Seniors Na Gaeil entertained Austin Stacks in Killeen on Sunday in Round 2 of the County League in what was their first Division1 game on home soil.
Playing with the aid of the breeze in the opening half Na Gaeil were first out of the blocks with midfielder Dan O’Connor firing over from close range in the 2nd minute followed by a well taken goal from corner forward Dara Devine a minute later.
Stacks quickly replied with a Dara O’Brien pointed free in the 9th minute followed by a Greg Horan goal two minutes later to level matters up.
Na Gaeil found their rythmn again with two more pointed frees courtesy of Dara Devine followed by a well taken goal from Eoin O’Neill who pounced on a breaking ball on the edge of the square and vollied it to the back of the net.
Stacks responded well with points from Dara O’Brien and Conor Jordan and a well taken goal from their no. 15 Donagh McKivergan. Na Gaeil scored the next four points on the trot through Mike Griffin and Jamie Lowham and two pointed frees from the unerring Dara Devine to put them three points clear with the half almost up.
But two points from the inform Dara O’Brien reduced the gap to one point at the interval. Half time score: Na Gaeil: 2-07; Austin Stacks: 2-06.
The half was only three minutes old when Na Gaeil lost teak tough defender Damien Bourke through injury and he was replaced by Padraig O’Sullivan.
Stacks got the first score of the half. Shane O’Callaghan fisted the ball across the Na Gaeil square and Dara O’Brien fisted it to the net.
The same player pointed for stacks again four minutes later to put them three in front. But Na Gaeil fought back with Dara Devine, Andrew Barry and Dan Goggin all firing over to level the game again with 17 minutes of the half gone.
At the other end Na Gaeil keeper Timmy Culloty made a point blank save to deny Stacks a certain goal. Stacks brought on substitute Seán Quilter in the 20thminute and he had an immediate impact on the game scoring two from play and one from a free.
Wayne Guthrie pointed for Stacks in the 30th minute and their corner back Colin Griffin finished a good Stacks move to the net as the final whistle blew. Final score: Na Gaeil: 2-10; Austin Stacks: 4-12.
I’m sure the spectators will agree that the final score is not a fair reflection on the game as it was very competitive all through and the teams were level entering the final ten minutes. It was a very entertaining contest and was played in a very sporting manner by both teams.
Well done to Austin Stacks on their victory and we wish them the best of luck in the upcoming Senior Championship. Well done also to referee James Brosnan and his umpires. Thanks to the field committee who had the pitch in excellent condition and to the stewards who were on hand to make sure that everything ran smoothly on day.
Thanks also to the bar staff and the ladies who provided the food in the clubhouse afterwards. . Na Gaeil will now turn their focus to the Junior Championship with their first outing against Firies in Austin Stack Park on Sunday April 7th at 1.30pm.
Team: Timmy Culloty, Ryan O’Neill, Kieran Dineen, Eoin Walsh, Damien Bourke, Eoin Doody, Kieran O’Donovan, Andrew Barry(0-01), Dan O’Connor(0-01), Mike Griffin(0-01), Ian McCarthy, Eoin O’Neill(1-0), Diarmaid Herlihy, Jamie Lowham(0-01), Dara Devine(1-05). Subs: Eoghain Sheehy for Eoin Doody; James O’Connor for Dan O’Connor; Padraig O’Sullivan for Damien Bourke(inj); Dan Goggin(0-01) for Dara Devine; Jordan Murphy for Ian McCarthy; Shane Fitzgerald for Eoin O’Neill.
Junior Championship Na Gaeil Play Firies in the first round of the Premier Junior Championship on Sunday April 7th at 1.30pm in Austin Stack Park.
Minors Na Gaeil will play Austin Stacks in Round 5 of the County League on Saturday March 30thin Killeen at 4pm.
U14 As we prepare for the upcoming County League, training continues on Wednesday next at 7pm in Na Gaeil. Our first game in the league will be against St. Pat’s, Blennerville at home in Killeen on Wednesday 3rd April, 2019.
Anybody with registration forms can return same on Wednesday evening at training.
If any boy is interested in playing with Na Gaeil U14’s please contact 087 2903063 for information.
National League Final Tickets AFL Final Kerry v Mayo Sun 31st March Croke Park @ 4pm. Tickets are now on sale via usual channels: selected Supervalu and Centra stores, Kerry GAA Store in Killarney and online at tickets.ie. Seating is fully reserved in the stands this weekend.
Pricing is as follows: Adult Stand €30; Juvenile Stand €5 (Cusack Stand only)
Students/Oap €20 (Concession on Cusack stand tickets at Block D with valid ID)
Group passes available €5 per juvenile and one adult free with every 10. Open until midnight tomorrow (Tues) https://www.gaa.ie/tickets/club-offers
Scór Na bPáistí Congratulations to our very talented Baileàd Ghrúpa who were undisputed winners in the North Kerry Final of Scór Na bPáistí held at the weekend at Presentation Secondary School, Castleisland.
They now go forward to the County Final which will be held on Saturday 6thApril at Glenbeigh/ Glencar GAA Grounds at 1.30 pm.
So Congratulations and very best of Na Gaeil luck to Laura Flaherty, Matthew O’Riordan, Sorocha Casey, Nicole Arefjeva and Elsie Peig Rogers. A big THANK YOU to Therese Keating for her trojan work in mentoring these young singers over the past few months and here’s hoping for further success at county level. Na Gaeil Abú!
Na Gaeil Senior Ladies We played away to Dr. Crokes on Sunday morning in the first round of the Mary Jo Curran “A” League Cup in glorious conditions in Killarney. We got off to a flyer of a start with Carla winning us a free kick and Meagan converting the point.
Sarah combined well with Meabh and Maria to score a goal. Clodagh McHugh got us another goal after a great pass from Nora. Clodagh followed up with another two points after great link play with Sarah and Maria. Crokes replied back quickly with two goals and two pointed frees but we took control again with a point from Meagan and two from Jadyn.
Meabh set up Maria and Sarah for a point apiece. Emma O’ Keeffe made her debut and set up Sarah for another point just before half time. Jadyn and Nora were bossing midfield. Sarah got the first point of the 2nd half after good work from Muire and Erika.
Meabh played in Eilis for another point. As we had big numbers we were able to bring on a few fresh legs with Dearbhla coming on for the industrious Martina, Freya for Eilis, Eimer for Meabh and all had a great game. Crokes playing with the wind scored two points but on the other side, Erika hit the post, Eimer pulled a shot wide, shot blocked from Blaithnaid and a last ditch tackle prevented Carla from scoring a goal.
Jadyn scored another point after a great run from Meagan. Nora made another lung bursting run from midfield and popped over another point. Crokes scored another point. Emily and Isabelle came on at this stage to give us fresh legs. But with the defending and work rate from Sarah Quigley, Brid, Martina, Eilis, Kate Anne, Emma and Muireann, Crokes found it hard to break us down and we finished up winning 2.13 to 3.05. It was a great win
Team: Laura Fitzgerald, Sarah Quigley, Brid O’Connor, Nora O’Connell, Jadyn Lucey, Eilis O’Connor, Meagan Sheehy, Meabh Barry, Kate Anne O’Connor, Maria Quirke, Clodagh McHugh, Aine O’Sullivan, Erika O’Sullivan, Muireann Moriarty, Martina O’Connor, Dearbhla Quirke, Caragh O’Neill, Freya O’Connor, Carla Hanafin, Muire Kingston, Blaithnaid O’Connor, Eimer O’Sullivan, Emma O’Keeffe, Isabelle Crowe, Emily Crowe. Well done to Kerry Senior Ladies on their win Yesterday in Armagh and to our own Laura Fitzgerald, Megan O Connor and Aoife Newell. Well done also to Sarah Barrett and the Kerry U16 team who defeated Cork to reach the Munster Final.
Na Gaeil Ladies U14 We played Listowel Emmets at home in the 2nd round of the Division 3 County League on Sunday evening in nice conditions.
Listowel landed with nearly 30 players. We were missing quite a few players through injury and other commitments and only had 12 players. So we had to battle against Listowel’s 13 players. Aisling captained the side but Listowel won the toss and they played with the wind for the 1st half.
Listowel got the first two points but we battled back with debutant Grainne scoring her 1st point for the U14’s. Siena and Caoilinn scored a goal apiece after some fine team play between Cashla, Siun and Roisin.
Listowel replied back with 2.01 but that was to be their last scores of the 1st half as Aisling, Cara and Siun controlled the middle of the field and with Priya, Aoife and Grace in the back line, Listowel struggled to get a shot on target.
With Elizabeth’s quick thinking kick outs, we managed to get up the field quickly, which enabled Caoilinn to score a quick 1.01. Unfortunately though Caoilinn had to come off the field as she was feeling sick but we fought on with 11 players and we finished the 1st half with a goal apiece from a long range rocket from Cara and a great bit of skill from Grainne.
Caoilinn stood in goals for us to try and keep us at 12 players for the 2nd half and we got the 1st point from Siena. More fine work from Cashla helped set up Siena for a fine mazy run and she found the back of the net. Roisin then set up Elizabeth for a point.
At this point, poor Caoilinn had to come off again and we finished the game with 11 players. But our defence of Aoife, Grace, Roisin, Aisling and Priya were outstanding as we only conceded a point in the 2nd half. The battling attitude of Siun and Cara in midfield was immense and our forward play from Siena, Caoilinn, Cashla and Grainne was outstanding.
We got the last score of the game from Captain Aisling, She won the ball on our own 45 and again, made a driving run up the field. With the sideline shouting her on to keep going, she twisted and turned and found the back of the net from 13 yards. It was great way to finish a great game of team play and football. Final score: Na Gaeil: 7-07; Listowel Emmets: 2-04. We would like to wish Elsie Peig Rogers and Sorcha Casey a quick recovery from injury.
Team: Elizabeth Burke, Grace Savage, Aoife Barrett, Priya O’Donovan, Roisin O’ Mahony, Aisling Casey, Siun Fitzgibbon, Cara Gannon, Caoilinn O’Brien, Siena Lucey, Grainne Breen, Cashla Mullen.
Juvenile Training Juvenile training has continues in the Complex, Tralee every Sunday morning from 10am to 12pm. The age groups catered for are: U6 Boys & Girls; U8, 10 & 12 Boys. For further information contact Denis Sugrue on 087 280 8719 or Colm O Súilleabháin on 087 908 0465. Looking forward to seeing you all there.
Gaeltacht Scholarships Any Na Gaeil Coiste na nÓg members wishing to apply for a gaeltacht scholarship should contact the secretary Eamon Browne at secretary.nagaeil.kerry@gaa.ie before March 29th.
Sympathy We extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Denis Lyons from Meadowlands who passed away last week. Denis was one of the founding members of Na Gaeil Club and also served a term as PRO. May he rest in peace. We also extend our sympathy to the family of Geraldine Lynch O’Leary also from Meadowlands who passed away recently. Ar Dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis.
Free Digital Skills Course Our Club are looking for members who are interested in participating in a Free Digital Skills Course. Topics covered include: surfing the net, email, social media, shopping and banking online. If interested drop into the club house and sign up. Course duration is 10 hours and will be run over a couple of evenings in the clubhouse. Dates and times will be scheduled depending on demand. This is a great opportunity for anybody wishing to brush up on their computer skills and it’s free. So please come along and sign up as soon as possible and we will get the course up and running.
Date for your Diary Na Gaeil Annual Golf Classic will take place in Mahony’s Point, Killarney on Friday 31st May, which is the bank holiday weekend.
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 €2,100 took place on Thursday evening last.
