< PreviousMarch 2017 The Meath Coaster ©40Here is a brief report by Sam O’Neill of the semi-final on, 9th February along with some of his great photos. The game was played at a very fast pace throughout and St Mary's got off to a fan-tastic start, securing the first 8 points . At the end of the first quarter the score was 11-6 to St. Mary's. By the start of the last quarter the score was 32-19 to St. Mary's and the final score read 45-30 to St. Mary's Diocesan School. It was an excellent performance from both sides but the Mary's boys were definitely the dominant side in the game from start to finish. After an emotional medal ceremony for Colaiste Einde the victorious St. Mary's were acco mpanied by a massive ceremo-nial applause from their supporters and classmates as they made their way to the dressing rooms. In the end, the hard work had eventually paid off, St. Mary's were now through to the Final of the All Ireland League Final which will take place on Thursday 2nd March, again, in the National Basketball Arena.All Ireland League FinalWith several residents of the Meath coast area on the team, St. Mary’s Diocesan school in Drogheda are now through to the Final of the All Ireland LeagueCanaan Tsbary jumps for the hoopShane O’ Connor takes a shotCoach Niall Kelly surrounded by the playersPadraig Mc Groggan takes a shotMarch 2017 The Meath Coaster ©41Under 17 Boys' Team Narrowly Lose League FinalThe Under 17 Boys' Soccer team were narrowly defeated in the North-East Leinster Schools' Final at Muirhevnamór, Dundalk. The team had enjoyed a hugely impressive season in which they had al-ready beaten many top sides in the area, including St. Oliver's of Drogheda and Leinster Cup Semi-finalists Trim. How-ever, in the final they came up against a highly-fancied de la Salle team from Dundalk. After a tense and scrappy first half, the Dundalk team struck for the lead goal early in the second half. This ener-gised the CNI team, who quickly equal-ised with an excellent team goal finished by Josh Kelly. However, a set-piece goal and late effort on the counter-attack saw de la Salle clinch the title.The Under 15 Boys’ team also saw their league campaign come to an end as they lost their semi-final 3-1 to de la Salle, Dundalk after an impressive league cam-paign.Boys’ BasketballThe First Year Boys’ Basketball team beat Scoil Ui Mhuiri recently. The victory was built on a dominant first quarter, and al-though the team struggled to maintain this momentum, they held on for their second win from three matches thus far. A win in their next match against Ratoath offers the possibility of a quarter-final place.Sport at Coláiste na hInseAction from the Under 17 League FinalNew Handball Walls at Coláiste na hInseFirst Year Boys’ Basketball TeamThe Second Year team came into their match against Scoil Ui Mhuiri on the back of consecutive wins. However, a strong, well-organised Scoil Ui Mhuiri defeated the CNI team, despite an excellent effort from our team. Nonetheless, the team will be hoping to secure a quarter-final place in their next match against Ratoath.Coláiste na hInse Complete One Wall Handball WallsColáiste na hInse is proud to announce the completion of its One Wall Hand-ball walls. With the sport growing in the school, this facility will further help its development and give students an oppor-tunity to play on tournament specification courts. Who knows, the next All-Ireland champion could be in our midst! § March 2017 The Meath Coaster ©42Cilles Athletic ClubAt last the weather is getting milder, we can get out for a run without twenty layers on. There’s a stretch in the evenings too, so we should be back to run-ning in the daylight any day now. We’ve had a busy February, March is setting it-self up to be the same. When you read this 11 teams from Cilles AC will have taken part in the Leinster indoor relays in Abbotstown, check out our facebook page for how they got on. Best of luck to our new fitness group who’ll be testing out their legs at the Duleek and District 5k and to the gang heading to Bohermeen for the spring half marathon.I’d like to pass on our congratulations to Colmcilles GAA club, pipped at the post in a match where they gave everything. What really shone through apart from their sportsmanship was their team spirit, the support they gave each other and the love they gave back to their fans - truly inspiring.Ras na hEireann Oldbridge Some superb performances throughout the day, there were the U11 Boys team finishing second place to claim a silver Liam, Arron and James Juvenile b 120217Karen, Ciara and Aishlingmedal, well done Jackson, Shane, Sean and Daniel. The U17 Boys took Gold in their team event, congratulations Aaron, James, Liam and Darragh. There was Gold for March 2017 The Meath Coaster ©43Lauren Murphy and Bronze for Holly Brennan in the U17s race with Bronze for Aaron Smith in the U17 boys. Some incredible performances across the board from the athletes in the younger ages demonstrating their ability and po-tential. Well done to everybody who took part, it’s a credit to our juvenile athletes, their coaches and parents to see such fit happy young people turning out to enjoy a day’s running.Erin’s run 5k LouthThree of our ladies braved the elements to take on this race, Ciara Lenihan - 3rd lady home with a PB of 21:44, Aishling Cros-san 24:39, also a PB and Karen White in at 25:12, fantastic times from a super trio.All Ireland Masters and juvenile B championships Wexford12 fearless Cilles AC athletes were out in surely some of the most challenging run-ning weather we’ve had in a long while. It remained dry for the duration of the race but the word on everyone’s frozen lips was ‘Baltic!’. Holly Brennan ran a tactically clever race to bag herself 3rd place. Lauren Murphy (running a year out of her age in u17) was piped for 3rd place in a dramatic sprint finish. Deirdre McNulty ran a great race in the Masters 4000m Cross country, hopefully she’s thawed out by now after that chilly day’s running. Dune Cross Border Half Marathon 2017Three more of the Cilles AC gang took on the Dune half marathon Caroline Conway, Brona Cromwell and Susan Kielty, again conditions were very testing in what the ladies described as an undulating course but a great day was had all the same.AGMOur AGM took place Friday 10th Feb, a big thank you to everyone who attended. The club is just two and a half years old and has achieved so much in this short space of time. We have a vibrant mem-bership full of ideas and rearing to imple-ment them. Looking forward to a brilliant 2017.Bettystown B-5 race 2017A date for the Calender - Tuesday July 18th 8pm is the date for the third B-5. It’s a fast flat five mile in Bettystown and it has been an absolute blast for the past 2 years. Registration will open 12 weeks before the race, there’ll be plenty of up-dates between now and then, watch The Coaster, Facebook and webpage for full details of entry.Bigi linn ag rith § Lauren and Holly at Ras na hEireannMarch 2017 The Meath Coaster ©44to those competing, and we wish them all the very best of luck!!! Congratulations to Lisa O’Brien, Aaron McGrane and Mairead Dolan who were Castle Hill Riding Club The members of Castlehill RC have been very busy out competing lately in dressage and showjumping. Many of our members have been attending the Equipet North Eastern Region SJ League, and have placed extremely well in recent legs. All is still to play for at the league final in Castle Leslie, with many members vying for top places in very competitive classes. Caitriona Kavanagh and BouncerOlivia Nolan and AbiCaitriona Kavanagh and BouncerAt present Ciara McKeown and China are leading the 60cm class and are in 5th place in the primary league. In the same prima-ry class, Anita McNamara-Doyle and her lovely horse Ruby are in 3rd place. The Advanced Primary class is proving to be extremely competitive, with two Castle-hill members battling it out in the top three. Caitriona Kavanagh and her horse Bouncer are in 2nd place, and are competing at their first RC league, while Grainne Cronin and Danny are hot on their heels in 3rd place. Also hoping for a placing at the final are Paul Murray and his horse Henry and Ol-ivia Nolan and Abi. Gary Monahan and his lovely horse Olaf are also in the hunt for placings in the 80cm class and the Intermediate league class.Our members will giving their full support lately competing at the Dressage Irl show in Killossery. All three performed extreme-ly well, with Mairead taking 3rd place in the Novice class and then taking 3rd place in the AI class at the RC show in Marlton recently too. Well done!The members of Castlehill RC would also like to wish fellow NER Riding Club, Cheval, a very happy 40th birthday. They have recently been upgrading their sand arena at their club base in Jordanstown, Co. Dublin, and have been putting a lot of ef-fort into the upgrade of their facilities. Many of our members have competed on their grounds in recent years, and we look forward to their reopening. Well done to the Cheval members and committee on their dedicated work. For more info, please “like” our Facebook page, or contact Lindsey on 087 2285109.March 2017 The Meath Coaster ©45On the PitchAll of our teams are back at pre-season training, in preparation for the start of the season in March. Best of luck to all in the season ahead, and most importantly enjoy your football! And don’t forget our Red Card Café will be back open to sup-ply you with hot drinks and light snacks to sustain you on the sideline.Our coaches continue with their own de-velopment, this month seeing U11 Man-ager Robert Quinn, and U17 Goalkeeper Luke Reilly, completing their UEFA Na-tional Goalkeeping License. This course was run over 3 days in FAI Headquarters in Abbotstown, and we are eternally grate-ful to Luke and Robert for their commit-ment and dedication to ensuring that they can give the best quality training each week to all of our club goalkeepers. Well done lads!Sadly, in February, our pitches at Seafield were badly damaged by car thieves/joy-riders. I think it’s fair to say that the only people hurt in destructive actions like this, are children and the wider community who continue to support our fund-raising initiatives. The cost involved in rectifying the damage was quite substantial to the club, and we would appeal to the public to report any suspicious behaviour.Development PlansThe Development Committee have been working hard on our future development at Ministown. Our application for Sports Capital Funding was made in February, and we are all eager to hear the announce-ments! This application was for grass pitch development and drainage. Our 11-a-side pitches are very busy, and need a lot of work done to bring them up to a suitable standard to carry such heavy use. AcademyAcademy is back in action every Monday night from the 6th March. This starts prompt-ly at 6pm and finishes at 7pm in Ministown, shinguards and water are a must! §March 2017 The Meath Coaster ©46With the new season set to start in a couple of weeks everybody at Laytown United are busy making sure everything is in order for kick off. Train-ing schedules are back to normal and friendly matches are taking place weekly. We have ramped up equipment demands to meet the needs of the coming season. Our under 8’s and 9’s who will play twin side by side (5 v 5) games, the idea behind this new initiative, by the FAI, is to give everybody more game time and to give players more room on the pitch to allow them to express themselves and to put into practice what they have been working on in training. The youngsters have been play-ing this way for a few weeks now and it has been working out very well for them so they are very excited for the season to get under way. Our coaches have been very busy making sure all their training is up to date most recently they attended the 2nd part of the player development plan in the Ndsl Oscar Traynor Centre with Ruud Docktor the FAI High Performance Director. Thank youWe would like to take this opportunity to thank some of our amazing sponsors, as with all voluntary run clubs continued support is paramount to our survival and we really appreciate and value the spon-sors we are so lucky to have. A massive Thanks to Mick The Painter for spon-soring the jerseys for our under 11’s (Pad-dy’s Team) the lads and ladies will wear the jerseys with pride Mick. You can find Mick at http://mickthepainter.ie/A huge thank you also goes to Damian and all at The Anchorage Supermarket Bettystown for sponsoring a full track-suit for our under 9 Red team, the guys are well decked out for the season ahead and are loving wearing their tracksuits to matches & training. We are absolutely delighted to announce the following special offer from Elaine At Gruagaire Mornington…. Any Blow dry, straight or curly or any upstyle €20 with 50% donated back to the club – this March 2017 The Meath Coaster ©47is a fantastic fundraising opportunity for us so please support it. It is available to all Laytown United friends and families so please tell your Mammy, Sisters, Aunts, Grannies, Nieces, Cousin’s, Wife and Girlfriends about this amazing deal.Our Acadamey Is BackSaturday morning for 10-11 am on the Green in Inse Bay Laytown, cost is €10 registration and €2 per session. For a small seaside club, we sure have some well-known supporters. §Seafield VandalismPictured above is some of the mind-less damage to the playing pitches at Seafield left behind by anti-social car thieves/joyriders. The cost involved in rectifying the dam-age was substantial as was the hassle caused to so many people by so few..Cupcake CompetitionCongratulations to two Sacred Heart Secondary School students Emily Boshell and Niamh Murphy Halstead, with their Princess Cupcakes, who won the Transition Year Inter-School Cupcake Competition Friday 8th February.Photograph: Emily and Niamh with their teacher, Nichola Trainor . §March 2017 The Meath Coaster ©48DONACARNEY CELTIC F.C. The game was full of excitement from start to nish and a nal score of 2-2 after extra time highlighted just how hard both teams were battling to win. The game was eventu-ally decided in a nail biting penalty shootout that saw the visitors Blayney Athletic come out on top on the day.Well done to our U15's who played great on the day and only lost out by the narrowest of margins, and best of luck to Blayney Academy as they advance to the nal!.SFAI REGIONAL CUP SEMI-FINALThis month our U15s played out an extremely close game in Castlemartin against Blayney Academy FC in the U15 SFAI Regional Cup Semi-Final. It was Donancar-ney who struck rst from the penalty spot to take the lead, but it wasn't long before Blayney answered back with one of their own. The visitors took the lead in the second half with a long range strike, but Donacar-ney battled on and scored a late equalizer from a superbly struck free kick which beat the keeper and sent the game in to extra time.March 2017 The Meath Coaster ©49The work continued in Castelmartin this month on our Dugouts, and we now have all 6 units xed in their new homes. Thanks to all the volunteers you came down to help-out with getting them installed.DCFC would also like to say a massive thank you to Celuplast who kindly donated the Astroturf for the Dugouts.Why not sponsor one of our new Dugouts and proudly display your company logo in the heart of the community while also helping the Club to raise much needed funds for future developments.If you are interested in sponsoring one of our new Dugouts please contact Alan for further details: 086 3840487 DUGOUTSU14 Brennan McGuinn - Girls CupWell done to our Donacarney Divas who have progressed to the U14 Brennan McGuinn Cup Final after a super performance in the Semi-Fi-nal against a very strong Castle-town Belles F.C. team. Well done girls, super achievement!!We want to wish the girls and their Coaches the best of luck for their nal against Ardee Celtic F.C.SPONSORSHIPNext >