It must be breaking hearts across Leinster GAA but Dublin’s dominance of the inter county scene could be about to step up another gear this weekend as Cuala take on Kilkenny Champions O’Loughlin Gaels in the Leinster Final of the AIB Club Hurling Championship.
The South Dublin side came up short at the same stage last year against Oulart the Ballagh but they go into Sunday’s clash as slight favourites.
It promises to be some battle pitching city against country and youth against experience.
The sponsors brought Cuala’s Con O’Callaghan and O’Loughlin Gaels’s Martin Comerford together yesterday and whichever of those gets the upper hand against their respective markers on Sunday could well be the key to success.
O’Callaghan has scored five goals and six points in the two Cuala Leinster wins this season. He was unstoppable in the first round tie against the Champions of Laois and has thrived after joining up with the squad again having spent the main part of the season playing with the Dublin All Ireland Football Champions.
He is one of the many stars and heroic storylines that AIB can dial up as the Club season takes the spotlight. Cuala’s win was covered in the London Times last week and with Des Cahill of RTE a very prominent member of the club they are guaranteed another large dose of publicity this weekend.
One of the journalists writing for AIB’s club blog is Shane Stapleton who has sprung from the bench for Cuala in both Leinster games so far this season. He certainly has an insiders view of the Championship.
Colm Cooper is leading the publicity machine in Munster with Dr Crokes seeing off The Nire last Sunday while Dublin’s looming presence saw big city St Vincents brush aside the challenge of small town Mullinalaghta.
The Club Championship has risen in prominence again in recent years with AIB’s social media promotion of it being #TheToughest a key factor.
Making players readily available for national as well as local media raises the bar and with the Autumn Series Rugby Internationals now over this coming few days promises to deliver the biggest weekend of coverage to date both for the players and the brand behind the sponsorship.
