Ladies Football thriving in GAA blackspot

The success of Foxrock/Cabinteely highlights the ever growing
appeal of gaelic games and flies in the face of accepted geographical
and historical trends. The GAA’s strategic review identified the
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area as a GAA blackspot with low levels
of penetration and even lower levels of participation. The Foxrock/Cabinteely
ladies football club have bucked this trend to become the area
with the highest levels of female sports participation in Dublin
and will now compete in the Vhi Healthcare Ladies Football Junior
All Ireland Club Championship final.

The club was established in 2000 by a number of Holly Park primary
school teachers, including the senior team’s current captain Marla
Candon. Foxrock/Cabinteely created history by becoming the first
ever stand alone ladies football club to be brought into existence.
The phenomenal interest generated by the club’s creation ensured
that the newly constituted club fielded two teams in 2000 at U/10’s
and U/12’s. In 2007, Foxrock/Cabinteely field 17 teams each week
and has a burgeoning nursery section of over 100 girls. The club
plans to open the nursery to boys in 2008 and intends to field
its first ever boys teams at U/8, U/9 and U/10 level.

After just seven years in existence Foxrock/Cabinteely’s senior
team face West Clare Gaels in this Sunday’s Junior All Ireland
Club final in Toomevara, Co. Tipperary. Marla Candon, who has
just recently returned from New York where she captained the Underdogs
to victory, will lead her team out on Sunday and is looking forward
to starting the next chapter in the Foxrock/Cabinteely story.
“We have come an awfully long way in such a short time and to
reach an All Ireland final is just reward for all the hard work
and effort put in by so many people over the last seven years.
We have a young side but we are a young club and the enthusiasm
and dedication shown over the last few months has given us this
opportunity to put Foxrock/Cabinteely on the map,” said Candon.
Foxrock/Cabinteely have already won one title this week beating
Ballyboden St. Enda’s to claim their first ever Dublin Minor Championship
but West Clare Gaels will pose a different threat to the Dublin
club’s ambitions.

The Banner side is the amalgamation of three parishes – Naomh
Eoin, O’Curry’s and Cill Chaoi and can call on the experience
of Clare captain Majella Griffin who is a former All Star and
has won numerous provincial and national titles. West Clare Gaels
emerged from a difficult Munster Championship and also accounted
for a much fancied Curry side from Sligo to book their place in
the final.

Ladies Football Fixture Sunday 2nd December, 2007 VHI Healthcare
Junior All Ireland Club Championship Final Toomevarra, Co Tipperary;
West Clare Gaels (Clare) v Foxrock Cabinteely (Dublin) 2.00pm