Moate Mothers and Others group enjoy Big Apple blitz

A group from the Moate area travelled to the Big Apple recently to represent Moate Ladies Mothers and Others in a blitz in the famed Gaelic Park, hosted by the New York Ladies GAA Club.

From start to finish, the trip was a huge success for the 17-strong contingent who enjoyed great support from the community and local companies to help their cross the pond.

Rohan Transport, along with Hennessy's Transport, kindly sponsored the ladies, dropping and collecting them in style from the airport.

The luck had begun for the group when they won their jerseys on the O'Reillys competition page and the tickets were bought. From there, the ladies worked together to fully fund their own trip and hotel stays.

On the way over, there was memorable support from Aer Lingus whose captain made three different announcements on the flight wishing the Moate ladies the best of luck and hoping for a win at Gaelic Park.

The popular blitz attracted over 170 players from Ireland to play matches over the weekend, and the Moate group paid tribute to New York Ladies GAA for their fantastic organisation from start to finish.

A total of 16 teams played the blitz with eight of them being Irish teams who travelled over and eight teams from New York City. Moate Ladies Mothers and Others group won three of their five blitz games which was an outstanding achievement for the club.

Midlands musician Padraig Allen called in to show his support for the women along with lots of friends and family who now live in and around New York.

Marty Morrissey hosted the event providing a lot of entertainment on the day. The weather conditions were low but the level of fun was at an all time high during what was a hugely memorable trip where these amazing women showcased their skills and determination.

The team consisted of Cathy Simpson, Anna Marie McDonnell, Ursula Gillivan, Anne Broderick, Avril Wingfield Bastic, Patricia Touhey, Edel Horan, Katie McCrossan, Karen Samuels, Nicola Nulty, Samantha Brady, Viktorja Sevcova, Ciara Grier, Sandy Doyle, Martina Madden, Diana Lynch, Kini Geoghegan.

To finish off the event, GAA President Larry Mc Carthy called in to wish the Irish teams success on the day. He had been visiting New York for an event on the Friday and took time out of his schedule to come to Gaelic Park to show his support for the women taking part in the blitz.

The Moate ladies team was delighted to see the amazing support on the day. With over 90,000 steps in three days outside of the match day, they made sure to take advantage of the many famous sites visiting Ground Zero, Brooklyn Bridge, The Summit, Central Park, Times Square, Madison Square Gardens, Broadway, Dumbo, 235th street and Dumbo.

Only a year up and running, Moate Mothers and Others train on night a week on a Monday evening in Moate. They are always looking for new members to join and at present have over 70 members.