Rathangan GAA were delighted to be in attendance at the Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, last Monday night for the 2021 Camán Chill Dara, Club Hurling Awards.

The Camán Chill Dara program is designed to recognise the work being undertaken by clubs in the promotion of hurling in their club, schools and wider community.

Hurling Co-Ordinator Jason Page accepted Rathangan's Gold Award on behalf of the club, presented to him by Uachtarán CLG Larry McCarthy, who spoke about the uphill battle facing minority sports, and the need to develop and support referees in our game in his opening address.

When asked what this award meant to him and the club, Jason, he humbly pointed back to the representatives from Rathangan in attendance, eloquently highlighting the huge team effort of coaches, Covid supervisors, parents, children and the support of the club. He acknowledged the comradery between every club in the county, working together to raise hurling in Kildare. When asked how he did it, his response summed up the feeling of the evening, and was echoed by later speakers, 'The support of every person in this room', 'you're never alone.'

The application process itself was not easy, 35 criteria had to be met, including increasing numbers (we saw a 348% increase in participation LFL), social media promotion, Hurling Cúl Camps and increasing links with schools, to name but a few. The submission was expertly drafted by Underage Chairperson James Brennan, who said it was easy, because all the work had already been done. He also emphasised the huge team effort and echoed thanks to all parents, coaches, Covid supervisors and children for making hurling in Rathangan such a success.

There's no doubt about it, the future of hurling in Rathangan is bright.