A busy year as ever for Donaghmore/Ashbourne
November 27, 2011
The last Donaghmore/Ashbourne adult fixture for 2011 ended on a positive note, with the arrival in Killegland West of the Joseph 'Junie' Dillon Cup, on the 12th of November. It joined the camogie intermediate trophy, which the ladies won after losing the 2010 final. Our Intermediate and Junior 'B' hurlers reached their respective semi-finals, with the senior lady footballers reaching the championship quarter-final and the Feis Cup semi-final.
Otherwise, silverware at the adult level was in short supply, as the season can be summed up by the phrase "lost the semi-final by a single point". However, for 2012 we will have three teams competing at senior level for the first time, and Sean Kelly has taken over the mantle of senior management from Andy McEntee, who hopefully can build on Andy's achievements to bring home the Holy Grail of Meath football, otherwise known as the Keegan Cup. Our street leagues and Acorns are going strong, ensuring that we have a ready supply of new talent waiting in the wings, and the club was very well represented at Inter-County level at many codes and age groups.
Adult Football
The season drew to a close with our second team bringing home B FL Division 1 title after a final win over Dunshaughlin by 1-10 to 0-8. Captain Padraig Finn paid tribute to the work of Andy McEntee as senior manager over five years in his victory speech.McEntee saw the club go senior after their IFC win before moving up the ranks at senior level.
Donaghmore / Ashbourne Seniors got their Division 1 'A' league campaign off to a poor start when they lost out to St Patrick's away, by 1-6 to 1-8, in February. Next up was Seneschalstown, whose two goals were the deciding factor in their 4-10 to 2-10 victory in early March. Late March saw a noticeable improvement in the Donaghmore / Ashbourne fortunes, when the lads in green overcame Skyrne by an impressive 1-15 to 1-7 scoreline. It was back to losing ways against St Peter's Dunboyne with a scoreline of 1-8 to 1-11, but rallied against Summerhill , drawing at 2-14 to 3-11. July saw another draw, this time against Navan O'Mahonys, with Donaghmore / Ashbourne on 1-6 to the Navan side's 0-9. In August, the Don/ Ash lads clocked up two victories in succession , with a 0-17 to 1-11 win over Wolfe Tones, and in September won out over Blackhall Gaels by 0-12 to 1-7. Our last encounter was also a victory, a 2-13 to 2-10 win over Duleek Bellewstown, as the side finished mid-table.
In the BFL Division 1, Donaghmore started off their challenge in fine style, with a resounding 2-14 to 0-6 victory over Simonstown Gaels in March. The team's second outing away to Summerhill where they lost out 0-11 to 2-11. Normal service was resumed against Blackhall Gaels, with an impressive 3-13 to 1-8 success. Duleek / Bellewstown conceded their fixture in May, then it was another high- margin victory, this time Ratoath were on the wrong end of the 3-14 to 0-7 scoreline. Dunshaughlin were up next, inflicting our only other loss in the campaign, winning out by 2-12 to 1-13. In July, Wolfe Tones challenge was dealt with, with Donaghmore's efficient 1-14 to 1-8 win. We rounded off their journey to the final with a win over O' Mahony's, by 1-10 to 2-4. The top two sides meet in the final, which took place on the 12th November, Donaghmore / Ashbourne emerging victorious after a closely- contested 1-10 to 0-8 win.
Donaghmore / Ashbourne's third team kicked off their league challenge with a 0-14 points to 0-5 win over Dunshaughlin. Next up was away trip to Castletown, which the home side won by a comfortable 2-13 to 0-8 margin. Early May saw Na Fianna concede their fixture, and two wins in late May; a 1-17 to 0-11 versus Dunderry and 1-13 to 1-8 success over Syddan. We overcame St Ultan's in style in July, with an impressive 4-16 to 1-5 win, and Simonstown Gaels conceded their fixture. Next fixture up was an encounter with Duleek / Bellewstown in August, which we won 1-24 to 1-2. Our 2-14 to 2-12 defeat at the hands of Moynalvey in August sent us into the playoffs, where we lost out to Dunderry by 2-8 to 0-17 .
Donaghmore 's 'B' League Division 5 team reached the league final, having topped the table and won five out of our six fixtures.
We met Bective in the final but lost out by a single point, going down 1-8 to 12 points in a closely fought game at Skryne.
Senior Championship
The Donaghmore / Ashbourne Senior Championship campaign did not get off to an auspicious start in Pairc Tailteann on Saturday 16th April, where the Donaghmore / Ashbourne lads lost out to Rathkenny by the slimmest of margins, 2-9 to 2-8 at the final whistle.
We lost their second game of the 2011 campaign to O'Mahonys in Walterstown by 2-08 to 0-09.
In contrast, our third game was a well-deserved victory over Dunshaughlin in Pairc Tailteann. The final score was 0-14 to 0-8.
Nobber was next up with Donaghmore / Ashbourne shading it by 0-12 to 1-7.
Donaghmore Ashbourne faced favourites Seneschalstown in a win or bust last round game and emerged victorious on a score line of 1-13 to 0-13. They fully deserved their victory, as their second-half performance turned a two point deficit into a three point winning margin.
Dunboyne were the opponents for the Senior Championship quarter-final clash, when Donaghmore Ashbourne produced one of their best performances the season, winning by 3-14 to 2-6.
In the semi-final, we had a good first half playing into the wind and were marginally ahead at half-time with a scoreline of 1-6 to 0-5. In the second half we lost our shape, somewhat, and Dunshaughlin won out by the slimmest of margins, 1-9 to 1-8, to meet Summerhill in the final.
Junior 'A' Championship
Our Junior 'A' team reached the quarter-final stage of the Championship in 2010, and were obviously hoping to go further in 2011. The lads got off to a good start in group C , with a 3-15 to 2-10 victory over St Brigid's. Simonstown Gaels were next on the agenda and the trip to Donore worked out nicely, resulting in a 2-8 to 0-4 win. Our only group loss was at the hands of Dunsany, who won out in Ratoath by a scoreline of 2-13 to 1-11.
Ashbourne's then claimed wins against Summerhill ( 2-7 to 0-4) and Meath Hill (1-12 to 1-7).
That set up a quarter-final against eventual champions Ballivor who won out by 2-17 to 1-8.
Junior 'B' Championship
Donaghmore / Ashbourne were drawn in group 'B' of the 2011 Junior 'B' Championship, finishing top of their group. There were wins over St Vincent's (2-9 to 1-7), St Colmcilles (2-15 to 0-4), St Patrick's (4-9 to 1-6), Walterstown (0-14 to 0-6), Dunderry (6-13 to 0-11) as well as draws with Boardsmill (1-14 to 4-5) and Moynalty (0-12 each).
We showed great character to come from behind with two injury time points to force extra time against St. Mary's before winning out.
Ratoath proved too strong in the championship semi-final in Pairc Tailteann, winning out in with a scoreline of 1-10 to 2-6.
Junior 'D' Championship
Our fourth team were in group 'A' of the Junior 'D' championship, where they finished second in the group to Dunsany. Their defeated Meath Hill (3-9 to 2-8), Gaeil Colmcille (1-12 to 1-5), Seneschalstown (3-11 to 2-9). Longwood conceded their fixture before they lost to Dunsany, 0-8 to 1-12.
They exited the championship at the quarter-final stage to Clonard, 3-8 to 2-9.
Feis Cup
The Donaghmore / Ashbourne senior team had a good run in the Feis Cup, with a 1-11 to 0-8 win over Dunboyne, followed by a 1-12 to 1-9 win over St Colmcille's. They powered past Castletown in the quarter-final, 1-14 to 0-3.
In the semi-final Blackhall pulled away to win the encounter 1-10 to 0-8.
U21 Championship
Our U21 team got their championship defence off to a winning start with a narrow 0-8 to 0-7 victory over Simonstown before losing out to Navan O'Mahony's in a semi-final thriller. After extra-time O'Mahonys eventually won out by the slimmest of margins, 3-11 to 3-10 on the night.
Minor Championship
In championship the minors defeated Dunboyne by six points and a narrow defeat to Moynalvey by a single point left the team playing Navan O'Mahonys, in a playoff to qualify for semi final.
The team defeated the Navan side but lost both our midfielders, one to a suspension and the other to a knee injury. A difficult game against Ratoath was made harder with the harsh sending off of one of our backs. The lads regrouped and played with great pride and determination but were beaten by Ratoath by nine points in the end.
Ladies' Football
Our Senior ladies have maintained their Senior status for 2012, having reached the quarter-final in the championship.. The Seniors also reached the semi-final of the Feis Cup, losing out yet again to the single point curse .Our Junior ladies finished third in their league, missing out on the final by a single point, and our U19 ladies' team are aiming to go one better than last year, having reached the 2010 Championship final against Oldcastle, and despite a valiant effort, lost out to a stronger team on the day. Our Juvenile ladies' teams are well in the mix, reaching finals and bringing home shields, and we are proud to once again be well represented at inter-county level.
Senior Ladies League
The senior ladies first encounter in their league campaign was to be a challenging one; up against Seneschalstown with the final score was 4-11 to 3-4 in favour of the Furze ladies
The second round meeting against Dunboyne was a very one-sided affair as they won out on a scoreline of 4-23 to 2-8.
Next up was Duleek/Bellewstown who dominated the first half, leading by 14 points at the interval. The home side recovered and only lost out by 4-7 to 4-9.
The next league encounter was versus Boardsmill. A very competitive game finished 1-7 each.
Next up was a good win over Na Fianna. It was a hard-fought, tough game, but the ladies in green and white prevailed by 3-6 to 2-7.
Donaghmore/Ashbourne gave the points to St Ultan's in the league, as otherwise it would have meant three league games in a week. The remaining fixture for the girls was an encounter with Blackhall Gaels, which was a comfortable win with an impressive scoreline of 6-17 to 2-4.
Ladies Championship
The first outing was against Na Fianna but the Enfield team's goal scoring ability won through in the end. We were on the back foot and the final score was 5-8 to 1-4.
The next game was against Royal Gaels, as the other team in the group, Dunboyne , conceded their fixture. Donaghmore / Ashbourne lost out once again to the curse of the single point defeat, as the fixture went the way of Royal Gaels, 2-10 to 1-12, after extra time.
The side progresses to the quarter-final where they faced up against last year's champions St Ultan's. It was again a hard fought, tough encounter, with our youthful team never giving up, but the experience of Ultan's won out in the end by 3-13 to 3-11.
Feis Cup
Our ladies had a great run in the Feis Cup competition, reaching the semi-final, where they lost out to Na Fianna by the slimmest of margins.
The Don/ Ash ladies were ahead at the break, with a scoreline of 1-7 to 1-2, but having had the advantage of a strong wind in the first half.
Junior Ladies
Our Junior ladies came third in the Division 4 league, a mere two points away from being the finalists. It is a great achievement for the girls, with this being only the second year for a Donaghmore / Ashbourne Junior ladies team.
U19 Ladies
This year, we are delighted to have a dynamic new team managing the U19 ladies, consisting of senior players Catriona O'Shaughnessy, Jenny Moran, Aoife O'Rourke and Aisling Doherty. It is great to see our lady footballers, like the adult footballers, getting involved in training up our younger stars of the future.
The U19's kicked off round 1 of their Championship run with a hard-fought meeting with old rivals and 2010 Champions Oldcastle . It was a torrid debut for our young team, who had never all played together before, and the new managment. Despite a scoreline of 7-7 to 1-8, Donaghmore / Ashbourne played a fluid, passing game and had a number of shots on goal blocked at the last minute. The girls in green and white worked hard and played for every shot until the final whistle.
U16 Ladies
The Donaghmore / Ashbourne U-16 ladies team had a very successful championship campaign in 2011.
Following the league section of the championship they qualified for the play-offs. A comprehensive victory at home over a strong Simonstown outfit in the quarter final led to an away semi-final against Dunboyne. Once again we showed great spirit to come away with a win to reach the county final.
The final against Boardsmill was held in Dunganny. We gave a very courageous performance with an excellent display of skillful football, but came up just short against one of the best teams in Leinster. This is a squad of very talented players which are improving every year. Should this improvement continue as they amalgamate with the older squads, then the future of the Ladies club looks very bright.
Donaghmore / Ashbourne for 2011 comprised: Ailish Moriarty, Carla Bacaoanu, Caroline Brothwood , Grace O'Sullivan ,Katie Carroll,Katie Moriarty, Kelly Fitzsimons, Lauren Watters, Maggie Randle, Michelle Peel , Niamh Crowther, Nicola Finn, Orla Cullen Geraghty , Riain O'Keeffe , Sarah Browne, Sarah Markham, Sarah O' Connor, Sarah O'Brien, Shelby Leahy, Sinead Power , Siofra Cleary , Tara Baitson
U14 Ladies
The U14's were rewarded in 2011, by bagging both the Shield and the Christine Bollard Memorial Cup.
On their way to capturing the Shield, they had good wins over Na Fianna, Navan O' Mahony's and Dunsany.
Our U-14 girls travelled to St Maur's in Rush on Saturday 11th June for a 7-a-side Blitz, and returned victorious with the Christine Bollard Memorial Cup. Donaghmore / Ashbourne won out the group stage, with victories over Garristown, St Maur's and O' Dwyer's ( Balbriggan ), before defeating St Margaret's in the semi-final.
In the final, we had to play O' Dwyer's again, and in a very entertaining game we won on a scoreline of 3-6 to 2-4.
Our squad for 2011 was as follows: Katie Carroll, Claire Reidy, Sarah O'Hara, Elaine Moran, Niamh Byrne, Lauren Waters, Gemma Cullen, Claire Mullen, Tara Baitson, Caitlin Elliot, Sarah O'Connor, Lauren Duff, Shauna Lawlor, Sinead Power, Jade Ryan, Lauren Battersby, Sarah O'Brien, Casey White, Rachel Gibney.
U12 Ladies
After a successful campaign, side won the U-12 Division 1 shield final. This was played in Walterstown against Ratoath where the side won out by 3-10 to 1-3. It was a great display by all. Many thanks to our sponsors, Lee and Tony of Complete Home Services. in Ashbourne.
U11 Ladies
The U11 Girls won the Division 1 Shield Final, beating Ratoath by 12 to 9 in Walterstown. It was a very exciting match with the girls digging deep and producing some fine football, their skills and strength prevailing for them . They equalised with a minute of the game to go and then scored a point from a free in the last 30 seconds to win the game. This group of girls are super spirited and are fine footballers.
Schools' Football
We would like to congratulate all these players who also contributed to a major success for Ashbourne Community School by winning the Leinster Junior final against Maynooth on 12th May. This team was again ably captained by Michelle Peel. Other club members who played a vital part in the school's success include Kate Heffernan, Sophie Geoghegan, and Orla Cullen-Geraghty - who won player of the match in the final
Our ladies on Meath teams
Donaghmore / Ashbourne ladies was delighted to have Aoibhin Cleary appointed captain of the Meath U12 premier squad for 2011. The club had two other representatives on the team, Emma McCarney and Emily O'Connor.
We also had two representatives on the Meath County U-12 panel which took part in the Leinster Championship Blitz held in Carlow - Aoibhin Cleary and Emma McCarney.
Sarah O'Connor captained the county U14's to success in the Leinster B Final.
At U16 intercounty level, captain Michelle Peel, Ailish Moriarity, Siofra Cleary, Shelby Leahy and Caroline Brothwood were all involved
Two of our club's U16 Mentors, Barry and Debbie Leahy, were also part of the Meath U16 management team
Camogie News
2011 was a very successful year for Camogie in Donaghmore / Ashbourne. Not only did the ladies in green and white bring home the Intermediate Championship silverware, attaining Senior status for 2012 in the process, but also put together an innovative development plan for Camogie which may become the blueprint for clubs all over Ireland.
Donaghmore / Ashbourne Camogie was once again well represented on Meath county teams for 2011.
We held a presentation night in our clubhouse on Saturday night in March. On the night, a special presentation was made to Lauren Battersby who represented the Club on the Meath U14 Coillte Development Squad. Lauren is the first Donaghmore/Ashbourne Camogie player to have played in Croke Park wearing the Meath colours. She also participated in Blitz in Monaghan and Dublin during the eight week term with this squad. Lauren was presented with the Meath team photo taken in Croke Park. The presentation was made by Terry Tormey Chairperson of Donaghmore/Ashbourne Camogie Club and Bronagh Gaughan Meath U14 Coillte Co-Ordinator 2010.
A special presentation was also made to Shelby Leahy, Maggie Randle and Cathy Giblin who represented the Club on the Meath U16 Camogie team which reached the U16 All Ireland Final 2010.
The girls were presented with the team photo of the All Ireland Day.
This year, we have been mesmerised by the success of Dublin Hurlers and Tipperary's Minor footballers, which have proven beyond all doubt that where there is a will, there is a way to ensure dual success for clubs. Taking these ideas on board, our club embarked on a mission to increase interest and participation in camogie in the Donaghmore/Ashbourne area. With this in mind, Donaghmore / Ashbourne proudly presented their Camogie Workshop !
Camogie Workshop
23rd May 2011:
We had representatives from all areas of the Community as well as players and mentors. The Workshop is the 1st step in producing a Development Plan for the Camogie Club.
Terry Tormey opened the workshop by thanking everyone for coming and introducing Sinead O'Connor Ard Stiúrthóir as Facilitator for the evening.
Sinead took over and gave an overview on the format of the evening. Then Sinead talked us through the overall structure of Camogie in Ireland. She gave us a flavour of the All Ireland Development Plan and how the Donaghmore/Ashbourne Club's initiative would easily fit into this and she complimented the Club in taking such a brave step.
After the very successful Camogie Workshop, all of the ideas and findings were collated and resulted in the Donaghmore / Ashbourne Camogie Development Plan - the next step, which would hopefully put the ideas into practice.
Intermediate Camogie
The Donaghmore / Ashbourne Intermediate team had a long, hard route to the final, staring in April. They had two rounds versus each of Kilmessan, Ratoath, Boardsmill and Dunderry - none of them easy scalps to take.
The Don/ Ash girls geared up for their last must-win matches against Ratoath and Boardsmill by scheduling a number of challenge matches. This policy paid off, as the girls did the needful and reached the 2011 Intermediate Final against old rivals Kilmessan.
Congratulations and well done to the Donaghmore / Ashbourne Intermediate Camogie team, who captured the Championship trophy after a great game in Trim on Saturday 24th of September. After a fantastic team effort, in which every player gave their all, the Don/ Ash ladies won out over Kilmessan with a scoreline of 2-8 to 1-3. Player of the match was awarded to Lizzy Broderick-Lynch, and Donaghmore / Ashbourne Camogie Chairperson Terry Tormey had the honour of presenting the trophy to team Captain Emma Tormey.
It was another great achievement for the club, as it means our camogie team will be Senior for 2012. It is great to see all the hard work and committment of the players and managment paying off.
The Donaghmore / Ashbourne Camogie squad on duty for the final as follows: Maura Roche, J. O'Neill, Lorna Cronnelly, Sarah Keegan, Roisin Williams, Aideen Ferry, C Williams, Alison Fitzgerald, Sorcha Ferry, Sinead Baxter, E. Curly, E. Murray, Lorna Dervan, Grainne Bonner, Grace Beggy.
Players involved with Meath
Donaghmore / Ashbourne is very well represented on Meath Camogie teams of all ages and levels. We have Maggie Randle, Cathy Giblin and Shelby Leahy doing us proud once again on the Meath U16 team. We have Maggie Randle on the Meath Minor team. Aideen and Sorha Ferry fly the green and white on the Meath Junior Team.
Donaghmore / Ashbourne ladies comprised 11 out of the 15 on the Meath Junior 'B' squad. Aideen Ferry, Lorna Dervan, Emma Tormey, Liz Keegan, Suzanne Keegan, Roisin Williams, Michelle Johnston, Mairead Finn, Sorcha Ferry, Ali Fitzgerald and Bronagh Gaughan all represented the club on this panel. We are proud also that David Gaughan was manager of the team for 2011.
The Meath Premier Junior Team for 2011 included Donaghmore / Ashbourne ladies Aideen Ferry and Lizzy Lynch Broderick on the panel.
Adult Hurling
2011 has been a year of twists, turns, ups, downs and any other direction you can imagine for the adult hurling section of the club.
At the beginning of the year the team was left managerless, and there was a bit of pressure on the incoming committee to choose a new man to fill the position left vacant after previous manager, Davy Gaughan's appointment as a selector for the county senior team. Finally, in late January, white smoke emerged from the committee room and John Hunt was chosen to make a comeback to Donaghmore Ashbourne hurling. John was in place as manager five years ago and brought the club a league title in his first few months with the team. So accordingly, things were looking up for those of us involved in Donaghmore hurling.
Unfortunately, early enthusiasm was soon dashed as training numbers struggled to reach double figures in the first month or two. This took its toll on the manager's patience, who made an hour long drive each night for training. There was no answer found when the lack of numbers was investigated and with this, as well as some disappointing league displays, John Hunt announced his resignation from the role. This was far from music to the ears of Committee Chairman Colm Doherty, who had the task of trying to track down a replacement late in the day, while taking charge of training in the interim. After a number of calls and understandable rejections, it was decided that Colm would take on the duty of manager as well as Chairman for the year.
Although training numbers didn't significantly increase after the new manager's appointment, there was a somewhat unwarranted air of confidence as the first round of championship drew nearer. Then came the big day for the first round against Kiltale. Our lads played the first half up the hill and against a strong wind. Both teams were evenly matched, and our lads were playing out of their skins all over the field. The score at half time read 0-6 to 1-2 to Kiltale. The scoreline plus the performance gave plenty to be hopeful about going into the second half with the wind at our backs. The second half was an equally tight affair but our lads were making the most of the advantage and were always ahead. But a goal for Kiltale with ten minutes to go led to a nervy finish to the game. The game finished with a 21 yard free for Kiltale with a three point lead for Ashbourne, but it flashed over the bar and with that the game ended. Giving the lads their first win of the championship with a scoreline of 1-10 to 1-8.
The next outing was for the second team against Ratoath in Kiltale. The lads played out of their skins and beat their local rivals with a scoreline of 1-6 to 0-8.
Cut to the evening of June 18th in Dunderry, our junior B squad took on Wolfe Tones. This was the second team of both clubs, who's first teams are at Intermediate level. It proved to be an easy 0-17 to 1-1 victory.
The following day it was up to our Intermediate team to continue the Donaghmore Ashbourne hurling Championship success. It was derby time for our Intermediates, as they took on Ratoath. Towards the end of the first half, Ratoath got their purple patch and levelled the scoreline at five points apiece by the 20th minute. The remainder of the half was even enough, with Ratoath finishing the half on top by one point at a score of 0-9 to 1-5In the end Ashbourne held on to win by 3-12 to 2-13.
As was stated at the beginning of this column it was a year ups and downs for the teams, and with two great opening games for both our Junior B and Intermediate teams, so with that, cue the downward slope. The third group game was against Kilskyre in Kiltale. Both teams were well up for the match and it was tremendously close the whole way through. Unfortunately, a last minute 21 yard free for Kilskyre gave them a one point win.
The next match saw Ashbourne take on Kildalkey in a match that victory would secure them a quarter final place. This game was near identical to the Kilskyre game of the week before. Both teams were closely matched throughout the match, level at half time. And again it was a last minute free that outdid the Ashbourne side. A mishit free from about 30 yards out managed to find it's way past all attacking forwards and defenders and found it's way to the back of the Ashbourne net. Final score, Kildalkey 1-12 Ashbourne 0-12.
Our Junior B side had a walkover in their third round which booked them a place in the semi-finals.
The Intermediate team was left in a straight playoff in their last group game against Dunboyne. The lads put in a serious amount of effort in the match and were ahead by two points at half time. The game ended with a scoreline of 2-12 to 1-12. This win put them into a quarter final.
Flash forward to the evening of September 3rd, the most famous of hurling weekends on the calendar. Some thought that the big match was taking place on the Sunday afternoon, but in fact it was the evening beforehand of the double header in Trim, where our Junior B team were taking on Clann na nGael and our Intermediates were to take on Boardsmill. The first match of the night saw our Junior B side lose by two late goals by the opposition to end with a scoreline of 2-9 to 1-6. Afterward the Intermediate side were ahead at the interval by 2-6 to 1-4, but a goal from Boardsmill within the first minute of the restart was a sign of things to come. The game ended with a Boardsmill victory at 3-13 to 2-06. This put an end to both teams ambitions for the year, but was a lot further than most thought either team would make it looking at them at the start of the year. So big thanks to Colm Doherty and his backroom team of Ronan McManus and Cormac Fitzpatrick who held the team together in somewhat desperate times.
U21 Hurling
The U21's challenge came to a premature end, as unfortunate scheduling difficulties resulted in a dilemma for a number of the club's dual players, who also happened to be on the senior football team. An unforeseen clash led to Donaghmore / Ashbourne being unable to field a team.
U18 Hurling
For whatever reason, 2011, or you may say 1994, was not a good year for minor hurlers in Ashbourne, with our minor team consisting of only one actual minor and the rest made up of under 16s and 17s. So this year was one of transition for the team, with the team having been put together purely to ensure that the under 17 players got a chance to hurl. With each of the three league outings, each player's progression was evident. Then came the 16th of August, on which they took to the field against Boardsmill in the first round of the championship. The match experience gained from in their league games showed greatly in the first half of the game. Boardsmill had a number of subs which gave them a fresh push towards the end of the match in which they got a number of goals. The match ended 9-12 to 3-13.
Although this loss put them out of the competition, there is great hope for this team's success in the future as every player who took to the field is minor again next year ( and some for a number of years).
U16 Hurling
Our under 16 team mentors had trouble at times to get enough players together for each championship match, but always managed to, and the players gave a great display of themselves each day out. They had mixed results through the campaign, but showed that with more training and matches, and a shot in the arm to give them all a bit more interest in the small ball.
U14 Hurling
Our under 14 team unfortunately had a very short summer of hurling due to a number of teams pulling out of their competition. This meant they only had two competitive matches in Championship. Thankfully their mentors organized a number of challenge matches in order to keep them hurling. This team is filled with potential if they are given the opportunity to get match practice and improve. There are many stars for the future of Donaghmore hurling coming through this team, trained by Kevin Fraughen and Richie O Donnell.
U12 Hurling
Our under 12 team had a fantastic year in competition. Numbers at training were very promising, with their mentors bringing a lot of enjoyment and enthusiasm to the fore and making a big push for new recruits.
Their first day out in championship was against Longwood. Unfortunately three of the teams older players were missing, and the inexperienced side let Longwood in for three early goals, which left them chasing the game which they in the end lost.
A week later the team travelled to Blackhall Gaels, and the lads produced a blistering performance from the first minute to the final whistle to win well.
The third round saw them hosting Kildalkey at their Killegland West venue. Unfortunately two lf their main men were missing due to injuries picked up in training camp the previous week. But the remainder of the squad dug in deep from the beginning and led at half time. The second half was a very tight affair and early goals from Kildalkey put the home side under pressure and trailing by four points. A number of second half injuries, showed how important strength in depth is within a squad, as the substitutes that were brought in did fantastically well to pull the team back into the game and finish the game off with a draw.
The team finished off their campaign in a mid-table position. The coaches were pleased with the progress throughout the League, with new recruits Colm O' Toole, Conor Cooley playing their first hurling with the club, bringing a lot of encouragement and helped to strengthen to panel along with existing strong hurlers Garret Gibney, Darragh Carroll, Sean Hogan, Alex Power O'Rourke, Danny Cullen, Ciaran O'Sullivan and Michael McGonigle. The team will have Dillon Morrisey, Adam Brady and Kasper underage next year along with more young players coming up from the under tens who all played very well and gave the opposition teams plenty of headaches in all the matches.
U8 / U10 Hurling
Our under 8 team played in three blitz's in May, playing three3 games each day. The team were in great form, scoring goals for fun and with some great defending, they are making great strides forward. In the three outings, they beat such teams as Kildalkey, Kiltale, Kells, Ratoath, Curraha and Dunboyne. Some of the players who gave great performances were Kevin Cully, Cormac Doherty, Shane Duke, Darragh Gleeson, Evan Hughes, Jack Keenan, Rhys Thomas, Tomas Gaughan, Ben Mather and Cael Sullivan who scored eight goals in one blitz. It is teams and players at this age group that will be the axis on which Donaghmore/Ashbourne hurling will revolve in the future.
Our under ten team had a tremendous summer with a hurling match every Sunday since Easter and beating teams like Killyon, Navan O Mahonys, Longwood, Ratoath, Dunboyne and Kildalkey. The wins were very encouraging but coaches Niall O Sullivan, Jonathan Carr and Eamonn Hogan are emphasing the skill development being the most important factor this year. Alex Holmes, Ryan Power, Eoin Ryan, Conor Leddy, Alex Merrigan and David Kennan playing some lovely hurling along the way.
On Saturday June 18th our under 8s and under 10s made the long journey to Borrisokane in Co Tipperary to play against the local team, stopping off enroute in Kilcormac Gaa for a quick warm up before arriving in Borrisokane Gaa club with their first match starting at 11.45am. They brought 20 under 8 players on the trip. There were some great performances from Cormac Docherty, Eric Gough, Mathew Dunne, Micheal Scanlon, Ben Mather, Jack Meagher and Cael Sullivan made for great entertainment. Many thanks to Borrisokane for being great hosts (the homemade cakes were lovely) and to all the parents who travelled. All parents can be proud of their children both on and off the field for their sportsmanship and manners. A great feed was had in Supermacs in Portlaoise and
Most Read Stories