PREVIEW: Go-Ahead Ireland Senior 1 Hurling Championship Round 4

By Conor Martin 

The Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship heats up this week as we reach the penultimate round in both groups. 

The action in Group 1 begins on Saturday afternoon when St Brigids take on Cuala at Parnell Park.

Brigids were well beaten by Na Fianna in the opening round of the Championship and were narrowly beaten by two points in their last championship outing when they took on Lucan Sarsfields.

Jonathan McGuirk, Andrew Ryan and Donnnacha Ryan were all impressive, with McGuirk and Ryan finding the net that day. Paddy McAvine’s men were much improved in their second outing but now need to rally and look to kick on against a tricky Cuala side. 

Cuala currently just have a solitary point to their name after defeats to Kilamcud Crokes and reigning champions Na Fianna, picking up their point in a draw against Lucan Sarsfields.

Liam Murphy and Jake Malone looked bright in the defeat against Na Fianna, as did Con O'Callaghan, who grabbed the Cuala goal after coming off the bench. 

With both club's championship ambitions on the line, expect an entertaining battle when these two face off. 

Kilmacud Crokes will be looking to keep the pressure on Group 1 leaders Na Fianna when they take on Lucan Sarsfields on Saturday evening.

Crokes sit in second place with a win and a draw to their name after receiving a bye in the last round. 

Oisin O’Rorke, Caolan Conway and Brian Hayes have had good starts to Championship 2024 and will be looking to help Kilmacud Crokes keep their unbeaten start going when they take on Lucan this weekend.

Last year's semi-finalists Lucan seem to have picked up where they left off and have enjoyed an unbeaten start to this year's Go-Ahead Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship, with a draw against Cuala and a win over St Brigids. 

Matt McCaffrey, Ben Coffey, Ciaran Dowling and Charlie Keher have all impressed this year and all are capable of putting the squeeze on the Stillorgan club as the knockout stage of the competition gets closer.

The first championship action of this weekend comes from Group 2 when Whitehall Colmcille take on St Vincents under the Parnell Park lights on Friday night.

In their second game, Whitehall were without key player Eoghan O’Donnell as they went down by 15 points to Ballyboden St Endas.

Enda O’Donnell and Daire Gray made some useful contributions in that defeat, but they couldn’t get going despite Paddy Spellacy’s efforts with six points to his name. 

St Vincents have a 100% record so far in this Championship and sit top of Group 2. The Vinnies have been good value so far as they edge towards an automatic semi-final spot. 

Pat Gilroy has a strong panel to choose from that includes the likes of Darach McBride and Conor Burke, which will make life difficult for Whitehall. 

Elsewhere in Group 2, St Judes take on Ballyboden St Endas at O’Toole Park on Saturday at O'Toole Park.

Judes' were unlucky not to pick up their first win of the campaign when they took on Craobh Chiaráin in their second game after receiving a bye in round 3. 

John Carty showed what a danger he can be when he started the scoring early in their last game. Ciaran Mangan, Ciaran McLoughlin and Kevin Lahiff added scores as Judes looked to be on their way to a first win. Joe McManus added nine scores, with seven of those points coming from frees and will love to keep his free-taking form going this weekend.

After receiving a bye in the opening weekend and losing in their first game, Ballyboden St Endas kickstarted their 2024 Go-Ahead Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship with a win over Whitehall Colmcille last day out. 

Niall McMorrow and Stephen O’Connor had no issue sticking the ball between the posts as they scored four points each and Cillian Kirwan wrapped up the win with a late goal. Despite the 1-27 to 0-15 win, they did pass up a few excellent chances to increase that lead and will be looking to improve this weekend.

Ballyboden can also rely on Kevin Desmond, Niall Ryan and Ronán Twomey to help them get over the line against a stubborn St Judes team.

The two clubs having a rest from championship action this week are Group 1 leaders and defending champs Na Fianna, whilst Craobh Chiaráin in Group 2 also receive a bye.