2016 was a great year for Atlanta hurling. The team retained the same three trophies that we won
in 2015 and came close to winning a fourth. The year started out with a trip to Nashville for the Music City Invitational. We knew going up there it was going to be tough, we were defending champions and facing an Indy team that were out to redeem themselves from last years defeat. The team, captained by Brian Boland sailed through the first two games of the day with convincing wins over Nashville (7-12 to 2-3) and Knoxville (5-13 to 0-3), this brought us to a semi-final spot against Indy One. Down at half time the Atlanta boys didn’t give up, staging a comeback and beating Indy One, 5-6 to 2-9. This win had clearly put Atlanta as the favorites to take the cup. Indy One went through the back door system and made it to the final. The stage was set for the final, Atlanta v Indy One. The final was a close game right up to the end when quick thinking Aaron Hogan scored a goal from a 21 yard free, this sealed Indy’s fate. Final score Atlanta 4-7 Indy One 3-6. The team that travelled to Nashville was Patrick Lynch, Daniel Kuemmerle, Andrew Dodd, Damien Gunning, John Hunt, Jamal Herrera, Paul Jones, Brian Boland, Aaron Hogan, Seamus Byrnes, David O’Malley, Justin Christopher, Miles Bishop, Austin Headley and Paul Bradley.
At the end of April we travelled to Charleston for the Holy City cup. Captained by Andrew Dodd the team got off to a flying start with goals from Thomas Kwok, Miles Bishop and Alex Collins who made a spectacular debut for his new team. The team defeated Hampton Roads in the first game and then defeated Raleigh in the second, this put us top of our group and into the final. The final didn’t go as planned and to be fair to Charleston they dominated from the start. The final score was Charleston 5-12, Atlanta 0-9.The Atlanta team played as hard as they could but in the end we were outnumbered and outgunned.
With a bitter taste in our mouths from the loss to Charleston we headed up the road for the Greenville Invitational. Our captain today was Paul Jones. We were also glad to welcome back Trey O’Callaghan who showed he hadn’t lost his touch. First game was against the hosts Greenville and it proved to be a good opener. The game showed that our new sharpshooter Alex Collins was on form and was ready to showcase his talents. Atlanta 4-22, Greenville 5-6. Second game was against Raleigh. The good news here was the dominant scoreline, Atlanta 11-14, Raleigh 0-4 the bad new was our full back Damien Gunning had pulled a hamstring and was out for the final, This was a big blow for us as we would be faci
ng Charleston. At this time in the south mother nature was turning up the thermostat and the hot days were well and truly here. At halftime Atlanta where going well and up by 2 points. It was a close game but Atlanta did look the stronger team. Then in the second half Charleston edged into the lead and before we know it they were up by over 8 points. Things weren’t looking that good but the entire Atlanta team dug deep with Cormac McCormack controlling the back line stopping the scores, Paul Jones and Thomas Kwok taking control of midfield and Alex Collins doing what he does best we clawed our way back to tie the game with less than a minute to go. In the final minute of the game Atlanta were awarded a free roughly thirty yards from the Charleston goal. On a hot day in Greenville up steps Alex Collins and scores a point to put Atlanta up by one, Shortly after the point was taken and the Charleston goalkeeper pucked the ball out the ref blew the final whistle and Atlanta had another trophy. This was the second game in 2016 where Atlanta held their nerve and came from behind to win. I couldn’t have been happier when I drove home that day. Final score Atlanta 5-10, Charleston 3-15. The team that travelled to Greenville was Patrick Lynch, Daniel Kuemmerle, Andrew Dodd, Damien Gunning, Cormac McCormack, Thomas Kwok, Paul Jones, Trey O’Callaghan, Miles Bishop, Alex Collins, Jo Jo Glen, Mick Robbins, Stuart Kelly (player manager).
The last tournament of the year was our own Peach Cup. We had two teams, Atlanta Coca Cola and Atlanta Ri Ra. This was a seven a-side tournament which is by far the hardest format to play, add temperatures in the high eighties and it becomes torture. Atlanta Coca Cola had a tougher group to qualify out of but with their determination and a great leader in Stuart Kelly they made it to the third place playoff against Greenville. In the dying minutes of the game Atlanta Coca Cola 
were down by one point, up steps veteran Atlanta hurler Johnny O’Sullivan and scores the final goal to give Atlanta Coca Cola the win. Final score Atlanta Coca Cola 6-3 Greenville 5-4. Atlanta Ri Ra made it to the final by beating Greenville and Knoxville convincingly. Atlanta Ri Ra would face Charleston in the final. This was a hard fought battle from the throw-in. Atlanta were at full strength here and had no intention of letting Charleston take the Peach Cup home with them. At halftime it looked like Atlanta were in control but as we have learned from the past you can’t always count out Charleston. In the second half Atlanta took full control with Alex Collins, the captain for the day leading the way and scoring at will. At one point late in the second half Charleston had broken through and looked to score a sure goal but with a magnificent hook by Dan Kuemmerle it showed Atlanta backs were not going to be broken today. Final score Atlanta Ri Ra 4-11 Charleston 0-9.
Atlanta Hurling capped off a great year with it’s fall league. The league had three full teams which made for some very competitive games, but more importantly showed how much hurling has grown here over the years. The league was won by Midtown who beat Roswell in the final. Most impressive was the Georgia Tech team which was mostly made up of newbie’s and they still managed to give Midtown and Roswell some very hard games. The spring league will start roughly around the end of February so we hope to see all the old faces out there and a lot of new ones.
From the 2016 hurling management, Stuart, Daniel and myself (Peter) we would like to thank all the players that travelled to the tournaments and gave their all for the Atlanta jersey. A special thanks to Jo Jo, Sarah and Zoey who helped us out when our numbers were low. Hope to see you all out on the field in 2017.
– Peter Molloy, Hurling Coach