Surreal day for Cuala as footballers arrive at the club football summit

Yesterday's AIB All-Ireland club football triumph was described as "surreal" by their captain James Power.

The Dalkey outfit burst into an early lead against Errigal Ciarán but the Tyrone men made a battle out of in the second half, closing the gap - which reached 14 points at one stage - down to three points.

With only a few minutes go however, Ruairí Canavan had a chance to cut the gap to two points, but he pushed his effort wide and from there, the Dublin champions were able to see out the game.

The victory made them only the second club to have ever won both senior club titles, following on from St Finbarr's of Cork, who added club football triumphs in 1980, 1981 and 1987 to the hurling titles they had won in 1975 and 1978.

The victory was all the more impressive given the fact that Cuala had been playing in the Senior 2 championship in the capital at the start of this decade.

"It's completely surreal," Power told RTÉ Sport after the game.

"Cuala football has been a million miles away from the stage for so many years. We have had a real struggle for the last 15 years, going from intermediate to senior, then back to senior 2 and struggling to come out of it.

"Then Covid came along and there was no promotion. We have taken some amount of hidings over the years.

"It happened fairly quickly this year, but to be here in Croke Park as All-Ireland champions, I can’t really describe it. It’s amazing."

It was the hurlers in Dalkey who really put the club on the map winning back-to-back All-Ireland titles in the last decade.

And while Power took joy from those victories for the club's small ballers, he says he never thought it could happen to him.

"We saw the hurlers do it," Power added. "Had you said to me at that stage the footballers