Castleisland Desmonds Ladies Victory night will take place in the River Island Hotel on March 26th with a kick-off time of 7.30pm.
The event is to mark Desmonds brilliant achievement of winning county and Munster championship titles in 2021.
By Dan Kearney
Their campaign that started off with 4-17 to 2-3 win over Austin Stacks in Connolly Park was followed by a 6-8 to 1-4 victory over Scartaglen in Castleisland.
Next up was another home tie against a depleted Corca Dhuibhne and Desmonds showed no mercy to triumph by 3-11 to 0-1 scoreline.
A Shaky Start
ISG awaited in the semi final and after a shaky start Desmonds pulled away to win by 5-14 to 3-6.
Corrca Dhuibhne awaited once more in the final on October 8th, and this was a real ding dong battle. The West Kerry girls gave Desmonds plenty to think about throughout the game and were level with the white and blue at half time.
A power packed second quarter laid the foundations for a brilliant Desmonds victory though, and they claimed the County Intermediate Championship on a 2-16 to 3-7 scoreline.
Munster Campaign Focus
The celebrations were epic and full blooded but when training resumed a few days later the focus was very much on the Munster campaign down the road.
A gap of six weeks meant that Desmonds were game rusty when they faced Kilrossanty Brickeys of Waterford in the quarter final on November 24th but after a shaky start they emerged victorious on a 0-14 to 2-6 scoreline.
The Tipperary champions Galtee Rovers St Pecauns travelled to Milltown for the semi final but Desmonds blew them out of the water to secure a fantastic 3-12 to 1-1 victory. Monagea of Limerick awaited in the final on December 11th.
Honesty and Determination
In a game that wasn’t for the faint hearted, or the purists, Desmonds showed that courage, grit, honesty and determination is every bit as important as skill, and they triumphed by 1-5 to 0-7 after an epic battle.
Unadulterated joy greeted the final whistle in Mallow and the triumph would go down side by side with Desmonds Munster triumph of 2014.
A Step too Far
Castlebar Mitchels in the All-Ireland semi final proved a step too far and they went down by 3-7 to 2-7, but not before showing the courage that had been their hallmark all year when they came back from 10 points down midway through the second half to nearly snatch a draw in the finish. Emulating the All Ireland winning heroes of 2014 was just beyond this great bunch of players, but county and Munster Champions has a pretty nice ring to it.
Special Guests
The Victory Night will feature a number of special guests including Munster LGFA President Jerome Casey, Former Kerry GAA and LGFA Chairman Sean Walsh, and current Kerry LGFA Chairperson Selina Looney.
The most important guests will be the players of course, and we hope that their families and friends support them in the numbers that they deserve for what promises to be a special night.
The club has also produced a beautiful complimentary souvenir booklet to mark the achievement, and it will feature articles and photographs that will paint a picture of what a brilliant year the team has had.
Medal Presentation
There will be a drinks reception on the night followed by a four-course meal and speeches.
The all-important medal presentation will take place shortly afterwards and the dancing shoes will be in action when the disco kicks in afterwards. It’s a dressy up affair, so an excuse to get the glad rags out once more after the barren couple of years the country has had.
Tickets are a very reasonable €35 and are available from Aileen Lynch’s Pharmacy or any Desmonds Ladies club member will look after you.
You can contact The Maine Valley Post on… Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: 087 23 59 467.
