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IT Tralee Hurling Club being presented with crew necks and t-shirts for the weekend by Deirdre Flynn Solicitors.
IT Tralee Senior Hurling team will travel to the DCU Sports Complex this Saturday to take part in the Ryan Cup Finals weekend.
The IT Tralee team are managed by former Kerry hurling goalkeeper and Causeway man, Tadhg Flynn, and he is assisted by the Tralee Parnells duo of Mark Ryall and Brian Shanahan.
Tadhg managed the IT Tralee Hurling team to the same stage last year when they were narrowly defeated by Ulster University in the semi-final.
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This year, the team reached the Division 2 League final before Christmas where they were defeated by Fitzgibbon Cup outfit GMIT.
IT Tralee finished runner-up in their Ryan Cup group and as a result will meet a strong Garda Training College side in the semi-final at 1.30pm on Saturday.
During the group stage, the team defeated Athlone IT by 5 points (ITT 2-14 AIT 0-15) in a game played at the John Mitchels GAA Pitch, Tralee, before losing out to Ulster University in round 2 on a scoreline of ITT 0-12 UU 1-10.
Ulster University then defeated Athlone IT which meant IT Tralee would face the winners of the other group – Garda Training College, in the semi-final.
IT Tralee will go in to the semi-final as underdogs, as Garda Training College, who dropped down from Fitzgibbon Cup level this year, can call on the services of Tipperarys Ronan Maher, Denis Maher and Mark McCarthy, Limericks Barry O’Connell, Dublin’s Shane Barrett, Cork’s Patrick Collins and Waterford’s Ray Barry.
They also have local Causeway man Sean Leahy in their ranks. IT Tralee will be looking to Kerry Senior panelists Michael Leane (Ballyheigue) and Fionan Mackessy (St. Brendans) along with Seamus O’Halloran (St. Brendans), Limerick u21 Sean O’Connor, former Limerick minor Damien Burke and team captain Brendan O’Brien of Nenagh, Tipperary to lead them to glory.
If IT Tralee are victorious on Saturday, they will then play the winners of the other semi-final between Ulster University and Queens University Belfast on Sunday at 1.30pm at the DCU Sports Complex again.
Although it is going to take two big wins in consecutive days against very strong opposition, Tadhg Flynn along with his management team and panel of players will be quietly confident that if they work hard and get a bit of luck they can cause the upset required come away from DCU with the Ryan Cup championship won come Sunday evening.
• IT Tralee Hurling Club would like to thank Deirdre Flynn Solicitors for kindly sponsoring the team with crew necks and t-shirts for the weekend. The generosity shown by Deirdre is much appreciated by all involved in the panel.
