A great crowd had gathered…
York Ladies Gaelic Football – Senior division
“A great crowd had gathered… inside the gates of Gaelic Park” to witness the 2008 openers of the New York Ladies Gaelic Football – Senior division. Only shame was that with all those in attendance you could not even buy a bottle of water. Someone forgot to the let those involved know there would be a need.
Great to see the return of so many of the faces from last year and it is also a remarkable achievement for those involved with the under age program to see the number of their players getting involved also.
Eugene Kyne and Kieran Traynor, our referees of the day, were ‘chomping at the bit’ to get the games in motion as they were both coming from their Referees Refresher Course given at the weekend. This was given as part of the “Grab your Whistle and Go” program, along with the “FUNdamentals” coaching course – all of which was directed by the able bodied volunteers of the Ladies GAA in Ireland. By the way Kieran – Eileen Jones wants her whistle back!! Many thanks and appreciation must go to Nollaig Cleary and Margaret Kelly for giving up their Saturday and Sunday morning lie-in, yet again, to ensure everyone was where thy had to be to take part in the weekend’s events. It was also very inspiring to see the number of parents, guardians and minors giving of their time to take part.
What started out as a dull dreary day cleared up to be perfect for a day out to see the first ladies game on the cards which was the match-up between Fermanagh, under new management, and the much improved Na Fianna team.
The scoring started quickly with Mary (Molly) O’Rourke of Na Fianna hitting the back of the Fermanagh net. It took the Fermanagh ladies a few minutes to settle the butterflies and aptly did so with a point from Susie O’Connor seven minutes into the game. Play continued with fine showings in the first half from Molly O’Rourke, Jeanine Rynne, Imelda Mullarkey, Ellen McGrail, Joanne Monaghan & Ann Ryan for Na Fianna and from Donna Quinn, Susie O’Connor, Caitlin Slattery, Tracey-Ann McCullagh & Clare McElroy for Fermanagh. The score at half time was Fermanagh – 0-3 to Na Fianna’s 1-6. The second half was very competitive and started out with the Fermanagh ladies putting the score keeper to work. A fine goal was set up by the speedy Molly Boyle who tipped the ball into Caitlin McGuigan who sent the ball right into the back of the Na Fianna net. The competition was now on and Fermanagh’s fitness under the new leadership of La King and Joe Shanaghy was a tribute to the pair. They had their chances to take the lead in this game but were unfortunate in having missed a penalty and sending a number of chances wide. Their forwards came under pressure from a firm Na Fianna back line who limited the scoring chances.
All told it was a great start to the new season with numerous players from both teams showing great commitment and improvement and hopefully it will continue throughout the season. Players of the game were: Susie O’Connor (Fermanagh), Mary (Molly) O’Rourke (Na Fianna) The second game of the day was the match-up between Cavan and Rockland. Both teams are restructuring and this was evident in the number of underage players on either side. Unfortunately for Rockland a lot of their ‘experience’ was on the sideline serving as management and could not match the experience of the Cavan faithfuls of Linda McKeon, Rosie O’Reilly and Aimee Gomez to name but a few. From a development standpoint a wonderful thing happened at half time –both sides got together and at this point the game was awarded to Cavan with a scoreline of 2- 18 to 0-2. But a decision was reached, in the interest of both teams involved, to ‘loan’ some of the Cavan experience to the Rockland side and ‘play out’ the second half. In the interest of Ladies football in New York it was very heartening and encouraging to see this happen and to those involved in this decision you are to be commended. Players of the game were Sara Rowley (Rockland) and Caitriona Smith (Cavan)
On Sunday May 11th the Ladies will play the Inter-Provincial Cup with Ulster /Connacht against Munster/Leinster. Ulster/Connacht will be eager to maintain their record in this competition however Munster/Leinster will be strong this year with Linda McKeon, Marie O’Neill, Susie O’Connor, and Molly O’Rourke all available to them. Ulster will have Denise Dunnion, Rosie O’Reilly, Claire McElroy, Joanne Monaghan, Tracey-Ann McCullagh and Caitriona Smith. A good game is guaranteed.
Upcoming Fixtures:
Wednesday May 7th @ Gaelic Park – 7:30pm Kerry/Donegal Vs Rockland
Sunday May 11th @ Gaelic Park – 11:30am Ulster/Connacht Vs Munster/Leinster
Wednesday May 14th @ Gaelic Park – 6:30pm Cavan Vs Na Fianna
Sunday May 18th @ Gaelic Park – 1:00pm Kerry/Donegal Vs Fermanagh
Wednesday May 21st @ Gaelic Park – 7:45pm Na Fianna Vs Rockland
Saturday May 24th @ Gaelic Park – 11:00am Annual Seven-a-side
