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Aodh Ruadh book trip to Tipp

Under 14 hurling
20 March 2016

Our under 14 hurlers won the Donegal B Féile competition on Sunday and as a result qualified for the National Finals of Féile na nGael which are being jointly hosted by Tipperary and Waterford in June.

We hosted the tournament with four teams taking part, Letterkenny Gaels, Setanta, Four Masters and ourselves. The blitz was played in a round robin format with the top two teams qualifying for the final.

In the opening round of games after a slow start Aodh Ruadh beat Setanta, while Letterkenny Gaels were too strong for Four Masters. Round two saw us remain in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh where we took on Letterkenny Gaels. Again we were slow to get going, but in the second half the lads were much improved and ran out convincing winners. Setanta at this stage were playing to stay in the competition and had a much improved performance and ran out easy winners against Four Masters. We were now through to the county final and the prospect of getting to the Féile na nGael National finals was getting closer for this young squad. Round three saw them claim an easy win over Four Masters in Father Tierney Park while over in Pairc Aoidh Ruaidh Setanta had a good win over Gaels.

The stage was now set for the final between Aodh Ruadh and Setanta, the lads knew that a similar start to the one in their group game wouldn't do in the final. Thankfully, we saved our best performance of the day to last. From the ball was thrown in we were well on top and were not going to be denied our place at the National Féile Finals. This small squad of just 17 players have worked very hard for the last month and have done everything that was asked of them. They have become only the third Aodh Ruadh team to have qualified for the National Finals and all involved in underage hurling are very proud of them. After playing four games they were glad to get all the goodies their mothers had ready for them in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh. Thanks again to all the mothers who provided refreshments for all four clubs. Thanks to Brian Drummond for his excellent photography. Thanks to the Park Committee for the use of both pitches which were in excellent condition. Thanks to the senior football management who brought forward their game with Erne Gaels. Thanks to the referees James Connors and Peter Horan all who acted as lines men and umpires and finally thanks to the lads themselves who have restored great pride in underage hurling as we've been going through some difficult times over the last few seasons.

Last modified: Monday, 1 June 2020 at 1:32pm