Dublin SHC Final: Kilmacud Crokes are back on top

PTSB Dublin senior hurling championship final

Kilmacud Crokes 2-17 Cuala 0-12

By Paul Keane at Parnell Park

So Kilmacud Crokes remain the last Dublin club to have secured a Dublin senior hurling and football double.

That was back in 2022 and neighbours Cuala, located just five miles down the road in the south of the county, arrived at Parnell Park this evening hopeful of matching the achievement, following their footballers' win at the same venue last weekend.

But from the moment that the excellent Brian Hayes pointed within 30 seconds of this wind and rain-bashed decider for Crokes, Cuala operated in their opponents' slipstream and never quite emerged from it.

Ronan Hayes' 1-6 haul, and another powerhouse midfield display by his brother Brian further out the pitch, helped drive the Stillorgan side to their first county win since that 2022 double.

The win caps a perfect campaign from Crokes who surged to their eighth win in a row since the start of this season's Championship - and neatly collected an eighth title in the club's history.

They had to dig deep to see off Lucan Sarsfields at the semi-final stage but outfought and out-thought Cuala in the showpiece, rising above the dreadful weather with an impressive performance.

A hungrier Crokes coped much better with the high winds and, at times, driving rain and restricted a talented Cuala side to just a dozen points, with only four of those coming from open play.

Dublin and Crokes goalkeeper Eddie Gibbons never looked like conceding a goal as Cuala battled in vain to capture their first title since 2020.

But Crokes raised green flags twice, Ronan Hayes and captain Oisín O'Rorke striking those vital majors.

Crokes will return to the AIB Leinster club SHC on November 8 when they play Carlow champions Mount Leinster Rangers in a quarter-final fixture at Netwatch Cullen Park.

Kilmacud, jointly managed by Paddy Linehan and John Dillon, played with the strong wind initially and did their best to build up a big lead.

They hit the interval with an eight-point advantage, 1-11 to 0-6, but the question was, would it be enough?

Finnian Donohoe, a dual player for Crokes, was one of two late additions to the Crokes lineup and picked off three first-half points from five attempts.

Ronan Hayes pilfered 1-3 in that period, capitalising on the stiff wind with a fourth minute goal when Gibbons' puckout rode the breeze all the way down to the Cuala goalmouth and broke kindly.

But Hayes also hit Crokes' first three wides, and miscued a free that dropped short, as the Glenalbyn side racked up seven wides in total in the opening half.

Conal Ó Riain drilled two of Crokes' other scores, both from long range while Dara Purcell, released from the Dublin panel ahead of the game, grabbed another.

Cuala, meanwhile, struggled to make any sort of impact on the scoreboard in the first half and found it next to impossible to penetrate the Crokes defence.

An early point attempt from the Dalkey side that dropped well short signalled just how stiff the wind into their face was. Later on, when Liam Murphy went for a point in the 22nd minute, the ball turned violently away from the post at the clubhouse end as the breeze intervened again.

Five of Cuala's six first-half points came from placed balls - free-takers Donal O'Shea and Murphy converted 0-2 and 0-3 respectively - and they didn't score from open play until the 29th minute.

Jamie Conroy, one of four dual players in the Cuala panel, and a goalscorer in the football final last weekend, fired that solitary point from play.

Eoghan O'Callaghan lined out in the full-back line for Cuala and was the only one of the dual players to actually start both finals.

It was Crokes' turn to struggle with the elements after the restart. Ó Riain had a pot shot from the right wing that curled away and struck the post. Caolán Conway had a point attempt soon after which dropped short.

Cuala responded with points from Murphy and O'Shea to cut the deficit to six.

A Cuala goal at that stage was required, to really ignite the contest. Instead, Crokes pinched a second themselves, against the run of play.

And it was a beauty as Brian Hayes darted through the centre, kept his head up and arrowed a pass away to his left at substitute O'Rorke who gathered possession and rifled to the net.

Ronan Hayes sniped a point in the 40th minute and now they led by double scores, 2-12 to 0-9.

It wasn't that Cuala didn't have the chances but five wides in the third quarter was costly.

And there was no reeling in Crokes in the final 15 minutes, quite the opposite in fact.

Alex Considine, Ronan Hayes again, O Riain and a jubilant Whitely all picked off further points for the men in purple who eased to success.

Kilmacud Crokes scorers: Ronan Hayes 1-6 (0-3f), Oisín O'Rorke 1-0, Conal Ó Riain 0-3, Finnian Donohoe 0-3, Fergal Whitely 0-2, Brian Hayes 0-1, Dara Purcell 0-1, Alex Considine 0-1.

Cuala scorers: Liam Murphy 0-5 (0-5f), Donal O'Shea 0-4 (0-3f), Jamie Conroy 0-1, Conor Groarke 0-1, Kevin Kirwan 0-1.

​Kilmacud Crokes: Eddie Gibbons; Ben Lynch, Brian Sheehy, David Lucey; Conal Ó Riain, Mark Grogan, Cian Ó Cathasaigh; Brian Hayes, Caolán Conway; Fergal Whitely, Brendan Kenny, Finnian Donohoe; Alex Considine, Ronan Hayes, Dara Purcell.

Subs: Oisín O'Rorke for Kenny h/t, G Veale for Donohoe 48, Padhraic Linehan for Conway 53, Seán Purcell for Considine 58.

Cuala: Seán Brennan; Eoghan O'Callaghan, Aodhán English, Cian O'Callaghan; Seán Moran, Conor Groarke, Diarmuid Ó Floinn; Jake Malone, Donal O'Shea; George O'Toole, Cillian Sheanon, Jamie Conroy; Conall O'Toole, Colm Cronin, Liam Murphy.

Subs: Kevin Kirwan for Sheanon 38, Stephen Roche for Malone 48, David Treacy for C O'Toole 55, Jack Twomey for Cronin 56, Adam Sheeran for O'Callaghan 63.

Referee: Sean Stack (Pobal Parnell).