When the Banner Ladies Football Club first participated in Féile in 1998 club mentors were overawed by the level of skill and footballing know how the girls of Kerry and Cork exhibited in this wonderful football championship. Our Clare representative team could but stand back in awe and only dream of what might be if they lived in such illustrious football counties. Their mentors however dreamt of something else. Their dream was to put together a team that could really challenge the best in Ireland - and so the love affair between Féile and the Banner Ladies Football Club was born. So often we have heard of the likes of Cora Staunton, DJ Carey, Kasie O'Driscoll and Peter Canavan having had their first ever 'county' experience at Féile. Such stories fill the Banner Ladies Football Club of Ennis with huge pride in its representation of Clare Ladies Football and the County of Clare in such a prestigious All Ireland championship. And The Banner Ladies Football Club hasn't let Clare down. The club has won All Ireland Division 2 honours in both 2001 and 2005 before capturing the ultimate glory of winning the Division 1 title in 2006. This the club achieved by beating the best that Kerry, Galway, Cork, Mayo, Monaghan, Dublin, Wicklow, Meath and Armagh could throw at them. The Banner's All Ireland Final win against Corofin of Galway was captured live on Setanta TV. So again this year the Banner Ladies Club strove to win the Clare Féile Championship. It was not an easy task as teams such as Newmarket and Wolfe Tones had similar aspirations. The Banner Ladies Club girls again prevailed and now go forth to represent their county in the national finals. How proud Clare Ladies Football must be of manager Padraic Dolan, assistant manager Michael Culligan, trainers Laura Brennan and Sinéad Hallissey for the way they have prepared the panel of girl's to represent their county. Under captain Shauna Crowley no stone has been left unturned to ensure the team is as well prepared as possible in entering the national championships. Challenge games have been organised in such diverse places as Tullamore and Salthill to ensure the team's proper preparation. This team will again be worthy representatives of Clare and will again do their county proud. Off the field of play one has to state that participation in Féile, while a wonderful honour, is a major financial headache for all clubs involved. Average participation costs are in the region of ten thousand euros - so again applaud the resourcefulness of the Banner Ladies Football Club in achieving this expenditure over the past number of years. All the (now) hundreds of girls the club has brought to the Féile Finals will think this money well spent. In this year's championship the Banner Ladies will play their first game against St. Ultan's of Meath on Friday at 2.15pm. in Bohermeen, Co. Meath. The entourage will then progress to Cavan Town for the spectacular Féile Parade. Saturday morning will see a 9.30am game against Oldcastle and a 12.30pm game against Limerick champions St. Paul's of Mungret. Favourable results could see the Clare representatives advance to a semi-final berth against either Galway or Mayo. Whatever the outcome in Meath and Cavan over the next few days, one can only take pride that Clare Ladies Football is being represented in the First Division of this national championship. To be up with the Cork's, Dublin's, Galway's and Kerry's at this grade is in itself a major achievement - so let us all salute these wonderful girls. Here's hoping they will do both Clare and their Club proud over the next few days! An Bratach Abú. Dr. Paul McKenna, PRO Clare ladies Football & Sec/PRO Banner Ladies Football Club. www.bannerladiesfootball.com Tweet

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