Mungret/St Pauls GAA Club Notes:
Mungret St. Pauls would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy new year.
Junior Ladies Football:
Mungret St. Pauls 0-12 Na Dúnaibh Downings 0-4
Mungret St. Paul’s Ladies Football Team are the 2024 Junior Club All Ireland Champions.
All Ireland Champions, let that sink in for just a moment.
What an amazing journey these girls have had, a journey that began almost a year ago in Train gym with Megan O’Meara back on the 8th January. A journey that saw new members join the team and a few injuries along the way with some very welcomed recoveries. They have trained with Dylan Kenny from Setanta weekly doing their strength and conditioning
training along with training sessions on the astro and grass pitches twice and sometimes three times a week. They welcomed two new members to the management team this year. Peter O’Donovan and Liam O’Connell, who worked tirelessly along with John Horgan and Dave Foley in helping the girls achieve the goal they set at the beginning of the year, to become the Intermediate County Champions. I’m sure for many of the players, management team and supporters, the feeling of pride and joy felt on that day couldn’t be beaten, how were any of us to know the journey
wouldn’t end there? From there, the girls set some new goals for themselves such as winning a Munster Final and ultimately, an All Ireland Final.
The All Ireland Final took place on Sunday 15th December in Parnell Park. The team were kindly sponsored a coffee and protein snack by Chill the Beans before leaving the clubhouse and taking the bus to Killeshin Hotel for breakfast. From there they travelled to Parnell Park where supporters were already starting to arrive and the red and white of Mungret
and green and yellow of Na Dúnaibh were evidently on display. With the warmups complete, the atmosphere building and the parade complete, the battle began. Both teams got off to a great start, the Mungret girls breaking through Na Dúnaibh defence with quick handpassing and plenty of support and movement from players and Na Dúnaibh with some
impressive scores coming from frees and good passages of play. Mungret led at half time by two points, 0-6 to 0-4. The Mungret girls came out fighting in the second half, and proved too strong for Na Dúnaibh defence, doubling their first half score when the final whistle blew. The scoreboard read Mungret St. Pauls 0-12, Na Dúnaibh 0-4, meaning the cup was on its way back to Limerick for the first time in ten years. History was made as the cup made its way to Mungret St. Paul’s clubhouse for the first time ever after being greeted by what felt like the entire population of the Mungret parish.
Many thanks to Parnell Park for the use of their facilities, to the referee, the LGFA and match officials and to all who promoted the match, in particular our own club’s PRO team. Hard luck to Na Dúnaibh players and management team, thank you for a great match and wishing you all the best in the future.
On behalf of the entire team and management team, we would like to thank each and every person who has reached out to wish us good luck before the matches, congratulated us after the matches, travelled the length and breadth of the country to support this team and to those who tuned in to watch us play from near and afar. We cannot put it into words what it meant to have your support behind us.
A very special mention of thanks to the following people whose contribution, dedication, time and commitment given to this team all year has been instrumental in their success:
John Horgan, Dave Foley, Peter O’Donovan, Liam O’Connell, Siobhán Horgan, Liz Morgan, Mary Murphy, Catherine Murphy, Dylan Kenny and Brian Moran.
2024 Junior Ladies Football All Ireland Champions: Carol Bateman, Áine Ryan (Captain), Sarah Horgan, Caoimhe O’Neill, Laura Dunne, Gráinne McKenna, Claire Coughlan, Niamh O’Keeffe, Jillian Buckley, Jayne Casey, Clare O’Meara, Mairead Clancy, Cameryn Moloney, Katie O’Mahoney, Yvette Moynihan Culhane, Fiona Morrissey, Shannon Burke, Emma O’Rourke, Niamh Crowley, Aoife Morrissey, Jenni O’Malley, Megan O’Malley, Lisa Reilly, Áine Aherne, Róisín O’Connor, Justine Kennelly, Róisín Duffy, Laura Hanlon, Anna Mcguigan, Orlagh Burke, Siadbh Redmond, Áine Murphy
Liam Patterson:
A proud day for the Patterson family as one of our coaches, Liam Patterson got to visit President Higgins in Áras an Uachtaráin with members of the Transplant Sport Ireland Team.
Liam Patterson who is a Liver transplant recipient is holding a fundraising football game in Mungret St. Pauls in aid of St. Vincents hospital foundation on St. Stephens day, 26 December 2024 at 1pm as a thank you to the hospital for the care he received while a resident there. To help get the fundraising started a Just giving donation page has been set up. If you would like to donate please do so through this link https://www.justgiving.com/page/liam patterson-1731244048506