O’Donovan Rossa Ladies’ Football Club Newsletter – December 2019

Summary …..

Junior County League Div4 winners

West Cork Div3 runners-up

U21 County U21B semi-finalists

Minor West Cork U18A winners

U16 & U15 Competed in West Cork A- League

U14 County U14C and West Cork U14B winners

U13 West Cork U13A winners

U12 County and West Cork U12A runners-up

U6 & U8 & U10 Great training attendance, challenge game participation and fun!

CONGRATULATIONS to our…

Junior and U14 County Champions and our Minor, U14 and U13 West Cork Champions.

2019 was another very successful year for the club - well done to all involved! A lot of hard work & commitment has been put in by players, coaches & parents from U6s to Juniors. All our players have completed a wonderful year’s work with excellent training & match performances.

Registration As a result of the new membership structure introduced as part of the Rossa2020 Strategic Plan, registration was done in collaboration with the Rossa2020 committee and we currently have 195 members registered with the LGFA.

Fundraising The annual flag day was held on Oct 12th- thanks to all those who volunteered their time. Thanks to Fields SuperValu for donating footballs in February to the Ladies and Underage boys’ clubs.

Cork Players Congratulations to Laura O’Mahony who played her first season with the Cork Senior team winning All-Ireland League and Munster Championship medals. Also congrats to Lia Hogan who played a key role in the Cork U14 All-Ireland success in 2019. Well done to Niamh O’Sullivan who has been selected to play with the 2020 Cork U14 panel.

Cul Camp Record numbers of our players attended the Cul Camp in July which was ran by Christine & Sean Fitzgerald and their team of coaches. Thanks to our Chairperson Nora O’Regan, along with the Underage Boys’ Club Chairperson James Fitzgerald, for their work in facilitating the camp.

Social Events A very enjoyable Easter Egg Hunt was held in the Rossa Park on Easter Sunday morning. A Summer Social evening was held on Sat July 6th with a large attendance from all sections of the club. An Information evening for parents and players was held on March 4th at the Pavilion with over 120 people attending. Garda Brigid Hartnett and Don Davis gave a presentation regarding safe online activity and of the safe and welcoming environment of our club.

Committee Sincere thanks to Nora O’Regan, outgoing Chairperson, for all her great work over the past three years.

2019 Season

U8 – Training sessions took place every Friday and Monday (in summer), which incorporated the basic skills – including punt kicking, hand passing, catching and fun games. The U8 team played numerous friendly games from June through to September including against Bantry, Clonakilty, Castlehaven and Ilen Rovers. They also participated in blitzes hosted by Clonakilty and Bantry where they all got plenty game time against numerous West Cork teams.

U10 –The U10 girls had a great season and their coaches were delighted to see big improvements in the girls’ skills with large numbers attending training sessions where the focus was on developing skills and introducing player positions. There were challenge games against Caheragh, Rosscarbery and Ilen Rovers (both home and away). The season ended with a trip to the All-Ireland blitz in Passage. A special thanks to the parents who travelled and helped out. A great day was had by all and everyone is looking forward to another great year in 2020!

U6 – A club nursery programme introduced both girls and

boys from aged 4 upwards to Gaelic Football in a fun, safe

and relaxed environment. The coaches worked mainly on

the fundamental skills - catching, kicking and getting the

children working as a team. A game was played at the end

of training with the emphasis on team work and passing.

Well done to all our future stars!

U12 – Our U12 girls made history this season by becoming the first team from our club to reach an A-grade County Final. They had a fantastic season playing competitively until October and gained invaluable experience in the West Cork and County A-Leagues. They had very narrow losses in both finals but can be immensely proud of their achievements. They also played 8 challenge games against local teams with the younger girls on the panel benefiting greatly from these games. Lots to look forward to with this talented and hard-working group of players!

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U14 The Skibb girls picked up the County U14C Cup on Mon, 2nd Sept in the O’Donovan Rossa GAA Grounds with an

incredibly exciting victory over Bantry (after extra time) on a score line of 4-16 to 5-10. It was a superb game which

had everything - great skill shown on both sides, an amazing atmosphere on the night and superb crowd of

supporters to cheer on our girls. Earlier in the season they won the West Cork U14B final with a good win over Bantry

after an excellent League campaign which saw them top their group. A fantastic season for this great team, well done

to all!

U13 TheU13 League began the end of July

and the team progressed to the West Cork

final after wins against Ilen Rovers,

Castlehaven and Clonakilty (in the semi-

final). They faced Ilen Rovers in the final

and despite being down 10 points early in

the second half the girls fought their way

back and forced a replay which was held in

Castlehaven on Oct 16th. After a close first

half our girls played some great football in

the second half and came away with a

well-deserved West Cork U13A title. Huge

credit is due to this panel of players, all of

whom had a very busy and successful

season at U12 and U14 age-groups also.

U18 – The U18 season was again full of excitement and started with a big win over Colums. Next up was a defeat to Kinsale. The girls bounced back with a win against Bandon. Then came a cracker of a game against Valley Rovers where the girls fought to the end and secured a 3 point victory followed by a comfortable victory over Clon which qualified them for the A final v Kinsale. Before this final was played the girls lost out in the county to a very strong Glanmire side.The West Cork minor A final against a Kinsale team that had beaten them earlier in the season took place on the 20th October and turned out to be the best performance of the year from this team winning by 3.08 to 0.07. West

Cork Minor A champions for the third year in a row!

Junior & U21

2020 Club Officers - Chairperson: Trevor Hegarty, Secretary: Jennifer O’Donovan, Treasurer: Mary Hodnett,

Child Liaison Officer: Anne Crowley, PRO: Grace O’Mahony, Registrar: Finuala McCarthy.

Should a parent/guardian or player have any concerns during the season please contact a member of the committee or coaching staff who will be happy to help.

U15 & U16 – The U16 girls competed in the West Cork A-

league and started off their season with a good win

against Courcey Rovers. However Bandon, Valleys and

Clonakilty proved too strong for the Skibb girls and they

went into their last match needing a win against

Dunmanway to progress to the semi-final stage. The

game ended in a draw after a tough physical match. Well

done to this young team who trained well all year.

The U15 competition started in late August and our girls

faced Dunmanway again but unfortunately lost out by 4

points in what was a close game throughout

This season our club entered two Junior teams in

the West Cork championship. The second team

had good wins over Caheragh and Kinsale before

narrowly losing out to Muintir Gabriels in the

West Cork Div3 final. The Juniors also competed

in the County Div 4 League and rounded off a

great season with a win against Courcey Rovers in

the final on Oct 27th ensuring they will play

County Div3 league football next year. In the

County championship they moved up a grade to

Junior-B this season and after a good win over

Courcey Rovers they had tough losses to

Bishopstown and Dohenys (eventual winners).

They will again compete at Junior-B next year.

The U21 ladies progressed to the County semi-

final losing out to an experienced Douglas side.

The u18, u21 & Junior panels trained 66 times,

played 28 matches, scored 75 goals and 282

points and conceded 55 goals and 222 points.

They can all look forward to 2020 with great

anticipation and confidence!

Sciath na Scol

Well done to all our players who were part of

this year’s Sciath na Scol team representing St.

Josephs’ GNS. The girls had a great win in the

final against Dunmanway.

West Cork Ladies

Congratulations to club players Laura

O’Mahony, Fionnuala O’Driscoll, Aoife Leonard

and James O’Mahony (coach) who were part

of the West Cork Ladies team that reached the

Senior County final losing out to

Mourneabbey.

Medal Presentation

A very enjoyable O’Donovan Rossa Club Celebration Dinner was held at the West Cork hotel on Saturday

Jan 19th. Medals for the 2018 season were presented to the Junior and Minor Ladies along with the Junior

Hurlers, U21 and Junior mens’ teams. A great night was had by all.

HELP!!

A lot of work goes into the running of our growing club and the dedication and commitment of those who

volunteer their time both on and off the pitch is greatly appreciated. We welcome help from parents

throughout the season e.g. hosting visiting teams after matches, taking team photos on behalf of the coaches

at games, washing jerseys, providing transport to matches - everything helps!

Cul Camp at the Rossa Park

Best of luck to all our players for 2020

Community Games

This year the West Cork u12 and u14 girls’

teams again competed in the National

Community Games. Two girls from our

club played with the u14 team and were

runners-up in the Munster final. Three of

our players were part of the U12 team

and achieved All-Ireland success after a

great final against the Connaught

champions from Co. Mayo.

Senior Ladies Match at Rossa Park

The highlight of the season for our U8

girls was participating in an exhibition

game at half time in the Senior

Championship game between St. Val’s &

West Cork Ladies in Rossa Park on 4th

July. The players relished the

opportunity to play in front of an

appreciative crowd and did the club

proud with their performance.

ODR players attending the LGFA Summer

Development camp in Clonakilty.