Kilmacud Crokes FBD U14 Ladies Football Sevens 2015
The twelfth Kilmacud Crokes FBD U14 All Ireland Ladies Football began on Saturday with one of the sunniest days we have had for months. As 32 teams arrived from all around the country, from Armagh to Kerry, and Dublin to Galway, full of the excitement of the day, the chatter was excited and the warm ups were starting. It all kicked off at 10am in Glenalbyn, Silverpark and Coláiste Íosagáin / Eoin, with eight groups of four teams each.
As the qualifying teams gathered back in Glenalbyn, the competitive spirit was evident, with teams giving it everything they had. As you wandered through the sidelines you could hear the encouragement of the mentors, and the tactics being discussed.
One team in particular were really enjoying the day, and the mentor’s positive encouragement was noticable. Portlaoise were that team, and had never entered the U14 Sevens before but reassured Kilmacud often that they would be back again next year, having had a fantastic day, topped off nicely by winning the Plate Competition. Their opponents in the Plate competition were Athlone, who looked strong from the start of the day. The Athlone girls were really getting into the spirit of the day sporting blue warpaint on their cheeks.
Led onto the pitch for the Cup final by the Piper, and standing anxiously for the national anthem, Dunboyne of Meath met Kilkerrin Clonberne of Galway. Dunboyne’s entourage included the legendary Sean Boylan, who gave the girls great encouragement. They fought a hard battle, but lost out to a very impressive Kilkerrin Clonberne.
At times during the day you had to remind yourself that these girls were U14, they had such strength and confidence it was wonderful to see. This competition is one of the few big competitions for this age group, and is one that makes a great contribution to the development of Ladies Gaelic Football, and one that has a positive effect on the physical and mental development of the girls playing.
Kilmacud Crokes was delighted to have Finbarr O’Driscoll of Leinster Ladies Gaelic Football to present the medals to the winners. And as the light faded, and the photos of the winning teams were snapped, the teams went away feeling invigorated, happy and tired. Some faced long journeys home, and others stayed over for the All Ireland Final in Croke Park on Sunday. All looking forward to next September in Kilmacud Crokes.
Final Scores
Cup Final - Kilkerrin Clonberne 12-5 v Dunboyne 8-4
Plate Final – Portlaoise 8-11 v Athlone 5-1
