Moy oh moy
September 02, 2010The history books will show that Mayo won an All-Ireland football title in 2010 after all. Pride of place in the county went to the U14 footballers of Bohola Moy Davitts, who beat all-comers in Derry / Tyrone to claim the Feile Peil Na nOg Division Two title - a magnificent achievement for this brilliant crop of young footballers.
Chairman of Bord Na nOg in the club for the past three years, Paddy Langan enthuses: "This is the biggest underage success we've enjoyed. It was our first time to compete in the All-Ireland Feile and obviously we were delighted to win it. This team had won various underage county titles, including the U13 Division One league in 2009 to qualify for this year's Feile."
The Moy Boys took the All-Ireland title with a wonderful 3-7 to 0-4 defeat of Laois club Stradbally in the decider at Celtic Park on Sunday July 4th. The East Mayo club opened their account with an 8-7 to 0-1 victory over their host club Sean Dolans from Derry city on the Friday evening and followed up with a 2-17 to 1-3 win over Claudy from Derry. They faced St Patrick's, Cullyhanna from Armagh in their third group outing and stormed to a 0-15 to 1-3 success.
New York provided the opposition at the semi-final stage and the champions-elect had to produce their best football of the weekend to eke out a 2-4 to 1-4 triumph. Having played against a gael-force wind, Moy Davitts led the final by 1-3 to 0-4 at the break and went on to chalk up an incredible twelve-point margin of victory.
"The match against New York in Lavey was our toughest," recalls Paddy, who formed a strong management triumvirate alongside John Gilmore and Peter Byrne. "We were five points down at half time but came back to win by three. They went on to win the final comfortably enough, but that was a really strong New York side and the lads showed their mettle in the semi-final.
"Overall, we were absolutely thrilled with the performance. We took 26 players with us to Feile and they all delivered. The players also got great support from parents and grandparents. We had 30 adults there with us for the weekend and the players stayed in the host club's members' homes, while the adults stayed in Derry city. Sean Dolans were absolutely brilliant to us. They looked after us tremendously well. They put on a great reception for us after meeting up on the Friday night and after the first game we went to the parade together. They also came and supported us in the semi-final and final and I honestly couldn't say enough about them. They couldn't have done any more for us and we were really taken aback by their generosity.
"There's a good social aspect to the whole occasion and the players get to make friends from other communities and we certainly made a lot of friends in Derry. We have invited then down to Mayo for a return visit and hopefully we will be able to arrange something later in the year."
How are Moy Davitts performing in general at underage level? "We have teams in all grades. We are a rural club and we don't have huge numbers, but occasionally you will get a strong team doing well. Our minors are playing in Division One of the Mayo league and the A championship this year, but our U16s and U12s are in Division Three. However, we're delighted to be fielding at all levels and that's an achievement in itself for a small club."
Bohola Moy Davitts draw players from three parishes - Foxford, Straide and Bohola. Regarding the future, their Bord Na nOg chairman concludes: "I would expect this team to continue on in Division One and to make an impression at minor level in four years' time. Hopefully, their success will encourage and motivate other players in the club when they see what can be achieved. They are a dedicated bunch and they all get on well together. Winning the All-Ireland Feile has been a huge lift for the club. We got unbelievable support from everybody throughout the club all year and the entire community got behind us, which was important and very much appreciated."
The Moy Davitts U14s are sponsored by Reape's Auto Service in Foxford. The successful family business - established in the 1950s and overseen today by Kevin Reape - specialises in car repairs, panel beating and car sales and also boasts an impressive forecourt with full petrol and diesel filling facilities as well as a well-stocked grocery store. Reape's Auto Service is located on the Swinford Road, Foxford town and employs ten.
Kevin explains the genesis of the sponsorship: "My son Brian is No.12 on the team and I have been following them closely since he started with the club about seven years ago. Four years ago, myself and my late father Paddy first sponsored them a set of jerseys and we've been involved since. It's a sponsorship that's very close to my heart.
"We never got much time for football ourselves because we had to work, so we're trying to give our own young lads every chance. My own kids Brian (13), Orlagh (8) and Colm (6) are all playing. To be honest, all the lads on the U14 team are like sons to me. They're a fantastic bunch. The whole family took the weekend off and went over to Derry for the Feile and we had a great time. The Derry people were really nice to us and our host club, Sean Dolans, were extremely good.
"This is the first time a mens' All-Ireland title has come to the community. The girls did it about ten years ago and our 2010 girls team also represented Mayo at this year's Feile. They did well and were unlucky to be knocked out at the quarter-final stage. They then came along and supported the boys at the semi-final and final. Since the win, there has been a great buzz here. Everybody's talking about it. Who knows - if we can keep these lads at it, we might get a few county players out of this team…"
Moy Davitts, 2010 All-Ireland Feile Peil Na nOg Division Two champions: Jonathan McGowan, David Kelly, Jamie McGowan, Michael Murphy, Keelan Moran, Paul Langan, Lorcan Murray, Alan Bourke, Michael Bell, Liam Byrne, John Gilmore, Brian Reape, Michael Guilfoyle, Conor Byrne, Maks Babianwyk, Ryan Binley, Conor Bowes, Davog Doherty, Cormac Mulderrig, Stephen Brennan, Martin Conlon, Neil Murphy, Jack Cully, Kevin McDermott, Sean Mulroy, Conor O'Hanlon. Management: Peter Byrne, John Gilmore and Paddy Langan. Tweet
