Are you crazy and into hurling? A Dublin GAA club needs you

One of the newest hurling clubs in Dublin, Realt Dearg, need a goalkeeper. Urgently. Are you mad man enough to help out?

By Sean Nolan

They say goalkeepers in all sports are mad but hurling goalkeepers may be the maddest of all. With only a skimpy bit of O’Neills finest between you and a bullet-hard sliotar, you have to be made of stern stuff to stand between the posts in hurling.

So if you think you have what it takes, or are too crazy to know any better, then Realt Dearg want to talk to you. The club’s Vice Chairman James Kenny got in touch with JOE today to tell us the plight his club faces.

“The goalie we had last year has a back injury,” James tells me. “And he is out for the season. Our first league match is on Sunday and we are desperately looking for a goalkeeper to come in.”

Realt Dearg, based in the Terenure area of Dublin, have two teams playing at Junior level in Dublin, an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ team. And while the ‘A’ team have managed to string together back-to-back promotions, the focus this year is to try and get the B team out of the basement of Dublin hurling. And they need a keeper to do that.

As James says, the have managed to convince one of the outfield lads to go in goal on Sunday, but ideally they need someone who wants to be there, and has been there before.

“We have a lad [for Sunday] but he is not too keen to do it all season,” he tells me and that is what prompted the cry for help.

In fairness, that the club even exists is testimony to the power of social media. Set up in 2009, Realt Dearg gets its members chiefly through Facebook and Twitter. They spotted a gap for a hurling team in the Terenure/Rathmines/Ranelagh area and now, almost three years later, they have 60 lads.

To tweak a Micháel Ó Muircheartaigh phrase, Dublin 6 is not exactly a hurling stronghold, a fact James acknowledges. But they are making progress to address that, albeit slowly.

“We don’t discriminate against anyone who has never played hurling before, we’ll take anyone who comes along and show them what to do. This year we have had a few Dubs register with us, up to this year we only had one in the club, so it is good to get a few Dublin accents around the place,” he says.

Down the line the club would like to have a camogie team, and some underage teams, but for now, the focus is on getting one man with the right mix to help them out of this very urgent problem.

“We just need someone with a good bit of experience. Experience, crazy, likes the craic; that’s the job description,” says James.

Well, any takers? If you are interested just contact Realt Dearg on Twitter @realtdearg or e-mail them at realtdearg.hurlingclub@gmail.com.