Feile nA nGael 2006

On Thursday 15th June our U-14 hurlers set off for the scenic island of Cobh, Co. Cork to take part in the All-Ireland Feile. The 8 hour long bus trip felt shorter than expected as the bright spirits of everyone on the bus, plus good DVD’s on offer, kept the mood enthusiastic.

With a safe arrival and everyone settled into houses, the thoughts of everyone turned to the job in hand. A brief puc about and a light lunch preceded our first match of the competition against our hosts Cobh.

The boys quickly got into the game and showed dominance all over the field and were very unfortunate to be two points down after five minutes. Despite going behind the we kept going and eventually got the scores to prove our control. Three excellent goals added to some fine points contributed to a deserved half time nine point advantage.

The second half started in a similar fashion, the boys refusing to get complacent, and shortly after the restart Marty McQuillan, who finished with 3-03 fired us thirteen points ahead. We conceded two late goals, but theses were merely consolation scores as we closed out a deserved victory. There were tremendous performances all over the pitch most notably from Marty McQuillan, Declan Bradley, Oran McFlynn, Christopher Convery and Brian Diamond.

After the game the team travelled to Cork City to take part in the traditional Feile parade. After a bi of a delay the parade got under way and was very enjoyable for all wh took part.

Saturday morning arrived and our attention turned to the next match. The Cobh players and managers had informed us that the Delaney Rovers side were of a similar class to Cobh, and this seemed to breed over confidence amongst the players considering Friday’s convincing victory.

Delaney’s proved to be stronger than opposition than Cobh and with our boys making a slow start Delaney’s cruised into a 1-04 to 0-00 lead after ten minutes. We eventually got into our stride and with Martin McQuillan is good from once again we fought our way back into the game. However a couple of fortunate goals for Delaney’s in the second half helped them hang on for victory.

It was a disappointing result as it was clear victory was a possibility had we started with a better attitude. Once again we had several great performers in the shape of Thomas O’Hagan, Cathal Bradley and Michael Warnock in defence, with Conor McAtamney offering tremendous support to Marty McQuillan in attack.

The boys now had an hours rest before our final match of the tournament against a much fancied Keady side, who had already comfortably accounted for the two Cork sides. Keady lived up to their reputation as the got into their stride quickly, playing some lovely hurling. They were made to work very hard by the Swatragh boys and the half time score of 2-08 to 0-02 was more than a touch flattering for the Armagh side.

The half time team talk was simple. Forget what happened in the first half, we have one half left to go out, enjoy ourselves and play as hard as we can. That is exactly what happened as our lads proved that playing with a smile on your face is the best was to play sport.

We stopped letting Keady dictate the game and we brought a physical element to the game that was typified by three of our smallest players Oran McFlynn, Michael Quigg and Conor McAtamney throwing in the sort of big hits that much older players would have been proud of!

We managed to reduce the deficit to three points before Keady struck a clinching goal that should never have been only for a very poor refereeing decision. Despite the 5-08 to 4-02 defeat it was the Swatragh players who took all the credit as we received a standing ovation from all of the supporters for a tremendous second half display.

There were fifteen exceptional performances from our boys in that second period, especially in the full forward line where Dominic McGuckin, Gary McAtamney and Rory McGurk all stood out, not to overlook the great work of Conor O’Kane in goals.

The disappointment of not reaching the semi-final stage was soon forgotten as we were treated to a tour of the Irish Navy base in Cobh. Players, mentors and supporter alike mixed well with our new friends from Cobh.

It was a fantastic weekend with great weather, and the players and the management team would like to take this opportunity to thank our very generous sponsors Brian McKeefry (Crossland Tankers), Mickey Bradley (Granaghan Fireplaces) and Roger A. Quinn for tracksuits, t-shirts and kit bags.

Thanks also to the Michael Davitt club for all their help, to everyone who helped raise funds by buying lotto tickets and the supporters who took time out of their schedules to make the long trip to cheers us all on.

Finally special thanks to the Cobh club for all their hospitality that made the weekend so enjoyable. Every one of us will remember our weekend in Cork for a very long time and the experience gained will stand us in good stead for the league and championship ahead.

Stiophan O’Cahan