Bord Gais Energy brought a group of young hurlers to Smithfield yesterday for a promotional event in support of next week’s Leinster and Munster Finals in the U20 All Ireland Championship to which their name has been attached for over a decade.
Rory O’Connor (Wexford), Jack Canning (Galway), Paudie Feehan (Tipperary) and Darragh Fitzgibbon (Cork) were in Token Arcade, in Smithfield, Dublin today ahead of the Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling U-21 Munster and Leinster Finals in which Wexford will face Galway and Cork will face Tipperary.
The Leinster decider will take place in O’ Moore Park, Portlaoise, while the Munster Final will be held in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork. Both games are scheduled to take place on Wednesday, July 4 with a 7.30pm throw-in.
The Rebels, after a 2017 U-21 Munster final defeat to Limerick, are looking forward to playing the final on home sod. 2007 was the last time Cork won the Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling U-21 Munster Championship, beating Waterford 1-20 to 0-10.
Current U-21 Munster and All-Ireland title holders, Limerick, missed out on a place in the final when Tipperary defeated them by a score-line of 1-22 to 1-13. The Premier County now look forward to making amends for their last Munster final outing in 2016 when they were defeated by Waterford.
Wexford had a close semi-final encounter with Dublin on their way to the final. It was the two goals scored by super-sub, Mikie Dwyer that pushed the side’s three-point victory. It was just last year when Wexford played in the provincial final and the young side were significantly beaten by an impressive Kilkenny team.
New Leinster contenders, Galway defeated Kilkenny at the semi-final stage. The Leinster campaign is unknown territory for these young Tribesmen who have only represented in the All-Ireland series at this level until 2018.
“Over the last number of weeks, we’ve enjoyed some incredible games in the Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling U-21 Championship series and we fully expect the upcoming Munster and Leinster Finals to deliver just that again,” said Managing Director (interim) at Bord Gáis Energy, Mark Prentice.
“A really big thank you to Paudie, Rory, Jack and Darragh for taking the time to be with us today and we wish them, their teammates and their management teams all the best in their games next Wednesday.”
The Senior Finals take place this Sunday in Croke Park and Semple Stadium with Bord Gais Energy sharing the title sponsorship rights with Littlewoods Ireland and Centra.
