St Kieran’s College 2-22 Dublin North 1-10 

 On another blustery day in Laois Educate Together Centre of Excellence St Kieran’s College progressed to the Final of the Top Oil Corn Ui Dhuill “A” Hurling Championship. Dublin North were seeking to retain their crown but came up short against the strong Kilkenny outfit. 

The start would not have gone the way the Marble City men had planned as Dublin North got the upper hand early on. Things looked to be going from bad to worse when Diarmaid Breslin pounced to grab a 16th minute goal for the reigning champions. This was a feat he had also pulled off in the quarter final against Good Counsel and left them 1-04 to 0-04 up utilizing a strong wind to their advantage. This seemed to jolt the Kieran’s men into life, as a result the North siders did not register another score for the remainder of the half. Substitute Cian Kenny made an instant impact with a fine individual goal and man of the moment Eoin Cody registered 7 points to leave the Kilkenny side 1-12 to 1-04 up at the break. 

A quick start after the break was required if Dublin North held any hope of making the final. However, St Kieran’s proceeded to dominate as before. Cody was continuing to find his mark while David Blanchfield and half forward Eoghan Moylan added to the tally. Then the decisive blow came when corner forward Conor Kelly picked up the ball and embarked on a mazy solo run that resulted in the Kilkenny men’s second goal of the day. This as good as wrapped up the tie. The Dublin side to their credit kept battling till the end and registered 6 points in the final quarter with substitute Cillian Hayes grabbing two of these.  

For Kieran’s they will now look forward to a clash with Colaiste Eoin in the Final. The platform given to them by their half back line of Darragh Corcoran, Conor Murphy and Killian Egan was key to today’s victory, while at full back Padraig O’Neill was immense and sniffed out any danger at a moment’s notice. Up front they continue to score at will with Cody, Kelly and Brennan looking sharp once again and now with the addition of Kenny off the bench they will certainly look to trouble Colaiste Eoin from the start.