Exhausted but exhilarated
AT approximately 11am on Friday, June 16, 22 players and their coaches, dressed in new Féile gear, got on a Joe Moroney bus headed for Olyegate.
We would like to thank Joe for driving us around the sunny southeast for the weekend.
Before long we stopped in Arklow for lunch and soon after were back on the bus headed for Olyegate.
After about an hour we arrived in the village of Olyegate. When we arrived at the pitch we all applied sun-cream and after a quick puck around, we went to the dressing room.
After an inspirational team talk and an intense warm-up we were ready to face Crossabeg-Ballymurn. Both sides started strongly but a goal just before half time put Crossabeg in the driving seat. In the second half Crossabeg killed off the game with two well worked goals.
In the quick turnaround before the next match we were refreshed with water and oranges. From the start Omagh showed symptoms of fatigue having spent more than five hours on a bus!
At the break Bray was comfortably ahead but then in the second half Jamie Ryan finished off a wellworked team move to score Bray’s first goal of Féile.
After our victory over Omagh, Paul wrapped us up in cotton wool before we got some bbq food in the stand.
When both hurling and camogie matches were finished we were paired up with our host families. Dara and I had the privilege of staying with the Garda’s family, whose son proved to be a nightmare for our captain Evan Barry to mark the next day!
On Saturday morning we were up early and after a nutritious breakfast and receiving our healthy packed lunch we were ready to go for the day!
Firstly we played against our hosts Olyegate, and at the break they were ten points to the good. At the start of the second half an Olyegate player was through on goal and I (as keeper) came out to close him down.
He knocked me over, forcing me off with a head injury, however somehow the referee awarded them a penalty, which Adam Prunty saved! Unfortunately Bray’s efforts did not show in the final score line.
Soon after we found ourselves back on the bus, heading for Carlow’s Centre of Excellence. When we arrived we were set to play Cuchulainn’s of Armagh. Bray were a point to the good at half time but in the second half Cuchulainn’s started a comeback. They were two points ahead with a few minutes remaining, until John Butler (our saviour!) scored from close range to put us one point ahead.
In the final minutes the opposition scored their only point from play to equalise, forcing the game into extra time, which we lost. Fortunately our sense of humour on the bus wasn’t affected by our defeat!
On Sunday we were up at 7am because Olyegate had their Cup semi-final match, which they won, only to be beaten in the final. We started the day at the beach for a quick dip in the Irish Sea, followed by a round of “footgolf” and “hurlingolf”. Once we finished counting our hole-in-ones, we were back on the bus for the journey home, not forgetting to stop along the way for lunch!
Just after 2pm we arrived back at Bray Emmetts, exhausted but exhilarated. We would like to say a massive thanks to our coaches (Michael Roddy, Gary Prunty, Bill Maher, Paul Ryan, Caoimhín MacMaolain and Joe Byrne) for their hard work and dedication and fundraising and for making Féile 2017 a most memorable weekend.