The Fingal hurling team ( ga, Foireann Iománaíochta Fhine Ghaill) is an

inter-county Inter-county, or inter county is Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) terminology which refers to competitions or matches between counties, as used in Gaelic games (differently from legal counties). The term can also be used to describe the players o ...

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

team representing

Fingal Fingal ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. ...

in the

Kehoe Cup The Kehoe Cup ( ; ga, Corn Mhic Eochaidh) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association ( GAA) since 1977 for second- and third-tier inter-county teams in the province of Leinster in Irel ...

, the

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

and the

Nicky Rackard Cup The Nicky Rackard Cup (; often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is the fourth tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year, the champion team in the Nicky Rackard Cup is promoted to the Christy Ring Cup, and the lowest finishing ...

. It is organised by the

Dublin GAA The Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Contae Átha Cliath) or Dublin GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in the Dublin Regi ...

and was established in 2008. Fingal are currently managed by Mick Kennedy of the Fingallians club. The Fingal team is made up of players from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

clubs within the Fingal region. While players from Fingal are eligible to play for the Dublin county team, players from outside of Fingal are not eligible to play for the Fingal county team. The Fingal catchment area stretches from

Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern Counties of Ireland, county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchards ...

Balbriggan Balbriggan (; , IPA: �bˠalʲəˈbʲɾʲɪɟiːnʲ is a coastal town in Fingal, in the northern part of County Dublin, Ireland, approximately 34 km from Dublin City. The 2016 census population was 21,722 for Balbriggan and its environs. ...

and contains a total of 16 clubs; these include

Castleknock Castleknock () is an affluent suburb located west of the centre of Dublin city, Ireland. It is centered on the village of the same name in Fingal. In addition to the suburb, the name "Castleknock" also refers to older units of land division: ...

Erin go Bragh Erin go Bragh ( ), sometimes Erin go Braugh, is the anglicisation of an Irish language phrase, , and is used to express allegiance to Ireland. It is most often translated as "Ireland Forever." Origin ''Erin go Bragh'' is an anglicisation of ...

, Fingallians, Naomh Barróg,

Naomh Mearnóg This is a list of the saints of Ireland, which attempts to give an overview of saints from Ireland or venerated in Ireland. The vast majority of these saints lived during the 4th–10th centuries, the period of early Christian Ireland, when Celt ...

, O'Dwyers, Setanta, Skerries Harps, St Brigid's, St Finians (N), St Maurs, St Pats Donabate,

St Peregrines St Peregrine's GAA, also known as Cumann Naomh Peregrine C.L.G., is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Clonsilla Clonsilla () is an outer suburb of Dublin in Fingal, Ireland. Clonsilla is also a civil parish in the barony of Castlekno ...

, St Sylvester's, Trinity Gaels and Wild Geese.

History

In 2007, the GAA announced that hurling teams from

and "South Down" (i.e. excluding the

Ards peninsula The Ards Peninsula () is a peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the north-east coast of Ireland. It separates Strangford Lough from the North Channel of the Irish Sea. Towns and villages on the peninsula include Donaghadee, Milli ...

) would compete at inter-county level in parallel to the main

and Down hurling teams, to encourage hurling in these areas where the game had not been strong. In 2008, Fingal entered the

which is a pre-season tournament for second and third-tier inter-county and third-level hurling teams. Fingal won their debut match against

IT Tallaght The Institute of Technology Tallaght (also known as ITT or IT Tallaght) (Irish: ''Institiúid Teicneolaíochta, Tamhlacht)'' was a third-level institution in Tallaght, the largest suburb of Dublin, Ireland. Established in 1992, IT Tallaght of ...

by 3–12 to 1–11 to qualify for the quarter-final stages. Their next match was drawn against

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

whom they lost to by 1–13 to 1–10. Later that year, both Fingal and South Down were entered into the

, a competition for the third-tier hurling teams of the

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

. Fingal qualified for the semi-finals after finishing top of their group and beating Leitrim in the quarter-finals by 1–19 to 0–12. However, Fingal lost the semi-final to

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

by 1–16 to 0–11, who later went on to win the competition. Fingal claimed their first piece of silverware in 2012 when they won the Kehoe Cup Shield, beating

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

in the final by 4–11 to 1–14. They topped off the year by winning division 3A of the

after

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

refused to play in the final. However in 2013 they won the National Hurling League Division 3A Final and a season later reached the final of the Nicky Rackard Cup where they eventually lost to Tyrone. The Fingal hurling project was eventually disbanded in 2016.

Sponsorship

In April 2012, the Dublin County Board announced a new partnership with Dublin Airport Authority ( DAA) which would provide the Fingal team with a sponsor for the first time in its 5-year history. The DAA had previously supported local GAA clubs in the Fingal area including St Margarets,

and St Sylvesters.

Management team

*Manager: Mick Kennedy ( Fingallians) *Selectors: Sean McGarry ( Skerries Harps), Des Foley ( St Vincents), Liam Mac Cuirc ( Setanta)

Managerial history

Honours

;Senior * National Hurling League Division 3A: 2 **

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

* Kehoe Cup Shield: 1 **

;Minor * All-Ireland Minor 'C' Hurling Championships: 1 **

References

External links

Dublin County Board WebsiteFriends of Dublin Hurling
{{County hurling teams 2008 establishments in Ireland Hurling in County Dublin hurling