Preview: Go-Ahead Ireland Senior 1 Hurling Final

Fri, 25th October 2024

By Conor Martin

The Go-Ahead Ireland Senior 1 Hurling Championship reaches its conclusion this weekend as Kilmacud Crokes and Na Fianna meet in the decider once again under the Parnell Park lights on Saturday night (7.45pm).

Defending champions Na Fianna reached their first-ever Dublin senior hurling final in 2021, losing out to their south Dublin counterparts both that year and again in 2022.

They finally managed to get one over the club that caused them heartbreak in 2023 in the quarter-final on the way to a first-ever Dublin Senior Hurling Championship title.

Crokes, on the other hand, are seven-time Dublin champions and are unbeaten in a county final since 2018.

Kilmacud won Group 1 and, as a result, advanced straight into the semi-finals after two wins against Cuala and St Brigids and a draw against their opponents this Saturday, Na Fianna and Lucan Sarsfields.

They thrashed St Brigids by 25 points in their final group game and then used that momentum to step up and beat Lucan Sarsfields at the second time of asking, winning by 13 points.

David Purcell, Conal Ó Riain and substitute Michael Roche were key in the last four, with the two latter-mentioned players rattling the net in their morale-boosting win.

After coming close to county glory in 2021 and 2022, Na Fianna finally tied the knot with the New Ireland Assurance Cup last year in a dominant performance against Ballyboden St Endas.

They started the defence of their Dublin title by thrashing St Brigids 5-26 to 0-14 in the first round; they followed that up with the previously mentioned draw against Kilmacud Crokes before they recorded a win against Cuala.

They were beaten right at the death in their last group game against Lucan Sarsfields, which saw them miss out on the top spot, leaving the northsiders to make do with a spot in the quarter-finals.

They would overcome Ballyboden with ease to advance to the last four with an 18-point win at Parnell Park before playing out an enthralling encounter against St Vincents that went to extra-time. Brothers Colin Currie and Séan Currie have been a real asset in Niall O Ceallacháin’s arsenal. Colin scored 13 points in their semi-final win and will go into tomorrow’s game full of confidence.

AJ Murphy and Ciarán Stacey have also demonstrated their worth in this Championship. Skipper Dónal Burke also showed that he has no issue finding scores as he helped seal a fourth consecutive senior hurling final for the Glasnevin men.

Going back to their previous encounter earlier this Championship, it was a close affair that saw Kilmacud Crokes showcase better hurling in the first-half, but despite that, they would be losing at the break thanks to goals from Na Fianna’s Colin Currie, Stacey and Gavin King.

Oisín O’Rorke- one of Kilmacud’s mainstays in recent years- notched up 12-points for himself and his club in the draw. Brian Hayes also impressed that day and he is another that will be a handful for Na Fianna on Saturday night.

Purcell and Jack Meagher would help drive their teams on after the restart, but as the final whistle approached, things got tense and there was a 12-minute period where neither side troubled the scoreboard as both Crokes and Na Fianna passed up chances.

Colin Currie and Joe Kavanagh sent the ball over the bar to break the deadlock in injury-time and it looked like the Mobhi Rd men would take the points.

But Kilmacud came back and thanks to an excellent score from Mark Grogan and a cooly converted free from O'Rorke, the spoils were shared.

We’re in for a cracker of a game this Saturday and it'll end with either Na Fianna retaining their county title and finally getting one over the southsiders in the Championship final. Or it’ll see Kilamcud Crokes heap more final misery over Na Fianna and claim their eighth senior title.

You can buy tickets here.

You can also watch live coverage of the game on RTÉ 2 - throw-in is at 7:45pm

Kilmacud Crokes’ road to the final:

Round 1: Cuala 1-19 (22) - 3-20 (29) Kilmacud Crokes

Round 2: Kilmacud Crokes 0-23 - 3-14 (23) Na Fianna

Round 4: Kilmacud Crokes 0-19 (19) - 1-16 (19) Lucan Sarsfields

Round 5: St Brigids 1-10 (13) - 5-23 (38) Kilmacud Crokes

Semi-Final: Lucan Sarsfields 1-13 (16) - 2-23 (29) Kilmacud Crokes

Na Fianna’s road to the final:

Round 1: Na Fianna 5-26 (41) - 0-14 (14) St Brigids

Round 2: Kilmacud Crokes 0-23 - 3-14 (23) Na Fianna

Round 3: Cuala 1-18 (21) - 1-25 (28) Na Fianna