A group of U-13 boys from Clonduff arrived in Tralee on Friday afternoon for the Rose Cup competition. Guests of the Kerry Music school where the accommodation was far from star status the boys and their mentors, Aidan Brown, Sean Fearon, Ciaran Mc Greevy and Club Youth Officer Paddy Mc Conville made the best of it. Kearns O’Rahilly’s club in Tralee was the location for the Rose Cup. Glorious weather and good pitch conditions ensured a good standard of football. Clonduff and St Ronan’s of Roscommon, a team from Derry and Tipperary were the only non Kerry teams taking part in the tournament so competition was tough throughout.
Ardfert (Kerry) 3-3 Clonduff 3-2
An early start caught the young Clonduff boys off guard and it took them a while to get up to the pace of the Kerry lads. When they got going they could easily have won the game save for a few simple mistakes. A loss by the minimum margin was the final result but it did not deter the young boys.
Listowell Emmets (Kerry) 0-5 Clonduff 3-5
A few positional switches and a bit of a motivational chat had the boys well up for their next game against the famous Listowell Emmets club. Clonduff played with great teamwork and forced their way through the Emmet’s defence to get the vital scores. Likewise the Clonduff defence withstood the Emmet’s attack and the boys ran out easy winners.
Clonduff 0-7 Austin Stacks (Tralee, Kerry) 0-4
Buoyed up by their win over Emmets the boys realised that they could make the semi-finals since Ardfert had drawn with Austin Stacks. Racing into an early lead the Clonduff boys led early but Austin Stacks hit back and were one ahead by half-time.
The second half was delayed slightly as our own Down Rose Nicole Curran had made a huge fuss to have her itinerary changed to make a visit to the boys. Not only did she convince the organisers to visit the boys but she brought another four roses with her including the Roscommon and Derry Roses. Furthermore the Kerry press arrived to take photographs of Nicole and the boys. The visit certainly spurred the boys on as they went on to add further points and win the game.
After an impromptu lunch made up by some Clonduff ladies, thanks to Phyllis McShane, Patricia McGreevy and Marie Walls the boys played Dingle in the semi-final.
Clonduff 2-8 Dingle (Kerry) 0-1
The semi-final proved to be the easier game with the boys running out easy winners to qualify for the final.
A quick change of venue to the Na Gaeil club was necessary for the final.
Clonduff 0-1 Na Gaeil (Kerry) 1-5
This was played at Na Gaeil’s ground. The Na Gaeil club started well with early points and just before half time scored their goal. The Clonduff boys tried hard but found their big midfield duo hard to break down. The second half was much similar to the first half with Na Gaeil adding more points and Clonduff trying their best to break down their midfield and defence. In the end they were beaten by a better team.
A GREAT OPPORTUNITY
The boys received runners-up Rose Cup medals which they will cherish for a long time to come. It is not often that a group of young boys get the chance to travel to Kerry to take on the best Gaelic Football has to offer and compete confidently with them. The teamwork, skill, discipline and confidence shown by the Clonduff boys reflects the excellent coaching and hard work which is going on with the youth in Clonduff. If we ever had any doubts as to the success of our coaching they were laid to rest in Tralee. No one boy stood out on the playing field as all of they gave of their best and their teamwork was a joy to watch. Collectively they were a credit to their families, Clonduff, Down and indeed Ulster. Down football is well respected in Kerry and this group of boys certainly strengthened that respect. Keep it up boys, you will certainly have a huge career in the future.
TEAM
The team was Conor Keenan, Lyndon Brown, Lorcan McAteer, Brendan O’Hagan, Jonathan Gribben, Michael Mullholland, (Capt), Shane McGarry, Jake Brannigan, Ryan McGreevy, John Boden, Colm Fearon, Ross Carr, Aaron O’Hagan, Patrick Brannigan, Ben McConville, Brandon Roe, Thomas Kelly, Thomas O’Hare. Mentors: Aidan Brown, Sean Fearon, Ciarán McGreevy and Patrick McConville.
STREET PARADE
On Saturday evening the boys along with the other clubs were part of the main Rose of Tralee Parade. Large crowds from all over Ireland lined the streets and were thoroughly entertained by a large number of bands, street entertainers and of course the Roses. It was great to be part of it and the boys got great support from the very many Down people who had travelled to Tralee for the weekend.
UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
The opportunity for the boys to travel to Tralee for the Tournament arose because of Nicole’s success in the Down Rose of Tralee and Clonduff GAC is indebted to Nicole for this. These young boys and their mentors had a unique opportunity. The mentors would like to congratulate the boys on their excellent behaviour and co-operation over the weekend and are already looking forward to continued success with this group. They have got over the puncture in the blow up bed boys!
Finally, a big thank you to the parents who made the long journey to Tralee. They were not disappointed as they enjoyed a great day’s football and the craic and support was just brilliant. One parent recalled a trip he had made with Clonduff GAC to the Listowel Emmetts club in the mid eighties when he was a similar age. Perhaps we can search the archives Brendan to get a report on this trip.
Well done boys and thanks again Nicole for a great weekend in Tralee. It will live long in our memories.
