It was a hugely successful weekend for the club. It al kicked off on Saturday morning when the Ladies Footballers beat Holloway Gaels to keep their hopes of reaching the League Final alive. Later that day the Footballers secured promotion to Division 1 with a great win over Round Towers. Then it was the main event on Sunday when the Hurlers had a superb second half performance to claim the Intermediate Hurling Championship for the first time since 2008. 

Our U15 Footballers also had a great weekend as they travelled back to Co. Cavan to play for the Gerry Beacom Cup. They did themselves proud reaching the final only to lose out by two points. Well done to all involved on the trip. 

The action doesn't stop there as next Saturday the Ladies Footballers play Kingdom Kerry Gaels in the League while the Hurlers lock horns again with Fr. Murphys, this time in the League Final. While our Underage Hurlers are off to Birmingham to take part in the Erin Go Bragh Blitz. 

Mens Hurling:

On a chilly Sunday afternoon in Ruislip McCurtains Hurlers won the Intermediate Hurling Championship for the first time since 2008. The Macs started the game the brighter and their first goal came in the first five minutes when Jimmy Byrne pounced on a breaking ball in the square and fired it home. This put the Macs in the driving seat early on but an injury to Sean Murphy which saw the introduction of Darren Mulcahey threw them off their stride as they tried to adjust. Fr Murphys looked to have the better of the exchanges for the rest of the first half as they were quick to every break and some fine long range scoring put them into a commanding lead (0-07 to 1-01) after 15 minutes. Conor Hogan kept McCurtains in touch with a well taken goal to draw level not long after and halt the Murphys momentum albeit temporarily as a long range rasper of a shot could only be parried by Shane Kelly in the McCurtains goals and was judged to have crossed the line. Both teams traded scores in the dying stages of the first half and left two between them at the break (1-09 to 2-04).

Both defences were on top early in the second half as both forward lines found it hard to find space with only 5 point being score in the third quarter. McCurtains drew level early in the second period thanks to points from Jimmy Byrne and Craig Doyle but these were cancelled out by two frees from Fr. Murphys after 10 minutes before Byrne scored his second point of the day. If the first half showcased Fr. Murphys desire to win this was surpassed in the second half by McCurtains. Mulcahey and Corrigan started to boss the middle of the park upsetting any rhythm Murphys tried to get. Any balls that did come towards the Macs goals were sent straight back thanks to the tireless work by the full back line of Ciaran McAuley, John Donohoe and Cathal McDaid aided considerably by Kieran Dowling, CJ Gavin and Joe Maguire in the half backs. 

A Mark Russell free brought the teams level again. By this stage the Macs inside forward line were starting to gain the upper hand on their markers and tireless work from Eoin Caldwell and Hogan winning long balls allowed Alan Clancy to fire one over and put McCurtains into the lead for the first time since the opening exchanges before Mulchaey scored a fine point as the clock ticked past 20 minutes. Murphys responded with their only score from play in the second half but with five minutes left (plus injury time) Dean Corrigan broke free from midfield and soloed through on goals opting to showcase his big ball skills he kicked it to the roof of the net and the writing was on the wall as shortly afterwards Mark Russell dropped a '65 in on the house to add the fourth of the day. As Murphys came looking for an answer a free resuted in a a schemozzle around the 'D' which resulted in Mulcahey being shown the line. But that break took the sting out of the Murphys fightback and McCurtains finished stronger scoring the last two points of the game through Hogan and Clancy to bring the cup back to East London.

THOMAS McCURTAINS: Shane Kelly; Cathal McDaid, Ciaran McAuley, John Donohoe; CJ Gavin, Kieran Dowling, Joe Maguire (0-01, 1f); Dean Corrigan (1-01), Sean Murphy; Alan Clancy (0-02), Craig Doyle (0-01), Mark Russell (1-03, 1-00 '65, 3f); Eoin Caldwell, Jimmy Byrne (1-02), Conor Hogan (1-01). SUBS: Darren Mulcahey (0-01) for Murphy.

Mens Football:

The Footballers secured promotion to Division 1 of the League next year with a hard fought win over Round Towers on Saturday afternoon in Greenford. The Macs started quickly and raced into a four points to two lead early on before a great diagonal ball from 45m out by Johnny McGuiggan found Conor Murphy who rounded his man and hit the back of the net from a tight angle. The Towers started to get the upper hand around the middle of the field and a string of fine saves by Jake Lavery in goals kept their forwards at bay. Both sides saw out the half with two points apiece with McCurtains leading by five at the break. 

Towers started the second half the way they had finished the first by dominating the middle of the park but the move of the game came not long after and started with Kevin Delahunty coming out with the ball down the right side of the pitch. A couple of slick passes from McCurtains saw marauding wing back Colm O'Neill get on the end of a crossfield ball. With just the keeper to beat he took a solo and stuck it between his legs and into the net to restore McCurtains cushion. Some long range scores for Towers brought them back into the game but Mark McGirr kept the scoreboard ticking over for the Macs at vital times leaving them 4 points to the good going into the last 15. McCurtains weren't done with the goal fest as Niall Coffey joined in on the action lobbing the keeper from 25 yards out and Conor Murphy blasted home a rebound from a save not long after to secure the win. 

THOMAS McCURTAINS: Jake Lavery; Mark Owens, Peter Rafferty, Kevin Delahunty; Brian Hourihane, John Winters, Colm O'Neill (1-00); Niall Coffey (1-01), Tom Clarke; Sean Murphy, John Rafferty (0-01), Mark McGirr (0-05, 5f); Paddy Halligan (0-01, 1f), John McGuiggan, Conor Murphy (2-01). SUBS: Darragh McNulty for S. Murphy & Paddy O'Neill for Owens.

County Board Draw: 

Tickets for the county board draw are now available for purchase/renewal. Tickets are £120.00 for the year. If you would like to buy one please contact a member of the committee. 

Training (Click on team name for more info):

 

Mens Football: No Training

Mens Hurling: Tuesday & Thursday at 7.30pm in Goodmayes.

Ladies Football: Tuesday at 7.00pm in Goodmayes.

Camogie: No Training.

Underage: Hurling, Monday at 6.30pm in Campion School (Astro Pitch).

Fixtures:

Ladies Football: Intermediate League - Thomas McCurtains v Kingdom Kerry Gaels, Saturday 6th October 2018 at 10.30am, Greenford.

Mens Hurling: AIB Hurling League Division 2 Final - Thomas McCurtains v Fr Murphys, Saturday 6th October 2018 at 4.00pm, Ruislip.

Underage: Hurling - Erin Go Bragh Blitz, Saturday 6th October 2018, Birmingham.

Results:

Ladies Football: Intermediate League - Thomas McCurtains: 4-14, Holloway Gaels: 1-09.

Mens Football: AIB Football League Division 1 / 2 Playoff - Thomas McCurtains: 4-09, Round Towers: 0-15.

Reserve Football Championship - Thomas McCurtains: scr, St Brendans: w/o.

Mens Hurling: Intermediate Hurling Championship Final - Thomas McCurtains: 4-12, Fr. Murphys: 1-13.

New Players: 

New players are always very welcome to join our friendly club. We have Gaelic Football & Hurling teams for both men and ladies from u-8s up to Adults. We are based in East London; the club covers a wide area and current players live in many different areas, including, Gants Hill, Woodford, Leyton, Leytonstone, Stratford, Romford, Dagenham, Brentwood & Chelmsford as well as many other areas. Transport to and from training and pick-up from stations can be arranged, if required.

If you would like to join our club, please do not hesitate to contact:

Mens Football: Pop Geraghty: 07493 046 064

Mens Hurling: Alan Power: 07925 175 910

Ladies Football: Eoin Kelly: 07729 746 052

Camogie: Eoin Kelly: 07729 746 052

Underage: Martin McGovern: 07807 830 556

 

 

 

 

Thomas McCurtains GAA Club would welcome coaching support in local schools and our training sessions.

Please check out Thomas McCurtain’s on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram. Or drop us an email on [email protected]. We would be delighted to hear from you.

 

Club Shop:

Our official club merchandise is available to purchase on the O’Neill’s website here

Additional gear is also available to purchase from MFC Sports. Please check our facebook and twitter pages for more details.

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