U10's in action in Tipp
A full bus of U10 players, mentors and parents headed for the North Tipperary strongholds of Nenagh Eire Og and Toomevara where they were received warmly by both clubs and participated in two competitive and entertaining games of hurling. Ed laid down an early marker by easily winning the mentors race to grab a seat at the back of the bus where the craic was to be had, however his stamina let him down somewhat and he was seen recovering at the front on the journey home. The other fine performance on the bus came from Joan who needed all her banking skills in calculating, recalculating and then calculating again the numerous permutations and combinations in relation to “monies accepted” for the big day.
One half of the group were dropped off at Toomevara, where the local lads proved a little too good on the day for the Crokes boys. Some fine defensive performances by Michael Gibbons and Lorcan O’Connor and a committed performance by the team throughout ensured the gap on the scoreboard was just a few points at half-time. However, Toomevara scored a couple of quick goals on the resumption of play and eventually ran out comfortable winners. Michael Taaffe worked hard right to the end David Cullen gave an outstanding performance in midfield on the day for Kilmacud.
The rest of the party travelled on to a sun-kissed McDonagh Park in Nenagh to play against Eire Og in what proved to be a competitive and exciting encounter. An unfortunate missed turn by the bus driver meant the Crokes lads had little preparation time for the game, stepping literally off the bus onto the pitch for the throw-in, and it showed as the slick home team built up a quick lead and went in to half time break with a commanding lead. However, with the cob-webs firmly shaken off and a rousing team talk from Tony the Crokes boys came out in the second half and gave a wonderful spirited display of hurling. A brace of goals from Tom Kehoe, Dylan Crossan (2) and Brian Rafter combined with all action displays from Eoin Barr and Paul Buckley brought the Crokes team to within a few points but they just ran out of time and the whistle signalled the end of a thrilling game.
A special word of thanks to Philip Hennessy of Eire Og and Ciaran O’Farrell of Toomevara for arranging the fixtures and also to all the boys, mentors and parents of both clubs for their hospitality. We wish them the very best for the year ahead and hope they get an opportunity to visit us at Glenalbyn at some stage later in the year.
For photos click on the flashing camera 
TOOMEVARA, TEAM SQUAD: Sean Burns, David Cullen, Michael Gibbons, Eamon Keating, Yassin Siegrest, Nathan Slattery, Michael Taaffe, Eoin Buggy, James Callanan, Harry Doyle, Sam Kenny, Cian MacDonncha, Barry MacGabhann, Lorcan O’Connor, Owen Shearer, Aran Murphy
NENAGH EIRE OG TEAM SQUAD: Billy Leonard, Adam Cantwell, Cian Coleman, Conor Kennedy, Art Lynch, Paul Buckley, Niall Bezeci, Tom Kehoe, Eoin Barr, Dylan Crossan, Cathal O’Dwyer, Stephen Horgan, Cathal O’Connor, Niall Brady, Brian Rafter, James Dalton