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The
summer had arrived as our u14 lads, with significant support from our u12
panel, took to the field in Sligos GAA Centre of Excellence at Scarden back in April
for the local Feile competition. The first clash of the day was against St
John's where victory led us to meet St Mary's. A second win saw us face
Calry/St Josephs in the semi-final. With a place in the final secured, Eastern
Harps once again came face to face with the men from St Mary's, and the battle
for the Feile Peil na n-og 'B' title was on. After a long day of football the
legs were weary but the will was strong. A great display of skill and character
ensued, and at last the final whistle was heard, a great cheer went up from the
side-line.... We were heading for the sunny south east, but not before some
well deserved refreshments generously sponsored by Ivan and Veronica Campbell!!
We'd gotten a taste of the sun right there in Scarden, and some of the weary
legs were also turning a grand shade of pink!!
The work behind the
scenes got underway immediately, because as we all know it's a major operation
preparing for three days away. We found out we were going to somewhere in
Carlow, Muinebheag GAA in Bagenalstown. I don't know if an actual map came out
in any house in the Harps area, but Google was put under pressure as we all
went off to see where we were going, and accommodation was soon snapped up by
supporters down there in Carlow and Kilkenny.
Our able coordinator
Damien Mc Govern made contact with his counterpart in the sun, Sean Hannifin.
Damien is known for his attention to detail, and much to his relief discovered
that he was dealing with someone of the same ilk, so all the bases were
covered.
Within days of
qualifying for Feile Peil na nOg, one of the Club Premium Sponsors, East Brothers
Garden Machinery came up trumps once again, when in conjunction with Garden
Care they very kindly sponsored gear bags for the U-14 players. Thanks to Bord
na n-Og who took responsibility for overseeing the fundraising end of things to
cover the various expenses associated with Feile, as well as taking on some of
the organising much to Damiens relief. The primary fundraiser was the tried and
tested sponsored walk, with the lads scouring the Harps countryside collecting
every euro they could, well done lads. A sincere thanks also to Kevin &
Brid Higgins, John Higgins Snr & Eamon Clarke for their very generous
donations towards Feile costs.
Feile weekend arrived;
Not too much sleeping
was done on the night of June 25th, and the time to catch the bus couldn't come
fast enough. We were fortunate to have one of our own as our bus driver. Sean Higgins was relaxed and good humoured
throughout the weekend, despite the long days and I’m sure at times high
decibel levels, and we are most grateful to Sean for giving freely of his time.
The boys looked smart
upon arrival in their new tops, as they loaded their new gear bags into the
back of the bus, before racing for the back seat. Proud parents came to see
their sons off, and tried hard to get a nice photo of the big adventure and a
last hug. The sons tried equally hard to avoid these photos and struggled out
of the public hugging as fast as they possibly could. They gave each other
knowing looks as the bus pulled away from waving parents, but they all gave a
look out of the bus and a little wave good-bye just the same! The journey south
involved a convoy, and as the miles flew past the temperature rose. Eventually
we spotted our name!
"Welcome Eastern Harps from Muinebheag
GAA"
the signs said. We had
reached Mc Grath Park and knew we were home from home when we saw the Sligo
flag flying high next to the Carlow one....and we were able to leave our
jackets in the car.
The welcome was even
warmer than the weather, and we were invited into the marquee for refreshments.
Such a spread that was laid on for us, sandwiches by the dozen and anything
sweet and delicious you could possibly imagine. We nearly didn't want to leave
all the treats and go to the side line, but leave we had to, the business of the
weekend was starting...
First up were St
Josephs of Wexford. Though we were a little “buslagged” and heading into the
unknown we warmed to the task admirably and gained our first points in the
competition on a scoreline of 3-9 to 1-1. Solid defensive performances from
Diarmuid Higgins, Kacper Grendza, Robin Richardson and midfielders Luke Hogge
and Donncha Byrne laid the foundations for an impressive victory.
Next up after a short
break was Clondegad and the men from
“The Banner “ proved much tougher opposition. After a cracking game we
defeated the boys in black and white 2-8 to 2-3 with impressive displays from
James Campbell, Killian Burns, the Connolly brothers - Seamus and Eoin and
Cormac Kielty. One of the highlights of the game was an excellently worked goal
with Eoin Dowd providing the final pass for his younger brother Diarmuid to
finish expertly to the net. It was during this game that the coaches enjoyed one
of the most amusing statements of the whole weekend, when one of our players
jogged wearily out towards the side-line and said “take me off, this fella has
me f-ing killed”.
The games done for the
day, the lads emerged from the dressing rooms clutching pieces of paper to give
to their parents. These little notes contained the host families contact
details, and they were a great touch, and helped our parents relax, reassured
in the knowledge that their “boys” were in safe hands. Everyone met their
"Second Mammies and Daddies" for the weekend as well as their new
housemates.
We all headed off to
The Railway Bar where another big feed was laid on for both teams and their
mentors. It was also here in the local tavern that many of our supporters were
treated to an enjoyable history lesson from the barman/owner, complete with an
array of artefacts on display behind the bar, including the renowned pole-axe,
something most of us have heard rumoured to have been done to players on GAA
fields for years.
The two teams were well
on their way to blending together, but there was a good bit of sussing out and
sizing up going on too, after all, there was a battle to be had in the morning.
In hindsight we have to wonder exactly what took place in homes across Bagenalstown
on that Saturday morning?
Whatever about trying
to outwit the players and coaches from our host Club, we certainly hadn’t
counted on the Muinebheag Mammies. They had us sussed. After a light breakfast
of the finest Carlow rashers, sausages, black and white pudding, hash browns, onions,
mushrooms, brown and white toast, chips and fried spuds, our players, looking a
little bloated, made their way to the pitch. Despite the collective scratching
of heads on the sideline, our mentors were helpless!! Were they under the same
spell or... was it something else???
Does this sound like a
lame excuse or taste of sour grapes?? Of course it is...we were hammered off the
pitch by a fine young Muinebheag outfit...but we all agreed it was the finest
Full Irish we had ever tasted.
The fantastic host
families stepped in once again after the game, and whisked the lads off for a
bit of relaxation - and more food - before we all met up again to head down to
Gorey. The ever vigilant Seán happened to take one last look at things to make
sure our afternoon went to plan, and discovered our game had been moved forward,
and the pressure was on! As the text came through to our parents, some of them
were meandering through the countryside towards Gorey. One group had ordered
lunch, and were just about to tuck in. The food was thrown down, and everyone
arrived in time, or just about!!! The mentors, Eamonn, PJ, Mark, Cathal and
Damien hardly had time to get the team off the bus, but ever the professionals
they kept things calm and got the lads to the pitch to take on Rathnew for a
place in the semi-final...
Playing with the aid of
a strong breeze the Wicklow men in the famed green and red of Rathnew took full
advantage and hit us with two early goals leaving us in a seemingly impossible
position. However our boys showed their true mettle and scores from Kyle
Cosgrove and Eoghan Higgins brought us right back into contention. With the
younger speedsters Dylan Walsh, Matt Henry, Finn Bruen and Caelan Hunt running
riot at this stage and Michael Kielty-Mc Manemy having the game of his life in
the half back line, we began to dream of a semi-final spot. With time running
out, James Kiernan, probably the youngest player on the field, made a heroic
block (that any senior inter-county player would be proud of) on a shot at
goal, which set up our final attack that resulted in us being awarded a 30m
free and sure enough our leading marksman split the posts. We had qualified on
a scoreline of Harps 2-5 Rathnew 3-1. The celebrations were jovial, with as
much satisfaction and delight on the side lines as there was on the field. We
got ourselves together and headed back for Carlow, to be treated to dinner once
again by our hosts.
Then it was time to let
our hair down and have a party! Back we went to The Railway Bar for a disco and
some speeches. Firstly the Muinebheag Chairwoman took to the stage looking
fantastic - she had just left another party nearby to welcome us, and she
called on our own Padraig Henry to say a few words. He too was looking
fantastic, but I'm afraid in the style wars he was beaten by RoseMarie on the
night! Next the presentations, and what presentations they were. Firstly C.L.G.
Muinebheag presented us with a beautiful crystal football & stand. Then, each
and every one of our lads were presented with a t-shirt bearing both Clubs
logos, Eastern Harps and Muinebheag. They also received a Muinebheag wristband &
pen. This was a most thoughtful gesture from a most thoughtful Club. The two
teams were by now fully integrated and the craic was mighty as they danced
away. But the night had to come to an end reasonably early, as we weren't
finished with the football end of things yet, as we were playing in an All-Ireland
semi-final early Sunday morning.
We had great support in
Carlow, but not just from Sligo, we were delighted and very thankful for such
enthusiastic support from our hosts too. Against the breeze in the first half
we struggled against a physically stronger Silverbridge outfit from Co Armagh.
The concession of early goals left us on the back foot heading into the second
half. A Kieran Breheny special to the net brought us back into contention but
despite our very best efforts we were beaten by a better team on the day on a
scoreline of Harps 2-2 Silverbridge 4-6, with the Orchard boys going on to win
the final of the competition in convincing fashion. Though beaten our lads had
done their club and county proud and gained many friends and admirers along the
way.
And so it ended as it
began, we retraced our route back towards Sligo with a bus load of happy but
tired lads, stopping on the way for some refreshments, very kindly sponsored by
Padraic Henry. The temperature began to drop as we headed west, but there was a
different warmth to be felt on the homeward bound journey, and it's a warmth
that no sun can replicate. We had set out on an adventure, to visit and play
football with complete strangers. They weren't strangers for long, as they
welcomed us into their homes and lives for a brief time. Where else would you
get it, our sons welcomed like family, us adults treated like friends. Anything
our hosts could possibly do to make our stay enjoyable was done and much
appreciated.
The old saying a
picture paints a thousand words springs to mind, and we cannot thank our
photographer Aisling Stephenson enough for the hundreds, maybe thousands of
photos taken over those few days, which so appropriately captured every aspect
of a wonderful weekend and will be treasured for years to come.
GAA is all about
community, and the way in which this was displayed over the Feile weekend was
commendable and unforgettable. So many people came together to make it such a
success and the atmosphere for the three days was electric. After a weekend
like that it makes us all proud to be part of the GAA tribe.