HAIL TO OUR INNER WARRIORS!
Our intrepid under thirteen football and hurling squads recently enjoyed a great afternoon of soldiering at the Skirmish Paintball camp deep in the heart of Wicklow, our wonderful garden county. As we left suburban roads the Sugar Loaf soon loomed majesticly in the mid-distance. Tiny figures walked the peak from where on a clear day you can see the mountains of Wales. Hard to believe it was mid-September as the Mediterranean warm weather and an azure sky made it seem as if we were in a different country; we were about to have an altogether different experience!
On reaching base camp we were kitted out in standard army fatigues, armed with four hundred rounds of ammunition and promptly given our marching orders and game rules. The emphasis was very much on fun but in the interests of safety strict rules apply and helmets are
compulsory - these paintballs can hurt as we were all about to find out. General Eamon Keating and Lieutenant Don O’Shea and Captains Geraghty and Allen stoked up their troops with fiery rhetoric. If the warlike sounds we heard as we made on our way to battle are anything to go by - and that was just the adults- heaven help Féile opposition next year!
The first task was for the the blue team to attack the strategic village held by the Red army led by General Keating. But alas unlike General Custor’s Last Stand at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, it was the Reds who were doomed. After a brief period of helter-skelter gunfire Lieutenant O’Shea in the role of Sitting Bull breached enemy lines and planted the flag for an easy blue victory. But in defeat perhaps a salutory lesson was learned as the Reds had defended too deep - could this be important with Féile in mind and perhaps attack really is the best form of defence?
The Blue surge continued in round two but the victory was hard-fought - casualties were mounting for them thanks to the heroism of the Reds and not so friendly fire of team-mates - the tide was turning! In game three The Reds launched a fierce onslaught on the Blue Fort - game on and the margin was cut back to 2 -1. All at stake then in the final game and a bitter battle it was too - no quarter asked or given! The Blues thought they had the advantage of defending the high ground but led by General Keating, Captain Brian Geraghty and trooper Stephen Dagg and aided by the courage of their junior cohorts the Red team rose to the challenge and in the teeth of a fierce fusilade they captured the flag to ensure an honourable draw. They have the right stuff indeed! This never-say-die spirit will stand them in good stead in the Feile trenches next year.
Some of the worst damage was inflicted at this point as several coaches caught “friendly fire” in the neck and other places from the rear. Maybe some players were giving a not-so-subtle message? What a
bit of fun was had by all and as a team-building exercise you could not beat it! Bruises were spectacular, long-lasting and proudly-displayed. On the return journey we stopped at the foot of the Sugar Loaf to gaze at the airplanes of the Bray Model Airplane Club performing spectacular acrobatics like Loop the Loop. ...... A day to remember!