Athea Utd

by Pat Mulvihill

2012 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Athea Utd held its Annual General Meeting last Saturday night, June 16th in The Memorial Hall.

Secretary’s Report On Season 2011-12:

Looking back on it the 2011-12 season at underage level wasn’t as successful as previous years with the only side to come close was the U14s who finished second in Div 2. However we had double success at youths and junior level. The U/19s won the inaugural Desmond U19 Shield with a 3-0 extra time win over Rathkeale in Clounreask on April 21st with two goals from Kevin Murphy and a third from Gavin Dillon with the latter being chosen as the man of the match. Our other success saw the Junior B’s, in only their second season deservedly win the Division 4 League title with the title being secured with a 1-0 win over nearest challengers Kilcornan B at The Vales on March 25th with Mark Horgan getting the games only goal. The Junior A’s had a decent season and were in contention for promotion until the final weekend of the season while they also got to the League Cup Final and were unlucky to go down 3-2 to league winners Carrig Celtic with Cillian O’Connor getting both our goals. The Youths competed in Division 1 and finished third but it was in the national cup that they performed best when reaching the 5th Round of the FAI Youths Cup where we were extremely unlucky to lose 1-0 to Galway side Mervue Utd.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the managers for their work and dedication in looking after our various teams and thanks to all our players who played with pride for the club in 2011/2012.

The club was again well represented with a number of our players representing their leagues: Sean Ryan was on the LDSL U/13 Inter League side which competed in the Munster competition and which went to England over the Easter period. Sean was also on the Kennedy Cup squad that played in UL earlier this week when he was a late call up after a couple of players dropped out through injury. In so doing he joined his brother James and William Sexton on the Kennedy Cup squad and this was the first time a set of  brothers have been chosen on the same squad while it was also the first time our club had three players on a Kennedy Cup panel in the same season. On the youths front we had four players involved with the Desmond Youths, namely Kevin Murphy, Ian Murphy, Gavin Dillon and Ryan Carroll.

Of the field the club had two pieces of good news, firstly our very own Tom O’Connor was chosen by the Limerick Desmond Referees as the recipient of the Peter Murphy Fair Play Award for 2012 and all at the club are delighted and proud . Tom has played junior soccer with Athea Utd and has also managed numerous teams at various stages while also serving at various positions on our committee and all at the club are delighted and proud. The club are equally proud of Mark Horgan who was voted as the Limerick Desmond League Division 4 Junior player of the year and this too is a first for an Athea Utd junior player.

Off the field we have as you know one of the finest training facilities at The Vales and which has again proven to be very popular with all our players. Not only that but the Desmond Schoolboys League have being regular visitors to The Vales for training sessions an I am glad to report that we have a number of players training with the Desmond Schoolboys League from U/12s up to U/14s in the season just ended. As well as that we have a regular number of outside groups availing of our training facility and this is very important in the off season in terms of revenue for the club. Speaking of revenue the club I’m glad to report finds itself in a very good position with another good reduction in its loan debt over the past season. This is due to the rental of our astro pitch as well as income from our weekly lottery draw and I would like, on behalf of the club thank all our fantastic sellers who sell lottery tickets for the club every week.

We have quality facilities that we can feel proud but we will continuously look to improve and better what we have and its right that we do so.

OFFICERS ELECTED FOR 2012/13 SEASON –
Chairman: Tim O’Riordan. Secretary: Pa Walsh. Treasurer: Clare Ryan. Vice Chairman: John Geoghegan. Asst-Secretary: Denis Murphy. Asst-Treasurer: Gary Carroll. Child Welfare Officer: Pat Hayes.

Eflow FAI SUMMER SOCCER SCHOOLS 2012
The time has come again to start thinking of what to do for the summer even though it sounds like a long way off. Again this year Athea Utd will be one of the hundreds of venues throughout the country that will be hosting a FAI Summer Soccer School which this year will be sponsored by eFlow An Post and will be known as the eFlow Summer Soccer Schools 2012. This years programme will run nationwide from July 2nd to August 31st.

The Athea Utd camp will again be held

at The Vales and will run from Monday July 23rd to Friday July 27th so keep these days looking free for the eFlow Summer Soccer School at The Vales. The camps are open to boys and girls from 6 to 14 years of age and the camp will run daily from 10.30am to 3pm.

CHILD PROTECTION –
Child protection is paramount and at The Eflow Summer Soccer School at The Vales, and like all camps nationwide all coaches will be FAI accredited and all will be Garda Vetted.

CAMP GEAR –
All participants at the camp will receive a full Umbro kit as well as a backpack and football as well as a certificate of participation.

BOOKINGS-
Bookings are now being taken at www.fai.ie or www.summersoccerschools.ie or by phone on 1890 653653.
Bookings taken before June 15th will be €89 and after June 15th bookings will be €99.

DISCOUNT –
There is also a family discount and you can get €10 for a second child,
€20 for a third, €30 for a fourth and €40 for a fifth.

VENUE CO-ORDINATOR –
The venue co-ordinator for the eFlow camp at The Vales is Pat Mulvihill and if you have any questions contact Pat on 0877934417

ATHEA UTD LOTTERY DRAW RESULTS Monday June 18th at Brown Joe’s Bar.

Jackpot €4,100 No Winner

No’s Drawn: 7,11,16,31.

Lucky Dips: Marie Molyneaux, Askeaton. Ann O’Connor, c/o Mgt Reidy.

Aggie Barrett, Athea. Martina O’Connor, Glin. Mag Mulvihill, Moyvane.

Sellers: Doreen Cahill, Declan Barret.

New Jackpot will be €4,200 on Monday, June 25th at Batt’s Bar.

 

Athea Coiste na nÓg 

Matches:

Wednesday 13th of June:

U14’s:

Athea 3-5 (14)  St. Marys/Sean Finns 3-10 (19)

Our U14’s travelled to the Bog garden in Rathkeale to take on the locals on Wednesday night last. This was a very exciting game as both teams went at it at from the start. It was Athea who opened the scoring as Ronan Hayes scored from the penalty spot. The opposition responded with two points before an excellent run from Alan Kelly split open the Rathkeale defence and he hammered it into the net for our second goal. The home team responded well scoring 2-01 and then just before half time Alan Kelly scored a great point to leave us just two points down at the break. In the second half we started very well, when Ronan Hayes and Shane Dalton both pointed to leave the scores level. St. Mary’s/Sean Finns then scored two points of their own before Athea scored their third goal from the boot of Ronan Hayes. Micheál Ambrose followed this up a point to leave us two points up. St. Mary’s/Sean Finn came more into the game and scored 1-05 without reply. With time ticking on Athea came back into the game but we could not convert our possession into scores. The very impressive Shane Dalton scored late on and as the final whistle went the score line read Athea 3-5, St. Mary’s/Sean Finns 3-10.Despite the score line this was a great team performance by our U14’s and all looks well for the future.

Team: Timothy Tierney, Conor Fitzgerald, Micheál Ambrose, TJ Doherty, Cillian Liston, Mark McAuliffe, JJ Sheehy, Alan Kelly, Shane Dalton, Ronan Hayes, William McEnery, Brian Sheahan, Donnacha McEnery, Micheál Dalton, David Sheahan & Andy Ahern.

 

Saturday 16th of June:

U10 Blitz:

The under 10s travelled to Ardagh on Saturday morning last for a blitz involving St. Kieran’s, Newcastle West, Gerald Griffins and ourselves. We had 16 players divided into two teams of eight and they each played 3 games. There was no subs as every one got to play and at half time in each match the players changed position, which was every 8 minutes. I was watching team one and over our 3 games we used 6 different goalies, Its a welcome change from the days of “your father was a corner back so your a corner back”.

Teams Athea 1: Thomas McEnery, Michael Tierney, Luke Gleeson, Josh Mullally, Rhys Keily, T.J. Hunt, Pierce O’Brien and Laura Dalton.  

In Team 1. Michael Tierney just back after hurting his arm we have a player as good as any in West Limerick, Luke Gleeson kept up his excellent form from the last blitz and Thomas McEnery caught some great balls in midfield. Josh Mullally is getting better with every game and Rhys Keily is proving to be an excellent defender with great hands. T.J. Hunt gave some accurate passes out of defence and also scored two great goals in our first game. Pierce O’Brien used his lightening pace to telling effect and Laura Dalton won a lot of ball and used it very intelligently.

Athea 2: Gavin Ambrose, Eoin Sheahan, Jack Hunt, Eoin O’Shea, Andrew O’ Riordan, Adam Byrne, Paraic Enright and Daire O’ Shea.

In team 2. Jack Hunt pulled off a couple of fantastic saves against Newcastle West. Adam Byrne was tackling as hard as ever. Gavin Ambrose with mighty catches and long balls out of defence was excellent. Eoin Sheahan with a few great scores through out all the games. Andrew O’ Riordan showing great skill by kicking with both feet. Paraic Enright hard working and busy as ever. Eoin O’Shea who covered ever blade of grass displaying all the skills of Gaelic football and the mighty Daire O’Shea who was tearing into everything that came his way and winning a lot of possession.

The players are improving with every outing and we look forward to more games and blitzes throughout the Summer. The Club would like to thank all the parents who travelled to support our young boys and girls. We would also like to thank St. Kieran’s for hosting a well organised Blitz and for the treats all the children received afterwards.

Upcoming Fixtures for the month of June:

Friday 22nd of June:
U10’s:
Athea U10’s are invited to the Old Mill tournament once again this year which takes place on Friday evening the 22nd of June, with the finals on Sunday 24th of June. Cars will be leaving the Club house on Friday evening at 6:30pm.

Monday 25th of June:
U16’s:
Athea U16’s are away to Shamrock Gaels on Monday evening 25th of June at 7:30pm. A bus will be leaving the village at 6pm.

Wednesday 27th of June:

U14’s:
Athea U14’s are at home to St. Kieran’s on Wednesday evening 27th of June at 7:30pm in Páirc na nGael. Players to be at the field for 7pm.

Saturday 30th of June:
U12’s:
Athea U12’s are at home to Knockaderry on Saturday morning 30th of June at 11am. Players to be at the field for 10:30am.

Friday 29th of June:

U8’s:
Athea U8’s have a blitz away to Monagea on Friday evening 29th of June at 6:30pm. Cars leaving the village at 5:45pm.

Training:

U12’s Wednesday 20th of June:

There will be U12’s training this Wednesday evening 20th of June from 7pm to 8pm in Páirc na nGael. All players to be at the field for 6:55pm.

U16’s Thursday 21st of June:

U16s will resume training this Thursday evening 21st of June at 7:30pm in Páirc na nGael. All players to be at the field for 7:25pm.

U6’s & U8s Friday 22nd of June:

Training for U6’s & U8’s continues this Friday evening 22nd of June from 6:30pm to 7:30pm in Páirc na nGael.

Registration:
If there is any child that still wants to register they can still do so. The cost of registration is €25 for one child and €40 for a family of 2 or more. A refund amount of €10 will be offered to parent(s) who help out the club with fundraising during the year. For any child who will be registering with the club for the first time it will cost €15.

Kelloggs GAA Cúl Camp:

Once again this year the Cúl Camp will be taking place in Páirc na nGael from Monday 9th of July to Friday 13th of July.

Kelloggs GAA Cúl Camps provide boys and girls – between the ages of 6 and 13 – with an action-packed and fun-filled week of activity during the summer holidays which revolves around maximising enjoyment and sustaining participant involvement in Gaelic Games. Each child receives a FREE Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camp Kit and Kit Bag. The Cúl Camps will run from Monday to Friday, 10.00am to 2.30pm. The cost of the camp is €55 for the first child, €45 of the second child and €40 for third and forth child. You can now book on line at www.kelloggsculcamps.gaa.ie or.contact Jacqueline for more information.Save €5 per child when you register online. See promotional packs of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies for details*

Coiste na nÓg on line:
You can now view all our notes, fixtures, results and pictures of Athea Coiste na nÓg on the Athea GAA website. Just go to www.atheagaa.com and click on the ” Coiste Main Page” for all the latest news and information

Junior B Championship

Athea 1–5 Feenagh/Kilmeedy 0–12

This was a very competitive game played in wet conditions in Templeglantine on Friday night last. We started well but missed a few early chances, Feenagh got on top and at half time led 0–7 to 0–1. The second half showed a big improvement and we put them under lots of pressure with our half back starting to dominate, we kept them scoreless for long periods, but we found scores hard to come by. Best for Athea were Sean, Mike and Brian Ahern, Eoghan Nash and Paul Matthews. Team: Donal Woulfe, Mike Ahern, Sean Ahern, Thomas Sexton, Thomas Hasset, Raymond Brouder, Brian Ahern, John Geoghegan, Colm Hasset, Eoghan Nash, John Cotter, Liam O’ Brien, Dan McMahon, Paul Matthews and Emmet White, subs Paul Griffin and John Hunt.

We play Drom/Broadford on Thursday July 5th at 7.30p.m. in Abbeyfeale in the next round of the championship.

 

Athea G.A.A.

Result:

County Intermediate League

Athea 3 10 Gerald Griffins 0 11.

We recorded our third win in the league with a comprehensive victory over neighbours Gerald Griffins last Tuesday evening. The platform for victory was set in the first half thanks to goals from Kevin O’Keeffe and a double from Kevin O’Mahony. Conor Mullane dominated midfield while apart from the goal-scorers Jamie Collins impressed upfront on his return from injury. At the back Mark O’Connor was outstanding and was well supported by Tom Collins and Podge Reidy. The win was a timely boost as we face Bruree in the second round of the championship next Sunday.

Team v Gerald Griffins: T Enright, M Ahern, T Collins, M Tierney, M O’Connor, M Reidy, R Broudair, C Mullane, P Ahern, S McGrath, J Vaughan, J Collins, P Reidy, K O’Keeffe, K O’Mahony. Subs used: J Cotter, B Ahern and J Geoghegan.

Fixture:

County Intermediate Championship

Athea v Bruree in Newcastlewest Sunday June 24th at 7 45.

Congratulations:

The club would like to congratulate Gerard and Maura Ahern on the birth of their son Shane.

 

Athea Ladies Football

U12 Girls

Our U12 girls played against a very strong Monaleen side in Adare on Friday evening last. Even though we started well with Aoife Curtin and Rachel Greaney scoring a point each early on, it was always going to be hard against the city team. Noelle and Aoife Curtin both scored before half time, but we found ourselves well behind at this stage.

Monaleen started the second half brightly, but great credit is due to the Athea girls who were now playing into a strong wind and driving rain, when they came back into the game against all the odds. Aoife Curtin was once again on the score sheet, when she scored a great point, followed by another point by Eimear Lenihan. Rachel Greaney found the back of the net mid way through the half, Eimear also found the net when she scored a great goal shortly afterwards. Our last score came from Maeve Murphy when she rose the white flag with a great point.

Although the girls lost, their second half performance was excellent as they battled hard in all quarters of the field. We now look forward to the final which is on this weekend and we wish all the girls and their management the best of luck.

Team: Michelle Curtin, Amy Ryan, Sinead Hunt, Grace Ryan, Maeve Murphy, Claire Carmody, Aoife Curtin, Noelle Curtin, Eimear Lenihan, Rachel Greaney, Jade McMahon, Nicole Fitzgerald, Molly Ahern, Sarah O’ Connor & Nicola Scanlon.

 

Athea Golf Society

We had our first visit to Ballykisteen Golf Course on Saturday last and even though the weather wasn’t very seasonal there was some great golf played, none better than Declan White who brought in a whopping 44 points to win Category A.  In 2nd place was Thomas Sexton  Category B was won by Martin Doyle while Category C went to Joe O’Connor (Jnr.). Nearest to the pin was Noel Barry and Gary O’Keeffe won the long drive by the proverbial “country mile”  Our next outing is to Limerick Golf Course on July 21st which will be a team event but in the meantime we have a very important team match in Newcastle West on June 30th where we defend our Observer Cup title. More on this next week.