Pres Athenry improving with every game
FOR the second successive season, Pres Athenry and St Kieran's, Kilkenny meet to decide the destination of the famous Croke Cup, called after the Archbishop of Cashel in whose honour Croke Park is also named.
The ten-time Connacht champions are managed by Mike Finn (Gort), with Eddie Brady (St Mary's, Athenry) and Padraig Breheny (Tynagh-Abbey-Duniry) his selectors, and bring a panel well-versed and accustomed to big-time hurling despite their tender years.
"The standard is very high," admitted Brady to the Tuam Herald last week. "When you look at the Kilkenny teams, St Kieran's in particular, with 22 titles, they're vastly experienced. When you look at it from our own point of view, most of our lads would have played county hurling at whatever grade. Jeffrey Lynskey has the Galway U-20s, we have seven of eight lads in that panel. We currently have six or seven in with Brian Hanley and the minors. Although the U-16 hasn't started yet we had a huge cohort with the U-15s last year. Most of them would have tasted inter-county at some stage. Even with the Celtic Challenge U-17 competition, most of the other lads who wouldn't have made the minor team would have played in that in one of the teams.
The ten-time Connacht champions are managed by Mike Finn (Gort), with Eddie Brady (St Mary's, Athenry) and Padraig Breheny (Tynagh-Abbey-Duniry) his selectors, and bring a panel well-versed and accustomed to big-time hurling despite their tender years.
"The standard is very high," admitted Brady to the Tuam Herald last week. "When you look at the Kilkenny teams, St Kieran's in particular, with 22 titles, they're vastly experienced. When you look at it from our own point of view, most of our lads would have played county hurling at whatever grade. Jeffrey Lynskey has the Galway U-20s, we have seven of eight lads in that panel. We currently have six or seven in with Brian Hanley and the minors. Although the U-16 hasn't started yet we had a huge cohort with the U-15s last year. Most of them would have tasted inter-county at some stage. Even with the Celtic Challenge U-17 competition, most of the other lads who wouldn't have made the minor team would have played in that in one of the teams.