Our minor hurlers got their 2026 Minor (U18) League campaign underway on a sunny but fresh Saturday morning in Trim. After winning the U17 Div 2 title last year, Dunboyne earned promotion to Division 1, and their opening test came against strong opposition. Trim had been beaten in last year’s Div 1 final by Navan O’Mahonys, so this was always going to be a real test of character for our young men – and they certainly didn’t disappoint.

Right from the throw-in Dunboyne attacked the game with energy and determination. After just two minutes, Eoghan McDonald delivered a great ball into Shea Mooney, who plucked it from the sky, turned sharply and split the posts for the opening score. Rory Callanan added another almost immediately before Joel Mangan tapped over the first free of the game after Evan Murphy was taken down as he headed goalward. Trim responded with a brace of points to reduce the gap to the minimum, but Ethan O’Sullivan popped over a well-worked point for Dunboyne in the 9th minute to keep them in front (Trim 0:02, Dunboyne 0:04).

Trim hit back again in the 11th minute with a pointed free and began to look dangerous in attack as the half progressed. Two quick-fire goals in the 14th and 15th minutes swung the momentum firmly in the home side’s favour. Mangan stopped the rot with another free, but Trim added a third goal in the 23rd minute to leave the score at Trim 3:03, Dunboyne 0:05. To their credit, Dunboyne responded strongly and were determined not to let the game slip away. In the 26th minute, Callanan struck a monster free from inside his own half, followed a minute later by a fine point from Evan Murphy. That proved to be the final score of an entertaining first half:

Trim 3:03 (1f) – Dunboyne 0:07 (2f). Trim had the breeze at their backs for the second half, blowing toward the swimming pool end, and they opened with two early points. Mangan replied with a placed ball in the 11th minute, but Trim responded from play shortly afterwards. Callanan narrowed the deficit again in the 19th minute, though Trim once again replied to leave the score at the 23-minute mark: Trim 3:07, Dunboyne 0:09. Dunboyne showed great determination in the closing stages. Cillian Cunningham had the ball in the net, but the referee had already blown for an earlier infringement. Murphy then saw another effort saved on the line. The goal eventually came following some strong defending from Trim. The breaking ball fell kindly to Evan Murphy, who drove a ground strike to the back of the net. Neil O’Connor, who was excellent in the second half, added a point moments later to leave the score at Trim 3:07, Dunboyne 1:10 with six minutes remaining. Trim stretched the lead to four points with a ’65 two minutes later before the man who opened the scoring, Shea Mooney, closed out the game with his second point of the morning. The final whistle sounded shortly afterwards with the scoreboard reading: Trim 3:08 (1f, 1 ’65) – Dunboyne 1:11 (4f). Credit to both teams for serving up a lively and sporting encounter on a perfect pitch. While both sides were guilty of some rustiness and wayward shooting – understandable for the first competitive outing of the year – both management teams will have been pleased with the effort and intensity. As is often the case early in the season, both teams were missing players due to other commitments. However, Dunboyne showed they are capable of competing at this level and will look forward with confidence to the remainder of the Division 1 campaign. Man of the Match: Marcus McGinn, who was presented with the jerseys after the game. His reward was the honour of washing them before the next match – with Mother’s Day looming, hopefully he won’t expect Joan to do it for him!

Team: Daniel Slevin; Kevin Tighe (BHG); Cillian Cunningham (BHG); James McCarthy; Shay Coone; Eoghan McDonald; Liam Kennedy; Joel Mangan (0:03f); Rory Callanan (0:03, 1f); Neil O’Connor (0:01); Ethan O’Sullivan (BHG) (0:01); Evan Murphy (1:01); Marcus McGinn; Shea Mooney (0:02); Nyles Ledwith (BHG).