The trip started with an early morning at Edinburgh Airport, as 19 players from 13 clubs and 4 Camanachd Association staff boarded the early flight bound for Dublin. With a mix of training, cultural experience and challenge matches vs local hurling teams, the trip aims to showcase and develop the talents of Scotland’s top young Shinty talents.

Sunday:
The boys arrived at the accommodation at Dublin City University, before making their way down to the University pitches to partake in some light training, where the coaches were able to assess the players suitability for composite rules matches. After some rest, the team headed into Dublin City Centre to explore the city and its culture. After a few games of pool in the student union at the accommodation the team returned to their rooms for an early night, preparing for the following day’s matches.

Monday:
Preparation for that evening’s game got underway in the morning, as the boys were put through a rigorous fitness test, before partaking in a training session suited to the composite rules of Shinty/Hurling. The squad focused on key skills, including blocking, hitting and finishing, whilst the coaches identified which players would be taking 65s and 25s in the matches. A quick shower and change of clothes and the players boarded a bus to take them to Croke Park, where the team enjoyed a tour of Hurling’s most iconic venue, before returning to the hotel to get some rest ahead of the night’s game.

Parnell Park was the venue as Scotland took on a Dublin select side. Captain Arran Stephen exchanged a shirt emblazoned with the RiCruden logo with the Dublin captain before Shane O’Rua put Scotland ahead early on. From this point it was one way traffic as Scotland ran out 34 (8-8) – 4(0-4) winners over their counterparts. In his 3rd year on the tour Matthew Sloss was deservedly awarded the Man of the Match, contributing to 9 points and controlling the game.

Tuesday:
The next day the team were up bright and early, boarding a coach to travel down the coast to Wexford. The boys took in the atmosphere of the Fleadh, with the town being buzzing with activity and live music performances – with even Ed Sheeran performing! Rumour has it he was in town to watch the Coyle brothers play…

Those who were on the tour last year would appreciate the renovations undertaken at Wexford Park, with impressive new facilities hosting the squad in comfort. The sun was shining as Matthew Sloss and Daniel MacLean put Scotland into the lead early on, and whilst Wexford hit some points early on it was Scotland who dominated the first 40 minutes of the match. Wexford sprung into life in the back end of the match, narrowing the point gap to just 9 points. In the end the match finished 20 (4-8) to 29 (7-8), making it 2 wins out of 2 in the Emerald Isle for the young Scots. Alexander MacDonald was named Man of the Match with a formidable performance at the back, but a mention must be given to Seonaidh-Alex MacLeod who also put in a tremendous performance. After the full-time whistle, a delicious curry was provided by the Wexford GAA and the coach departed for Dublin with the squad in a boisterous mood. You can rewatch the game here.

The Association would like to extend our gratitude to Dublin and Wexford for their hospitality and strong challenges on the pitch, RI Cruden for enabling the trip to go ahead with their sponsorship, and Seamus Curtis for his support in organising test matches and helping everything run smoothly.

The RI Cruden Ireland Tour was a huge success, as the players were able to improve their own game and tested in different environments, showing great skill and mentality as they won both games. With such talent at this age group the future is bright for shinty.

Squad:
Hayden Taylor Ramsay – (Kingussie)
Kieran Martin – (Kinlochshiel)
Arran Stephen – (Fort William)
Seonaidh MacDonald (Lochaber)
Seonaidh Alex Macleod (Skye)
Kenzie Taylor (Caberfeidh)
Daniel Maclean (Glenurquhart)
Alfie Macleod (Glenurquhart)
Shane O’Rua (Kilmallie)
Seamus MacFarlane (Kilmallie)
Joe Coyle (Newtonmore)
Mathew Sloss (Newtonmore)
Doug Brockie (Glenurquhart)
Alexander MacDonald (Oban Camanachd)
Auryn Kerr – (Col Glen)
Zak Menzies (GMA)
James Coyle (Newtonmore)
Jacob Bain (Newtonmore)
Louie MacLellan (Beauly)