3rd time’s the charm for Eire Og

By Mark Jones

DUBLIN — All good things come to an end, and after last Sunday’s second replay, Eire Og of Carlow were finally crowned Leinster club football champions. This third installment of what was fast becoming a GAA winter saga brought only disappointment for Dublin’s Kilmacud Crokes, who couldn’t live with the winners’ fast start and were eventually beaten by 1-11 to 0-11.

After just 10 minutes, Eire Og had stormed into a 1-4 to 0-1 lead, and even though Crokes fought back, their total of 11 wides cost them in the end. That devastating statistic meant that Eire Of were able to hang on and claim their fifth Leinster title in seven years.

Willie Quinlan slipped the defense for a well-taken goal, and along with Leo Turley and Anthony Keating, he had Kilmacud stretched to the limit. Jody Morrissey was also causing havoc in midfield and by the interval, Eire Og were 1-8 to 0-3 in front.

Their captain, Joe Murphy, summed up the victory perfectly. "The guys really turned the clock back in the first 25 minutes," Murphy said. "There’s a deep hunger here to win an All-Ireland and we know that on our day we’re a match for anyone."

Kilmacud made more of a contest of it during the second half with full-forward Robbie Brennan leading the attack cleverly, but Eire Og were never fully extended and they booked their place in the All-Ireland semifinal against Crossmaglen Rangers on Feb. 21.

Dublin 0-13, Westmeath 1-9

Dublin were hard pushed to gain a place in the O’Byrne Cup final when they defeated Westmeath by just a single point at Parnell Park. Ger Heavin’s goal in the first half had given Westmeath a major boost.

Louth also reached the final with a more convincing 1-10 to 0-9 triumph over Wicklow at Aughrim. It was a tight affair at the changeover, but a Louth scoring burst, which included a goal from Alan Rooney, killed off the contest early in the second half.

Kerry were caught napping by a late Cork onslaught in the McGrath Cup semifinal in Killarney. A Joe Kavanagh goal and two points by Padraig O’Mahony gave Cork victory by 1-10 to 0-11. They will meet Tipperary in the decider following Tipp’s comfortable 3-9 to 0-9 success against Waterford.

Laois 0-13, Dublin 0-10

Sunday’s Walsh Cup hurling clash between Laois and Dublin at Abbeleix was marred by a protracted row in which it was claimed that players, substitutes and supporters fought for over three minutes with hurleys, boots and fists.

The violence broke out in injury time and, according to one eyewitness, what followed was mayhem.

"It was very bad. People were standing back and swinging hurleys into the middle of groups of people," he said. "It was lucky no one was seriously hurt, because there was a of swinging."

It appears the match, which Laois won by 0-13 to 0-10, was being videotaped, so it is likely that the tape will serve as important evidence if the Leinster Council decides to investigate the row.