Donegal fans travel to London to support
county GAA team
After the match - The Donegal fans cheer the victory over London
About 1,000 GAA fans travelled over the Irish Sea to London for the weekend to support Donegal in their visit to Ruislip to play London in the League. Luckily enough, I was one of them! Most people seemed to take the option of staying over for a few days and making a weekend out of it - and I was no exception in staying with friends in London. Although it was tough to find the house as after getting into the ‘illegal’ cab, the driver handed me a London A-Z and asked me to give him directions!
The next day the obligatory few hours sight seeing was in order but with entertainment provided in Tirchonaill Gaels clubhouse, at Greenford, the many nightclubs and the great pubs, many went socialising before too long. There was a massive Donegal contingent about - even Owen from ‘The Reveller’ bar on the Diamond was pulling pints behind the counter an the Gaels venue - as if it didn’t already feel like being at home!
One the Sunday everyone congregated at Ruislip for the match anticipating a good game - but due to the poor weather conditions some stayed in the comfort of the clubhouse to watch the match out a window. These conditions didn’t help the match much, as a strong wind helped Donegal in the first half but muted their efforts in the second. However, even after being reduced to 14 men with Brian McLaughlin’s sending off the county squad were too strong for the London team. There was good representation from our area on the field with Paul Durcan, Karl Lacey, Barry Monaghan and Shane Carr taking to the pitch and for London, Mountcharles, Gary Kane had a good performance in midfield. There was further local interest on Friday night as St Nauls took on London in a friendly beating them by a point.
The game ended 1-14 to Donegal and 1-06 to London and like many others - after a few celebratory drinks we were off to Stansted to catch the return flight home after a great weekend. Jason McGarrigle
After a period of no games for the team due to staggered fixtures and weather conditions, the home side took on Armoy at The Holmes on Saturday 13th March.
Conditions were quite good with a slight breeze and only some showers throughout the game. The game started with the home side having the advantage of the breeze, however, the full force of the team was severely reduced within the first minute when G Gallagher sustained injury and had to revert to play at the wing. But he had to leave the pitch half way through the second forty minutes. The first score of the game came 10 minutes later when Ronan Sweeney successfully kicked a penalty awarded for the opposition being off-side. Immediate play then led to a line-out on the 22 metre line, which was won by D Barrett and resulted in a try for J Brogan, the first of his hat-trick in the game. Despite strong play, there was no other score in the first half for the home team and Armoy were awarded 2 penalties which they secured, leaving the half time score at 8-6.
The second half started strongly when G Gallagher, despite his injury, blocked a kick and brought the ball 20 metres forward, passing it into K Morrow who brought it the remaining 60 metres and over the line to score a try. Shortly after that J Brogan brought another one across the line resulting from an outside pass from P Leauvasa, who was always a danger to the opposition and proved his point in this game. R. Sweeney then converted. Coming towards the closing minutes of the game, the pack produced another push, leaving the line open for J Brogan to score his third try of the game. Final score Donegal 27 – Armoy 6.
The team, which included three 18 year old players, had an overall outstanding performance, with P. Gillespie yet again making a strong impact and A McInaw, S Gillespie and N Mullin showing their strong potential within the game.
Team: G. McGroary, L. McGaughan (Capt), M Jones, D Barrett, R Meehan, J Brogan, S Gillespie, A McInaw, P Gillespie, R Sweeney, P Leauvasa, G Gallagher, D Murray, N Mullin, K Morrow.
After kicking off the season with a fine win away from home over St. Catherines, the U-14’s have had mixed fortunes in their two games since. They travelled to Ballyshannon recently to take on Erne Wanderers and came away with maximum point,s recording a fine 4-0 victory. Scorers on the day were, Ryan Early, Raymie McGroary, Patrick O’Kennedy and Rory Brogan.
Last weekend they played Drumbar Utd at Killymard and went down 3-2. Credit must go to both teams for their efforts on a day that was not meant for football. Heavy hail showers and a very strong wind made conditions very difficult for the lads, but the game was played in a good sporting manner nevertheless. Scorers for Donegal/Killymard Utd. were Sean O’Kennedy with a cracking strike and Raymie McGroary directly from a corner.
This weekend they host St Catherines at 11 am on Saturday morning, and after braving the elements last weekend, these lads deserve all the support they get.
The senior team have secured a promotional play-off spot and await development in Division one to confirm their opponents. They recently had a resounding 9-1 win over Curragh Athletic, Damien Dunnion having a particularly good day, scoring 4, Ringo Cannon 2, Fintan Doherty 2, and Darren Kelly the other scorer on the day.
Last weekend, we made the short trip to play Letterbarrow in the final local derby of the season. Just like the first game, this was a tough competitive encounter and just like the first encounter both teams had to be content with a point apiece, 0-0 final result.
Their now remains three league fixtures to be played, all away from home, before the play-off, and while the instant pressure is off for these last three fixtures, momentum must be maintained, as our whole season will be determined by a one-off game - defeat is unthinkable!!
Our man, Ian Curristan, must be doing a good job as Finn Harps treasurer, as the Twin Towns club has just declared a profit for the third year in a row. The income for the 12 months of 2003 was €417,702, beating the previous record attained in the cup final year of 1999.
Total expenditure for the year was €391,708 – players wages being a large proportion of that figure. Outstanding debts row in at €250,000, down from €540,000 just three years ago.
Finn Harps AGM, held at the beginning of the month, was told that the club had recorded a trading profit of €24,500 for the year 2003.
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