Éire Óg Greystones
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Weekly Notes - 5th April 2006

The blue and white of ÉÓG was much in evidence since the club’s last press release with teams both male and female and juvenile taking to the field. They all did well.

Doing well does not necessarily mean being victorious. Victory is undoubtedly the spur for virtually all teams entering the fray; one sees how player morale ebbs during a game when it is sensed that victory is out of reach. So what of the loser? For his satisfaction it is important that to contend vigorously in a spirit of true sportsmanship has as equal a part in a player’s motivation.

Our three St David’s representatives on the County Vocational Schools team that defeated Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final on Saturday played, by all accounts, a full part in the three-point win. Darren Hayden capped an excellent performance by scoring the all-important goal. Paddy Taylor and Craig Smullen in the half-back line did much to spike the guns of a lively Cork attack.

The club extends its sincerest sympathies to Caitríona Sweeney, wife of Rónán, on the death of her father Dermot O'Brien. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. Dermot was a nephew of Pádraig Ó Caoimh, a hugely influential Árd-Runaí in the history of the GAA.

The intermediates on Sunday opposed Valleymount in their third game of the League. The team was somewhat understrength: ability (intercounty duty), versatility (hurling) in infusibility (accumulation of yellow cards) deprived it of some of its more noteworthy players. Nonetheless, the team functioned extremely well as a unit and the ball, for the most part, was conveyed with speed and intelligence in the many bouts of multiphase play.

Exasperation about adequately describes the state induced in the ÉÓG supporters by the first half proceedings: "We were playing all the football out there". Lovely sweeping movements executed at pace but ending in often unpardonable wides and goals conceded in situations of minimum threat.

Profligacy worthy of the most prodigal of sons had us two points in arrears at the break. A few minutes into the second half we had clawed our way back to equity. Then we struck the iceberg: another goal against the run of play. Was our number up? A trademark penalty from Johnny Barry had us in front and thereafter our domination on the field began to register on the scoreboard and ÉÓG ran out rather easy winners in the end.

Paul Pegman, Kenny Naughton and Peter Smith gave little away in the backs. James Leonard and Danny English dominated at centre of the field and their high fielding drew cheers of approval. The story of the forwards was one of an abundance of excellent scores from all angles and positions - even Decky Hogan got into the act – and, as previously mentioned, of blatant misses. Darren Hayden excelled in his excellent all-round play and scored a beautiful goal. ÉÓG’s third goal was a tribute to Darren’s vision; a pinpoint 30-yard kickpass found Simon Barry inside the Valleymount backs. Simon took full-advantage of his situation and duly dispatched the ball to the back of the net.

Our other adult team graced the field with a display of their ever-improving skill and team play. The ladies boasted an encouragingly large panel on the occasion of their game against high-flyers Arklow. Although playing literally out of their league the ÉÓG players produced a collective performance which suggested that next season might see these two teams competing at an officially-equal level. Though the game was played at an unfamiliarly unrelenting pace the Éire Óg girls were resolutely unfazed as newly-crowned captain Maria O’Neill led by example, unyielding and unforgiving in her halfback play. It is to be hoped the ÉÓG produce the same intensity and unity when facing less daunting but more important opposition in matches to come.

Three of the old guard have, at various stages since last Autumn, defected and are now to be found on three different continents. Niamh, Laura & Míde, go n-eirí libh i gconaí.