Come and Join the Hurling Revolution In South & East Belfast
Bredagh senior hurlers celebrating 2007
Down JHC victory
There has always been
a strong tradition of hurling in North
and West Belfast but until very recently
the ancient game was never played to
any great degree in other parts of the
City
However, all that is
now beginning to change with the revival
of hurling in South & East Belfast
by Bredagh GAC who play their games
at Cherryvale Playing Fields on the
Ravenhill Road.
The popularity of hurling,
the fastest field game in the world,
has grown rapidly in the area since
its introduction by Bredagh in 2002
at juvenile level. A senior side entered
the Down leagues in 2005 and in this
short period of time there’s been
a meteoric rise in hurling interest
around the Ravenhill Road area of the
City. Every night, during the summer
months, you can witness numerous players
of all ages pucking the sliothar around
Cherryvale Playing fields, the likes
of which has never been seen before
in this part of Belfast. The Bredagh
club field teams at under 8, 10, 12,
14, 16, minor and senior level.
Great Down hurlers
of the past such as Danny Hughes and
Lorenzo McMullan have been instrumental
in laying the foundation of the sport
in the area, helped in no small way
by a proactive Bredagh youth policy
led by Jerome Quinn. These men have
been joined by Antrim stalwarts from
hurling strongholds in North Antrim,
Belfast and other parts of Ulster to
coach the young South & East Belfast
lads in the fine art of the caman.
Former Rossa stalwart
Rory Galway and North Antrim men, Ciaran
Donnelly and Eamon Mulvenna, from Ballycastle
and Glenarm respectively, got the senior
hurling team off the ground in 2005,
won the Ulster Division 3 league in
2006 and had a magnificent 2007 winning
the Down JHC, Down Division 2 league
and getting to the Ulster JHC semi-final,
an outstanding achievement in 3 short
years.
The Club are now gearing
up for a major step change as former
Antrim, Down and Ulster hurling manager,
Sean McGuinness, has agreed to become
Bredagh's senior hurling manager for
the 2008 season. The Patrick Sarsfield's
clubman has taken up the reins from
1st January 2008 and will be assisted
by his son Colm, who will take on much
of the on-field coaching. Colm has recently
been coaching the Sarsfield's senior
hurlers and took them to promotion to
Division 1 of the Antrim hurling leagues.
Sean said “I
have been approached a number of times
in recent years to coach and manage
Clubs and Counties but I haven’t
been tempted to move outside my own
club, Sarsfields. That changed when
Bredagh Chairman, Paul Blaney, and Danny
Hughes, who played for me when I managed
Down, approached me about becoming involved
with Bredagh - their argument was a
very compelling one”
“Hurling in this
area of Belfast has been a bit of a
sleeping giant, Bredagh have awakened
the beast and the challenge to work
with a young up and coming club and
help develop and improve hurling in
the area was just too tempting a prospect
not to take on. Indeed, it was a privilege
to be asked by Paul and Danny to take
over the management of the Bredagh senior
hurling team.”
“The first signs
have been good with over 50 players
committing to the squad for 2008. That
might sound like a lot but we will need
them all and more as we intend to participate
in the Ulster, Antrim and Down leagues
during 2008. I know there are strong
hurling people who live in the area
and maybe they hung up the boots or
lost contact with the sport since moving
from their home clubs to this part of
the City, but we want them to re-awaken
their interest and come and join us,
whether that’s in a playing or
coaching capacity or simply introducing
the game to their own children”.
Coach Colm McGuinness
stressed the need for a large squad
“we will need everyone fit and
raring to go if we are going to compete
effectively in the 3 leagues. We will
be starting with 6 weeks of conditioning
training every Tuesday and Thursday
at Queen’s PEC, I will want to
see full attendance and total commitment
from the panel”.
Paul Blaney, chairman
of Bredagh GAC, is delighted at the
appointment of one of Ulster's most
respected coaches as Bredagh's senior
hurling manager and commented: "Getting
Sean on board as our senior hurling
manager for 2008 is quite simply a sensational
development for our club. Sean enjoys
legendary status as a hurling coach
throughout Ireland and he is just the
man, along with his son, Colm, to take
Bredagh to the next level in Down hurling.
“
Ex-Ulster and Down
star, Danny Hughes, one of the senior
team selectors, added: "This will
signal how serious we are about our
hurling in South and East Belfast and
is just what we need at this point in
time. In the coming season we will have
24 players in our senior squad under
25 years of age, all of which have come
through our juvenile structures. Sean's
experience, knowledge and motivational
skills will take these lads on to a
totally new plane and will undoubtedly
assist us with our main objective of
becoming a major force in Down hurling
".
Sean McGuinness has
a very distinguished hurling career
and is credited in Antrim circles with
laying the foundation of the Antrim
team that got to the 1989 All-Ireland
final. He managed the Antrim team in
the mid-80's when they gave Cork the
fright of their lives in an All-Ireland
semi final. He also did the same with
Down a few years later also against
Cork and is highly regarded in Down
hurling circles and in hurling strongholds
throughout Ulster. County players who
have experienced Sean's management skills
speak highly of his technical and motivational
skills and his canny ability to gel
squads together, forgetting about any
local tribal differences, and getting
the best out of them on the hurling
field.
Anyone interested in
hurling in South and East Belfast can
contact the Bredagh GAC Secretary: Eamon
Mulvenna bredagh@down.gaa.ie 07703 210354
L-R Up and coming Bredagh star Paul
Doole with Colm McGuinness, Coach; Sean
McGuinness, Manager and Danny Hughes,
Team selector.
.
Management contacts:
Sean McGuinness - 9080 6917
Colm McGuinness - 07963 490794
Danny Hughes - 07803 908933
