It is coming to the end of another year for the up and coming hurling stars of Carnmore. It has been a reasonably successful year for the club with good accounts given in the championship by all teams and with tournament wins in some grades. There has been a very good turn out for each of the under age groups and with the effort going in to coaching of the youngsters it augurs well for the future of hurling in Carnmore.
U8/U10
This group continue to work on their skills all year round with an excellent turnout at indoor hurling throughout the Winter and outdoor hurling in Summer. In 2001 they started their competitive outings with the Blitz in Renmore. Three teams were entered and all received medals. The U8 team coached by John Keane, Joe Fahey and Joe Hennessey and second U10 team with Andrew Talbot and Donal Devery winning their first encounters and the first U10 team coached by Sean Grealish and Gerry Fox winning all of their matches.
The U10 team then went to Limerick, to a very successfully run tournament which included teams from Waterford, Limerick and Galway. In a high calibre tournament which was run on a league basis and ran over two weekends a very enthusiastic Carnmore team finished an excellent second winning seven of their eight matches.
U12
A successful year for this group coached by John Carr, John Fox and assisted by Gerry Fox, Padraig Donohue and Joe Hennessey. This group trained indoor from the beginning of the new year and then went outdoor in the spring evenings. Their first competition came in the guise of the City League. This was a tremendous campaign reaching the final. Unfortunately it was not to be their year to claim City honours.
Following their exploits in the City League the team probably had a disappointing championship campaign losing out in the quarter final to Ardrahan.
Their day was to come in September when captain Danny Commins lifted the Liam Mellows tournament trophy beating the home team, Mellows in the final.
U13
The U13 team coached by Andrew Talbot and assisted by John Carr and Gerry Fox had a very promising start to their campaign with wins in the championship over Liam Mellows and Annaghdown. Unfortunately they failed to qualify for the Quarter Final losing to Clarinbridge and Ballindereen by only a single point. Roll on the U14 championship for this group of lads in 2002.
U14
The U14 team were coached by John Roche and assisted by John Feeney and Tom McDonagh. This panel probably lacked the strength in depth in terms of older lads for the age group and consequently had a very difficult championship. With some additions and moving to the U15 City League in September the team performed much better reaching the quarter final.
U16
With one of the strongest panels for some time at U16 there were great expectations at the start of the year when Pat McCartin and Pat Killilea took charge of the U16 panel. They were ably assisted by two of the senior stars, Declan Walsh and Declan O’Brien. This team charged through their group qualifying along with Sarsfields to reach a quarter final. In the quarter final their strength showed as they took care of Cappatagle as expected. The semi final against Ballindereen was an enthralling affair. The first game ended in a thrilling draw when either team could have stole it on the day. The replay was another epic encounter and again ended in a draw. The game went to extra time with captain Paul Doolin playing with an injury sustained during normal time. Carnmore went into an early lead but Ballindereen pegged them back. Points were exchanged, but then with a late flourish Balindereen won the day. The Carnmore side were very unlucky but for these young charges there will be other days!
Congrats
Congratulations to John Reilly and the Carnmore school team which won the Padraig Hynes Memorial trophy in October.
Presentations
The Club held a medal presentation night at the local Centre. It was a very well attended night and a very enjoyable night for all especially for the young guns who received medals. Noreen Hynes presented the medals for the Padraig Hynes Memorial Tournament to the Carnmore primary school team. Galway stars Declan O’Brien and Kevin Broderick presented the medals for the U10 Tournament in Limerick, the U12 City League R-Up and the U12 Mellows Tournament winners.
Thanks
The Juvenile Committee would like to thank all the people who helped with the club during the year. They would also like to thank the people that supported the Juvenile Club’s fund raising night out which turned out to be a great night in Grealish’s Lounge at the beginning of November. A special word of thanks to Helen for hosting the event for the club.
Indoor Hurling
Indoor Hurling continues through the Winter months on Wednesday nights at the Carnmore Centre. It will break for Christmas on the 12th December and resume on the 16th of January.
AGM
The AGM for the club will be held early in January, the date to be fixed.
