Skerries Harps wins Senior Hurling Club of the year
The story of how Skerries Harps became a hurling club to contend with is one of determination, foresight and friendship. We were proud to be honoured at the recent Dublin Friends of Hurling awards in recognition of this achievement. Here's the story and one we should all be very proud of. A huge thanks to all who made this happen and continue to drive the club forward.
In 2006 Skerries Harps executive decided that it was about time to enter an adult hurling team into the competition. A number of juvenile teams were coming through the ranks but unfortunately were falling away when they got to the later years as a result of not having an adult team to move on to.
Tipperary man Ger O’Mahony and Meath man Mickey Joe Geoghegan were given the task of putting a team together. In November 2006 the first training session was held with both mentors and 1 player turning up. As the months went on, however, more and more players joined the group and a team was first entered into competition for the 2007 season.
After some mixed performances the team began to get some shape and with Liam Staunton also joining the coaching ranks the team began to get some results. A final appearance in the JHC 5 competition and a win against Sylvesters (of whom we would have many future battles) ended a very successful year for Skerries Harps.
The management team remained part of the adult setup for the next 8 years and with valuable assistance from John Shorten, Clare man Greg Baker and the late John Murray the team went from strength to strength winning another championship in 2011 but more notably ascending to Division 5 in the league and comfortably remaining there in the following years.
The very first minor hurling team followed in 2012 winning the “D” championship beating Alfie Byrne Gaels (Clontarf & Scoil ui Chonnaill) in a memorable final. 2012 was a landmark year in which the club also entered its first U21 team.
In 2014 Crumlin and Dublin hurling and camogie legend, Denis Murphy took over the management of the team and in 2015 won the Dublin JHC D championship beating Realt Dearg in the final. A junior C final loss in 2016 to Kilmacud Crokes saw Harps gain promotion to Junior B ranks.
A period of stability followed as Denis blooded new young talent and Denis stepped down at the end of 2019 Adult hurling was looking to be in a very good place.
The present management team of Ballyboden man Stephen Dooley and Wexford native Robert Kehoe took over and had success in a Covid-ridden year winning the Junior B championship and beating Craobh Chiraian in a memorable final. Stephen's vision was to strengthen hurling in Skerries and he was to do this by entering 2 teams in the league and ensuring the development of young players coming through the ranks.
A number of good juvenile teams were beginning to come through the club and it was Stephen's ambition to have a 2nd team to blood these players.
In 2021 Skerries entered 2 teams in the league and then in 2022, both teams pushed on as both gained promotion from their respective leagues. The Div 5 team gained promotion for the first time to Division 4 and the 2nd team won Div 10 of the league. A tough Junior A campaign saw Skerries pitched in a very strong side of the draw but retained their Junior A status with a comprehensive win over St. Vincents.
We thank all that drive hurling within our club, we are proud of the achievements of our teams and we enjoy seeing our juvenile teams learn the skills and enjoy playing the game.
We look forward to many more hurling years ahead for Skerries Harps.