THREE IN A ROW!
Glynn-Barntown Rounders bring home historic crown
IT’S been a proud time for Glynn-Barntown Rounders who completed the historic three-in-arow when they lit up the Abbotstown NSC on Saturday last with a marvellous display.
In retaining their All-Ireland tile, the Glynn-Barntown Ladies team created their own piece of history in bringing a national title to the small rural Wexford club.
The champions took on The Heath from Laois on Saturday afternoon last in what was always going to be an absorbing final, a d supporters of the respective teams were not left disappointed.
From the get go Glynn Barntown were a dominant force on the field, their well balanced team ensured that their opponents were getting as little runs as possible. All members contributed to keeping their opponents to a low scoring which proved a crucial factor in the eventual outcome.
Combined then with their strong batting they retained their title in just under an hour with a score line of 15-6, which demonstrated the progress this team has made over three years of national dominance.
It is the first time since 2000 that any club has retained the CJ Haughey Trophy for three consecutive years, a magnificent achievement by this fledgling club.
Speaking after the game, Coach Catriona Walsh expressed her delight for the ladies.
‘These are a remarkable team of ladies, they train hard and work well together to draw on their combined strengths. I don’t think the three in a row part has registered yet to be honest, I think that will sink in a a few days for now they are just delighted with their performances on Saturday and bringing the trophy back to Wexford.’
It was also a historic day for the newly formed club’s mixed team who in their first year brought home the silver medals after a marvellous run of success this season.
The club’s newly formed Mixed Team, who also competed against The Heath in the Mixed All-Ireland finals, unfortunately lost out to the very experienced Laois side. The team had gone unbeaten throughout the championship and getting silver in an All-Ireland final is a testament to the huge achievement in their first year together.
Catriona feels that they will take away a lot from the game on Saturday and come back even stronger next season.
‘The greatest learning curve for any rounders player is to compete against the best, this drives us on to better ourselves and up our performances,’ she said.
‘This has been a remarkable year for our club, last year we had 1 ladies team competing in the senior championship, this year we had three: Glynn Barntown ladies, Glynn Barntown mixed and Barntown Gaels ladies team. It is lovely to see so many adults wanting to play this great sport,’ added Catriona.
The club would like to extend their gratitude to their sponsors: Menapia Motors and Rosslare Pharmacy. Also to Fr. John Carroll and the members of Barntown Parish pitch for kindly facilitating training sessions and being so accommodating to the club.