Leinster hurling titles don’t usually reside too far away from Kilkenny but yesterday, a school just inside the Carlow border bucked that trend as Colaiste Eoin (Hacketstown) showed they are well able to mix it with the best of them as they captured the South Leinster Schools Senior Hurling Title with a 3-12 to 0-13 win over the combined forces of two Kilkenny Schools, Duiske College & Colaiste Pobail Osraí in a thrilling final.
The manner of the win was testament to the grit and determination of these lads and the work of their coaches both in their respective clubs and in their school with their conditioning and composure and abundance of skill proving to be a winning combination in the last 10 minutes where they trailed by 2 but found their killer instinct to turn over the Kilkenny men with 8 points the winning margin when the final whistle sounded.
Despite being a Carlow school the majority of the squad was backboned by Garden County Hurlers with no less than 5 Wicklow clubs represented by 20 Wicklow lads in the lineup alongside 5 Carlow men who all now have a Leinster medal to add to the collection. A lot of these names already are and will most definitely feature strongly in Wicklow Squads and on the Wicklow club scene so take note of these names as these lads will be instrumental in the fortunes of Wicklow hurling for many years to come.
Kiltegan
Matthew Jackson
Christopher O Toole
Davin Tallon
James Boland (0-1)
Jack O’ Toole (0-7)
Conor Boland (2-3)
Noah Hayes
Josh Byrne
Conor O’ Toole
Eoin Tallon
Knockananna
John Murphy
Adam Kinsella
Mark Kinsella (1-0)
Jack Whelan
Ballymanus
Malachy Byrne
Liam McRae
Callum McRae
Conall Harmon
Clonmore
Aaron Kelly (0-1)
Conall Cullen
Darragh Cullen
Lewis McDonnell
Conor Forde
Coolkenno
Patrick O Byrne
Aughrim
Corey O Toole