Hurling

Celtic Challenge down to the quarter-finals

26 April 2023 - 3:19PM

In attendance, from left, are Aiste Petraityte, Wicklow Gold hurler Feilim Lynch Ward, Sarah Sharkey, Kilkenny hurler Darragh Corcoran, Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Larry McCarthy and Wicklow Blue hurler Finian Hughes at the 2023 Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge launch at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

By John Harrington

After a keenly contested group phase, the Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge is now down to the knock-out quarter-final stage which will be played on Saturday, May 6.

The ethos of the Celtic Challenge is a developmental one, which is why every team that competed in the Group phase also play in the five divisional quarter-finals.

The value of getting as many competitive matches as possible can’t be underestimated, especially for young hurlers in developing counties who may not have the same extensive games programme that those in traditional hurling counties do.

Regional Hurling Development Officer for Cavan, Patrick Delaney, has seen at first hand the positive impact competing in the Celtic Challenge has had on young hurlers in his native county.

“It's been a really beneficial competition for hurling in Cavan,” Delaney told GAA.ie. “Our U-17s won it two years ago and most of those boys kept playing hurling afterwards because that experience would have been such a positive one.

“Normally you would lose a lot of lads after U-17, but because they got that bit of success they kept at it and now most of them are playing with our U-20s this year who actually won the Ulster Development League.

“That's the first time we've every done that, Cavan would never have had an U-20 team capable of doing it.

“My young fella, Rian, who scored the winning point for Cavan in the Division 3B League Final this year was playing on that team that won the Celtic Challenge two years ago so I've seen at first hand how the Celtic Challenge kept the buzz going for him and his friends.

“Hopefully success will breed success and we can keep hurling going from strength to strength in the county.”

Some of the Cavan players who won the Celtic Challenge Corn Tom Hogan in 2021.

Those working at the coal-face of hurling development in counties with little tradition of the game will all tell you that the key to growing hurling is to provide a meaningful games programme.

That’s what competitions like the Celtic Challenge and Táin Óg League have done in recent years which is why we’re starting to see hurling green-shoots sprout up all over parts of the country which were previous fallow land for the game.

“The more games these boys get when they're younger, the more it brings them on,” says Delaney. “It's about constant progression.

“The more exposure they get to competitive matches at this level, the better they'll get.

“The boys who were on the Celtic Challenge team two years ago and are on the County U-20 team now, they're a different breed of Cavan hurler.

“They're more skilful and technical and they want to win more. They don't go out onto the field accepting that they're going to be beaten. I think there's more pride in the Cavan jersey now because of the Celtic Challenge.

“We have made progress as a county, but we need to keep trying to develop our younger players as much as possible and get them more technical and skilful.

“Competitions like the Celtic Challenge and the Táin Óg has helped that in a big way because it guarantees games, which is what young players are crying out for. I'd rather have a game than three or four training sessions, they bring players on better.

“Hopefully these competitions keep growing and growing and the weaker counties get the games they need.”