Match Report:

St. Kieran’s College won another All-Ireland Colleges senior hurling title when they beat St. Finbarrs in Thurles which puts them three titles away from the nearest rival in the roll of honour. The two sides gave a top class performance.

St. Kieran’s had a seven point lead coming up to the end of the game but allowed St. Finbarr’s to narrow the gap to three points but St. Kieran’s responded by scoring a goal and a point. The game somewhat flagged for a while in the second half as the energy of the players began to deteriorate but still managed to give an exhibition of hurling. The standard was far ahead of the Clare-Wexford National League play off which followed it.

Combination was the key factor in this game and the wide open space was used to a good extent. There were twenty seven scores during the hour which do not include the two goals disallowed. One was when a Kilkenny forward threw his hurl at the ball to get it to go into the net but was not counted and the other was disallowed due to a square ball infringement.

While Bill Fitzpatrick’s five goals played a major part in the winning, credit must also go to Mickey Brennan and Brian Cody who worked tremendously hard at mid-field and centre-field to keep the opposition out. Eight of  this year’s players are eligible to play next year. Jim Walsh at right full-back had a tough time against the star forward Michael Crowley but teamed up well with Louis Campion who controlled the opposite wing in style. Although St. Finbarrs had most of their hopes pinned on Dan Dwyer, Mickey Brennan overshadowed him giving a display of hurling. Tadhg O’ Sullivan also gave an exhibition of hurling in the St. Finbarr’s goal Declan Meade also played very well with Ger Manley when he came on as a sub.

St. Kieran’s led by a goal and two points at half time. Paddy White widened that gap by firing another goal into the St. Finbarrs net. St. Finbarrs responded by scoring four points, three of which came from Fogarty. Bill Fitzpatrick then shot two clever goals but was responded with another two goals from Dan Dwyer and Ger Hennessy. With five minutes to go there was three points between them but a Pat White goal from the last stroke of the game ensured the victory for St. Kieran’s College.

Back Row: Billy Fitzpatrick, Louis Campion, Joe Ryan, Tony Teehan, Tommy Walshe, John Power.

Front Row: Noel Minogue, John Dunne, Pat White, Brian Cody, Nicky Brennan, Pat Kearney (Captain), Ger Woodcock.

Absent from Photo: Martin Healy, Terence Brennan, Richard Beck, Brendan Kennedy, James Moore, Brian O’Shea, Martin Gibbons, Joseph Reidy.