[2024-07-07]

There was a great day of festivities in Garrycastle on Sunday for the official opening of the new Club Gym. The day started in great form with a sports day for the younger players, and included matches at under-10 level between the boys and girls teams.

Following that it was time for the official opening ceremony. Club Chairperson, Trish Dolan, welcomed all of the attendees, including our Club presidents, and other dignitaries from the club and the local area, as well as the mayor of the Athlone-Moate Municipal District, Frankie Keena, and other local representatives, and the Westmeath GAA chairman, Frank Mescall.

In her address, Trish paid tribute to all of those who have worked so hard to develop the club over the years, culminating in the provision of the new Gym. She noted that the gym is dedicated to the memory of Enda Mulvihill and all deceased club members which is a very fitting link between those that came before us and those that will succeed us. She also especially thanked the hard-working committees responsible for the provision of the gym and for organising the celebrations on the day.

In his address to the assembled crowd, Frank Mescall mentioned that even though Garrycastle is the newest club in Westmeath, formed as recently as 1981, it has had a very successful run to date, and he singled out the Westmeath senior county manager, Dessie Dolan, among others,  for special praise, He also congratulated the Garrycastle u15 Girls National Div.1 Féile Shield winners team, many of whom were present.

The final address was from Club co-president Jack Veale, who revealed his pride in how far the club has come since it was founded, and how it has developed over the years.

For the official opening, green and red ribbons were held by Ella and Emily Mulvihill in memory of Enda Mulvihill, by Holly Carson in memory of Staci Daly and by Eoin McCormack in memory of Seamus McCormack and deceased club and community members. The ribbons were officially cut to open the gym by Club presidents Seamus Nugent and Jack Veale to great applause from the assembled crowd. Then it was time for refreshments and a chance to tour the new facilities.

Thereafter it was time for the ‘club legends’ teams to take the field, with Niall Ward as referee. Rarely has he had an easier game to manage. From the sideline, it was like watching the years roll back, with club players and justifiable legends such as David O’Shaughnessy, Dessie Dolan, Karl Henson, “Dollar” Daly and a host more take to field one more time to show the younger lads how it should be done. It was a privilege to watch some of these players again, some of whom haven’t played in years, but as is often said, form may be temporary, but class is permanent, and so it played out. There wasn’t a dry eye in the field from watching the sheer levels of skill on view! If there was a score kept, it wasn’t announced anywhere!

The final action of the day was a Mothers vs Daughters match, which pitted none other than the club chairperson herself (as well as other committee members), against the younger players in the ladies teams. Some great skill on show in the match, and with the referee’s whistle handed to Karl Henson for the occasion, very little frees given!

Overall, a fantastic day in Garrycastle GAA Club, and all responsible for the planning and organization of the day deserve the highest praise.

Go mbeimid beo ag an am seo arís.

[2024-06-29]

On Saturday last, June 29th, our Under-15 girls travelled to the Connacht Centre of Excellence, in Claremorris Co. Mayo to participate in the National division one Féile Peile na nÓg. 

Garrycastle, as Westmeath champions, were paired with the Mayo, Kerry and Down champions in the group stages. Garrycastle started with a hard-fought draw against the Co. Down champions from Carryduff. They then took on the Co. Kerry champions, Castleisland Desmonds, losing narrowly in that game before also suffering a narrow loss to the Co. Mayo champions from Hollymount in the final group game. In both of the lost games there was very little in it, and a favourable bounce of the ball could have made all the difference.

So, once the group stages were complete, we qualified for the Division 1 Shield Semi Final, where we were drawn against a strong Kilmacud Crokes team who were the champions of Dublin. 

From the start of this game, all things seemed to fall into place. They girls found a new energy, and the passes and kicks were all executed with great speed and accuracy. Libby McHugh, Ellen Parker and Orla Turner were solid in defence and kept the oppositions score to a minimum. Erin McHugh, Amelie Henson and Olivia Collins kept the scoreboard ticking over and the girls ran out comfortable winners in the end. 

So, with that great win under their belts, it was only the Cork champions from Ballincollig that stood in the way of the girls and a Division 1 Shield victory. In what was always going to be a tight and nervous game, our girls were unlucky not to build a big lead in the first half with a few near misses and crossbars keeping the game in the balance. Erin McHugh scored a huge goal and points from Ella Sweeney, Hannah Ganly and Olivia Collins gave us a 5 point lead going into the final 5 minutes. 

Ballincollig didn’t give up, however, and threw everything at us in the closing stages, and but for the heroics of Ellen Parker in goals, they would have caught us. They didn’t however, and Garrycastle were crowned Division 1 Shield winners for 2024. 

This was an absolutely fantastic achievement for this great bunch of girls, and they made their club and county proud. There were great celebrations at the final whistle in Co. Mayo, and indeed later on that evening when they arrived home to Garrycastle.

Squad: Ellen Parker, Orla Turner, Amy Carter, Doireann Keena, Rionagh Costello, Libby McHugh, Rebecca Sleator, Jane Byrne, Amelie Henson, Hannah Ganly, Jola Kearney, Erin McHugh, Trudy Quilty, Ella Sweeney, Wiktoria Wziatek, Olivia Collins, Ellianna McManus, Lily Duffy, Alanna Gaffey, Aoife McHugh, Sarah Condon, Alex Murphy, Hayley Murphy.

Many thanks to our generous sponsors for Féile - Lidl, Rotofab Ltd; Caulfield Industrial; Zenith Adhesive Components and Supermacs Moate.

Garrycastle GAA Club is delighted to officially launch the “Winner Takes All” fundraising draw, backed by Ganly's, the clubs main sponsor over many years.

The draw will see one lucky winner win two tickets to this year’s All-Ireland Senior Football Final in Croke Park on Sunday July 28th. The All-Ireland Senior Football Final is one of the major sporting events of the summer, and tickets are always hard to come by. Not alone will the lucky winner get two tickets to this highly anticipated final, but in addition, they will also win a two-night stay in the luxurious 4-star Gibson hotel at the Point Square in Dublin, perfect for a relaxing break before travelling to the match in style, and to cap it all off, they will also win €1,000 in spending money to spend however they wish!

This is a fantastic once-in-a-lifetime prize, and makes a perfect gift for any GAA football supporter.

Click >> HERE << to buy your tickets !

Tickets are available via all of the club’s social media and web channels, and are also available directly on iDonate.ie; search for “Garrycastle GAA Winner Takes All”.

Garrycastle GAA Club will also be selling tickets in Golden Island Shopping Centre on Saturday June 15th.

Tickets are keenly priced at one for €10, three for €20, ten for €50 or twenty-five for €100. As always, if you’re not in, you can’t win!

The prize draw will take place live on Facebook on Saturday July 20th at 9pm.

An opportunity exists under the Department of Social Protection Community Employment scheme for a Ground Person position in Garrycastle GAA Club.

The Job description includes cutting pitches, marking of pitches, cleaning of dressing rooms, litter control on the club grounds, etc.

Full details and how to apply may be see below.

All roads lead to Mayo this weekend, Saturday June 29, when the Garrycastle under-15 girls take part in the National Féile finals. After winning the county Féile in April, our girls have been placed in division one of the national competition. It is the first time in the club history that a ladies team will compete in the top tier of the national competition. They will face the Kerry champions Castleisland Desmonds; the Mayo champions Hollymount; and the Down champions from Carryduff. 

Our panel of 25 girls will make the journey to the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence on Saturday morning to represent Garrycastle and Westmeath. Our first game will be at 11:40am and depending on results from our group games we will automatically compete in the semi-final for either the cup or the shield. 

Garrycastle girls have a long history with Féile, winning their first county title in 2001, and representing Westmeath at All-Ireland Féile on four separate occasions, winning a Division-3 title in 2003, and a Division-2 title the following year.

Support is welcomed on the day and we encourage all parents, club members and sporting fans to come along and support our girls in what will hopefully be a memorable day for all the players involved. 

We want to wish all the girls and management the very best of luck this weekend. There is no better group of players to represent our club and county. 

Many thanks to our generous sponsors for Féile - Rotofab Ltd; Caulfield Industrial; Zenith Adhesive Components and Supermacs Moate.

The under-12 boys and their management team were delighted to receive training tops sponsored by Forefront Events. Seamus King of Forefront Events, who is based in Australia and is himself a former player with Garrycastle, was back in his home club to make the presentation. 

Many thanks to Forefront Events for their kind sponsorship, we wish them every success and safe travels to Seamus as he heads back down under. [2024-02-26]

Derek Daly Memorial 5km Walk/Run