Éire Óg Greystones
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Weekly Notes - 7th June 2006

Last Thursday was a red-letter day in the lives of the u-14 County Hurling Development squad. The group of 31 players was in Croke Park to participate in the Inter-county blitz. But there was much more to the day than this; the players were fed and watered and were given a tour of the museum and stadium. Reports are of a hugely enjoyable occasion buzzing with enthusiasm and optimism for this the most ancient of games. One could not but have been impressed by the skill and all-round ability of the players who, for the most part, hailed from the so-called weaker hurling counties. It was a testament to the huge effort, primarily voluntary, being put into sowing the seeds of hurling in the reluctantly yielding soils of these areas.

The magnitude of the task of promoting Gaelic games, and hurling in particular, will be starkly illustrated in the coming months when we will be subjected to the barrage of publicity attendant on the soccer and rugby World Cups. How can the G.A.A. survive? Is the job of preserving our games too big for the G.A.A. on its own? Ought not the Rialtas treat the games as a special case and afford them status equal to that of Georgian buildings?! The playing field is definitely not a level one.

Hurling, through all the skill and mental demands it places on players, gives them a unique perspective – hurlers are different. One can truly say of hurling "the whole point of hurling is that it is first and foremost a state of mind – a spirit" with apologies to Jean-Paul Rives the French rugby player.

Mais revenons a nos moutons – there were four Éire Óg players in the squad viz. Michael Walsh, Hughie O’Neill, Owen Byrne and Karl Devin. (we have news of an early sighting in Fíodh na n-Úll – you’re wrong, not of a cuckoo – of a young hurler honing his skills in the early morning). They all acquitted themselves but Karl, in particular, impressed. He bagged himself 2-3 over the tournament.

Éire Óg are making a special effort to promote hurling at u-10 level over the summer. Training will be from 10am to 11.30am on Saturdays starting this Saturday. Boys and girls 7-10 years will be catered for. There is talk of starting a camogie team!

Incidentally the football academy for u-9s continues on Saturdays at 2.00pm.

Another draw with Kilcoole. This time it was our Junior B team. A few weeks ago while our ladies were playing Kilcoole, one observed Kilcoole Junior Bs struggling to overcome St. Feargals on the other pitch. Last week Éire Óg had a comprehensive win over Feargals. This week it needed a late point to get the draw against Kilcoole. It just doesn’t make sense!

The u-14s had a close call against Bray in the League on Wednesday. At half-time Éire Óg led 1-7 to 0-2 and it seemed that the second period was to be a mere formality. How misleading the portends were! From the throw-in, Bray Emmets showed their intent and soon had the Éire Óg goal under siege. Impressive saves by Adam Manning and heroic constructive defending by Karl Manahan were keeping the Emmets return to a minimum. However a feeling of "something’s got to give" was invading the Éire Óg camp. It did, and Bray got through for 4 goals. Our forwards may be vertically challenged but they are consummate intelligent footballers and, with a high degree of efficiency, utilised ball coming out of defence. Gary Elliot was a powerful presence at centre forward and scored a great goal. Simon Sweeney, Niall Crosbie (1-5) and Paul Dunne delighted in their forward play while John Deeney played well in defence.