Boardsmill GAA hosted the Meath Road Hurling Championships on Saturday 26th February 2022 kindly sponsored for the second time by Trimfold Envelopes Ltd. Due to Covid '19 the Club were unable to host the competition the last two years at their usual time, around Christmas / New Year, so with this new date they were delighted with the turn out. 

48 Teams braved the strong wind and cold on the Ballyconnell Road to take part with the usual craic along the way. Teams from; Kildalkey, Blackhall Gaels, Trim, Killyon, Dunderry, Athboy, Rathmolyon, Na Fianna, Longwood, Kilmessan, Dunboyne and further afield Delvin, Ballinakill and Clough/Ballacolla lined out. 

A record number of Juvenile Teams took part which was fantastic to see. Boys and Girls as young as 8 competing all having fun and a laugh as the day went on. I think most of the fun of the day is traversing the ditches, hedges, gates and fences retrieving their sliotar! We had an U16 award for both boys and girls and Eoin Coffey from Na Fianna had a fantastic score of 74 points to take the title for 2022. The girls competition was taken by host Club player Anna Mai Cribbin with a brilliant score of 40 points. These awards will be given out at our presentation night in April. 

The experienced ladies team from Boardsmill of Deirdre Gibbons, Christine Fagan and Caroline Loughran led from the start defying the windy conditions and finished the course with a winning score of 97 points. A nice moment for the ladies who played alongside the next generation of Boardsmill Camogie, their own three daughters; Leah, Brid and Roisin who finished with a good score in their own right. A sign of future Road Hurling Winners no doubt. 

The Individual Ladies was a hotly contested competition. Deirdre Gibbons who was on the winning ladies team and two times Road Hurling Winner, Edel Guy pulled away from the field and were on level pegging with only a couple of sections remaining. However the All Ireland Camogie Winner, Guy, pulled it out of the bag and ended up taking the spoils by 4 points. 

The Men's Team Competition was a more one sided affair with the Trim GAA Team of Stephen Doyle, Alan Douglas and Niall Murray leading from the front with consistent pucks at almost each section from each of the three players. They finished up on a score of 207 points ahead of 198 from the Laois side of Willie Dunphy and Stephen Bergin from Clough/Ballacolla and Cha Dwyer from Ballinakill. No doubt the boys from Laois will be back on our next running of the event to have another crack at the title. 

The Men's Individual battle for the Vincent Guy Memorial Trophy was a similar story to the ladies' competition, closely contested. This time by Blackhall Gaels dual star player Colm Whitty and Boardsmill GAA Secretary and dual star player Cian Royston. A hard fought battle ensued unknownst to each other as they went out at different times. They were on level par on a number of occasions however Whitty pulled away on section 24 after landing a fantastic long puck in the centre of the road and despite Royton's best efforts, couldn't close the gap. Whitty ended up winning by 4 and taking the trophy back to Blackhall Gaels. 

At the presentation of adult prizes in Kiely's Bar in Trim, Boardsmill Chairperson, TJ Reilly said "It's absolutely fantastic to be able to host the Meath Road Hurling Championships again, a sign of hopefully getting back to some sort of normality after the Covid. The Committee would like to thank our sponsors of the event, Trimfold Envelopes Ltd for their generosity again this year, DC Distributors for the donation of sweets and crisps, Cara Quill for the donation of water, Fitzsimons Coaches for providing shuttle buses to and from the Hall, the ladies in the Hall giving out soup and bread, the residents on the road for accommodating the event, all the competitors for coming out and playing in such a windy day and all those who offered donations towards the event. All going well we'll be back hosting the event around Christmas time".

Official Results:

Teams:

Mens: 1st Stephen Doyle - Trim, Alan Douglas - Trim, Niall Murray - Trim = 207 points

2nd Willie Dunphy - Clough/Ballacolla, Cha Dwyer - Ballinakill & Stephen Bergin - Clough/Ballacolla = 198 points

Womens: 1st Caroline Loughran - Boardsmill, Deirdre Gibbons - Boardsmill & Christine Fagan - Boardsmill = 97 points

Individuals:

Mens: 1st Colm Whitty - Blackhall Gaels = 84 points

Womens: 1st Edel Guy - Boardsmill = 44 points

U16 Boys: 1st Eoin Coffey - Na Fianna = 74 points

U16 Girls: 1st Anna Mai Cribbin - Boardsmill = 40 points

A little about our sponsor:

For almost 5 decades Trimfold has specialised in bespoke manufacturing and customised envelope printing to suit a vast array of specifications and print requirements, including specialist window sizes, sealing methods and bespoke opaques.

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