Under 14
Last
weekend our under 14 panel headed to Bruff in Co. Limerick to represent the
county in Division 1 of the Féile Hurling All Ireland tournament. On arrival in
Bruff we received our official welcome from the club chairman. The children met
the host families and got their accommodation sorted for the weekend.
At
3pm we started with the first game of the weekend. This was against Bruff our
hosts. This was a close game throughout, with some great hurling displayed. Our
backs were particularly good during this game with some brilliant blocking. We
were always just holding the edge here though and won 1-9 to 2-4. After the
game we had some refreshments and made our way to the Gaelic Grounds in
Limerick for the parade. The parade had over 200 teams from all over the
country including Hurling, Camogie and Handball and all the teams walked from
there to O’Connell St.
Next
morning we had an early start to go the short trip to Kilmallock to play them
in our second game with 10:00 throw in. In this game we got off to a flying
start and were 3 goals to no score up after 10 minutes. We were always in
control in this game and ended the game 4-09 to 0-4. We had a short break
before our next game against the Wexford champions, St. Martins.
This
game became an all or nothing game for both teams as St. Martins had also won
their first 2 games with the winner going through to the All Ireland Semi Final.
We go off to a great start again in this game with some great team work and
were 0-7 to 0-0 up at half time. In the second half the Wexford champions came
back with huge determination and got a few points followed by 2 goals and we
found ourselves 2 points down half way through the second half. Despite the
players tiring with the tropical type conditions they really dug deep and soon
got back in control and finished well on top to record a 2-10 to 2-3 win. We
now had time for a well deserved rest and some refreshments after playing 2
games in temperatures in the mid 20’s, while we waited to hear who qualified
from the other side of the draw to make up the Semi Final.
At
6:15 pm we took to the field for the 3rd time that day against the
Dublin champions, Ballyboden St. Endas. In this game the Dublin team started
well and they were 0-9 to 0-1 up at half time. In the second half our boys
upped their efforts and were just getting back into the game when Ballyboden
got a goal. Despite our lads being exhausted they never gave up and kept
battling to the final whistle, where we were beaten 2-12 to 0-4.
Our
players did themselves, families, club and county proud over the weekend both
on and off the field. They will all have learnt from the experience of a
lifetime and can reflect of playing in an All Ireland Semi Final and take
consolation that Ballyboden St. Endas went on to become All Ireland Champions
the next afternoon by beating Douglas from Cork 4-2 to 0-4.
Saturday
evening we were back to the host club with all our boys showered and gelled for
a Barbecue and a Disco. Bruff were also hosting the Antrim Camogie club. This
was a very relaxing evening where both camoige and hurling teams, mentors and
parents enjoyed the lovely food. We would like to thank the Bruff club for
their hospitality all over the weekend.
A
special word of thanks must go to Liam O Connor based in Limerick who had put
in tremendous work over the last few weeks helping organise a lot of the
logistics to ensure the boys wanted for nothing over the weekend. Also to
Carmel Power our Juvenile Secretary who since we qualified for both Féiles last
March has worked extremely hard to ensure everything was organised.
Finally
a word of thanks must go to all the parents and supporters who travelled to
cheer on our young players. The players themselves should be extremely proud of
their achievement over the weekend and should bring the learning and experience
with them.
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| Féile Hurling Panel 2013 |
Upcoming Games
Under
13 Championship against Dungarvan on Thursday 11th July.
Outdoor Hurling
Outdoor
hurling continues every Saturday morning from 10.30 for boys age five and up.
Helmets and hurleys can be purchased through the club at a discounted price.
Minor Hurling
Our
minor hurling team were defeated by Ballygunner in our first game of the county
championship. This was a tremendous game of hurling by both sides with
Ballygunner lucky in the end to come away with victory.
Youngsters
We
played Stadbally on Friday evening last at our club grounds in games for the
under 6 and under 7 age group. Both hurling and football was played and was
great to see so many present on what was a beautiful evening. For a lot of
these kids it was their first game for the club and let’s hope for most of them
it will be the first of many. Well done to everyone involved especially the
kids themselves.
