Today’s dish is Kilrush Road led by the club stalwart, Kevin Brennan. Kevin (like Liam Corry before) has been with Eire Og since his days in short pants and is one of the most readily recognizable and popular gents in Eire Og. He hails from a real Townie family with his brother, Fergal, also serving as our club treasurer.

No mention of Kevin, Fergal and the Brennan family is complete without mentioning Laura Brennan (Kevin & Fergal’s sister). Laura Brennan was an extraordinarily brave young woman. At the tender age of just 25, she learned that her cervical cancer was terminal. From then until her death at just 26 years of age, Laura, worked tirelessly as a campaigner for the HPV vaccination. After levels of vaccine uptake had dropped to just 51% in June 2016, her efforts, including becoming an HPV vaccine advocate for the World Health Organization in Europe, saw levels climb back up to 71% in the weeks before she passed away. Following her death, a powerful and moving award-winning documentary charting the final months of her life and featuring the Brennan family was aired on RTE, after which levels of HPV vaccination uptake rose further still, to 82%. Her parents, Bernie and Larry Brennan have become tireless advocates in carrying on her important legacy. Such an incredibly brave young woman and you can see those traits in all the Brennan family members!

Laura Brennan - RIP

On the playing front, Kevin rose through the ranks as an outstanding shot-stopper before more recently transitioning to a hard-working perpetual-motion outfield player. Kevin is also an excellent footballer who excels in retaining possession who won a Junior A championship medal back in 2018. In addition to all that, Kevin is a popular primary school teacher in the Holy Family Senior National School in Ennis as well as a leading coach in our blossoming Academy.

Kevin Brennan in action

One of the core values of the GAA is “everything we do helps to enrich the communities we serve” and Kevin and the Brennan family (along with many other families in Eire Og) really do epitomize this value!

Kevin and the Kilrush team haven’t always enjoyed the best of success in our Eugene McNamara St. Stephen’s Day Tournament but with the addition of a bunch of young fresh talent (both female and male) in the likes of Amélie Malice and Maeve McInerney, Andrew McElwee, Conor Kilcawley and Cian Howard to name but a few – hopes are high this year for the rejuvenated Kilrush Road team. The Kilrush Road team have in the past lived in the shadow of their “noisy neighbours” from down the road, the Gallow’s Hill/Turnpike team and would welcome a shot at knocking their near neighbors off their perch.

Andrew McElwee bearing down on goals

These are the inherent tensions and pressures of the Eugene McNamara St. Stephen’s Day Tournament 😊, so why not put aside your box of Roses (all the good ones are gone by then anyway) and cold turkey sandwiches to head down to Eire Og on Stephen’s Day to see how Kevin and the Kilrush Road team fare. Here’s how Kevin views the Kilrush Road team’s chances this year -

Team Captain

1) Name – Kevin Brennan.

2) Team(s) - Eire Og Senior Hurling

Your Team -

a) Team Name – Kilrush Road.

b) Your part of Town is famous (infamous) for - Des Lynam, The Old Military Barracks, Ennis National School, and Coote’s Shop.

c) How many are committed to playing – 20

d) Who are your Star Players – James Woods is home from abroad and injury free primed for action. While Amélie Malice fresh from her All-Ireland Minor success with Clare will take stopping in the middle of the park. Maeve McInerney is another to keep any eye on, she is out to prove she is the best of famed McInerney clan this Stephen’s Day. Rockmount’s Neil O Loughlin our star performer in previous years will always raise a few eyebrows and have the veterans on the side-line talking.

e) Who is your Rising/Young Stars – Ivan King, Andrew McElwee, Morgan Kelly, Jack Kavanagh, Conor Kilcawley, Cian Howard, Amélie Malice, Peadar O Keefe, Sarah Breheny, Maeve McInerney, Paddy Broderick, and Aidan Meaney are all making their St. Stephens Day debuts this year.

f) Who are your “Veteran” players– Noel Considine, Neil O Loughlin, Dan Stapleton, and Fergal Brennan.

g) Who are the Ladies on your Team – Maeve McInerney, Sarah Breheny and Amélie Malice.

h) Any injury worries/absentees - Nathan Murray, Barry O Connell and the Darcy siblings are all abroad this year unfortunately. Elana Bradley is another big loss. We look forward to their return in 2023.

i) What’s your Strategy/Plan for the tournament – Enjoy it as best we can. With three fantastic net minders involved in Noel Considine, Cian Howard and Peadar O Keefe we should be defensively sound. At the other end, our two publicans Cian Guillfoyle and James Lyne after a good night’s sleep on the 25th should be good for a few scores.

j) How far has your team gone in the past tournaments - Not progressed past the group stage to date unfortunately. Hopefully the fresh influx of youth will serve us well this year and the men and women in maroon and white could end up causing an upset.

k) A good day on St Stephen’s Day is one where - everyone has an enjoyable day and stays injury free. If our fiery neighbours in the Turnpike keep their emotions in check that would also be a surprise and a welcome bonus.

Kilrush Road back in 2019