St Anne's and St Patrick's to represent Carlow at Féile
Carlow Division 1 Féile champions, St Patrick's.
Tullow GAA clubs St. Anne’s and St. Patrick’s are deep into their preparations as they get ready to represent Carlow at the National Féile Peile na nÓg in Derry on Saturday, June 27.
St Anne’s won Division 1 of the Carlow Feile in April at the Centre of Excellence, Fenagh, winning five of their six round robin matches against Éire Óg, Fenagh, O’Hanrahans, Old Leighlin, St. Brigid’s and Kildavin-Clonegal.
They progressed to the final against Old Leighlin where they took control early and built a solid lead by half time. Old Leighlin mounted a late challenge and found the net, but St. Anne’s responded decisively and were confirmed champions on a scoreline of 2-5 to 1-1.
Under the leadership of joint captains Niamh Gahan and Sophia Kelly, St Anne’s will play in a competitive group alongside three Derry sides - Ballerin, Doire Trasna and Kilrea Pearses, as well as Annaduff from Leitrim, with the possibility of playing knockout games against visiting teams from Britain, Europe, Australia and the USA.
Evie Bolger, Bronagh Byrne, Áine Keane, Kate Rooney, Éinín Dwyer, Layla Argueta, Eve Murphy, Sophia Kelly, Ella O’Connor, Ruby Lavin, Aoibheann Hunt, Ella Bailey, Naoise Byrne, Niamh Gahan, Grace Cleary, Anna Nolan, Ella Nolan, Annemarija Pilmane, Ellie Cullen, Mia Johnson, Rebecca Shannon, Libby Byrne Halligan, Sorcha Keogh, Mia Darcy.
Adrian Lavin, Jim Gahan, Aoife O’Connor, Helena Hunt.
St. Patrick’s won Division 1 of the Carlow Feile in April, despite an early defeat to Palatine. From there they moved into a three-way playoff where they secured a semi-final spot with victories over Myshall and Fenagh.
St Patrick’s then overcame Michael Davitts in the semis to set up a rematch in the final against Palatine. The Tullow club were three points up at half time but found themselves a point adrift of Palatine with time almost up. But Pat’s found a goal in the last minute and held out for a two-point win, delivering their first Division 1 in 29 years.
The Tullow club have scheduled a practice match on Friday against local Derry side Brian Ogs Steelstown before the Feile kicks off on Saturday whereSt Patrick’s, captained by Jake Lacey, have been paired with teams from Derry, Wicklow, Roscommon, Waterford, Cavan and Wexford.
Richard Laudups, Jake Maher, Broderick Finnan Whelan, Donnacha Myers, Christopher O'Toole, Jamie Byrne, Riain Doran, James O'Toole, Jake Lacey, Odhran Whelan, Ryan Mulligan, Charlie Goss, Nikodem Piotrowski, Cillian Maxwell, Jack O'Connor, Daniel Malinowski, Florin Poncos, Tadhg Dempsey, Liam Brennan, Kacper Futoma, Michael Quigley, Elliot McCarthy, Joe Lacey, Evan Goss, Aaron Denton.
James O’Connor, Noel Goss, David Byrne.
The two clubs undertook a number of joint fundraisers, including the James Griffin Br Leo 5k, a walkathon, and a Teenage Disco in Tullow Rugby Club. Individually, St Anne’s members sold headbands and wristbands and organised a raffle, church-gate collection and plastic bottle returns, while St Patrick’s organised a car wash and raised over €1,000 when one of the coaches got a Pat’s tattoo on his leg.
In the weeks since the County Feile final the teams managed to raise enough sponsorship to fund the trip, with the club sending out their thanks to all who helped, saying, “The work done by the players, their parents, the coaches and the committee needs to be commended and we would like to thank all of the businesses and our community for being so generous in their contributions and support.”
