Éire Óg Greystones
GAA Club

This Week

Archive

Weekly Notes - 9th August 2006

Countrywide and with a long history, these G.A.A. camps are extremely well run and by summer's end, nigh on 75,000 schoolchildren will have attended the 2006 camps. And as for value for money? At the end of the week each player receives a V.H.I./Cúl shirt and rucksack, knicks, socks and a waterbottle - these plus tuition -all for 55euro. Now for the commercial. A VHI./Cúl Hurling camp starts this Monday 14th at 10.00am in the grounds of Éire Óg Greystones. Registration 9.30am. Late entries accepted.

The u-16 footballers travelled on Thursday to Baltinglass to play the locals but, unfortunately, failed to get a 'result'. However, strange as it may seem, the post match mood was far from downcast, one might even describe it as bordering on buoyant. Whence this reaction to a defeat? Easily explained. At half-time we were 7 points down and our situation looked totally bereft of hope. The team a-field was well below its potential strength - 5 key members, including our regular goalie, were on holidays and our 1st half performance which reeked of lethargy, gave all indications of a double digit defeat. After the interval things changed, changed utterly. Our lads came out with fire in their bellies and with only a few minutes to go, had succeeded in reducing the margin to 3 points. By the final whistle Baltinglass had increased the deficit to 4. A fight back to raise the spirits and stir the pride! Mo ghreidhin sibh, a bhuachaillí!

Conor Daly, David Danne, Matthew Norman, Seán Gascoigne, Stephen Mooney and Jonathan O'Brien backboned this gutsy team performance. Emmet Bollard who, in the absence of 1st and 2nd choice goalies, bravely took on the custodial responsibilities, discharged his duties with panache.

A quarter of an hour into Éire Óg's Intermediate championship game on Saturday evening in Arklow, one was asking oneself what misfortune had brought one to that place and why was one putting oneself through such torture? One had travelled all the way from Greystones and its Festival to lend support to an Éire Óg team which had shown itself to have strength in adversity and also to be capable of playing good football. But what was one seeing? Fifteen blue and white-vested individuals who seemed to have little appetite for the fray; they were second to every 50/50 ball, they were giving away possession cheaply, in short, their play was dire. One could just not believe that these were the same players that one had seen in training the previous Tuesday.

Dunlavin were 2 points up at this stage and things were definitely going their way. An inspirational point against the run of play from way out on the right wing by Roddy Carroll failed to inspire, and Dunlavin had built up a 6 point lead approaching the interval. Just before the break, a spectacular 70 yard weaving, floundering-generating solo by cornerback Eoin O'Neill had us on our toes in anticipation but his delivery whizzed just past the top left-hand corner and Dunlavin's lead remained intact.

Dunlavin scored a point from the 2nd half throw-in. Surely no way back from here? An Éire Óg point, another and suddenly we are outscoring Dunlavin. Maybe! Éire Óg spirits are beginning to rise. Then, 10 minutes into the 2nd half, it happened. A truly sublime (the word is not used lightly) movement produced an Éire Óg goal - Craig Smullen makes a vital interception in the half-back line and delivers a 'pinpoint' pass to "Chester" Kelly who offloaded to Darren Hayden. Darren's beautifully weighed ball over the heads of the backs hung long enough in the air to make a timely landing in the arms of the inward running Declan O'Mahony who is not known for looking gift horses in the mouth. Thereafter Éire Óg began to play to their potential and, with their superior fitness, were soon running Dunlavin ragged. They won by 6 points. A 13 point turnabout! A real Jekyll and Hyde performance. Next time lads, please, for our sanity's sake, let's have more of Dr. Jekyll and less of the Mr. Hyde.