Kilmeena came through a tough semi final played in islandeady today. This was an emphatic win for kilmeena and the winning margin could have been greater but for some poor finishing and some sloppy defensive work.
This was a victory built on hard work and collective pressure on the Achill men. Time and again this pressure yielded up a lot of possession for kilmeena.
A good solid first 20 mins saw Kilmeena in front with 2 - 3 on the score-board and the Islanders failing to register a score. Achill got a grip on the game towards the end of the half to send over 3 unanswered points
The second half saw Kilmeena storm ahead again with 3 points before Achill converted a penalty. However a fine Kilmeena move saw Paul Moran blast to the net to put Kilmeena in driving seat going into the last ten mins. Achill scored a consolation goal but Kilmeena had done enough to come away with a well deserved victory
This was a fine display in tough conditions the work rate was outstanding all over the pitch and every player played a critical part in this solid victory
Match report: John Doherty
Kilmeena 3 - 10 2 - 6 Achill
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Under 8 girls with their managers Sandra McDonald and Noreen Moore with special guest Cora Staunton
Under 8 boys with manager Barry Murphy
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On Saturday 19th November, the Kilmeena club held their annual medal & trophy presentation evening. This year the event was held in the Dome Suite of the Castlecourt Hotel.
John McDonald, Chairman of Kilmeena Bord na nÓg began by welcoming the parents and children and thanking all for coming. He said it was great to see so many in attendance.
He then introduced the guests for the evening - Martin Carney (Gaelic Games commentator and RTE Sunday Game analyst) and Cora Staunton (Mayo Ladies footballer).
The presentation began with what John said were the most important group of players in the club - The U8 Girls & Boys who received their medals and had their team photo taken.
The medals and trophies were then presented for the Boys and Girls ‘Local Winter League’ competitions.
The Local Winter League:
Austin Gibbons presented the Declan Gibbons Memorial cup to captain Ciaran Kilcoyne.
Willie Quinn presented the Willie Quinn Cup to captain Brian Durkan.
Tom Ryan presented the Ryan Cup to captain Donal Hastings.
Kitty Mulloy presented the Padraic Mulloy Memorial cup to captain Emma Murray.
Gerard McGreeve presented the Kelly Cup to captain Áine Regan.
Next to be recognized was the wonderful achievement of the U12, U14 and U16 boys.
U12 Boys, County Summer League champions.
U14 West Mayo, champions.
U16 West Mayo, champions.
Last but by no means least The U14 and U16 girls received a medal presented by Cora Staunton.
Skills Winners were as follows.
Girls Section:
U10 Aoife Gannon
U12 Amy Ingham
U13 Aisling Hoban
Boys Section:
U10 John Murphy
U12 Kian Kilcoyne & Liam Moore (Joint winners)
The following players were recipients of the 2016 Player of the Year awards.
Girls Player of the Year:
U12 Anna Moran
U14 Aoife Gibbons
U16 Nina Mathastein
Boys Player of the Year:
U12 Colin Hastings
U13 Chris McGlynn
U14 Michael Hastings
U15 Brian Mortimer
U16 Ryan McGonigle
After the presentations John invited Martin & Cora to say a few words.
Martin encouraged the boys and girls to continue to develop their skills and reminded them that they were representing their parish and to always show respect. He thanked the club for inviting him to the presentation evening and congratulated everyone on their achievements.
Cora congratulated all and said that it was great to see such a large crowd and in particular to see the boys and girls clubs united in their joint efforts of providing football for the children of the parish. She said that it was a huge honour to represent her club and encouraged the players ‘to not give up on football – It keeps you on the straight and narrow’.
She wished the club the best of luck for the 2017 season and thanked the club for the invitation.
John concluded the evening by thanking everyone. He reminded all of a quiz night in aid of the Mayo Masters next Thursday night in Rocky’s bar, Castlebar @ 8:45pm.
There will be a Ladies club meeting on Wednesday 23rd November @ 8:30pm in the clubhouse.
The Bord Na nÓg AGM will take place on Wednesday 7th December @ 8:30pm in the clubhouse.
Report by: Sarah McDonald
Mayo Masters (All-Ireland Finalists) play the Sligo Masters for the Ruddy Cup in the Rice College pitch tomorrow (Saturday) at 1 pm. The Cup was donated by Bríd Ruddy (Clew Bay Hotel) in honour of her late husband Brian, who passed away suddenly in 1978. A native of Tubbercurry, Brian played minor football with Sligo prior to his arrival in Westport in 1959 where, on meeting and marrying Bríd, they established the Clew Bay Hotel, a business still thriving to this day under the management of his daughter Maria and her husband Darren, on James Street, Westport.
An ardent GAA and Mayo supporter, the Cup was played for on an annual basis between his native Sligo and Mayo until it lapsed around 1994. Michael Gavin, a regular member of the Mayo squad in the 70's and 80's, captained the Mayo team that won the cup in 1979.
Its revival should mark the beginning of a new era of Masters football and hopefully will become an annual tournament fixture between Mayo and Sligo.
Kilmeena will be well represented tomorrow when once again, Mayo team captain Pat Mulchrone, will lead his players onto the pitch in the grounds of Rice College. He will be accompanied by Declan Ryan, Kieran Hastings, Darren Madden and James Prenty, familiar names around the Kilmeena GAA dressing rooms.
They deserve your support.
Never was the phrase “a consistently high standard the measure of greatness” more appropriate than at Clonberne GAA Club, Galway, on Saturday last, when Mayo and Cavan met in the All-Ireland Masters Final, sponsored by Irish TV. The battle of the “Titans”, as each team strove at their mightiest, to secure the title, served up a feast of football with an intensity and excitement to equal that of the recent meeting of the All-Blacks and Ireland at Soldier Field in Chicago. This game was classic end to end, point for point stuff. Blink, and you could miss a piece of football skill that one might be inclined to associate with a younger generation of footballers. With no quarter asked for or given, the fitness and skill levels produced had the large gathering present on their feet, vocalising their approval for the entire game. The ding-dong battle continued for a further period of extra time as sixty minutes of football could not separate those warriors. And so it was at the finish, the game ending in a draw, and as anti-climatic as all draws are, no one could disagree with the result as both teams deserved another crack at the title.
The tigerish defending of our "youthful home-grown" members of the Mayo squad, led by team captain Pat Mulchrone, Kieran Hastings, Darren Madden (injured), James Prenty (bench) and last years captain, Declan Ryan, played no small part in ensuring a second meeting of those purveyors of the skills of football reminiscent of an earlier time. If the return match is half as exciting, then you would do worse than make a note in your diary to attend and cheer on those noble Mayo men.
Date, time and venue of the replay have yet to be decided. (Watch this space).
Mayo 0 - 19 1 - 16 Cavan
Mayo Masters
Cavan Masters
Mayo Team Captain - Pat Mulchrone
Stalwart Defender - Kieran Hastings
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Kilmeena Bord na nÓg and Kilmeena LGFA will hold their underage presentation evening in the Castlecourt Hotel, Dome Suite on Saturday 19th November starting at 8:00pm.
This is always an enjoyable evening and promises to be so again. All family members are invited to attend. Looking forward to seeing everyone on the night.