Monday 7th
December
Underage Indoor Hurling
Cúchulainns Indoor Training on Monday and Thursday nights in St Brigid's has
finished for Xmas. It will resume in the last week of January. Any queries
contact Rónán McWilliams on 07843092025.
Friday 6th
November
Mass For Deceased Members
Mass for deceased members and friends of the Club will be said on Monday 9
November at 7.30pm in the Church of St Malachy. All members are requested to
attend.
Underage Prize-Giving Details
The Club is pleased to announce that Seamus Callanane, current Tipperary Senior
Player, will be guest of honour at this year’s Underage prize-giving event to
be held at 6.30pm in Pearse Og Park Clubrooms, Ballycrummy, on Saturday 21
November. This will be especially memorable for the Under 14 Squad, their
parents and mentors who have won the County Feile, All Ireland Feile and County
Championship titles.
Indoor Hurling
The Club’s Indoor Hurling Academy has now resumed at St Brigid’s High School
each Monday evening.
Annual Ulster GAA Club and Volunteers Conference to be held in Armagh City
Hotel
Friday 2nd
Ocotber
Cuchulianns Under 14’s complete memorable season in style
In the Athletic Grounds on Saturday the Cuchulainn Under 14 side added the
County Championship to the Armagh, Ulster and All Ireland Feile’s they had won
earlier in the year.
The Final itself was an epic battle between two excellent sides with the final
result only decided in second half injury time.
The game started at an extremely fast pace and this set the tone for the next
hours hurling.
Cuchulainns were the first to register a score with good work in midfield by L
Oliver and J McIlroy releasing corner forward F Maguire for an excellent point
from an acute angle. Keady quickly responded with a free from R Donnelly. A
pointed free from B Coulter for Cuchulainns was again equalised by R Donnelly,
and Keady registered two more points from play heading into halftime.
Just before the break the Cuchulainns S Muldoon forced the ball into B Coulter
who under extreme pressure goaled past the advancing Keady keeper. Keady
quickly responded with another R Donnelly free to leave the sides tied at half
time Cuchulianns 1.2 Keady 0.5.
The young Cuchulainns new that they had to dig deep playing up the hill in the
second half and great work at the restart from J Freeman released A Corrigan to
point.
R Beagan quickly responded with a point for Keady and B Coulter and R Donnelly
traded frees to leave the sides level again. Some fantastic work from the
outstanding Cuchuliann half back line of R McGrath, R Quigley and C Quinn
helped set up two B Coulter points. Cuchulainns were now dominating around the
midfield and two good runs at the Keady defence by S Moen and J Freeman
resulted in a brace of B Coulter frees leaving Cuchulainns four up with ten
minutes to play. Keady fought back and a well taken F Short goal left only one
point between the teams. Resolute defending by the impressive Cuchulainn full
back line of T McArdle, P Toal, F Nugent and Goalkeeper J Mullan nullified the
rest of the Keady attacks and set the platform for the city team to push on for
the title. In a tense last section the Cuchulianns again worked B Coulter free
for two more points before Cuchuliann substitute C McNicholl latched onto a
ball in the Keady square and buried it into the back of the net. Cuchulainns
kept the pressure on in injury time however good Keady defence and fine
goalkeeping kept the ball away from Cuchulainn substitutes S McCann and M
Cartmill.
Final Score Cuchulainns 2.10 Keady 1.7.
Cuchulianns Championship Squad 2009: C Quinn, R Kearney, M Cartmill, A
Corrigan, B Coulter, T McArdle, S Moen, R Quigley, P Toal, C Toner, J McIlroy,
C McKenna, F Heaney, F Maguire, L Oliver, F Nugent, C McNicholl, S McCann, L
Gilsenan, J Freeman, R McGrath, J Mullen, S Muldoon, M Moore, S McLaughlin, P
Feeney, C Dougan, N Brady, JJ Tabios.
The Cuchulainn Under 14 Management would like to thank this special squad of
players and their families for all their help and cooperation during this
unbelievable year. Special thanks to all those in the Cuchulainn Hurling Club
for their support throughout the year with your support none of this would have
been possible.
Friday 25th
September
Hurling Academy Details
The Club’s Hurling Academy will recommence weekly in St Brigid’s High School as
follows:
Every Monday from 28 Sept -- 4-7 year olds in two sessions; 6-8pm
Every Thursday from 1 October -- Primary 4 – 6 in two sessions from 6pm-8.30pm
Registration is £1 and £1.50 per session (£2 for 2 or more siblings)
If not already registered please contact Ronan on 07843092025. Advance
registration is recommended as numbers are limited.
Golf Society
The Club’s Golf Society will host Martin Carson’s Captain’s Day on Sunday 4
October at County Armagh Golf Club. Players to be ready to tee-off from 9am.
Support Requested for U14 Championship Final
Our U14s are playing Keady tomorrow in the U14 County Final - Athletic Grounds
3.30pm. The club would like as much support possible there in what will surely
be another thrilling encounter.
Tuesday 4th
September
Large Numbers for Final Hurling/Camogie Cúl Camp
The last of this summer’s Cúl Camps was hosted by Cúchulainns Hurling Club and
held in the Athletic Grounds from Monday 17th to Friday 21st August. Almost 90
children dodged the terrible weather and had a fantastic week of coaching,
Go-Games and skills tests with the county coaches and a number of guest coaches
throughout the week.
Children from 5-7 years old spent a lot of their time working with two of the
Ulster Council’s finest Key Stage 1 coaches – Stephen Quinn and Karol McQuade –
as they worked on station based activities and fun based games to develop their
physical literacy.
County School’s Officers Francie McMullen and Ryan Gaffney were on hand to lend
their coaching expertise, while Michael McCambridge (Armagh Club Development
Officer) from Ruairi Og’s Cushendall also took sessions throughout the week. A
number of county seniors, U21’s and camogs also visited throughout the week.
Thanks to Ciaran Clifford, Declan Coulter, Joby Burke, Collette McSorley, Paula
Mallon, Bernie Murray and Conor Devlin for their time.
A number of high profile hurlers and camogs from throughout Ulster visited
during the course of the camp and the children were delighted to have the
opportunity to learn from these players. 2009 Camogie All-Star, Jane Adams and
fellow Saffron Neil McManus visited along with Graham Clarke from Down. Aileen
McCusker – full back with Derry Camogs – called in along with Antrim Camogs
Maoiriosa McGourty and Orlagh McCaul.
The week culminated with a presentation of medals and kits to all those that
attended while a number of awards were given out in the Junior, U10 and Senior
categories.
Photos from the camp can be found on the Gallery section of this site.
Tuesday 18th
August
Stephen O'Keefe 2009 Details
Cuchuliann Hurling club will once again play hosts to the annual Stephen
O’Keeffe festival of hurling over the weekend of 21-23 August. The club will be
hosting their friends from Roanmore Co Waterford and Clarecastle Magpies Co
Clare when each clubs U12 panel will take part in a weekend of hurling. This
annual event has been going from strength to strength since its inception here
in 1994 when it was organised as a one of event to celebrate our clubs 50th
anniversary but as that weekend was such a success the mentors from each club
got together and decided to try to keep it going with each club taking their
turn to play hosts. Just as it came back round to Cuchulainn’s turn again one
of the original mentors from Waterford sadly passed away and so it was decided
to honour the great man by renaming the tournament and so began the Stephen
O’Keeffe Festival of Hurling and having known the man personally it was an
honour he would be very proud of knowing that over the years some of the young
lads who have taken part have gone on to represent their respective county’s at
senior level.
The weekend will start on Friday night when after being welcomed back to
Armagh, two players from each team will take part in the skills competition at
the Athletic grounds at around 6pm these six young lads will be striving to win
the much coveted John Hanley trophy. On Saturday morning the three clubs will
play each other in both fifteen and a seven aside games ensuring that all the
lads are involved, again this will take place at the athletic grounds starting
at 10.00am. In the afternoon the lads will get the chance to do some shopping
before going to the cinema and will then have the chance to catch up with their
host families. On Saturday night everyone is invited to the Harps club were I’m
sure over a few lemonades when the adults get together the games will be won
and lost once again. On Sunday after 10 mass the hurling will resume this time
in Pearse Og park when the final matches will be played. Lunch will then be
served and the presentations made in the Pearse Ogs social club before our
friends head on their journey home. It would be great to see past and present
members and friends out showing their support and lending a hand to what is a
great weekend for all involved.
Thursday 6th
August
U12's Update
This young squad has had a busy summer so far and is set to get even busier in
the coming weeks with the start of the league just round the corner. The squad
began their season with a trip to and indoor blitz hosted in Ballinascreen as
well as a trip to Croke Park on St Patrick’s Day. The squad has trained hard to
develop their skills and this was evident in the mini blitzes organised by the
county board.
The young Cuchulainns started with a blitz in Portadown with Lurgan also
travelling. Although the skills were a bit rusty the boys managed to tick off
wins against both sets of opposition with Shane Cartmill and Jordan Murtagh
showing well.
The next blitz was to be hosted in killeavy but Irish weather dictated no play.
The teams’ next encounter was a Go-Games friendly with Keady, a game in which
numbers were short, and this led to the game being a bit one sided but some
strong performances from Andrew Dynes and Sean Clifford kept the score-line on
the low for the keady boys.
It was the Cuchulainns Stage to host a mini blitz with Middletown and Craobh
Rua travelling to play in the great weather in Callanbridge, the young lads
showed their parents the trainings were paying off with some skilful
performances from Eoghan Heaney and Jordan Murtagh on the night aiding the team
to victories in all but one match.
The following blitz was hosted by Craobh Rua, and Derrynoose also travelled to
play. The young lads started off slow on this occasion but managed to pick up
victories in the opening matches, in the second part of the blitz the boys
opened up leads in all games and conceded very little thanks to great
goalkeeping from Mattie Rafferty and Shea Donnelly.
Cuchulainns hosted a mini 15 aside blitz with Keady and Lurgan travelling. The
blitz gave the boys and opportunity to show Keady the improvement in skill
since the go-game played earlier and they did so, narrowly losing by a late
goal, this set the young lads up for a game against Lurgan which the Armagh
boys won easily with some fine scores taken by Conor Hughes and Sean Reilly
The All County Blitz, which dictated the division of the league the boys would
play, was hosted in Lurgan on Saturday 4th July. The lads were grouped with
Derrynoose and Craobh Rua. The squad travelled light in numbers using a few
U10s during the day, played up against a full Derrynoose outfit and were just
too light to match the country boys losing by 10 points in the first match. The
second match against Craobh Rua was a hard game with a lot of great skills,
both attacking and defending on offer, for the parents to enjoy. This game
ended with Cuchulainns on the good side of the scoreline. This set up a playoff
with third placed team in the 2nd group to determine the league status for the
rest of the season. The Armagh boys had to wait until matches in the other
group were played off, and Killeavy were to be the opposition but they decided
to go home and awarded points to Cuchulainns.
This left the Division 1 teams to be Cuchulainns, Keady, Middletown and
Derrynoose. Games in the league begin on Thursday 30th July and 3 matches
either home or away will be played. Following this the city then hosts the
Annual Stephen O Keeffe Tournament with Clarecastle and Roanmore, Waterford
travelling. The Championship follows the next week with Cuchulainns playing a
home tie to Middletown
Monday 13th
July
Underage Update
There will be no coaching on Monday 6 & 13 July for under 6, 8,& 10s.
Coaching will resume on Monday 20 July. Places still available for the Club’s
Cul Camp beginning Monday 17 August.
Tuesday 30th
June
More Silverware For Cúchulainn Hurling Club
After the success of the Feile squad a week ago it was the turn of the seniors
last Tuesday evening to attempt to make this a special week in the Club’s
history by winning the Paddy McCormack Cup for the first time. This competition
allows more squad players the opportunity to show their talent as players on
the County panel are not allowed to line out.
As always against Middletown the game was played at a championship pace with
fierce determination and skill by both teams. Some superb points were exchanged
in the first twenty minutes but a 21 yard free was then dispatched to the net
by Chris Coulter and with a few more points the city side had five point margin
to spare at half time leading 1.7 to 0.5.
In the second half however, Middletown began to dominate around the field and
point by point, they clawed themselves back into the game. This domination was
somewhat stemmed by the introduction of Paddy Heaney who helped bolster the
midfield department. With about five minutes left Cuchulainn’s two point
advantage was very uncertain as balls seemed to constantly rain down on their
defence. By the final whistle the city side juts about survived thanks to some
dogged defensive play and an ability to take scores when they were badly
needed. When the sides meet again in August in the County championship you can
be sure the intensity will be turned up a notch or two and you can expect more
drama right up until the final whistle.
Final Score: CHC 1.14 Na Fianna 0.10.
CHC scorers; P McKernan 0.1, R McWilliams 0.1, Chris Coulter 1.6, Conor Coulter
0.3, M Gillespie 0.1, S Hutchinson 0.1, P Donnelly 0.1,
Cúchulainns Golf Society
The Hurling Club’s Golf Society played for the annual Donal Powell Perpetual
Trophy recently at County Armagh Golf Club. Due to the All Ireland Feile
Competition the Chairman and a few other regulars were not able to play,
however almost 30 golfers played in this prestigious annual tournament. Society
captain, Martin Carson, welcomed and thanked everyone for participating. He
awarded prizes to the following; Longest Drive; M Carson, Nearest Pin; M
McGuirk, 3rd M Cullen, 2nd B McArdle, 1st & perpetual trophy winner for a
fourth time; Conal Hamill. Conal thanked the Captain and made us all jealous by
explaining where each of his other three Tyrone Crystal Hurling Balls were
displayed at home. Well done Conal on retaining the trophy after your victory
in 2008!!!
Wednesday 24th
June
Cúchulainns All Ireland Féile Champions 2009
Cúchulainn Hurling Club under 14 team returned to Armagh on Sunday 21 June 2009
as All Ireland Féile champions, adding to their previous success in 2000. The
team were based in Crinkle, a village outside Birr in County Offaly.
The first game against the host club, CRC Gaels took place at 3pm on Friday 19
June and after a thrilling game, CHC emerged victorious on a scoreline of 2.5
to 2.3. This result instilled confidence in the team and the realisation that
they were capable of competing with their southern counterparts.
Later that evening, the team took part in Féile parade through Birr, attended
by the GAA president, Christy Cooney and An Taoiseach, Brain Cowan. This event
was a marvellous spectacle with 145 teams from hurling, camogie and handball
involved.
Saturday morning commenced with CHC's second group game against Offaly's
Drumcullen. Ater a superb team performance, Cúchulainns pulled through on a
scoreline of 2.11 to 2.01.
Our last group game pitted us against Coill Dubh from Kildare and after another
fine display, Cúchulainns triumphed on a scoreline of 4.03 to 1.03.
A semi final now awaited and as we received notification of our opponents,
another Offaly club, Lusmagh, home of the famous Troy family of All Ireland
renown, the players and mentors prepared to travel to Kilcormac.
Cúchulainns produced their most competent display to the weekend to avail of
victory on a scoreline of 5.04 to 0.03 in front of a large support which
included representatives of all three group teams whom Cúchulainns had faced
earlier in the weekend. All spectators were impressed with the skill level
displayed by the young Cúchulainns.
The host club arranged a barbeque for the Saturday evening in Carrig, Co
Offaly, which was attended by players, mentors and supporters.
Early on Sunday morning, we travelled to O'Connor Park, Tullamore, the same
venue which hosted the superb Leinster semi final between Kilkeeny and Galway
on Saturday evening. Many more supporters travelled from Armagh on the Sunday
to support theses young men in their endeavors to annex an All Ireland title.
Our opponents were Pádraig Pearses from Roscommon and after a hard fought game
with a nail biting finish, Cúchulainns emerged victorious on a scoreline of
4.03 to 3.05, the winning score coming from a Barry Coulter free in the final
minute.
Captain, Lorcan Oliver led his team up the steps of the impressive new stand in
O'Connor Park, Tullamoreto accept the Dr Birch trophy from GAA President,
Christy Cooney amid scenes of utter jubilation among the assembled masses.
Each and every member of the panel contributed handsomely to the success and
all played their part on the field during the weekend.
Cúchulainns remained in Tullamore to support their neighbours, St Brenda's
Ballymacnab who emerged victorious in the All Ireland Feile Camogie Final.
The team and mentors returned to Armagh to be greeted by parents, friends and
supporters at a large reception at Pearse Óg clubrooms.
The All Ireland Féile winning panel comprised the following players:
MICHAEL CARTMILL
AODHAN CORRIGAN
BARRY COULTER
TIARNAN McARDLE
SHAUN MOEN
RYAN QUIGLEY
PEARSE TOAL
CORMAC TONER
CONNAL DOUGAN
JOE MC ELROY
COLIN McKENNA
FINTAN HEANEY
FINNEN MAGUIRE
LORCAN OLIVER
FERGAL NUGENT
CONOR QUINN
CONOR MC NICHOLL
SEAN MC CANN
LIAM GILSENAN
JAMES FREEMAN
RORY MC GRATH
JORDAN MULLAN
NIALL BRADY
RYAN KEARNEY
MATTHEW MOORE
Cúchulainns wish to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly thank their
sponsors for Féile weekend, without whose support this success would not have
occurred:
Armagh Sports, Ellens Fish & Chips, Moorefield Joinery, Maxies Car Wash,
Really Good Food, Olivers Fruit & Veg, Rafferty's Bar, Carr Construction,
Philip McManus and Fearghal Mallon Mortgages & Pensions.
Wednesday 17th
June
Feile na nGael 2009 Draw
This weekend sees the long awaited return of All-Ireland Feile Hurling for
Cuchulainn Hurling Club as the U14s travel down to Offaly and Laois
The team have been draw in Division 4 against CRC Gaels, Druncullen (both
Offaly) and Coill Dubh (Kildare).
All times and locations of matches are on the Fixtures section of this website.
Best of luck boys - it will be a weekend to remember!
Cúchulainns U8’s and U10’s Enjoy Doire Núis Blitz
On Sunday 7th June, 30 young hurlers from the Cúchulainns HC travelled to St
Patrick’s High School Keady where Doire Núis hosted their club U8 and 10
Go-Games blitzes.
We had two U8’s teams on the Astroturf and they enjoyed their matches with
Céide, Craobh Rua, Castleblayney and the hosts Doire Núis. There were a number
of very good performances from Oisín Curran, Darragh Milsom, Jack Kennedy, Adam
and Lee Murtagh.
Shane O’Hagan continues to impress for the club, while Fionn MacLochlainn and
Fionntáin Oliver have improved greatly over the last two months. Our two main
men on the day were Oisín Hughes from St Patrick’s PS and Ciarán
Donnelly-Phillips from Armagh CBS and they deservedly picked up All-Star awards
for their outstanding performances.
We had 14 U10’s on the day which wasn’t quite enough for two teams. However, Na
Fianna were in a similar position and we were able to join forces to form
another team which was called Madden. Again, the standard of hurling at this
age group was very good with some great catching and points from distance.
Padraig Foy has picked up where he left off following his winter break while
Gareth McShane, Oisín Moen, Colin Sheehan and Eoghan Kearney also put in
fantastic displays. Tiarnan Quinn from St Malachy’s PS continues to improve and
he deservedly picked up his first All-Star Award. It was fitting that a Madden
man should pick up the award for the Madden team as young Shane Morgan was
honoured along with Séan Óg McGuiness from Middletown.
Tuesday 9th
June
Club News
The Club would like to wish its Under 14 Feile squad and mentors the very best
of luck when they represent the County at the All Ireland Feile in Co Offaly /
Laois next week. A special thanks also to all sponsors who have assisted in the
squad’s preparations. As part of their fund-raising preparations the lads will
be filling grocery bags at Sainsbury’s this coming weekend and all donations
are gladly appreciated.
Congratulations to two of our Underage Coaches Ronan Hart and Adam Grieve,
whose partners gave birth recently.
On the Golf front, the annual Donal Powell Perpetual Trophy will be played for
at County Armagh Golf Club on Sunday 21 June.
The Club will be hosting its first official hurling VHI Cul Camp starting
Monday 17 August. For booking or more information call Ronan McWilliams on
07843092025.
Under 6, 8 & 10 coaching continues on Monday evenings at the Athletic
Grounds from 6pm. Newcomers are especially encouraged to come and join the
fun!! Cost is £1.50 (£2 for 2 or more siblings)
Wednesday 3rd
June
Club News
The senior team are motoring well after well earned victories over Carrickmore
and Middletown in the Armagh league and St Pauls of Belfast in the Ulster
League. The squad are well positioned for the run in both competitions.
The club hosted a County Blitz for all County clubs at the Cathedral Road
Sports Ground on Sunday morning for Under 8 & Under 10 age groups. Even
with the poor weather conditions the players, mentors and parents contributed
to a great morning of hurling. A special thanks to Ronan McWilliams and his
band of helpers in making this a successful tournament for the Club.
Saturday 16th
May
Club Hosts Successful Club Day
The Club celebrated the 125th anniversary with the annual Fergus Moen Perpetual
Trophy, played for by past, present and future stars of the Club in the memory
of a great Cuchulainn, Fergus Moen. As a prelude to the senior game the entire
pitch was used for underage competitions from poc fada to penalty shooting with
our under 8s & 10s. The senior tussle was a high scoring affair which
illustrated the skill and pace of the younger lads against the guile and stick
work of the more mature player in the sweltering heat of the Athletic Grounds.
In the end the Black team won out with young PJ Nugent collecting “Player of
the Tournament” from Mary Moen.
More images can be found on the Gallery section of the website.
U14 Beat Keady in County Feile Final
The U14s continued their unbeaten season when they took on old foes Keady in
the County Feile Final at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh. It has been quite a
number of years since the club last represented the county at the All-Ireland
Feile but that hex was well and truly broken on Friday night.
Cuchulainns took the lead with 3 goals inside the first 15 minutes and never
looked back for the rest of the match. Throughout all 15 positions every player
tackled, blocked and supported each other as though their lives depended upon
it. In fact such was the ferocity and tanacity of their play that by half-time
they had a comfortable 5-01 to 1-01 lead.
But you can never write Keady off and true to form they came out all guns
blazing in the second half, scoring 2 goals and a point without reply. This
pressue continued throughout the half and it was a real credit to Cuchulainns
who kept fighting and managed another goal and point to secure a fantastic
victory. This game and the rewards that it will bring for the U14 panel with a
trip to the All-Ireland in Offlay will be remembered by all who were present.
Well done lads - the club is proud of each and every one of you!!
Club Development Draw
The winner of this months Club Development draw is Paul McCullagh
Friday 8th
May
Cuchulainns Ulster Feile Champions 2009
The Cuchulainn Under 14 team headed to Tyrone on Saturday the 2nd of May to
participate in the 2009 Ulster Hurling Feile. The team were based in Dungannon
for their league matches and started with a tough match against Rossa from
Belfast. The young hurlers started slowly but as the first half progressed they
finally began to show some excellent touches with a fantastic long range point
from S Muldoon the pick of the scores. Rossa hit back in the early in the
second half with a well worked goal and the young Cuchulainns had to dig deep
to respond however resolute defending from the whole defence and scores from J
McIlroy and B Coulter coupled with the tireless work of R Quigley and S Moen
left the final score Rossa 1-2 Cuchulainns 2-3.
Next up for the local team was Swatragh from Co.Derry and the players after
another slow start took control before halftime due to a solid defence lead by
T McArdle and L Oliver and scores from J McIlroy and J Freeman. A solid second
half with good displays from J Mullen, M Cartmill, C McNicholl and P Toal
ensured to young hurlers registered another win.
The last group match pitted the Cuchulainns against the Feile hosts Eoghan
Ruadh Dungannon who must be praised for the hosting and organisation of the day
which involved over 2000 young hurlers and camogs. Cuchulainns took control of
the match on the 5th minute with J mcIlroy scoring the first of three goals.
The second half saw the introduction of L Gilsenan, R McGrath, F Heaney, C
McKenna, C Toner and R Kearney all of who acquitted themselves with distinction
with special mention to R Kearney who pulled of a fantastic point blank save.
At the final whistle the young hurlers were heading to the Final.
After the 125 GAA celebration parade through Dungannon the team headed to the
Naomh Colmcille pitch outside Clonoe were they were to meet Lavey from
Co.Derry. Cuchulainns took control from the start with early goals from A
Corrigan and B Coulter and points from J Freeman and J McIlroy putting them in
a dominant position. Solid tireless work from the defence especially F Maguire,
F Nugent and safe goalkeeping from C Quinn kept the Lavey forwards at bay for
the rest of the first half. Lavey started the second half strongly and quickly
registered their first point the Cuchulainn defence was now working hard to
contain a rejuvenated Lavey attack. Good work from R Quigley, S Muldoon and S
McCann helped set up another Cuchulainn score. Lavey then sustained a high
level of pressure for the rest of the match and a couple of late goals caused
an exciting finish with all players on each side giving every ounce of energy.
At the final whistle it was the boys from Armagh lead by L Oliver that were
celebrating on a final score of Cuchulainns 4-3 Lavey 3-2.
The management and all involved with the Cuchulainn Hurling Club would like to
congratulate the players on this outstanding success and a special mention to
all those who travelled down to support the young hurlers in the final.
Ulster Feile Team 2009: C Quinn, R Kearney, M Cartmill, A Corrigan, B Coulter,
T McArdle, S Moen, R Quigley, P Toal, C Toner, J McIlroy, C McKenna, F Heaney,
F Maguire, L Oliver, F Nugent, C McNicholl, S McCann, L Gilsenan, J Freeman, R
McGrath, J Mullen, S Muldoon.
Monday 27th
April
Fergus Moen Tournament Date Set
As part of the GAA’s 125 Anniversary Celebrations, the Club will host it’s
annual Fergus Moen Perpetual Tournament at the Athletic Grounds on Sunday 10
May. The event will start with an underage blitz at 2.30pm followed by the
Tournament Match.
Under 8s Coaching Resumes
Under 8s coaching will restart outdoors at the Athletic Grounds from Monday 4
May at 6pm. It is advised that children should bring wet weather gear with
them.
Ulster U10 Indoor Hurling Season
The Indoor Hurling Season came to a dramatic close last weekend with the ‘GAA
125’ Provincial U10 Indoor Hurling Blitz in Meadowbank Sports Arena,
Magherafelt. 105 teams representing 50 Clubs participated in ‘FUN’ centred
Blitz.
The Blitz was the 7th and 8th Indoor Regional Blitzes ran by the Ulster Council
GAA this year and complemented the all-ready successful Indoor league run by
North Antrim Hurling Board, the blitzes held by Donegal, Derry and Antrim
County Boards. It was a great occasion with the new Ulster hurling Indoor rules
being implemented with ease.
790 Players participated in the Blitz with 54 teams playing on 9 Indoor Pitches
from 11:30am – 1:00pm and another 54 teams playing from 1:30pm – 3:00pm. There
were a total of 270 games played in 3½hrs with all teams showing great team
work and skill.
Feedback from the clubs was very positive with a number of the clubs expressing
interest in attending similar blitzes with the rules very simple and easy to
follow for both the players and referees.
Feile Uladh 2009
This year's U14 Ulster Feile is being hosted by Dungannon and our own U14 will
play all their matches in the town against the hosts, Rossa B (Antrim) and
Swatragh (Derry).
First throw-in is at 10am on Saturday 2nd May. All support welcome.
Thursday 16th
April
Annual Club Celebrations
The City Hurling Club held its annual presentation night recently at the Armagh
City Hotel. Club Chairman, Jimmy Kelly, in the presence of Club Sponsor Malachy
O’Neill and County Hurling Board Chairman Paul Kelly, welcomed everyone to the
annual gathering and thanked the hotel for a wonderful meal. He then passed the
baton over to Club Secretary, Padraig O’Connor, to proceed with the Club Award
presentations. Padraig invited Paul Kelly, County Hurling Board Chairman and
acting County Manager, to say a few words. Paul complimented the Club’s
Officers and Coaches who have thrust themselves into the County’s Hurling
Development plan in an attempt to improve hurling within the county. He went on
to praise several people by name and encouraged the Club’s players to raise
their game so that they might be considered for county duty and join the five
lads already on the panel.
Padraig then invited Minor Coach, Pete Quigley, to announce the most improved
Minor Player for the 2008 season as Neil Duffy. The Minor Player of the Year
and captain of the squad to receive the Mickey McManus Perpetual Cup was Conor
Coulter.
The Senior Squad Coach, Kit Heaney, was then asked to come forward and announce
the following award winners; recipient of the Tommy Corvan Perpetual Cup and
Young Player of the Year was Tommy Turley. The Donal Powell Perpetual Trophy
and Senior Player of Year Award winner was announced as Gerard Barton. In
naming Gerard, her made a request to the acting County Manager to consider
Gerard for county duty in the coming season.
County Chairman, Paul Kelly, was then asked to present awards to Club officials
(pictured below) who have all performed above the call of duty this past
season; Gerard Devlin, Damien Kirk, Niall Clifford and Ronan Hart.
The fantastic band “Auto Pilot” brought everybody onto the floor with some
superb past and current music classics. Guests complimented the Chairman on the
entire event and were particular complimentary with his choice of
entertainment!!
Images of all award winners are on the Photo Gallery.
U16s Win First County-Run Tournament
The U16 panel travelled to Keady recently to take part in the first of 3 county
run 11-a-side tournaments. Drawn in the same group as Keady and Derrynoose the
lads knew this would be a good test of strength, skill and stamina.
However, despite this being only the 2nd outing of the season, the lads
produced an excellent unbeaten display scoring a total of 8-25 and conceding
1-15 in 4 matches (12 min per half).
Notable performances from T Marley, R Gribben and C Gorman helped give the rest
of the county something to think about this season.
Friday 27th
March
Seniors Win First Ulster League Match
The Seniors got off to an excellent start in Division 2 of the Ulster Senior
League with a narrow one point win over St Galls, Belfast. The win was all the
more satisfying considering the squad were without several players, who were on
County duty against Mayo. The seniors have a bye this week but then have a
stern test at home to Dungannon a week later.
Club Celebrates Historical Final Social Night in Clubrooms
On Saturday Night past the Club hosted its last social event for all present
and former members to reminisce on the halcyon days enjoyed in the modest
clubrooms located behind the Toby Jug Bar off Irish Street. Those present
obtained an opportunity to look at photos, trophies, press cuttings and other
memorabilia gathered over the years in the company of past and present members.
Although this event may be the last in these clubrooms, another chapter in the
Club’s history will open when it moves to new accommodation in the not to
distant future.
Pictured above at the final social event in Cuchulainn Hurling Club’s before
its move into the Arthletic Grounds are; J Kelly (Chairman), R Hart (Under 16
Coach), B Kirh (President), P Lavery (Under 12 Coach) and B McArdle (former
player).
New Links Added
New links to the GAA Code of Ethics & Best Practice, GAA Strategy 2009-2015
and Gaelic Performace have now been added to the site.
CRY Fun-run in Armagh
My name is Matthew Nicholson, I am the organisor and race director of a new
road race event in Armagh City scheduled for Sunday, 19th April 2009.
The event is called the "Run Armagh 10K Challenge", and I would like to extend
an invite to all members of your club who are of age (15 before race day) to
come and join us for what should be a fantastic and fun running event.
We have a great route planned, starting off in the City, making its way into
the beautiful apple orchard countryside and returning back into the City to
finish on The Mall in the centre of town. The course is largely flat, so quick
times can be achieved for those pace setters and has been accurately measured
by the UK Measurements Council.
The event will be professionally timed using individual Championship timing
devices - every finisher will receive a race day t-shirt, medal and goody bag.
Prize money is available for the winners, along with additional spot prizes.
Easy online entry is available via the website, but entries can still be made
via post.
All proceeds from the event will go to charity, namely Cardiac Risk in the
Young (C-R-Y, charity #1050845), which is a charity close to everyone’s heart
in Armagh, with the death of two local young athletes in recent years. C-R-Y
promotes screening of young athletes, raises awareness and supports families
who have suffered loss.
All information is available at
http://www.runarmagh.com .
Wednesday 11th
March
Final Social Event in Clubrooms
In invitation is extended to past and present friends and members of the Club
to the final social event at our Clubrooms in Navan Street on Saturday 21 March
at 7pm. Refreshments will be served.
Annual Presentation Night / Club Dinner
As part of the GAA’s 125th year celebrations, the Club’s Dinner Dance will take
place on Friday 3 April 2009 in Armagh City Hotel at 7.30pm. All parents and
friends of the club are welcome. Under 18s must be accompanied by a
parent/guardian. Ticket prices Adult £20, under 18s £15.
U12 Ballinascreen Report
A squad of young Cuchulainns travelled to Ballinascreen last weekend to take
part in a 6-aside indoor tournament with the host club St Colms and St Eunans.
There were three teams entered into the competition captained by Shane
Cartmill, Shea Donnelly and Mattie Rafferty, and by all accounts all the young
lads made a good start to their season winning four matches drawing three and
only losing twice. The hurling on the day was fantastic and all players put in
some very strong performances across the whole field. With training up and
going these young boys have made a very promising start to their season and
will most definitely looking forward to the rest of year.
Thursday 5th
March
2009 Fixtures Are Released
All County League, Ulster League, Blitz's and Championship fixtures for all age
groups for 2009 have now been added to this site. Please click on Fixtures on
the left to see when the teams are in action!!
IMPORTANT - Membership Notice
The committee have asked to stress the need for all playing members (adult and
underage) to be fully paid up members before they take the field under the name
of Cúchulainn Hurling Club. This is about respect. There will be no exceptions
- if you are not signed you CANNOT play. The club will be responsible for any
liability incurred which could lead to serious ramifications for individual
committee members. Please return your forms ASAP or ask any member of the
committe or coaching panel for a form.
U14 Development Trials
The second U-14 blitz to trial for the county U-14 development squad will take
place this Sunday 8th of March at St Patricks’ College Armagh (use the Moy road
entrance). The changing rooms will be open from 9am and all teams will begin
playing at 9.30am sharp.
U10 Ulster Blitz Initiative Going Strong
The First 2 Indoor Blitzes were held last weekend in the superb indoor
Facilities at Keady High School in Armagh. 11 of the 12 Teams attended with the
host club supplying 4 teams and Middletown and Armagh Cúchulainns both
supplying 2 teams. There was representation from Tyrone with Eoghan
Rua-Dungannon contributing 2 teams. Down were represented by Ballyvarley. In
total there was 30 games played in 2½hrs. It was a great Blitz with the new
Ulster hurling Indoor rules being implemented with ease.
Please download the following
PDF document (Adobe PDF Reader, which is free to download, required to
view this) to get more information on the rules and future Blitz dates.
U8 Blitz played last week
An under 8 blitz was held in Lurgan on Sat 28th Feb - thanks to Derrynoose for
great sporting games. Photos can be found on the General Gallery (link on the
left hand side of this page).
Thursday 26th
February
Armagh Hurling Initiative - Coaching the Coaches 2009
Following on from the inarguable success of the 'Coaching the Coaches'
initiative in 2008 - with over 360 coaches attending six courses - the Armagh
Hurling Board is organising a similar programme for 2009.
The tutors for this year's programme include Tipperary men Damien Young
(Tipperary Minor Hurling Manager) and National Director for Hurling Paudie
Butler, two of Ulster's best known hurlers - Graham Clarke of Down and Johnny
McIntosh of Antrim - whilst also featuring Seamus Elliot (former Dunly and
Antrim coach) and Gerard Monan (Ballygalget coach).
These sessions are free of charge and there will no no pressure on any coach
attending to participate in the practical activities. Detailed handouts will be
provided by the tutors for all sessions. The club will also receive a free DVD
of each session.
The courses and dates are detailed below:-
| Date | Course | Tutor | Venue |
| 26th February | Making sure your sessions are Hurling Specific | Damien Young | Athletic Grounds, Armagh |
| 5th March | The Art of Goalkeeping
& The Art of Free-Taking |
Graham Clarke
& Johnny McIntosh |
Athletic Grounds, Armagh |
| 12th March | Defensice Skills in Hurling | Seamus Elliot | Athletic Grounds, Armagh |
| 19th March | Fitness with the Sliotar | Gerard Monan | Athletic Grounds, Armagh |
| 26th March |
Using the 'Fun-do' Pack
|
Paudie Butler | Athletic Grounds, Armagh |
U10 Blitz's announced
Our young U10 Cúchulainns will be taking part in 2 forthcoming Indoor blitz competitions:
Saturday 28th Feb at Keady High School - 11.30am-1.30pm
Sunday 19th April at Meadowback Sports Arena, Magherafelt - 11.30am - 1pm
U14 County Blitz
The first U-14 hurling blitz to serve as U-14 Development Squad trials will take place on Saturday February 28th 2009 at St Patrick’s Grammar School, Armagh. Changing facilities will be available from 10.00 am and the first games will throw in at 10.30 am sharp.
Four clubs namely Cuchulainns, Derrynoose, Keady and Middletown will compete and selected players will be invited to the second trials on Sunday March 8th 2009.
The blitzes should finish at approximately 1.30 pm.
Wednesday 11th February
Notice of AGM
This year's club AGM will take place on Monday 16th Feb at 7.30pm (clubrooms). All members are requested to attend.
Hurling Article from 1984
Thanks to Sean Toner for emailing in this article from the Ulster Gazette (dated August 2nd 1984).
Click here to view the article (its an image file)
Tuesday 13th January
Indoor Hurling Resumes
Indoor hurling coaching resumes at St Brigid's High School on Monday 19th January 2009. Please note that the two groups will continue at their normal times: Group 1 - 6.00pm to 7.15pm and Group 2 - 7.15pm-8.30pm. New recruits welcome. Contact Rónán on 07843092025 and you will be placed in one of the two groups. 2009 Membership Registration (£2.00) for these groups will take place on Monday 26th January before each session.
Club Draw
Winner of the £100 Club Draw is Chris Hunter.
Membership Registration
2009 Underage Membership Registration will take place on Friday 23rd January at 6pm in the Club Rooms
Juvenile (under12-16) £5, Students £10, Senior £20 & Family £45