The Fingal hurling team () is an

inter-county Inter-county, is Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) List of Gaelic games terminology, terminology which refers to competitions or matches between County (Gaelic games), counties, as used in Gaelic games (differently from legal counties). The term c ...

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

team representing

Fingal Fingal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which ...

in the

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

, 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 an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the fourth-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champi ...

. It is organised by the

Dublin GAA The Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Dublin GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin and the Dublin county teams. The teams and their fans a ...

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 is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

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 (; , ) is a suburban coastal town in Fingal, in the northern part of County Dublin, Ireland. It is approximately 34 km north of the city of Dublin, for which it is a commuter town. The 2022 census population was 24,322 for Bal ...

and contains a total of 16 clubs; these include

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

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, O'Dwyers, Setanta, Skerries Harps, St Brigid's, St Finians (N), St Maurs, St Pats Donabate, St Peregrines, 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 (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel of the Irish Sea. Towns and villages on t ...

) 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 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 Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

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, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

. 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 ( ; , 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 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

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

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), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

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, Naomh Mearnóg 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 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

* 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