KILDIMO/PALLASKENRY GAA CLUB NOTES
LIMERICK SENIOR HURLERS: How many of us, as children, dreamed of scoring the decisive goal in a Munster final in a packed Gaelic Grounds? It’s a dream that doesn’t come true for many but our own Kyle Hayes was able fulfil that dream at the weekend, as his second half goal set Limerick on the way to victory.
At just 20 years of age, the current Young Hurler of the Year has now got a National League, Munster and All-Ireland senior intercounty medal not to mention the underage and club county medals that he holds. Kyle hit 1-2 from play but once again, it was his work rate and energy throughout that impressed most on what was a great day for the county. Well done to Kyle, he didn’t get here without an awful lot of hard work and he is now reaping the rewards.
Credit must also go to Ruairí Maher, who is a member of the Limerick stats team, who were rightly credited by captain Declan Hannon in his speech. Ruairí puts in a huge amount of hours behind the scenes to ensure that the Limerick team are as well-prepared as they are. We can now all look forward to an All-Ireland semi-final in a month’s time!
FÉILE PEIL NA NÓG: What a weekend was had by the club on our Féile 2019 adventure, as a really special bunch of U-14 footballers did us proud on the biggest stage of underage club football as they came home Division 4 Shield Champions! With a number of matches played against top class opposition, bringing silverware back home and also getting to visit McHale Park, Castlebar for a hard-fought Championship match between Mayo and Armagh, this really was a special weekend! From the moment they left from a raucous send off from Kildimo National School to the rapturous welcome on their return, these players did the club exceptionally proud!
There were some tough outings in the group stages against top class sides in the shape of St. Mary’s from Sligo, Clonguish Óg from Longford and our hosts, Breaffy from County Mayo. This showed that it was a steep learning curve and at this level, any slight hesitation was punished. But the very best teams bounce back from defeats, and this was nowhere more evident than with this Féile side!
Following the defeat to Breaffy on Saturday morning, we travelled to Ballyhaunis on Saturday afternoon to take on Boyle of Roscommon in the Shield quarter-final. An early lead was wiped out by our opponents, who held a narrow lead at the break. We had been in this position on a couple of occasions previously, just behind at the break but this time the response was huge as we scored 3-3 without reply and kept Boyle scoreless in the second half to run out winners on a scoreline of 4-4 to 1-4!
This meant our Féile competition extended to Sunday and a visit to Kiltimagh where we faced Michael Davitts. This time it was a powerful first-half performance which set our lads on course to victory! They led by 8 points at the break and despite a gallant fight by our opponents in the second half, they were able to hold on on a scoreline of Kildimo/Pallaskenry 2-5 Michael Davitts 0-2.
That result qualified us for the Shield Final and earned a chance to claim some silverware! Our opponents were An Bhearna of Galway, who had also racked up a few decent wins on the way to the final. But our boys had fully recovered from their early hiccups and delivered what was probably their best all-round display in the final, taking control of both halves. It was by no means easy, against a quality side, but we held a 1-4 to 0-1 lead at the half-time break. We kicked on with a similar score in the second half and repelled all goal chances from An Bhearna, which meant we kept our lead secure. Final score: Kildimo/Pallaskenry 2-7 An Bhearna 0-2 and meant that we were Division 4 Shield Champions!
Huge congratulations and thanks must go to the management team of Billy O’Sullivan, Kieran McMahon and Paul Browne who have worked tirelessly with this team and many thanks also to all the parents and supporters who travelled up the country for this historic occasion, and to all club members and parishioners who supported the team in any way! A really fantastic weekend, these memories will last forever!
CELTIC CHALLENGE: There was disappointment for Aaron O’Donovan and the Limerick Sarsfields side in the Celtic Challenge as they fell to Roscommon in the final versus Roscommon. Aaron hit two points from full-forward but Roscommon just edged out this clash in Tullamore. Peter Nash was also a member of the coaching setup who had navigated through a number of rounds to make the final, and congratulations must go to them for that!
LIMERICK U-20 FOOTBALLERS: Best of luck to Jamie Hickey who is named to start as goalkeeper for the Limerick U-20 footballers who face Tipperary in the first round of the Munster Championship on Tuesday evening in Thurles.
LIMERICK U-20 HURLERS: Best of luck must also go to Adam Butler and Liam Griffin who are on the Limerick U-20 hurling panel who face Cork in the Munster Championship on Wednesday night at 7.30pm in Cork.
CITY INTERMEDIATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: Kildimo/Pallaskenry 0-8 Mungret 1-8. Our footballers returned to competitive action last Monday with a City Championship clash against Mungret. It was a tight, hard-fought affair throughout, with the game’s only goal proving crucial in the end. However, it was a good workout as preparations begin in earnest for Championship!
U-14 HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP: Kildimo/Pallaskenry 5-12 Belville Gaels 2-9. Before Féile commenced, our U-14s were also out in Hurling Championship during the week and did brilliantly to defeat a very strong Belville Gaels which books them a place in the knockout stages! Going into the game, both sides had lost one match each and it really was a winner-takes-all affair! Our group really thrive in that kind of atmosphere and produced the goods, with a display of top class hurling!
U-16 HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP: Our U-16 hurlers are back in Championship action on Monday night at 7pm in Kildimo, as they take on Granagh/Ballingarry. Support is always welcome!
CÚL CAMP: There is now just two weeks to the club’s annual Cúl Camp, sponsored by Kellogg’s! It will take place from Monday July 15 to Friday July 19 at a cost of €60 (with a discount for family members). To book your child’s place, please go to www.kelloggsculcamps.gaa.ie
CLUB LOTTO: The lotto numbers on 24 June 2019 in the Beer Garden were 10, 13, 19 and 20. There was no winner of the overall draw, while the winners of the €25 lucky dips were L Garvey, S & A Shanahan, L O’Sullivan and P.J. Lake.
The jackpot has now reached €17,200 for next week’s draw in De Bucket! You have to be in to win! Please continue to support the club lotto, which is the most vital source of funds to fund all our teams from U-6 up to adult grade! An annual subscription is just €100 (€50 for 6 months, €25 per quarter or €8.50 per month) and a subscription form can be requested from any lotto seller or committee member.
REGISTRATION: The deadline for registration has now passed; anybody who has not registered or paid, please do so as soon as possible as unregistered players are ineligible to take the field or to train with the club.
CLUB LIMERICK DRAW: Sadly, there was no club winner in the Club Limerick draw for June, which took place at the weekend. However, there is no better way to support both and show our players you’re right behind them all the way. Kildimo Pallaskenry GAA is very fortunate to have a number of players involved with county teams in both hurling and football across a number of grades. Join the CLUB Limerick Draw online or with any club committee member. Support your club and county teams!
KILDIMO/PALLASKENRY Peil na nOg 2019 Division 4 Shield Champions!
