Dublin Féile 2015

On Saturday last, April 25^th, the club entered 2 teams in the Dublin Féile.  The first team were placed in division 1 along with Kilmacud Crokes, Na Fianna, Cuala, Lucan and hosts Ballyboden.  The second team were placed in division 5A with St. Anne’s, Craobh Ciaran and the hosts Round Towers Clondalkin.  Both panels had been training diligently since the start of the year and were anxiously awaiting the big day.  From early in the week, Met Eireann had been forecasting rain for Saturday.  Everybody hoped that Met Eireann had got it wrong and this appeared to be the situation when they gathered in a sun-kissed Kilbogget Park early Saturday morning.  

First up for the division 1 team was a 10 a.m. start against Na Fianna on pitch 3.  The team arrived in plenty of time to get settled in for the day and just as they arrived in Ballyboden, the rain started …. Met Eireann got it rightL.  Foxrock Cabinteely and Na Fianna met in the league the previous week where Foxrock Cabinteely came out on top after a very physical battle. The team knew the tough encounter that lay ahead and it took them a while to settle down.  Roisin McGovern settled the team with a very well taken goal after 5 minutes. This was followed by points from Jessica Connolly and Jodie Egan.  Na Fianna never gave up and scored 2 points before half time to leave a goal between the sides.  The second half started with the rain getting heavier (Met Eireann were still right) and Roisin McGovern found the back of the net again with the first attack of the half to put 2 goals between the sides again.  As it turns out, that was the last score of the game with Foxrock Cabinteely winning by 2-2 to 0-2.

Next up was Kilmacud Crokes again on pitch 3. With players from both teams attending the same schools, most were familiar with other because apart from being fellow students, some of them actually play on the same school Gaelic football, hockey and basketball teams!    On this occasion Foxrock Cabinteely came out on top by 4-1 to 0-1. Roisin McGovern scored 3 goals, Emma Dawson scored the other goal and Jodi Egan scored the point.  All the while, the rain kept falling. Met Eireann were still right.
 

Game 3 saw Foxrock Cabinteely take on hosts Ballyboden St. Enda’s on pitch 2. With all the rain that had fallen since the first game against Na Fianna, it probably should have been renamed pool 2 instead of pitch 2.  For some reason the game went ahead on this pitch and the girls literally found it hard to find their feet.  Snorkels and fins were probably more appropriate attire rather than gloves and boots.  In the end Ballyboden won by 2-3 to 0-1 with the Foxrock point coming from Jodi Egan.

With 2 games remaining, 1 more win was required to be assured of a semi-final spot.  Cuala were the next opponents and after a very tight game Foxrock Cabinteely ended up winning by 2-0 to 1-1 with the goals coming from Lily O’Rourke and Jessica Connolly.

Lucan were the opponents in the final game of the league stages. In their last 3 outings against Lucan, Foxrock Cabinteely beat them by a point in the U13 division 1 shield final, drew with them in the last U13 league game and lost to them by a point in the first U14 league game so there was no doubt that this was going to be a tight affair. After a thrilling game, Lucan ended up winning by a point on a final score of 1-1 to 1-0 with the Foxrock Cabinteely goal coming from Roisin McGovern.  

Despite the loss, the team finished in second place so this meant that they would be playing the team that finished in third place and that turned out to be Kilmacud Crokes.  Some of the Foxrock Cabinteely girls  picked up a few injuries in the last couple of games in the league stages and team physio Niamh Moriarty (who is a grandniece of legendary GAA commentator Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh) was kept busy. After a titanic battle, Kilmacud Crokes won by 4-2 to 1-4 and thus ended Foxrock Cabinteely’s 3 years reign as Dublin Féile Division 1 champions. Roisin McGovern got the goal and Jessica Connolly scored the 4 points.  

Full credit must go to the players, mentors, parents and supporters who braved the 6 hour downpour. Although they were disappointed at not making it to the final, all concerned can be extremely proud of the way the team conducted themselves throughout the day.  Sincere thanks to Ballyboden for the hospitality shown to all from Foxrock Cabinteely.

The first game for the division 5A team was at 10:50 when they took on Craobh Ciaran.  Like the division 1 team in their first game, it took them a while to settle down, but once they got their first score, they couldn’t stop scoring and they got the competition off to the ideal start with a great 8-3 to 0-1 win.

Next up was St. Anne’s at 11:50. St. Anne’s are joint second in the division 4 league but the grading meeting somehow saw them being placed in the division 5 Féile. Foxrock Cabinteely battled throughout but just came up short when losing by 3-5 to 0-1. 

The third game was a must win for the girls when they faced Round Towers. Towers had also won 1 of their previous 2 games so they too need to win to secure a semi-final spot.  It was end to end stuff for whole game and while Foxrock Cabinteely won by 3-6 to 1-5, 2 of the 3 goals only came in the last few minutes of the game so the score line isn't a true reflection on how close this game really was.  

The work was done and a semi-final place was secured. Trinity Gaels topped the group in division 5B so they were to be the opponents in the semi-final.  The Gaels are also top of the division 5 league having won all 3 games that they’ve played so far so they were the form team coming into Féile.  However, form stands for nothing when it comes to knock-out football and Foxrock Cabinteely blew their opponents away with a magnificent 3-2 to 0-6 win. A place in the final was the least this team of warriors deserved.

The message for the team was clear from manager John Gallagher…. Go home and relax, soothe the tired muscles, go to bed early on Saturday night and meet in Kilbogget at 11 on Sunday morning for the trip to O’Toole Park where division 4 league team St. Anne’s would be the opponents. A call was sent to all club members asking them to come and support the team in the final and a large number of supporters answered that call. The game was scheduled for 1 p.m. but due to the division 7 final going to extra time, all games were delayed by 20 minutes.  Once the team made their way onto the pitch, the large number of Foxrock Cabinteely supporters made themselves heard and this really boosted the girls.  From the throw in, each girl gave her all and battled for every ball. There was only 4 points between the teams at half time so it was all to play for in the second half.  The experience of playing in a higher league benefited St. Anne’s in the second half and they got a few early scores which Foxrock Cabinteely didn’t have time to recover from.  While the team fell at the final hurdle, they must be complimented on their play throughout the whole tournament.  Participating in a final – in any sport – is a huge achievement and is something that these girls will remember long into the future.

Thanks to Round Towers and Crumlin GAA for their hospitality over the weekend.

The players who represented the club with distinction over the weekend were: Kate Boland, Ava Clarke, Beth Clarke, Jessica Connolly, Ciara Cullen, Emma Dawson, Lisa Davies, Jodi Egan, Helen Fisher, Kez Higgins, Grace Keane (Captain Div 1 team), Rhoslyn Kirwan, Ann Marie Lynch, Eve Lynch, Roisin McGovern, Danielle Myles, Aisling Ni Raghallaigh, Molly O’Connell, Sarah O’Leary, Lile O’Rourke, Aobha Russell, Jodie Carter, Eve Cotter, Emily Cryan, Rebecca Currivan, Anna FitzGerald, Jasmine Gallagher (Captain Div 5 team), Lucy Kiersy, Ciara Mangan, Sorcha McFadden, Ciara Mills, Niamh O’Connell, Clodagh Walsh, Sarah Dillon, Ava Egan, Emma Flatman, Eva Gilroy, Sadhbh Lowry, Amy Mahon, Ella McCambridge, Eve Moloney, Saoirse Moloney, Niamh O’Brien, Lauren O’Halloran and Aisling O’Kelly.

All teams rely on a good backroom team and the club certainly weren’t lacking in this space when it came to these teams.  Thanks to the following for their help and support during the campaign: John O’Rourke, Tony Myles, Glynn Davies, Niamh Moriarty, Marla Candon, Anne Marie Murphy, Stephanie Duffy, Alva Boland, John Gallagher, Ciara Murphy, Mick Egan, Niall O'Kelly, Marc Lowry, Sheenagh Cotter, Joanne Maloney and Brian Walshe.

Kitting out 45 girls is an expensive task and apart from the fund raising that was done by the girls, the club would also like to acknowledge the very generous sponsorship of the following:

• KPMG
• Eversheds
• Havas Media
• John McCambridge
• Digicom
• Snap

While the Féile chapter is closed for 2015, both teams still have a lot of football to play for the remainder of the year.  The league has to be finished and the championship will start in late August. Let’s build on the solid foundations that have been laid by the Féile weekend.