It’s the Go Ahead Ireland Dublin hurling final this weekend.
A cross Liffey battle at Parnell Park, as Na Fianna and Kilmacud Crokes face off to be crowned Kings of the Capital. These sides have shared the last three Dublin titles between them, with the southsiders stopping their northside rivals in 2021 and 2022.
The Mobhi Road men are the defending champions however, having won a first ever senior title last year, and they did it style beating Ballyboden St Enda’s by 16 points in the decider.
They came through a much tougher semi-final a couple of weeks against neighbours St Vincent’s, coming out the right side of a 0-26 1-21 thriller which needed extra-time to separate the sides.
For defender Kevin Burke, it’s some of the side’s defeats in recent years that have turned them into such a difficult side to play against, with the triumph over the Marino men the very game they might have lost in the past.
“Winning last year, but the two losses in the previous years definitely built a lot of resilience in the team,” he told FM104 Sport in the build up to the game.
“In previous years we probably would have lost those kinds of games. We’ve built a great resilience in the last three or four years to get over the line in those sorts of games, which is great.”
Opponents Crokes are going for a fifth title since 2012, and their first in two years, with the club’s hurlers hoping to lift the mood around Stillorgan, after the footballers were beaten by Cuala in the county final last weekend.
“It’s exciting, it’s something I’ve dreamed of,” said Kilmacud’s Brendan Kenny ahead of his first ever senior Dublin decider.
“I’m playing with lads I’ve idolised growing up, the likes of Ronan Hayes, Alex Considine, Fergal Whitely, Oisin O’Rorke – they’re unbelievable hurlers.
“Being alongside them, learning from them and developing by pitching ourselves against them – we’re learning from the best. It’s a fantastic experience.
“Na Fianna, we know they’re going to present a very tough challenge. Last year they won, and we did it the last two years [before that]. There’s a serious rivalry there – a very healthy one – and we’re buzzing for it.”
These sides last met in the knockout stages in the 2023 quarter-final when Na Fianna won by the skin of their teeth against Crokes, 4-15 to 1-22.
The action is due to underway tomorrow evening at Parnell Park at 7:45.
