BALLYBODEN St Endas GAA Club capped off a fantastic year by being named The Echo ‘Club of the Year’ winners.
Celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2009, the Firhouse Road side enjoyed a memorable year which saw them clinch the Senior Football and Senior Hurling Championships. The hugely successful club secured the Senior Football Championship after a 14-year wait while they won the Senior Hurling Championship for the third year running. The senior hurlers completed the double on the day of the 125th anniversary of the GAA and they became the first club since 1981 to achieve this. Boden’s Senior Hurl-ers completed the League and Champ-ionship double in December when they topped Division One.
The Senior Camogie team won the Division One crown while the Senior Ladies side clinched the Senior One League crown.
The club’s Minor Ladies won the Championship, adding this to a range of championships at under age in camogie along with boys and girls football.
Boden also won the All-Ireland féile football title in both boys and girls – this was the first time that this double was achieved by any club.
The club opened its new playing facilities in Sancta Maria which cost in the region of €3.5 million. The facility contains one full size pitch, a prunty and a hockey pitch which is used by the Ballyroan School during the day. The hockey pitch is then played on by the hurlers at the club which is a major boost for the players. The club is to open new dressing rooms at the venue at the end of January which will serve both the club and the school. Boden’s aim is to have the best facilities for its members which today number 1500. They have plans to construct new changing rooms at their pitches in Ballycullen once Sancta Maria is complete.
At the Awards Night, the Senior Footballers picked up the ‘Team of the Month’ prize for October while the Senior Hurlers took the November title. Conal Keaney received the ‘October Sports Star’ Award for his championship double and he was one of four dual players (including Stephen Hiney, Shane Durkin, and Simon Lambert) in the Enda’s squad.
(From Left: Malachy Travers, Conal Keaney, Mick Duff, Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Darragh Spain, Stephen Perkins and William O’Connor – The Echo)
Speaking after the Awards, a delighted Ballyboden St Enda’s General Manager, Noel Sheridan said “We are delighted and honoured to be named The Echo Club of the Year. It’s a great way to finish out the year in what has been one of the most successful on the pitch for the club. The players and members deserve so much credit for all the hard work that they have put in this season. We were honoured by South Dublin County Council on Tuesday and to receive this award from The Echo is certainly one of many highs for the club. There is so much done by many clubs in South Dublin and to be recognised by The Echo is a fitting way to finish out the year,” he added.
Boden are looking forward to 2010 and plans are already in place for the construction of new dressing rooms in Ballycullen. Members of both the senior hurlers and senior footballers were present on the night along with Liam O’Dwyer (senior football manager), Jim Kilty (senior hurling selector), Tomás Ó Reachtabhra (hurling chairman) and Noel Sheridan while out-going treasurer Tony Wallace accepted the Club of the Year trophy on behalf of the club. “We would like to congratulate The Echo Newspaper and South Dublin County Sports Partnership on a supebly organised event and we look forward to more of them in the future,” added Noel Sheridan.