An Clochan Liath set to host first ever Comórtas Iománaíochta na Gaeilge

Four hurling teams will be taking part in an historic competition in Dungloe this weekend. 

Four 13-a-side teams representing An Clochán Liath, Leitir Ceanainn, Gaeil Dhoire Theas and Iorras from Mayo will be competing for a trophy in Rosses Park on Saturday in the inaugural Comórtas Iománaíochta na Gaeilge. 

It’s the first competition of its kind in the country. And, the organisers are hoping that this event could eventually grow into the hurling equivalent of Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta, which features teams from all over Ireland. 

Daithi Roberts Snr, whose son Daithi is lining out for Gaoth Dobhair senior footballers in the county final on Sunday, told Donegal Live that they were looking forward to this pilot project. 

“We had been thinking about this for some time as we felt there was a void for hurling clubs in Gaeltacht areas all over the country with Irish speakers and we felt it would be good for us to have a competition for them as well. 

“Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta is hugely popular and we don’t see why we could not hopefully have a hurling equivalent of this most successful competition. We decided to start it off with a junior competition. 

“There was great interest, but there are a number of competitions still going on in some counties so we have four teams to start off with in Dungloe on Saturday morning and the first game begins at 10.30am. 

The clubs are coming from Donegal, Derry and Mayo so there should be a real mix of style and standard.  

“There is an amalgamation of junior clubs in south Derry called Gaeil Dhoire Theas, Colm Breathanch is putting together a team of Irish speakers in the Letterkenny area called Leitir Ceanainn, Clochán Liath and the fourth team is made up of Gaeltacht Iorras from north west Mayo. 

“There will be round robin games with the top two playing in the cup final and the next two playing in the shield final. So all clubs will have three games plus a final.” 

Daithi and his colleagues have been working hard on this project for the past few months. 

“This is the first time anything of this type has been tried in the country and it would be great if it developed into the hurling equivalent of Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta. 

“Croke Park are interested in our competition and will review it after Saturday with a view to making it more formalised. 

“There are potentially quite a number of clubs in Mayo, Galway, Kerry, Waterford, Dublin, Belfast and Meath so we believe there is great potential here.” 

He added: “We would then hope that you would have a north, south east and west competition to qualify for the finals which would be played over a weekend at various venues. 

There will be around 100 players coming to An Clochán Liath. 

“The first match is at 10.30 am and it will be 13-a-side with fifteen minutes per half. The final is due to be played at 3.15 pm. 

Meanwhile, An Clochán Liath stalwart and Cork native, Padraig Lawlor, said it was a great honour for the club to be hosting this historic competition. 

“It has taken a lot of work between our hurling committee and the club executive to put this all together. It is great and it helps the profile of the game in our area especially in west Donegal. 

“And it will show the Gaeltacht community that there is hurling and camogie available in those regions. 

“It is a slow burner as it will take a number of years to establish itself and hopefully it will there for the future.” 

Lawlor added that meeting players from Derry and Mayo is an enriching experience. 

“We hope to build this competition into something much bigger and after Saturday, hopefully we can promote the game more and the competition more. 

“Speaking Irish is quite important in our region and it is one of the areas that is growing in terms of the language and now we have Keadue NS who play hurling and camogie with us, but they have recently transitioned from English to Irish and it is small seeds, but if you have enough of them, you get a bit. 

“We cater for players from all over west Donegal and if you get enough players from those clubs then perhaps it will grow in their own clubs organically.” 

“It took a lot of work at the start and when I came to Dungloe first I knew nobody but I liked hurling. 

“So I got involved and it has been great and we have a strong committee at present and are looking forward to Saturday."