Everything went to plan for Dublin GAA sides over the weekend.
Na Fianna can look forward to their second Leinster hurling final on the bounce on Saturday after they beat St Martin’s of Wexford yesterday at Parnell Park by 1-16 to 15 points.
Substitute Sean Ryan’s late goal moved the Mobhi Road men ahead with just over five minutes to play and they finished strongly with Donal Burke and top scorer Colin Currie adding late points to see out the game.
Defender Liam Rushe says they did what they had to do in tough conditions.
“It turned out exactly as we expected,” Liam Rushe told FM104 Sport after the game.
“There’s been a few football matches… last night, Cuala played here. I think they rolled the pitch today, it was like an ice rink.
“So we knew what to expect. Then with all the rain and the wind today you saw was it, did we get 15 scores, and they got 11 or 12? It was like a football match.
“So look, that’s what it was. We’re happy to come out on top. [We’ve] a hell of a lot to work on. We hardly strung four or five moves together in the whole match. It gives us plenty to work on but a final to look forward to now.”
After coming up just short against Kilkenny’s O’Loughlin Gaels in last year’s final, Offaly outfit Kilcormac-Killoughey will stand in their way in Saturday’s decider at Croke Park.
For Rushe, it’s a game that could go either way against a side that have appeared in the three finals since 2012.
“I wouldn’t have us as favorites at all,” he continued.
“They’re a very strong team. Going back, their club has an incredible amount of experience in these finals. They’ve played in a couple of them in recent memory.
“We know they’re a very strong side. [Adam] Screeney there, and a couple of other young lads that came through that were on that Offaly U20s team that won the All-Ireland.
“It’s going to be a tough game and tough to turn it around in six days, but we’ll do our best.”
Also heading for Croker this weekend will be the Cuala footballers, who got past Tullamore in the Leinster semi-final on Saturday evening.
Peter Duffy’s goal was a critical score in the 1-10 to 10 points win, while Con O’Callaghan also hit four points with St. Mary’s, Ardee awaiting in the final.
The last time two clubs from the same county won the senior Leinster hurling and football titles in the same year was 2016. The Dalkey club were involved then, but it was their hurlers who claimed provincial honours, alongside the footballers of St Vincent’s.
There’s a chance of another great night for Gaelic games in the capital on Saturday.
FM104 is official media partner of Dublin GAA.
