U-14 Coláiste Cholmcille Boys Blitz 2023 On the 10th of November, we held our first annual school U-14 boys’ Gaelic blitz. Coláiste Cholmcille played with five teams, Dublin, Cork, Donegal, Leitrim and Galway with 10 boys 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 70 boys participating in the blitz. Games were 6 minutes per half and teams were 8 aside. The conditions were mixed, and we had some showers of rain throughout the day, but this didn’t impact the talent that was displayed by all the players. 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 win for Cork. A very close game between Galway and Dublin on pitch 3 with a win for Galway. The pace and skill of MJ Ward and Darragh McCready during the game was brilliant. Next, we had game 2 with Donegal getting a win over Dublin. Cork faced Leitrim with a victory for Leitrim. Jack Hasset defended well in this game and Bobby Phelan played a great game for Cork. For game 3, Donegal played Mayo, with a victory for Donegal. Galway challenged Sligo, with a close game, but Galway came out on top. Dublin beat Cork by one goal. Callum Dorrian and Keefe Dolan worked well together upfront for Galway. Eoghan Gallagher had a great match for Dublin. For game 4, Cork contested Galway with a victory for Galway, Sligo challenged Donegal with a win for Donegal. Mayo battled Leitrim with another win for Leitrim. Game 5 was Galway vs Leitrim; it was tight throughout but a late goal for Galway made them in the running for the final. Cork faced Sligo and won. Dublin faced Mayo and Dublin took the win. For game 6, Sligo played Dublin, with a win for Dublin, Mayo contested Galway, with a win for Galway. Donegal and Leitrim had a tight game, but Leitrim won by a point. Finally for game 7, the players were tired but kept going. Mayo played Cork with a win for Cork. Dublin and Leitrim battled it out for a place in the final, both managers and players were excited to play off for a place in the semi-final. The points were calculated by the overall scorekeeper, she announced that Leitrim and Donegal would be competing for a place in the final against Galway. The referee threw up the ball which started this nerve wrecking game. The ball reached every square inch of the field, this game was tight to say the least but both teams never backed down because they wanted to secure a place in the final. The game was nearing the end, but it was a draw. Darragh Mc Cready (Donegal) took the last kick of the game, and over the bar it went. Donegal celebrated their win but had to calm themselves for the final showdown against Galway. It was safe to say both managers and the players were excited about the final. Managers had their team talks and last-minute words of inspiration. Gareth Brennan threw up the ball and was won by Callum Dorrian, these two teams were equally matched. Kyran McGowan and Paul O Donnell cleared any ball that came near them. Anthony Duffy played a great game. At full time, the score was level, and it went to extra time. The boys were exhausted and covered in muck from head to toe but kept going. It was three minutes a half. Both teams gave the six minutes their all but after the extra time it was yet again all square!!! This meant that penalties were going to be the decider and not many wanted to step up for the challenge. Paul O Donnell and Anthony Duffy were selected as the goal keepers. Donegal scored 2/5 and it was up to Galway to hit the back of the net to draw the game again. Galway stepped up and slotted it perfectly for the bottom left corner, but Paul O’Donnell had other ideas and got his body behind the ball and Donegal were the champions of the 2023 U14 Coláiste Cholmcille boys’ blitz. Their captain Darragh McCready lifted the cup and handed out medals to his team. Without a doubt everyone who had a part in this day enjoyed it! Thanks to Mrs Coleman, Mr Kennedy and Mr Conlon in the making of a great day for all!