Compiled by DAMIAN CULLEN
Club life: The championships roll on over the weekend
WHILE yesterday was all about Tipperary versus Dublin at headquarters, on the club scene it was one of the biggest weekends of the summer so far, as the business end of the county championships kick into gear. Clubs are tussling for knockout places, while a few of the unlucky ones are just seeking to avoid relegation.
Tipperary’s opponents in the All-Ireland decider staged their final senior hurling games before the weekend after the All-Ireland decider. And there were few surprises in Kilkenny, with the possible exception of Fenians defeating Dunnamaggin.
The fact Ballyhale Shamrocks – who had county star Colin Fennelly pull up with a hamstring injury – were made to fight all the way by Clara, and Erin’s Own only defeated Tullaroan by a single point, could be also considered surprising. The knockout stages are yet to come however.
Which is also the case in Laois, with Camross – who claimed their 23rd senior hurling title four years ago – following up their championship defeat to 2009 champions Clough-Ballacolla last month with another defeat, this time to Ballinakill, at the weekend.
While Cork could only jealously watch the All-Ireland hurling semi-finals from the outside, yesterday Midleton beat Douglas in the county’s hurling championship to complete the quarter-final line-up, the best of which will be in Fermoy next Saturday (6.30pm) when reigning champions Sarsfields meet the previous season’s winners Newtownshandrum.
And, in football, some of the usual suspects are beginning to flex their muscles. In Armagh, Crossmaglen had a comfortable first round senior football victory over Clann Éireann, 2-17 to 0-9, with the county’s star forward, Jamie Clarke, scoring 1-5.
Ladies’ day: Camogie bringing in the crowds
LAST March, Killimor blew away Inniscarra in the All-Ireland senior club camogie final at Croke Park.
There was one other notable fact from the day. The attendance – at a club camogie game remember – was 4,724, far more than what had been expected.
This time last year, the All-Ireland senior semi-finals – featuring Cork, Galway, Kilkenny and Wexford – attracted just over 3,000 to Nowlan Park, a figure which delighted camogie headquarters.
On Saturday, the same four teams meeting at the same stage and the same venue, brought in 5,100 spectators. As recently as the early 1990s that would have been considered a huge attendance for an All-Ireland camogie final, nevermind a semi-final.
With last year’s finalists, Wexford and Galway, meeting again next month, it bodes well for the final attendance.
Future was bright
WATCHING yesterday’s senior hurling game, we were reminded of the match report for the 1961 All-Ireland final meeting between the same sides. The Irish Times headline (which, we suspect, might have had a leaning for Dublin), had as its main headline: Tipperary win but glory belongs to Dublin.
Despite the loss, the paper reckoned the future for Dublin hurling, was bright. Well, that was the last time they reached the final!
Dublin's blue bloods
THERE’S quite a bit of culchie blood running through the Dublin senior hurling team (and buckets of it at management level), but there’s no doubt that this panel is home grown.
Players such as Gary Maguire, Oisín Gough, Shane Ryan and Conal Keaney may each have at least one parent from outside the Pale, and of course Ryan O’Dwyer is a direct import, but – unlike perhaps many Dublin teams in the past – this panel is truly blue-blooded and, importantly for the future of the game in the capital, drawn from throughout the county.
And, interestingly, many of the players are drawn from non-traditional hurling areas, places where non-Dubs especially might have thought only contained rugby, hockey or soccer pitches.
The map on the right contains all the players that have played senior championship hurling for Dublin this summer.
The only reason the future looks blue is because it’s wearing a Dublin hurling jersey.
Davy Fitzgerald was an umpire in Nowlan Park at the weekend.