Caulry 80th Year Celebrations

Great day for Caulry GAA

UNDER 8 Blitz

The Caulry Under 8 footballers put on another great exhibition of all the best skills in gaelic football as part of the Caulry sports and fun day last Sunday week. Similar to the recent Parish League there was a ‘senior’ and ‘junior’ format to the games with the older players playing off in a blitz divided into 4 teams, with each team playing against one another. At the end, Team A captained by the skilful Rian Rasmussen finished on top with all three victories.

The line-ups were as follows

Team A Rian Rasmussen (capt), Matthew Nally, Eugene Costello, Luke Hamilton, Charlie Malone, Colm Shortall,

Team B Neil Clinton (capt), Liam Doyle, Colin Murphy, James Carey, Luke Hamilton, Alan Malynn.

Team C Adam Mullins (capt), Eoin Shortall, Sean Fox, Thomas Dunning, Jack Malone, Conor McKnight

Team D Darren Browne (capt), Jack Sheehan, Shane Cleary, Christian Stephens, Glen Carolan, Zac Nolan, Sean Flaherty.

Junior Section

James Clavin, Ruari Casey, Sinead Muldoon, Jack O Donovan, Oisin Murphy, Sean Malone, Olan Healy, Emma Healy, Ciarian Gaynor, Kasey McCormack, Tom Cloonan, Lauren Claffey, Molly Connaughton.

The Under 8 ‘senior’ managers T.J. Dunning and Jody Malynn, and ‘junior’ managers James Casey and Hugh Clavin and their fellow mentors, Matt Murphy, David Malone, Elenor Mullins, Brian Rasmussen, John Shortall, Ray McKnight, James Carey, Hugh Gaynor are delight with the progress and potential of all the under 8 players in this past year. If they can continue to show the same commitment and skill in the years ahead, a great future is in store. The older members now ‘graduate’ to the under 10’s next season with ‘first class honours’. The road to Croke Park has begun with hopefully a few stops along the way at Cusack Park.

Finally the under 8 management would also like to express thanks to all the players parents for their co-operation and look forward to the same in the future.

Finals of Under 10 League

As part of the Caulry Club Family Day last Sunday in the Park, the finals of the club u/10 league was run off. The round-robin section of the league was played on two previous Sundays leading up to the finals. Four teams of 7-aside participated, namely Armagh captained by Charlie Parker, Cork captained by Irwin Griffen, Dublin captained by Darren Hynds and Galway captained by Aoife Connolly. The finals paired Armagh against Dublin in the ‘B’ Final and Cork against Galway in the ‘A ‘ Final.In the ‘B’ Final Armagh went into an early lead with well taken scores by Emmet Nally and Sean Woods and led the Dublin team by seven points at half-time. Despite the gallant efforts of Darren Hynds, Jack Bradbury Hughes and Jack Connaughton for the Dublin team in the second half, Armagh ran out worthy winners to claim the gold medals from a gallant Dublin team who were rewarded with silver medals.

Teams : Armagh – Charlie Parker (Capt), Emmett Nally, Sean Clinton, Sean Woods, Kevin Hickey, Aoife Egan, Emma Malone.

Dublin – Darren Hynds (Capt), Jack Bradbury-Hughes, Jack Connaughton, Mark Byrne, Ross Daly, Sarah Murphy, Aoife Healy.

The ‘A’ Final was a much closer affair and in the first half aided by a strong breeze the Cork team built up a sizeable lead with well taken scores by Irwin Griffen, Peter O’Kelly-Lynch and Katy O’Roarke giving the side a nine point lead at half-time. However, there was a different story in the second half when now aided by the strong breeze the Galway team came storming back with key scores from Aoife Connolly, Conor Mc Cormack , Liam Malynn and Aaron Fallon putting only one point between the sides in favour of Cork with time ticking away. When finally referee Pat Mc Menamin blew the whistle for full time a relieved Cork team celebrated the winning of a lovely set of plaques with the Galway team being awarded the silver medals.

Teams : Cork – Irwin Griffen (Capt), Peter O’Kelly-Lynch, Kevin O’Flaherty, Ryan Malone, Sam Nolan, Olivia Malynn, Katy O’Roarke.

Galway – Aoife Connolly (Capt), Conor McCormack, Liam Malynn, Kevin Donohoe, Aaron Fallon, Coleen Malone, Alex Clinton.

All participating teams were presented with their plaques and medals immediately after the finals in front of a large contingent of family and followers.

As this event brought the curtain down for the 2008 season for the u/10 squad we would like to thank all the parents for their help and support throughout the year and to thank the team mentors Ger O’Kelly-Lynch, Pat Mc Menamin, Kevin Connaughton and Keith Mc Menamin for their time and effort and for the training and coaching skills they imparted on the future young stars of Caulry.

Skills Competition

While the U-10 finals were underway the teams comprising U12’s, U14,s and U16,s took part in a skills competition. There was no shortage of skill on show as the teams completed drills, shooting competitions and finally a penalty shootout. The winning team captioned by John Maguire consisted of the following players:- J Maguire, A O Sullivan, G Shortall, K Healy, S Brookes, C Shortall and A Roarke.

Over 35’s Challenge - Caulry All-Stars Versus The Blowins

The highlight of the day was the over 35’s match which seen two local teams take to the pitch. The Teams managed by James Casey and Kevin Connaughton consisted of ex Caulry players named the Caulry Stars and ex footballers new to the area affectionately referred to as the “BLOWINS”. The Blowins from 10 different counties were a formidable looking outfit with no less that two all Ireland medal winners in their ranks. Ollie Baker the Clare Hurler and Tom Steward Traynor, all Ireland minor medal winner with Westmeath. The inclusion of Steward Traynor in the over 35 panel may land him in hot water with Croke Park as it would appear that he was 22 when he won the minor title.

The Blowins were first to take to the pitch and they received a muted welcome from the large crowd. Unfortunately a small elements of the crowd were hostile towards the Blowins. An eye witness reported that the unruly behaviour was directed at one member of the Blowins panel. The eye witness refused to identify the particular member and so to protect his identity we will just refer to him as Nick. The troublemaker’s thought to be Golfers were quickly removed and informed that while that sort of behaviour might be common on a golf course it would not be accepted by the GAA . Unfortunately this incident delayed the entry of the Caulry Stars and disrupted their pre-match preparations. The full effect of this disruption is unknown but Noel Ryan from the expert panel felt it had a huge bearing on the Stars performance. Eventually the Stars entered the pitch to a standing ovation from the partisan crowd, which had now swollen to an estimated 15,000. The throw in was delayed when some of the Stars expressed concerns that Ollie Baker was concealing a Hurley in his shorts. The accusation proved to be unfounded and referee Martin Seery threw in the ball to get the game underway.

From the start it was obvious that the teams had contrasting tactics. The stars were playing a fast short passing game while the Blowins were going route one. The stars shone brightly in the opening minutes and but for some woeful shooting could have gone 3 or 4 points up. The half back line of Casey, Hatton and Killane were particularly impressive. At midfield Dowd and Malynn rolled back the years and caused problems for the Blowins defence as they stormed forward. On the Blowins side the route one policy was also working well. The tactic of feeding Ollie Baker at midfield who in turn directed the ball into the goal mouth was effective. The stars full back line of Shortall, Dunning and Dowd were kept busy by the Blowins forward s Dobsy, Hamilton and Brookes. Noone opened the score for the Stars with a point. However the shooting was letting both teams down. While the Stars were guilty of bad shooting; the Blowins were kicking spectacular wides. The legendary Commentator Donall Og Maoileoin was heard to say that one such shot from Alan Hughes landed in Hanevy’s front lawn. With 15 minutes gone and only one scores on the board it seemed like a lot of the patrons were going home. However it transpired that they were just moving their cars behind the goal posts which was proving to be the safest place to park. Noone added two more scores to bring the Stars tally to 3 points. The first score for the Blowings came from the boot of John Lawless when he converted a 15 meter free. John O Connor a proud member of the Birr hurling club came on for Ivor Brookes. A strange decision to take Brookes off as he had held the corner back scoreless. O Connor proved his worth when he miss-kicked a free straight into the path of Stewart Traynor who buried it for the first gaol of the game. Lawless scored a point from the corner flag to conclude the first half. Half time score The stars 0-3 The Blowins 1-02.

The second half started at a much slower pace and Lawless was first to strike with a point for the Blowins.The Stars suffered a devastating blow when Clavin the only forward that looked like scoring got injured and had to be replaced. For the Blowins Collins at full back was having a stormer assisted by Flaherty and Prendergast. O Grady in goal “a fanatical Tipp supporter” was also in fine form. However his loyalty to Tipp could have cost the Blowins as O Grady refused point blank to pass the ball to the big man Baker. As this was the only tactic Connaughton had devised it was a major handicap for the Blowins. Casey the Stars manager looking for divine intervention introduced Fr Pat, a nippy corner forward. Caseys eyes again turned to heaven minutes later as Fr Pat missed a sitter. T Woods also entered the fray at wing back. Woods playing as a sweeper (a skill he acquired in the Council) won a lot of ball, however as the Commentator Donal Og commented his distribution was s****. The Blowins increased their lead with a point from O Connor. O Conner later received a Yellow card for an off the ball incident. A costly mistake, as in the opinion of the expert panel this indiscretion will surly cost him an all-star. More controversy was to follow as Baker fisted the ball to the net from a Brookes delivery. The diligent Umpire spotted a square infringement and the goal was disallowed. With ten minutes remaining a deafening cheer shook the stand. It seemed the referee had concluded the match early until the reason for the cheer was established, News came through that Maryland had completed the double All Ireland Bainisteoir and now Westmeath champions. While the crowd celebrated, there was a notable silence from the commentator Donal Og who no-doubt was ringing his brother-in-law Tony to pass on his congratulations. With time now against the Stars, Casey introduced a new forward line. In came I Allen, D Bowen, R McKnight, R Carroll and S Claffey. The switches worked as the Stars added three un-answered points to narrow the lead to one point. If they had another 15 or 20 minutes they would surely have got the winner. And so it ended, a DRAW 1-04 to 0-06 in favour of the Blowins.

The final whistle was greeted by calls for Casey’s head. The Hurlers in the ditch felt Casey had left the changes too late and considering the large expenses he was receiving, should consider his position. The older folk were particularly militant refusing to allow Casey to speak and leaving him with no option but to resign.

The All-Stars:- Fr Pat Kiernan, R Carroll, T.J.Dunning, D Dowd, M Murphy Manager, A Dowd, I Allen, P Killane, R McKnight, S Claffey, J Casey, B Clavin, Front D Bowen, L Buckley, M Conlon, J Hatton, P Noone, E Malone, N Shortall, P J Allen, T Woods, M Murphy.

The Blowins:- J O Connor (Offaly), A Fox(Mayo), N Linnane (Kildare), B Carylon (Athlone), K Connaughton(Galway), M Hamilton (Leitrim), K Flathery (Cork), A Collins (Athlone), J Lawless(Roscommon), J O Grady (Tipperary), I Brookes(Cork), J Egan (Castledaly), C Foley( Kerry), A Hughes (Galway), S Clinton (Dublin), F Stevens (Athlone), D Prendgras (Athlone), O Baker (Clare), B Rasmussen (Cork ), J Kilroy (Athlone), T S Traynor (Athlone).

Camera Man: Pat Healy (Cork)

Commentator: Donall Og Maoileoin (Donie Malone).

Expert Panel: N Ryan (Offaly) & P Canty (Kerry)

Sideline Reporter: R Higgins

As darkness descended over Carn Park the teams headed for the team hotel to prepare for the post match banquet. The so called expert panel retired to pick a man of the match. A great crowd gathered for the post match celebrations in Egan’s Lounge. As the crowd settled to watch the match rumours were abound that the video was not available. One rumour suggested that Pat had forgotten to turn the camera on. Tension was high and the Golfers were closely monitored to prevent further disturbances. The matter regarding the video was clarified as news came through that it had been quarantined by the Broadcasting Regulator. Seemingly some of the phrases used by the commentator could not be found in any dictionary.

The first task of the night was to present the man of the match award. After careful consideration the panel narrowed it down to a few. Alan Hughes was mentioned, but the panel choose the Blowins captain Aidan Collins as the man of the match. Aidan a popular choice was presented with his award by R Higgins. Alan Hughes was heard to lament the fact that he couldn’t bring himself to tackle a priest and felt this might have cost him the award. The panel dismissed this as a lame excuse as the video evidence showed that Alan would have needed a train to catch Fr Pat let alone tackle him. The next business of the night was the holiday draw. First prize in the draw was a family holiday to the value of €3000, and was won by the McCormack family Mt Temple. Congratulations to Brian, Liz and family. This ended the night’s formalities but the celebrations went on into the early hours.

Tony Parker Fund

Over the course of the day and night donations were collected for the Tony Parker fund. The fund was set up after the un-timely death of Tony, for the purpose of purchase Defibrillators for the south Westmeath area. The collection was very well supported and with more money pledged and a club donation to be added the final amount is expected to exceed €1000. Thanks to everybody for their support.