Carlow ready for festival of hurling

3/7/2007 - By: Eamonn O'Molloy

HOUSEHOLD hurling names like Joe Canning, Jackie Tyrrell and Kieran Murphy will grace Carlow pitches this weekend as the local IT hosts the Fitzgibbon Cup finals for the first time ever.

A huge organisational effort has gone into hosting the prestigious event, with thousands of free tickets given to local school children for Saturday’s final at Dr Cullen Park (3pm).

Apart from that match, hurling aficionados can watch any of the games for free, while there is also a terrific opportunity to hear from some hurling and GAA legends on Thursday night.

The college will be hosting a free seminar on hurling, chaired by Micheál " Muircheartaigh.

Panel members include GAA President Nickey Brennan; famous Kilkenny hurler DJ Carey, Leinster council chairman Liam O’Neill, GAA welfare manager Paraic Duffy, national hurling coordinator Paudie Butler and Carlow manager Eoin Garvey.

This will be a ‘Questions and Answers’ type evening and the general public will decide what topics will be discussed.

In addition to the seminar, there will be a display of new innovations in relation to the coaching of skills of hurling. For example, Paul Flynn will be displaying his new novel ball gun, or Tony McEvoy will be showing us his new innovative hurling grip that’s receiving a lot of positive feedback.

Meanwhile, Carlow will have two locals in Fitzgibbon Cup action after DIT shocked St Patrick’s in last week’s quarter-final.

Kilbride’s Eoin and Padraig Nolan are on the DIT panel and will be hoping to join Tom Nolan (see interview page 11) as the only Carlow man with a Fitzgibbon medal.

DIT face NUI Galway in one semi-final, but it will be the winners of the mouth-watering derby clash between Limerick IT and the University of Limerick who will be fancied in the final. People such as Martin Meagher, Valerie Crean, Carmel Lynch and Pauline Madigan at IT Carlwo have put in huge work to making the dream of hosting the competition a reality.

“We’re in an ideal location,” says Meagher. “Local clubs and hurling people have give us huge support and it’s going to be a massive weekend of hurling and a great event for Carlow.”