Our U12 hurlers welcomed their counterparts from the St Judes Club in Dublin to O'Garney Park this morning. The Templeogue boys were making the trip to the Banner for the Clare v Dublin league game and as we know, no trip to Clare is complete without taking in a visit to Sixmilebridge. Our visitors brought blue skies and sunshine with them in what was a fine (if cold) morning for hurling.
The St Judes bus rolled into the 'Bridge at 10:30 with games getting underway shortly before 11am. Both clubs fielded two 12 aside teams and played 2 games over the course of the morning. With just one training session under their belt, our U12s were a little rusty to start with but soon began to click. The Dublin club, playing predominately U11 players, struggled at times but kept plugging away til the end.
There were a lot of strong performances on our side with special mention for Zak Phelan, Leon Duggan and Conor Gleeson on Sixmilebridge Blue and Conor Peacock, Rory Chaplin and Ross Kearney on Sixmilebridge Yellow.
After a group photo with both sets of players (and a 'Come on you Boys in Blue' v 'My Lovely Rose of Clare' throwdown between the two squads) everyone headed to the hall where the St Judes contingent got to experience the famous Sixmilebridge hospitality. The Dubs were back on the road after 12:30 and we hope they enjoyed their visit to the 'Bridge.
So, a great start to the season and the boys are looking forward to getting back to regular training and games as the weather improves and the evenings lengthen.
Special thanks today to our referees (Kieran Liddane and Kevin Corry), our catering squad (Laura, Denise, Siobhan, Emma, Jean and Christine), Carmel Peacock for First Aid and all the parents who brought refreshments.
Finally, a special shoutout to our groundsmen - the facilities were in great condition despite the weather we have experienced in the last few weeks.
See link below from some great photos of the day taken by one of the St Judes parents:
