The highs and lows from Féile na nGael
FRIDAY, June 16, 2017
I woke up with excitement at the thoughts of the Féile starting later that day. Car flags were bought and buntings were hung. The town was decked out in blue and yellow.
As I was not able to host anyone, my friend Caitlin (who is our goalkeeper) offered for me to stay with her. I packed my gear and, full of anticipation, I went down to the pitch for our first two matches.
The pitch was done up to the last by the committee members and it was looking amazing.
Everything seemed so organised and everything was covered from drinks and sandwiches to the pitch nets and lines. As we warmed up in the sweltering heat I was shocked to have my name announced as captain. After some motivational talks and tips from our amazing and supportive coaches Vinnie Mulroe, Nuala Doran and Jason Molloy, we were ready for our matches.
5:00pm: Our first match was against an extremely physical Longford team that went by the name of ‘The Longford Slashers’. However, with some strong battling from everyone on the team, we were leading at half-time. All players, younger and older put their heart and soul into the game and that showed in the final result and we came away victorious.
6:00pm: Our second and last match for the day was against another strong team, this one from Wexford, Ballinastragh Gaels.
Our back lines fought extremely hard, lead by full-back Sophie Doran and some amazing shots saved by goalkeeper Caitlin Hughes. However, at half-time we were losing by a few points. We came back with a fighting spirit but we were defeated by two points.
The atmosphere was electric for both matches and all the shouts of support from the sideline was mixed into an almost constant roar! The crowd was massive and it was nothing like I’d ever experienced before in my life.
9:15pm: We all met at the church to parade up the town. The teams in the parade were Carnew Emmets hurling and camogie and their guests Burt and Kilrush, and their guests from Galway also joined in.
We walked up the town to the pitch and the street was lined with supporters. Then I went to Caitlin’s house to get some well deserved rest and to talk to my new friends, Nicole and Sadhbh, from Burt, Donegal.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
We woke up kind of stiff from the previous day but we were ready to go after some breakfast and stretches! We left for the sports field and got ready for action. At 10.30am we watched the Carnew Emmet boys in their match but unfortunately they lost to a strong Limerick side.
11:15am: Next we were playing our guests, Burt, from Donegal, in sweltering heat. We charged forward with some powerful scores from our full-forward Mollie Mulroe. Yet again our backs fought extremely hard and younger members Emma Kinnear and Ciara Wafer really shone through in times of need. The substitutes coming on really boosted the team with fresh legs and they all kept up the effort.
All this battling payed off once again and we came away with a win which put us through to the cup quarter-final.
We went home for some lunch, to talk to the girls and to rest ourselves for the afternoon.
We went back to the pitch at 2:00pm to support the Burt girls in their Shield quarter-final.
We rested in the shade until our match. The heat was definitely taking a toll on us with a lot of headaches and tired players going around.
4:30pm: We came up against an extremely strong Kilkenny team called Windgap who were the toughest opposition that we had came up against in the Féile so far.
We all battled hard and we had the crowd behind us every step of the way but at half-time we were losing. The back line and our goalkeeper did exceptionally well with Alanna Dagg clearing balls from centre back and we had amazing fighting in the half-forward line by Charlotte Myers and Órlaith Molloy.
However, it wasn’t enough to come out on top and we were defeated. Windgap definitely deserved it and they went off to win the cup but we were still a bit upset.
That was the end of our Féile road. It was an amazing journey and we definitely got a lot stronger and we bonded a lot. Everyone played to their full potential and I am over the moon with the performance from the whole team.
We went home to freshen up and get ready for the BBQ and disco. Again the organisation and the committee pulled out all of the stops for a wonderful night.
Amazing weather, food, music and old and new friends, who could ask for more!
As I settled into bed that night I thought how happy I was to be part of this weekend and the friends I made while playing the sport I love: Camogie! This was a weekend that will stay fresh in my memory for a long time.
Sunday, June 18, 2017 9:30am: Burt leaves for Donegal.
There were a lot of hugs and Snapchats passed around and we all promised to keep in touch. We had a lot of good times this weekend and I will treasure it forever!