FIFA World Cup Prediction Challenge

The FIFA World Cup kicks off in less than 2 weeks and the Men’s Football Section are giving everyone a chance to have more than a passing interest. The World Cup Prediction fundraiser has just gone live. It is simple to enter – entries must be in by 10th June latest. A ‘league table’ of entrants will be maintained over the period of the tournament which starts on 11th June and ends with the Final on July 19th. For more information and to enter. World Cup Prediction – Cuala Online Shop

The Dillon Quirke Foundation

Coinnigh an Dáta / Save the Date

The Dillon Quirke Foundation is coming to Cuala on Tuesday June 16th, 0900-1700.
A fantastic charity, they screen GAA players all over the country for SADs.
The screening will be offered initially to our Minor and U16 player groups.
Booking links will be sent via your section reps next week.

This is a Cuala Healthy Club initiative.

Coffee Morning

The Men’s Football section organised and ran a very successful coffee and cakes morning last Saturday in Our Lady’s Hall, Dalkey — a fundraiser in aid of the Glenamuck pitch purchase.

It was a busy and enjoyable few hours, and aside from the funds raised, there was so much positive feedback from those who attended. The event provided a great opportunity for members to meet, mix and socialise in a relaxed setting. An an occasion for the club to shows its presence in the local community.

A huge effort was made by a large number of volunteers to ensure everything ran smoothly, all delivered with a smile. There are too many names to mention individually, but fair to say that sleeves were rolled up to make sure that everything from decorating the venue to serving customers (the donors), selling raffle tickets, and ensuring ran seamlessly on the day. We even had some surprise babysitters stepping in when needed!

One exception to the no mention of names – a special word of thanks to Johno Hughes of Shoe Lane and his helpful staff for supplying all the freshly brewed coffee.

Thanks also to all club members and friends of Cuala who came along to support the event.

Finally, congratulations to the lucky prize winners drawn on the day: Aisling Fay, Paul McAdam, Dan O’Sullivan, Enda McGowan, Jen Doran, James Power, Coco McHugh, Fabio Costa, Eamon Brennan, Darragh O’Dowd, Deirdre Ní Fhloinn, Ann McHugh, Peter McMahon, Jonathan Hughes, Peter Duffy, Ella Doran and Margaret Fitzsimons

1976 U21 Men’s Football Championship Reunion

A memorable evening was had by members of the first Cuala football team to win a Dublin Championship – the 1976 Under 21 Championship last Saturday in The Club Pub Dalkey.

Of the 13 surviving team members 10 were present. Sadly, we lost two stalwarts of the team, Colm Mullen RIP passed away in 1979 and Michael Holden RIP in 2007.

Kevin Mallen, Tom Johnson were otherwise committed but sent good wishes while Plunkett Mallon chatted to us via Zoom throughout the evening from Vancouver. Some travelled a distance: Michael Quigley from Cornamona, Gerry Quinn from Kildare, Larry Kennedy from Longwood and Johnny Browner from Fiji.

Paul Keogh, team mentor, ably represented fellow mentor Pat Sheanon RIP who passed away in 1982. Pat’s son Mikie Sheanon,  in the generous spirit of his dad, bought us all drinks. The club was represented by John Sheanon, President

Our then trainer, Noel O’Donoghue could not attend on medical grounds but sent heartfelt apologies.

Vinny Holden gave motivational talks from the semi-final on, dropped in and continued the talks, as only he can!

Paddy Curran brought his coveted winners medal.

We were thrilled to see Willie Devlin,  given that an RIP death notice for a Willie Devlin was circulated as we endeavoured to find Willie!

Some team members had not met in the half century since. Warm friendships were rekindled, old stories grew legs and performances improved significantly with the passage of time.

A link between this team and Dublin, Leinster and All Ireland Club Champions of 2024/25 is Pat Dolphin who played in 1976 and was Chairman of the Football Committee in 2024/2025.

Our thanks to David & staff The Club Pub for looking after us so well!

Back row L to R:
Eamonn Brennan captain, Maurice Johnson, Brian Murdock, Paddy Curran, Anto Hayes, Michael Quigley & Willie Devlin

Front row L to R:
Pat Dolphin, Gerry Quinn, Larry Kennedy, John Browner, Paul Keogh mentor, Shay Hayes and John Sheanon

Amgen Student Bursary Winners

Congratulations to this year’s winners of the Amgen 2026/2027 Student Bursary awards. The awards are open to Cuala third level undergraduate students of STEM and related disciplines to assist them in their studies.

This year’s overall winner was Suzi Lee-Cooper, with awards also going to Stephen O’Rahilly, Fionn Ó Muirí, Clodagh Fay, Róisín Ní Drisceoil and Eva Nolan.

Winners are pictured above with Nicola Donnelly (Amgen), Paul Greene (Amgen Ireland MD) and Aisling Fay (Cuala Chairperson). Congratulations to all and well done to all the applicants who set all set a high standard for the judges.

Cuala would like to thank Amgen for their continued support of our club and of our student members through these bursary awards.

Men’s Players’ Player of the Year

The Men’s Football section recently convened to announce and present the winners of the Players Player of the Year for 2025

Voted on by fellow players the deserving winners were:

• Senior Player of the Year 2025: Eoin Kennedy
• Intermediate Player of the Year 2025: Killian O’Shea
• Junior 1 Player of the Year 2025: Cillian Cronin
• Junior 2 Player of the Year 2025: Dylan Kennedy

Congrats to all 4 winners. Pictures above.

Joe McNally Men’s invitational Masters 7’s football tournament

On Saturday 13th September Cuala competed in the annual Joe McNally Men’s invitational Masters 7’s football tournament for players born before the 12th of September 1985. 20 teams competed. In the opening game Cuala suffered a defeat to St Marks, the defending champions, but positive results against St Finians and John Mitchels from Liverpool meant Cuala had qualified for the quarter final against the host Club, St Anne’s.

In a tense and dramatic game Cuala progressed to the semi final with 2 late goals. However, in the semi final injuries began to take their toll, and after nearly 2 hours of football, Cuala lost to a very slick Templeogue Synge Street team, who went on to win the tournament.

Great craic had by all and while some of the bodies might not agree everyone is looking forward to the next tournament. Anybody interested in getting involved contact any member of the Men’s Adult football committee, contact details here.

Cairde Peil

Many of you will already know about Cairde Peil, and plenty of you are proud members. Recently, we held one of our regular draws for our Cairde Peil members, and here are the lucky winners:

· Derek Dunne – 2 Tickets for Robbie Williams in Croke Park

· Michael Scollard – Dinner Voucher

· Gerry Browner – Dinner Voucher

Congrats to the winners and for those who didn’t get drawn from the hat the next draw is coming soon.

Cairde Peil was launched in late 2024 as a way of backing our Men’s Adult Football programme. The idea is simple: to build a steady and reliable stream of support that not only helps the lads with what they need right now, but also strengthens the club for the years ahead.

This isn’t just about today’s matches — it’s about the future of football in Cuala. With your backing, we can make sure our players have the gear, the facilities, and the support they need to keep pushing on and representing the club with pride.

A huge thank you to everyone who has already signed up and is helping to drive this forward.

If you’d like to get involved with Cairde Peil, just drop an email to adultfootball@cualagaa.ie for more details, or you can sign up directly here.

Cuala Cairde Peil

Supporting the Future of Men’s Football
Many of you will be familiar with Cairde Peil and some readers here are already members.
A draw for Cuala Cairde Peil members was held on Tuesday night last.
The following were the lucky winners:
  • Des Cahill……Premium Tickets x 2 for All Ireland Quarter Finals on Saturday
  • Gerry Haughey……Hogan Stand Tickets x 2 for All Ireland Quarter Finals on Saturday
  • Ciaran Irwin……Cuala Jersey signed by players
  • Barbara Kearns……Artwork Jersey with players names
Launched in late 2024, Ciarde Peil is a fundraising initiative dedicated to supporting our Men’s Adult Football programme. Its core aim is to establish a reliable and sustainable source of funding that will not only support the team’s current needs but also help us grow and strengthen the club for years to come.

This initiative is about more than just today—it’s a commitment to the long-term development of football within our club. With your support, we can ensure our players continue to have the resources they need to train, compete, and thrive.

Thank you to all the existing members for the support.

If you would like to support Cairde Peil just email adultfootball@cualagaa.ie and request information or you can subscribe here

Cuala Senior Footballers All Ireland Medal Presentation Night

The historic success of our Senior Men’s Footballers this season was celebrated on Saturday night with a Medal Presentation Night in the Royal Marine Hotel. With our own Des Cahill as MC, the team was presented with their County, Provincial and All Ireland Club Medals by GAA President Jarlath Burns, who highlighted how Cuala is only the second club to have ever won both All Ireland Club Senior Football and Hurling titles. Once again, a huge congratulations to the Senior Football squad and management and thanks to all involved in making Saturday night a success.