Mullingar Shamrocks impress at LGF National Féile finals
Mullingar Shamrocks added a new chapter to the club’s distinguished history on Saturday by travelling to the magnificent Find Insurance Owenbeg, the Derry GAA Centre of Excellence, to compete in the John West National Féile Peile na nÓg competition.
A fleeting glance at the results might suggest that this was an uncomfortable experience for the girls but such an impression could not be further from the reality. Mullingar Shamrocks were placed in Division 1 in a group that included the 2025 Feile finalists, defending champions Claregalway and defeated finalists Ballinderry Shamrocks as well as Westport LGFA, an LGF only club with several hundred members. As a result the Mullingar Shamrocks girls competed against the best county Féile champions in the country. Ultimately, based on the results, the Mullingar Shamrocks girls played against the four best teams in the competition. Claregalway defeated Ballinderry Shamrocks in the Cup final (1-8 to 0-3), and Westport defeated the Cork champions Watergrasshill, our fourth opponents, in the Shield final (5-1 to 4-3).
The Shamrock girls responded wonderfully to the challenge and proved that they belonged in this exalted company and were worth representatives of club and county. The challenge was made more difficulty by the stormy conditions but mercifully the forecasted rain never really arrived. Westport provided the first opposition and proved to be the most difficult opponents as the girls started slowly. The Mayo girls scored an early goal after the Shamrocks girls failed to clear after Rheanna Hoban missed a simple tap-over free. Mistakes at this level are severely punished. Shamrocks responded immediately and a great run by Emily Maguire was finished by Moya Kilmartin for the opening point, the first of many scores Moya recorded during the day. Westport added 1-1 to their total before Moya pointed and then smashed the ball to the net to cut the margin to a single score. At this stage a brilliant shot by Abigail Nohilly smashed off the crossbar. Westport took full advantage of this escape and some brilliant play by their centre forward Saoirse Reynolds carved open the Shamrocks defence for a few crucial scores including two goals in the final minute. Moya completed the Shamrocks total by pointing a free and at the final whistle Shamrocks trailed by 4-6 to 1-3.
Several lessons were absorbed from this game and Shamrocks pushed Ballinderry Shamrocks to the final whistle before losing on a 3-6 to 3-0 scoreline. Moya Kilmartin’s hat-trick of goals was the feature of this game. The first was when Moya finished a great bout of combined play that involved several players, particularly Alannah Burke; the second, a free-kick that powered past the packed Ballinderry defence and the third was a candidate for the goal of the tournament when Moya smashed the ball to the roof of the nest past the Ballinderry goalkeeper from a tight angle, the ball sitting up on the stanchion holding the net for a few seconds to emphasise the wonder of the strike.
After this game we were delighted to welcome Uachtarán Peil na mBan, Trina Murray, to the camp and Trina complimented the girls on their display and spoke of the honour and privilege it was to represent club and county in the National Féile.
The Shamrock girls reserved their best group form for the meeting with the reigning champions Claregalway and battled all the way before going down by the minimum margin. Moya began this match by emulating Messi by missing a penalty but followed soon after by pointing a free. Keela Doran finished a great run from defence by shooting to the net to establish a four-point lead for Shamrocks. Three successive Claregalway points were balanced by another great Moya Kilmartin goal – this time a volley that zipped to the net for a great score. However, goals from Isla Donohue and Laura McHugh edged Claregalway into a lead that was scarcely deserved. A point from Keela
Doran reduced the deficit to the minimum before the final whistle brought relief to the Galway girls and a victory by the minimum margin (2-3 to 2-2).
Watergrasshill, the Cork county champions, provided the opposition in the Shield semi-final. Unfortunately a bad start destroyed our chances in this outing. Within three minutes of the start Watergrasshill established a 3-0 to 0-0 lead thanks to the brilliance of Améile Tessyman (take note of the name). Améile scored from the throw-in and collected the restart for her second goal and within another minute had the ball in the net again. Remedial action was swift and largely successful in curbing Améile’s influence for the remainder of the game although she did manage a fourth goal before the interval. In between, the Mullingar Shamrocks girls displayed their courage and fighting qualities; a Moya point began the recovery and when the Watergrasshill goalkeeper produced a great save from a Moya shot, Orla Nohilly was on hand to force the ball across the line for an important goal. Keela, Orla and Moya (from a free) added points and at the break the scoreboard read 4-0 to 1-5.
The recovery continued after the break: Moya pointed a free, Keela scored her second goal of the Féile (another fine shot) and the sides were level and a magnificent recovery from a nine-point deficit was complete. Points from Michelle McHugh (0-2) and Améile restored the Watergrasshill lead before some ferocious work by Moya, Clodagh Keane and Orla Nohilly ended with a point from Ella Frayne (4-3 to 2-7). However, the final scores belonged to Watergrasshill courtesy of Michelle McHugh and Améile, crucial scores that secured a place in the Shield final for the Cork county champions.
This result ended Mullingar Shamrocks interest in the competition and all of our players can be proud of their efforts in challenging the best LGF teams in the country at Under-15 level. The beauty of the National Féile is that the rules insist that all players on the panels receive game time. Substitutions are mandatory after 8 minutes of the first half and 4 minutes of the second period. Replacements cannot be replaced except in case of injury. All 26 players on the Mullingar Shamrocks contributed to the cause on the day.
Panel: Emily Ford, Karla Keena, Alice Geelon, Eilis Nohilly, Elsa Bird, Keela Doran, Ava Sheehan, Orla Nohilly, Alannah Burke, Emily Maguire, Moya Kilmartin, Clodagh Keane, Roisin Ledwith, Suzi Corroon, Ella Frayne, Lily Rose Brick, Kate O’Donoghue, Mary Lyons, Roisin Cornally, Aoife Cleary, Orla Cosgrave, Eloise Glynn, Amy Smyth, Lauren Masterson, Ella Corroon, Abigail Nohilly.
Great credit is due to the efforts of the Mullingar Shamrocks team management of Carole Finch, Lisa Burke, Emma Morris and Matt Ledwith for their efforts in preparing the team for the National Féile. No effort was spared by this management team in ensuring that the girls involved would have a memorable experience and positive memories of the weekend. Thanks also to the many parents who contributed to the many logistical tasks involved in participation in the National Féile.