Gaelic4Mothers & Others Breaks Records

 

The Annual Gaelic4Mothers & Others National Blitz took centre stage in October as more than 1,100 players invaded Naomh Mearnóg and St. Sylvester’s for the annual National blitz day.

The record attendance were treated to perfect conditions for the day as the weather remained largely dry adding to the occasion. The teams arrived off their team buses having made the journey from every corner of the country and were greeted by staff handing out some much sought after goodie bags to each participant.

Once all of the 100 teams representing no fewer than 77 clubs were registered it was time for the warm up to get every one in the shape to take a full and active part in the day.

Richie Clifford, Ireland’s Mr. Motivator, was the one to put the players through their paces and it was a job that he did with aplomb. Leading from the top of the All Weather pitch Richie immediately got over a thousand hyperactive women organised into lines and got them dancing, running, jogging, punching and kicking their way into readiness for the day ahead. The sound of laughter greeted the end of the warm up but a few of the players were in need of a little rest after 20 minutes of warming up!

Richie also lent his expertise to the teams taking part as he gave two talks about stretching and overall toning which can be used as part of their training routines and implemented into their daily lives.

The teams then split up into their groups and made their way to their pitch which was one of 16 to get into the real business of the day; playing football. Each team then played matches against the other 4 or 5 teams in their group where scores weren’t kept and fun was the priority. It was a day of laughter and enjoyment but the football was still of a very high quality where there was no shortage of skill and determination on display.

The day, as always, was punctuated by great humour and entertainment. There was a riot of colour as jerseys of every shade were worn by the players with plenty of extra adornments such as wigs, skirts and a few other costume accessories used to mark out each team.

The day wound down to a close following a mostly unspoilt day of sunshine and craic. As the final whistles blew throughout the two host clubs each player was presented with their medals for taking part. Many of the players and officials then gathered together into the clubhouse where there were some ‘refreshments’ available that helped loosen everyone up as stories of footballing exploits were swapped which then gave way to some singing, dancing and general merriment.

The Ladies Gaelic Football Association would like to thank all of the players, clubs, officials and volunteers who combined to make this a most memorable day that will surely be remembered for many years to come.