Under 13s trip to the Connacht Dome 

The GAA connections never cease to surprise and two former teaching colleagues from Westmeath VEC crossed paths in ways last Friday afternoon in the superb facility that is the Connacht GAA Dome.

The brainchild of long serving Connacht Secretary John Prenty was the venue for the Mullingar Shamrocks’ under 13 squad that travelled to Bekan on Friday last. Shamrocks’ long serving PRO Dr Tom Hunt showed his typical commitment to the cause when he travelled west to record events for our social media outlets. Tom and John soldiered together as work colleagues in the VEC during the 70s and rumours that they faced each other on the playing pitch are not backed up by the necessary paperwork!! Both men have given fantastic service to the Association over many years. 

The Shamrocks’ contingent of 40 players and 6 coaches had a brilliant day out and great credit is due to lead mentor Oisin Masterson and his phalanx of coaches, Micheal Burke, Derek Sheerin, Emerson Farrelly, Greg Gavin and Adrian Regan who facilitated the memorable trip. The boys played 10 a side matches, had skills competitions to win Shamrocks’ gear, faced each other in a 20 a side game and ended the day with players and coaches vainly trying to hit the Dome roof with an O’ Neill’s ball, Emerson Farrelly claimed to have succeeded but there were no witnesses to his effort!! 

An obligatory stop at one of Pat McDonagh’s restaurants on the way home completed a wonderful day out and when Marius O’ Sullivan pulled the bus into Springfield at 8.45 on Friday evening, 40 weary but exhilarated players disembarked. 

This group of players began training last January and twice weekly training sessions have continued since, a testament to the coaches’ and boys’ commitment. Their progress on the pitch has been noteworthy and their behaviour on Friday was exemplary in every way although Simon Cowell is unlikely to be discovering the next Niall Horan based on the “singing” on the journey home. 

The full list of players who travelled to Bekan is as follows: Sean Hickey, Sam Phillips, Ruairi Kelly, Jamie Murtagh, Manus Kelly, MJ Burke, Scott Farrelly, Hugo Corroon, Rian Sheerin, Ryan McNamee, Padraig Regan, Eoin Horan, Cian Treanor, Paddy Colleary, Conan Kelly, Carl Keane, Tom McCaul, Dylan Byrne, Conor Walsh, Harry Tilson, Theo Kelly, Josh Burke, Zac Masterson, Shane Bonar, Colm Clinton, Evan Nohilly, Oliver Keane, Jack Conlon, Noah Smyth, Conor Matthews, Darragh Daly, Fionn Ledwith, Aaron Conroy, Darragh Ryan,  Shay Leavy, Killian Hand, Charlie Murtagh, Oisin Gavin, Jamie Timoney and Alfie Rock.

CONGRATULATIONS JOAN

 

Congratulations to Joan Ormsby who was selected as the Volunteer of the Year at the Mullingar Chamber Business Awards 2022 function held in the Mullingar Park Hotel last night.

A recognition richly deserved and we congratulate Joan on her award and Detty Cornally who was also nominated.

Congrats also to our club member and coach Eamonn Brady and Whelehans Pharmacy who won the Excellence in Retail Award.

 

Halloween Camp 

 

The third club camp of the year was completed this week with 50 youngsters participating in the club’s Halloween camp.

The weather conditions on day 1 didn’t favour the youngsters but Liam O’ Reilly’s coaching expertise allied to the artistic genius of Andrina Finch combined to save the day and every player enjoyed an eclectic range of activities. Day 2 saw more favourable weather conditions and the players got the chance to display their skills on the main pitch and on the astro. The pre camp organisation by Karen Hegarty and Emma Morris, the supervisory duties of Oliver Keating, Barry Kelly, Enda Monaghan and Liam O’ Reilly with the ever present Pat Collins organising goodie bags for the players helped to ensure everything ran smoothly but the real heroes and heroines were the teenage coaches who displayed patience, energy and enthusiasm in their coaching duties. Luke McCabe, Adam Glynn, Leah Glynn, Gary Branigan, Tadhg Sheridan, Ann Marie O’ Reilly, Dylan Carey, Conor Heffernan, Mikey Curley and Peter Finch should feel proud of their wonderful efforts. Shamrocks’ Easter, summer and Halloween camps in 2022 have been a resounding success with the high level of preparation by coaching officer Liam O’ Reilly a key role in their success.

 

G4MO Season not over yet 

 

Well the end of season was a false alarm last time! We had the privilege of hosting our first G4MO game on Sunday morning. We welcomed ladies from Longwood who made the journey to Springfield. It was a lovely sunny morning with lots of supporters, big and small, coming along to cheer us all on. Both sides showed great skill and put in a great performance, all bringing their A-game!! It was a morning of good craic and having fun, which was the spirit of the day. 

Thank you to Robbie for supporting us during the game and offering us words of wisdom! Also thanks to Mairead Newman for expertly referring the match. We all enjoyed a well deserved cuppa, sambos and treats in the clubhouse afterwards. The G4MO Shamrocks team will continue to train in the winter. We have a gym session on Tuesday from 8-9 and pilates on Fridays, 8.20-9.20. If any women (25+) are interested in joining the team, please come along to both, one or the other. No need to worry about fitness, we are just out for chats and a giggle.

If anyone fancies taking on the G4MO team as a coach please get in touch!

 

In-House League Underway

 

Mullingar Shamrocks started our boys in-house league for the month of November on Saturday where games were played by our U7/8/9/10 and 11s. Over 75 players were in attendance and the games will continue each Saturday during November from 3pm to 4pm.

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