, Lorcan O’Connor, Sam Lynch; Nathan Slattery, Dylan Crossan, Sean Byrne; Stephen Keegan, Cathal O’Connor, Tom Stakelum, Oisin Murray, Anthony Quinn, James Dillon.