Cuala 98's Nuachtlitir - May 29th 2008

A Different Kind of Weekend
This weekend is going to be a slight departure from the norm. So far we have generally struggled in our hurling matches. In part this will be down to our commitment to playing both hurling and football with full panels. We are the only club in Dublin that fields six teams in both at our age level. Many of the clubs we are playing have dedicated hurling groups, even at this level and the quality of their general play has been ahead of ours in matches to date.

This Saturday and next Thursday, we want to take the opportunity to see how our combined stronger players would fare against Na Fianna and Kilmacud Crokes, both sides who have comprehensively beaten us in our Black and Amber formats. It is a one off, made possible by Crokes seeking a postponement of a match this Saturday, and we will revert to our groups again for the remaining hurling fixtures before the Summer break and in September. Those players who do not feature in the teams for this weekend will have every opportunity to force their way into our stronger teams over time but at this point in our development, the collected wisdom of the bainisteori (no comments, please) has had to make a call on producing three stronger teams from our normal six.

Those who are in this weekend's group will be contacted by Colman or I over the next 36 hours. We hope that those who are not will understand and will enjoy the opportunity of a rare break from the intensity of the league campaigns.

Over the next couple of years, our teams will form naturally into different streams and we will as a matter of club policy always field as many teams as there are players willing to be involved with us. This is a one off so we can see where our hurling teams lie on a like for like comparison.

The match with Na Fianna will take place at the later than normal time of 12.15 at their St Mobhi Road, Glasnevin HQ. We will meet at the Graduate Car Park for an 11.15 departure, and should hopefully be back home for around 13.45. The match with Kilmacud will take place next Thursday evening at 7pm at Thomastown.

Midweek Training
Tuesday's numbers were down on normal for a variety of reasons Thanks to those parents and boys who made it work. There will be a full training session tonight, Thursday and next Tuesday, June 4th, starting sharp at 7pm.

A Great Day Out
Congratulations to Joe Mahoney, Diarmait Maas, Cathal O'Floinn and Bernard O'Sullivan, all of whom represented Scoil Lorcain in the finals of Cumman na mBunscoil at Parnell Park on Wednesday. The lads had finished the season in fine style to make it to the final and deserve great credit for their contribution. The result went against us on the day but Joe did raise the biggest cheer of the afternoon when piling in a last minute goal, set up by Mark O'Treasaigh's brother Dylan, in what we hope will be the first of many scores at Dublin HQ over the years.

In a fabulous achievement for our very own Colman as priomhoide, Scoil Lorcain also made it to the Senior Final of the Corn Marino on the same day, where they played against Johnstown. An incredible 27 of the 30 players in action in this match are Cuala boys, a great reflection on those who are going through the Juvenile section ahead of us and a great standard for us to aim at in years to come.

It was wonderful to see so many of our lads there to cheer on their schools. I counted over 30 of our lads making an incredible amount of noise from the grandstand.

Cluiche Ceannais Na hEireann 2008
Fair play to Jack Hartnett who has clutched an increasingly scrappy sheet of paper over the last two weeks with a petition from the boys for us to hold a mini all Ireland competition this summer. The required 50 signatures were completed last week by Colman, Finbarr and I (boys but of an older vintage) so we will now plan to have an internal competition culminating in a finals day at Thomastown to mark the completion and delivery of our new dressing rooms on Saturday, June 28th.

We will distribute forms next week and will include more information then about format, dates and such like. We hope as many of you as can will play an active part.

Dates for the Diary
Thursday May 30th - Training Thomastown at 7pm
Saturday May 31st - Hurling League Fixture Vs Na Fianna
Tuesday June 3rd - Training at Thomastown at 7pm
Thursday June 5th - Hurling League Fixture Vs Kilmacud Crokes at Thomastown
Saturday June 7th - Football League Fixtures for Red, Blue and Green Groups
Sunday June 8th - Dublin Vs Louth Leinster Senior Football Championship at Croke Park
Saturday June 14th - Hurling League Fixtures for Black and Amber Groups
Saturday June 14th - Dublin Vs Wexford - Leinster Senior Hurling Chanpionship

Finally, Happy Birthday to Tiernan Dunne and Eoghan Mahon who hit double figures over the next few days.

1998 Archive