Féile Division 1 Shield success for Garrycastle girls
On Saturday last, June 29, the Garrycastle Under-15 girls travelled to the Connacht Centre of Excellence, in Bekan, close to Claremorris, Co. Mayo, to participate at national level in the Division One Féile Peile na nÓg.
Westmeath champions Garrycastle were paired with the Mayo, Kerry and Down champions in the group stages.
Garrycastle started with a hard-fought draw against Down champions Carryduff. They then took on Kerry champions Castleisland Desmonds, losing narrowly in that game before also suffering a narrow loss to the Mayo champions Hollymount in the final group game. In both of the lost games, there was very little in it and a favourable bounce of the ball could have made all the difference.
So, once the group stages were complete, Garrycastle qualified for the Division 1 Shield semi-final, where they were drawn against a strong Kilmacud Crokes team who were the champions of Dublin. From the start of this game, all things seemed to fall into place. They girls found a new energy, and the passes and kicks were all executed with great speed and accuracy. Libby McHugh, Ellen Parker and Orla Turner were solid in defence and kept the opposition's score to a minimum. Erin McHugh, Amelie Henson and Olivia Collins kept the scoreboard ticking over at the other end and the girls ran out comfortable winners in the end.
So, with that great win under their belts, it was only the Cork champions from Ballincollig that stood in the way of the girls and Division 1 Shield success. In what was always going to be a tight and nervous game, the girls were unlucky not to build a big lead in the first half with a few near misses and the woodwork keeping the game in the balance.
Erin McHugh scored a huge goal and points from Ella Sweeney, Hannah Ganly and Olivia Collins gave Garrycastle a five-point lead going into the final five minutes.
Ballincollig didn’t give up, however, and threw everything at Garrycastle in the closing stages and, but for the heroics of Ellen Parker in goals, they would have prevailed. They didn’t, however, and Garrycastle were crowned Division 1 Shield winners for 2024.
This was an absolutely fantastic achievement for this great bunch of girls (see squad list below), and they made their club and county proud. There were great celebrations at the final whistle in Co. Mayo, and indeed later on that evening when they arrived home to Garrycastle.
Garrycastle squad: Ellen Parker, Orla Turner, Amy Carter, Doireann Keena, Rionagh Costello, Libby McHugh, Rebecca Sleator, Jane Byrne, Amelie Henson, Hannah Ganly, Jola Kearney, Erin McHugh, Trudy Quilty, Ella Sweeney, Wiktoria Wziatek, Olivia Collins, Ellianna McManus, Lily Duffy, Alanna Gaffey, Aoife McHugh, Sarah Condon, Alex Murphy, Hayley Murphy.
A total of 188 club sides took part in the national and regional finals across 20 venues nationwide. Sponsored for the ninth time by John West, Féile Peile na nÓg is one of the biggest underage sporting events in Europe.
The Garrycastle club extends huge congratulations to the girls on this fantastic victory and bringing home an All-Ireland title to the club. Sincere thanks to team managers Brian Ganly, Jonathan Sweeney and Brian Murphy, who have done great work with this bunch of girls and to the backroom team of Vanessa Walsh and Rhoda Costello.
The team extends sincere thanks to Féile sponsors, Lidl, Caulfield Industrial, Zenith, Rotofab and Supermac's Moate. Thanks to bus driver Ken and all the supporters who travelled to the event to shout on the team and had the privilege of witnessing this historic event.