Féile
Na n-Óg - Kildare 2009
All roads led Kildare at the week-end as our U14 took part
in the Annual All-Ireland Féile competition. The girls
left the club early on Friday morning with a large contingent
of families and supporters in tow but not before Kieran McKeever
and Ronan Clarke made a special visit to the club to wish
the girls well and give them some words of advice.
Friday 3rd July
On arrival in Kildare the girls headed straight for their
host club, Leixlip where they would play their first game
of the competition. The girls got off to the best possible
start, beating their opponents and host club 2 – 3 to
1 – 3. Nicole Marron got the ball rolling with a well
taken point before Aimee Mackin found the back of the net.
A goal and a point from Nicole Marron saw them leading 2 –
2 to 0 – 0 at the interval. The second half was a more
closely fought contest with the Leixlip club scoring a goal
and a point early on. A Moya Feehan point increased the Shanes
advantage and they managed to hold on for that all important
opening win despite Leixlip scoring two points late on.
Following the game the girls met their host families and
they headed off to get ready for the parade of teams on Friday
evening. The parade itself took place in Newbridge and the
Shanes girls took their place with the other 159 teams in
St Conleth’s Park, the home of Kildare GAA, where they
heard speeches from the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese
and the GAA president, Christie Cooney. Then it was off to
march through Newbridge where thousands of GAA followers and
supporters had gathered to cheer the teams on.
Saturday 4th July
Saturday morning saw the Shanes travel to Confey to take
on the home side and St Pauls from Belfast. The Shanes secured
a comfortable win against the Confey side on a score-line
of 4 – 5 to 0 – 3 with two great goals from Moya
Feehan and point from Aimee Mackin in the first half paving
the way for the victory. The second half saw the Shanes introduce
all their subs, including the youngest squad members Aoibheann
Jones, Blaithín Mackin and Hannah McMenamin, to ensure
that every one of the girls who travelled got a taste of Féile
action but they still racked up the scores, scoring another
two goals and four points. The scores came from Aimee Mackin,
Marieanne Marron and Moya Feehan. The only down side to this
game was the fact that young Amy Morgan broke her fingers
while challenging for the ball.
Before their third game a member of the organising committee
summoned the Shane’s team and mentors together but there
was no need to panic, he was there to present an award to
the Shanes for the best dressed visiting girls’ team
in Féile. Out of a total of approx 40 girls’
teams in the competition this was a tremendous achievement
for the club.
On next to the third game and a virtual quarter-final clash
against St Pauls from Belfast where the winner would literally
take all, in this case a place in the semi-final. This proved
to be a brilliant game of football with both sides going all
out for that all important win. The Shanes fell behind by
two points early on but an Aimee Mackin goal put them one
ahead. A further two points from the Belfast side put them
one in front again but a well taken point by Maura McCann
levelled things right on the stroke of half-time, 1 –
1 to 0 – 4. Three quick points from St Pauls in the
second-half seemed to have won them the game but the Shanes
girls have great heart and never gave up and this came to
the fore again and an Aimee Mackin goal levelled things up
once more. It was end to end stuff now, a real nail-biter
but when the ref blew the final whistle the game was all square,
2 – 1 to 0 – 7 and it came down to the dreaded
total points scored rule to see which of the two teams would
progress to the semi-final. Unfortunately for the Shanes it
wasn’t them as the St Pauls side scored five more points
than them over the three games played. It was heart-break
for the girls and supporters, exiting the competition despite
not having lost a game, very unlucky indeed.
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After the game the girls returned to the hotel where their
own families and friends were staying for a few relaxing hours
in the pool before everyone headed back to the Leixlip club
to watch the Armagh – Monaghan game on the big screen.
There was great banter throughout the game as the Leixlip
club were also hosting the Monaghan Harps club and Brendan
McGuire, one of our mentors, didn’t feel as outnumbered
as he watched the game in his Monaghan jersey. The Leixlip
club then put on a quiz for all the children and there is
undoubtedly brains in the Shane’s youngsters as two
of their teams picked up second and third prizes in the quiz.
A number of short speeches were also made with the Shanes
club thanking their Leixlip counterparts for all their hospitality
towards our club and a small presentation was made by our
club to theirs in recognition of this.
All in all this was a great week-end and a great experience
for all those who travelled to Kildare. The girls were fantastic
– they played with great skill, great heart and great
pride in their jersey. They are a credit to themselves, their
families and to the club as a whole. Great credit also must
go to their mentors – Peter Lynch, Brendan McGuire,
Clare Carroll and Freda Mackin. Last year was the first year
the Shanes had a girl’s team and these four individuals
have worked tirelessly and they are now being rewarded for
all their effort and commitment.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those
parents and supporters who travelled to Kildare to cheer the
girls on and to all those who helped make the week-end possible;
it is much appreciated not only by the girls but the Shane
O’Neills club. A special word of thanks to Nicola McCabe,
the club physio, who travelled with the team and to the bus
driver Frank McCabe, it wouldn’t be the same without
him. Finally, a big word of thanks to all those who sponsored
the girls team in any way, from sponsoring jerseys, kit bags,
polo shirts to placing adverts in papers wishing the girls
well and contributing to fundraising activities – your
support is, as always, greatly appreciated.
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