Éire Óg Greystones
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Weekly Notes - 20th June 2007

The G.A.A. unriValled ! Last week-end did much to substantiate that claim. Where is the sport that can serve up entertainment like that provided to the nearly 70000 who attended the Munster Hurling Championship games in Thurles over the week-end? No crashing colossi here, nay, rather did we see lithe bodies in a poetry of graceful athletic motion and balletic evasion. Here no time for languid ball-dwelling or time-consuming backwards-moving ball-retaining strategies, all anathema to the forward thrust imperative of the game of hurling. One had to marvel at the stick skills, the ball transfers executed at sprinting speeds, the reaction of the players, the elegance of the points scoring, the goals, the saves and the heart-stopping excitement.

Then there was the Dubs v Meath - a game to hold its own in excitement, exuberance, athleticism and skill which any other big-ball code could produce. And to think that these wonderful sports are, as a matter of policy, excluded from the sporting curricula of many of our schools. Sorry, I forgot - only we in the G.A.A. have the narrow minds. Ach fágaimid siúd mar atá sé et revenons à nos moutons.

It should not be forgotten, however, that these showpiece events are founded on the club games played week in week out in every corner of Ireland and which, on the wider canvas, go largely "unheralded and unknown". It is doubtful if many, even locally, were aware that Éire Óg and Kilcoole were doing battle in Newtown on Sunday in the Intermediate championship - yet for aficiandos with their knowledge of the history of the rivalry between these near neighbours, a mouth-watering contest had been in prospect. Unfortunately, yet happily for the weaker of heart among their supporters, Éire Óg held sway for most of the game and ran out clear winners. Kilcoole did stage a revival after the interval and gradually reduced Éire Óg's lead. During this period one could see the confidence engendered by our 'unassailable' 7 point interval lead eroding in the handling errors, the overcooked and misdirected passes which began to proliferate. Thankfully Éire Óg recovered their composure and the threat passed. This was a game in which every one of the Éire Óg players played more or less to par and it would be a harsh critic who would find fault with any individual effort.

It opened with a heart-sinking triplet of scoreable misses and the downward motion of those hearts was only arrested when, after 7 minutes, Johnny Barry slotted over a free from 30 metres. Frustratingly at this stage Éire Óg were failing to reflect their dominance in play on the scoreboard. This impasse only ended when an inrushing Deccie Hogan fisted a beautifully weighted centre from Conor Monaghan to the net. Thereafter to the break Éire Óg scored readily.

There was plenty of good football played during the game, particularly by Éire Óg - some excellent fielding from James Leonard at centre-field and from Kenny Naughton at half-back. A particular fetch by Paul Pegman was truly spectacular. Some of the interplay leading up to the scores was delightful - Willie "Decibels" O'Hagan was involved in many of these movements. Then we had the wonderful jinking dodging runs of Darren Hayden and many instances of that skill of bravery and timing - the block - notably from Eoin O'Neill and Deccie Hogan.

The u-14 hurlers had a famous victory over Carnew in Carnew. More about that next week.

Remember football VHI Cúl camp starts 2nd July.