Seniors Na Gaeil played Fossa in the semi-final of the Premier Junior Championship in sun drenched Cordal on Sunday. Na Gaeil went two ahead through a Dara Devine free and a Diarmaid Herlihy point.
Fossa scored the next three points, two frees and one from play, all from the boot of Domhnaill O’Sullivan to put Fossa one ahead after 15 minutes. Na Gaeil responded with two more pointed frees from Dara Devine and points from Andrew Barry and Ian McCarthy.
Kerry star David Clifford and Diarmaid Herlihy exchanged points and Fossa’s Domhnaill O’Sullivan fired over another free to leave the score 0-08 to 0-05 after 28 minutes in favour of Na Gaeil. Diarmuid O’Connor and Kieran O’Donovan scored two more points for Na Gaeil and Fossa’s no. 14 Tadgh O’Shea finished the half with a point to leave the half time score: Na Gaeil: 0-09; Fossa:0-06.
Fossa’s Tadgh O’Shea and Na Gaeil’s Diarmaid Herlihy traded points early in the 2nd half followed by another Dara Devine pointed free. Fossa’s Paudie Clifford scored the next two points; one from a 45 after Na Gaeil’s Eoghain Sheehy affected a great save from Kerry star David Clifford.
Kerry player Jack Barry raced through the Fossa defence to fire over one for Na Gaeil leaving three between them after 19 minutes. The game turned on its head on 20 minutes when Dara Devine punched to the net for Na Gaeil after good approach work by Diarmaid Herlihy.
They followed up almost immediately with a 2ndgoal when Kieran O’Donovan passed off to the incoming Diarmaid Herlihy and he hit low to the back of the Fossa net to put them 9 points ahead entering the final 10 minutes. Fossa’s Paudie Clifford and Na Gaeil’s Dara Devine pointed frees and Tadgh O’Shea and Diarmuid O’Connor traded points to leave the score at the final whistle: Na Gaeil: 2-14; Fossa: 0-11.
It was a solid team performance for Na Gaeil with everyone putting their shoulder to the wheel. Our defence played well with net-minder Timmy Culloty effecting three great saves at different stages. Stefan Okunbor deployed at full back kept the shackles on Kerry star David Clifford throughout the game. Dan O’Connor and Jack Barry were solid at midfield and all six forwards contributed handsomely to the scoreboard for Na Gaeil. The subs introduced all played their part.
Team: Timmy Culloty, Ryan O’Neill, Stefan Okunbor, Kieran Dineen, Fergal Barry, Andrew Barry(0-01), Eoin Doody, Jack Barry(0-01), Dan O’Connor, Diarmuid O’Connor(0-02), Ian McCarthy(0-01), Kieran O’Donovan(0-01), Eoin O’Neill, Dara Devine(1-05), Diarmaid Herlihy(1-03). Subs: Eoghain Sheehy for Ryan O’Neill; Eoin Walsh for Fergal Barry; Dan Goggin for Ian McCarthy; Jordan Murphy for Diarmaid Herlihy; Padraig O’Sullivan for Eoin Doody; Seamie O’Neill for Kieran O’Donovan.
Premier Junior Championship Final Na Gaeil now face Beaufort in the Premier Junior Championship Final in Austin Stack Park on this coming Sunday May 6th at 2pm. We urge everyone associated with Na Gaeil to wear your club colours and come out and support the team.
Minors Na Gaeil will play Rathmore in the semi-final of the County League on Friday May 11th at 7pm in Rathmore. All support welcome.
U12 We will have two County League games coming up in the next week. Firstly on this Thursday night we host Ardfert at 7pm and then on the following Sunday evening we host Listowel. Please ensure you bring your gum shield & a bottle of water to all training sessions and games.
U10 The U10 boys took part in the first of this year’s Go Games blitz last Wednesday evening in Ballyrickard. There was a great turn out! Also the U10s played St Pats Sunday morning. Well done to everyone on the great performances! Training continues in Killeen next Sunday morning 11am. Don’t forget your gum-shields and water. See you all there!
U8 The weather smiled on this week’s u8 training session. Na Gaeil’s future stars practised very hard and enjoyed two high energy games at the end. A gentle reminder to all parents that the boys and girls will not be able to play if they don’t have a gum shield. Please join us for next week’s practice at 11 am on our pitch at Killeen. Don’t forget to bring appropriate clothing and plenty of water.
Na Gaeil Ladies We would like to wish the best of luck to Mary O’Connell and the Kerry U16 Team who are playing Tipperary on Saturday the 5th May in the Munster U16A Championship Final at 5.45pm and also to Jadyn Lucey and the Kerry Minor Team who are playing Cork on Monday the 7thMay in the Munster Minor A Championship Final at 3.30pm. Both games are in the Mallow GAA Grounds.
U16 Ladies We played our third league game on Friday evening at home to Killarney Legion. It was a perfect evening for football and the pitch was in great shape considering all the rain that had fallen. We have had tough games against Legion over the past couple of seasons and knew we’d have a battle on our hands. Our mid-field won the throw in and created our first attack which led to a Na Gaeil free which Mary converted to give us an early lead. We continued to dominate possession around the middle of the pitch and added another point from play. Then Legion against the run of play went up to the other end of the pitch and scored a goal to take the lead. Our girls steadied themselves again and four unanswered points from Dearbhla, Mary and Ciara had us well in control again.
However, Legion made another attack before have time and following some goal mouth action the visitors added a second goal to their tally. Although there were good battles going on throughout the field Na Gaeil were edging their Killarney rivals and in the second half points from Sarah, Sienna and substitutes Caragh Grielish and Winnie had us into what was looking like a comfortable lead approaching the last five minutes. Once again Legion attacked Aine’s goal and although the back line of Megan, Caragh O’Neill and Isabelle had defended well all through, the visitors got in for their third goal.
This was going to be a nail biting finish as we were now down to a one point lead. We were unlucky not to get a goal ourselves as a long ball into to the Legion square appeared to have been knocked over the line by Captain Brid but the referee wasn’t giving it. We held out for the win. Final result: Na Gaeil 0-10; Legion 3-0. We have a break next week as the Kerry U16 girls play Tipperary in the Munster final. Best wishes to the girls and in particular to Mary O’Connell who represents Na Gaeil on the day. Our next game is at home to Milltown/Listry on 10th May. Any girls who are interested in joining our group are more than welcome to come to training and give it a go. You can contact Eddie on 087 6791460 or Troy on 087 2600694.
Sympathy Everyone in Na Gaeil GAA Club offer their sincere sympathy to the Fitzgerald and Healy families of Ardfert on the sad and untimely death of Mike Fitzgerald at the weekend. We are truly sorry for your loss. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
Tesco Tokens Starting on Monday March 19th and for the next six weeks Na Gaeil will be one of three community organisations to benefit from the Tesco Blue Tokens. At the end of the six weeks Tesco will share €1000 between the three organisations. The amount of tokens collected by each group will determine the size of their share. So get shopping to Tesco and voting for Na Gaeil with the tokens. Ní neart go cur le chéile!
Clothes Collection There is now a Clothes Collection Bin situated in Na Gaeil car park. If anyone has bags of old clothes to dispose of please drop them in the bin. If the bin is full, they can be dropped into the clubhouse. It would be much appreciated.
Na Gaeil Cycling Club Na Gaeil Cycling Club winter schedule: Saturday mornings at 10am from the clubhouse. ALL ARE WELCOME, high Vis essential.
Fir Na Gaeil Light Football Training for Men who have retired from playing football and for those that have not played and would like to try it out. Very little skill is required. This is a great way to keep fit with light training, ball games and a bit of a laugh. . Training is on Monday and Friday nights in Na Gaeil. Contact Eddie at 0876791460 for more info
Mná Na Gaeil We are a Gaelic for Mothers and Others team who come together and do a bit of exercise, football training and socialising. Anyone who would like to join are most welcome, No skills are required, just a good attitude and a sense for fun. Training is on Wednesdays and Sunday evenings. Contact Eddie at 0876791460 for more info.
Lotto: The draw for the jackpot of €6,900 took place on Tuesday evening last. Numbers drawn were 8, 24, 25, 26. There was no winner. €50 winners were Margaret O’Shea, Oakley Park and Des Fitzgerald, Ard Na Lí. €25 winners were Joan McCann, Derrylea, John O’Brien, Riverside, Tom Nolan, Carraigafoyle and Kieran Fitzgerald, Bateman’s Green. Next week’s jackpot is €7,200. All are welcome for the draw in the club each Tuesday night at 10.30pm.
Bingo: Bingo is on every Monday night at 8.30pm sharp. We have prize money of over €1,000 guaranteed every week with a mini jackpot that increases fortnightly when not won. A door prize and a half-time raffle with lovely prizes will also take place every week. A bus service is available at 087 2817577. You can ring this number for pick up and drop off. 100% of the funds raised go back directly into the club. The bingo is run on a totally voluntary basis by our club members. A huge thank you to all the parents who offer their time to run this vital fundraiser for the club. If anyone wants to donate a spot prize for our weekly bingo raffle, please leave it at clubhouse and mark it “Bingo”. Thanks to all our patrons who support this event on a weekly basis.
Cards A card game is held every Wednesday night in the clubhouse. This is a very sociable occasion where you meet your friends for a great night’s entertainment and relaxation. Everyone from novice to senior will enjoy a relaxing game of 45.
