Football training will take place at 7pm on Tuesday 11th in Loreto College.

Weekend Reports March 8th
The Amber hurlers were on the road again, travelling up to Sandyford for a league match against Naomh Olaf. The hosts only fielded two teams, meaning we had our B and C teams combining and a few players and their parents given the weekend off to do other things. All the parents do deserve credit for keeping the bainisteori informed of whether they were able to play or not. The disappointment of only fielding two teams was compounded by having to wait an extra half hour for some U8 matches to finish and then playing with the smaller juvenile goals. It was bitterly cold and when the rain started to fall horizontally, it was asking a lot of our lads to keep going. They certainly did however and the A's were quickly in control of their match. Possession does not score points however and a number of close wides and good saves from the Olaf keeper had us on our toes before Daniel Johnson cracked in a goal late in the first half. We had the advantage of the wind in the second half and a hat trick from Fionn Myres, one from Patrick Byrne and another from man of the match Conor O'Beirne eased us to a six point victory. Things were tighter in the B game with Olafs using the wind to knock over two points and the two teams sharing four goals. With five minutes to play, and the aggregate score finely poised, the hosts were pouring forward, only to be met by heroic resistance from John O'Mahoney, Bernard O'Sullivan and Jack Handrick in particular who kept them at bay and secured a fair share of the spoils. Hopefully the lads and their brave parents on the sidelines will have thawed out in time for Tuesday training. Particular praise is due to Ciaran Scanlon and Marie Keogh who served as a wind break for our A substitutes! (RH)

The Black Hurlers played Ballyboden on Saturday in Thomastown. We had a poor turnout for a variety of reasons, with only 24 players available. Despite the atrocious weather conditions all these boys put on brave shows. Our Black Bears team came out on top after a tremedous tussle winning 8 points to 7. Greg Sheehan, David O Kelly and David Dunwoody all played trojan parts. Our Black Panthers were in trouble at half time, behind by 4 points to one having played with a strong wind. Losing Conor Newman - who had turned up despite being sick all week - early in the second half should have sealed thair fate but the Panthers roared into life despite being a player down and tackled, blocked and won the second half by four points to three.. All the players showed tremendous courage against the Ballyboden A team. Micheál Wylde deserves special mention for staying for the second half when he realised we had no subs despite having a ticket for the rugby match in Croke Park. We only had 6 players for our Black Cats team. Ballyboden loaned us 2 and we played 8-a-side going down 12 - 1 but the boys never stopped trying. Deserving special mention for taking a lot of knocks but coming back for more every time was Deane Óg McElree. (CO'D)

Weekend Reports March 1st
The Ambers travelled north to Na Fianna where we enjoyed their great facilities and friendly hospitality. For those in the know Na Fianna was the venue for Blue Peter's last visit to Ireland when Gethin Jones learnt how to play hurling. Their U10's were well prepared and showed their greater experience on grass with victory in all three games. The A team struggled to move the ball as quickly as their opposite numbers in the first half but came back well, winning the second half and showing enough to suggest this match up will be very close when we host them later in the season. Tiernan Dunne was particularly strong with his puck outs, Cathal O'Floinn took his chances well scoring four of our six goals, and Lorcan McGrath was very strong in the tackle. The B's had a very close game and could have taken the spoils but for twice hitting the crossbar! Shane Molamphy was very strong at the back, Conor O'Beirne put in a great second half, finding time to play some nice balls into Ruari Frankling who was a real handful for the Na Fianna defence. Finally the C's found the going tough despite a strong effort from Eoin Puplett, but never allowed their spirits to flag and were rewarded with a goal from Davy Nash late on.

Back at Thomastown the Blacks were hosting St Vincents who showed a fair amount of steel in similarly taking all three games. The behaviour of our lads was exemplary however and this is a better mark of future talent than any mere scoreline. Stars among the A's were Neasan MacGearailt who is 'mad for hurling' at the moment in the view of one seasoned observer and Cillian O'Feinneadha who was very strong. The B group saw good performances from Philip Keegan, Deane Og McElree and Liam Lysaght as well as from new bainisteoir Colm O'Kelly who was very encouraging from the sidelines. Yet more new bench talent was apparent in the C group with Arthur Doran walking the line and bringing out impressive efforts from Oscar Hussey, David Dunwoody and Jack Doran among others.

Weekend Reports, February 23rd
It was a busy morning in Thomastown with all three of our teams in action against visitors from Ballyboden, Bray Emmetts and Thomas Davis.
The Cuala Blues were first up, putting on a masterful display in beating Ballyboden St Endas 2 by an aggregate score of 86 points to 37. Among the many stars in Blue were Fionn O'Drisceoil who put in a towering performance at midfield, Conor Newman and Mikey Wylde who made sure that our dominance was translated into a good scoring exhibition.

The Reds also came out on top in their game with Bray Emmetts, landing the spoils by 54 points to 42. Greg Sheehan was the driving force behind the victory while John Abbey showed the benefit of our midweek training converting ten points from frees and 45's.
The Greens faced Thomas Davis' sole entrants at U10 level and just failed to complete a strong second half comeback, going down by 28 points to 24 in the first game and by 24 points to 19 in the second. There was some excellent defending in particular from Thomas McCarthy, while accurate point taking from Paul Lehane, including one lovely fisted point almost pulled the game back after an uncharacteristically slow start. This was a tough enough game with referee Greg Clark having to be on his toes and we witnessed the first yellow card of the season for a foul on Joe Mahony by one of the Thomas Davis defenders. All shook hands at the end however and there was some good football on show.

Hurling Groups
Cuala has more U10 hurlers than any other club in Dublin. Because of this we have entered two three team groups for the Hurling leagues. This means that while the Red, Blue and Green groups which we know and love will remain for football, we have created two new groups - the Blacks and Ambers for the Hurling. The split of players, which hopefully takes account of all travel, catering and religious orientation requests is as follows:

Black Group - Bainisteori Colmán O'Drisceoil, Cormac O'Tiarearnaigh, Ken Fitzgerald, Sean McMahon, Mike Beary
John Abbey, Tim Beary, John Byrne, Rory Comerford, Jack Doran, David Dunwoody, Rory Ellard, Nessan Fitzgerald, Glen Fitzsimons, Harry Forde, Shane Gill, Cathal Gillen, Daniel Goode, Matthew Hally, Oscar Hussey, Philip Keegan, David Kelly, Eoin Kennedy, Jim Kennedy, Tiarnan Lane, Liam Lysaght, Diarmait Maas, Rory MacMahon, James McArdle, Stephen McDonnell, Deane Og McElree, Sean Moiselle, Niall Morrissey, James Murphy, Conor Newman, Cillian O Feinneadha, Michael O'Dochartaigh, Fionn O'Drisceoil, Fergal O'Giollain, Fionn O'Tighearnaigh, Mark O'Treasaigh, Greg Sheehan, Michael Wylde

Amber Group - Bainisteori Rob Hartnett, Finbarr Murphy, Chris Molamphy, Micheál O'Sullivan, Gerry Byrne
Joseph Byrne, Patrick Byrne, Charlie Crown, Charlie Cullen, Mark Cunningham, Séan Desmond, Jack Dunne, Tiarnan Dunne, Craig Finn, Jack Handrick, Conan Hannon, Jack Hartnett, Daniel Johnson, David Keane, Conor Keogh, Paul Lehane, Joseph Mahony, Oisín Marry, Ben MacDowall-Rynne, Eoghain Mahon, Thomas McCarthy, Alex McGinn, Lorcan McGrath, Shane Molamphy, Emmet Murphy, Fionn Myres, Davy Nash, Cathal Ó Floinn, Conor O'Beirne, John O'Mahony, Malachi Ó Marcaigh, Bernard O'Sullivan, Eoin Puplett, Cian Rellis, Fiachra Robinson, Cathal Scanlon, Tadhg Sheridan, Peter Stephenson.

Feb 11th, Cuala 1 (Green) 44 pts Lucan Sarsfields 1 47 pts
Thomastown got the all clear on Friday and we hosted Lucan Sarsfields 1 for our opening fixture of the 2008 football league on Saturday morning. Both Cuala sides stormed into early leads. The A's raced into a 13-5 advantage midway through the first half though two late points from Lucan brought them back into the game and the scoreline at half time was 13-11. The B's really hit the ground running with Thomas McCarthy and John O'Mahoney taking control of the midfield and racking up a 18-4 lead at the half. The wind rose in the second half and injuries and bashes to Tiernan Dunne, Joe Mahoney and Jack Hartnett put the A's on the back foot. Lucan took full advantage scoring a number of points in quick succession to take hold of the game and run out victors over a depleted Cuala A team by 32-19 in the end. The outcome of the match hinged on the B's who continued to play well in the second half, scoring two good points and a skill point for a block. A late Lucan point brought their score to 25-15 in favour of Cuala. Overall that point meant Lucan had the call by 47 pts to 44.

Overall this was a strong performance with accurate shooting and good tackling the highlights to take into training this week. The return of five players who were missing this week will also allow greater use of subs and more energy being saved for the closing stages. Our referees, Greg and Barry from the U16 panel was very impressed with the general quality of the play and it was good to get the game played on what turned out to be a glorious sunny morning. Thanks to all the parents who helped with goalposts and setting up the pitches, and especially to Brian and Mary for taking away the muddied jerseys.

Feb 11th, Cuala 2 (Blue) 67 pts Naomh Olaf 58 pts
The Blue group arranged early in the week to transfer their fixture to the grounds of Naomh Olaf and a very strong panel of 23 made the journey to Sandyford on Saturday morning. Both A's and B's took the spoils in their respective matches with Tiernan Lane and Mark O'Treasaigh singled out for particular praise, putting in great performances.

Feb 11th, Cuala 3 (Red) Match Postponed Vs Kilmacud Crokes 3

Football Fixtures for Saturday February 16th
Cuala Greens are away to Templeogue / Synge Street in Bushy Park at 10:00
Cuala Blues are away to Round Towers at Monastery Road at 10:45
Cuala Reds are away to Lucan Sarsfields 2 at Arthur Griffith Park at 10;45

Teams for 2008
THE CUALA GREENS - Bainisteoirs Rob Hartnett and Chris Molamphy
Patrick Byrne, Charlie Crown, Séan Desmond, Tiarnan Dunne, David Dunwoody, Jack Handrick, Conan Hannon, Jack Hartnett, Daniel Johnson, David Keane, Conor Keogh, Paul Lehane, Joseph Mahony, Oisín Marry, Thomas McCarthy, Alex McGinn, Lorcan McGrath, Shane Molamphy, Davy Nash, Cathal Ó Floinn, Conor O'Beirne, John O'Mahony, Eoin Puplett, Cathal Scanlon, Tadhg Sheridan

THE CUALA BLUES - Bainisteoirs Colman O'Drisceoil and Cormac O'Tighearnaigh
John Byrne, Rory Comerford, Jack Doran, Rory Ellard, Nessan Fitzgerald, Shane Gill, Daniel Goode, Oscar Hussey, Philip Keegan, David Kelly, Eoin Kennedy, Jim Kennedy, Tiarnan Lane, Liam Lysaght, Diarmait Maas, Rory MacMahon, Niall Morrissey, Fionn Myres, Conor Newman, Cillian O Feinneadha, Michael O'Dochartaigh, Fionn O'Drisceoil, Fergal O'Giollain, Fionn O'Tighearnaigh, Mark O'Treasaigh, Michael Wylde

THE CUALA REDS - Bainisteoirs Finbarr Murphy and Mike Beary
John Abbey, Tim Beary, Charlie Cullen, Mark Cunningham, Jack Dunne, Craig Finn, Greg Fitzsimons, Harry Forde, Ruairi Frankling, Cathal Gillen, Matthew Hally, Ben MacDowall-Rynne, Eoghain Mahon, James McCardle, Stephen McDonnell, Deane Óg McElree, Sean Moiselle, Emmet Murphy, James Murphy, Malachi Ó Marcaigh, Bernard O'Sullivan, Cian Rellis, Fiachra Robinson, Greg Sheehan, Peter Stephenson

Tue Jan 29th
Parents: Last week we said a very big thank you to the fourteen parents from within our group who attended the Cuala coaching conference. This week it is go raibh mile maith agaibh to the sixteen parents who gave up last Saturday morning to learn some of the basic coaching skills and drills and to spend some time and thought on planning our busy year ahead.

Saturday: Because of the weather and the possibility of pitches remaining closed we will have the option of switching Saturday morning's training session from Thomastown at 11am to Scoil Lorcain on Eaton Square in Monkstown from 0930 to 1100. (Centre of Map) Please be mindful of parking around the school whether you are dropping, collecting or hopefully staying to help. The car park will be open and is able to accommodate around 20 cars. Alternatively, you can park on Alma Road and walk through the lane. Regardless of the weather, this will be a full training session in football and hurling, so please come in warm and appropriate kit. This is our last Saturday training session before the start of the Football league on February 9th.

Tuesday: Our Tuesday training sessions continue at Loreto in Dalkey from 7pm to 8pm. Please make sure your the kids are well wrapped up with a long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt under their Cuala jersey, tracksuits and gloves or hats as the weather demands. Tuesday sessions through the winter will focus on football and hurling.

Gum shields: Thanks to Ellen Moiselle for raising the issue of gum shields at the parents session last week. Gaelic games are physical and losing front teeth to a shoulder at the age of nine or ten is a blow that lasts a lifetime. Wearing a gum shield offers good protection and should be encouraged. You can pick up a 'boil and bite' gum shield from Noreen in the club shop or any sports shop for a few euro's which is a lot cheaper than crowns and dentures. They are not as uncomfortable as they look and the biggest barrier will be whether they are 'cool' enough. We should encourage as many as possible to wear them and will have a special (very low value) prize for those who have them next Tuesday at training.

Registrations: Thanks to those who have registered either at the end of last year or in the last week. There are still a small number outstanding, please check your inboxes. Players who are not registered will not be able to play in the league matches. Family memberships for those who requested them are also due now so please feel free to bring them along to training. Many thanks.

Nov 24th - Cuala Greens 37 pts Bray Emmets 8 pts
On Saturday the Green team travelled to Bray for their last league match of 2007. In the absence of the regular management team, a small group of (appropriately) "green" parents stepped into the Bainisteoir role and had no trouble at all in producing a great result.

Any early sideline nerves were soon overcome as the ball was thrown in. The Dark Greens started well and midway through the first half Cuala established some dominance in midfield with Tiernan Dunne very prominent. Scores followed quickly from Joe Mahony and Glen Fitzsimons before Bray started to find their feet. Strong defending by Cathal O'Floinn and Fiachra Robinson in particular kept them at bay though and at half time Cuala led 10 - 3.

Davie Nash took over in goal and Jack Handrick moved to his anchor role in defence. Patrick Byrne moved from the forward line, swapping with Cathal O'Floinn in the backs and Cuala took charge with a couple of quick scores. including the best point of the match. After a solid block in defence, the breaking ball was picked up by Joe Mahony moving into midfield. He released a long, accurate pass forward to Glen Fitzsimons who carried the ball along the sideline before launching the ball toward goal. His pass was picked up in front of goal by Fionn O'Tighearnaigh, who calmly turned and shot took his three points with ease

This had been preceded by a fantastic double save by Davie Nash in goal, with any Emmets' attacks being strongly repelled by Patrick Byrne and Jack Handrick. Cuala remained on top for the remainder of the match and further scores followed from Glen Fitzsimons, Cathal O'Floinn and Lorcan McGrath. The final score was a Cuala victory by 32 points to 8.

The light greens also put up a 'tough as teak' display to earn a 5 - 5 draw. In a tense encounter the performances of Daniel Johnson in midfield and of Tadhg Sheridan in goals stood out as particularly important.

Bray Emmets were great hosts, providing refreshments for players and supporters after the games and it was a great way to round off our first season of friendly competitive action.

Special thanks to the caretaker managers on the day - Fiachra O'Marcaigh, Dave Tracey and Brian McGrath for the light greens; Gerry and Cian Byrne, Anthony Handrick and Madeleine O'Floinn for the dark's
Anthony Handrick & Dave Tracey

Nov 3rd: Cuala Reds 17 points; Ballyboden 21 points
Cuala reds suffered a narrow defeat in a hotly contested match against Ballyboden on Saturday last at Thomastown.

With weather conditions unseasonably kind, the reds started well with some fine midfield play from Conor Keogh and exceptional defending from David Keane and the ever improving Cathal Gillen who acted as a sweeper across the full back line. In goals Bernard O'Sullivan was Cluxton like and time and time he found his midfielders and half backs who stuck to the game plan and went wide for the kick outs.

Half time saw Cuala go in with a deserved three point lead.

The second half saw the introduction of James Murphy at midfied for the rough and tumble Conor Newman. The signs were good for a Cuala victory when Emmet Murphy received a wonderful pass from David Kelly and sailed the ball over for a three pointer from 25 yards. But as the clock ticked down Ballyboden put in a last mighty effort and despite heroic goalkeeping from Craig Finn and several courageous blocks by Daniel Goode and Cian Rellis, Boden managed two late scores from long range to steal a narrow victory.

Despite the score the referee went out of his way to point out the quality of the Cuala skills with particular praise for the number of blocks and accurate foot passes. Overall, a great display from a Cuala team that is finding its competitive edge and showing great promise as the season progresses
Finbarr Murphy.

Meanwhile, back at Thomastown, The Blues were hosting Naomh Olaf and two more teams from Kilmacud Crokes. The lads put on a spirited show in front of enthusiatic home support, winning three matches, drawing one and going down narrowly in two.

The Reds were at home to Clan na Gael in Thomastown and again, the opposition numbers were short, leaving our lads to contend with lots of substitutions. Despite that, the A's shared the spoils and the B's went down by a single point.

The Blues had a friendly hurling match on Sunday morning, away to Faughs and put up a strong performance.

Nine U9's were called up to play alongside the Cuala U10's in two hurling challenges against Ballyboden St Enda's as part of the Cuala family fun day and our lads performed with great credit and skill. Fionn O'Drisceoil, Fionn O'Tiarnaigh, Emmet Murphy, Diarmait Maas, Jack Hartnett, Cathal O'Floinn, Michael Wylde, Rory McMahon and Sean Moiselle were the lads flying the flag for the 1998's. Thanks to JP and the U10's for the invite, medals, and free hot dogs!

Well done to the 'Angels in Aprons' from among our group who took charge of a very busy tea and coffee stand at the fun day. Fiona Ross played the Gordan Ramsay role of Head Honcho and was ably assisted by Eileen O'Dea, Fiona Naughton, Catherine Keane and Olwyn Dunne. Many thanks.

WEEKEND ACTION SATURDAY 6th and SUNDAY 7th OCTOBER
Reds are at home to Clan na Gael in the Football league on Saturday morning, throw in 10am. Team and strong parents to gather at Thomastown from 0930 to get ready and help with laying out pitches. Please text Finbarr on 086 8281942 to let him know if you will bethere or not.
John Abbey, Charlie Crown, Sean Desmond, Jack Doran, Craig Finn, Cathal Gillen, Shane Gill, Daniel Goode, Oscar Hussey, David Keane, David Kelly, Eoin Kennedy, Jim Kennedy, Conor Keogh, Ben McDowell-Rynne, Rory McMahon, Oisin Marry, Alex McGinn, Emmet Murphy, James Murphy, Conor Newman, Conor O'Beirne, John O'Mahoney, Conan O'Muiri, Bernard O'Sullivan, Cian Rellis, Lee Wallace.

Greens are on the road away to Crumlin o Saturday morning. We will gather in the Graduate car park at 0945 for a 10am departure in convoy to Pearse Park. Please text Rob on 086 3851955 to let him know if you will be there or not.
Patrick Byrne, Tiernan Dunne, Jack Handrick, Jack Hartnett, Daniel Johnson, Liam Lysaght, Eoghan Mahon, Joseph O'Mahony, Thomas McCarthy, Cian McGovern-Leahy, Lorcan McGrath, Liam Moylan, Fionn Myres, Davy Nash, Cillian O'Feinneadha, Cathal O'Floinn, Fergal O'Gillain, Conan O'Hainin, Malachi O'Marcaigh, Fionn O'Tiarnaigh, Eoin Puplett, Fiachra Robinson, Cathal Scanlon, Tadhg Sheridan, Mark Tracey.

The Blues are playing a hurling match away to Faughs on Sunday morning at 10:30. Meet on Sunday morning at 0945 for departure in convoy. The group will also train at Thomastown on Saturday morning at 10:00. Text Colman on 087 9453309 if you will be able to travel on Sunday or not.
Tim Beary, Rory Comerford, Charlie Cullen, Mark Cunningham, Jack Dunne, Rory Ellard, Nessan Fitzgerald, Harry Forde, Ruari Frankling, Matthew Hally, Robert Ivers, Tiernan Lane, Paul Lehane, Diarmait Maas, James McArdle, Stephen McDonnell, Deane Og McElree, Ross Meaney, Sean Moiselle, Shane Molamphy, Niall Morrissey, Shaun Muldoon, Fionn O'Drisceoil, Peter Stephenson, Robert Waters, Michael Wylde.

MIDWEEK TRAINING
There will be boys training on Thursday night, October 4th and Thursday night October 11th from 6pm until 7pm at Thomastown. Boys and girls will train on Tuesday night, October 9th at the same time, same place. We will be attending a juvenile committee meeting next Tuesday evening when we will learn the final allocation of pitch times at Loreto over the winter. More news in next week's newsletter.

REPORTS FROM THE WEEKEND OF SEPTEMBER 22nd
The Cuala 98's were unleashed on an unsuspecting Dublin GAA scene last Saturday. The Greens hosted Bray Emmets at Thomastown, winning our two games 14-5 and 24-4 respectively. The Reds travelled to Good Counsel in Drimnagh, posting 12-6 and 10-3 victories in their two games while the Blue's took on Foxrock in a friendly fixture and won both matches as well.

All in all a great start to our competitive outings and full credit to all the coaches and mentors who have brought the lads to this stage. If we can do the same to clubs like Vincents and Kilmacud then we will really have something to shout about for for now, comhghairdeas to all!

Rules for the League games
Our players are asked to be punctual with travel arrangements and to come wearing Cuala or normal White shorts and red socks. Red Cuala jerseys are also required though for the matches themselves, we will supply jerseys so that all are playing in the same gear. Football boots should be worn.

The games themselves will be nine a side with a goalie, three defenders, two midfielders and three forwards. Defenders and forwards must stay in their own halves, midfielders are allowed and expected to cover both areas.

There are three points awarded for scores over the crossbar, one point for a goal under the crossbar and one point for a good downward block. The result will be determined by the aggregate score of the two teams that play within each group.

Players are allowed one hop and one solo before releasing the ball. Picking the ball off the ground without properly lifting on the toe will result in a free against us, as will throwing the ball or any foul play. The player who wins a free kick takes it. There are '45's' and each game lasts 40 minutes with a half time break.

It is important to stress that the referee's decision is final and that encouragement from the sideline should be good natured and within the spirit of the game. Some sports and indeed some GAA clubs are willing to accept aggressive behaviour from parents and mentors. We are not and we ask you to bear in mind that our lads are eight and nine years old and of mixed ability. All we ask is that boys perform to the best of their ability and behave well at all times. Your help as parents will be appreciated in this regard.

ALL IRELAND FOOTBALL FINAL FORECASTS
A very big thank you to all those who contributed to the football forecasts competition. As a group we raised €662, the third highest total of the nine groups within the Juvenile section. The exact winning score was correctly forecast, presumably not by a Cork supporter and the attendance on the day of 82, 126 was pinpointed by our very own Marry family (See Pictures) . Well done to Oisin and his crew. Well done also to Thomas McCarthy who won the €20 prize draw that we ran.

SHIELD SUCCESS FOR THE BOYS AT BALLYBODEN - Thursday 6th September, 2007
Our first competitive outing of the new season resulted in success over the host club in the Shield final of the traditional Ballyboden September Blitz last weekend. The round robin phase was tough against a strong Dicksborough team from KIlkenny and a well organised Dunloy team that had travelled down from Antrim.

Ballyboden opened the scoring in the Shield final but a Daniel Johnson strike before half time put us back in the game and an inspired second half performance from captain Diarmuid Maas brought us home by 4-1 to 1-1. It was a great squad performance from the whole panel and gives great hope for our debut in Dublin leagues over the next year. Full Report


Dé Sathairn 1 Meán Fómhair 2007 - First Victory of the New Season
The 1998's landed the Ballyboden Blitz Shield after a sparkling second half performance against the tournament hosts at Pairc Ui Murchu. A tough opener to the competition saw Kilkenny's Dicksborough put our boys away but a stronger performance against Antrim's Dunloy brought some of the spring back to our step and after the last round robin match of the tournament against Ballyboden we went into the Shield final with a team that was finding its stride.

Ballyboden struck first however, with a goal after five minutes and they then hit the post before a well worked move put Daniel Johnson in on goal and he buried a low shot to send us in level at the break.

After the restart, Cuala, led by star captain Diarmuid Maas stepped up a gear putting three goals and a point on the board with no reply.

Everyone on the 20 strong panel played a part in the victory and while we may have some ground to make up on the country teams it was a good start to our competitive fixtures against Dublin opposition at least.

Impact subs ready
to make their mark!

Donegal Set Seal on Magical All Ireland
The legs might have been aching but Donegal and Kilkenny produced a scintillating All Ireland Football Final at Hyde Road on Saturday. Donegal brought an unbeaten record to the decider but it was Kilkenny, buoyed by their hurling triumph who opened the scoring with a well taken point by Conor Newman in the opening moments. Malachi O'Marcaigh, Fiachra Robinson and Robert Ivers were keeping things tight at the back however, and Joe Mahony's influence in the midfield was producing chances for Rob Hartnett and Claire Buckley's team. Ross Meaney came close before Fionn Myres, having had a quiet series up until now, wrote his name into legend with a stunning hat trick of goals in six minutes.

Kilkenny were quietly keeping tabs, and were only trailing 9 points to 7 with a minute to go in the first half when a long ball from Peter Stephenson put Sean Desmond through for Donegal only for a despairing tackle to bring him down. The ref pointed to the spot and Sean dusted himself down before sending the ball to the right of Shane Molamphy to give the Grey's a five point lead at the break.

That stretched to eight with the first attack of the second half. Jack Hartnett fielded a high ball from the centre of midfield and unleashed a long distance effort that nearly burst the net. Kilkenny fought back again and pulled within one score before Hartnett finished off his own second half hat trick with two more powerful shots from distance that left the score at 21 points to 14 when the hooter went. Donegal scored a total of 105 points over the tournament, and were deserving winners of a high quality renewal that bodes well for the future of Cuala football in years to come.

In the other finals, Cork overcame the disappointment of their hurling loss to record a nineteen point to 10 victory over Kerry in the Leinster decider, while Waterford completed a Dublin Final double with a 10 point to 5 margin over Galway.

Kilkenny Crowned Hurling Champs
A spirited second half comeback saw Kilkenny edge out Cork in our All Ireland Hurling Final on Saturday afternoon. The razzamatazz of the Academy presentation ceremony was still ringing in the players ears and the mentors muscles were aching after dragging out the goals, but things got off to a flying start for the rebels' David Kelly who grabbed two first half goals to put Finbar Murphy and Sara Wallace's charges in control at half time.

Strong words from Chris Molamphy and Mike Beary over the orange segments set the Kilkenny team on fire though and the switch to full hurling played into the hands of Cathal O'Floinn in particular who, alongside Diarmuid Maas brought the Cats level. With three minutes to go, they edged in front with the winning score and it was yellow arms raised high in celebration at the final whistle.

In the Leinster final, Kerry and Galway put their improved records on the line and produced the highest score of the hurling. Cormac O'Tiarnaigh and Alex McDowell provided enough tactical genius to rack up 14 points against the 9 produced by Eamon Marry and Ken Fitz's Galway.

The Dublin final was neatly poised at half time with neither side yet to make a breakthrough. Despite two world class saves from Jack Handrick in the Donegal goal, Colmán O'Drisceoils's Waterford, led by a confident performance from Michael Wylde, were able to make their set piece's count to run out seven point winners in the end.