After seeing a very defensive All Ireland Ladies final on Sunday we were treated to quite the opposite Monday evening in Ballymac as our U-16 girls took on Duagh in the North Kerry League shield final.
Duagh 4-8 Ballymac 4-6
In a high scoring, entertaining game Duagh won by two points. Their ability to make the most of their scoring chances was the main difference. Ballymac started very well and Mary Healy kicked a great point to start the scoring.
Numerous Chances
Having created numerous chances we failed to take them in this period, Caoimhe Carroll won a great ball out on the wing and kicked a good point after eight minutes.
Niamh Rahilly drove forward to be fouled and she got up to take the free herself and found the back of the net leaving us 1-2 to no score after 12 minutes but it should have been a lot more.
Duagh got a foothold and kicked 1-1 to bring them back into the contest. Two more points for Duagh had them one up but Ballymac responded through Aisling O’Connell following good work by Lucy Murphy and Rachel Godley.
More Dominant
Duagh’s centre forward, Ella Morris was be coming more dominant and she kicked a point from a free and converted a penalty coming close to half time
Robyn White’s good kick out found Niamh Rahilly and a good team move resulted in Aine Rice kicking a point to leave half time score 2-4 to 1-4.
A whirlwind start to the second half saw a point straight from the throw in. From the kick out Mary Healy fed Elle Mc Elligott who put Aine Rice into space and she found the net to put us up one . Celebrations were short lived as Duagh’s full forward had the ball in our net a minute later and they added a further two points through their centre forward, Ella Morris.
Ballymac responded again with another Aine Rice goal to leave a point between us 3-5 to 3-6 , Duagh’s corner forward, Allie Buckley was having a big influence for Duagh as they dropped players deeper and she used her speed as outlet for her team. Their centre back, Kathy Jordan’s raking clearances were a feature too.
Massive Points
Duagh’s Ella Morris kicked two massive points from frees to stretch their lead to three. Elle Mc Elligott gathered a few kicks out and carried well down the wing to create a few more scoring chances.
From one of these, Aine Rice got her third goal of the night to level it up again 4-5 to 3-8. Duagh created another goal scoring chance but Robyn got out quickly to save.
A mis-kick by a Duagh forward saw the ball skid towards goal and it was finished to the net to make it 4-8 to 4-5 with five minutes left.
The Ballymac girls laid siege to the Duagh goals for the remaining period . Rachel Godley at half forward showed well again. Elle Mc Elligott forced a save from the Duagh keeper.
The Long Whistle
Time ran out on us and the long whistle from referee, Dell Whyte saw us fall short by two points. Maurice Mc Namara of the North Kerry board presented the shield to Duagh shortly afterwards.
Though our girls were disappointed with the result it was a performance to be proud of and they gave our supporters plenty to shout about on the night.
Congratulations to Duagh on their win. Ellie Morris, Kathy Jordan and Allie Buckley were outstanding for them on the night. All the Ballymac girls gave it their all and performed to a high standard. Aine Rice with 3-2 on the night deserves a special mention.
Team: Robyn White, Tara Murphy, Claire Kenny, Michaela Murphy, Caoimhe Carroll 0-1; Leah O’Neill, Rose Anne O’Shea, Niamh Rahilly 1-1; Aisling O Connell, 0-1; Maeve Pierce, Aine Rice 3-2; Mary Healy 0-1; Lucy Murphy, Therese Keane and Rachel Godley. Subs: Maeve O’Sullivan, Emily O’Donoghue, Heather Jones, Lisa Curran, Eve Creedon, Cáit Rice, Ellie McElligott.
Ballymacelligott GAA Club Lotto
The lotto was held in the Halfway Bar on Monday, September 26th 2016 for a jackpot of €4,800. Numbers drawn were 9,12,14,19. There was no winner.
Lucky Dips: 1. Katie and Blake Leen, Chutehall; 2. JJ Murphy, c/o Tom Leen; 3. Dave Slattery, c/o Paula Silles; 4. Margaret O Connor, Ballymac; 5. Nora O Connell, c/o Maureen Harris. Sellers’ Prize : Mossie Leen. The lotto now stands at €4,900 and can be played at www.ballymacgaa.com
U-16 Divisional Final
Congratulations to the Castleisland District U-16 team and management on their victory over Mid Kerry in the Co. Final on Sunday last. Ballymac players on this Panel included Josh O’Keeffe, Barry Lyons, James McDonnell, Tadhg Brick and Daire Keane.
Seniors Quality for Coiste Trá Lí
Our senior team qualified for the final of the Coiste Tra Li Senior Championship with a comprehensive victory over an understrength John Mitchels side on Sunday last. We now await the winners of the other semi final between Austin Stacks and Kerins O Rahillys.
On Sunday next we are due to play St. Pats in the final of the St. Brendans League. This game is fixed for Blennerville with a 12noon throw in time.
Golf Classic Fundraiser 2016
Ballymac are holding their annual golf classic at Beaufort Golf Club on Saturday the 15th of October. The competition is a Stableford 4-man team format. Team of 4 costs €160. Team prizes for 1st, 2nd & 3rd with the first prize being a Four Ball at the Old Head of Kinsale. As part of the day we are inviting businesses to sponsor a green or a tee. The cost of €50. For this the business name will be displayed at the Golf Course and at the prize giving in the Blasket later that evening. If any member of the club works for or owns a business that can sponsor a tee/green please contact Dave Slattery on this and all other matters relating to the event on 087 22 01 042. All proceeds go to the continued development of underage football in Ballymac.
Daire Keane in All-Ireland Handball Final
Congratulations to Daire Keane on winning the All Ireland U-16 Handball semi final against Eoin Brennan in Kilkenny. Daire lost the first game 13-21. He won the second game 21-17 and the third on 11 -9. Well done Daire Keane and the Best of Luck in the All Ireland Final. Ballymac is proud of you.
Faoi 16
Ballymac will play John Mitchels in the Div 3 final of the town league next weekend with the venue and date to be confirmed.
Faoi 14
Ballymac 8-13 Churchill 5-10 This was a closer game than the final result suggests Played in beautiful weather at Churchill field overlooking Barrow the boys were playing their last group game of the town league A tight first half in which we took a two goal lead was pulled back to level by half time John Lowe starting at half back out in a great hour. We had the aid of a stern breeze in the second half and the lads drove on. They broke Churchill defense on a few occasion with Dylan Dunne Moriarty running hard from midfield. Cian Godley at full back made sure Churchill were not allowed back into the game. All from 1 to 17 gave a passionate display Sean Polman Daamen put in a great shift also from midfield. We now play Na Gaeil in the Division 2 final.
Team: Eoghan Kenny. James Bailey, Adam Kelly, Ciaran Brosnan. John Lowe, Brian Cassidy, Adam Joy Cian Godley, Sean Polman Daamen, Darragh Broderick, Dylan Dunne
Moriarty, Dara Leen, Aidan O’Brien, Sean Horan, Tim Polman Daamen, Denis Brosnan A speedy recovery to Darragh Sweeney who broke his thumb in our recent game v Currow
Faoi 10
The academy for our U10 panel didn’t take place last Sunday morning the 02nd of October as we travelled to John Mitchels on Sunday morning to play for challenge games. We had good games on a lovely morning for football. The next competitive outing for the boys will be the Siobhan Cotter Blitz in Churchill next Sunday the 9th of October. Our U10 panel competed in the recent Milltown/Castlemaine blitz in aid of the Anthony Morris Fight Lyme Disease Fund. In total €1,765 was raised on the day and this was presented to Anthony’s parents, Jim and Mary Morris. Milltown/Castlemaine would like to express their gratitude to all participants.
Faoi 8
Instead of the academy training for our U8 panel last Sunday morning the 02nd of October we travelled to John Mitchel’s for a challenge game. We had good competitive games on a lovely morning for football. Many thanks to John Mitchels GAA for hosting us. The next competitive outing for the boys will be the Siobhan Cotter Blitz in Churchill next Sunday the 9th of October.
Faoi 6
U-6 Academy Boys & Girls had a good outing last Sunday morning last and everyone had lots of fun learning their skills. Academy continues next Sunday the 9th of October on the main pitch so come along and bring your water and gum shield.
Cailini Faoi 6/8 Year Review
The 2016 U-6 and U-8 girls’ academy will shortly be drawing to a close. The year started off in March in Ballymac hall for the U-6 girls and some great fun was had by all involved. The hall was a gentle introduction for the new kids away from the harsh weather that was experienced this year.
In late April the weather had improved so the U6’s were ready to join their U-8 counterparts in the main pitch, The U-8s had already been playing on the pitch for a couple of weeks and immediately forged friendships with the newcomers that will last a lifetime , they also helped their more inexperienced team mates master some of the basics of the game.
The academy ran very successfully only being cancelled on a handful of Sunday’s , The Munster final, Feile and a couple of Sunday’s due to downpours .
A larger exposure to go games was the order of the day and some new friendships were forged with local clubs namely: Castleisland, Cordal, John Mitchells, Austin Stacks and Firies twice.
Ballymac competed very well in these games and it helped the young players put into practice some of the skills they were learning at training. It was remarkable how they improved with each game.
To their credit the girls were a pleasure to work with and all possessed the key attributes that make coaching them such a pleasure punctuality, positivity and energy.
So a big thank you to the girls namely, Laura, Hazel and Abagail, Alicia, Michelle, Grace, Saoirse, Sorcha, Sinead, Mary, Aine, Niamh, Alice, Kate, Kate, Katie and Natalie, Aisling, Emma, Niamh, Amy, Aimee, Julie, Alannah, Fallon, Tara, Sinead, Caitlin, Sophie, Emily and Emma. Keep practicing over the closed season tell your friends how much fun it is and come back next year.
Everyone had an enjoyable season and a big thanks to all the mentors. Three U-14 girls who helped out when needed, Cora Savage, Holly Geary and Kate O’Connor deserve a big thanks.
Ballymacelligott Community Alert
Ballymacelligott Community Alert Group: will be holding their Annual Church Gate Collection this week. All Proceeds go towards the running of our warning text system. We now have over 750 people signed up to the system. If you know of anybody who wishes to join just text Fionnán Fitzgerald, Pat Dowling or Noel Keane their name, number and townland. All support appreciated.
Kielduff Community Centre
Mass and Rosary will be held on Friday evening, October 7th 2016 at 8.15pm in Kielduff Community Centre followed by refreshments. All welcome.
Arts And Craft Classes
An Arts and Crafts class will begin in Kielduff Community Centre on 13th October which will run for eight weeks. This will cost €12per night or €80 for the full eight weeks. Advanced bookings recommended. For further information please contact Eileen on 087 6667481.
Irish Red Cross Day Course
Irish Red Cross are having a one day course in practical first aid on October 8th from 9am to 5pm in Tralee. Topics will include medical and trauma emergencies. To book your place call or text 087 266 7177.
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