Donaghmore celebrate All-Ireland triumph

Donoughmore celebrate All-Ireland triumph.

Donoughmore Ladies celebrated their 2nd All-ireland club
win in 3 years in style, at the Hibernian Hotel in Mallow
on Friday night. Guest of honour for the gala occasion was
Cork and Grenagh hurling star Tom Kenny. The night belonged
to the girls, who covered themselves in glory at Nowlan
Park in Kilkenny on November the 30th. For the 8th year
in a row the Senior team has reigned supreme at Co level.
The fact that they eclipsed the record of old rivals Glanworth
makes the year all the more memorable.

At the conclusion of the sumptuous meal it was time for
speeches and presentations. Maureen Barrett introduced the
guests and acted, as a lively MC for the remainder of the
evening. She said she was delighted to see a big gathering,
to celebrate a great achievement, all their hard work and
dedication came through with great results. She thanked
hard working secretary ,Margaret O’Connor for the fantastic
amount of work she got through in a very busy year. She
thanked Ger Walsh and Margaret O’Mahony for the work they
did for the gold classic, which raised much needed funds.
She thanked the GAA for the use of their facilities at Lacabawn
and the Community Council for the facilities in Stuake.
She paid special tribute to the man, who always gets a job
and does it, the founding father of the club John Kelleher.
She welcomed the Co Board chairman Steven Lynch who congratulated
and complimented the club on their achievements during the
year. It was great to win 8 in a row well at Co level, he
thanked all the players on the Co teams and AOIFE O’CONNOR
who represented Cork at Croke Park on All-Ireland day in
the mini sevens. Also to Sheila Quinlan and Frank Honohan
selectors on the Cork Minor and senior teams. Jackie O’Shea
was thanked for his help and co-operation in the booking
of the pitches for matches and training. Peter O’Regan for
his very generous sponsorship. He also thanked the club
for their help and support at Co Board level and for being
part of unique occasions when they played the Co Semi-Final
at Pairc Ui Rinn and the Co Final under lights at Milstreet.

Next on the Floor was Cork Star Tom Kenny who said he was
taken aback to be asked to present the girls with their
All-Ireland medals. He stated they were very fortunate to
have Mossy Barrett as coach, he had trained under him when
Cork won the Junior All-Ireland.

Various presentations were made to the mentors of the various
teams and people who had contributed so much to the club
during the year. Sheila Quinlan, Julie Murphy, John Kelleher,
Marie Fouhy, Peter O’Regan, Mossy, Philip and Thomas Barrett.
Noreen O’Regan, Jackie O’Shea, Margaret O’Connor, Jo Kelleher
and Frankie Honohan.

Then the moment everybody was waiting for, the presentation
of medals arrived. Mossy Barrett summarised the years success,
before giving a lengthy appraisal of each of his players.
There is an old saying “show me your subs and I will show
you our strength”, well our squad players who did not make
the team are as important as anybody else and they are very
strong, he opinionated. He paid special thanks to Sheila
Quinlan, a founding member of the club who hung up her boots
after 25 years. Also to his brothers Thomas and Philip for
their help, Philip for all the gear and Thomas who eats,
sleeps and drinks football.

About the main Sponsor Peter O’Regan he had this to say.”We
could not put into words what his sponsorship means to the
club his sponsorship is as good as the quality of the team.
But to-night belongs to the stars of 2003, creating history,
consistency and greatness. Eight co Seniors in a row consistency
at its best, Three in a row at Munster level consistency
at its best, 2nd ALL-Ireland title, in 3 years, consistency
at its best. He questioned what greatness was and answered
by saying that in an era where the profile of ladies football
was at an all time high, with 950 club teams and to be top
of the pile was something special In the past 6 years, 11
different teams have contested All-Ireland club finals the
only club with Donoughmore the only name appearing more
than once, that was greatness in itself. He then gave a
comprehensive run down on all of their squad as they came
up for their cherished medals. The music of Colm Cronin
kept everybody on their toes until the wee hours of the
morning. Roll on the 2004 season.

Fr. Liam Kelleher PRO 087-8516984