The 2016 Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling U-21 All-Ireland Championship was officially launched at an event in Kilmacud Crokes GAA Club in Dublin today.  The new line up of ambassadors for the competition were also introduced.  

The competition will get underway on May 25 when three quarter finals in the Leinster championship are played.  

Sponsors and longstanding supporters of this grade Bord Gáis Energy, welcomed back some familiar faces to the ambassador fold while introducing new members of the team.  Following in the footsteps of previous ambassadors such as Liam Rushe, Richie Hogan, Tony Kelly and Joe Canning are: Bobby Duggan (Clare), Patrick Collins (Cork), Ronan Maher (Tipperary), Conor Whelan (Galway), Conor McDonald (Wexford), Cian Lynch (Limerick), Austin Gleeson (Waterford), James Maher (Kilkenny), and Eoghan O’Donnell (Dublin).  This is Conor McDonald and Cian Lynch’s second year to represent their counties as ambassadors.  Ryan McCambridge was the Antrim representative at today’s launch.  

These ambassadors will play a crucial role in bringing the championship to life by sharing their perspectives of training, preparation and games through videos and blogs which will be hosted on BGEU21.ie website right throughout the season.  The website will also be the go-to source for match reviews, reports, news and lots of other information around the championship.

Bord Gáis Energy will continue to build on their social media activation around the games.  Fans will be able to access key match statistics from each ambassador after each game as well as highlights clips showing the best of the action which can be seen across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.  Watch out for #BGEU21.

TG4 will broadcast eleven games over the course of the 2015 Championship and fans will once again be able to nominate their Man of the Match via Twitter using the #LaochBGE hashtag during the live match broadcasts.

Speaking ahead of the launch Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael, Aogán Ó Fearghail said: “Bord Gáis Energy is a very committed sponsor and the recent announcement that they will continue for a further five years was extremely welcome. They play a key role in promoting the game and its players with fans all around the country.

“This championship provides some of the most memorable moments and matches year in year out and I’m looking forward to seeing what the 2016 edition throws up.”

Managing Director at Bord Gáis Energy, Dave Kirwan commented; “Everyone at Bord Gáis Energy is very proud of our association with the U21 championship. Its knockout nature, along with the passion and skill of the players, make hurling at this grade arguably the most exciting and unique to enjoy.  In the end it all comes down to one game, and that ensures every game counts.”

“We’re committed to creating an enjoyable experience for fans, the players’ families and their supporters.  We’ll focus on bringing them as close to the action as possible, whether that’s through presenting the Man of the Match awards on live television or getting behind the scenes updates on match days through our social media updates. Ultimately it’s all about the players and I wish our ambassadors and their teams the very best in the coming months.”

Ger Cunningham, Sports Ambassador at Bord Gáis Energy added, “We’ve a new trophy and new champions and the 2016 championship promises to be another mix of drama and excitement.  I think you just have to look back to last year to see how high the standard is and you could say that the senior championship was eclipsed by this grade in 2015.

“Limerick became the last team to win the Cross of Cashel Trophy in 2015.  They’ll now be doing all they can to become the first team to win the new Cup in 2016 but plenty of teams will be lining up to stop them.  It all gets underway on May 25 in Leinster and it will be a long, hard road before we know who will make it through to the Bord Gáis Energy GAA hurling U21 All-Ireland final in September.”