Wicklow Ladies GAA 1988-2005 Although ladies football didn’t start officially in Wicklow until 1988 some football was played within the county Colcannon were the first team to play and held tournament games against teams from Carlow for the Byrne Cup which was donated by the Byrne family of the Crab Lane Pub in Colcannon. Pallatine from Carlow won the trophy for the first three years. Coolboy and Kiltegan then began to play and also organised their own tournaments. The first ladies’ County Board was formed at a meeting in Coolbay at which Kathleen O’Neill (Coolboy) was elected chairperson, Elsie Kearney (Coolboy) secretary, Jack Bowes and Sandra Hayes (Colcannon) joint treasurers and Mick Carthy (Colcannon) P.R.O. Jack Bowes was appointed manager of the county team. Three clubs entered the first championship; Coolboy, Colcannon and Killtegan. Coolboy defeated Colcannon in the first ever county final which was played in Kiltegan. In the Leinster Junior Championship the county team beat Carlow after extra time in their first game, but lost to Wexford in the semi-final. In 1998, two new clubs, An Tochar (Roundwood) and Baltinglass, took part in club competitions. As well as the championships, a county league was run and Colcannon won both competitions, defeating Coolboy in the championship and Kiltegan in the league final after a replay. In the Leinster Championship the team beat Longford in the first round but lost to Dublin in the semi-final. Dublin went on to win both Leinster and All-Ireland titles that year. In 1990 Ballymanus formed a club and now six teams were competing. In the championship final, which was played for the first time in the county grounds at Aughrim, Cooldenno retained their title with a win over Coolboy and later in the season added the league title, with a win over the newcomers Baltinglass in the final. At inter-county level this turned out to be a very successful year as the team won both its first Leinster and All-Ireland titles. A 7-5 to 0-1 victory over Wexford into the Leinster semi-final set up a final against Offaly. The sides finished level after 60 minutes but in extra time a goal from Teresa Mannering gave Wicklow its first Leinster junior championship on a 3-2 to 2-3 score line. In the All Ireland semi-final against Claire, played in Baltinglass, Teresa Mannering was to prove the heroine once more as her goal with four minutes remaining gave Wicklow a 3-2 to 0-10 victory and a first ever visit to Croke Park for an All-Ireland final. London, who had beaten Galway in the other semi-final, were the opponents. In the final, two goals from captain Caroline Carthy secured Wicklow’s first All-Ireland trophy on a 3-3 to 2-1 scoreline. In the National league five victories set up a semi-final against Kerry but the Kingdom girls were too strong on the day and qualified for the final. This year also saw underage county teams take the field for the first time. In 1987 An Tochar formed and under 14 team and played friendlys against teams from Dublin and Kildare. In 1989 Dunlavin set up an under-16 team. A Dublin-Wicklow-Kildare league was set up at under-14 and under-16 level and both teams took part in it. An Tochar also took part in the Community Games wining the Leinster title at the finals in Birr, and went on to win the Bronze medal at the National Finals in Mosney. An under-14 county team took part in the All-Ireland Blitz in Dublin but lost to Mayo in the quarter-finals. An under 16 team played Laois in the Leinster championship and lost despite a very good performance. In 1991 An Tochar took their first county championship and also added the league and the county 7’s competition. In the Leinster Club championship they lost to Robert Emits fron Dublin in the quarter-finals. At inter-county level the promotion to senior status having won the previous year’s All-Ireland junior title proved to be to large a step up in class. The team lost all six games in Division One of the National League and were relegated to Division Two. In the Leinster championships the senior team lost to Laois and the junior team lost to Dublin. At underage level three teams took part in Leinster championships. The under-16 and under-18 teams lost to Laois, while the under-14 team won both the Leinster Blitz and All-Ireland Shield. In the Leinster Blitz, wins over Wexford and Laois won the competition and an All- Ireland semi-final victory over Kerry in Dungarvan set up a final against Mayo in Tullamore. After building up a big lead it looked as if Wicklow would take home the trophy for the first time. Mayo had other ideas and when the final whistle blew the Wicklow girls had hung on for a one-point victory. LADIES FOOTBALL REPORT 1991 The past year had been very successful both for Girls and Ladies Football within the Club. The great improvement that took place in 1990 continued and the winning of our first County Championship League and 7 a-Side Titles were just the reward for all the hard work done over the past two years. UNDER AGE At under age level, the season began by winning the county Wicklow I.N.T.O. G.A.A. Skills Competition when we defeated Dunlavin in the Final. The ten girl’s took part in the Leinster Finals in Kilkenny and after an enjoyable day Ann McGillycuddy and Bridget Brady were chosen to play in Croke Park. Anne played on All-Ireland Final day and Bridget played on one of the Semi-Final days. A number of the girls also played on a North East Wicklow team, which defeated West Wicklow. At Community Games level, we lost to a strong Wicklow Town team in the County Final. We took part in both Dublin Leagues, losing the Under-14 Final to Leixlip by 3 points and winning the under-16 Final impressively by 21 points against the same opposition. We took part in the County Blitz, losing the under-12 Final and winning the under-14 Final. We also played Carnew in a Tournament during the festival weekend, losing by 5 points. At County level, we had a large representation on all 3 teams. Eleven girls were part of the Under-14 and Under-18 teams, while 12 girls were part of the Under-16 panel. The Under-16 and Under-18 teams lost to stronger Laois teams. The Under-14 team proved to be our strongest and most successful and won both Leinster and All-Ireland Titles. We beat Laois in the Leinster Final and so qualified for the All Ire; and Semi-Final. We played Kerry in the Semi-Final in Dungarvan and won by 5 points. We travelled to Tullamore and took on Mayo in the final. After a close and exciting game, we came out on top by 1 point. We also took part in the All Ireland Blitz in Tullamore, winning in our group easily, but we lost our Quarter Final to Claire by 1 point. Ladies Football The first sign that 1991 might be our year was indicated on Monday, April 1st, when we won the inaugural County 7 a-side Competition. As the season progressed we moved steadily towards the County Finals of the Championship and League. Because 3 teams finished level on points in the League section of the Championship, a draw was made to see who would gain direct entry role into the County Final. We were drawn out first and eagerly looked forward to our first County Final. An objection by Coolboy against Colcannon was successful and they took our place in the final, having more points than ourselves and Colcannon. We therefore had to play a Semi-Final against Colcannon and after a thrilling game, we won by 3 points. We returned to Aughrim on Friday, August 9th to play Coolboy in the Final. After a hesitant start we took control in the second half and a devastating Final 15 minutes left us ahead by 4 points at the final whistle. The presentation of the trophy was greeted by loud cheers from the large group of supporters present and the An Tochar Ladies team had made their mark. We followed up this victory by defeating Colcannon in the League Final later in the season by 4 points. We made our debut in the Leinster Championship against Robert Emits from Dublin and though short a number of regulars we put up a good show losing in the end by 5 points. We entered a team in the All Ireland 7 a-side Competition and lost the Semi-Final of the Shield to a more experienced St. Finians team from Wexford. We played a number of challenge matches and also took part in the Colcannon Tournament Final, which ended in a draw. The replay will take place in early 1992. We provided 8 players to the County Senior team at various stages of the League and Championships and also had 7 players on the County Junior Team. Jackie Magee and Mary Brady were chosen as “Player of the Year Championship Final” and “Player of the League Final” respectively at the County Cabaret in Aughrim. Early in the season, we had the honour of staging the County Convention, at which Bernie Byrne was elected Secretary, Paraic Corbett, Youth Officer, and Jackie Magee and Lucy Molloy joint P.R.O. Early in the year we also became affiliated to An Tochar G.A.A.Club and many of us became full members of the club. Looking back over the year, the dedication and determination of the players were the key factors leading to the successful season. Training was always well attended and competition for places intensified as the season progressed. As usual I have to thank a large number of people for the great help they gave me during the year. At under age level, I would like to thank Bernie Byrne, Theresa Cavanaugh, and Anne Gaskin who looked after under age teams at various levels: Gertie Fee, Catherine McGillycuddy, Monica Brady, Enda McGillycuddy, Andy Byrne, Lucy Molloy, Tina Shortt, and Theresa Kavanagh who drove to Portlaoise, Dungarvan and Tullamore with players from the various under age teams; Lucy and Peter Molloy who took charge of and also trained the Senior team on a number of occasions. I would also like to thank Andy and Derek for their attendance at virtually all our games, both competitive and friendly. Also Lucy for her refereeing and Ann Gaskin for her work as Liaison Officer between ourselves and the Club Committee. Finally, I would like to thank the committee for their continued support and encouragement. On the social front, we had our usual and enjoyable night out in Carter’s last December. During this season we didn’t have very much time for social outings, but we managed an enjoyable nights’ bowling at the Stillorgan Bowl in early December. Thankfully we had few serious injury problems during the Eason and we wish Christine Wolohan a speedy return to fitness. Finally, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to our year in any way, be it in a small or large way. It has been a year we will remember for a long time and hopefully it has been the first of many such enjoyable and successful ones. CLUB TEAMS 1991 N.T.O.G.A.A.-SCHOOL EAM CHAMPIONSHIPS A.McGillycuddy G Robinson V Halligan L Molloy B Brady E O’Gorman K Byrne S White S Hatton A Hanlon COMMUNITY GAMES-WICKLOW RUNNERS – UP A.McGillycuddy S White A Egan A Hanlon L Cullen G Robinson B Brady H Coleman V Halligan L Molloy S Hatton B Byrne E O’Gorman W Byrne K Byrne A Patterson K Kennedy N Jackson S Walsh S Power UNDER 14’S RUNNER-UP – DUBLIN LEAGUE S Gaskin B Brady S White M Fee V Halligan A Hanlon F White A Egan G Robinson H Moloney K Byrne H Coleman J Power E O’Gorman W Byrne M Shortt S Hatton B Byrne E Ferguson K Kennedy J Brady S Walsh L Cullen A Mc Gillycuddy E Byrne UNDER 16’S – WINNERS – DUBLIN LEAGUE A Byrne M Short A McGillycuddy C Power E Ferguson S White B Halligan J Brady A Hanlon M Brady L Cullen G Robinson R Brady E Byrne H Coleman S Gaskin B Brady L Robinson M Fee V Halligan K Kennedy F White A Egan H Molloy K Byrne J Power S Hatton LADIES TEAM – CHAMPIONSHIP & LEAGUE WINNERS LEAGUE B Byrne M Brady A McGillycuddy E Kavanagh P Murtagh M Byrne M Gallagher A Marah C Kavanagh M Gaskin M Murphy U Geaney A Gaskin C Power J Magee S Gaskin C Wolohan M Fee A Byrne B Hulligan J Power M Bolger T Kavanagh L Benton R Brady J Brady COUNTY 7 A – SIDE WINNERS B Byrne M Bolger A Gaskin J Magee T kavanagh M Fee M Murphy C Murphy B Halligan A Marah A Byrne ALL IRELAND 7 A – SIDE (Last Semi-Final of Shield) A Marah T Kavanagh A Gaskin S Gaskin M Brady M Bolger M Fee C Power M Brady B Byrne PLAYERS WHO REPRESENTED THE COUNTY 1991 SENIOR JUNIOR MINOR B Byrne M Gaskin B Halligan T Kavanagh M Brady M Fee J Magee A Marah S Gaskin A Gaskin A Gaskin A McGillycuddy A Marah M Bolger J Power M Bolger M Murphy M Brady M Fee C Mollohan A Byrne M Brady UNDER 16 UNDER 14 B Halligan H Maloney A Byrne M Shortt R Brady B Brady M Brady J Power S Gaskin S Gaskin M Shortt F White V Halligan M Fee M Fee A McGillycuddy A McGillycuddy V Halligan H Moloney J Brady J Brady K Byrne 1991 FINALS SCHOOLS: An Tochar 2 – 8 Dunlavin 0 -1 UNDER 14: An Tochar 2 – 2 Leixlip 1 – 8 UNDER 16: An Tochar 4 – 15 Leixlip 1 -3 LADIES: Championship Final: An Tochar 2 – 11 Coolboy 3 – 4 League Final: An Tochar 1 – 10 Colcannon 1 – 6 COMM.GAMES: Wicklow (T) 3 – 19 An Tochar 2 – 8 COUNTY UNDER 14: Leinster Final: Wicklow 2 – 4 Laois 2 – 0 All Ire.Semi-Final: Wicklow 3 – 8 Kerry 2 – 6 Final: Wicklow 4 – 6 Mayo 3 – 8 LADIES FOOTBALL 1992 Ladies football in Wicklow continued to grow in 1992. Coolboy won their second senior championship Dulain won their first competition; The county League, and An Tochar beat Carnew in the first ever under 14 championship at county level. The under16 team reached their first ever Leinster Final and lost to Wexford by a point. SCHOOLS Primary; A very successful I.N.T.O. – GAA mini 7’s competition was held with Tohford coming out on top in the County Final. Secondary; St. Kevin’s Dunlavin represented Wicklow again and beat Portlaoise in their first game. They were unable to make further progress as Ramsgrange form Wexford proved much too strong. Under 14; The county team played in both the Leinster and All Ireland blitzes bowing out in the quarter finals of both. A county under14 championship was played for the first time with An Tochar beating Carnew in the Final. Shillelagh, Wicklow Town and An Tochar took part in the Community Games with An Tochar coming out on top. Under 16; The Under 16 team had their first ever win in the Leinster championship beating Dublin in round one. A Semi-Final victory over Meath set up a final showdown with Wexford. A game of high quality football with many fine scores ended in a one point victory for Wexford, but the Wicklow girls though downhearted had acquitted themselves very well. Under 18; The under 18 side crashed to a heavy defeat at the hands of Laois, but with only 3 genuine minors playing on the day the future looks good. Junior; The Junior team lost to Wexford in the first round of the Leinster championship. Senior; The Senior team operated in Division 2 of the League and won 5 of their 8 games, beating Carlow, Limerick, Cork, Laois “B”and Kerry. Defeat to Mayo, Dublin and Galway kept the team out of the playoffs. In the Leinster championship a 2 point win over Wexford set up a ? Semi-final date with Laois. The O’Moore girls proved much too strong and won by 1 -18 to 0 – 0. Later in the season the team lost to Galway in the All Ireland “B” Competition. Club; At club level Coolboy and An Tochar qualified for the county final and after a good start An Tochar looked on their way to a second successive title. A determined Coolboy fight back earned them a six point win. They later lost heavily to Rochfortbridge in the Leinster Club Championship. Coolboy also qualified for the League Final and here Dunlain playing in their first ever final by a single point. Coolboy won the county 7’s title while An Tochar won Coolkennas tournament for the Byrne Cup. Elaine Murphy and Caroline Gregan helped Leinster win the Interprovincial competition. Elaine was also chosen as a replacement All Star. An Tochar reached the third round of the All Ireland 7’s while Coolboy were beaten in round 2. Scores: County Senior Final: Coolboy 4 – 5 An Tochar 2 – 5 County Under 14 Final: An Tochar 4 – 8 Carnew 2 – 5 League Final: Dunlavin 2 – 3 Coolboy 1 – 5 Leinster Championship Under 16 Final: Wexford 4 – 7 Wicklow 3 – 9 Under 18 Final: Rd.1Laois 7 – 15 Wicklow 3 – 5 Junior: Rd.1Wexford 3 – 8 Wicklow 3 – 2 Senior: Rd.1Wicklow 1 – 10 Wexford 2 – 5 S/F Laois 1 – 18 Wicklow 0 – 0 Senior “B” Championship Galway 1 – 18 Wicklow 2 – 2 TEAMS COOLBOY: MARY BYRNE CAROLINE GREGAN COLLETTE BYRNE VERA O’KEEFFE ANN MOLLOY BRIDGET O’KEEFFE MARY DORAN MARY MURRAY MARGARET NOLAN MARTINA COLEMAN GERALDINE RAWSON KATHLEEN O’NEILL ANN FITZPATRICK MARY O’KEEFFE MARIA KENNY UNDER 16 TEAM VALERIE HALLIGAN JACKIE POWER MARY BRADY ROSIE BRADY SIOBHAN LAWLER DEARBHLA COFFEY CAITRIONA GRACE SUSAN GASKIN ANN McGILLYCUDDY ALYSON WALSH (c) NICOLA DUNNE SIOBHAN FLOOD BRIDGET BRADY FIONA WHITE MICHELLE FEE SUBS VERA DOYLE SANDRA FOLEY MELAINE SHORTT KATHLEEN KEOGH KIM BYRNE GERRI ROBINSON In 1992 Dunlavin, St. Patricks (Wicklow Town), Bray Emmets, Carnew U – 14 and Tinahely U – 14 started to play. Coolboy took their second county championship while new club Dunlavin took the county league title. Coolboy also won the county 7’s title. In the Leinster Club Championship however they found Rochfortbridge from Westmeath much too strong. The first ever club underage championship was held this year and in an exciting under – 14 final An Tochar got the better of Carnew. At inter-county level the senior team beat Wexford in the Leinster Championship but lost to Laois in the semi-final. In the Leinster junior championship the team lost to Wexford. In the National League they beat Galway, Limerick and Roscommon but lost to Wexford, Dublin and Mayo. In the All-Ireland B championship the team lost to Galway. At underage level the under 14’s lost to Dublin in the Leinster Blitz and the under 18’s lost to Laois. The under 16’s had a great season with victories over Dublin and Meath leading to a first Leinster final appearance against Wexford. In one of the best finals ever at this age level in Wexford held on for a one point victory but Wicklow had some consolation on the night as Michelle Fee chosen as Player of the Match. Very Successful year for Ladies football in Wicklow The past year proved to be a very successful year in ladies football both within the county and at Leinster and National level. Within the county Dunlavin won their first Senior Championship while Colcannon won the junior title. All our county teams reached their respective Leinster semi-finals with our under 16 and 18 teams reaching Leinster Finals. The under 16 team were successful in their final and went on to win the All-Ireland final. The under 18 lost to a very strong Wexford team after a very exciting game. Great strides were made at school level and the future of ladies football looks very good at the moment. 1993 County Convention: The County Convention took place in Lawless’ Hotel, Aughrim, in January. Kathleen O’Neill took over as Chairperson from Cathal Friel who stepped down after three years in the chair. Ernie Byrne retained her position as county secretary while Lucy Molloy and Tereasa Kavanagh took over the Treasurers role from Jack and Sandra Bowles. Betty Kennedy remained on as Registrar and Paraic Corbett and Ann Fitzpatrick were elected Joint P.R.O’s and Development Officers. Eight Clubs attended the convention k, Coolboy, Colcannon, Ballymanus, Dunlavin, An Tochar, Bray Emmets, St Patrick’s, Wicklow Town and Carnew Juvenile club. Unfortunately Ballymanus and S. Patricks are no longer competing but hopefully they will be back in 1994. Rathnew have just started and hope to field adult and under 16 teams, while Blessington, Avondale and Kilegan are about to form clubs. Schools; At Schools level competition took place both at Primary and Secondary School level. Seven schools took part in the I.N.T.O. – G.A.A. skills competition at Primary Level. Ashford defeated Scoil Chulann, Bray in the county final and Roundwood, Dunlavin, Holy Rosary, Wicklow, St. Fergal’s Bray and St. Kevins Glendalough also took part. Ashford went on to play in Leinster and from this competition Natasha O’Gara and Nicola Newsome were chosen to play in Croke Park. A North Wicklow schools team played Dublin in Kilcoole in the annual inter-county series but had to give way to a stronger Dublin side. At Secondary Schools level St. Kevins Dunlavin defeated Loretto Bray in the county final. The Dunlavin girls then defeated the Carlow champions but lost to eventual All-Ireland runners-up in the Leinster semi-final. Ten Wicklow girls played Kildare in Croke Park on the day of the Wicklow – Kildare Senior match. The girls were chosen from the seven schools that took part in the Mini-Sevens competition. County Teams; Under 14 – The under 14 team took part in the Leinster Blitz in Carlow. Though short a number of key players they played very well. Under 16 – This year’s Under 16 team were expected to do will considering that twelve of the team that lost the ’92 Leinster final by a point were still available for selection. Their first game was against Wexford, the team that beat them in 1992. A brilliant display of attacking football left the team 10 points to the good at the end. The loss on Michelle Fee just before half time though a cruel blow seemed to spur the girls to greater effort. The Leinster semi-final against Dublin in Roundwood proved to be their toughest game. The teams finished level after 60 minutes and extra time was played. With only minutes remaining the girls were six points down but two goals and a point ensured victory. Laois provided the opposition in the Leinster final and due to loss of Deirdre Coffey hours before the game due to an accident added to every ones anxiety. Laois started the game well and scored an early goal. Wicklow drew level shortly after half time and a goal by captain Nicky Dunne set up Wicklow for their first ever Under 16 title. Wicklow’s next game was the All-Ireland semi final against Mayo and this proved to be a tense exciting game with the result in doubt right up to the end when Wicklow finally scored a goal to win by two points, 2 – 7 to 1 – 5. The All-Ireland final was played in Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary and Kerry provided the opposition. After an exciting game full of open attacking football the Wicklow girls emerged clear cut winners on a 4 -11 to 2 -10 scoreline. It was Wicklow’s third appearance in an All-Ireland final and their third success to go with the junior title won in 1990 and the Under 14 title won in 1991. The Under 18 and Senior now remain to be won and a great effort will be made to capture them. JUNIOR – The Junior team beat Kildare for their first Championship win ever. In the Leinster semi-final they came up against a very strong Carlow team and will have to wait for another year. SENIOR – The Senior team played in Division two of the National League and had three wins and three losses. They beat Wexford in the Leinster Championship but lost to a strong Westmeath team in their Leinster semi-final. They beat Louth in the first round of the Senior “B” competition. Four players were honoured by Leinster this year – Catriona Grace (Dunlavin), Elaine Murphy(Coolboy), Michelle Fee(An Tochar) and Patricia Flood(Dunlavin) played in the inter provincial series. COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS: Senior – Dunlavin and An Tochar qualified for the Senior Final in Aughrim. A strong wind on the day made for an uneven contest and Dunlavin had first use of it. They took full advantage of it and at half time led by ten points. They withstood strong An Tochar pressure in the second half and held on to win by seven points in the end. It was Dunlavin’s first Senior win and with a very young team seem to have a bright future. They later defeated Eadestown from Kildare in the first round of the Leinster Club Championship, but lost to Cretty in the semi-final. Junior – Colcannon beat Bray Emmets in the Junior Final. It was a close game until Colcannon hit 3 goals to win the game. The County Sevens took place in Carnew and An Tochar defeated Coolboy “A” in the final to win back the title they first held in 1991. An Tochar retained the Byrne Cup by beating Colcannon in their Annual Tournament, Ladies football in Wicklow lost one of it’s most ardent supporters that year when Sarah Friel, passed away, ever present at club and county matches, she will be sadly missed by all involved in Ladies Football. SPONSERSHIP – For the first time ever a Wicklow Ladies team carried sponsorship on their jerseys when the Wicklow Times sponsored a set of jerseys for the Under 16’s in the All-Ireland final. We are greatly indebted to them for their help in this respect. RESULTS County Finals Senior – Dunlavin 3 – 7 An Tochar 0 – 9 Junior – Colcannon 4 -6 Bray Emmets 1 – 2 League Final – Coolboy 3 – 4 Dunlavin 4 – 0 Under 16’s Leinster – Wicklow 6 – 11 Wexford 3 – 10 Semi-Final – Wicklow 3 -11 Dublin 4 – 7 Leinster Final – Wicklow 1 – 7 Laois 1 – 0 All-Ireland semi-final Wicklow 1 – 7 Mayo 1 – 5 All-Ireland Final Wicklow 4 – 11 Kerry 2 – 10 Under 18 First Round Wicklow 7 – 11 Louth 5 – 5 Leinster semi-final Wicklow 3 – 9 Dublin 1 -5 Leinster final Wexford 4 – 12 Wicklow 3 -7 TEAMS DUNLAVIN S DOWNES S LAWLOR J HEATLEY A HARNEY L HEATLEY D WALSH V DOYLE L ALLEN A WALSH N WALSH C GRACE S CLEARY S FOLEY S FLOOD P FLOOD SUBS; A ROCHE, E GRACE, E L DEEGAN, C GRACE, S CORCORAN, A McPARTLAND COLCANNON B DREELAN B DOYLE T MANNERING A DAGG N KENNY J CUSH A CARROL P McDONALD C MULHALL K GAHAN S BOWES M BEMINGHAM R DAGGE A RYAN M O’REILLY SUBS; C O.TOOLE, P KENNAN, E BYRNE, N DAGG. UNDER 16 PANEL FOR 1993 AN TOCHAR – Susan Gaskin, Michelle Fee, Fiona White, Anne McGillycuddy, Jackie Power, Melanie Short, Wendy Byrne, Margaret Brady, Valerie Halligan. DUNLAVIN – Siobhan Flood, Siobhan Lawlor, Caitriona Grace, Lynn Heatly, Jill Heatly. BRAY EMMETS – Valerie Hughes, Audrey Campbell, Emma Driver, Teresa O’Sullivan, Sheena Smith, Jenny Mullen. ST. PATRICKS WICKLOW – Nicola Dunne, Dearbhla Coffey, Stephanie O’Reilly, Claire Warde. COOLKENNO – Rachel Dagg, Jenny Cash. COUNTY UNDER 18 PANEL AN TOCHAR MARY BRADY MICHELLE FEE VALERIE HALLIGAN ROSIE BRADY SUSAN GASKIN WENDY BYRNE BRENDA HALLIGAN ANNE McGILLYCUDDY DENISE BYRNE AILEEN BYRNE FIONA WHITE MARGARET BRADY DUNLAVIN SIOBHAN LAWLOR SANDRA FOLEY JILL HEATLY CATRIONA GRACE ANGELA ROCHE LYNN HEATLY VERA DOYLE SHARON CLEARY BRAY EMMETS ROSA KELLY VALERIE HUGHES COOLBOY COLLETTE BYRNE ELAINE MURPHY ST. PATRICKS NICKY DUNNE DEARBHLA COFFEY TEN GIRLS WHO PLAYED IN CROKE PARK ON JUNE 6TH DENISE BYRNE ROUNDWOOD AUDREY DUTTON SC. CHUALANN ANN MARIE MANNING ASHFORD EMMA LUCY DEEGAN DUNLAVIN HELEN COLEMAN KILMACANOGUE KARINA KELLY SC. CHUALANN NICOLA JACKSON ROUNDWOOD JOANNE McCARRY ST.FERGALS, BRAY NICOLA RYAN HOLY ROSARY, WICKLOW LISA McDONALD ST. KEVIN’S GLENDALOUGH AN TOCHAR SEVEN-A –SIDE PANEL BERNIE BYRNE VALERIE HALLIGAN ANN GASKIN MARGARET BOLGER SUSAN GASKIN ROSIE BRADY MARY BRADY MICHELLE FEE FIONA WHITE ANNE McGILLYCUDDY Coolboy and Dunlavin qualified for the League Final with Coolboy coming out on top by 1 point, 3 – 4 to 4 – 0 to win their first ever League title. FIRST ALL-IRELAND FOR WICKLOW LADIES All Ireland titles are not easy to come by. It takes hours upon hours of hard work as well as commitment, self-sacrifice, total belief, a little luck and large dollops of skill – all qualities displayed by the Wicklow ladies Under 16 team who bathed the Garden county in glory by claiming their first ever All-Ireland title at this level. It was no more than the Wicklow girls deserved for all their effort and hard graft. Led but coach/ manager Paraic Corbett and mentors Margaret Allen, Ann Gaskin, Lucy Molloy and Bernie Byrne, the team blazed a glorious trail through Leinster, beating Wexford, Dublin, Laois before taking on Mayo in the All-Ireland final in Ardfinnan in early September. It was a golden end to a long and glorious summer. This was only Wicklow’s second appearance in a girls Under-age All-Ireland final. In 1991 the Under 14 team claimed an All-Ireland title, with that same team forming the nucleus for this years Under 16 squad. Both triumphs must be considered remarkable achievements considering Underage ladies football only started in Roundwood in 1987 with many of this year’s team at their first training session. Dunlavin began in 1989 and have made great strides in a short time. Underage football is also played in Carnew, Tinahealy, and Ballymanus with a number of underage girls playing with adult clubs. Throughout this years campaign the Under 16 girls showed great character, refusing to be bogged down by adversity. Time and time again they displayed a rugged fighting sprit that is needed to be champions. In their opening Leinster Championship joust with Wexford the Garden County girls lost Michelle Fee in the first-half but they fought back in the second-half they put together a performance that overwhelmed their opponents. In the next round against Dublin, Wicklow were trailing by six points as the game came to a close but in the dying minutes they cracked in two late goals and a point to save their championship hopes. And so it was on to a Leinster final clash with Laois. It looked ominous for the Wicklow girls on the day of the match when one of their star players Dearbhla Coffey had to cry off the team with an injury. It was the last thing the team needed as the minutes ticked down to the throw in. Displaying their customary resilience the rest of the team refused to be unsettled. An early point from Ann McGillycuddy soon settled Wicklow down, but defences were generally on top, with clean-cut scoring chances a rarity. Wicklow had registered the first point but it was Laois who knocked in the first goal midway through the half and at the break the led by 1 – 0 to 0 – 1. The second half turned out to be Wicklow’s. Early points from Fiona Walsh and Ann McGillycuddy soon levelled the scores before Nicola Dunne scored a decisive goal for the Garden County by breaking through the Laois defence to fire like a shot to the net. Laois fought back desperately to try and keep afloat their sinking hopes but the Wicklow defence, superbly marshalled by Siobhan Lawlor, held firm. Three further points from Ann McGillycuddy and one from Caitriona Grace left Wicklow well in the clear at the final whistle on a score-line of 1 – 7 to 1 – 0. This was a fine team performance from Wicklow but Ann McGillycuddy’s contribution was recognised with the “Player of the Match” award. Against Mayo in the All-Ireland semi-final Wicklow received and early blow when they conceded a goal but they recovered from this setback, regained their composure and with the help of a goal eight minutes from time they claimed victory to secure a place in the All-Ireland final where their opponents were Kerry. The Wicklow girls approached the final confident they could achieve a historic success. They trained hard and were in top condition for the big day. In the Final itself they made the start they wanted with Valerie Halligan, Siobhan Flood and Jenny Cush slotting over early points. Kerry quickly responded with two points and they took the lead for the first time when their centre-forward and Captain Geraldine O’Shea cracked the ball to the Wicklow net. Nicola Dunne and Anne McGillycuddy added further points for Wicklow with Kerry responding with a similar amount. At the half-time whistle the Kingdom led 1 – 4 to 0 – 5. Early in the second half however, Wicklow regained the initiative with a well-taken goal from Anne McGillycuddy, just 20 seconds into the half. A point from Jill Heatley put Wicklow two in front.. Again Wicklow’s character was tested midway through the second half when Kelly chalked up 1 – 3 without reply to give them a four point lead. It was looking increasingly bleak for the Leinster champions as the minutes ticked away. Then an inspired substitution changed the cause of the game once more. Sub. Michelle Fee was only on the field a short while before she fired in a goal and sent over a point to revive her team’s flagging fortunes. A few minutes later Siobhan Flood added another goal with a further point from Anne McGillycuddy giving the lead back to Wicklow once more. Kerry were not yet beaten, they fought back and scored three quick points to reduce the deficit to a single point. It looked all set for a nerve tingling closing few minutes but Wicklow pulled away with the winning post insight with a second point from Siobhan Flood and further points from Valerie Halligan, Nicola Dunne and Anne McGillycuddy. The match was over and Wicklow had won. They were All-Ireland champions at last. Afterward Jill Healy was chosen as “player of the match” receiving her trophy from Peter Rice, President of the Ladies G.A.A. but this was a magnificent effort from all concerned. THE WINNING WICKLOW PANEL WAS LYNN HEATLY FIONA WHITE JENNY MULLEN JACKIE POWER ANN McGILLYCUDDY SHEENA SMITH SIOBHAN LAWLOR JENNY CUSH SIOBHAN FLOOD RACHEAL DAGG TERESA O’SULLIVAN WENDY BYRNE VALERIE HALLIGAN JILL HEATLEY MARGARET BRADY SUSAN GASKIN AUDREY CAMPBELL CLAIRE WARD VALERIE HUGHES MICHELLE FEE MELAINE SHORTT CAITRIONA GRACE STEPHANIE O’REILLY DEARBHLA COFFEY NICOLA DUNNE EMMA DRIVER TRAINER – COACH: PARAIC CORBETT MENTORS – MARGARET ALLEN, ANN GASKIN, LUCY MOLLOY AND BERNIE BYRNE. LADIES FOOTBALL 1994 The past year has been a very good one for the Ladies football in Wicklow. Though no Leinster or All-Ireland titles were won the two teams from the county reached Leinster finals, while two under 14 teams took part in Feile Peile na nOg in Kerry. The minor team reached their second successive Leinster final but on the day had to give way to a strong Wexford side. County senior champions An Tochar reached the Leinster club final but came up against a very experienced Rochfortbridge team who captured their 7th title, An Tochar reached the final of the All-Ireland sevens but lost out on penalties. Within the county An Tochar won their second senior title with a good win over Dunlavin while Bray Emmets beat Knockananna in the junior decider. For the first time U14 and U16 league championships were played with four teams in each. The I.N.T.O-G.A.A mini sevens was played at primary schools level while a one day blitz was held at Laragh for secondary schools with 3 competitions being run. St. Kevins, Dunlavin and Dale C.C. also took part in Leinster schools competitions. Hugh Kenny and his coaches helped in a big way to develop the games both with their work in summer camps and in the schools. COUNTYCOOUNTY TEAMS SENIOR This year the senior team played in Div.2 of the National League. Winning three and losing three ensured them a place in the quarter finals. However Mayo won this game by 4 points in Baltinglass. In the Leinster championship the team had a home venue against Laois in the Leinster semi-final. The team was weakened on the day by injuries and work commitments and went down to their worst defeat since turning senior in 1991. In September the team travelled to Claire to take on the home county in the “B” championship but suffered another heavy defeat. The Junior team played Dublin in the first round of the Leinster championship and after a good start faded and made their exit. UNDER AGE The Under 14 team took part in the 1st Leinster championship but had to give way to a strong Dublin team in round one. They also took part in the Leinster and All-Ireland blitzes reaching the semi-final of the Leinster event. UNDER 16 The U 16 team were very much under strength when they took on eventual Leinster champions Meath in the first round and were well beaten. UNDER 18 The U 18 team reached their second successive Leinster final beating Louth in round one and Laois in the semi-final. Wexford once again provided the opposition and though availing of a good start to lead by 9 points early in the second half Wexford stormed back to score 3 – 8 and win by 7 points. Twenty two of the panel are eligible again next year and hopes are high that our third attempt will prove successful. COUNTY COMPETITIONS Within the County the season began with the completion of the 1993 League. Coolboy beat An Tochar in the semi-final while Dunlavin defeated Colcannon in the second to set up a repeat of the 1992 decider. This proved equally close and in the end Coolboy secured their first league title on a 3 – 4 to 4 – 0 scoreline. The 1994 league was won by An Tochar with a hard earned 1 point win over Coolboy. SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP Four teams took part in this year’s senior competition which was run on a home and away league basis with top team reaching the final and 2nd and 3rd teams playing a semi-final. Dunlavin and An Tochar qualified for the final. In the final An Tochar led by 10 points at half time but a determined rally by the Dunlavin girls reduced the deficit to just 3 points before the An Tochar girls scored 8 points in a row to clinch their second title. In the Leinster championship they reached the final and faced Roch fortbridge from Westmeath who were contesting their eleventh final. The Girls form Westmeath showed their vast experience and won on a 3 – 11 to 1 – 5 scoreline. The fact virtually all the An Tochar panel are under 21 ensures that their day will come. JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS Three teams took part in the junior championships, Bray Emmets, Knockananna and Rathnew. In the final Bray Emmets had too much experience for the newly formed Knockananna and won well on the day to take their first ladies. A.I.B. ALL – IRELAND SEVENS An Tochar entered this competition for the third time and surprised many by reaching the final of the championship, only losing in the end on penalties to Timahoe of Laois. At the end of normal time the game was all square at 4 – 6 to 5 – 3. Timahoe scored their first of 3 penalties t An Tochar’s 1point and they were declared the winners. Though downhearted this very young team accepted their runner-ups trophies from Helen O’Rourke, President of the Ladies Gaelic football association with justifiable pride. PANEL ANN GASKIN SUSAN GASKIN VALERIE HALLIGAN FIONAL WHITE BRIDGET BRADY CATHERINE BYRNE NICKY DUNNE ANN McGILLYCUDDY MARGARET BRADY MICHELLE FEE UNDER AGE U14 Four teams entered the U14 competition which was run on a home-away basis with the top two teams playing the championship final and 3rd and 4th playing a shield final. Carnew took on An Tochar in the championship final while Rathnew took on Fergal Og in the Shield final. In a close shield final Fergal Og’s came out on top 4 points to 3 to win their first trophy. In the championship An Tochar won by 3 – 7 to 3 – 2. Four teams took part in an U 16 competition run on the same basis as the U 14. Here Carnew and An Tochar met in the championship final also and Blessington took on Rathnew in the shield final. Blessington won the shield and Carnew took their first ever county title with a good win over AnTochar. SCHOOLS PRIMARY Cumann na mBunscoil organised the I.N.T.O. G.A.A. Mini-Sevens in Kilcoole. After a very entertaining evening’s football, Roundwood played Scoil Cualann from Bray in the final and came out on top in a good final. The ten Roundwood girls then took part in the Leinster blitz in Portlaoise where Denise Byrne and Angela Brady were chosen to play in Croke Park on the day of the Dublin-Leitrim senior football semi-final. Ten girls also played at half-time in the Wicklow –Offaly game in Aughrim in June. Later in the season the North East Primary SchoolsG.A.A. Board organised a competition with a shield by the Wicklow Times. Fergal Og’s and Kilmacanogue contested the final with the Bray girls coming out on top. This Autumn St. Patricks Bray won the team competition of the new school term also organised by the North East Board. SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN May a secondary schools blitz was organised in Laragh divided into three groups, Senior, Junior “A” and Junior “B”. In the senior final at St. Kevins Dunlavin beat Avondale by 1 – 8 to 0 – 0. In Junior “A” Avondale beat Col. Raithin, Bray. In the Leinster senior secondary schools competition St Kevin’s, Dunlain, lost to Colaiste Ide, Enniscorthy, while in the junior competition Avondale C.C. had to give way to a strong Colaiste Ciaran side from Leixlip. This Autumn Avondale took part in a V.E.C. run competition where they defeated Colaiste Bride, Carnew, but lost out to Borris C.C. in the 2nd round. INTERPROVINCIAL COMPETITION Five Wicklow ladies played for Leinster this year and were lucky enough to be part of the winning team. Susan Gaskin and Elaine Murphy played in the final against Munster while Louise Allen, Denise Walsh and Michelle Fee played in the earlier rounds, Susan and Elaine were nominated for the All Star’s Team. COUNTY BOARD OFFICERS Chairperson: Cathal Friel, Colcannon Vice-Chairman: Ann Gaskin, An Tochar Secretary: Bernie Byrne, An Tochar Asst.Secretary: Lucy Molloy, An Tochar LADIES FOOTBALL NEW 1994 Joint Treasurers: Margaret Allen, Dunlavin Pauline Allen, Dunlavin P.R.O: Paraic Corbetts, An Tochar Joint Youth Officers: Paraic Corbett, An Tochar, Mark Fleming, Carnew Registrar: Betty Kennedy, Coolboy Leinster Officers: Secretary: Cathal Friel Irish Officer: Paraic Corbett Wicklow had the honour of holding this years Leinster convention in January in Lawless Hotel, Aughrim TEAMS AND RESULTS National League Quarter Final Mayo 3 – 7 Wicklow 2 – 6 Leinster Senior Championship Semi-Final Laois 5 – 21 Wicklow 1 – 6 Leinster Minor Final Wexford 4 – 11 Wicklow 3 – 7 County Senior Championship Final Bray Emmets 5 – 7 Knockananna 1 – 1 County League Final 1994 An Tochar 1 – 8 Coolboy 2 – 4 County U 14 Championship Final An Tochar 3 – 7 Carnew 3 – 2 County U 14 Shield Final Fergal Og’s 0 – 4 Rathnew 0 – 3 County U 16 Championship Final An Tochar 1 – 5 Carnew 5 – 8 County U 16 Shield Rathnew 2 – 6 Blessington 2 – 9 SCHOOLS FINAL Senior:St. Kevins, Dunlain 2 – 1 Avondale C.C. 1 – 2 Junior “A” Avondale 2 – 6 Colaiste Rathin2 – 3 Junior “B” St. Killians 1 – 8 Avondale C.C. 0 – 0 I.N.T.O. G.A.A. Mini Sevens Final: Roundwood 4 – 1 Scoil Chulann 1 – 1 TEAMS SENIOR PANEL – 1995 An Tochar: Ann Gaskin, Susan Gaskin, Mary Gaskin, Michelle Fee, Fiona White, Anne McGillycuddy, Bernie Byrne, Wendy Byrne, Valerie Halligan, Nicola Dunne. Dunlavin: Louise Lavin(C), Denise Walsh, Siobhan Flood, Patricia Flood, Caitriona Grace, Siobhan Lawlor, Lynn Heatley, Jill Heatley, Vannessa Harney, Suzanne Corcoran. Coolboy: Ann Molloy, Collette Byrne, Caroline Murphy, Elaine Murphy. Bray Emmets: Christine Murphy, Rosa Kelly, Valerie Hughes. An Tochar;Senior Champions: Bernie Byrne, Tereasa Cowman, Rosie Brady, Mary Gaskin, Brenda Halligan, Ann Gaskin (C), Valerie Hallligan, Ann Marah, Susan Gaskin, Mary Brady, Nicola Dunne, Michelle Fee, Fiona White, Margaret Bolger, Anne McGillycuddy, Subs: Jackie Power, Margaret Brady, Bridget Brady, Claire Healy, Catherine Byrne, Melaine Shortt, Wendy Byrne. Bray Emmets: Junior Champions: Christine Murphy, Ann Kelly, Esther O’Toole, Emma Driver, Dara Shortt, Ali Hearne, Jenny Mullen, Pauline Brigan, Valerie Hughes, Rosa Kelly, Carol Carr, Julie Devitt, Maeve O’Toole, Nicola Stokes, Anita O’Toole. COUNTY U 18 PANEL An Tochar: Wendy Byrne, Michelle Fee, Margaret Brady, Valerie Halligan, Nicky Dunne, Fiona White, Jackie Power, Mary Brady, Rosie Brady ( Capt), Anne McGillycuddy, Susan Gaskin, Bridget Brady. Dunlavin: Vera Doyle, Sandra Foley, Nicola Walsh, Sharon Cleary, Cathriona Grace, Siobhan Lawlor, Jill Heatley, Lynn Heatley, Alyson Walsh. Bray Emmets: Valerie Hughes, Jenny Mullen. Carnew: Anna Doyle, Emmer Culkin, Sinead Byrne, Kathleen Molloy. Coolkenno: Jenny Cush, Elaine Byrne. FEILE PEIL NA NOG Feile Peil na nOg is an U 14 Football Festival had annually over a weekend. This years Feile was held in Kerry with 96 teams taking part, this was the first year that girls teams were taking part, this was the first year girls were invited to play. Eight Kerry teams hosted eight other teams from round the country. Two Wicklow teams were lucky enough to be invited to take part, An Tochar and Carnew. Carnew, were based in Abbeydorney while An Tochar were based in Castleisland. Each team had three games in a group and the winners in each group progressed to the semi-finals. Carnew won their group while An Tochar had to settle for 3rd in their group. Carnew eventually bowed out to the eventual winners Shelamaliers from Wexford. Both teams enjoyed the weekend and hope to participate again next year when it will be staged in Mayo. Fundraising Two main fundraising events took place this year. The County Board had the Tinahely G.A.A Lotto for one draw and made a good profit on it. In June a 12 hour ladies football marathon took place in Roundwood. All Clubs in the county plus Eadstown from Kildare and St. Olaf’s and Ballyboden from Dublin took part on the day and raised over £ 1,200 for the County Coffers. Schools: Primary; A very successful I.N.T.O. G.A.A.Mini-Sevens competition was held with Ashford coming out on top in the county final. Secondary; St.Kevin.s Dunlain represented Wicklow again and beat Portlaoise in their first game. They were unable to make further progress as Ramsgrange fromWexford proved much to strong. Under 14; The county team played in both the Leinster and All-Ireland blitzes, bowing out in the quarter finals of both. A county under 14 championship was played for the first time with An Tochar beating Carnew in the final. Shillelagh, Wicklow Town and An Tochar tool part in the Community Games with An Tochar coming out on top. Under 16; The under 16 team had their first ever win in the Leinster championship beating Dublin in round 1. A semi-final victory over Meath set up a final showdown with Wexford. A game of high quality football with very fine scores ended in a one point victory for Wexford, but the Wicklow girls though downhearted had acquitted themselves very well. Under 18; The under 18 side crashed to a heavy defeat at the hands of Laois but with only 3 genuine minors playing on the day the future looks good. Senior; The senior team operated in Division 2 of the League and won 5 of their 8 games, beating Carlow, Limerick, Cork, Laois “B” and Kerry. Defeat to Mayo, Dublin and Galway kept the team out of the play-offs. In the Leinster championships a 2 point win over Wexford set up a semi-final date with Laois. The O’Moore girls proved much too strong and won 1 – 18 to 0 – 0. Later in the season the team lost to Galway in the All-Ireland “B” Competition. Club; At club level Coolboy and An Tochar qualified for the county final and after a good start An Tochar looked on their way to a second successive title. A determined Coolboy fight back earned them a six point win. They later lost heavily to Rochfortbridge in the Leinster Club Championship. Coolboy also qualified for the League final and here Dunlavin playing in their first ever final by a single point. Coolboy won the county 7’s title while An Tochar won Coolkenna’s tournament for the Byrne Cup. Elaine Murphy and Caroline Gregan helped Leinster win the Interprovincial competition. Elaine was also chosen as a replacement All Star. An Tochar reached round 3 of the All-Ireland 7’s while Coolboy were beaten in round 2. Scores County Senior Final: Coolboy 4 – 5 An Tochar 2 – 5 County Under 14 Final An Tochar 4 – 8 Carnew 2 – 5 League Final: Dunlavin 2 – 3 Coolboy 1 – 5 Leinster Championship: Under 16 Final: Wexford 4 – 7 Wicklow3 – 9 Under 18; Rd. 1 Laois 7 – 15 Wicklow 3 – 5 Junior: Rd 1 Wexford 3 – 8 Wicklow 3 – 2 Senior: Rd 1 Wicklow 1 – 10 Wexford 2 – 5 Semi-final Laois 1 – 18 Wicklow 0 – 0 Senior “B” Championship Galway 4 – 13 Wicklow 2 – 2 TEAMS COOLBOY: MARY BYRNE CAROLINE GREGAN COLLETTE BYRNE VERA O’KEEFFE ANN MOLLOY BRIDGET O’KEEFFE MARY DORAN MARY MURRAY MARGARET NOLAN MARTINA COLEMAN GERALDINE RAWSON KATHLEEN O’NEILL ANN FITZPATRICK MARY O’KEEFFE MARIA KENNY UNDER 16 TEAM VALERIE HALLIGAN JACKIE POWER MARY BRADY ROSIE BRADY SIOBHAN LAWLER DEARBHLA COFFEY CAITRIONA GRACE SUSAN GASKIN ANN McGILLYCUDDY ALYSON WALSH (c) NICOLA DUNNE SIOBHAN FLOOD BRIDGET BRADY FIONA WHITE MICHELLE FEE SUBS VERA DOYLE SANDRA FOLEY MELAINE SHORTT KATHLEEN KEOGH KIM BYRNE GERRI ROBINSON WICKLOW SNIPPETS FAMILY TIES Captain Caroline Carthy’s father Michael Carthy is a selector, her uncle Cathal Freil is the Chairperson. Caroline Gregan’s mother Mollie Gregan is a selector. Sandra Hayes is Trainer Jack Bowes fiancée, and Bridget Dreelan is also his cousin. Bernie Byrne’s husband Andy is a selector. BACK UP TEAM Cathal Friel: Chairperson A native of Mountcharles, Co. Donegal. Founder member of Coolkenno Club and Wicklow Board. Delegate t Central and Leinster Council, and is a very efficient administrator. He is married to Sarah McCarthy, from Killinure and has two daughters, Annie and Mary. He is a county council employee. Mick Carthy Selector Founder member of the Ladies Coolkenno Club and Wicklow Board. P.R.O. for Coolkenno Club and County Team. He is a very dedicated worker and is married to Betty Balfe, and has two daughters, Debbie and Caroline. Anne Byrne Runai Ann is married to John, from Crablane, and mother of five children. Attended Brigidine Convent in Tullow. She played camogie for Kildavin and is a noted athlete. Ann is doing tremendous work promoting ladies Football. Jack Bowes Trainer Jack has been managing and training the Coolkenno Ladies Team since 1984, and the Wicklow team since 1988. He played on the Wicklow.s Junior team for three years. He has won under-age football and hurling medals, and won All-Ireland under 18, Vocation Schools Title with Tullow. Also won County Hurling Medal with Shillelagh Juniors. Andy Byrne Selector He has won minor, single’s and double’s County Championship Medals in 1970. He played handball for Club and county teams, and has played Gaelic Football with his local club, An Tochar. He is married with 3 children. Mary (Mollie) Gregan Selector A very keen interest in Ladies Football. A former member of the first team in Coolboy. Selector on Coolboy the year they won the County Championship 1988. She was the first lady selector on the County team, and she played camogie. She is the mother of Caroline, who plays in the centre-back position. PATH TO THE FINAL Wicklow had a very convincing win over Wexford in the Leinster Semi-Final : 7 – 5 to 0 – 1 in New Ross. In the Leinster final against Offaly in Carlow, it took a last minute goal by Captain Caroline Carthy to send the game into extra time, Wicklow won; 3 -2 to 2 – 3. In the All-Ireland semi-final against Claire in Baltinglass, a goal by Therese Mannering in the 56th minute sent Wicklow on the Croker trail. Wicklow have scored 13 – 9 and have consigned 2 -13 in their game. SCORES Kathleen O’Neill 4 – 3 Caroline Carthy 2 – 3 Elaine Murphy 2 – 1 Therese Mannering 2 – 0 Marie Goss 1 – 1 Sandra Hayes 1 – 0 Paula McDonald 1 – 0 Ann Fitzpatrick 0 – 1 Wicklow Snippets Super Sub: Therese Mannering came off the bench in both the Leinster Final, and the All-Ireland semi-final to score the winning goal in both games. Dream Debutante: Elaine Murphy scored 2 goals against Wexford in the first 5 minutes. It was her first game in the County colours. Leinster Panel: Wicklow has 5 players on the Leinster Panel this year; Audrey Carroll, Mary Doran, Caroline Greegan, Bridget Dreelan and Mary Mulhall. Mary Mulhall played against Connacht and Munster, and is the first Wicklow player to play for Leinster. In 1995 An Tochar won their second consecutive senior championship with a victory over Dunlavin. Wins over Cooley Kickhams (Louth) and Portobello(Dublin) led them to their second Leinster Club Final. In the Final Shelmaliers from Wexford held on to win by 2 points. Carnew beat Coolkenno in the junior championship final while Blessington beat Knockananna in the junior league final. The senior league final was not played in under-age competition. An Tochar won the under 14 championship and Feile, defeating Bray Emmets in both, and represented Wicklow at the All-Ireland Feile in Mayo. An Tochar beat Carnew after a replay to win the under-16 championship. Blessington beat Fergal Ogs to take the under-14 Shield. At inter-county level the senior team beat Westmeath in their opening game in Division 2 of the National League but losses to Meath, Louth, Donegal, Dublin, and Roscommon meant relegation t o Division 3. In the Leinster championships the seniors lost to Laois, the juniors 1 to Dublin, the under-16’s to Meath and the Under-14’s to Dublin. Wins over Louth and Meath set up a third successive Leinster under-18 final against Wexford but the latter continued their recent good run and won by 2 goals on the night. In the All-Ireland B championship the senior team lost to Dublin. 1996 In 1996 Annacurra, Kilmacanogue and Annacurra-Ballymanus U-14 began to play while Coolboy and Dunlavin merged t form a new senior club, Coolboy-Dunlavin. An Tochar proved best at senior level once more as they took their third title in a row at the expense of newly formed Coolboy-Dunlavin. In the Leinster club championship they scored a one-point win over Timahoe(Laois) in a thrilling game but lost their semi-final to Shelmaliers(Wexford) Coolkenno beat Carnew in the junior championship final but lost to St. Kevins from Louth in the Leinster championship. Kilmacanogue won their first competition with a one-point victory over Blessington in the junior league final. Blessington beat Annacurra-Ballymanus to win the under-14 championship for the first time as well as beating Bray Emmett’s in the Feile final and representing Wicklow at the All-Ireland Feile in Mayo. Blessington also won the under-16 championship with a win over An Tochar. Bray won both shields with an under-14 win over Dunlavin and an under-16 win over Carnew. At inter-county level the senior team won their first five games in Division 3 of the National League, beating Kildare, Offaly, Longford, Galway and Roscommon and qualified for the quarter-finals. Due to the lack of players the team was forced to give a walkover to Leitrim in that quarter-final. In the Leinster championship the team lost to Meath while the junior team lost to Offaly. In the All-Ireland B championship the team beat Fermanagh with only 13 players but lost in the semi-final to Down. At under-age level the under 14 team lost to Dublin, the under 16’s lost to Westmeath while the under18 team had to give a walk-over to Meath. 1997 In 1997 Kilcoole began to play for the first time. An Tochar won their fourth senior title in a row, beating Coolboy/Dunlavin, and also beating Blessington in the League final. In the Leinster Club championship An Tochar went out after a heavy defeat by Portobello from Dublin. Bray Emmets won both the junior championship and league with wins over Carnew and Kilmacanogue respectively but lost to Croghan from Offaly in the Leinster Championship. Bray Emmett’s beat Blessing ton in the under 14 championship final while An Tochar beat Kilmacanogue in the Shield final. Blessington gained revenge over Bray with victory in the under 16 championship final and also won the inaugural under-18 championship with win over An Tochar. Blessington also won the under 14 Feile and travelled to Donegal to the All-Ireland Feile. At inter-county level the team beat Kildare and Offaly, lost to Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Roscommon and gave a walk-over to Longford in the national League. In the Leinster Senior championship a walk-over was given to Meath as only 9 players travelled to the game. The junior team were heavily defeated by Louth in their championship game. The under 18 team had to concede a walk-over to Laois as their bus broke down en route to the Match. The under 16’s lost to Dublin while the under 14’s came within a point of reaching the Leinster final. In their first two games they had good wins over Offaly and Carlow and in the semi-final against Dublin put up a brave performance before going down by a single point. 1998 In 1998 An Tochar won their fifth senior title in a row by defeating Bray Emmets in the final. Bray won their first senior title when they beat Blessington in the league final. In the junior championship Blessington beat Kilmacanouge by a point while Carnew beat Kilmacanogue in the junior league final. An Tochar lost to Shelmaliers in the Leinster Club championship while Blesssington beat Taghmon from Wexford and Rathcline from Longford to qualify for the Leinster junior championship final. In the final they came up against Cooley from Louth and were well beaten. Greystones and Valleymount entered teams for the first time. Greystones and Valleymount entered teams for the first time. Greystones reached the final of the novice league but lost to An Tochar B. At under-age level An Tochar won the under 14 championship and Feile with victories over Blessington in both finals. An Tochar represented Wicklow at the All-Ireland Feile in Donegal. Kilmacanouge beat Carnew t win the under 14 Shield for the first time. Blessington won their second consecutive under 18 title with a win over Bray Emmets. The under 16 championships and Shield were held over 1999 due to lack of time. At inter-county level the county team was re-graded from senior to junior and played Carlow in the first round of the Leinster championship. A good start seemed to have the team on course for their first championship victory since 1993, but Carlow had other ideas and ran out easy winners in the end. With nobody available to travel with the under 18 team a walk-over had to be given to Laois for the second year in a row. The under 14 and 16 teams lost to Wexford and Kildare respectively. The under 12 team took part in the Leinster Blitz in Carlow, losing to Westmeath and Carlow but winning well over Wexford. In the National League the team beat Kildare, Galway and Limerick and lost to Dublin and Cork. A good quarter-final victory over Down set up a semi-final clash with Dublin. The team put up a good performance but the loss of mid-fielder Louise Allen with a serious injury unsettled the team and Dublin went on to win the game and the league. COUNTY COMPETITIONS RESULTS 1988 – 1998 WINNERS RUNNER-UP JACOB CUP SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP 1988 COOLBOY COOLKENNO 1989 COOLKENNO COOLBOY 1990 COOLKENNO COOLBOY 1991 AN TOCHAR COOLBOY 1992 COOLBOY AN TOCHAR 1993 DUNLAVIN AN TOCHAR 1994 AN TOCHAR DUNLAVIN 1995 AN TOCHAR DUNLAVIN 1996 AN TOCHAR COOLBOY/DUNLAVIN 1997 AN TOCHAR COOLBOY/DUNLAVIN 1998 AN TOCHAR BRAY EMMETS KATHLEEN O’NEILL CUP JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 1993 COOLKENNO BRAY EMMETS 1994 BRAY EMMETS KNOCKANANNA 1995 CARNEW COOLKENNO 1996 COOLKENNO CARNEW 1997 BRAY EMMETS CARNEW 1998 BLESSINGTON KILMACANOUGE KATIE LOWE CUP SENIOR LEAGUE 1989 COOLKENO KILTEGAN 1990 COOLKENNO BALTINGLASS 1991 AN TOCHAR COOLKENNO 1992 DUNLAVIN COOLBOY 1993 COOLBOY DUNLAVIN 1994 AN TOCHAR COOLBOY 1995 NOT PLAYED 1996 NOT PLAYED 1997 AN TOCHAR BLESSINGTON 1998 BRAY EMMETS BLESSINGTON DUNLAVIN’S LADIES G.A.A. CUP JUNIOR LEAGUE 1995 BLESSINGTON KNOCKANANNA 1996 KILMACANOUGE BLESSINGTON 1997 BRAY EMMETS KILMACANOUGE 1998 CARNEW KILMACANOUGE NOVICE LEAGUE 1998 AN TOCHAR (B) GREYSTONES COUNTY 7’S 1991 AN TOCHAR 1992 COOLBOY 1993 AN TOCHAR LEINSTER CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS SENIOR 1988 – COOLBOY 1989 – COOLKENNO 1990 – COOLKENNO 1991 – AN TOCHAR LOST TO ROBERT EMMETS(DUBLIN) 1992 – COOLBOY LOST TO ROCHFORTBRIDGE 1993 – DUNLAVIN BEAT EADSTOWN (KERRY)LOST TO CRETTARD (LAOIS) 1994 – AN TOCHAR BEAT DUNSANY AND OLD LEIGHLIN, BUT LOST TO ROCHFORTBRIDGE 1995 – AN TOCHAR BEAT COOLEY (L) AND PORTOBELLO BUT LOST TO SHELMALIERS(WX) 1996 – AN TOCHAR BEAT TIMAHOE(LAOIS) AND LOST TO SHELMALIERS(WX) 1997 – AN TOCHAR LOST TO PORTOBELLO (DUBLIN) 1998 – AN TOCHAR LOST TO SHELMALIERS(WX) JUNIOR 1996 – COOLKENNO LOST TO ST. KEVIN’S(LOUTH) 1997 – BRAY EMMETS LOST TO CROGHAN (OFFALY) 1998 – BLESSSINGTON BEAT TAGHMON(WEXFORD) AND RATHCLINE(LONGFORD) BUT LOST TO COOLEY(LOUTH) UNDER AGE COMPETITIONS WINNERS RUNNER-UP UNDER – 14 CHAMPIONSHIP 1992 AN TOCHAR CARNEW 1993 NOT PLAYED 1994 AN TOCHAR CARNEW 1995 AN TOCHAR BRAY EMMETS 1996 BLESSINGTON BALLYMANUS 1997 BRAY EMMETS BLESSINGTON 1998 AN TOCHAR BLESSINGTON UNDER 14 – SHIELD 1994 FERGAL OGS RATHNEW 1995 BLESSINGTON FERGAL OGS 1996 BRAY EMMETS DUNLAVIN 1997 AN TOCHAR KILMACANOUGE 1998 KILMACANOUGE CARNEW UNDER 14 FEILE 1995 AN TOCHAR BRAY EMMETS 1996 BLESSINGTON BRAY EMMETS 1997 BLESSINGTON KILMACANOUGE 1998 AN TOCHAR BLESSINGTON WINNERS RUNNER-UPS UNDER 16 CHAMPIONSHIP 1994 CARNEW AN TOCHAR 1995 AN TOCHAR CARNEW 1996 BLESSINGTON AN TOCHAR 1997 BLESSINGTON BRAY EMMETS UNDER 16 SHIELD 1994 BLESSINGTON RATHNEW 1995 NOT PLAYED 1996 BRAY EMMETS CARNEW 1997 NOT PLAYED UNDER 18 CHAMPIONSHIP 1997 BLESSINGTON RATHNEW 1998 BLESSINGTON BRAY EMMETS INTER-COUNTY SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1 LEINSTER S.F. LEINSTER FINAL ALL-REL. S.F. ALL-IRL.FINAL 1991 LAOIS 1992 WEXFORD LAOIS 1993 WEXFORD WESTMEATH 1994 LAOIS 1995 LAOIS 1996 MEATH 1997 MEATH (walkover) JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP 1988 CARLOW WEXFORD 1989 LONGRORD DUBLIN 1990 WEXFORD OFFALY(W) CLARE(W) LONDON(w) 1991 DUBLIN 1992 WEXFORD 1993 KILDARE CARLOW 1994 DUBLIN 1995 DUBLIN 1996 OFFALY 1997 LOUTH 1998 CARLOW ROUND 1 LEINSTER S.F. LEINSTER FINAL ALL-REL. S.F. ALL-IRL.FINAL UNDER 18 1991 LAOIS 1992 LAOIS 1993 LOUTH DUBLIN WEXFORD(L) 1994 LOUTH LAOIS WEXFORD(L) 1995 LOUTH MEATH WEXFORD(L) 1996 MEATH (Walkover) 1997 LAOIS(w/o) 1998 LAOIS(w/o) UNDER 16 1990 LAOIS 1991 LAOIS 1992 DUBLIN MEATH WEXFORD(L) 1993 WEXFORD DUBLIN LAOIS(W) MAYO(W) KERRY(W) 1994 MEATH 1995 MEATH 1996 WESTMEATH 1997 DUBLIN 1998 KILDARE ROUND 1 LEINSTER S.F. LEINSTER FINAL ALL-REL. S.F. ALL-IRL.FINAL UNDER 14 1990 MAYO 1991 DUBLIN 1992 DUBLIN MEATH WEXFORD(L) 1993 WEXFORD DUBLIN LAOIS(W) KERRY MAYO(W) 1994 DUBLIN 1995 DUBLIN 1996 DUBLIN 1997 OFFALY rd.1 ¼ final CARLOW DUBLIN(L) 1998 WEXFORD UNDER 12 1998 LEINSTER BLITZ LOST TO CARLOW AND WESTMEATH BEAT WEXFORD B. National League 1988 1989 Won two games 1990 Won all five games; lost to Kerry in semi-final 1991 Lost all six games to Laois, Wexford, Westmeath, Waterford and Kerry. 1992 Division 2: Beat Carlow, Limerick, Cork and Laois B. Lost to Mayo, Dublin and Galway. 1993 Divisiion 2: Beat Galway, Limerick and Wexford. Lost to Dublin, Cork and Monaghan 1994 Division 2: Beat Roscommon, Limerick and Carlow. Lost to Wexford, Donegal lost ¼ final to Mayo. 1995 Division 2: Beat Westmeath. Lost to Meath, Louth, Donegal, Dublin and Roscommon. Relegated to Div.3 1996 Division 3: Beat Kildare, Offaly, Longford, Galway and Roscommon. Lost to Limerick. ¼ Final: gave walk-over to Leitrim. 1997 Division 3: Beat Kildare and Offaly. Lost to Dublin, Roscommon, Limerick and Galway. Gave walk-over to Longford. 1998 Division 3: Beat Kildare, Galway and Limerick. Lost to Dublin and Cork. Quarter final: Beat Down. Semi final: Lost to Dublin. 1999/2000 All Ireland B Championship 1992: Lost to Galway 1993: Beat Louth, lost to Clare. 1994: Lost to Clare. 1995: Lost to Dublin. 1996: Beat Fermanagh, lost to Down. Wicklow Ladies G.A.A. 1999 Six clubs took part in the competition, An Tochar, Blessington, Bray, Kilcoole, Greystones and Valleymount. Three teams took part in the senior championship. An Tochar beat Bray in the Final and took their 6th championship in a row. Bray had beaten Blessington in the Semi-Final. In the Leinster Intermediate Championship An Tochar beat Round Towers from Dublin and Kilmore from Wexford, to qualify for the Leinster Final. However Cooley from Louth proved much too strong and ran out convincing winners. Four teams Valleymount, Kilcoole, Greystones and An Tochar entered the junior championship with Valleymount taking their first title at the expense of Greystones. In the Leinster Club Junior Championship Confey, from Kildare came out on top. Bray Emmett’s won the senior league while Valleymount completed the double by capturing the Junior League. At underage level An Tochar completed an U-14 double claiming the Feile and championship titles. At the Feile in Limerick they lost out in the semi-final to eventual winners Lurgan from Cavan. In the under 16 championship Blessington defeated An Tochar in a very exciting Final. The under 18 championship was won by Bray Emmett’s. At school level competitions took place at primary and secondary levels. Moneystown won the I.N.T.O. G.A.A.MINI 7’s for the first time and at the Leinster Blitz in Wexford Kara Moran and Kellie fennel were chosen to play in Croke Park. St. Fergals from Bray won the Wicklow Times Shield. St. Bridget’s from Greystones won the Millennium Shield which was played on a league basis. In the final they defeated Roundwood. In the Secondary Schools Competitions Blessington Community College won the senior while Lorets College Bray won the minor. INTER COUNTY: This year each county team had a win in Leinster Championships. The Under-14’s had wins over Laois and Kildare and drew with Carlow. Their Final game against Wexford would determine which team would reach the Semi-Finals. In a close game Wexford came out on top. The Under-16’s had a good win over Carlow but lost to Laois in the Semi-Final. The Under-18’s beat Offaly but gave way to a strong Meath team in the Semi-final. The Junior team had a good win over Westmeath in their first game, but lost narrowly to Kildare in the Semi-Final. In the National League the team beat Limerick, drew with Carlow and lost to Cork, Kildare, Roscommon and Galway. Anne McGillycuddy played for Leinster and also received an All Star nomination. SPONSERSHIP: Wicklow County Council, Cosgrave Brothers, O’Kelly Jewellers, Bray and Lenihans, Bray sponsored various items of gear during the season. COUNTY BOARD: Cathal Friel was elected Chairperson, Paraic Corbett, Secretary: Dave Barry Treasurer: Bernie Byrne Registrar: Billy Burke P.R.O.: Margaret Allen was elected President of the Board. Cathal Friel retained his position of Provincial Secretary and National Fixtures Secretary. WICKLOW LADIES FOOTBALL 2000 This year 10 clubs took part in competitions within the County. An Tochar, Blessington, Bray Emmett’s, Carnew, Clara, Greystones, Kilbride, Kilcoole, St. Mary’s and Valleymount. For the first time since 1990 An Tochar failed to reach the senior Championship Final with the result that Bray Emmett’s and Blessington did battle for the title. Blessingtons’s haul of pure goals in the first half was to prove decisive and they held on to take their first ever Senior Title. In the Leinster Intermediate Championship, kilmacind Crokes from Dublin proved much too strong. In the League Final Bray won their 3rd title in a row with a win over Blessington. Seven teams entered the Junior Championship and in the Semi-Finals St. Mary’s defeated Greystones and Kilcoole defeated Clara. In the Final St. Mary’s triumphed again by a point but this time over Clara. In the Shield Final Valleymount beat Greystones. Seven teams entered the Junior Championship and in the Semi-Final St. Mary’s defeated Greystones and Kilcoole defeated Clara. In the final St. Mary’s held on to win by a point. In the League final St. Mary’s triumphed again by a point but this time over Clara. In the Shield Final Valleymount beat Greystones. UNDER AGE: U-14. In the Feile Blessington got the better of An Tochar in an exciting Final. Due to the fact that Feile was held in Dublin. An Tochar were asked to host a team and won their section to qualify for a Quarter- Final game with their Wicklow conquerors Blessington. In a thrilling game the An Tochar girls held on for a narrow victory. In the semi-final they met Lurgan from Cavan and as in 1999 the Cavan girls came out on top again. In the championship Bray Emmett’s had a good win over An Tochar to record their second at this level. The U-16 and U-18 competitions did not take place. SCHOOLS PRIMARY: Four competitions were run at this level with Roundwood proving to be very strong as they won the O’Kelly Cup, Wicklow Times Shield and the I.N.T.O – G.A.A MINI 7’s. At the Leinster Blitz Aorte Kavanagh was chosen to play in Croke Park. In the Millennium Shield League St. Bridget’s, Greystones beat Roundwood for the second year in a row. At Secondary level Blessington Community College and Lovet’s College Bray retained the Senior and Minor Competitions respectively. INTER COUNTY: The Junior team beat Laois B and Tipperary in the National League but lost to Carlow, Limerick and Roscommon. In the Leinster Championship they got a Walkover from Longford in round 1, but lost to Laois in the second round. Anne McGillycuddy played for Leinster once again and starred for U.C.D. in third level competitions. The U-16 and 18’s were beaten by Wexford and Carlow in their first round matches. The U-14 team had a very successful year and finished the season with Silver Medals at the All-Ireland Blitz in Mullingar. In the Leinster Championship they beat Carlow and lost narrowly to Laois, Wexford and Kildare in the Leinster Blitz they lost out in the Semi-Final to Meath after a penalty Shoot-Out. At the All-Ireland Blitz wins over Offaly and Down a hard earned victory led to a Final against Cavan who had won our group in phase one. After a very exciting and close game played in appalling conditions, Cavan held on to win by a few points. COUNTY BOARD: All Officers retained their positions from 1999 with Cathal Friel Chairperson, Paraic Corbett, Secretary: Dave Barry Treasurer: Bernie Byrne Registrar and Margaret Allen as President. Cathal also retained his position as Leinster Secretary and National Fixtures Secretary. One of the saddest days in Ladies’ Football occurred in July when a young Bray Emmets player Alison Davis was found dead at her home. The previous week she had played for the County Junior Team against Laois in the Leinster Championship. As well as playing she also took part in coaching and had spent three weeks helping at her clubs. Summer Camp. An U-12 Blitz in her honour will be held each year to remember her. 2001/2003 WICKLOW LADIES G.A.A 2001 This year ten clubs took part in competitions again this year with Baltinglass replacing St. Mary’s. All competitions within the County were completed but the minor and Junior teams did not take part in their respective Leinster Championships. CLUB: Once again three teams took part in the championship. Blessington won their two round robin games to qualify for their second Final. In the Semi-Final Bray Emmets scored a one-point win over An Tochar to qualify for their fourth successive Final. As in 2000 Blessington had a good start and won their second final in a row. In the Leinster Club Championship they beat St. Mark’s from Dublin in the first round after extra-time. In the Semi-Final Sarsfields from Laois qualified for the Final after extra time. JUNIOR: Eight teams entered this championship Baltinglass, Blessington B, Carnew, Kilcoole, Killbride, Greystones and Valleymount. In the Semi-Finals Carnew beat Valleymount and Baltinglass beat Kilcoole. In the Final Carnew’s greater experience helped them win their 2nd Championship at this level. In the Leinster Championship Grange from Kildare proved too strong and went on to win the Leinster Championship. LEAGUES: This year an All County League was set up with all teams participating. The top five teams would make up Division One and the other five would make up Division Two. Bray, An Tochar, Clara, Carnew and Blessington were in Division One and in the Final Blessington beat Bray after extra-time. In the Division Two Final Kilcoole won their first ever title with a good win over Valleymount. UNDER AGE: U-12 An under-12 Blitz for the Alison Davis Memorial Trophy was played in Bray with Greystones coming out on top. U-14: An Tochar captured the competitions at this level, the Kilbride Tournament, the Feile and the Championship. Six clubs took part in all three competitions. An Tochar, Blessington, Bray, Kilbride, Greystones and Valleymount. In the All-Ireland Feile held in Tipperary An Tochar won one game but failed to make the play-offs. U-16 Four teams took part in this competition which was run on a Blitz basis. In the Championship Final An Tochar defeated Blessington and in the Shield Final Bray got the better of Kilbride. U-!8: This competition was also run on a Blitz basis with six teams taking part. Bray beat Blessington in the Championship Final while Carnew beat Kilcoole-Greystones in the Shield Final. SCHOOLS: Three competitions took place at Primary level. Roundwood won the I.N.T.O.-G.A.A. Mini 7’s and at the Leinster Blitz, Suzanne O’Gorman and Therese Molloy were chosen to play in Croke Park. The Wicklow Times Shield was won by Valleymount and St. Bridget’s, Greystones won the Millennium Shield. Twelve girls played in Croke park on the day of the Kildare-Meath Men’s Leinster Championship game. SECONDARY; Loreto College Bra won the Senior competition while Scoil Chorglasis from Baltinglass won the minor competition after a replay with Loreto College, Bray. INTER-COUNTY: Junior. The appointment of a new coach at the beginning of the season seemed t bode well for the season and with good numbers at training things looked promising. A number of heavy defeats in the National League numbers at training began to get smaller and when two walk-overs were given things began to look black. The panel didn’t get together for the Championship and 3 walk-overs were given. UNDER 18: This team did not take part in their Championship as sufficient numbers could not be raised on the day. UNDER 16: This team had a very good run in the Leinster Championship beating Carlow and Wexford, losing to Kildare and Laois. UNDER 14: This team participated in the Leinster Championship and blitz and the All-Ireland blitz. In the Championship a win over Carlow was followed by defeats to Laois, Wexford and Kildare. In the Leinster Blitz the team had a win and 2 losses but failed to win any game at the All-Ireland Blitz in Mullingar. COUNTY BOARD: Paraic Corbett took over as chairperson Oliver Leonard vice – chairperson; Bernie Byrne as secretary; Margaret Allen as assistant secretary; Dave Barry as treasurer and Louise Allen took over as registrar. SPONSORSHIP: Pat Casey from the Glendalough Hotel sponsored the team for the next three years. Wicklow County Council once again provided a grant from their Community Grant Scheme. WICKLOW LADIES G.A.A. 2002 2002 was a very successful year for both Club and County teams. The under-14 team won the Leinster “B” Championship and the junior team lost to eventual winners, Kildare in the Leinster Semi-Final. At club level An Tochar won their eight county championship and also reached the Leinster final at this grade. Bray Emmets won both the U-14 and U-16 Championships. COUNTY TEAMS: Underage: Under 12: The Under 12 team played in the Leinster Blitz in Carlow and reached the Semi-Final where Dublin proved too strong. UNDER 14: The team proved to our most successful as they reached the Leinster “B” Final with victories in the League section over Offaly, Louth, Westmeath, Carlow and Longford. In the Final they played Longford again as they finished second. In a very exciting game played in Mountmellick, Wicklow came out on top by 4 – 9 to 3 – 6 with Lizze Brophy winning the player of the match award. In the “A” quarter-final Meath proved too strong. UNDER 16: This team did well in the Leinster Championship but one and two point defeats to Westmeath and Carlow prevented them reaching their final. The Minor team put up a good display before going out to Kildare by 2 points. JUNIOR: In the Leinster Championship a win over Wexford and losses to Laois and Carlow looked to have sealed the teams fate, but other results led to a 3 way play-off to find the second team in the group. In the play-offs the team ran into a rich vein of form and had good wins over Wexford and Carlow to set up a Semi-Final joust with champions Kildare. In a very close game the teams were level at half-time and after 13 minutes of the 2nd half the teams still could’nt be parted. A Kildare goal lifted their spirits and they held on for a narrow win. CLUB COMPETITIONS: Underage: Bray Emmets took booth the U-14 and U-16 Championships with good wins over Eire Og and An Tochar. At U-14, Eire Og won the Feile and represented Wicklow at the All-Ireland Feile in Carlow. ADULT: Senior: Four teams took part in this Championship. Blessington defeated Bray Emmets in one semi-final while An Tochar defeated Carnew in the second semi-final. The Final proved to be a high scoring game with the result in doubt right up to the end. With only 2 minutes left An Tochar led by 1 point and a point by “Player of the Match” Jackie Power ensured their eight Senior Title. In the Leinster Championship Naomh Mearnog from Dublin got the better of An Tochar by 3 points. JUNIOR: Six teams entered this competition with Clara and Valleymount reading the Final. Three goals from Lizze Brophy led Valleymount to their second title. She also picked up the “Player of the Match” award. The team then marched through Leinster to a final meeting with Lucan Sarsfields of Dublin. The Dublin sides greater experience saw them through on the day. In the County Leagues Valleymount took the Junior Title, Bray the Senior League and Blessington the All County title. COUNTY BOARD: Paraic Corbett ( An Tochar) was elected Chairperson, Les Reddy (Kilbride) Secretary, Dave Barry (Bray), Treasurer. Niamh Ryan (Bray) took over as P.R.O. The Glendalough Hotel continued to sponsor the all County Teams. WICKLOW LADIES G. A. A. 2003 Ladies football continued to grow within the county again this year and the formation of new clubs both at adult and under age levels bodes well for the future. The Junior county team reached their 2nd successive Leinster Semi-Final and also reached the League Quarter-Finals. In domestic competition the adult championships were won by newcomers and Bray Emmets showed the way at Under-age level winning all 3 championships U-14, 16 and 18. INTER COUNTY: Junior: A new coach, Dominic Leech took over the junior squad and proceeded to have a very successful first in the season in charge. The team took pat in the League and after a play-off with Offaly reached the Quarter-finals. A strong Derry team ran out winners on the day. The team then focussed on the Leinster Championship. As in 2002 the team had to face a play-off against Wexford and once again came out on top. A repeat of the 2002 Semi-Final against Kildare now loomed and once again Kildare came out on top and went on to be runners up in the All Ireland. UNDER AGE: U-12 The under 12 County Team took part in two Leinster Blitzes in Carlow and played well in both. U-14 & 16: The under-14 team beat Offaly and Longford but failed to reach the final. The under-16 team had good wins over Westmeath, Louth and Carlow, lost to Offaly and needed to beat Longford to qualify for the final. Injuries and the non-availability of some players weakened the team on the day and Longford held on for a narrow victory and a place in the Final. The Minor team lost heavily to a strong Meath team in their Championship. CLUB COMPETITION: Underage: U-12 Four clubs, An Tochar, Bray Emmets, Eire Og and Fergal Ogs played Blitzes on their own grounds where all players played all the games. UNDER- 14: 8 teams entered, An Tochar, Bray Emmets, Carnew, Eire Og, Fergal Ogs, Dunlavin, Kilbride and Valleymount. The teams played a League and the top 4 teams played for the “B” championship. Bray and Carnew emerged to play the “A” Final with Bray coming out on top with a four goal second-half salvo from Aine O’Gorman. In the “B” Final Eire Og beat Dunlavin. In the Feile Bray beat Valleymount to win their first Feile title and represented Wicklow in the All Ireland event in Mayo though based in Clonbur Co. Galway. They had a great weekend but lost to eventual winners Greycastle in their group game. UNDER -16: Five teams entered this championship with Bray and An Tochar reaching the Final. The Final was played under lights and proved to be a very exciting game with nothing between the sides. Bray scored a last minute point to earn a draw. The replay didn’t quite match the first game and early goals from Bray sealed the issue in their favour. Nicole Fitzgerald from An Tochar was voted player of the Match. UNDER – 18: This competition was played on a Blitz basis with championship and Shield Finals. In the championship Final Bray Emmets got the better of Blessington by 8 points to 3 points. In the Shield Final An Tochar beat Carnew by 2 points. SENIOR: Five teams entered, An Tochar Bray, Carnew, Blessington and Valleymount. Bray and Blessington qualified to meet in their 3rd Final in four years. At the interval Blessington were 7 points up and looked in a very strong position. Bray however had other ideas and a storming second half performance saw them win by 7 points to claim their first senior title after four previous Final defeats. In the Leinster Championship they lost narrowly to the Laois champions. Ciara O’Hagan was chosen as “Player of the Match” in the County Final. JUNIOR: Eight teams entered this competition. Kilbride and Clara reached the Final and Kilbride won their first ever Championship. It was Clara’s second defeat in a row at this stage. Jean Duffy from Kilbride was chosen as “Player of the Match”. In the Leinster competition Fingallians from Dublin proved too strong. LEAGUES: Bray added the Senior League to their championship, Kilbride did likewise while new club, Arklow Geraldines/Ballymoney beat Eire Og to take the junior Shield. SCHOOLS: Primary: Valleymount won their 2nd Mini 7’s in a row and Catherine Kavanagh was chosen to play in Croke Park. St Fergal’s from Bray won the Corn na Milaoise and The Wicklow Times Shield while St. Bridget’s, Greystones won the O’Kelly Cup. Secondary: Colaiste Bride, Carnew won both the Minor and Senior competitions at this level beating Lovett’s College Bray, and Avondale Community Schools. COUNTY BOARD: Paraic Corbett remained as Chairperson, Ronan Mathew (Bray) took over as Secretary, Louise and Margaret Allen took the Treasurers job. The Glendalough Hotel continued to sponsor All County teams and Wicklow County Council provided a grant under their Community Grants Scheme. PLAYERS Bridget Dreelan (5) -Coolkenno age 26 Quality Control Inspector. A hard working and dependable defender. Won County Championship in 19989 and 1990 and County League in 1989. Member of Leinster Panel 1990. Bridget has also played inter-county camogie. Her many sporting interests include Squash, Badminton, Bowling and Basketball. Caroline Gregan (6) – Coolboy age 20 Shop Assistant. Play’s Centre half Back and is a vital member of Wicklow’s defence. Member of the Leinster panel 1990. Won County Championship in 1988. Also won Junior Soccer League, Junior Camogie N&C Schools championship. Other hobbies, Squash, Cycling, Horse riding and Music. Sandra Hayes (7) – Coolkenno age 22 A player of great fitness and speed. Member of the County Team for the past 3 years. She has played Camogie for Scoil Chonglass – Baltinglass, and Kiltegan. Played for Kiltegan in 1988 and 1989. Won County Championship in 1990. She also is Co. Treasurer of the County Board. Mary Mulhall (8) – Coolkenno age 25 Bank Official. A player with all the skills of the game. First Wicklow lady to play for Leinster. Her delivery against Clare was a treat to watch. Won County Championships in 1989 an 1990. Also County League in 1989. Other interests include Soccer, Volleyball and Hockey. She has won All-Ireland College titles in all three. Marie Goss (12) – Coolkenno age 19 Occupation Clerk. A very competitive player with great fitness. Football honours include County Championship’s 1989 and 1990. County League 1989. Leinster championship 1990. Member of the Leinster Panel 1990. Marie has also played inter-county camogie. Hobbies: Basketball, jogging, disco dancing. Kathleen O’Neill (14) – Coolboy age 34 Founder Chairperson of the Wicklow Board. A clever full forward who links well with her team mates and has a keen eye for openings. Honours: County Championship 1988, Leinster Championship 1990. Played camogie for 21 years. Won Leinster championship in 1978. Won Inter-provincial 1979. Inter-county referee for 6 year’s. A very dedicated player. Bernadette Byrne (1) – An Tochar Married with three children. Camogie star for Rathdrum V.S. Won Junior and Senior medals with them and their captain in 1974 and 1975. Bernadette also has a keen interest in soccer. Her first year on County team. Her saves against Offaly in the Leinster Final will be long remembered. Jackie Magee (2) – An Tochar age 20 Playing football for only two year’s. She made her Inter-county debut this year. Played camogie for Rathdrum Voc.School, Avondale Club, and for Wicklow at Under 14 and Minor. Other interests include soccer and horse riding. One of the players Wicklow will be looking to with hopes for the future. Bernadette Barry (24) – Baltinglass age 21 First year playing football, a young defender with a great future. Her many hobbies include basketball, jogging, cycling, and walking. Paula McDonald (13) – Cookenno age 16 A star under-age player. She is a valuable member of the panel and a player around whom a team for the future will be built. Won County Championships in 1989 and 1990. Won League in 1989. Other interests include camogie, she was captain of the Knockananna team which won the Championship Shield and League in 1989. She also played camogie for Wicklow at Under-14, Under-16 and Junior. Nuala Dagg (21) – Coolkenno age 21 Occupation Bank Assistant. Nuala has been a member of Coolkenno and Wicklow’s team’s since both were formed. A whole hearted defender with a great will to win. Honours County championship 1989, 1990. County league in 1989. Her other interests include badminton and she won the South West Leinster League in 1989. Playing camogie she won 3 county N.E.C. medals with Carnew. (She also has Leinster 1990 Football). Audrey Carroll (3) – Coolkenno age 21 Fullback. Height 5 -10. Bank Assistant. A fine fielder, she had an outstanding game in the Semi-Final where her anticipation and reading of play, played a major part in Wicklow’s surprise victory. Her honours include County Championship in 1989 and 1990. County league 1989. In club Runai’s was Club Captain in 1989. Member of the Leinster Panel in 1990. Mary Doran (4) – Coolboy age 21 Mary is a regular member of the full back line for the past three year’s and rarely allows her opponents to score. Wicklow Captain in 1989. Won County Championship with Coolboy in 1988. Member of the Leinster Panel 1990. Mary has also won soccer and camogie championships. Hobbies squash. Cycling, music and drawing. Mary O’Keefe (9) – Baltinglass age 23 Teacher. Founder member of Baltinglass Club. Secretary and Captain of her Club this year. A high fielder and hard working midfield player. Mary has also played Gaelic and soccer for St. Patrick’s College Drumcondra. Her many interests include squash, cycling, walking, films and music. Bernie Fogarty (15) – Baltinglass age 21 A player of great fitness and speed who is equally at home in the back’s or forwards. She is a founder member of the Baltinglass club. She also has given great service to the Kiltegan Club. Her many hobbies include, films, disco dancing, stamp collecting. Elaine Murphy (10) – Coolboy age 15 Student. A player of great fitness and speed who has claimed a place on the Wicklow team in this he first year playing football. She also plays camogie, soccer, and basketball for her school. She has a bright future in the game. Theresa Mannering (17) – Cookenno age 31 Housewife. Super Sub. Scored the winning goal in the Leinster Final. Honours include County Championship 1989 and 1990. County league 1989. Leinster championship 1990. Member of the County team for the past 3 year’s. Hobbies include walking, cycling and basketball. Colette Doyle (16) – Cookenno – age 35 Housewife. Founder member of Coolkenno Club. Member of County team since 1988. Honours include County Championship 1989 and 1990. County league 1989. Leinster Championship 1990. She is actively involved in club administration and is Club Captain this year. Hobbies, walking and swimming. Anne Fitzpatrick (18) – Coolboy age 23 A whole hearted, versatile player. She is a member of the Wicklow Panel since 1988. Honours include County Championship 1988. Leinster Championship 1990. Two County Championship Shield’s. She has also run in three Mini- Marathons. Theresa Ellen Kavanagh (19) – An Tochar age 23 Shop Assistant. A new corner t the County Panel and a player of vast potential. Play’s her Club Football at mid-field. Honours, Leinster Championship 1990. Theresa has won many honours at badminton and is interested in all sports. Margaret Nolan (20) – Coolboy age 29 Assistant Accountant. A player of great fighting spirit. A member of the Wicklow Panel since 1988. Won County Championship 1988. Leinster championship 1990. U-16 Leinster Championship 1975. Margaret has won many honours at badminton which include All Ireland College’s 1981. County Kilkenny singles 1979 and 1980. County Wicklow Grade 11 Singles 1990 and many more leagues. She also play’s squash, Pitch and Putt, and has ran in two Mini-Marathons. Antoinette McCormack (23) – Baltinglass age 24 Occupation machinist. A new comer to the County Panel. A young goalkeeper with a great future. Won Leinster Championship 1990. Hobbies, karate, cycling, squash, basketball and swimming. Caroline Carty (11) – Cookenno (Captain) age 18 Caroline is a Captain who leads by example and is inspiration t her colleagues. She can play in any position on the field. She has played for Wicklow for the past three year’s. Honours to date include County championship in 1989 and 1990. County league in 1989. Player of the Match in 1989 Final. A product of Tullow community, where she was sport’s captain and Sports Woman of the Year in 1988. Hobbies camogie, basketball, swimming, gymnastics and athletics. Anne Murphy (22) – Coolkenno age 27 Occupation Quality Control Inspector. A nifty forward who can take her score. This is her first year playing football and she has won a County Championship and a Leinster Championship. Hobbies badminton, squash and walking. WICKLOW B Ni Bhrion (1) Bernadette Byrne An Tochar S Ni Mhagee (2) Jackie Magee An Tochar A Ni Chearuill (3) Audery Carrol Colcannon M Ni Dheorain (4) Mary Doran Coolboy B Ni Dhraoileain (5) Bridget Dreelan Coolkenno C Ni Graigain (6) Caroline Gregan S Ni Aodha (7) Sandra Hayes Coolkenno M Ni Mhaolchatail (8) Mary Mulhall Coolkenno M Claoimh (9) Mary O’Keefe Baltinglass E Ni Mhurchu (10) Elaine Murphy Coolboy C Ni Charthaigh (11) Caroline Carthy(Capt.) Coolkenno M Ni Ghoss (12) Marie Goss Coolkenno P Nil Dhonaill (13) Paula McDonald Coolkenno C Ni Neill (14) Kathleen O’Neill Coolboy B Ni Fhogartaigh (15) Bernie Fogarty Baltinglass Fir Ionaid: (16) Colette Doyle, Coolkenno. (17) Theresa Mannering, Coolkenno, (18) Ann Fitzpatrick, Coolboy (19) Theresa Ellen Kavanagh An Tochar (20) Margaret Nolan Coolboy, (21) Nuala Dagg Coolkenno, (22) Ann Murphy Coolkenno (23) Antoinette McCormack Baltinglass, (24) Bernadette Barry Baltinglass. AN TOCHAR LADIES G.A.A. CLUB ROUNDWOOD CO. WICKLOW An Tochar Ladies G.A.A. Club was formed in May 1989. Prior to that date Gaelic football was played in the Parish since 1987. It was played by girls from the local National School taking part in both the I.N.T.O G.A.A. skills competition and the community Games. As the girls became over age for the Community Games it was decided to set up a club to cater for both these girls and any ladies in the area who wished to take up the sport. A meeting was held on May 16th 1989 and the Ladies Club was formed. Eithne Kavanagh was elected chairperson, Paraic Corbett, Secretary and Lucy Molloy was elected Treasurer. Christopher Brady was appointed trainer/coach and the ladies of An Tochar were up and playing. During the 1989 season nine games were played, with eight being lost and victory being secured in a friendly against a Wexford team. In 1990 Margaret Murphy was elected chairperson, Paraic Corbett and Lucy Molloy retained their positions as Secretary and treasurer respectively. Paraic Corbett also became coach/trainer in 1990. The team played 15 games this year winning eight and losing seven. Two of these victories were in tournament Finals. In 1991 Eithne Kavanagh took over the chairperson once again and Paraic Corbett and Lucy Molloy retained their positions. On the playing front 1991 certainly turned out to be an outstanding year. In April the County 7 a-side title was won by Shillelagh. On Friday 9th August the team beat Coolboy in the County Final to win their first ever County Championship. This great win was followed on October 20th by victory in the League Final against Coolkenno in Tinahely. In the Leinster Club Semi-Final the team had to give way to a stronger Robert Emmets team from Dublin and they also took part in the All Ireland 7 a side competition for the first time losing to St. Fintan’s from Wexford in the Shield semi-final. Since 1990 the Club has supplied a number of players to the County Teams both at Junior and Senior levels. Bernie Byrne, Jackie Magee and Theresa Kavanagh were part of the Wicklow Junior team that won the All Ireland title in 1990. At the 1992 A.G.M. Jackie Magee was elected Chairperson, Paraic Corbett continued as Secretary and Ann Marah was elected Treasurer. A number of Club members have also served on the County Board. Bernie Byrne is currently County Secretary, Anne Gaskin is Assistant Secretary to Paraic Corbett is Youth Development Officer, while Jackie Magee is P.R.O a position shared with Lucy Molloy in 1991. Underage: Club At under-age level the club has had its share of successes. In 1989 and 1991 the school team have been County Champions and have had 5 girls selected to play in Croke Park through the I.N.T.O./G.A.A Skills competition. Mary Brady, Susan Gaskin, Michelle Fee, Anne McGillycuddy and Bridget Brady were the girls chosen. At Community games level the team were Leinster Champions in 1990 and went on to claim the Bronze Medal at the All Ireland Finals in Mosney. The Club have also taken part in both the Dublin U-14 &U-16 Leagues winning the U-16 title in 1991. Since 1991 eleven girls were part of the U-14 panel that won both the Leinster Blitz in Portlaoise and the All Ireland title in Tullamore, beating Laois and mayo respectively in both Finals. COUNTY UNDER-AGE The first Wicklow Under-age team to take the field were the U-16’s of 1990 made up of players from An Tochar and Dunlavin. They lost narrowly to a good Laois team. An U-14 team also took part in the All Ireland Blitz losing a place in the semi-finals on point’s difference. In 1991 the first minor team represented the County. They played Laois in the Leinster Championship and lost their more experienced opponents. The U-16 team also lost to Laois and as already stated the U-14 team won both the Leinster Blitz and the All Ireland competition. The minor team was made up of players from An Tochar, Dunlavin, Coolboy and Coolkenno . The U-14 and U-16 teams were made up of players from An Tochar, Dunlavin and Wicklow Town. At Secondary School level St. Kevin’s Dunlavin took part in the Leinster competition in 1991 gaining a walk-over from Wexford but losing to Presentation, Portlaoise in the second round. At the time of writing underage football is also being played in Carnew and Tinahely and the future of the girls and ladies Gaelic football in Wicklow is getting stronger by the month. WICKLOW LADIES G.A.A. RESULTS 1988 – 2003 SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP JACOB CUP 1988 COOLBOY COOLKENNO 1989 COOLKENNO COOLBOY 1990 COOLKENNO COOLBOY 1991 AN TOCHAR COOLBOY 1992 COOLBOY AN TOCHAR 1993 DUNLAVIN AN TOCHAR 1994 AN TOCHAR DUNLAVIN 1995 AN TOCHAR DUNLAVIN 1996 AN TOCHAR COOLBOY/DUNLAVIN 1997 AN TOCHAR COOLBOY/ DUNLAVIN 1998 AN TOCHAR BRAY EMMETS 1999 AN TOCHAR BRAY EMMETS 2000 BLESSINGTON BRAY EMMETS 2001 BLESSINGTON BRAY EMMETS 2002 AN TOCHAR BLESSINGTON 2003 BRAY EMMETS BLESSINGTON SENIOR LEAGUE KATIE LOWE CUP 1989 COOLKENN0 KILTEGAN 1990 COOLKENN0 BALTINGLASS 1991 AN TOCHAR COOLKENNON 1992 DUNLAVIN COOLBOY 1993 COOLBOY DUNLAVIN 1994 DUNLAVIN COOLBOY 1995 NOT PLAYED / 1996 NOT PLAYED / 1997 AN TOCHAR BLESSINGTON 1998 BRAY EMMETS BLESSINGTON 1999 BRAY EMMETS AN TOCHAR 2000 BLESSINGTON BLESSINGTON 2001 BLESSINGTON BRAY EMMETS 2002 BRAY EMMETS BLESSINGTON 2003 BRAY EMMETS BLESSINGTON ALL COUNTY LEAGUE 2002 BLESSINGTON AN TOCHAR COUNTY 7’S 1991 AN TOCHAR 1992 COOLBOY 1993 AN TOCHAR JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP KATHLEEN O’NEILL CUP 1993 COOLKENN0 BRAY EMMETS 1994 BRAY EMMETS KNOCKANANNA 1995 CARNEW COOLKENN0 1996 COOLKENN0 CARNEW 1997 BRAY EMMETS CARNEW 1998 BLESSINGTON KILMACANOGUE 1999 VALLEYMOUNT EIRE OG 2000 ST. MARY’S KILCOOLE 2001 CARNEW BALTINGLASS 2002 VALLEYMOUNT CLARA 2003 KILLBRIDE CLARA JUNIOR LEAGUE DUNLAVIN LADIES G.A.A.CUP 1995 BLESSINGTON KNOCKANANNA 1996 KILMACANOGUE BLESSINGTON 1997 BRAY EMMETS KILMACANOGUE 1998 CARNEW KILMACANOGUE 1999 VALLEYMOUNT KILCOOLE 2000 ST. MARY’S CLARA 2001 KILCOOLE VALLEYMOUNT 2002 KILBRIDE VALLEYMOUNT 2003 KILBRIDE CLARA JUNIOR SHIELD 2003 ARKLOW GERALDINES/BALLYMONEY EIRE OG NOVICE LEAGUE 1998 AN TOCHAR EIRE OG 1999 VALLEYMOUNT EIRE OG UNDERAGE 1992 AN TOCHAR CARNEW 1993 NOT PLAYED 1994 AN TOCHAR CARNEW 1995 AN TOCHAR BRAY 1996 BLESSINGTON 1997 BRAY EMMETS BALLYMANUS 1998 AN TOCHAR BLESSINGTON 1999 AN TOCHAR BLESSINGTON 2000 BRAY EMMETS AN TOCHAR 2001 AN TOCHAR BLESSINGTON 2002 BRAY EMMETS EIRE OG 2003 BRAY EMMETS CARNEW UNDER 14 SHIELD 1994 FERGAL OG RATHNEW 1995 BLESSINGTON FERGAL OG 1996 BRAY EMMETS DUNLAVIN 1997 AN TOCHAR KILMACANOGUE 1998 KILMNCANOGUE CARNEW 1999 NOT PLAYED / 2000 BLESSINGTON KILBRIDE 2001 – – 2002 – – 2003 EIRE OG DUNLAVIN UNDER – 14 FEILE 1995 AN TOCHAR BRAY EMMETS 1996 BLESSINGTON BRAY EMMETS 1997 BLESSINGTON KILMACANOGUE 1998 AN TOCHAR BLESSINGTON 1999 AN TOCHAR BLESSINGTON 2000 BLESSINGTON KILBRIDE 2001 AN TOCHAR BLESSINGTON 2002 EIRE OG AN TOCHAR 2003 BRAY EMMETS VALLEYMOUNT UNDER – 16 CHAMPIONSHIP 1994 CARNEW AN TOCHAR 1995 AN TOCHAR CARNEW 1996 BLESSINGTON AN TOCHAR 1997 BLESSINGTON BRAY EMMETS 1998 BLESSINGTON BRAY EMMETS 1999 BLESSINGTON AN TOCHAR 2000 NOT PLAYED 2001 AN TOCHAR BLESSINGTON 2002 BRAY EMMETS AN TOCHAR 2003 BRAY EMMETS AN TOCHAR (AFTER REPLAY) UNDER 16 SHIELD 1994 BLESSINGTON RATHNEW 1995 NOT PLAYED 1996 BRAY EMMETS CARNEW 1997 NOT PLAYED 1998 NOT PLAYED 1999 NOT PLAYED 2000 NOT PLAYED 2001 BRAY KILDARE 2002 2003 2004 UNDER 18 CHAMPIONSHIP 1997 BLESSINGTON AN TOCHAR 1998 BLESSINGTON BRAY EMMETS 1999 BRAY AN TOCHAR 2000 NOT PLAYED 2001 BRAY BLESSINGTON 2002 NOT PLAYED 2003 BRAY BLESSINGTON 2004 LEINSTER CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS SENIOR 1991 AN TOCHAR lost to ROBERT EMMETS(DUBLIN 1992 COOLBOY lost to ROCHFORTBRIDGE (WM) 1993 DUNLAVIN bt EADSTOWN (KILDARE)1ST TO CRETTYFORD(LAOIS) 1994 AN TOCHAR bt DUNSANY (MH) OLD LEIGHLIN (CW) lost to ROCHFORDBRIDGE 1995 AN TOCHAR bt COOLEY (LH)PORTOBELLO (DN) lost to SHALIMARS (WX) 1996 AN TOCHAR bt TIMAHOE (LS) lost to SHALIMARS (WX) 1997 AN TOCHAR lost to PORTOBELLO (DN) 1998 AN TOCHAR lost to SHALIMARS (WX) INTERMEDIATE 1999 AN TOCHAR bt ROBERT EMMETS(DN) KILMORE (WX) lost to COOLBOY (LH) 2000 BLESSINGTON lost to KILMAIND CROKES (DN) 2001 BLESSINGTON bt ST. MARKS (DN) 1ST TO SARSFIELDS (LS) JUNIOR 1996 COOLKENNO lost to ST.KEVIN’S (LH) 1997 BRAY EMMETS lost to CROGHAN (OFF) 1998 BLESSINGTON bt TAGHMON (WX) RATHCLINE (Longford) lost to COOLEY (LH) 1999 VALLEYMOUNT lost to CONFEY (KE) 2000 ST. MARY’S lost to GRANGE (KILDARE) 2001 CARNEW lost to GRANGE (KILDARE) Wicklow 2004 Ladies football in Wicklow continued to grow this year with an increased number of clubs, a packed fixtures list at adult level and an expanded juvenile program. This was down to the efforts of the County Board, in particular Ronan Matthews and Dominic Leech, and individuals in each club across the county who continue to promote the game and foster the development of teams in their area. Overall 2004 was a relatively successful year for ladies football in the county; although thee is certainly scope for improvement, much important groundwork was done this year. Juvenile Most of the juvenile competitions are ongoing at the time of writing with finals due to be played in October and November. As usual, leagues and championships were held at Under 14 and Under 16 grades, and a minor championship also. A hugely encouraging aspect of the juvenile program this year was the continued expansion of the game at Under 12 and Under 10 level. Competitions in these age groups were held in blitz format, with seven, nine or eleven a side teams. The club broke into groups and played one-day blitzes within their group, and later in other parts of the county as well. This ensured that every child got plenty of game-time, with an emphasis on learning the game and enjoyment rather than competition. The blitzes were held many times all over the county, with encouragingly large turnouts at each one. One of the highlights of the year was the performance of Carnew Emmets as Wicklow’s representatives at Feile Peil na nOg in Tyrone in June. Carnew defeated a young Dunlavin side in the Wicklow Feile final to qualify and subsequently brought great honour to the county with their performance in Tyrone. They reached their divisional final and were extremely unlucky to be beaten by a single point after extra time by Cahir of Tipperary. The game was declared one of the best of the entire Feile, with highlights shown on ITV and TG4. Adult Competitions 2004 saw the expansion of the adult competitions to include three new clubs – Newtown, Donard, Glen and Shillelagh, bringing the total to 14. The three clubs found the going tough but have improved significantly over the season and can look to other recent debutants Baltinglass and Arklow, Geraldines/Ballymoney for inspiration in 2005. Neither of the two league divisions are yet finished but as they near the end both are extremely tight. In the junior league, Arklow, Clara, Kilcoole and Eire Og are all in contention for the top honours, while all is not lost for Baltinglass, Donard, Newtown and Shillelagh, as they will compete for the Anne McGillicuddy Cup. The senior league has reached the play off stages, with Bray Emmets, Blessington and Kilbride fighting it out for the trophy. Bray will be hoping to retain the title that they have held for four of the last six years, while Blessington will be eager to avenge their championship defeat. Kilbride have made excellent progress in the first year at the higher grade and cannot be written off. As always, the centrepiece of the season was the championship finals day, held this year in Arklow on the 8th August. Clara, veterans of two previous finals, faced this year’s star performers Arklow in the junior final for the Kathleen O’Neill trophy. Clara has had the tougher path to the final, with victories over Kilbride and Kilcoole to their credit – Arklow’s emphatic defeat of Eire Og in their semi final underlined their impressive credentials coming into the match. In the event it went to form, with Arklow overcoming a strong early challenge from Clara to eventually take it by 4-7 to 2-3. Arklow’s 15 year old corner forward Liz Fahy was one of their stars, and with Brenda Halligan and Tina Byrne marshalling the defence, they were always in control. Maria Hogan contributed an impressive 2-1 to the Clara cause but it was not to be – in the second half, Arklow stepped up a gear and the Clara ladies were left behind. Capping a fine day for the town team, their influential midfielder Mary Mordaunt was chosen as player of the match. While the junior final had promised a new winner, the senior decider was a meeting of two old rivals and the dominant forces in Wicklow football in recent years. Bray Emmets had contested 5 finals since 1998 and Blessington 4. Blessington were the victors in their first two final meetings in 2000 and 2001, but in 2003 Bray finally defeated the westerners to capture their first senior final. Of the two sides, Bray had a slightly easier path to the final, a good win over Kilbride and another in the semi final, although the scoreline did not reflect accurately An Tochar’s performance. Blessington had a facile victory over Val;leymount, which did not prepare them for the challenge of Carnew in the semi final. It took two matches and extra time to separate them, and these were two of the most exciting games seen anywhere in Wicklow this year. And so to the final. Bray started the better of the two sides and owned the ball for much of the opening quarter, but with Blessington deploying a forward as an extra sweeper, the eastern side were finding it difficult to translate possession into scores. The teams traded points early on until Bray finally began to settle – a couple of positional switches and a re-adjustment of tactics saw them gain the upper hands. Leading by 1-7 to 0-3 at the break, they came out for the second half with a confident air and soon had the match sown up. Blessington had their chances but despite the best efforts of Jessica Carroll, Nadina Murphy and goalkeeper Emer Miley, they just could not compete with Bray’s free-flowing football and free-running youngsters. Best for the victors were player of the match, Catherine Corbett, who contributed 1-3 in a classy display, full back Aoife Heffernan and wing forward Mikaela Shelley. In the Leinster club championships, Arklow were beaten by Clongeen of Wexford in the junior and intermediate Bray Emmets had a good win over Geraldine O’Hanrahans (Wexford), but lost to Kildare side Sarsfield in the semi final. 2004 saw the launch of a new competition, the Alison Davis 7-a-side tournament. This was inaugurated and hosted by Bray Emmets, and fittingly the home side finished the day with the title while Clara took home the Shield. County teams Wicklow fielded teams in inter-county competition this year at Under 12, Under 14, Under 16 and junior levels. Indeed it was the youngest age group who provided one of the highpoints of the year when they took home a Leinster title in September. A panel of 42 girls from clubs around the county travelled to Carlow after taking part in training sessions in August, allowing Wicklow to enter two teams in the provincial blitz competition. In the end one of the Wicklow sides met Louth (to whom they had lost in the group stages) in the final and after adjusting their tactics, earned a comprehensive 3-9 to 0-1 victory. The Under 14 team also had great success in the blitz competition with a runners up spot, and while the Leinster championship did not prove to be so successful there is a strong panel of players ready to take on the best in 2005. The Under 16 team had a mixed year, despite an excellent preparation programme they found themselves falling short when coming up against some of the best sides in Leinster. But again this is a young team and much can be expected from them over the coming years. The junior county side took another step forward this year in their continued progress under manager Dominic Leech, who was assisted this year by Colette Barry and Jimmy Synnott. Competing in Division 4 of the Suzuki national league they defeated Kilkenny and Westmeath and had narrow losses to Offaly and Carlow. But another win over Kilkenny in the semi final brought them to their first final in many years. On the day in Swords they came up just short against a well-drilled Offaly team, losing out by 2-13 to 1-13. But Wicklow will feel that they left this match behind them as the performance was well below what they are capable of, and there is much encouragement to be taken from the league campaign as a whole. Attention then turned to the Leinster junior championship where Wicklow started well with a good win over Laois. In the second match against Dublin, Wicklow were in contention the whole way through but just didn’t take their chances when they arrived and paid the price with a seven point defeat. Revenue against Carlow and a walkover win from Kilkenny were not enough however, as Wicklow shipped a heavy defeat to the eventual Leinster runners up, Wexford, which ended their championship interests for 2004. Wicklow Panel 2004 Lisa Brady (Bray Emmets) Eithne Byrne (Kilcoole) Jessica Carroll (Blessington) Liz Cullen (Clara) Nicola Donahue (Kilbride) Orla Donahue (Kilbride) Trace Doyle (Kilbride) Jean Duffy (Kilbride) Nicole Fitzgerald (An Tochar) Debbie Green (Valleymount) Aoife Heffrnan (Bray Emmets) Leah Horan (Eire Og) Eadaoine Lenihan (Bray Emmets) Anne McGillicuddy (An Tochar) Emer Miley (Blessington) Elaine Murphy (Blessington) Adrienne O’Connor (Clara) Lorna O’Gorman (An Tochar) Aisling O’Hannaidh (Bray Emmets) Clara O’Hagan (Bray Emmets) Deirdre O’Riordan (Kilbride) Caroline Ryall (Kilbride) Chrissie Shortt (An Tochar) Mary Whelan (Blessington) Suzuki National League Division 4: Offaly 2-11 Wicklow 2-6 Westmeath 1-3 Wicklow 3-12 Carlow 2-10 Wicklow 1-7 Kilkenny 3-7 Wicklow 3-9 Semi-final: Wicklow 3-11 Kilkenny 2-8 Final: Offaly 2-14 Wicklow 1-13 TG4 Leinster Junior Championship: Wicklow 4-6 Laois 3-3 Dublin 1-12 Wicklow 1-5 Wicklow 1-13 Carlow 1-11 Wexford 2-20 Wicklow 1-4 Wicklow w/o Kilkenny scr Wicklow County Board 2004: Chairperson: Margaret Allen (Dunlavin) Vice-Chairperson: Neasa Olohan (Clara) Secretary: Ronan Matthews (Bray Emmets) Fixtures Secretary: Ronan Matthews Injuries Secretary: Rita Murphy (Kilbride) Registrar: Louise Allen (Dunlavin) Treasurers: Louise Allen Margaret Allen PRO: Ciara O’Hagan (Bray Emmets) Development Officer: Paraic Corbett (An Tocher) Acting Secretary: Ciara O’Hagan Results: Senior Championship: Preliminary round Carnew Emmets 6-11 Kilbride 4-13 Preliminary round An Tochar 1-11 Valleymount 2-6 Quarter-final Kilbride 2-8 Bray Emmets 5-13 Quarter-final Valleymount 1-10 Blessington 2-19 Semi-final Bray Emmets 5-10 An Tochar 1-2 Semi-final Blessington (aet) 1-15 Carnew Emmets (aet) 3-9 Semi final replay Blessington (aet) 7-9 Carnew Emmets (aet) 5-8 Final Bray Emmets 3-10 Blessington 1-6 Junior Championship: Preliminary round Donard 7-8 Newtown 2-1 Quarter final Donard 1-2 Arklow 8-8 Quarter final Carnew 0-2 Eire Og 4-5 Quarter final Kilbride 1-2 Clara 6-13 Quarter final Kilcoole 2-10 Baltinglass 3-4 Semi final Arklow 1-16 Eire Og 0-2 Semi final Kilcoole 1-5 Clara 1-10 Final Arklow 4-7 Clara 2-3 Senior League: Played Won Drawn Lost Points Kilbride 10 7 1 2 15 Blessington 10 7 1 2 15 Bray Emmets 10 6 2 2 14 An Tochar 10 4 0 6 8 Valleymount 10 2 2 6 6 Carnew Emmets 10 1 0 9 2 Play off: Kilbride 3-7 Blessington 3-9 Semi final: Bray Emmets 6-7 Kilbride 1-6 Final: Blessington 2-4 Bray Emmets 1-6 Junior League: Played Won Drawn Lost Points Arklow Gers 13 12 0 1 24 Clara 13 11 0 2 22 Eire Og 13 9 0 4 18 Kilcoole 13 8 0 5 14 Baltinglass 13 5 0 8 10 Donard 13 3 0 10 6 Newtown 13 1 0 12 2 Shillelagh 7 0 0 7 0 League semi-finals: Arklow (w) Kilcoole Clara (w) Eire Og League final: Clara 2-4 Arklow 1-5 Shield semi final: Baltinglass (w) Shillelagh Donard (w) Newtown Shield final: Baltinglass (w) Donard Juvenile Report: County level: Pride of place must go to the Under 12 girls. They won the Leinster Blitz in Carlow held last September. Not only that, but Wicklow entered two teams, a first for the Garden county in any competition. Just shows what can be done when all clubs support the county team. Under 14 girls: Didn’t win any of their matches in the Leinster league as they did not have the full support of all the clubs in the county. Performed admirably in the All Ireland Blitz in Mullingar only to be beaten by Offaly in the final. Under 16 girls: Played 4 matches in the Leinster League – won one and lost three. Better preparation, commitment and support needed. Club level The minor girls had only one day out this year – blitz held in Kilcoole on Sunday November 21st. Five team took part: Blessington, Bray Emmets, Carnew Emmets, Eire Og and Valleymount. The honours went to Carnew who just pipped Bray in the final. Under 16: The honours went to the Bray girls who beat Carnew in the final in Aughrim. Five teams took part: Blessington, Bray Emmets, Carnew Emmets, Eire Og, An Tochar. Under 14: All honours went to the Carnew girls who won the Feile, League and Championship. They represented the county in the All-Ireland finals in Tyrone and only lost out to Chair after extra time in a nail biting final. Well done to Paddy Cumiskey, Brigid Kenny and Ann Lennon for their wonderful work with this team. 10 teams took part: Arklow, Blessington, Fergal Ogs, bray Emmets, Carnew, Eire Og, Valleymount, An Tochar and Dunlavin. Under 12: This year we did away with 15-a-side teams at this level and instead had 7-a-side or 9-a-side games across the pitch. The emphasis was on skill development in a competitive, but non-threatening way. 7 teams took part: An Tochar, Eire Og, Carnew Emmets, Blessington, Fergal Ogs, Arklow and Bray Emmets. Matches were played on a home and away basis with a blitz held each month where all clubs came together and played one another. The whole exercise proved very positive with the girls making great strides especially the weaker and new players. Under 10: Here again the emphasis was on fun, participation and skill development. Matches were played across the field, 7-a-side or 9-a-side teams. 5 clubs took part: Bray Emmets, Arklow, An Tochar, Fergal Ogs, Carnew. Blitzes were held each month at different venues. Hopefully more teams will take part in 2005 – we need more matches. Clubs Under 14 Championship: Carnew Valleymount Under 16 Championship: Bray Emmets Carnew Under 18 Championship: Carnew Bray Emmets Under 14 “B” Championship: An Tochar Arklow Geraldines Under 14 Feile : Carnew Dublavin Under 14 League: Carnew Valleymount Schools: Primary: O’Kelly Cup Gaelscoil, Arklow Wicklow Times Shield St Fergals, Bray INTO Mini 7s St Fergals, Bray Millennium Shield St Fergals, Bray Schools: Secondary: Junior: Loretto College Bray Senior “A”: Loretto College Bray Senior “B” Carnew Wicklow Ladies Football 2005 In 1998 ladies football was officially launched, three clubs contested the championship that year. 17 years later in 2005, 17 teams competed in league and championship football. 10 teams went head to head in the junior championship for the Kathleen O’Neill trophy, while 7 teams played in the Senior Championship for the Jacob Trophy. The successful growth of ladies football throughout the county is down to a large group of people giving up their spare time to promote, train and coach teams from under 10 juveniles right up to senior inter-county level. Without the commitment and dedication of all these generous people, ladies football would not be where it is today in Co Wicklow and long may it last. Probably the busiest person this season was fixtures secretary, Dominic Leech who was responsible for organising sponsorship, pitches, referees and ensuring that league and championship games were run off as smoothly as possible, along with Louise Allen (Blessington), and Batt Kenny (Carnew Emmets). Dominic successfully steered the Wicklow senior ladies team to victory against Westmeath in the Suzuki sponsored National football league division four final. To ensure promotion to the 3rd division of the national football league next season, read more about their journey to the final in the county team’s section. Juvenile Under age ladies football has really blossomed in the Garden County over the past couple of seasons, with the majority of senior and junior clubs now nurturing and developing under age teams. The future of ladies football at club and inter-county level looks very rosy indeed. Under 10s At local level, Carnew Emmetss, Arklow Geraldine Ballymoney, Bray Emmets and An Tochar are all developing under 10 teams. The teams have completed against each other in a number of blitz’s over the summer months. With the girls from Arklow Gers/Ballymoney under the guidance of Cathy Forde leading the way following closely by Carnew Emmets who won the Under 10 Shield. Next year it is hoped that a number of other clubs will become involved at this level. Under 12s In the Under 12 section, 8 teams took part in the league. Arklow Geraldines Ballymoney are this year’s league leaders with 10 points, while Carnew are in second place with 8. Arklow Geraldines Ballymoney and Carnew Emmets are set to go head to head in the quarter finals of the championship and according to all reports on the grape vine, the Arklow girls are favourites to lift the title. At county level, the Under 12 girls reached the final of the first Leinster blitz of the year held in Carlow, losing narrowly to Offaly. However, the girls turned the tables on Offaly in the second Leinster blitz in September. To claim the title of Under 12 Leinster champions, an excellent result for all involved, in particular their hard working mentors Bernard and Patricia Kavanagh and Gerry Arthur of AGB. Under 14s (‘A’) 5 teams took part in this years Under 14 championship, Carnew, Arklow Gers, Valleymount, Eire Og and Fergal Ogs. Carnew under the watchful eye of Brigid Kenny were crowned the Under 14 county champions when they defeated Arklow Geraldines Ballymoney in the ‘A’ final in the county grounds on September 25 with the Carnew side stepping up a gear in the second period to secure the win. The Carnew girls are also the league champions for 2005. Under 14s ‘B’ 6 teams contested the ‘B’ championship. An Tochar, Kilbride, Bray Emmets, Knockananna, Dunlavin, Baltinglass. Knockananna overcame Dunlavin when they met in the first semi final, while An Tochar proved too strong for Baltingass in the second semi final and it was the girls from Roundwood that claimed the ‘B’ championship title for the second year in a row with a convincing win over Knockananna. At inter-county level Pre-season training took place in Bray and Laragh thanks to those clubs for their co-operation. There were 5 teams in the league, Wicklow, Carlow, Louth, Offaly and Longford. The under 14 team were very committed and put in a big effort this year. However they did not get the rewards they deserved. Their only win was against Carlow. They were unlucky in the remaining games losing the next three by the narrowest of margin. However they did reach the final of the Leinster Council Blitz held early in the year in Carlow but their opposition from Louth were just a little too strong on the day and the Wicklow girls had to settle for second place. The management team of Sean Adamson (Bray Emmets), Liam Reid (Valleymount) and Patricia Kavanagh (Arklow Geraldines Ballymoney) would like to thank all Under 14 team mentors from the various clubs for their support throughout the year and a special thanks to all the girls for their tremendous efforts for their county this year. Under 16s At the moment the Under 16 league has not been completed but it look like Carnew Emmets are the in form team at this early stage. The Under 16 Championship is just about to get under way. On the 20 November Carnew Emmets and Bray Emmets went head to head in the Under 16 county final in An Tochar’s groundsw and it was Carnew captained by Movita Murphy who were the eventual winners after a very thrilling game. Inter-County Level The Under 16 football development squad assembled in November 2004 for its first training session. 31 girls signed up for the squad and for the most part subsequent sessions were well attended. Some drop off however was experienced when the actual playing season began. This was mainly due to other commitments, such as work and involvement in other activities. This needs to be addressed when selecting players for county participation in the future. All the training sessions were conducted in a serious but fun atmosphere with a strong emphasis on team spirit and bonding. We feel that this was achieved over the course of the short season and that all the squad departed with a positive attitude to their county experience. For the record the playing season started with a challenge game against Dublin side, Cuala which was won in impressive style by the Wicklow girls. There were five competitive matches in Leinster where defeats by Longford, Offaly and Kilkenny were suffered. However the team were never out-played and in fact out-scored their opponents in the second half of both of these early matches. The girls really showed their true form in the remaining games with comprehensive victories away to Carlow and at home to Louth. Unfortunately this was not enough to make it to the next phase. Well done to all the squad and to the parents and clubs for their support. They were a pleasure to work with and we look forward to working with them in the future. The Under 16 management team are: Martyn Linnie, David Henley, Aoife Heffernan. Minor Team The Wicklow ladies minor team had one outing this season against Longford in the 2005 Leinster Championship and despite scoring five goals and nine points the Wicklow girls lost out to a much stronger outfit from Co Longford. Junior ‘A’ Championship Football In 2005 10 clubs competed for the league and championship titles, two new clubs came on board this year, St Pats from Wicklow and Knockananna. It is hoped that other clubs in the county would form a ladies section and get involved in the fastest growing sport in the country next season. The ladies from Clara Vale are the top junior team in Co Wicklow for 2005. While teams would have thrown in the towel after contesting three junior county finals in a row without any success, the Clara girls continued to follow their dream of lifting the junior championship trophy and on Sunday the 7 August at 5.45 after defeating Donard Glen, their dream came through. Captain Neasa Olohan lifted the Kathleen O’Neill trophy to the delight of all their followers. Compared to last year Clara had the easiest run into the final this year, a convincing win over Kilbride and a walk over from newcomers Shillelagh, Clara were never really tested in the championship but their performances in the league was proof enough that the girls were ready to do battle in the final. Donard Glen on the other hand put in exceptional performances to reach the final knocking out Eire Og by a single point in a thrilling encounter in the first round. Newtown were next to be eliminated from the championship race by the girls from the west. However, Donard did not have it all their way in this game, but ran out eventual winners to meet Kilcoole in the semi final. This game was played in the worst weather conditions that the county has seen for a long time, but both sides stuck at it and battled hard until the final whistle was blown and it was Donard Glen who weathered the storm to claim the right to meet Clara in their first ever junior championship final. From the second referee John Doran threw the ball in, Clara showed no mercy. Tanya McDonald putting five past Mar Eagers, while player of the match, Marie Hogan along with Helen Heffernan brought their half time tally to 6-2 to 0-2. Clara continued to dominate in the second period and ran out convincing winners to be crowned junior champion of Wicklow for 2005. Donard were disappointed with their performance on the day but the experience will ensure that they will be a force to be reckoned within next year’s championship. Clara: Tanya McDonald 6-1, Marie Hogan 1-3, Rachel Ghanan 1-0, Mary mcEvoy 1-0, Helen Kearons 0-1, Jackie Byrne 1-0, Carrie Gahan 0-1. Donard’s scorers: Vanessa Harney 0-3, Deirdre Dwyer 0-2. Referee: John Doran Senior Championship Debutants in this years Senior championship Arklow Geraldine Ballymoney caused a major upset when they ousted the much fancied Carnew Emmets by a single point in an exciting quarter final clash played out in Pearse Park, Arklow. Carnew’s Edel Kennedy was the main treat to Arklow in the first half, notching up 8 points in a blistering spell of attacking football. Arklow Gers saved the best till last going into the lead in the final quarter with a goal from their top scorer Liz Fahy, and despite growing pressure from the Carnew girls, Arklow held out for the victory. Their reward was a semi final meeting with Valleymount. In the second quarter, reigning senior champions, Bray Emmets travelled west to take on Kilbride and the visitors were the victors with a six point margin in an exciting and intense game. The Bray girls went on to meet their old enemy Blessington in the first of two semi finals, which were held in Dunlavin’s excellent facilities. Bray Emmets will not want to be reminded of their clash against Blessington in this years championship semi final, and as hard as they tried their young forward line were no match for the experienced Blessington back line. Blessington’s decision to recall Elaine Murphy into midfield after a long sabbatical was a move that payed off. Blessington ran out convincing winners with a 13 point margin to reach their 6th final in a row. In their first year at senior level, Arklow Geraldines Ballymoney have booked their place in the senior championship final against championship favourites Blessington. When they overcame Valleymount in the second semi final in front of a large crown in Dunlavin, both sides put on a brilliant display of football in a game that had everything, but it was Arklow’s corner forward Liz Fahy’s tally of 2-3 ensured that the Arklow girls ran out eventual winners by a margin of 6 points. The Senior Final Blessington 2-10 Arklow Geraldines Ballymoney 2-7 Blessington survived a second half revival by the Arklow Gers in the county grounds in Aughrim in August to lift the Jacob Cup on the 4th time of asking. Up to 1-6 to 0-2 at the break the west Wicklow side already had the sweet scent of victory in their noses, while the Arklow side knew that a mighty effort was needed in the second half if they were to have any chance of winning the senior title at their first attempt. Lifted by a large group of supporters the Arklow girls pulled out all the stops but it was the experienced side from the west that came up smelling of roses at full time with 3 points to spare over the sea side girls. Arklow were struggling to get a foothold in the first half. Blessington’s midfield duo of Breda McEvoy and Niamh Ryan were dominating the cent of the field while their half forward line of Jessica and Niamh Carroll, and Elaine Murphy were keeping g the Arklow defence very busy during the half. Arklow’s response did not come until the 19th minute of the half. Liz Fahy’s goal attempt was blocked by Blessington’s brilliant full back Mary Whelan. Fahy picked up the rebound and tapped over for the white flag to be raised in Arklow’s favour for the first time in the match. A minute later Fahy latched on to a clever pass from Sarah Forde to reduce the deficit to 4 points. Blessington adding 3 more to give them a 7 point cushion at the break. In the third period of the game, Blessington increased their lead by one point, while their opponents Arklow notched up 4 points without reply, all from the boot of Liz Fahy paring the lead back to 5 points. Arklow’s massive support was now in full song, cheering every pass and had there been a roof over the county grounds, it would have been lifted when referee Eddie Craul awarded a penalty to Arklow in the 20th minute for a foot block on Naomi Ryder. Liz Fahy went head to head with Blessington and county keeper Emer Miley. The young striker kept her cool, striking the ball low and to the left of Miley. The gap was now two points in Blesso’s favour with 9 nail biting minutes left on the clock. Arklow continued to pile on the pressure. Super sub Michelle Hayes tagging on a point in the 23rd minute. A minute later Ann Higgins fired in a shot that was deflected on to the cross bar, off the hands of Emer Miley and back into play. Michelle Hayes found the back of the net after a scramble in the Blessington goal mouth. Arklow were now leading by 2 points for the first time in the game. Both sets of supporters were now sitting on the edges of their seats. Three minutes on the clock, would Arklow’s dream come through or would Blessington’s experience tell? Blessington regained control of the ball and their final foray forward resulted in a goal from Eidin Byrne and a point a piece from Brenda McEvoy and Niamh Carroll to ensure that the Jacob Trophy was heading home to Blessington for the third time in six years. Blessington’s captain Jessica Carroll priased Arklow for their fighting spirit commenting that ‘this has been the toughest game that we have played this seas and great credit must go to the Arklow girls for giving us such a tough sporting game’. Blessington’s Marie Kavanagh received the player of the match award from Dominic Leech. Blessington Panel: Emer Miley, Brenda kavanagh, Mary Whelan, Breda Reid, Marie Kavanagh, Eimear Kavanagh, Ciara O’Donoghue, Maura Reid, Jessica Carroll (capt 0-3), Niamh Carroll 1-2, Eidin Byrne 1-0, Jenny Foster 0-1, Breda McEvoy 0-1, Elaine Murphy 0-1, Grainne Ryan 0-1, Niamh Ryan 0-1. Arklow Geraldines Ballymoney Panel: Tina Byrne (capt), Mary Furlong, Helen Hurley, Christine Byrne, Nora O’Connell, Brenda Fox, Naomi Ryder, Cathriona Byrne, Aine Byrne, Ann Higgins, Cathy Forde, Aisling Byrne, Sarah Forde, Liz Fahy (1-6), Mary Forde. Subs: Michelle Kinsella for Cathy Forde, Amy Redmond, Michelle Hayes (1-1) for Sara Forde, Geraldine Young, Anoushka Leahy, Janet Fleming, Natasha Manley, Lorraine Cummins, Deirdre Kinsella, Ailbhe Carney, Ann O’Connell. Referee: Eddie Craul. In the first round of the Leinster club championship, Clara were beaten by Edenderry of Offaly in the junior division, while Blessington were very unlucky to lose out to Killanerin from Wexford in the intermediate division. Blessington conceded home advantage and were down 3-5 to 1-2 at the break, despite a blistering spell of pressure in the second half in which they pared Killanerins lead back to a single point. Time ran out for the West Wicklow side for this year. Wicklow Senior County Team The Wicklow senior ladies team had a very successful national football league campaign having lost out to Offaly in the 4th Division final last year. The girls went one better this year when they beat Westmeath in the final to be crowned National 4th Division league champions and thereby winning promotion to the 3rd Division next year. Under their management team of Dominic Leech, Louise Allen and Batt Kenny, the senior teams league campaign started back in November of 2004 when they had a convincing win (4-11 to 1-8) over Westmeath in the first game of the league. After the winter break the girls were back in training in January where they played two practice games within a week against UCD and the following night the girls travelled to play the Wexford senior side under lights in Craanford. This proved to be excellent preparation for their second game of the National football league against a very determined Carlow side on the 6 February in Stratford. Wicklow did not play up to their usual high standard and were lucky to take the win by the narrowest of margins. Their third game was against the might of Dublin ‘C’ on a very cold Saturday in February in Thomas Davis grounds in Dublin. The Wicklow girls struggled in the first half to get a foothold in the game, going in at the break down 1-0 to Dublin’s 2-5. Dominic Leech reshuffled the pack during the break, introducing a number of the big guns in an attempt to reduce the deficit. The ploy paid off, Wicklow drew level and the Garden county girls shared the points with the Dubs. For their fourth game in the league Wicklow were away to Kilkenny on Saturday the 12 March. The game was an even enough affair but the Wicklow girls always had the edge on Kilkenny and maintained their 100% record with a five point win on the day to go forward to meet Dublin on the 10 April in the semi finals in Eire Og’s grounds in Greystones. Wicklow made the best use of the home advantage when they brushed aside Dublin ‘C’ with the best display of football this year so far leading 3-6 to 0-1 at the break. The Garden county girls never relented in the second half, hammering home a further seven point to finish the game off, with 13 points to spare. Suzuki Ladies National football League Division 4 Final Wicklow 6-12 Westmeath 3-8 Wicklow reigned supreme when they went head to head with Westmeath in O’Toole Park on Sunday the 24 April. The Garden county had a blistering first half with the full and half forward lines combining to put give goals and six points on the board, with Edel Kennedy and Elaine Murphy notching up a brace of goals each in the first quarter. Westmeath’s response came from a free taken by Leona Archibald, the ball dropping into the hands of Wicklow’s keeper Emer Miley. However the umpire deemed that Miley had stepped back over the goal line with the ball and the green flag was waved. Wicklow kept the pressure on Westmeath with strong running and fast interchanges throughout the second quarter. Chrissie Shortt tagging on a goal and two points, while Mikaela Shelly added two more points from play and a third point slotted over after a 30 yard solo run. Despite the score line Westmeath stuck to their task and continued to look for gaps in Wicklow’s defensive wall of Marua Reid, Aisling O’hAnnaidh and Lisa Brady. The Wicklow defence paid with points from laura Halligan, Clare Corcoran and Eimear Connellan pointing just before the half time break. Wiclow were reduced to 14 players just after the re-start. Midfielder Eadoine Lenihan was shown the yellow card and dismissed to the sin bin by referee James Flood. Westmeath took full advantage of Wicklow’s loss. Shelly Fletcher notching up a goal, followed by a well taken point from the boot of midfielder Triona Durkan. The Wicklow back line of Aoife Heffernan, Orla Donoghoe and Midi O’Suilleabhain were holding strong against attack after attack from the Lake county forwards. However after a little pushing in the square, Westmeath were awarded a penalty in the 11th minute of the half. The spot kick was Wicklow despatched to the right of Emer Miley by Westmeath’s top scorer on the day, Leona Archibald. Wicklow regained their composure when fourth official Ciaran Groome released Lenihan from the sin bin to take up her position in midfield alongside the unassuming but brilliant Eithne Byrne. Wicklow’s management used the break in play to introduce Nadina Murphy to replace hard working corner forward Mikaela Shelly whose contribution of 3 excellent points in the first half ensured that Wicklow’s lead remained intact. In the final quarter Westmeath’s Leona Archibald tagged on two points from play and the third from a well directed free. However it was the Wicklow girls who finished the match off with scores from Eadoine Lenihan, Deirdre O’Riordan and Nadina Murphy tapping over her second point a minute to injury time. Wicklow’s Edel Kennedy was awarded player of the match and presented with a crystal trophy by Joe Goss from Suzuki Ireland. Wicklow’s captain fantastic stepped up to receive the division 4 trophy from Uacharan Cumannn Peil Gael na mBan Geraldine Giles on behalf of her battle weary team. After a short speech from Aisling, both squads retired to Morans Red Cow Hotel for a celebration meal, the Wicklow side continued their celebrations in a number of hostelry’s around the Garden County. Wicklow Panel: Emer Miley (Blessington), Mide Ui Suilleabhain (Eire og), Orla O’Donoghue (Kilbride), Aoife Heffernan (Bray Emmets), Lisa Brady (Bray Emmets), Aisling O hAnnaigh (capt, Bray Emmets), Maura Reid (Blessington), Eithne Byrne (Kilcoole), Eadaoine Lenihan (Bray Emmets 0-1), Jessica Carroll (Blessington 0-1, f), Edel Kennedy (Carnew 3-1), Deirdre O’Riordan (Kilbride 0-2), Mikaela Shelly (Bray Emmets 0-3), Elaine Murphy (Blessington 2-0), Chrissie Shortt (An Tochar 1-2). Subs: Nadina Murphy (Blessington 0-2) for Mikaela Shelly, Sinead Boland for Chrissie Shortt, Monica Lynch (Newtown) for Jessica Carroll, Caoilfhionn Deeney (Eire Og) for Elaine Murphy, Laura Richardson (Bray Emmets) for Eadoine Lenihan, sinead Rickerby (Carnew), Marie Kavanagh (blessington), Brigid Kenny (Carnew), Mary Whelan (Blessington), Lorraine Byrne (Arklow Gers), Janet Nolan (Newtown), Helen Hurley (Arklow Gers), Aoife Doran (Carnew), Leah Horan (Eire Og), Debbie Green (Valleymount), Naomi Ryder (Arklow Gers), Sinead Rickerby (Carnew Emmets). Referee: James Flood (Wexford) The Wicklow ladies were without the services of captain Aisling O’hAnnaidh, Eadoine Lenihan and Chrissie Shortt who left for the shores of America, were unable to reproduce their league performances in the TG4 championship campaign, losing all their qualifying games. Despite this the large panel of girls who started training back in the depths of winter can be very proud of their achievements this year. Aisling O’hAnnaidh (Bray Emmets), Eadaoine Lenihan (Bray Emmets), Edel Kennedy (Carnew Emmets) were selected to play on the victorious Leinster team that won the inter-provincial tournament earlier this year, a great achievement for the three Wicklow girls. Dominic Leech would firstly like to thank all the players for their total commitment during the national league campaign and hopefully they can build on this in the 3rd division next year. A special thanks to Louise Allen and Batt Kenny for all their help throughout the year. He would also like to wish Nadina Murphy a speedy recovery from a serious knee injury sustained in a gruelling match against Carlow. The ladies county board would also like to thanks the following people for all their assistance during 2005. Pat Casey of the Glendalough Hotel, main sponsors of the senior county team, the Sports Poster Company. The men’s county bard, in particular Mick O’Hagan (Chairman) and Jim O’Neill (fixtures) and all the clubs around the county that provided pitches and other facilities to the ladies, especially Danny Devitt of Laragh. The dedicated referees throughout the county who gave thie time, Mark Hayes of the People Newspaper Group and Michael Sargent of East Coast Radio for their continued support and coverage. Last but not least all the parents, supporters and sponsors of all the ladies teams around the county. Wicklow Ladies Football Role of Honour 2005 Winners Runners Up Senior A Championship Blessington Arklow Gers/Ballymoney Jacob Cup Senior B Championship Bray Emmets Kilbride (A) Sports Poster Company Senior League Blessington Dominic Leech Junior A Championship Clara Donard Glen Junior B Championship Eire Og Baltinglass Junior A League Clara/Kilcoole Allen Trophy Junior B League St Patricks Ann McGillicuddy National Football League 4th Division Tables Round 1: Westmeath 1-8 Wicklow 4-11 Round 2: Wicklow 1-8 Carlow 1-7 Round 3: Dublin C 2-6 Wicklow 2-6 Round 4: Kilkenny 1-9 Wicklow 2-11 Semi-final: Wicklow 3-13 Dublin C 0-9 Final: Wicklow 6-12 Westmeath 3-8 Wicklow crowned Suzuki NFL Division 4 Champions 2005. TG4 Leinster Championship 2005 Round 1: Laois 4-10 Wicklow 2-14 Round 2: Carlow 2-13 Wicklow 2-8 Round 3: Kilkenny 2-5 Wicklow 1-7 Wicklow Ladies County Board Committee 2005 Chairperson: Margaret Allen Dunlavin Vice-Chairperson: Neasa Olohan Clara Secretary Berni Byrne Roundwood Fixtures Secretary: Dominic Leech Newtown Injuries Secretary: Rita Murphy Kilbride Registrar/Treasurer: Louise and Margaret Allen PRO: Michael Forde Arklow Geraldines Ballymoney Acting Secretary: Dominic Leech Newtown Player Profile: Long Service Wicklow Player on time out for 2005 Name: Anne McGillycuddy Age: 24 Club: An Tochar Home town: Roundwood County: Wicklow Occupation: Muinteoir, Colaiste Raithin, Bre. Footballing Achievements: Replacement All Star, U14 & U16 All Irelands, Kick Fada Champion 2000, 2 x O’Connor Cups with UCD. Favourite footballer (Male): Mike Frank Russell (Ciarrai) Favourite Footballer (Female): Aimee Bennett (An Mhi) Most admired opponent: Rebecca Hallahan (Port Lairge) Most difficult opponent: Angela Casey (Port Lairge) Most memorable sporting moment: U16 Leinster final v Meath, beating them by a point after extra time. Footballing ambitions: For Kildare to win the Junior All-Ireland, to give us a chance to win one!!! If there was one thing you could change about Ladies Gaelic Football, what would it be?: To raise the game’s profile through the introduction of ladies’ games as a curtain- raiser to men’s games. Ireland Donegal Down Derry Tyrone Armagh Sligo Monaghan Cavan Roscommon Longford Meath Wicklow Kildare Dublin Laois Kerry Tipperary