St Colmcilles G.A.A. – September 2021

Oh my …. Where to start.  WHAT.A.MONTH.  Lets hope we can do it justice

All Ireland Minor Champions !

Since the last edition,  Meath minors have claimed both Leinster and All Ireland Minor football honours.  We are so proud of Eoin, Luke, Eoghan, Danny, Oisin, Christian and Shaun.  With the 2020 final being played this year Meath’s back to back Leinster successes mean that 11 Leinster Minor Championship medals came to the club in 2021.   What an achievement and a credit to the club and its hard working coaches and volunteers.    However what a special time it has been for the class of 2021 and what an influence the Cilles have had on the All Ireland success that was to follow the Leinster title on Bank Holiday Monday.   Meath scored 5 goals in the campaign.  4 from St Colmcilles players, Oisin O’Muruchu hit three goals in the campaign – one each in the Leinster and All Ireland Finals, Christian hit the goal of the season in the All Ireland semi final where Shaun Leonard was named TG4 Man of the Match in that game.  And if that wasn’t enough well they all starred in a tough All Ireland final with Shaun being the toast of the county with a the winning point with the teams deadlocked in injury time.  It took an age to go over  and what a roar from the crowd.   To all the lads thank you for the memories, to all your coaches we are indebted and to your parents, guardians and all who have played a part no matter how big or how small – the sincerest of thanks and best wishes.  Enjoy the moment lads and we cant wait to have you all back in the blue of St Colmcilles !!

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Leinster Ladies Minor Champions

Well done to the Meath Ladies who claimed the Leinster Minor Championship in Kinnegad at the end of August.  This was a hard fought game but led by our very own Ellen Brodigan the title returned to Meath.  Ellen makes history being the first ever Cilles player to captain Meath Ladies to a Leinster title following Enda Grogan as the only other Cilles player to captain a Leinster winning side.  The honour could not have fallen to a better person or role model.  Ellen Brodigan epitomises all that is great about the GAA and sport.  Her commitment knows no bounds and she has the heart of a lion.  Pure gold is our Ellen and we are so proud to say that she is from St Colmcilles.  Take a bow …

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Ladies League Division 2 Champions

More history made in August as we claimed our first ever Senior Ladies League Division 2 title in thrilling fashion over the famed Dee Rangers in Syddan.  It took guts, it took blood, it took sweat but in the end the tears were tears of joy that have us now salivating for the championship.  No matter what the championship brings now the prospect of division 1 football is sure to continue our development and progress.  To Paula and all her management team, a huge well done but the biggest cheer and congratulations is reserved for all the panel.  Ye were superb on the day – well done one and all !!

 Win A Garden Room- Help Us Achieve Our Dreams

Our infrastructure fundraiser for 2021 is a really exciting opportunity to win a Garden Room!! What’s a Garden Room? Well it can be literally whatever you want it to be. With so many people now working at home it can be an office, it can be a lady’s chill space or the famous man cave, how about a home gym or a dance studio, a guest bedroom or a granny flat. The possibilities are truly endless.

And all that can be yours – for €20!! We have partnered with the leading brand in this space – Garden Rooms- to bring you the chance to win one of these amazing rooms – without doubt the best in the market.

Tickets can be purchased at www.winagardenroom.ie and will are with all teams. Every cent raised goes towards our infrastructure projects – the main objective of which is to acquire and develop new pitches.

Please support ! You club needs you!

U15 Boys Are Féile Football Champions

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Like the Club, Féile is 50 years old this year and celebrations have been kicking off all around the country.  We are delighted to say that our U15 boys have claimed the Division 1 Football honours with  narrow win over Gaeil Colmcille from Kells.  Our U15 hurlers are in the Division 3 final which has to be fixed whilst our ladies footballers were desperately unlucky going down to Navan Mahony’s by 2 points after extra time in their semi-final.  Great work everyone and we wish our U15 footballers and hurlers  the very best of luck in the upcoming league finals.

Hard Luck To The U15 Premier 2 Team

Keep Up To Date

To keep up with all things St Colmcilles you should follow us on our social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We feature regular interviews from our games which are proving very popular. Our weekly Podcast is also proving very popular and a great way to keep up to date and hear more from some of the personalities across the club.  

Championship Season

Maybe it’s covid that makes us thankful  but we are really enjoying our Championship football.  All 4 men’s teams are going really well and in contention for the knock outs however it will take an almighty effort this coming month to get us over the line.   The Premier 8 team have climbed to the summit of the division and look odds on for the semi-final.  The Premier 2 and 5 teams have been in great form but face some tough tasks in the final 2 rounds to get over the line#.  One more win for each team should do it and this would be great progress for these development squads.  In the Senior Championship, well its going to the wire.  A thrilling thumping win over Ballinabrackey got us off to a flier but we came crashing back to heart with a disappointing display in Round 2 v Na Fianna.  We now go into the final round v Curraha where a win gets us to the Quarter Final.  It remains in our own hands and no doubt we will respond in style !.  Good luck to all our teams as we reach the crucial stages now

Leinster U14 Final

Despite our best efforts we were unable to claim an U15 Premier double as our Premier 2 side went down to St Patricks in the final.  Having claimed the Premier 1 title in July hopes were high that we could take both trophies but it was not to be as the Pats deservedly took the cup in Dunganny.  A huge well done to the lads – great work

Hard luck to Sadhbh, Caoimhe and Ella who were part of the Meath squad that reached the Leinster U14 final.  The team was coached by Kevin Coffey and Paul Anderson from the club and there is no doubt that there is a bright future ahead for the girls.   Get well soon to Sadhbh who suffered a serious injury in the final

Condolences

Our condolences to all at our neighbours Laytown United FC on the tragic loss of Dave Conroy.  Dave was a good friend of the Cilles and our community.  To all Dave’s family and friends and to all at Laytown United we extend our sympathies and prayers

A Must Read 

Our very own Denis Collins has worked wonders to produce a wonderful history of the GAA in East Meath – the early years. A unique production it has been prepared from newspaper archives to piece together the foundation of the association in the area, our early successes and key characters. In an easy to read format it is a must for anyone associated  with the GAA and who has an interest in our community’s history. Available for purchase at €10 at the Shane Black Academy every Sunday morning  or by contacting us at info@cilles.com

Not All Heroes Wear Capes

We will finish on a wee story that shows how special the Cilles family are – back in June two young girls got into difficulty on the coast of Wicklow.  A swimmer came to their rescue keeping them safe until the Air Rescue forces came to support them.  That swimmer was none other than Premier 8 Captain and Cilles Legend- John McKenna.  In typical John style he never said anything to anyone about the high profile rescue that was featured on the news that night.  However you cant escape our PRO team John – bloodhounds for news they are !! Well done John – so typical of you