On a beautiful sunny evening at St.Johns park the O'Loughlins u8s were out again..there's no stopping these guys, their appetite for the game increases as the summer rolls on. On this occasion it was neighbours Clara who took up the challenge. The close proximity of these these clubs pitted friend against friend and cousin against cousin but all the niceties were reserved for after the games
2 teams, 2 games and everyone gets to play. That's the ethos of our juvenile games and the happiness of these young lads is obvious from their performances. Excellent skills were on display again by both clubs it must be said. If you wanted to see ground striking it was there, rising, blocking hooking and strong tackles..all these skills were there in abundance.
We had goals, long range points, short distance points, side line cuts and all executed with perfection. Again parents and all onlookers were impressed by the standard of hurling on offer and all must agree that this group of players are very special. With their tails up and loads of momentum behind them they face a visit from Ballyragget next Thursday evening. Dicksboro, Freshford, Thomastown to mention but a few are all queueing up to take on our lads...and our boys are loving it. Keep it up lads!
Panel: Luke Hanrahan, Conor Murphy, Eoghan O'Brien, Eoghan O'Callaghan, Cormac Wall, Darragh Powell, Kirills Doubvijenko, Conor Farrell, Sean Morrissey, Daniel McCormack, Charlie Roberts, Sean O'Neill, Stephen Butler, Greg Kelly, Sean Falsey, Zach Evans, Ena Lawlor, David Balfour, Luke Quigley, Grace Sheridan, Eli O'Dwyer, Tadhg Kavanagh Dewberry.

Eoin Lawlor

Even after a late night at the dog track  an enthusiastic panel of u8s were on the road early again on Saturday morning to make the trip to a picturesque Thomastown GAA. Two teams faced the saffron blue jersey of Thomastown for a pulsating morning of hurling to whet the appetite of any hurling fans heading to Nowlan Park later in the evening to see Wexford and Waterford battle out to remain in this years All.-Ireland championship. The level of skill on display by these young hurlers was as high as you'll see on any pitch throughout the country. All players got full game time and relished every opportunity to play the ball. David Balfour was as industrious as ever in midfield. Zach Evans, Sean Falsey and  JJ Mooney gave good performances throughout both their matches.  Darragh Powell carried his good form from his performance earlier in the week. Michael Lambert was again exceptional in defence and Luke Quigley continues to improve at every opportunity he gets. Well done Luke and keep it going!
Luke Hanrahan, Stephen Butler, Greg Kelly and Eoghan O'Brien as always gave 100% and made life very difficult for the Thomastown defence. Conor Farrell demonstrated acts of bravery in the O'Loughlins defence that stifled the Thomastown attack on more than one occasion. Such defending allows the scores to come easy up front and Cormac Wall took his goal well when the opportunity arose. Sean O'Neill, Sean Morrissey and newcomer Tadgh Kavanagh Dewbury were all eager to attack the ball. The interlink play between all these players demonstrates to us that a great team is forming and will be a force to be reckoned with in future years. A big thankyou from the club to all the players and their families for their continued commitment. A big thanks also to Thomastown GAA and we look forward to a return fixture in a few weeks time. More games are scheduled over the next few weeks.
Panel: Kirrills Doubvjenko, Zach Evans, Sean Falsey, Michael Lambert, Darragh Powell, Sean Morrissey, Luke Quigley, Eoghan O'Brien, Cormac Wall, Luke Hanrahan, Harry Nolan, Stephen Butler, Greg Kelly, David Balfour, Conor Farrell, Sean O'Neill, Tadgh Kavanagh Dewberry, James Houlihan, JJMooney.

Eoin Lawlor

A cavalcade of cars headed to Ballyragget on Wednesday evening carrying players, family and supporters to see the young O'Loughlin lads take on their Ballyragget counterparts.
This was a mighty affair with both teams going at it right from the start. Ground hurling for the first half meant that close challenges were plentiful with neither team allowing the other any advantage. Newcomer Luke Quigley put in plenty of work in defence to prevent Ballyragget from taking full advantage of the early exchanges. Aided and abetted in defence by Zach Evans they steadied the ship and this allowed the platform for Stephen Butler, Luke Hanrahan, Adam Quigley and Daniel Byrne to peg back Ballyragget's early lead to make it 3 goals apiece at the half time break.
An inspirational half time talk from guest assistant manager u12 star Sean Lawlor, set up the players for a blistering performance in the second half. Greg Kelly brought his form from the training field to the match and was outstanding throughout the remainder of the game. He won ball at every challenge he made and delivered it effectively to the forwards for them to act upon. Like hungry dogs they snatched at every chance and made every attack count with a score. Eoghan O'Brien dazzled up front, and along with Daniel McCormack, Sean O'Neill and Sean Morrissey they all contributed positively to a fine team performance. Michael Lambert too was exceptional and continues to demonstrate he has the appetite to succeed in this code.
The teams display was epitomised by the work rate and endurance of the ever solid Darragh Powell and Eoghan O'Callaghan. The score of the evening coming from the aforementioned Eoghan O'Callaghan when he pointed from  a placed ball he himself had been awarded after shifting a very hefty challenge from the Ballyragget centre back.
A great display by a team that is making massive progress as the Summer moves on. The supporters who travelled were not disappointed and eagerly await further games in the coming weeks away to Thomastown, a home visit by Clara, the return visit of Ballyragget and an invite to Freshford to a day blitz. Busy times ahead for the u8s and enjoying every bit of it!

Eoin Lawlor

U8s were out again last Thursday evening in St. John's Park. Three teams took on a Freshford side for a competitive and sporting evening of hurling witnessed by a healthy contingent of parents and onlookers who had been there from earlier events in the club. Its always good for young players to see supporters on the sideline for their games and the interest in up and coming players is always very evident around the O'Loughlins grounds especially when you see u16 players and parents hang around to watch even though they had endured an hour of hard training themselves.
Our boys didn't leave them doubting about the clubs future and put in some stellar performances from goal to full forward. Every player showed that they're not there just to make up numbers. Continued commitment to training makes for exciting and enjoyable play when it comes to games. And that was very obviously the attitude taken by several players considering the performances they put in against Freshford. The workrate of Luke Hanrahan, Greg Kelly, Zac Evans was phenomenal on pitch 3. The two Daniels, Byrne and McCormack, along with Eoghan O'Brien, Eoghan O'Callaghan, Sean Morrissey and Sean Falsey continue to be influential in their matches. Luke Lawlor, Charlie Roberts, continue to improve with every outing.
A big thanks to Freshford GAA for coming in to us on such a wet evening. A return trip has been promised for the end of August and we're looking forward to that very much.
A big thanks again to all the players and parents for their continued commitment. Because of that and with regular training and practice these lads will be serious hurlers for O'Loughlins in the future. Further matches are scheduled next week and training continues on Thursday evenings at 6.30pm and Sundays at 10.30am.

Our U8 boys paid a visit to city rivals James Stephens on Saturday morning last to face that now all too familiar red and green jersey. Although numerically disadvantaged on the pitch the lads challenged hard for every ball. One sniff of the sliotars' leather and the O'Loughlin's boys were in like Flynn. Strong challenges from Greg Kelly, Sean Falsey, Cormac Wall, Conor Murphy on Team Bán proved too much for the opposition on numerous occasions. Luke Hanrahan, Stephen Butler, Kirills Dovbijenko, Eoghan O'Callaghan were all relentless for Team Glas and their Village counterparts found them difficult to handle. Overall the O'Loughlins boys played like young men right through the two match challenge and were out on their feet when the final whistles sounded.
The coaches, parents and all present from both clubs were very impressed with our boys performances, conduct and attitude throughout and the O'Loughlins Gaels GAA club wishes to express our gratitude to the players for their excellent representation of our club. They may walk tall with their heads held high. They certainly are a good bunch of players for the future. Training continues Thursdays at 6.30pm and Sundays at 10.30am and more matches throughout the Summer.
Panel: JJ Mooney, Sean Morrissey, Conor Murphy, Luke Hanrahan, Eoghan O'Callaghan, Cormac Wall, Fearghal Powell, Stephen Butler, Zach Evans, Kirills Dovbijenko, Greg Kelly, Sean Falsey, Luke Lawlor, Patryk Iwasuik.

Eoin Lawlor