THE END LINE

A SIDEWAYS LOOK AT THE SPORTING NEWS

THE question was asked during the week whether to be a hurler is dependent on geography. Would 10-time All-Ireland winner Henry Shefflin have taken up the game if he happened to have been born in Leitrim rather than Kilkenny?

Well, one event this weekend suggests he might have had a shot at making it either way. The Táin Óg Youth Hurling League has been driven by the GAA’s National Hurling Development Manager Martin Fogarty – Brian Cody’s former sideline lieutenant with Kilkenny - and has involved more than 600 under-13 hurlers. And yes, Leitrim is one of the 11 designated developing counties where work is continuing to encourage more and more young people to play the game. The full list Armagh, Cavan, Down, Fermanagh, Louth, Leitrim, Longford, Monaghan, Mayo, Roscommon, and Sligo with players from 32 different clubs represented.