O’Byrne hat-trick completes fairytale journey for Burrin Celtic
Burrin Celtic celebrate after defeating Hanover Harps in the Paul Kirwan Memorial Youths Cup. Pic: © Michael O'Rourke Photography 2026
Burrin Celtic finished second from bottom in the Youths Division this season, having won just two games and losing six of their ten league games. That makes their cup triumph on Sunday all the more remarkable, especially when you factor in that they took out the top three in the league, St. Fiacc’s, Champions St. Joseph’s and Hanover en route to winning the trophy.
They mainly had Edward O’Byrne to thank, the Ballon youngster getting a hat-trick to rightfully pick up the Player of the Match award. The influence of the game by Charlie Clarke, son of senior team manager Des, cannot be underestimated either. He got two assists to set up O’Byrne; his appearances with the senior team undoubtedly helped him.
Burrin were able to call on the services of Clarke and Noah Cullen, who also played in the senior team throughout the cup run. They were unable to play during the season because Burrin's senior team plays on Saturday nights; the Youths' games are in the afternoons. They were also able to field a full team for the cup run, whereas throughout the season, they struggled to get a full team together, with Gaelic Football playing a big part in absentees.
The Paul Kirwan Memorial Youths Cup is a competition named after a youngster from Parkville who tragically lost his life when he suffered a heart attack during a game before losing his battle with life in hospital. So it’s almost fitting that a club from that area was the winner.
It was an even game; both sides created chances and exerted influence, but neither really dominated. Hanover probably had the most chances but couldn’t convert them. What the game really came down to was Burrin taking their chances and some heroic defending at times.
Hanover raced into an early lead. A corner from the left from Kyle Martin was swung in, and in a melee in the middle, it was knocked into the back of the net by Callum Martin.
It took Burrin seven minutes to get back into the game as Clarke played in O’Byrne down the right, and he fired his shot across the goal and in behind the Hanover keeper as he levelled the game.
Burrin went close to taking the lead as Clarke, down the left, played a ball into Freddie Gibson, but his effort was saved. Sean Hayden was played into space but fluffed his shot over the bar. A Martin Pawlak corner from the right saw Leon FitzGerald head just wide on the far side.
With nine minutes to go until half-time, Clarke down the right played in O’Byrne again who beat his marker and tapped the ball into an empty net with the Hanover ‘keeper having come off his line to deal with the danger.
Into the second half, a Hayden free from the edge of the box on the right was saved. O’Byrne went close to getting his hat-trick for Burrin when O’Byrne weaved in and out of the Hanover defence, dancing between defenders, only for the keeper to come and steal the ball. With 20 minutes to go, a Clarke corner from the right for Burrin saw Bobby Finn ricochet an effort off the post.
With eight minutes to go, Sean Hourihane managed to deflect a Kyle Martin over the bar with his head, but it just narrowly missed the top corner. Martin went close with an effort from close range from the right, but a good save from James Dowling in the Burrin goal denied him. Hayden found himself in space with four minutes to go, one-on-one with Dowling, but the keeper bravely came out of his line to deny the attacker.
In the final minute, Burrin were awarded a penalty. O’Byrne stepped up and completed his hat-trick, slamming the ball home into the bottom left-hand corner to ensure that Burrin’s fairytale story was complete.
Conor McDaid, Gavin McDermott, Callum Martin, Darren Barnes, Gael O’Rock, Peter Lynch, Kyle Martin, Leon FitzGerald, Sean Hayden, Martin Pawlak, Callum O’Brien Murphy. Subs: Ryan Brennan, Alex Evesson, Joao Hernandes, Solim Olowookere
James Dowling, Kyle Moloney, Luke Ruddock, Ben Curry, Sean Hourihane, Aaron Kelly, Freddie Gibson, Daire Nolan, Edward O’Byrne, Noah Cullen, Charlie Clarke. Subs: Bobby Finn, James Bergin, William Edward, Daniel Fernandez, Ryan Abbey, Eoin Fanning, Aryton Power.
Paul Hunston assisted by Nathan Bannon and Artur Bienko
