U14 Colaiste Cholmcille Girls Blitz
Photography by Rhianna Reynolds and Pavol Pluta
Report by Róise Conlon
On the 9th of November, we held our annual school U-14 girls’ Gaelic blitz. Coláiste Cholmcille played with five teams, Dublin, Cork, Donegal, Leitrim and Galway with 10 girls per team. Grange Post Primary School played with two teams, Sligo and Mayo. The games were played on Mundays field in Ballyshannon with the help of our TY students and we had a total of 80 girls participating in the blitz. Games were six minutes per half and teams were 8 aside.
The games commenced and it was safe to say the first matches featured some spectacular skills especially Laoise Foy for Leitrim, Rachel Gillespie for Cork and Enya Feehily showed off her skills for a Galway.
The first games of the day were Leitrim vs Sligo on pitch 1 with a win for Leitrim. Donegal and Cork battled it out on pitch 2 with a victory for Cork. A very close match between Galway and Dublin on pitch 3 but Galway came out on top.
Next, we had game 2, with Dublin vs Donegal, with a win for Dublin. Erin Gallagher had some spectacular saves in goals with Caitlin Mc Guiness cleaning any ball that came into sight Cork faced Leitrim, with a victory for Cork.
For game 3, Donegal played Mayo, with a win for Donegal. Galway challenged Mayo, but Galway came out on top. Cork competed with Dublin, but Dublin got the win. Jenna Britton and Rose Finnegan worked well together upfront for Dublin. Aodhbha O’Donnell had a great match both scoring and saving goals for Galway. Mairead Murphy battled it out hard in the back line.
For game 4, Cork contested Galway, but Galway gained the victory. Sligo challenged Donegal for their first win of the day. Mayo battled it out with Leitrim with a close game, but Leitrim got a late goal to steal the victory.
Game 5 was Galway vs Leitrim, it was neck and neck throughout the game but a late goal by Enya Feehily made it a win for Leitrim and making them still in the running for the final.
For game 6 Sligo played Dublin, with another win for Dublin. Mayo contested Galway but Galway took the victory. Donegal faced Leitrim but Leitrim came out on top.
Finally for game 7, the players were tired but kept going. Mayo played Cork, with a win for Cork. Donegal faced Galway, with another victory for Galway. Dublin and Galway battled it out for a place in the final. These two teams were eager to make the final and the score was tight throughout. With only two minutes to go Jenna Britton found the back of the net securing Dublin a place in the final against Galway.
Both managers and the players were excited about the final. Their first-round match was down to the whistle. Team talks were had, the national anthem was played and the teams lined out.
Ms Coleman refereed the last game as the tension was building. The ball was thrown up and won by Emma O Donnell, Dublin went and secured their first point by Jenna Britton. The match was tight throughout, talent was showed by everyone on the pitch as they chased for the winning scores. Goals win games and a late goal by Enya Feehily hit the back of the net. Galway were the champions of the 2023 U14 Girls Blitz. Their captain Faye Gillespie lifted the cup, the team and their managers Ché Barron, Rebecca Oats and Grace Mc Nelis Lee celebrated their win.
Without a doubt managers and players both enjoyed their day, and it was a great experience.
Thank you to Ms Coleman and Mr Kenny for organising a very enjoyable day.