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2018 Camogie Feile Divisions 2 & 6 – Match Reports

Last Saturday morning the sun was splitting the skies, the 2004 girls team made up of 37 players (inc. five 2005 players) met at the clubhouse at 8:30am. There was plenty of excitement, photos & best wishes and we all set off from the Club at 8:45am to represent the parish in camogie.

Our division 2 team headed to Castleknock with our division 6 team playing in Ballyboden.

Division 2 Update

After a short journey along the M50 we arrived at Castleknock’s pitch just before 9:30am. The players were ready, mentors and supporters were all set and looking forward to seeing the great skills of the girls. Before the throw-in, all (8) teams participating in the division 2 feile competition, paraded around Castleknock’s pitch, lead by the piper. The crowds cheered and clapped all teams as the players walked past the supporters. The captain for the Feile competition was Shauna Dunne who led the team with pride and passion.

The first match, Castleknock Vs Raheny.. Castleknock were favorites as they beat us a couple of weeks ago and with home advantage they thought the two points were in the bag..  but no, the girls came out, in the true spirit that is Raheny GAA. With a couple of scores exchanged, we lost our goalkeeper Maria O’Connor to injury (arm) and our versatile corner back Aisling Brassil stepped up to the mark who played great between the sticks for the rest of the game.  A couple of the girls took knocks, and with the fantastic skills of all the players including Moya Harrison, Lili Ni Brádaigh, Carys Daly and Ava Peake the team drew the match. It was a great game of end to end camogie.

The second match, Raheny Vs Fingallians.. again another team that we played against previously (the last time was the Div 2 U13 Championship Final). This was going to be another cracking encounter and it certainly was. Clodagh McKeever, Sarah Brady and Emily Roberts in the full back line were sublime. The half back line of Katelyn Kelly, Cristina Tome and Kate McCullagh were rock solid and with the ‘faster than speed of light’ pace of Lucy McMullen and Shauna Dunne on display the team ran Fingallians to the wire. This match did not go our way and we were pipped by 2 points.

The third match, Raheny Vs St. Vincents.. this game was our final game of the day, Vinnies who won the the previous two games (against Castleknock and Fingallians) were through to the semi-finals. We knew this game would be a hard fought battle and that it was. At the end of the first half we were down by a point, it was a very close game and all girls played with so much heart, including outstanding performances from Kate Kelly, Sinead O’Hanlon, Jane Murphy, Sarah Kelly, Aisling Brassil & Maria O’Connor (who returned from injury).

The final whistle blew, the girls were gracious in defeat (we lost by a couple of points),  shook hands and congratulated the opposition & referee only to be cheered on by the so many supported who supported the team (including U15 girls team) the entire day.

(Note: St Vincent’s went on to win the Div 2 Feile Competition on Sunday.)

Division 6 Update

The Div 6 team set out in great hope last Saturday morning to the wilds of South Dublin to participate in the annual Feile festival of camogie. The venue was Ballyboden St. Enda’s and we were greeted with blue skies and a warm welcome from our hosts. The team were resplendent in their Raheny gear and looked the part as we set up camp on the freshly cut grass adjacent to pitch 1.

The first match was scheduled for 10.40am against Castleknock. This was a tough game and Raheny were on the back foot early on and conceded 2 quick goals. The team battled hard to get back into the match and scored a point through the determined work of Abi Kelly in midfield with Katelyn Moran getting the score. Castleknock fought back to get another goal and a point before half time despite the brave efforts of Aisling Griffin and Laura Nolan in the back line. The second half was a more even affair and Raheny were unlucky not to score with some great work down the left wing by Mia Dodd causing panic in the Castleknock defence on more than one occasion. The Raheny team were greatly supported by the players from the U13 squad and in the second half Caoilinn Hayden was a threat every time she got on the ball. Castleknock stole in for a goal and a point late on to leave the score line 0-01 to 4-03. This was not the start the team had hoped for but was always likely to be the most difficult game and this proved to be the case.

Our second match was against Ballinteer St. John’s who we had met the previous week. That game resulted in a narrow defeat for Raheny and the team were determined to come out on top this time. Ballinteer got off to a quick start and raced into a 2 goal lead before some great forward play from Terri Fuller and Aoife Doherty resulted in a goal by Katelyn Moran. Raheny continued to pile on the pressure through Nicola Cotter and Laoise Kellett but some heroic defending by Ballinteer meant the team went in a goal down at half time. The second half was mainly played in the Ballinteer half and any threat at the other end was snuffed out by the superb goalkeeping of Charley Reynolds. The pressure on the Ballinteer defence finally told and Katelyn Moran cracked in another great goal to set up a grandstand finish. Unfortunately the clock was not on our side and despite relentless pressure on the Ballinteer goal the game finished in a draw 2-00 to 2-00.

Results in other games meant that our final game against the hosts was a winner takes all affair. Despite this being our third game and the inevitable physical strain that had on the players, they rose to the occasion and played their best game of the day. They were fired up from the first whistle and tackled with great determination and intensity and no shortage of skill. After 5 minutes the ball was launched into the forward line and following some brave tackling from Eimear McGlinchy the ball fell to Eve O’ Grady who gave the team a great start with a goal. The pressure was intense as the Ballyboden players fought tooth and nail to get back into the game. Aoibhe Marjoram was immense and defended as if her life depended on it and Laura Kelly and Katie Kent used their fitness and strength to put up a roadblock in front of Charley’s goal. The pressure finally told and Ballyboden scored a goal and a point from a free just before half time. The Raheny team put in a valiant effort in the second half and the skilful play of Clodagh Callanan and Lauren Murphy created chances that on another day would have produced a score. However, despite the courageous effort by the players in the second half the match finished in a narrow win for Ballyboden on a score line of 1-02 to 1-00.

The team narrowly missed out on a place in the final but it was inspirational to see the effort that they put in over the 3 games. The Mentors would like to thank them for representing Raheny and their families so well.

A huge thanks to the families and friends who travelled out with the team and provided massive support and encouragement throughout the day.

A heartfelt thanks to the U13 players who joined us on the day. They integrated really well with the group and were superb team players over the 3 games.

The players would not have performed as well as they did without the cool head and steady hand of Tony O’Grady and the motivational skills of John Nolan who also doubled as Water Boy for the day. Operations Manager Gar McKeever ensured there was a plentiful supply of food and drink for the squad throughout the day and as Umpire he stood his ground when a disputed ‘point’ for Ballyboden was correctly signalled as a wide. A special mention goes to Ciara Manley who provided great support and encouragement to the team and is a great role model for the players.

Finally

After the great displays of the entire squad (div 2 & div 6), we all headed back to the club for refreshments. Pizza and chips were in great demand and the girls started and ended the day with big smiles.

We would like to thank the ambassadors that are our players, the five U13 team players, parents and supporters who made this day an enjoyable experience for the girls. Roll on the football feile on 19 / 20 May.

The 2004 Ladies Team Mentors - Antoinette, Kevin, Anthony, Tony, Patrick, Gareth, Ciara & John.