STARS OF ERIN will create history this Sunday when for the first time in their 117-year history, the Glencullen club will field an Adult Hurling team in competitive action for the first time.
Stars face St Kevin’s on home turf in Glencullen on Sunday (3pm), in a Division 9 South fixture, as the hurling leagues for 2020 get underway across the capital.
It’s an interesting pairing as the clubs also met in Stars’ first football fixture all those years ago.
Kevin’s have had hurling teams for several years but, until now, Stars have just concentrated on the small ball at juvenile levels.
It’s an exciting time for all concerned.
“It’s a result from a lot of hard work from the club and different mentors over the years,” player and hurling management member Lewis Mooney told Dublin Gazette.
“Eventually, the time was right to launch the men’s hurling team. Obviously, the club has grown over the years with various different coaching initiatives and teams and new people moving into the Stepaside area.
“We were fortunate enough in 2019 to win a junior football championship and that built a lot of momentum in the club.
“We felt the time was right to have a go at getting a hurling team up and running.”
A huge catalyst in helping the growth of the club in recent years has been the appointment of Gavin Weir as a Games Development Officer.
Coincidentally, Gavin is a passionate hurling man and is a current member of the Wicklow senior hurling team while he also plays with the famed Glenealy hurling club.
Stars’ adult hurling team isn’t a flash in the pan and is the result of a number of years developing the sport in the club at underage.
“We got a lot of kids into the club at different age levels,” Mooney said.
“A lot of their parents are former hurlers and they have moved up to Dublin for whatever reason and ended up in Stepaside.
“They’ve come in and they are willing to play and support the team if we are ever stuck.
“The way the football league is structured in Dublin, there can be a lot of stop-start games, especially in junior football, so there could be weeks where you wouldn’t have a game at all.
“We thought if we got the hurling team going, that would fill in some gaps between the football matches. That’s where we were thinking to keep the interest.”
Stars of Erin’s first ever game was against Ballinteer St John’s in a challenge game at Ballinteer Community School on Thursday, February 13 with BSJ winning by five points in the end.
“We put up a good fight, the score was 1-12 to 1-7,” Mooney said.
“It was a tight enough game. We played on the all-weather pitch so it was quite fast.”
Onwards and upwards for the small ball in Glencullen, and long may Stars of Erin prosper.
The club are always looking for new members to join up, and further information can be found on their website www.starsoferin.ie.
