Dublin rivalry turns ugly as O'Tooles win bitter clash

O'Tooles ... 1-13 Craobh Chiarain ... 2-7: Two weeks ago the Dublin hurling final ended in a draw and was quickly hailed by many as a great advert for the game in the city. Yesterday's eagerly-awaited replay will be remembered as one of the black days for Dublin hurling. From Ian O'Riordan at Parnell Park

Two players got straight red cards for off-the-ball strikes. A third player saw red after two bookings. At another point, 29 of the 30 players on the field were involved in a mass and uncontrollable brawl. And in between all that there was bottle-throwing between a player and a spectator, punches thrown on the sideline and verbal abuse from up in the stands that wouldn't pass an 18-cert.

Exactly why the game descended into such ugly and unacceptable scenes is likely to be examined by the Dublin County Board, depending on the referee's report. At one stage the county secretary, John Costello, had to make his way down to the sideline to restore the peace. County chairman John Bailey was also present to witness the disturbing scenes.

Earlier this month the GAA presidentSeán McCague commented on the outbreaks of indiscipline that marred the first International Rules Test against Australia, and threatened to cancel the series if they were repeated. Yesterday's indiscipline was far more intentional, at times clearly bordering on violent, and the game of hurling in Dublin could perhaps do with a similar sort of threat.

In the end, O'Tooles won their first county title since the three-in-a-row from 1995-97, but they had to do it with 13 men after defender Philip Brennan and full forward Damien Hernon received straight red cards. Brennan was gone after just eight minutes for a strike on Craobh Chiarain's forward David Keane, and Hernon departed five minutes into the second half for a similar sort of strike on defender David Wyse.

Hernon initially refused to leave the field, and instead made another go at a couple of Craobh Chiarain players. It was as he reluctantly walked to the sideline that a Coke bottle, thrown from a section of the crowd, landed by his feet. The 30-year-old Hernon, who has represented Dublin at all levels, then threw the bottle back into the crowd with equal force - though it was unclear whether it hit his intended target.

Even when he reached the dugout the scuffles continued and it was several minutes - and several punches later - before things cooled off and the game resumed.

At an earlier stage, 10 minutes into the game, it appeared as if match referee Paul Tobin had lost complete control. Craobh Chiarain's Connie Ring was seen wrestling an O'Tooles player on the ground just beyond midfield. The entire O'Tooles team, and everyone from Craobh Chiarain, except goalkeeper Ger Ryan, decided to join in and for several minutes the game of hurling was the furthest thing from their minds.

Incredibly, no one was even booked for that incident, but in truth the referee would have had to send off all 29 players if justice were do be done.

Craobh Chiarain's Seamus Kelly was the third player to see red for a second booking midway through the second half.

Needless to say, the standard of hurling on display throughout the hour was far from poetic. The two clubs are no strangers to each other having shared five of the last seven Dublin championship titles between them, but up to now their rivalry had never been known to be this bitter.

Craobh Chiarain, the reigning champions, came off the replay with the greater momentum and it stayed that way after they decided to play with the strong wind for the first half. After a quarter-hour they were up 0-5 to 0-2, with Connie Ring and Ger Ennis displaying the most useful scoring touches.

But O'Tooles fought back hard before the break, with Brendan McLoughlin (normally Dublin's goalkeeper) providing much of the impetus from centre back. At the turnaround Craobh Chiarain's lead had been cut back down to one, 0-7 to 0-6.

Just minutes into the second half O'Tooles got ahead through Kevin Ryan, and from then on looked like winners - even when reduced to 13 men. Derek O'Reilly and Stephen McDonnell gave Craobh Chiarain some hope with low-fired goals each, but Brendan McLoughlin balanced them out with an equally determined goal from a free. O'Tooles now meet Carlow champions St Mullin's.

O'TOOLES: K McLoughlin; K Ryan (0-1), L O'Donoghue, M Cox; P Brennan, B McLoughlin (1-2, two frees, one 65), K Wilson; M Carton (0-2), K Flynn (0-4, three frees); K Horgan, D McLoughlin (0-2), M Healy; P O'Donoghue, D Hernon (0-1), G Morris (0-1). Subs: S Kearns for Morris (48 mins), P Bradshaw for D McLoughlin (60 mins).

CRAOBH CHIARAIN: G Ryan; S Keeley, K O'Donoghue, A McCord; D O'Reilly (1-0), D Wyse, F Kelly; J McGuirk, S McDonnell (1-1); G Ennis (0-1), C Ring (0-4, two frees), K Elliot; G Duggan (0-1), D Kirwan, D Keane. Subs: R Farrelly for Duggan (23 mins), G Leonard for Keane (29 mins).

Referee: P Tobin