2017 End of Season Review

Ladies Football

U8 (2009) 

Mentors: Shane Brennan, Tom Birch, Enda O’Loughlin, Helen McMahon, Hugh Walsh, Jenny Costello, Laurence Cooney, Linda O’Connor, Mick Doyle, Tomás Forde.

Team: Aoibheann Brennan, Aoife Costello, Aoife McKenna, Aoife O'Connor, Ava Mullan, Ava Teehan, Cara Harrington, Carla O'Loughlin, Charlotte Collins, Chloe Doyle, Ciara Bresnan, Daisy Gogarty, Darcy O'Dowd, Eliza McDonagh, Ellen Doolan, Emma Kelly, Emma McDonald, Erika Kehoe, Erin Hynes, Eve Harkin, Grace Birch, Grace Healy, Holly Armstrong, Isabella Lyons Kennedy, Isobel Forde, Jessica Morris, Kate Clynes, Katie Cuneen, Kiera Rowan, Lyla Sedgwick, Matilda Fravega, Maya Kelly, Molly Cooney, Niamh Breen, Poppy Lyons Kennedy, Roisin O'Connor, Ruby Gregg, Ruby Walsh, Sophia Dunne.

The Under 8 Football team have had a very successful year for the girls first year out of the Academy. We started off training back in February and have competed in ten Go Games blitzes over the course of the year with numbers growing and attendances at training averaging 30 plus every week.

The girls train together for both Camogie and Football on Friday evenings at 6pm, and the Under 8 mentors look after the girls for both Camogie and Football, with the squad comprised almost entirely of dual players. The girls skill levels have really improved over the course of the year and their confidence and team spirit have blossomed.

We have a panel of 40 players currently, and we had a very successful “bring a friend” evening in September which has added 9 new players to the group.

These new additions are now training with us and looking forward to starting to play matches with the group over the coming months and will allow us to enter four teams in next year’s Go Games.

U9 (2008)

Mentors: Catriona Montgomery, William Eakins, Darren Sharkey, Martha StaÅ„czak , Rory Harkin,  Noel Simpson

Team: Abbi Harkin, Aisling Fleming, Abigale Heffernan, Alexandra Griffin, Alianna Forde, Amy McCormick,  Aoife Murphy, Ava Lacey, Ava Malone, Basia StaÅ„czak, Caoileann Sharkey, Cara Coffey,  Ciara Hyland, Ciara Lyons, Clara Reid, Ella McGrath, Ellen Eakins, Emma Cronin, Erica O'Regan,  Heidi Simpson, Kate O'Brien, Kate Kennedy, Kate Lynch, Lauren O'Rourke, Lily Dunne, Muireann Ni Bhuachalla, Olivia Byrne, Orla Dunne, Orlaith Dunne, Rachel Byrne, Réka Kiss Kalló, Sarah McBrearty, Sarah O'Connor, Sophia Quinn, Sophie Carberry, Tara Montgomery, Leah Bates, Naomi Darcy

We started the season with a few friendly matches in February, in preparation for the upcoming U9 season.  In March we entered four teams in the Go-Games with over 30 girls in regular attendance, alternating each week with camogie. The girls love the buzz around the matches and their competitive spirit is definitely beginning to shine through. 

Throughout the year, the girls football skills have progressed considerably. Skills such as kicking, catching, tackling and passing have come on in leaps and bounds.  The girls team spirit has grown, as has their confidence.  The girls have gelled very well together and have become friends on and off the pitch. Gradually throughout the year as their confidence grew, their football skills improved too. They have gelled very well together to form a team and many new friendships have blossomed off the pitch. Their true characters and personality have come shining through.

We have large numbers participating in our training sessions on Friday evenings, with 42 registered on the panel and they have great fun participating and they absolutely love playing matches. The girls are very enthusiastic  and excited about playing at U10 next year. We have a fantastic bunch of girls in this group and as mentors we are very proud of them and its wonderful to be part of this team.

The U9's joined the rest of the Ladies Football teams in the club and shared a bus to the Ladies Football Final in Croke Park in September to watch Dublin play Mayo. This year it was a joyous occasion, and the girls were in high spirits as they sang their way home.

The girls have progressed extremely well this year and are really looking forward as playing as U10 next year. This is a wonderful bunch of girls, and they have great fun with their cart wheels in between training drills and activities.

 A big thank you to all the parents and mentors who have helped out and supported the girls through out the year. 

U10 (2007)

Mentors: Gabriel Goodwin, Alecia Mc Sweeney, Stephen Muldowney, Paul Mc Carthy & Liam Kirwan

Team: Abigail Mc Sweeney, Amelia Mc Donagh, Anna Lyons, Anya Dunne, Aoibhinn Fitton, Aoibhinn Gallagher, Aoibhinn Murray, Aisling Ni Craith, Arianna Burns, Caoilfhionn Ni Bhrian, Caoimhe Nolan, Chloe O Shea, Eabha Fox, Elise Muldowney, Eimear Conroy, Ella Barnes, Ellen Mc Sweeney, Emma Hickey, Eva Collis, Eva Treacy, Grian Galligan Byrne, Isabel Armstrong, Isabel Cuffe, Lana Brennan, Laura Collins, Lara O Reilly, Lauren Shelley, Lucy Kelly, Megan Kirwan, Mia Goodwin, Mia Mc Carthy, Naoise Murphy, Niamh O Brien, Niamh Mc Carty, Nina Crowley, Orla Donnelly, Rachel Ryan , Roisin Cregg, Roisin Duddy, Sarah Kerrins, Sadhbh Ni Bhuachalla, Shauna O Connor, Sadhbh Porter, Saoirse Fitzgerald, Zara Casey Lanchaster, 

We hit the ground running this year, we were only a few weeks back training and we had our first fixture, this was the start of our 2017 campaign that saw the girls play 7 dates for county fixtures and they also participated in 2 blitzes.

The go games rules may well state that scores aren’t kept and that it’s the participation that is most important aspect, it’s a concept that our ladies don’t quite get, yes they love to play, yes they turn up for training  rain, hail or shine, but boy do they like to win!.  Our first outing set the standard for the year, we generally play 3 teams, each having 3 matches on each occasion and losses are rare, generally they would be triumphant in at least 7 of 9 games so impressive stuff.

They give it their all in every match and are an absolute pleasure to watch as they communicate with and encourage each other, however, its not all plain sailing, some training sessions can be plagued by giddiness and we have had to introduce a zero tolerance on cartwheels!

New players are always welcome and indeed some of our ladies have recruited their friends so although we lost some to other activities since January when we had 45 girls we have had a few new signings so we are up at 46 in our squad. 

Good foundations have been built, the girls are improving their skills continually and the hope would be that for 2018 that growth will continue and the team spirit will prevail, win lose or draw.

U11 (2006)

Mentors: Heidi Mahon Gogarty, Tom Doolan, Paul Gogarty, Brendan Kelleher, Carmel Reid, Aidan Smith.

Team: Siobhan Birnie, Eve Bruton, Isobel Clyne-Farrelly, Amy Connolly, Erin Cooper, Lucy Corcoran, Caoimhe Costello, Tara Curran, Abbie de Lacy, Niamh Doolan, Erica Doyle, Kendra Fitzgibbon, Aishling Fitzpatrick, Emma Flanagan, Aoife Fox, Caoimhe Galligan-Byrne, Hazel Gogarty, Kate Guidon, Leah Kangethe, Tegan Kelleher, Fina Keller, Caoimhe Kelly, Sive Keogh, Alisha Khan, Ella Langhave, Hannah Lawless, Kerry Leahy, Shona Maguire, Eleanor Mahady, Ailbhe McGillicuddy, Lauren McGivney, Rebecca McGrath, Alana McMenemy, Sarah Nolan, Leah O’Byrne, Caoimhe O’Connor, Ella O’Neill, Naoise O’Sullivan, Shauna Rooney, Niamh Smith, Ciara White.

This was a busy and productive year for our U11 squad. Training recommenced in January, with the girls’ first game against St. Vincent’s on the 25th of February.

This was followed by a total of 13 fixtures, ending with a blitz hosted in the 12th Lock alongside Clanna Gael and Ballyboden. We entered a team in the Community Games for the first time and we were narrowly beaten by Ranelagh in early May.

Throughout the year we followed the Go Games guidelines and this has resulted in the overall capability of the squad being strengthened, with significant improvements in many individual performances.

Our girls have shown determination, team spirit, and as always positive attitudes. We look with optimism to 2018 and we believe we will have two excellent squads capable of competing well and winning games, while also enjoying their football.

Thanks to all the mentors and parents for their assistance throughout 2017.

U12 (2005)

Mentors: Ruth O’Leary, Marta Starczewska, Fergal Scott, Des O’Brien, Fearghal Bracken

Team: Aisling Colfer, Andrea Byrne, Aoibheann Stokes, Blathnaid Ni Dhuibhir, Caitlin O'Neill, Caoilfhionn Sheary, Caoimhe Keller, Ciara  McSweeney, Clara Finn, Éabha Lillis, Ege Aysel, Ella  Callaghan, Emma Kavanagh, Erin Jones, Hannah Moloney, Isobel  Kilduff, Kasia Stanczak, Katie Cahill, Katie Moran, Kayleigh Fox, Kellie O'Brien, Kirsten Murphy, Louise Bredin, Megan O'Leary, Milly Hughes, Niamh Roche, Niamh White, Orla Morrissey, Rachel Bracken, Rebecca Lavin, Robyn Casey, Roisin  Tighe, Ruby McIntyre, Ruby McCarthy, Saoirse Balfe, Sarah Scott

It’s been a very busy year for the u12 ladies football players.  We started back in January and had a friendly against St. Brigid’s in Castleknock.  We had two sessions with the new GPO David Moran this year, which were very enjoyable and educational.  This year we moved our training sessions to AGP1 once the light allowed, which has given a lot more space for training, despite the challenges of parking and the locking of gates.  Several games were abandoned due to inclement weather, however, after a slow start, the girls got busy playing Thomas Davis and Ballyboden St. Enda’s.  A team travelled to Portlaoise to play against the Laois development squad and the club teams from Laois in May.   A very successful 5^th and 6^th class school blitz was held in the club in June allowed the girls to show their skills and play for their schools.  The end of the season was marked by a blitz in Foxrock. For most of the girls, that was the second blitz of the week so they really enjoyed the free burgers in Foxrock…

19 players supported with both the u13 ladies football division 1 team and division 6 teams (Division 6 team picture below) during the first part of the year.  The u13 division 6 team managed runners up in their division as did the division 1 team.  This was a great learning experience for both players and mentors.  A huge effort was made in terms of attendance at their own games and those games of the u13 by both the girls and their parents.   On a few occasions, under 12 players had to play more than one game in a single day.  The pizza in the GAA club at the end of the league was well deserved.  One of our players also played with the u13 ladies football in their championship in the second part of the year.

The second half of the year kicked off with an u12 Blitz in Maynooth at the end of August.  Two teams took part and played teams from Kildare, Westmeath and Dublin.  Four of the u11s joined us in Maynooth and had a great day playing football in the sun!   

Once the cobwebs had been well and truly cleared, the girls began playing their grading matches.  This is the first time that grading has been introduced to ladies’ football.  It has been an interesting experience, with good wins against Raheney at home and Naomh Barróg in Kilbarrick and a very narrow loss by 1 point against Fingallian’s in Swords. 

Plans are well underway to get ready for league next year with 1 set of jerseys acquired and organisation of strength and conditioning sessions for the winter.  There is plenty of more work to do to make sure that the teams are prepared for the u13 league and championship. Our lead mentors have completed Level 1 in Ladies Gaelic Football Coaching courses, and we also have a Grab Your Whistle referee course participant.  We have developed a strong core of helpers, so that parents not only assist with training but provide first aid as well as set up pitches.

The team had a very enjoyable trip to Croke Park with the rest of the ladies’ section of the Club in September to watch the Dublin Ladies win the All Ireland Senior ladies football final.   The team is continuing to grow in number and skills and are looking forward to a new competitive season.

U13 (2004)

U13A

Mentors: Alan Lacey, Martin O’Reilly, Derek Lynch, Niall McIntyre, James Scott & Stephen Browne

Team: Ella Lacey, Ella Foster, Ellen Lynch, Rebecca O’Reilly, Aoibheann Scott, Sophie McIntyre, Robyn Dempsey, Taylor Costigan, Katie Leahy, Lucy Collins, Katie Jenkinson, Sinead Daly, Sarah Browne, Leah Dunne, Hannah Gibbs, Hannah Nolan, Rachel Fox, Cliodhna Ni Bhuachalla, Lily Rooney, Cara Ware, Aisling Behan, Clara Finn, Kate O’Connell, Katie Maguire.

U13A LF League – Div 1: There was a huge challenge for both players and mentors to make the transition from Go-Games to competitive 15 a side games in 2017. Despite a slow start the girls managed to pick up 8 wins out of 10 games to force a league playoff with Ballyboden St Endas. On the day of the league final playoff, Ballyboden proved to be too strong and walked away with the Div.1 title after a strong 2 nd half performance. Huge credit to girls who kept going to the final whistle and they walked away with their heads held high despite the disappointment of defeat.

U13A LF Championship – Div 1: We got off to a winning start at home to Beann Eadair and followed this up with an away win at Crokes. Next up was St Brigids away, where we tasted defeat despite being spending some time in the St Brigids half for final 20 minutes of this group game. As a result, we were rewarded with a semi final away to Ballyboden St Enda

Once again, Ballyboden prevailed in a well contested semi final and we were left to ponder what might have been.

A Big Well Done – To: Ella Foster, Ellen Lynch, Sinead Daly and Sophie McIntyre who made it on to the Dublin Development Panel this year. Another big well done to all the girls played up with U14A & U14B Ladies Football and gained great experience playing Feile in 2017.

Reflections – We regarded this year as a development year, with plenty of experimentation with team selections and positions. As opposed to finding out where girls can play, we found out where girls can’t play and this will be invaluable next year as we head into Feile year. We will continue to experiment as girls develop as footballers as they get older. It’s worth remembering that girls have only just turned 13!! And hopefully what we are doing now, will pave the way forward for success in the future.

Despite the pain of defeat in the league final playoff and the championship semi final, it should be noted that the players conducted themselves impeccability in all games and all mentors and parents are incredibly proud of all players. All players gave 100% effort and commitment on and off the pitch and displayed incredibly character in games this year. 

From a mentor’s perspective, we have also had a steep learning curve and will bring some of those key learnings into next year which will make us stronger again.

U13B

Mentors: Ken Costigan, Sean Keller, Mick Collins

Team: Taylor Costigan, Katie Walsh, Faith Nohily, Sarah Power,  Eimhear O'Conner, Emma Curley, Lydia McElieheny, Caoimhe Keller, Mia Morgan, Sadhbh Fitzpatrick, Katie Dwyer, Katie Hickey, Meaghan Flanaghan Tara McSwenney, Ella Martin, Ave Reaghan, Erica  Collins, Erica O'Callaghan, Kate O'Connell.

U13B League – Div 3: There was a huge challenge for both players and mentors to make the transition from Go-Games to competitive league football, as there was 6 A teams in our division and we being a B team the girls were fantastic throughout and just piped for second place in the last game by a point, also we were the only team to beat the league winners St Olafs. We ended up joint 3th which was fantastic for the effort the girls put in.

U13B Championship – Div 3 We got off to a winning start at home to St Finnins(s) and followed this up with  away defeats to Ballininter St Johns A and Na Fianna A.  We then went on to play O Tooles in the shield semi / Final and were just beaten by couple of points.

After the Div 3 league was finished our C team was no more( not enough girls to play) and 8 of them girls were placed on the B team and it had an affect in performance as girls from Div 6 were playing Div 3 football and it was a big jump for the girls and it showed in the championship results ,going forward I think this team will need to be downgraded to Div 4 at least for next year.

Reflections – We regarded this year as a development year, with plenty of experimentation with team selections and positions. As opposed to finding out where girls can play, we found out where girls can’t play and this will be invaluable next year as we head into Feile year.  We will continue to experiment as girls develop as footballers as they get older. It’s worth remembering that girls have only just turned 13!! And hopefully what we are doing now, will pave the way forward for success in the future.

 It should be noted that the players conducted themselves impeccability in all games and all mentors and parents are incredibly proud of all players. All players gave 100% effort and commitment on and off the pitch and displayed incredibly character in games this year.

From a mentor’s perspective, we have also had a steep learning curve and will bring some of those key learnings into next year which will make us stronger again.

U14 (2003)

U14A

Mentors: Gillian O’Brien, John McGivney, Paddy Lyons

Team: Emma McGivney, Maria Furmaniak, Erris Smith, Ciara Dowling, Emma O’Brien, Lauren Dawson, Aimee-Kate Clyne-Farrelly, Phoebe Shannon, Mia Dunne, Kerrie Jones, Aoife Seery, Ellen Lyons, Sinead Daly, Sophie Smith, Ellie Wisdom, Alex O’Reilly, Chloe Byrne, Iona Quinn, Sadhbh Murray.

Division 1 League

The U14 Division 1 Ladies Football League campaign started on a high, with our girls ending Ballybodens 14 month unbeaten run by a point.  Surprisingly, the league was dominated by Clontarf who went on to win five of the six matches, the other was a draw against us! Only 4 points separated the other six teams in what was one of the most competitive leagues. We were getting goals but not taking as many chances at points as our opponents and this really was the difference.

Dublin Division 1 Feile 2017

This was also our Feile year and on April 1st we headed to Clontarf for our Division 1 Feile outing but  the short match format didn’t suit our girls. The girls did their best on the day but unfortunately we didn’t progress to the knockout rounds, where eventually Foxrock overcame Ballyboden in a very low scoring final.

Division 1 Championship

Over the summer a few changes were made, and we began our championship run in the same group as Clontarf, Ballyboden and Kilmacud, the girls started to become more confident in themselves and we racked up 14-22 in our three group games, enough to send us into the Shield Semi-Final against Castleknock.

In September, we played host to Mayo visitors, Knockmore in a challenge game where both sides played out an entertaining draw.

The Shield Semi was on 8th October and the girls played this game full of confidence and self-belief and put on a terrific display of football scoring 3-19 and progressing to the final. Lucan Sarsfields were delighted to host the Division 1 finals on 22nd October, where Kilmacud avenged their earlier defeat by taking the Shield, however the 14’s in green put up a great fight and showed great promise for the seasons ahead. Clontarf took the Championship from Feile winners Foxrock/Cabinteely by a single point.

Congrats and well done to the girls who regularly played up for both Under 15 teams, and to all the dual players who won Dublin Feile and Championship medals too.

On the October bank holiday, we travelled to Mayo with a squad of 20 from all u14 ladies footballers to take part in the Rachel Herbert Memorial Competition. This tournament had 5 Mayo and 2 Sligo clubs, all of whom wanted to beat the Dubs! Not surprising, given the success of the Ladies and Men's Senior teams. We were drawn in a group with Mayo teams Parke KC and Swinford/Killasser and Sligo Division 1 winners Eoghan Rua. Officially, although no scores were recorded, we won our first match against Parke and lost by single scores in the other two. Parke went on to reach the final and were beaten in it by the Hosts, Knockmore, but the day was not all about the football, it was a chance to make new friends and bond as a squad, and despite the early start, they all had a great time.

At county level we have six girls, five on the Dublin development squad, (Aoife Seery, Ellen Lyons, Emma O’Brien, Erris Smith, Phoebe Shannon) and one, Mia Dunne, who won a Leinster U14LF Championship Medal with the Dublin first team.

We also went on fun and team building exercises at the Quest Challenge and to Carlingford Adventure Centre where the girls  really enjoyed themselves, especially when ganging up on the mentors in the Laser Tag!!!

Ladies Football organised the annual pilgrimage to Croke Park for the Ladies Football finals, and this time the Dubs prevailed to the great delight of the girls!

A big thanks to the U13 Girls who played up Sophie McIntyre, Ella Foster and Rebecca O’Reilly, often at short notice, in all competitions this year, and to their mentors for their understanding and patience.

A special note of thanks to Peter Dunne, who due to work commitments had to stand down as a mentor at the end of the league and Feile competitions and also for arranging the Jersey Sponsorship from Irish Pipeline Components, and to Noel Simpson for his time and assistance with the forwards. Thanks to Elaine/Frank our U14 camogie mentors for all their help during the year and their support in dealing with all our dual players. Finally a big  thank you to all the parents for supporting and encouraging the girls at home, and for those that helped us by setting up and taking down the nets and flags, for making tea and sandwiches, and for being umpires, and for shouting encouragement at matches. As this was our Feile year a special word of thanks to all the fundraising done by the entire 2003 group of club players; mentors and parents.

U14B

Mentors: Stiofán Ó Conghaile; Rose O’Driscoll.

Team: Abbie Delamere; Ailbhe Ni Chonghaile; Ailbhe Sadlier; Aishling McAuley; Alex Jones; Aoibhin Sharkey; Aoife O’Driscoll; Bec McCarthy; Bevin Kelleher; Caoimhe Dolan; Cara Keenan; Caroline Copeland; Ciara NicCraith; Ciara Fleming; Leanne Vinzons; Millie Simpson; Nadia Carron; Niamh Doherty; Sadhbh Murray; Saidhbh Masterson; Samantha Flynn; Sara Lovett.

And from the U13 squad: Ella Lacey; Ella Foster; Ellen Lynch; Rebecca O’Reilly; Aoibhinn Scott; Sophie McIntyre; Robyn Dempsey; Taylor Costigan; Katie Leahy; Lucy Collins; Katie Jenkinson.

U14B LF League – Div 6 South: 2017 was a great start of the year for this bunch of girls by winning their league with 15 pts (5win 1 loss) We had great wins against BSJ B’; BBSE C’s; St James Gaels; Kilmacud B; The loss came in a very tight game against our friends away to Croi Ro Naofa. This threw up a playoff with Croi and the girls didn’t disappoint at home with a great win on the juvenile pitch. The reward for the league win was a promotion to Div 5 for championship.

Feile – Div 7: Feile with all the fundraising activities over and the girls kitted out in their O’Neill’s gear it was time to head to Garristown on the 1^st of April. We were in a 3 team group and after a tough game with a narrow defeat against the home team we got things moving with a  great win over Skerries B. This meant a quick pack up, say a big thank you to our hosts and head to Edenmore Park to play a semi-final against Croi Ro Naofa. This game was probably the highlight of our year as we knew Croi very well the girls really turned up for this one and with a big Lucan support on the side line we came away with the win. Next up the following day was a trip to Trinity Gaels to play our feile host Garristown. We started very well and took the lead in the 1^st half with some great point scoring and a goal to add. However it was not meant to be as Garristown came back too strong in the second half to win by 5 points. Overall the girls showed what a great team they are and with the additional help from Noel Simpson; Frank Masterson and Martin O’Reilly on the day it was a great team effort.

U14B LF Championship – Div 5: This year was a tough year in championship as we were slotted into a very tough group of 5 teams. While we didn’t manage a win and the girls were disappointed their heads never dropped. It threw up the question  where the team is at the moment between divisions and with hard work we can make progress in Div 5 in the future.

Team Building – This year we went to Quest for a fun activity to mark the end of 2016 it got the mind going as well as an active activity. Our 2^nd trip was to Carlingford Adventure Centre  which was a great outing that the girls really enjoyed. A Croke Park trip for the All Ireland Ladies Final was our Autumn day out and well done to Paddy for organizing it. We got the added bonus this year by Dublin winning the All Ireland and our girls really enjoyed the day. The girls travelled to Knockmore as a combined u14LF group on the Oct bank holiday Monday to take part in the Rachel Herbert Memorial Competition.

Some “Thank You’s”:  A big thank you to our  Jersey Sponsors “Actavo” and Noel Simpson for bringing the sponsors on board. Frank/Elaine our u14 camogie mentors for all their help during the year and making things so easy when dealing with dual players. U13LF Mentors for their help in getting players to play up when needed. Lastly to all our Parents who bring the girls to training and matches week in week out as without them none of this could happen and for all their help setting up pitches for home fixtures. Special mention this year to all the Feile Fundraising done by the entire 2003 group of club players; mentors and parents.

U15 (2002)

U15A

U15B

Mentors: JJ Hegarty, Gemma O'Connor, Phil Murphy

Team: Aoife Murphy, Maria Kelly, Lauren Finnan, Aimee Clynne Farrelly, Laura Lakes, Laura Sharkey, Amy Walsh, Anna O’Connor, Holly Gregg, Katrina Afanascenko, Maria Furmaniaka, Caoimhe Enright, Ellie Wisdom, Abaigh Rock, Holly Butler, Aoibheann Higgins, Kate O’Grady, Holly Thunder, Saidhbh Greene

With a squad of 19 Girls, including 3 playing up from our U14's, the girls have put in another huge effort since the start of the year, training twice a week in preparation for the league they put in some great displays on the pitch finishing 4th in Division 5.The girls excelled in the Championship this year improving on last semi-final position by finishing runners up again due to their hard work and commitment during increased training sessions. A special thanks to Ellen Lyons & Iona Quinn who helped us out in the Championship final as we lost two girls to injury.
A BIG thank you to all the Parents, Grandparents, Sisters, Brothers of the girls for all their continued support during the year.

U16 (2001)

Minor

Mentors: Jackie Quinn, Triona Leonard and Mick Wisdom

Team: Aoife O’Kane,  Aoibhinn McEnery, Aoife McKearney, Avril Quinn, Abby Lawlor, Aoife Woods, Anisa Khan, Clodagh Tyrrell, Ciara Byrne, Croia Kelly, Danni O’Connor, Ella Dawson, Emma Fallon, Kate Britton, Katie Wisdom, Katie Hegarty, Laura Quinn, Orla Sadlier, Sarah Brogan, Sarah Robinson, Sinead Kilduff, Sophie Power, Susan Scully, and, Zara Lawless

Promoted from Division 3 last year we were a little apprehensive about how the season would play out. Six of last years team went up to play adult football so we knew numbers would be tight. However, with great assistance from our under 16 team we not only survived, but did well in Division 2.

Our first league match was at home to Castleknock. We began very slowly and were soon 12 points down. However following a great comeback we managed to secure a creditable draw late on. We lost the second game at home to Na Fianna by 5 points and then received two walkovers.

These were followed by a 3 point win, away to Scoil Ui Chonaill leaving us with a vital last match at hone to Fingallians.

Fingallians had beaten us well in the championship semi final last year, so we knew we were strong underdogs for this match. To our surprise we led by 3 points at half time. But Fingallians really got going early in the second half and amazingly went 10 points up with just ten minutes to play. Incredibly the girls responded with great determination and eventually prevailed by the impressive scoreline of 7-14 to 5-8.

This result meant we had unbelievably secured second place in the league.

Our championship started in September with our first group match being away to Castleknock, which we won by 14 points. Next up was a home tie against St Maurs who fielded some players with All Ireland Junior medals. This was to be the game of the championship.Teams were level at half time but Maurs quickly led by 11 points and our prospects looked bleak. However, to the girls’ great credit, we kept plugging away and slowly levelled affairs before going on to win by 3 points.

Our last group game was away in Ringsend where we had the minimum 15 players. Luck was with us and we scraped home by one point; thus qualifying for a semi final against Scoil Ui Chonaill.

We started very slowly and were 2 goals down after just 5 minutes. Then we settled and brought the game to the m. At the end of a pulsating match we emerged victorious by 5 points and qualified to play Cuala in the final on 4^th November.

We knew Cuala had a strong Dublin contingent in their ranks and that we’d have our work cut out. Unfortunately Cuala proved much too strong for us and we were comprehensively outplayed by a team that would not have looked out of place at adult level!

We would like to thank all the wonderful people for their support on the day.

This minor team have done themselves proud; league runners up and beaten championship finalists in 2017.

We would like to wish every success to the players that are moving on to adult level. It has been a pleasure to have been involved with them of the past 8 years.

We also wish continued success to the 2018 minor team.

To finish, we would like to thank all the parents for their help and support throughout the year and a special thanks to Ken Robinson for his wonderful coaching sessions during the year.

 Ladies football continues to grow in the club and we have no doubt that these girls will play a vital role in its success in the coming years.

Adult Junior B

Selectors: Fergal Walsh, Noel Hickey

Team: Trudy Keogh, Maeve Maguire, Dani O'Connor, Anissa Khan, Aoife Woods, Katie Hegarty, Kate Britton, Ella Dawson, Sinead Kilduff, Aoibheann Mc Enerney, Emma Fallon, Sarah Robinson, Sarah Cramp, Ada Bowler, Niamh Stokes, Croia Kelly, Sarah Brogan, Jenny Ryan, Gillian Ryan, Mary Roche, Amanda Duignan, Melissa Walsh, Tracey Walsh, Audrey Murtagh, Aileen Quinn, Susan Kavanagh, Alison Hickey, Aoife Mc Kelsey, Catherine Sexton, Lorna Sexton, Rachel O'Neill, Rose O'Driscoll, Kaylee Coogan, Laura Connolly, Grace O'Shea & Megan Carroll. 

Our season in Division 8 started on 29th March and ended on 4th October 2017. We played 16 matches over the course of the season. 9 league matches, won 3 lost 6, 4 cup matches, won 1 lost 4 and 3 championship matches, won 2 lost 1.

We had 36 players on our panel from ages 15 to 50. These ladies were players from u16 team and minor team and a few oldies!! 

We had a  great start to the year winning  our first two matches. Aoibeann Mc Enerney & Sarah Brogan picked up a couple of bad injuries so that set us back. However, we still had a terrific season. We had many close matches and a few not so close. But in every match the girls ran themselves into the ground and never gave up. 

We had a brilliant run in the championship winning 2 out of the 3 games, we lost out on points difference. We also ended our season on a winning note. 

This group of ladies are an amazing group to work with. A lot of new girls joined us this season and not only are they terrific footballers, they are lovely girls. 

We had one retirement this season and that was Trudy. Trudy took up ladies football back in 1994. She has had an incredible career and unfortunately injuries retired her to the goal mouth for the last couple of seasons. Thankfully though she is still very much involved in the team.

We had a new baby this season. I want to congratulate Moureen on baby Seán and look forward to her coming back next year.

This year also saw Mary getting married, we want to wish her all the very best in her married life.

I want to say a huge thank you yet again to my co selector Noel. This team just wouldn't be able to operate without him. 

I want to thank the parents involved in our team. They are a great bunch. Thank you for the letting the girls play adult football, for getting the girls to the matches and for all your support on the sideline.

I want to thank Paul Quinn who trained us over the year every Monday and Wednesday. It's not an easy task having to commit to this so we really do appreciate it.

I also want to thank Jackie and Mick for releasing their players to play with us. Without them we wouldn't have had a team.

Thank you also to Alice and Greg for organising pitches for us each week. They do a great job.

Lastly but certainly not least, I want to thank the team. Like I say a fantastic bunch of ladies in every way.

Just on a footnote , our older ladies played in the Liz Balfe memorial tournament back in September in memory of our friend and former team mate Liz.  Some of these ladies hadn't played football in along time. We ended up winning the tournament. Liz would have been proud of us. The team on the day was: Jackie Buggle, Gillian Ryan, Melissa Walsh, Aileen Quinn, Tracey O'Brien, Gillian Mulqeen, Jackie Quinn, Audrey Murtagh and Moureen Fitzharris.

Adult Junior A

Selectors: Paul Quinn, Cormac Gordan and Neil McKelvey

Team: Orlaith McKelvey (Capt), Susan Scully, Tracey Burke, Patricia Gordan, Avril Quinn, Caroline Geraghty, Sinead O’Keffe, Claire Rigney, Sabrina Maloney, Sarah Maloney, Mairi Moynihan, Laura Quinn, Ciara McNamara, Emma Flanagan, Katie Wisdom, Laura Flanagan, Michelle Kelly, Ashling Clarke, Aoife McKearney, Meabh Dowler, Ali Twomey, Aine Ni Chleirigh, Leanne Behan, Kate Whyte, Emma O’Flynn, Tracey Walsh.

The team began training on the 16^th January, a typically cold winter’s night. Our first game was a friendly against St Marys Leixlip which we lost heavily; so whatever early season optimism was quickly given a reality check. Our next friendly was at home to Lamh Dhearg, a team from up North; where we managed to secure our first win of the year.

These two matches left the team ready to compete in 3 competitions; The Cup; The League and The Championship.

The Cup

Our first competitive game was at home to Croi Ro Naofa which we won well. This was followed up by a draw away to Peregrines and a heavy loss at home to Ballinteer St Johns. We then scraped a one point win away to O’Tooles and followed this up with convincing wins against Garda Westmanstown and Round Towers. This all meant that we qualified for the semi final, where we played Peregrines. This game had to be refixed and was eventually played on 15^th October with Peregrines running out easy winners.

The League

The priority for this team from the beginning of the year was to have a good run at the league title. This looked a little ambitious after losing our first match, by 2 points, away to Skerries Harps on 5^th April. The team bounced back with impressive wins at home to O’Tooles and Round Towers. We the n went on to have further victories against Croi Ro Naofa and Peregrines. This left us in second place with two very difficult games to come after the summer break. First up, just 4 days after our championship final, was a visit to Garda Westmanstown, who were level on points with us. After a great display of football we prevailed by 9 points at the final whistle. The following week we travelled to Ballinteer St Johns where we won again, leaving our overall league record as played 7; won 6 and lost 1.

This, we believe, will be sufficient to secure promotion to Division 2 for 2018.

The Championship

The championship was supposed to be an “optional extra” amongst the team’s goals for the season. The group stage consisted of 5 matches and we looked to be in for a very tough campaign after losing heavily at home to Cuala in our first match. How wrong we were! Great wins over Ballinteer and Portobello were followed by a classic win against Garda Westmanstown in a marvellous game.

Our final group game ended in a victory away to O’Tooles which meant that we had, very surprisingly, qualified for a semi final. We were drawn away to Naomh Barrog and in a tough dour game we emerged victorious by just 2 points.

The final was set for Friday 1^st Sept in Lawless Park Swords, against the favourites Cuala. We began brightly; dominating possession but failing to convert. Cuala then found their rhythm, and with the aid of two fortunate goals were well ahead at half time. They scored a third goal soon after half time and embarrassment was beginning to be seen on the horizon. However we doubters began to turn into believers after two great goals from us saw the whole complexion of the game change. We attacked from everywhere, Cuala, we sensed, we getting very anxious. But the comeback ran out of the time and Cuala won by 6 points at the final whistle.

We were all immediately devastated but this disappeared over time when we realised just how much we had achieved during the year. To get to a cup semi final; finish second in the league and reach a championship final was beyond all our expectations when we first met on that cold January night.

 The management would like to thank all the players for their effort commitment and energy throughout the year. 2018 is just around the corner and we have no doubt that this team will continue to represent themselves and Lucan Sarsfields with pride and distinction.