Updated 1.30pm
SENIOR PANELLISTS CIAN O’Callaghan and Colm Cronin will spearhead the Dublin U21 hurling team that face Laois in tonight’s opening game in the Bord Gáis Energy Leinster championship.
But football stars Cormac Costello, Eric Lowndes, Conor McHugh and Emmet Ó Conghaile – who all featured in the 2011 All-Ireland minor hurling final for Dublin – are all not involved. That quartet have been focused on football this spring and helped Dublin to win the All-Ireland title earlier this month against Roscommon.
The teams meet in Parnell Park at 7.30pm with Dublin hoping for an improvement on their early exits in this competition over the past two years at the hands of Laois in 2012 and Carlow last year.
Full-back O’Callaghan and wing-forward Cronin both saw game time for the Anthony Daly’s senior side during this spring’s Allianz hurling league. Midfielder Glen Whelan will captain the Dublin side which draws heavily on the minor sides that contested the 2011 and 2012 All-Ireland finals.
The Laois team is packed with senior players as Patrick Whelan, Dwane Palmer, Cha Dwyer, Joe Campion, Ciaran Collier, PJ Scully, Enda Rowland, Ross King and Stephen Maher all start despite being only four days away from a Leinster quarter-final against Galway.
1. Conor Dooley (Ballyboden St Enda’s)
2. Seán McClelland (Lucan Sarsfields)
3. Cian O’Callaghan (Cuala)
4. Matthew McCaffrey (Lucan Sarsfields)
5. Eoghan O’Donnell (Whitehall Colmcille)
6. Rob Murphy (Kilmacud Crokes)
7. Chris Crummey (Lucan Sarsfields)
8. Glen Whelan (Ballinteer St John’s)
9. Conor Robinson (Ballyboden St Enda’s)
10. Paul Winters (St Brigid’s)
11. Kevin O’Flynn (St Sylvester’s)
12. Colm Cronin (Cuala)
13. Oisín O’Rorke (Kilmacud Crokes)
14. Aodhán Clabby (Ballinteer St John’s)
15. Caolán Conway (Kilmacud Crokes)
1. Enda Rowland (St Lazerian’s Abbeyleix)
2. Matthew Collier (Camross)
3. Gearoid Burke (Camross)
4. Conor Dunne (Portlaoise)
5. Dwane Palmer (Camross)
6. Willie Young (Clonaslee St Manman’s)
7. Colm Stapleton (Borris-in-Ossory-Kilcotton)
8. Paddy Whelan (Borris-in-Ossory-Kilcotton)
9. Ciaran Collier (Camross)
10. Joe Campion (Borris-in-Ossory-Kilcotton)
11. Charles Dwyer (Ballinakill)
12. Ben Conroy (Castletown Slieve Bloom)
13. PJ Scully (Borris-in-Ossory-Kilcotton)
14. Ross King (Rathdowney Errill)
15. Stephen Maher (Clough Ballacolla)
