GRAIGUE BALLYCALLAN UNDER AGE HURLING REVIEW 2014
MINOR by John Cuddihy
Graigue Ballycallan minors played four matches in the Roinn B hurling league, two in April and two in July after a long break for exams and inter county minor involvement. Having lost their first two matches against Clara and Slieverue, they improved greatly after the break to draw with a strong Mullinavat side and then beat Ballyhale Shamrocks by 8 points.
In the championship they defeated Fenians by 7 points and in an epic encounter against John Locke’s on their home turf, GBC won by a single point after extra time. Having seen off St. Martin’s in the semi-final, they took on Slieverue in the county final. After another great performance, our lads were narrowly defeated, 4-8 to 1-12. With nine of the starting fifteen on that day being under 16, this squad have a lot to be proud of and the future is bright.
GBC: B Cuddihy, T Dunphy, R Keoghan, T Ronan, C Flynn, P Cahill, E Walsh, S Hennessy, E Egan, D Lanigan, C Prendiville, B Ryan, G Davis, P Dunphy , J Lawlor. Subs: D Maher, G Davis, A Harrison, N Butler, S Ryan (inj), C Hogan, G Doheny, L O’Brien, J Roberts, G Murphy, K Egan, J Everard, D Hoyne, P Murphy.
Mentors: Conor Everard, Maurice Ronan, Bob Murphy
UNDER 16 by Adrian Ronan
It must be considered a good year when a team wins the double, both the League and Championship. In 2013 the under 16 management made two major changes for 2014. We decided we needed to improve our backroom team and needed a change of voice, ideally a non-parent with excellent qualities. We approached JOHN HOYNE and thankfully he agreed to be the coach for the u16’s. This proved to be a huge success with both the under 16 and minor panels and obviously resulted in our success in 2014.
We also decided that our under 16s and minors needed some core training to help with their overall fitness and thankfully Stephen Delaney accepted our invite. The year started in February 2014 when we headed to Ballycallan Hall for core training with Stephen Delaney for 8 weeks. Expectations or goals were to challenge for semi places in both league and championship. The mix was good, 7/8 on the age, while the rest were u15 and u14. We had an unfortunate year with sickness and injury where we seldom played with our full panel all year.
The U16 Hurling League was good; we were in TIER 1, Roinn B, where we won 3 games and lost 1. We had great wins against Piltown/Barrow Rangers /Slieverue but lost out to Lisdowney. It was clear at this early stage that Lisdowney were the team to beat in 2014. We came second in our group which meant that we qualified for League quarter finals.
Here we were drawn against our neighbours and friends Tullaroan, GBC 4-16 to Tullaraon 1-9. After a good evenings hurling we qualified to play Kilmacow in semi-final. This game was delayed for 2 months as we were going well in championship at both u16 and Minor. The replayed senior All-Ireland delayed fixtures at all levels in Kilkenny. We finally played Kilmacow under lights in Piltown in late November. This turned out to be one of the matches of the year, with a huge challenge presented to us by Kilmacow. On the night we got the breaks and qualified for League Final. GBC 3-12 to Kilmacow 2-4
The final was played on Sunday 30th November against Clara and after a great hour’s hurling we were crowned League Champions. On the day, this was a great result as we were short our two main scoring forwards Sean Ryan(injured) Jamie Lawlor (car accident) GBC 4-7 to Clara 0-11
Team and Panel on the Day
Bill Cuddihy, Tom Dunphy, Evan Walsh, Ger Doheny, Tommy Ronan, Conor Flynn, Luke O’Brien, Jesse Roberts, Killian Egan, Geordan Davis, Colum Prendiville, Ciaran Hogan, Aaron Brennan, David Maher, Dylan Lanigan.
Panelists: George Murphy, David Hoyne, Daniel Young, Peter Murphy, James Everard, Adam O’ Brien
Injured Sean Ryan/Jamie Lawlor
The championship was fixed for August where we were pitted against St. Lactains. This was going to be a difficult match as we were down a few players through injury and sickness. We won game GBC 5-8 to St Lactains 3-7 and were drawn against Dunamaggin in the quarter final. The Dunamaggin game was hugely exciting and we escaped by 1pt with a great goal in the last 5 mins . GBC 4-7 to Dunamaggin 4-6. Barrow Rangers were next in the semi final and again we needed a goal in the dying minutes to rescue the game. GBC 2-8 to 0-10
For the final we were pitted against the combined Galmoy/Windgap team who were coming into final with big credentials. They had posted big scores all year and had beaten the favourites Lisdowney in the semi final. We saved our best performance of the year for the final and hurled for the full 60mins.
There were brilliant performances all over the field with a huge team effort being rewarded with a County Final win. GBC 3-16 to Galmoy/Windgap 1-10. As can be seen the margins were very tight in the championship and we secured last minute victories in two of the games by single scores.
For the record the team on the day was:
Bill Cuddihy, Ger Doheny, Evan Walsh, Tommy Ronan, Killian Egan, Conor Flynn, Tom Dunphy, Sean Ryan, Geordan Davis, Dylan Lanigan, Colum Prendiville, Ciaran Hogan, Aaron Brennan, Jamie Lawlor, David Maher.
Panelists: Luke o Brien, David Hoyne, George Murphy, James Everard, Peter Murphy, Daniel Young, Adam o Brien, Jesse Roberts (Inj)
Mentors: John Hoyne, Adrian Ronan, Tom Hogan and Bill Ryan.
The commitment shown by all was remarkable and hopefully with this and the support from home we will continue to succeed and enjoy. Special thanks to Maurice Ronan and all the Ronan Family for his and their continued dedication to all in the Club.
UNDER 14s by Philomena Brennan
As Christmas approaches the mentors and their u-14s charges can take time to reflect on what was a brilliant year for this group of boys. Under the guidance of Mark O’Brien, Thomas Ryan, Tomas McCluskey and Martin Delahunty the boys commenced training at the end of February. From the beginning it was evident to the mentors that this particular group were anxious to improve their skills and displayed a very competitive streak. Attendance at training was excellent and as the weeks progressed the team started to take shape.
The league campaign commenced in early April and the potential shown in training manifested itself in five league wins, one draw and only one defeat in the seven rounds which saw the boys finish second on the table. As the mentors continued to emphasise the importance of skills development, they ran a skills competition to select a player to represent the club in the County Feile Skills Competition in Nowlan Park. The entire panel took part and Aaron Brennan was selected to go forward. The eagerly anticipated Feile took place in June and the GBC boys were drawn in a group with Ballyraggett, Muckalee and Emeralds. The matches were played in Castlecomer and after recording victories against Ballyraggett and Muckalee and a well earned draw against Emeralds the boys topped the group and went on to the semi-final. In the semi-final the boys fell short by two points to Emeralds.
The club hosted the annual Declan Byrne Tournament in the summer with a total of eight teams taking part. Wins for the locals against John Lockes of Callan and Ballinkillen of Carlow set up a final appearance in the cup final against a highly fancied St. Patricks of Ballyraggett. A highly competitive match was enjoyed by the large local support on the day and nothing divided the teams at the end of full time, in extra time the visitors prevailed by two points. The parents of the u-14s all assisted on the day and helped make the day a great success.
The mentors arranged a day out to see Kilkenny play Dublin in the Leinster Final. The entire panel and their parents travelled to play a challenge against a team from Finglas, Erins Isle. After winning the match, all were treated to a lovely spread laid out in their clubhouse before proceeding to Croke Park. The day was topped off with a fine display from Kilkenny and a tired but happy group arrived back safely to Kilmanagh. The eagerly awaited start to the championship in September saw the boys drawn against Mullinavat. A comprehensive win set them up for a quarter final appearances against Conahy Shamrocks. After a slow start in this encounter the boys eventually got into their stride and with ever increasing confidence they progressed to the semis.
Here they played near neighbours John Lockes in a sunny Tullaroan. The boys gave, arguably one of their best performances of the year when they comprehensively won the match to set them up with a county final appearance against Bennettsbridge. However, this was to prove to be a step too far and despite a spirited team performance the year concluded with the u-14s conceding to a very strong Bridge team. At the reception later on in the clubrooms the Chairman and Vice-Chairman expressed their appreciation to the mentors and players for giving the club a memorable and enjoyable year. Throughout the year the first aid needs of the boys were always well tended to by Mary Keoghan and David Brennan. The panel was as follows:
Jason O’Brien, Kevin Ging, Adam O’Brien, Alex McCluskey, Eoin Delahunty, Aaron Brennan, Eamonn Corcorcan, Finn Lanigan, Oisin Egan, Alan Wall, Killian Egan, Daniel Lawlor, Simon O’Dwyer, Stephen Keoghan, Paddy Brennan, Jack Walton, Lee Ronan, Scott Lawlor, Mark Brennan, JJ Ryan, Stephen Robinson, John Muldowney, Brendan Dunne.
UNDER 12s by Martin Delahunty
The 25 boys had a very busy year which started out with their 1st training session back in February and finished up their campaign winning the Geoffrey Croke Tournament in Ballingarry in November. Altogether they had over 40 training sessions and played in a total of 33 games between challenges, Go Games and tournaments. Among their conquests during the year were fantastic wins against James Stephens, O’Loughlin’s, Shamrocks and Gowran teams, giving the mentors firm belief that these boys can certainly hold their own and do the club proud as they step up to the U14 grade in the new year.
Happy Christmas to our:
Jack Frosts_ Jack Walton, Cleere and Butler.
Lords a Leaping_ Shane Comerford, Tommy Docherty, Brendan Dunne, Oisin Egan, Paddy Brennan, Scott Lawlor.
Pipers Piping_ Andrew McGrath, Jake Acreman, Liam Cleere, Stephen Robinson, Craig Lawlor, John Muldowney, Luke Butler, Oisin Conway.
Drummers Drumming_ Mark Brennan, Ciaran Dowling, Liam Walsh, Tom Brennan, Dan Cahill, Kevin Ging, JJ Ryan, Eoin Delahunty.
From the “Wise Men”_ Paul Muldowney and Martin Delahunty.
UNDER 10s by Willie Egan
GBC u10s enjoyed a very enjoyable year in 2014, wining 90% of their games. They beat all three town teams, Village, Boro and O’ Loughlin’s. With 25 players in this group, have no doubt they will bring plenty of success to the club. U10 management would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who helped throughout the year.
The under 10 panel in 2014 was:
Conor Walton Jeffy Neary Martin Brennan
Eoin Egan Sean Roberts Aaron McEvoy
Patrick Purcell James Brennan Aidan Cahill
Billy Dowling Charlie Cleere
Patrick Foley Billy O’Neill
Billy Egan Ryan Cody
Jack Guiry Sean Dillon
Micheal Harrison Jake O’Brien
Finn O’Byrne Dean O’Brien
James Casey Jack Docherty
DylanTeehan Ryan Corcoran
UNDER 8s by Niall Egan
Our U8s started back indoors in Wallslough back in late January, with a panel of 17 the boys immediately set out to improve their basic skills and fitness indoors. We returned to Tom Ryall Park in mid-March. Weekly we rewarded “Hurler of the week” to a player who trained to the best of their ability, they got themselves a grip, a trophy and the all important picture on the club website, this proved a big hit with the boys.
We played over 25 matches over the season and the boys represented themselves and club with some dazzling displays and the odd average one. We were invited to several blitzs over the year from Urlingford all the way south to Inistioge. The highlight of the year was our trip to Croke Park in July, full report on club website. The mentors were very happy with the boys’ effort, development and attitude throughout the year. Eight boys move on to U10 next year we wish them all the best.
2014 Panel: Aidan Comerford, James O’Halloran, Ben Young, Shane Cody, Sean McGrath, Paidi Egan, Frank McCluskey, Eoin Cahill, Robbie Tector, Robbie Lynch, Tony Butler, Issac Comerford, Elliot Teehan, Killian Hoyne, Christopher O’Mahony, Donnacha Cleere, Philip O’Halloran.
Thanks to coaches Niall, Padraig, Billy and Mick.
Kilkenny County Representatives from Graigue Ballycallan in 2014
Congratulations to all of our county representatives in 2014:
Minor – Billy Ryan, All-Ireland Minor medal winner!
Under 17 – Eamonn Egan
Under 15 – Conor Flynn, Sean Ryan, Tommy Ronan, Jesse Roberts and Ciaran Hogan.
Under 14 – Killian Egan and Aaron Brennan
Well done to all.