CLONDUFF U12 LGFA TOURNAMENTClonduff’s final tournament of the year was met with glorious sunshine and a fabulous sense of fun and camaderie from the eight participating teams. Many thanks to Warrenpoint Blues, Warrenpoint Whites, Tullylish, Clann na Banna, Saval, Newry Bosco, Mayobridge and of course the host club Clonduff. The initial stage was played in 2 groups of 4 before the lunch break to decide who would contest the Cup and the Shield – all games were very closely contested with never more than the kick of a ball between them at the end. In the semi-finals of the Shield Tullylish was pitted against Clann na Banna and Warrenpoint Blues against Warrenpoint Whites with Tullylish and Warrenpoint Whites progressing to the Final. In the Cup semi-finals, it was Saval v Newry Bosco and Clonduff v Mayobridge – this threw up a rematch of the very first group game Clonduff v Saval. In the group game Saval had been one-point winners but Clonduff turned it around to win the final by the same margin! In the Shield, Warrenpoint Whites were winners over Tullylish.
The Cup winning team and mentors pictured – Back row (l-r): Gary Farrell (Mentor), Sophie Rose Power, Maria McPolin, Beibhinn McKeown, Rosie McPolin, Kennedy Dinsmore, Annie Fegan, Niamh Morgan, Erin Rooney, Ellie Farrell, Damien Rooney (Mentor); Front row (l-r): Jesse McGinn, Hannah Brown, Saoirse Kelly, Aoibh Byrne, Mya Burns, Katie Farrell, Clodagh Flanagan, Meabh Kay, Geraldine McPolin (Mentor);
However, there were no losers on the day – all eight teams played with great spirt and no little skill, as Clonduff Secretary Anita Brannigan told the teams assembled for the presentations which were made by Club Youth Officer Mark Devlin.
Anita thanked all those who had contributed to the day – the teams who had attended, our own U12 management team, Club PRO Shereen Lyness who kept proceeding moving to the exact timings, Jimmie Cousins, the score-keeper, in-house referees – Charlie, Stephen, Sinead, PJ, Kieran and Niall, the entire U14 squad who acted as score-keepers, runners and umpires despite many of them participating in the U14 County Camogie Final later in the afternoon (which incidentally they won), the parents who provided the food and worked tirelessly to get everyone, including spectators, fed and watered, Goretta and Noleen in the club shop, and the ‘Man Above’ for the weather!
It was a great way to celebrate the tournament return which had been sidelined since 2019 due to the pandemic – the feedback from the visiting clubs was more than positive and all were hoping that they would be included in the invited teams next year!
Teams ready for the presentation
