All roads led to Meelick on Saturday morning where our Under 14s faced off against St Josephs Doora Barefield in the championship final. With 5 wins from 5 our lads were quietly confident going into battle against opponents who dominated the U13 championship in 2021.

As has been a feature of recent games, the Bridge lads made a bright start with 2 points on the board courtesy of Donal O'Leary and Rory Chaplin in the opening 2 minutes. Stephen Gavin added a 3rd point before Doora Barefield opened their account with a pointed free on 12 mins.

From there things were evenly matched with both sides exchanging points before Doora Barefield took the lead with a goal 5 minutes before half time. Two fine points in response by Stephen Gavin saw the Bridge trailing by a point at the break.

Two quick Rory Chaplin points after the restart saw the 'Bridge regain the lead which they then held for the remainder of the game. Doora Barefield are a quality side though and kept the pressure on throughout the half. They almost drew level late in the game with the post saving Sixmilebridge before a Rory Chaplin point extended the lead to 4 points to give the lads the breathing room they needed to see out the game.

Scorers: Rory Chaplin (6 points), Stephen Gavin (3 points), Zak Phelan (2 points), Donal O'Leary (1 point).

As well as the scorers, there were big performances throughout the field with special mention for defenders Conor Peacock, Dylan Keogh, Jack O'Halloran and Cuan McGiollaCearra.

A recording of the match is available to view on the Sixmilebridge GAA Youtube Channel.

So, a great end to another epic year of hurling for these boys. Roll on 2023!