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Feile na nGael 2006

Feile Na nGael weekend.

Massive crowds attended the games at Church Road played in beautiful sunshine. A huge effort organised by the Juvenile Committee, under Eamonn O'Donoghue coped admirably with the logistics of organising this huge event. Our thanks go to the many dozens of volunteers from all sections of the club who put in so much time and committment to ensure the superb operation of the Feile.

Our thanks also to our old friends from Durlas Og, led by Club Chairman Tom Meehan and Secretary Andy Ryan who contributed enormously to the fantastic sporting and social weekend in which old friendships were renewed and many more established.

The Blackrock National Hurling Club was especially honoured by the visit of Nicky Brennan, Uachtaran Cumann Luth Cleas Gael to Blackrock on Saturday evening which was a major highlight of the weekend. The President was presented with a commemorative bowl by Mr. Tom O'Sullivan Chairman Blackrock Hurling Club. In the course of his speech, he reminded the audience that the G.A.A. club was " the very heart and soul of the Association and must always be so"

click here for pictures of the visit by the President

Mr Frank Murphy Chairman Blackrock Board of Management expressed his deep appreciation to the President for visiting the club, despite his hectic weekend schedule.

The occasion was also honoured by the presence of Pat Stakelum, President of the Durlas Og Hurling Club. In a special surprise for one of the most famous Tipperary hurlers of all time, Eamonn O'Donoghue made a lovely presentation of an inscribed crystal plate to Pat as a momento of his visit to Blackrock.

Described later by Jimmy Brohan as a boyhood hero of his, Pat, is a sprightly 79 years old and captained Tipperary to All-Ireland success in 1949, the first of a three-in-a-row for Tipperary. He also participated in the famous victory over Cork in the 1949 Munster Final and took part in the epic Cork-Tipp clashes over the following years which cemented the unique rivalry and mutual respect between the tow counties. He attibuted his ongoing active participation in the affairs of Durlas Og to the following dictum "If you want to keep young, work with young people". The unassuming gentleman, Pat Stakelum can truly be described as unique in his contribution to hurling and to the G.A.A.

click here for pictures of the presentation to Pat Stakelum

Results of Feile.

Friday 16th June.

Blackrock 2 - 2 Durlas Og 1 - 2

This was a very close contest with scores at an absolute premium and Feile nerves to the fore as both teams never really got going. Scorers for Blackrock were Donal Cremin (1 - 0) Jamie Cullen (1 - 0) and Eoin O'Meara (0 - 2)

Saturday 17th June.

Blackrock 1 - 3 Adare 2 - 3

A match that could have gone either way, but Adare proved themselves stronger in the second half. Again exchanges were very tight with little open hurling on display as the Rockies fought very hard to overcome the early lead built up by Adare. Scorers for Blackrock were Jamie Cullen (1 - 0) Eoin o'Meara (0 - 2f) and John Fitzgerald (0 - 1).

Blackrock 3 - 3 St Finbarrs 2 - 1

This was a fine competitive match with some good hurling as both clubs went all out to win the points. Blackrock's ability to convert their goal chances eventually proved the key factor in determining the outcome. Scorers for Blackrock; Kevin O'Keeffe (1 - 0), Donal Cremin (1 - 0), Jamie Cullen (1 - 0), David O'Leary (0 - 1 and Eoin O'Meara (0 - 1)

Blackrock, Adare and Durlas Og all finished on four points, however Adare's superior scoring proved decisive as they went into the quarter final.