Mearnog/Syls the Magnificent Sevens in 2008

  • Jan 01,2009

Naomh Mearnog/St Sylvesters headed down to Kerry after lifting the All Ireland Sevens title to participate in a sevens tournement ran by www.gettheedgeinkerry.com. There were eight teams involved in the tournament, with teams attending from Cork, Dublin, Meath, and Limerick. The tournament was held over one day starting at 10am and completed by 5pm. Naomh Mearnog/St Sylvesters played 7 games, 4 qualifying games, then quarter, semi, and then Final.

Naomh Mearnog/St Sylvesters beat excellent teams along the way including Beara, Geraldines, and Mourneabbey, all from Cork and Gerald Griffins from Limerick. In the final Naomh Mearnog/St Sylvesters were up against East Kerry  who were no match for the sevens specialists as Naomh Mearnog/St Sylvesters added another cup to the trophy cabinet.

 

Ladies All Ireland Sevens – A Naomh Mearnog/St Sylvesters Perspective

Courtsey of Martin Tracey taken form Dublin GAA Yearbook 2009.

After many weeks of planning and preparation by the hard working committees in St Sylvesters and Naomh Mearnog GAA clubs, we were very fortunate following our rain soaked ‘summer’, that Saturday 27th September dawned like a real summer’s day. But it wasn’t the beach the crowds were flocking to. Ladies football was the big attraction on the North Dublin coastline.

On passing through Portmarnock and Malahide from early morning it was evident that officials from both clubs were out in force to marshal the 72 teams and their supporters that came from the length and breadth of the country. A logistical nightmare one might say, but preparation pays dividends as evidenced by the organised parking arrangements and ease of registration on the day.

This year’s competitions followed the format of previous years with the Naomh Mearnog club hosting the Junior and Senior competitions at their very fine facilities while the Intermediate event was held ‘next door’ in St Sylvesters equally fine grounds in Broomfield. In total there were over 900 players taking part in the event and credit also to the 46 match referees that officiated on the day. The entry process was facilitated by Cumann Na Peil Gael na mBan in Croke Park and the local organising committees were very grateful for the support received from Helen O’Rourke in attending preliminary meetings with both clubs to oversee the preparations.
 
The participation of Naomh Mearnog/St Sylvesters in the Senior event provided much local interest. The girls came through the group stages in fine style and went straight into the semi final where they met local rivals Fingallians. Following a tense opening half the Mearnog/Syls girls got the upper hand in the second half and closed out the game to win comfortably in the end. Meanwhile in the other semi-final Clann Eireann from Armagh won out and set up a meeting with the host clubs in the final.
The final proved to be a great contest and worthy of the occasion. Both sides were keen to stake their superiority early on with the Armagh outfit, resplendent in their county colours, going into a two point lead at half time. In the second half the local side came out with a renewed sense of purpose and having tasted defeat at the semi final stage last year were determined to go one better. By this time the home support on the sideline had swelled as word spread around the locality that the girls had reached the final. Midway through the second half star forward Sinead Aherne got the ball on the halfway line and went on a spell binding run past three defenders that took her to the edge of the square and calmly put the ball in the back of the net past the advancing ‘keeper. A seasoned observer of the game remarked that it was as good a goal that one would ever see in a lifetime! The goal inspired the local team to redouble their efforts and despite a gallant performance from the Armagh side, the home side went on to win a thrilling final by two points. When the final whistle blew there were scenes of great jubilation amongst the large crowd of home supporters. This was a fantastic achievement all round and remarkably they were the first Dublin side to lift the trophy since the inception of the competition in 1985. Uachtarán, Cumann Peil Gael na mBan Geraldine Giles was on hand to present the cup to Naomh Mearnog/Sylvester’s captain and Dublin goalkeeper Cliodhna O’Connor.
Following a mammoth clean up by both clubs post match celebrations with the Mearnog/Syls team, management and fervent supporters continued later that evening in Malahide.

It was a memorable day for all involved on the North Dublin Coast.

Team Management: Peter Clarke, Dave McEvoy and Ciaran Wrynn.
Squad: Cliodhna O’Connor (Capt), Teresa McConnell, Emma Dunne, Denise Masterson, Deirdre McLoughlin, Catherine McGill, Maeve Redmond, Sinead Treacy, Sinead Aherne, Deirdre Rafferty, Karen Kennedy and Niamh McEvoy.