On Tuesday 9th July 2013, eleven very lucky Ruairí Óg U12players ran out and played two matches on the hallowed ground of Croke Park. They and some other very lucky teams had been invited to play on the pitch every young hurler dreams of strutting his stuff. And though they won both their matches, that is almost irrelevant put alongside the fact the boys were playing on the pitch where household names like Henry Shefflin and Joe Canning regularly put in extraordinary performances.
The boys left Cushendall at 7am in the morning and almost in the blink of an eye they were putting on their maroon and white shirts, running up the tunnel and out into the theatre of dreams for most hurlers. Almost too soon they had played and won their matches but more importantly they now have memories of a wonderful experience that will last a lifetime. Their managers: JJ Mc Alister, Brian Kearney and Sean Mc Keegan were very proud of how the boys played and indeed how they adapted to their 'new' surroundings displaying no nerves at all.
The players, the managers and Ruairí Ó CLG would like to thank Ulster Council for the opportunity of playing at Croke Park and creating special memories for a group of players who hopefully will be the club and county seniors of the future. The fortunate eleven were:
Shane Black
Colm Mc Keegan
John Mc Alister
James Mc Alister
Donall Kearney
Fionn Mc Quillan
Ronan Mc Ateer
Stephen Emerson
Henry Mc Erlain
Oran Mc Manus
Pierce Mc Keegan
Colm Mc Keegan
John Mc Alister
James Mc Alister
Donall Kearney
Fionn Mc Quillan
Ronan Mc Ateer
Stephen Emerson
Henry Mc Erlain
Oran Mc Manus
Pierce Mc Keegan