Adult Hurling Report for AGM
What a year this has been for the club and for the adult hurlers as we sit as champions of Dublin for the
5th time in our history and champions of Leinster for the first time ever.
Junior Hurling
All of our Adult teams have performed admirably this year. Our 3rd team where in Division 7 and won 9
out of 11 games across the year to finish top of the league. A great achievement by Colm O’Giollain,
Declan Schutte and Dublin Hall of Famer – Damien “Dayo” Byrne to guide this group of young and older
lads to a league title.
Our 2nd team were in Division 5 from whence they were unlucky to not qualify from last year. This year
– the league went down to the wire and our Junior As finished 2nd having only lost 1 game all year to
eventual outright winners St.Maurs. There was a 1-point difference between 1st and 2nd place in a hugely
competitive league, In the playoffs we overcame Faughs to qualify for promotion. Record in this league
is 13 wins – 1 loss. Considering our commitment to the Dublin senior team, this was a great
achievement. So its Intermediate league hurling for this group next year.
Our 2nd team also had a great run in the Intermediate championship – topping our group by beating
Kevins, Erins Isle and drawing the final game with Judes. We had a nail-biting extra time win over Scoill
Ui Chonaill in the quarter final. The semi-final was lost to St. Judes by 2 points who were eventual
winners. Overall a great run.
Senior League
Needless to say our Seniors have been outstanding all year. We are AHL1 league champions once again
having beaten O’Tooles in the League final. Record in this competition was 9 wins and 2 losses. As
mentioned above, considering the non-availability of our inter-county players for much of the year – the
players who stepped up from the 2nd team to ensure we never dropped points through the year should
be commended.
Dublin Championship
Our Championship has been the best ever in the history of Cuala. We stand tonight as Leinster Senior
Hurling Champions with an All-Ireland semi-final to look forward to on February 5th. We had a tough
campaign in the Dublin championship and many wrote us off when we drew with K.Crokes in the very
first game. We then defeated Ballinteer and St. Vincents to reach the knock stages. A quarter-final win
over Ballyboden and a semi-final win over Lucan were delivered without too much fuss. The final against
Crokes started in rip-roaring fashion and we were well in control at half-time. Crokes to their credit
threw everything at us in the 2nd half and clawed the lead back to lead by 2 points with 10 mins left. At
this point Cuala took over and saw out the game tagging on 6 points down the stretch. Dublin Senior
County Champions again and the double league and championship wins repeated.
Leinster Championship
The Leinster campaign has just completed this week. Strong wins over Borris-Kilcotton of Laois and St.
Mullins of Carlow put us into a Leinster Final against the might of O’Loughlin Gales of Kilkenny. We
learned a lot from last year and were not going to be denied this time. And as we all know, this Cuala
team produced the best performance of the year so far. Leinster Champions! All Ireland Semi-final
ahead!
I would like to thank all the management team who have made this year possible, Harry Roberts, JP
Byrne, Declan Cronin, Eddie Gough, Brendan Stanley, Timmy Walsh, Barry O’Halloran, Greg Kennedy,
Mark Coffey, Dave Kennedy , Seaghan Kearney and Paraic O’Toole.
I would also like to thank the Adult Footballers for their support and co-operation throughout the year.
A special word of appreciation to Senior manager, Matty Kenny, whose knowledge, experience,
leadership and sheer drive has led us to this historic victory. It is hard to describe how much effort
Matty has put in to make this possible
I would like to thank all our financial sponsors without which this would not have been possible. We
want the best for this team and for the club and our sponsors make that a reality.
I would like to thank the club, the Coiste officers, Adrian Dunne and Paddy Murdock for their support
throughout the year. To the wonderful supporters – now a new ‘ultra‘ phenomenon in the GAA world –
for the wonderful journey you have accompanied us on. And we’re not done yet.
Lastly – to the special bunch of players – who have made this the greatest year in Cuala History – go
raibh maith agaibh go léir. See you in February.
Cuala Abú
Tadhg Murphy