On Sunday morning Shanbally played host to the eagerly awaited U16 D3 Hurling Championship Final vs. Kilbrittain. We had met each other twice earlier in the season, with a win each recorded, the most recent being in Kilbrittain where we were soundly beaten.

This match started in most unpleasant conditions, with a strong wind blowing down towards the dressing rooms. We started well enough but gradually Kilbrittain came into it, helped by two well taken goals. We had plenty of possession but were not as efficient as our opponents when it came to scoring, and were trailing by 5 points at half time.

We started the 2nd half positively, and despite missing a couple of chances scored a very good goal to get us going. Despite dominating possession for the next while, we didn’t score and conceded a number of frees, which were expertly converted by Kilbrittain’s impressive free taker.

The game was put on pause for a while, to allow medical attention to a Kilbrittain player who suffered an unfortunate knee injury – we pass on our best wishes and hope he has a speedy recovery.
Game restarted and the lads were really in the zone now, starting to convert their chances, cut out the silly frees and kicked for home. We held a 6 point lead in injury time, when we conceded a
penalty which was scored. Final whistle blew on the puck out.

Final score: Shamrocks 4-14, Kilbrittain 3-14

Sean Og Lynch accepted cup on behalf of the team. Thank you to our wonderful supporters who turned out in big numbers on a poor morning weather-wise, sponsor Denis Good (pictured) and to the FBI for hosting our celebrations later🎉