Great Hurling Weekend..

It's nearly a week now since the Croke Park classic of last Sunday but thankfully it is still the topic of conversation amongst sports followers. A draw was a fitting result and the replay is eagerly anticipated. From 1959 until 2012 we never had a drawn hurling final and now we've had three-in-a row! Back in 1988 Cork drew the All Ireland Football Final with Meath - we should have it won. I was at Listowel races the following Thursday and met Bryan MacMahon the great Kerry writer. We spoke about the Football final and concerning the replay he said 'Tis mighty, 'twill shorten the autumn for us'.  Well  hurling followers all over the world will spend the next two weeks discussing the second instalment of the 2014 Final.

 

We entered a team in the Kilmacud 7's Senior hurling competition on Saturday. This was our fourth time ever competing in the Senior 7's having won the Junior All Ireland competition at St. Judes back in the 90's. A group of eighteen of us travelled by bus from Rathcormac on Saturday morning leaving just after half six. I thought 'twould be a quiet, sleepy, dozy trip to the capital but no the craic and banter was mighty and we were in Dublin in no time at all. Our group games were based in the Silverpark grounds near Foxrock with our first  contest timed for 10.30. There were to be two groups of four teams in Silverpark with the winners of each group going through to the quarter finals. In total there were five groups of four in the competition with the group winners and the three 'best losers' making up the last eight. Unfortunately one team at our venue didn't turn up so things had to be rejigged and we didn't start our first game til 11. We had thirteen players in our group but only ten could play. Our opposition were teams from Ballyboden St. Endas and Kilmacud Crokes - both Dublin and Portroe from Tipperary who reached the competition final last year. With scoring differences and scoring averages being used to calculate the 'best losers' spot clocking up high scores was vital even in defeat.

Our first game against Ballyboden St. Endas started smartly with Shane Walsh opening our tally from a free. The Dublin side had three quick points before we suffered a major setback. Jason Pratt went over on his ankle and suffered a serious injury. He had to be taken to hospital for treatment. Thankfully Jason's injury wasn't as bad as feared but he returned a few hours later on crutches with the leg strapped up. We were now down to nine players which meant just two interchange players. Though we had other players on the line and in the past it has been known that clubs 'slipped in' an extra player on the qt it is against the rules so we played out the competition with our nine.  We got two goals from Shane and Ml Collins but Ballyboden still lead by 1 5 to 2 1 at the break. The group games are just ten minutes a side which goes quickly so we needed a good start to the second half and we got it. After Frank Hogan had made a great save Brendan, Shane, Brian and  Mike all combined to supply Twiggy for two goals. Owen Murphy added 1  1 and we ran out winners by 6  11 to 2  8. The host club Kilmacud Crokes had three teams in the competition  and we faced them next -they lost heavily to Portroe in their opener. For the second game our players were more used to the tactics of the games, passing and finding players in better positions. We led by 2 2 to 0 4 at half time and won out by 4  6 to 0 4. Our final group game was against North Tipperary side Portroe- the club of Tipperary keeper Darren Gleeson. With both teams having won two games each this was the  decider. It was in this energy sapping third game we really felt the loss of Jason. With just two 'subs' we were under pressure from thee off. Portroe were far cuter than us -you'd know they were well coached at 7's hurling, and they beat us by 5  12 to 2  5. We had to wait then to get the other results and see if we qualified but we lost out by a narrow margin -if we had scored six points more or conceded six point less we'd have been through to the quarter finals. Overall it was a great experience for all those who took part, well done lads.

Our panel of players was Frank Hogan, Shane Kearney, Fergus Collins, Brendan Walsh, Brian Murphy, Owen Murphy, Mike Liddane, Shane Walsh, Jason Pratt and Michael Collins. Our team mentors were Richie O Regan, Dave Burke, Shane O Connor and Daniel Lane. Thanks also to Tadhg, William and Ryan and Gavin and a special word of thanks to Rovers supporter extrordanaire Willie Fitzgerald who travelled up to Dublin just to support the lads.  The compettion was won out by the home Club's first team -the first home victory in 42 years of the 7's. One of the mentors of Ballyboden St. Endas was Joseph Roche formerly of Ballinure, Bartlemy whose son James played with the Dublin Minors.

 

The Jackpot for Tuesday last September the 2nd was €3800. The four numbers drawn were 5,10,19 and 24. There was no jackpot winner so a Jackpot of €4000 was on offer on Tuesday September the 9th. Tickets for the weekly Lotto Draw are priced at just  € 2 each and can be purchased from Club members. They are also available in local business outlets  and online at locallotto.ie Support for the weekly Lotto is vital and greatly appreciated as the costs involved in running a GAA Club are increasing all the time. As well as the day to day costs we are planning more major Development work in Pairc na Bride in 2014 so finance is always needed. We are always looking for new Lotto Ticket sellers so if you could sell even a few tickets each week it would be of great benefit to the Club.

 

The build up to the Night at the Dogs is well underway. It's just three weeks from next Friday night. Nominations for dogs in the individual races are €50 each while family tickets are €20. An individual ticket is just €10. We are also seeking Race Sponsors and Race Card advertisers. Wit work to commence shortly on our huge building project we are relying heavily on the Oct 3rd fundraiser. Your support will be really appreciated for this venture. Tickets will be sold on a house to house basis throughout the parish.

Our remaining three games in the RED FM county Senior Hurlig League have been fixed as follows;

Sat 13th September v Erins Own in Caherlag at 6.30pm

Sunday 28th September v Blackrock, home at 12 noon.

Sunday 5thOctober v Bishopstown away at 12 noon.

TWITTER & WEBSITE
The Tweets and Twitters have been going well all year. So many people at home and abroad are now very hi-tech when it comes to keeping in touch with the activities of the Bride Rovers Club. The online editions of newspapers are growing in popularity. Meanwhile you can follow the Club on twitter at twitter@ Bride RoversGAA or on our own website at www.briderovers.ie  Any news items or general items of interest are very welcome for inclusion and should be sent to Gerard Lane. Please inform family members, relations and friends of Bride Rovers about the ways and means of keeping in contact with the Club.

 

BRIDE ROVERS CLUB SPONSORS.
Thanks to our Main Club Sponsors Rathcormac Tyres, Veoila Environmental Services and O Coileains Bar for their ongoing support.