The 2015 Croke Cup was the 64th staging of the Croke Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1944. The competition ran from 14 March to 4 April 2015.

2015 Croke Cup
Dates14 March - 4 April 2015
Teams6
SponsorMasita
Champions St Kieran's College (20th title)
Seán Morrissey (captain)
Runners-up Thurles CBS
Ronan Teehan (captain)
Tournament statistics
Matches played5
Goals scored5 (1 per match)
Points scored141 (28.2 per match)
Top scorer(s) Ray Lahart (1-14)
2014 (Previous) (Next) 2016

St Kieran's College were the defending champions.[1][2]

The final was played on 4 April 2015 at Semple Stadium in Thurles, between St Kieran's College and Thurles CBS, in what was their first ever meeting in the final.[3] St Kieran's College won the match by 1–15 to 1–12 to claim their 20th Croke Cup title overall and a second successive title.[4][5]

Ray Lahart was the top scorer with 1–14.

Qualification edit

Province Champions Runners-up
Connacht Presentation College St Brigid's College [6]
Leinster St Kieran's College St Peter's College [7]
Munster Thurles CBS St Francis College [8]

Results edit

Quarter-finals edit

14 March 2015 Quarter-final St Kieran's College 2-11 - 0-10 St Francis College Fraher Field
T O’Dwyer 1-1; N Walsh 1-0; R Leahy 0-3; J Connolly (free), R Lahart (frees) (0-2 each); L Blanchfield, S Morrissey, J Byrne (s-l) 0-1 each. Report C Cormack 0-7 (6 frees, 1 65’); S Kingston, D Kelliher, J O’Sullivan 0-1 each. Referee: J Owens (Wexford)
14 March 2015 Quarter-final St Peter's College 0-17 - 0-10 St Brigid's College Ashbourne Grounds
B Dunne (0-4, 3 frees), J O'Connor (0-4), R O'Connor (0-3), R White (0-2); J Pettit (0-2), C Hearne (0-1), J Firman (0-1). Report J Kenny (0-4 frees); R Murphy (0-2), C Molloy (0-2 frees), M Lynch (0-1), P Boreham (0-1).

Semi-finals edit

19 March 2015 Semi-final Thurles CBS 0-18 - 1-12 St Peter's College WIT GAA Grounds
N Heffernan 0-5 (4f), R Teehan, R Long, K Duggan 0-3 each, B McCarthy 0-2, C Moloney, M Connors 0-1 each. Report B Dunne 0-4f, R O'Connor 1-1, M Joyce 0-3, J Firman, C Hearne, J Pettit, R White 0-1 each. Referee: D Kirwan (Cork)
21 March 2015 Semi-final St Kieran's College 0-19 - 0-17 Presentation College St Rynagh's Park
R Lahart 0-7 (6f 1’65), J Connolly 0-4 (2f), J Byrne 0-3, L Branchfield, T O’Dwyer 0-2 each, B Ryan 0-1. Report E Niland 0-11 (7f), B Burke 0-4 (2f), S Loftus, C Burke 0-1 each. Referee: D Kirwan (Cork)

Final edit

4 April 2015 Final St Kieran's College 1-15 - 1-12 Thurles CBS Semple Stadium
R Lahart 1-5 (0-4fs, 0-1 '65'), B Ryan 0-3, R Leahy, S Morrissey 0-2 each, J Byrne, L Blanchfield, T O'Dwyer 0-1 each. M Connors 1-2, N Heffernan 0-5 (4f), J Skehan, R Heffernan, B McCarthy, K Duggan, R Long 0-1 each. Referee: J Keenan (Wicklow)

Statistics edit

Top scorers edit

Rank Player Club Tally Total Matches Average
1 Ray Lahart St Kieran's College 1-14 17 3 5.66
2 Evan Niland Presentation College 0-11 11 1 11.00
3 Niall Heffernan Thurles CBS 0-10 10 2 5.00
4 Billy Dunne St Peter's College 0-08 8 2 4.00
5 Rory O'Connor St Peter's College 1-04 7 2 3.50
Tadhg O'Dwyer St Kieran's College 1-04 7 3 2.33
Cathal Cormack St Francis College 0-07 7 1 7.00

References edit

  1. ^ O'Flynn, Diarmuid (7 April 2014). "Kingpins Kieran's add to CBS tale of woe". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Donnelly powers Kieran's to triumph". Irish Independent. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Pres Athenry Defeats Kilkenny CBS In Croke Cup Hurling Semi-Final". Galway Bay FM. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  4. ^ Cahill, Jackie (6 April 2015). "'Awesome' Kieran's seal 20th title". Irish Independent. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Schools: No stopping St Kieran's". Hogan Stand. 4 April 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Presentation College, Athenry retain the John Ryan Cup in impressive style". Connacht Tribune. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Schools: St Kieran's back in the winners enclosure". Hogan Stand. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Harty Cup final: Thurles topple Rochestown". Hogan Stand. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.