Des Cahill is the former chairman of south Dublin GAA Club Cuala which is based just outside the village of Dalkey. Although Des, who begins his new morning radio show today on RTE Radio One, is no longer involved in the day-to-day administration of the club, he still lists a day out in Cuala watching a match as one of his greatest pleasures.
Founded: Cuala was an amalgamation of the Dun Laoghaire-based Cuala Casements and Dalkey Mitchells. This took place in the 1960s and was basically a coming together of two clubs, one with younger players and the other with an older tradition. There has always been a long tradition of hurling in Dalkey. Membership: The number of juvenile teams has doubled in the last two or three years. We are very strong in the underage levels and the success has been phenomenal. We've teams from under nine up to the senior hurlers and we've nursery for the even younger kids.
Honours: We've had much more success at hurling than at football. In 1989 we won the Leinster Club final having won the Dublin championship. We were then beaten by Shamrocks from Kilkenny who went on to win the All-Ireland. We've also won a number of senior hurling titles.
Finest Moment: I'd have to go back to the Leinster Club final win although I wasn't there for it. I was at the world Cup draw working for RTE and I missed the match. For a small club with a small population of hurlers it was a great achievement.
Worst Moment: When we were relegated from senior football two or three years ago. It was a huge disappointment as the club had worked so hard to get there. Another moment was possibly losing the county football final in 1988 against Parnells. Brian Talty scored the winner that time. Again I missed the match because I was working at the Tour de France at the time.
Club Hero: It's a hard one because a club is always the people who run it. But Tom Holden who was 80 last Saturday and who is club president will still argue with anyone over team selection. He's so passionate about the game. Damien Byrne, a former Dublin hurling goalkeeper, heads the juvenile committee with Tony Bass. They have transformed the club and given it a bright future.
Greatest Rivals: In terms of geography, Kilmacud Crokes would be the team we would always love to beat. They are a much bigger club than us and have been very successful, but they are just up the road in Stillorgan. To beat them always gives us a certain amount of pride. They'd be our greatest rivals.
