Kilmacud Crokes All-Ireland Hurling Sevens launch
blogMeteor and Kilmacud Crokes announced details of the annual Meteor Kilmacud Crokes All-Ireland Hurling Sevens that will take place on Saturday 6th of September 2008. Proudly supporting the official launch of the 35th Hurling Sevens were Paraic Duffy, Director General of the GAA, Conor Carmody, Meteor’s Director of Marketing and current Cork and Cloyne player Donal Óg Cusack. Also present were former inter-county stars, Michael Duignan of Offaly and Sunday Game fame, Richie Power, Carrickshock native and father of current Kilkenny forward Richie Power (Jnr) and from Waterford the current team selector Peter Queally.
With 40 senior clubs from nine counties competing for the Cup and 16 teams battling it out for the Shield, this year’s tournament guarantees thrilling action and entertainment for players and supporters alike on the eve of the All-Ireland Hurling Final. The tournament will involve over 50 games, played in 6 venues around the Stillorgan area. Group games begin at 10.30am, with the throw in for the final scheduled for approximately 6.45pm at the Kilmacud Crokes home ground Páirc de Burca, Glenalbyn in Stillorgan village.
Tom Barry, Chairman of Kilmacud Crokes Hurling, welcomed all participants and highlighted that the Meteor Cup is now one of the most coveted prizes in Club Hurling. He also looks forward to a winning relationship with new sponsor, Meteor.
Meteor’s Director of Marketing, Conor Carmody today said, “This is Meteor’s first year as sponsor and we are extremely proud to support such a prestigious sporting event that recognises the wealth of talent that Clubs all over Ireland have to offer. Meteor has long been recognised as the competitive force in the mobile market and we look forward to an equally competitive display of hurling on the 6th of September.”
A host of inter-county players will be in action on the day. The defending champion’s team, Sarsfields from Cork, will include Cork forward Kieran Murphy. Host club and last year’s losing finalists, Kilmacud Crokes will feature Dublin hurlers Ross O’Carroll, James Burke and Niall Corcoran. With team members on duty the following day, Kilkenny’s, Ballyhale Shamrocks (2007 All-Ireland Club Champions) will surely miss Henry Shefflin and Cha Fitzpatrick while from Waterford, Ballygunner will be minus Paul Flynn and Passage East must plan without Eoin Kelly. Carrickshock from Kilkenny and The Déises Abbeyside and Fourmilewater will also compete for honours.
A strong Cork club contingent includes Cloyne (home of The Rock and Donal Óg), Midleton and Carrigtwohill (Niall McCarthy). Joe Deane will line out for his club, Killeagh. There are also large representations from Tipperary including Borris-lleigh (5 times Cup winners) and Toomevara (home of Benny and Tommy Dunne) and from Galway among others, Clarenbridge (Alan Kerins and David Forde) and Kinvara (Shane Kavanagh). Teams >from Limerick, Dublin, Antrim and Wicklow will complete the impressive line-up. Supporters on the day can also be in with a chance to win tickets to the All-Ireland Hurling Final and a Meteor mobile!
The event is also supporting the Headsup , text referral service from Rehab Care, which aims to help young adults in difficulty by offering support group information for a range of issues via Freetext on 50424.
For more information: www.kilmacudcrokes-hurling.com.