2011 Coaching and Games Blog

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All Square in Junior Hurling !

Honours even in Gaelic Park yesterday between Rockland and New York in the hurling battle that concluded the playing year in Gaelic Park. It was a great game of hurling which ended 5-09 a piece after a great come back by New York. There was a large number of Irish American players playing which was great to see and bodes well for 2011 Junior Hurling season. With four teams looking to start Junior Hurling in 2011 the future is looking bright for the fastest and most skillful game in the world in New York.

If you are interested in playing Junior Hurling next year please contact nygaagdo@gmail.com . All players regardless of ability or playing experience are invited to start junior hurling.

Dan Mc Sweeney U12 memorial tournament

On Saturday Rockland GAA played host to the Dan Mc Sweeney memorial tournament. The tournament was established to commemorate Eoin Mc Sweeney's brother Dan who passed away. The Mc Sweeney family very generously supplied each player on the day with a commemorative T-shirt , medals and a trophy to remember a great member of the GAA who is no longer with us. In his speech Eoin played tribute to his brother and encouraged everyone playing the games to have fun and reminded everyone that while winning is important the most important thing in the GAA are family and friends and thats what lasts the longest.

On the playing field 7 teams participated in the blitz with the two Rockland teams giving great preformances throughout the group stages. The New York Celtics gave the preformance of the day in the semi final against Rockland Gaels but just couldnt match Rockland Harps in the final. The hosts were presented with the Dan Mc Sweeney memorial trophy much to the delight of the large crowd of parents in attendance.

The tournament concluded the Minor board season for 2010 and what a great year it was, the games program as set by our schedule chairman Tom Kerins was fantastic ensuring the best program for games in any overseas GAA county matching any schedule in Ireland, thanks a lot Tom! Looking forward to 2011 already!!

Maguire the hero as the exiles claim a famous draw!

Lonan Maguire was the toast of New York over the weekend with a last second goal to tie the game with the wee county on saturday evening in Gaelic Park. With just seconds to go the wee county looked like they were going to see out the game but a high ball into the Louth defence bounced favourably for Maguire who snuck it in past the Louth goalkeeper much to the delight of the New York faithful.

Louth burst out of the traps early on and looked like the match was going to be a one sided affair leading 1-03 to 0-01 after 10 minutes. New York were on the ropes and it looked like another defeat for the exiles was on the cards. However New York battled on throughout the half with Jason Kelly grabbing a well worked goal to tighten the gap between the teams. The New York forwards played much better as a unit than they had the previous game against Down with great scores coming from CJ Molloy and Murtagh. Carew, Power and Madden battled hard throughout the middle against Paddy Keenan Louths first ever All Star. New York's two corner backs Huvane and Lambe showed their footballing skills as well as defensive qualities limiting the two Louth Corner Forwards to very little from play. Louth cruised for much of the second half and even manager Peter Fitzpatrick came on with 10 minutes to go but Maguire had the final say for the New York team and his late finish ensured the New York supporters will view 2010 as one of the best years for the exiles in recent times.

John Brady U10 Tournament

What a day of football Saturday was! The day kicked off with the John Brady memorial tournament with 12 teams participating from all over the tri state area. Rockland GAA were the hosts and well done to the hosts for again turning in a great show catering for everyone in attendance with pizza and juice. With 29 games of football the event was a real memorable one the sunny weather making the day very enjoyable for parents and kids alike.

There was plenty of great football on display with 98 young footballers playing nearly two hours of football each . The parents seemed nearly more tired watching the kids than the players themselves! In the C final Rockland and Barnanbas played out the most exciting game of the day with Rockland launching a huge comeback in the second half to bring the game to overtime. Rockland scored a late goal in the second five minutes of overtime but the drama wasnt finished yet with Barnabas awarded a late free 15 yards out to tie the game with the hooter gone. Unfortunately for Barnabas they hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced off the line to the enormous relief of the Rockland faithful and the scheduling committee!!

In the B football the Celtics showed no tiredness from the previous nights festivities to bring the trophy back over the bridge. With some superb football from the lads the Celtics breezed through the group stages and semi finals before edging out Shannon Gaels in the final. Roared on by Tommy Traynor who had just received a life time achievment award for his contribution to the Celtics club the boys played the best football of the day much to the delight of manager Lawrence Mc Grath.

Barnabas made amends for their disappointment in the fall league by defeating the Rangers in a thrilling encounter in the A final. This was a real grudge match with the two big rivals going at it hammer and tongs over the 20 minutes with Barnabas just edging out a determined Rangers outfit to take the bragging rights back to the bronx!

Many thanks to our referees and parents for all their help on the day and especially to Tom and Dave for all their help in coordinating and scheduling the big day.

Down two point victors over the exiles

New York were unlucky to be narrowly defeated by a close to full strength Down team going down 2-06 to 2-08. Johnny Murtagh was the star of the night bagging 1-05 for the exiles whilst Marty Clarke will be sure to earn the wrath of Seamus Dooley after taking the paint of both sides of the posts with two screamers that were unlucky to go in, he later compensated with a fine penalty and some superb individual scores. James Huvane and Down exile Brendan Mc Gourty were the pick of the New York rearguard whilst Carew and Power did some great work around the middle of the field whilst Murtagh tormented Dan Gordon and the Down backs most of the evening. Jason Kelly's second half goal gave some hope to the large crowd in attendance but the All Ireland runners up did just enough to hold off a spirited New York preformance.

Sacred Heart University u18 girls blitz

On Sunday 39 U18 girls took part in Sacred Heart University , CT . Divided into 6 teams this 7 a side tournament ensured everyone involved got plenty of action. This was the first time most of the onlookers had ever seen Gaelic Football and there was plenty of top quality skill on show to convince the college staff that they wanted Gaelic Football to be part of their sports program and they committed to starting a Ladies Football club for the 2011 season! Many thanks to all the staff of the University especially former St Barnabas superstar Dean Seamus Carey and Ray Mencios and to all the speakers and catering staff who provided a lovely meal and talk for all our parents and players.