Lucan Sarsfield’s Club Notes 

All Ireland Camogie Semi Final 

Best of luck to Amy Gorman, Laura Sharkey, Aoife Mckearney, Emma Flanagan and Mia Farrell in their All Ireland semi-final against Cork on the 27th of July. This match is in UPMC Nowlan Park and throwing in at 13:15. We are encouraging all our members to make the short trip to Kilkenny and support the girls in blue. This is a massive achievement for the team who before this year had only reached the semi-final twice since 1990. A particulary proud day for our club to have 5 players flying the Lucan flag on the team.  

Tickets for the match can be purchased via universe.com  

We are running a bus from the club for this match. Contact 0857468846 to book your spot, there are only several spaces left.  

Lotto 

We had no winner of last week’s lotto jackpot of €5,000 

The Numbers were 6, 17, 27, 28 

The lucky dip prizes go to Eddie Keogh, Mick Roche, Alan Murphy, John O’Connor and Bridie Burke. 

This week’s Lotto will be for a jackpot of €5,400. The draw is sponsored by O’Gradys Hearing Care Services and will be led by Edel Mooney. 

Planning Permission 

Planning permission for a new ball wall and the extension of our juvenile pitch into a full-size all-weather pitch has been submitted to South Dublin County Council. 
 
Planning permission has been posted at the entrance, exit and turn into the clubhouse. 
 
Lots of hard work and fundraising over the years has gotten us to this stage in our development plans. A special word of appreciation to Colm Farrell who has worked tirelessly to get these plans submitted. 

Hurling 

We had five adult teams in championship action this weekend and we broke even overall with two wins, a draw and two losses.  Our seniors travelled to O'Toole Park to face Cuala in the senior championship and it finished honours even.  Our Intermediates lost out narrowly to Scoil Ui Chonaill.  The Junior As and Junior Bs had good wins over Skerries and Craobh Chiarain respectively, while the Junior Cs lost out to St Kevins Killian's.  See match reports below.  All our teams remain in contention to progress after two rounds of the championship.  There is a break now until the next championship weekend on August 16th/17th/18th. 

Senior Hurling Championship: Lucan Sarsfields 1-16. Cuala 0-19 

O'Toole Park, Saturday 20/7/2024. 

A draw was probably a fair result at the end of this tight and tense encounter in O'Toole Park.  Neither team showed very much fluency as the exchanges were intense with both defences largely on top.  Lucan started well and were 0-7 to 0-2 up after 20 minutes largely due to Ben Coffey converted frees and points from play from Coffey, Matt Coogan and Ciaran Dowling.  Cuala then hit a purple patch with four scores on the trot to leave just one between them by the 28th minute.   Both sides added 1 more and it was 0-8 to 0-7 for Lucan at half-time.  Cuala quickly levelled and it was still level at 0-11 each after 40 minutes.  Cuala then edged ahead and were one up, 0-16 to 0-15 by the 58th minute, when Lucan were awarded a penalty.  Ben Coffey expertly converted it to give Lucan a two-point advantage as the 60 minutes approached.  Cuala battled back again and edged the final few minutes to level the game at 0-19 to 1-16.  Ben Coffey was the outstanding forward for Lucan while John Bellew led the defence very well.  Overall, it was a decent performance in their first championship for Lucan against a very competitive Cuala team, but improvement will certainly be needed to progress in the championship. 

Lucan team/scorers:  S McClelland, S Coffey, P Rigney, L Walsh, C Crummey, J Bellew, M McCaffrey, R Ward, K Fitzgerald, C Walsh (0-1), B Coffey (1-11, 0-6f, 1-0 pen), M Coogan (0-1), C Dowling (0-2), P Crummey, R Smith (0-1).  Subs introduced; D Flannery, C Stritch.  

Inter Hurling Championship:  Lucan Sarsfields 1-15 Scoil Ui Chonaill  2-14. 

12th Lock, Saturday 20/7/24. 

In a thrilling encounter between Lucan Sarsfields and Scoil Ui Chonaill, the match was characterized by strategic play and strong defensive efforts from both sides, culminating in a close finish with Scoil Ui Chonaill edging out Lucan Sarsfields with a final score of 2-14 to 1-15.  The game started with Scoil Ui Chonaill taking the lead with a point from play, which was quickly matched by Lucan Sarsfields. Scoil continued to press, capitalizing on free opportunities to extend their lead. Lucan's defensive resilience was evident, though, as they managed to limit Scoil's scoring chances and countered with points of their own from play.  Darragh Meehan and Ruairi Gleeson from Lucan were notable in their efforts, consistently breaking through Scoil's defence to score from play. However, Scoil's ability to convert their chances was the key difference in the first half, highlighted by a well-taken goal from play. Despite some missed opportunities, Lucan managed to stay in the game, finishing the half trailing by just three points, 2-5 to 0-8. 
 
The second half saw a continuation of the intense defensive battles, with both teams showing tactical discipline. Joey Dunne's accurate free taking for Lucan kept them in contention, while Charlie Mulqueen's goal from play brought them within touching distance of Scoil. The teams traded points, with Colm Keenan adding to Lucan's tally, but Scoil's consistency in converting from play and frees ensured they maintained their slim lead.  Lucan's defence worked tirelessly to stymie Scoil's forward movements with notable efforts from Anto McNulty, but Scoil's forwards found ways to score crucial points. Despite Lucan's best efforts and a series of points from Joey Dunne and Bren Kavanagh, Scoil's disciplined play allowed them to hold on to their lead until the final whistle. 
 
In the end, Scoil Ui Chonaill's ability to capitalize on their scoring opportunities, coupled with their strong defensive play, proved decisive. Lucan Sarsfields demonstrated commendable resilience but ultimately fell just short with work on handling and securing possession required. The final scoreline of 2-14 to 1-15 reflects the closely contested nature of the match, with both teams delivering an impressive display of skill and strategy. 
 
Lucan Team and Scorers:  Cathal Doody, Philip Smith, Rob Twomey, Paul Claffey, James Finn, Luke Murphy, Anthony McNulty, Mark Gormley, Eoghan O’Connor, Colm Keenan 0-2, Ruairi Gleeson 0-2, Joey Dunne 0-6 (4f), Darragh Meehan 0-3, Brendan Kavanagh 0-2, Charlie Mulqueen 1-0.  Subs: Conor Hylands, Gavin Millea, David Kavanagh, Paddy Ryan, Sean Langton, Sean O Neill. 

Junior A Hurling Championship:  Skerries 2-10 Lucan Sarsfields 0-22. 

Skerries, Sunday 21/7/24. 

This All-Ireland Sunday curtain-raiser was a very entertaining game highlighted by an outstanding scoring feat from Lucan's Ciaran Keane who scored 16 points, including 11 from play.  After a closely contested opening quarter that had the team's level at 5 points each after 15 minutes, Lucan gradually took control and scored seven consecutive points to lead 0-13 to 0-6 at half time.  A dominant defence led by Alan Byrne and Johnny McCaffrey provided the platform for the forwards to capitalise.   Nine of those first half points came from Keane (0-5f) with other good scores from Gareth Kennedy, Paddy Brennan, Evan Lombard and Cathal Geraghty.  The game took a dramatic turn early in the second half when Skerris got two goals in quick succession and there was only a point between the sides, 0-15 to 2-8 after 38 minutes.  Lucan gradually reasserted control with some great linkups play between Keane and Lombard in the forward line.   Lucan were 4 ahead again by the 45th minute and ran out relatively comfortable winners in the end with Keane adding the final couple of scores to bring his tally to 16. 

Lucan team/scorers:  L Finnerty, J Doyle, A Byrne, D Walsh, M May, J McCaffrey, M Young, A Hickey, C O'Maolmhána , E Conheady, E Lombard (0-1), C Keane (0-16, 0-5f), C Heraghty (0-2), P Brennan (0-2), G Kennedy (0-1).  Subs introduced; A Roche, B McGarry.    

Junior B Hurling Championship, Lucan 4-20, Craobh Chiaran 1-11.   
Lucan "B" hurlers made it two from two in their second game of the Junior "F" hurling championship at 12th Lock on Friday evening with a comfortable win over Craobh Chiaran. This was the second meeting of the teams within the space of three weeks with Lucan securing promotion with a win in their recent league match over the same opposition then. However, this was a much-improved Craobh side, and it wasn't until the second half that Lucan gained the upper hand to eventually run out easy winners.  Before the game, the team made a presentation to Mick Heavey of Fitzpatrick & Heavey Homes of a framed jersey to mark Mick's generous sponsorship of a new set of team jerseys. (pictured below) The team and management are very grateful to Mick and his fellow director Ciaran Fitzpatrick for their generous sponsorship.   

Having elected to play with the fresh breeze, early scores from Dan Barry Murphy, Adam Whyte and Jake Mooney settled the nerves but the visitors showed their intent when they scored the first goal of the game and at one stage held an early lead. However fine teamwork say Kevin Gormley burst throw for a well taken goal. Shortly afterwards Niall Higgins was alert to a mistake by their full back and he capitalised with the home sided second goal.  The visitors' forwards were giving Lucan plenty to think about at the back and it took strong defensive performances from Tiernan Swords, James Mullins, Ryan Dillon in the full back line to keep them in check. Outside of them Liam Farrell, Kian Quinn and Conor Mulqueen all put in strong performances. Eoin Power took up where he left off in the first game chipping in with two points and Adam Duffy was his accuracy from frees.  

At the break the home side held a 9-point lead.  Upon the resumption the scoring rate dropped but Lucan kept the scoreboard ticking over with further scores from Adam, Dan Barry and Ross Campion who was introduced at half time. Lucan introduced fresh legs early in the second half. Towering Eoin Kilduff showed his versatility switching between football and hurling with some great high catches and generally causing panic in the Craobh defence. Ross crashed home our third goal and Eoin Power reacted quickest to a breaking ball to finish to the net.  A Cian Ryan point completed the scoring with a fine point to cap off another fine outing at midfield.  

The team now have a 4-week break before their next match in mid-August with an away fixture in Crokes. We hope to kick on in our remaining three matches.  

Lucan team: F. Heran,  T. Swords, J. Mullins, D.Ryan , C. Mulqueen,  K. Quinn L. Farrell , K. Gormley, (1-2) C. Ryan, (0-1)  A. Duffy, (0-4) A. Whyte,(0-1) J. Mooney,(0-1 )  DB. Murphy, (0-7)  N. Higgins (1-0)  E. Power, (1-2) E. Kilduff, (1-1) . R. Campion. (1-1) D. Quinn. A. Glover. 

Camogie 

Our U12 camogie team travelled to Páirc Tailteann over the weekend and took part in the Camán to Leinster Blitz. This was a blitz to commemorate the first official camogie match which was played 120 years ago. The girls proudly represented the club in their three matches, well done to all involved.  

Summer Camps  

Our summer camps are still open for registration. These camps are open to both members and non-members who are in primary school (either starting in September or just finishing). All camps will be dual sport (Football and Camogie/Hurling). Make sure to register soon for the club camps as places are limited. Places can be booked via the club website by searching ‘Lucan Sarsfields Summer Camps’   

Club Camp: 5th – 9th August (This camp includes a trip to Croke Park!) 

Club Camp: 12th - 16th August 

County 

Best of luck to Rebecca O’Reilly, Sophie McIntyre and the Dublin U20 Ladies Footballers who face Meath in the Leinster Final on the 25th of July. The match will throw in at 7.30pm in Kilcock GAA Club. 

Well done to Jack Mills who represented Dublin against Scotland in a compromise hurling/shinty match in Parnell Park on Monday. 

Thank You for supporting Lucan Sarsfields GAA Club.