Indoor Camogie

Following on from the boys last week, it was the girls up next in SW Antrim's Cumann na mBunscol's Indoor Camogie Tournament at the Antrim Forum. We had three indoor camogie teams who took part in the competition and (like last week in hurling) we narrowly lost the final.

Well done to the girls. Thanks to Mr McKenna, the club and the support of parents on the day.

Coaching will continue on Wednesdays for the girls and on Thursdays for the boys. We will also have, in school coaching for Ys 3 & 4, provided by Antrim GAA. These sessions will begin next week.

Competition Report

Alliance Cumman na mBunscol

SW Antrim Indoor Camogie 16/01/20

The excitement was palpable in the P6/P7 classrooms today as the Mary Queen of Peace Camogie players put down their pencils, picked up their sticks and donned their helmets, ready to do battle on behalf of their school in the Antrim Forum. This was one week after the boys had got squeezed out in the final of their competition and the girls and indeed Mr Conlon were hoping that the girls would go one step further and take home the bacon!!! MQP had three teams away which amounted to 23 girls getting an opportunity to play. They faced teams from Creggan, Millquarter (2 teams), Mount St. Michael’s Randalstown, Gaelscoil Gleann Darach Crumlin, St. Colmcille’s Ballymena, St. Brigid’s Ballymena, St.Paul’s Ahoghill, St.Mary’s Portglenone (2 teams), St Patrick’s Rasharkin and St Oliver Plunket’s Toome

No more so than last week with the boys, the challenge to reach the last four was tough. In group 1 Millquarter 1, St.Patrick’s Rasharkin and MQP 1 jostled for top position with the Millquarter outfit defeating MQP 1 in their second match and the Rasharkin ladies got the better of Millquarter. When St. Patrick’s met MQP 1 the Glenravel girls managed to come out victorious meaning each side had lost one match but crucially the Rasharkin girls had drawn an earlier game. Going into the last game of the league MQP 1 played MQP 3 and MQP 1 knew a victory would guarantee a semi-final place. In the event both teams served up a cracking game which ended in a draw. The MQP 1 girls were now in a sweat not knowing if they were going to reach the semi-finals. Luckily having finished on equal points with Rasharkin they qualified as they had defeated Rasharkin in the earlier game. MQP 1 were in the semi-final.

In the other section both Creggan and Mount St. Michael’s dominated proceedings however MQP 2 gave a very good account of themselves as they battled gamely throughout the competition winning two matches against a young St.Paul’s side and also against an equally young Gaelscoil Ghleann Darach side. Against St.Mary’s Porglenone the Bannsiders finished off the victors on a score line of 2-0. Both Creggan and eventual section winners Mount St. Michaels proved too strong for our girls

Having finished second in our group, MQP 1 faced Mount St. Michael’s in the semi-final. This was an absorbing contest with both goalkeepers excelling as they pulled off many good saves and their puck outs were excellent. In the end it was a cracking strike from one of our girls that saw MQP 1 through to the final.

The final saw us face Millquarter1 who had defeated us earlier 2-0, in the league section. The Millquarter girls got off to the better start scoring two goals in the first two minutes and although we did have our opportunities it was not to be and for the second week running MQP were to end up as the bridesmaids. No bacon therefore for Mr Conlon but we’re already looking forward to the outdoor competitions. All three teams were a credit to their school, family and parish and we should be extremely proud of them as they represented us extremely well, both on and off the court.

Many thanks to Pauline Mulholland and Lucy Carey on the day, who managed two of the teams and to Cormac O’Loan who drove the bus for us. I would also like to thank the club coaches who are working with these young girls and the club for supplying the mini-bus. There are more competitions coming up, in both codes, so I would ask the girls to keep on practising. With the days beginning to lengthen, encourage your children to go outside with a stick and a football and practise their skills. After schools continues next week.

P McKenna