[2023-09-23]

Garrycastle under-9s hosted Castledaly, Rosemount & St. Mary’s Rochfortbridge for the last of the 2023 GO Games on Saturday morning. 

The boys have shown great improvement over the past couple of months and there was some lovely football on display throughout each of the matches.

Many thanks for the parents who have supported our teams and travelled to the various locations across the county this year. 

Training continues on Thursday evenings at 7pm. We are always welcome to new players, so why not come down and give Gaelic a go!

Under-9 Coach Contact for 2021

For all enquiries related to the Boys Under-9 group in 2021, please contact Jonathan Sweeney on 087 7780819

Training times for this group may be found on the Training Schedule page.

2020

2020 Street Leagues, Sunday September 27th 2020

On Sunday morning the Garrycastle U7 and U9 Boys once again joined forces with the U8 and U10 girls to contest Rounds 5 and 6 of the Garrycastle Street Leagues.

With plenty of skills and determination on show; the team spirit, sportsmanship and team work was outstanding in all teams.  With the full time whistles barely blown, focus immediately switched to the penultimate weekend of games as the players compared scorelines and talked tactics for the matches ahead.

2020 Street Leagues, Sunday September 13th 2020

Sunday morning saw the start of the annual Garrycastle Street League tournament at the Club grounds. For the 2020 competition, mixed teams from Under 10 and Under 8 Girls along with the Under 9 and Under 7 Boys squads took to the field to do battle. 

On a hugely enjoyable morning's football, 63 players took part in the opening round of fiercely competitive fixtures in a wonderful showcase of skill, teamwork, fun and friendship.

The organising committee would like to express most sincere thanks to the local schools, Cornamaddy NS, Clonbonny NS, St Ciaran's NS Baylin, Coosan NS, Scoil na gCeithre Máistrí and Ballinahown NS for their fantastic show of community support to provide jerseys for the teams.

Under-9 GO Games, Saturday September 12th 2020

On Saturday morning, the Garrycastle Under 9 squad made the short journey to Tubberclair for the penultimate round of matches in the 2020 Westmeath GAA Go Games series.

Showing great commitment once again, Garrycastle traveled in numbers and fielded two strong teams. With players continuing to get a taste of playing in every position, the Garrycastle

team rose to the challenge with an excellent display of skills and more importantly team work in their games.

Thanks to the players and management of Tubberclair for hosting a fantastic blitz.

Garrycastle Greens: 

Aaron Costello, Michael Kelly, James Cahill, Daniel Murphy, Adam Wojcik, Keelan Byrne, Keelan McCormack, William Francis-Redmond, Tyler Conlon, Callum Lowe, Daniel Sleator, Jan Pozarowski

Garrycastle Reds: 

Darragh Donegan, Jamie Costello, Robert Connor, Senan Kelly, Senan Keena, Dylan Fox, Valerio Bellassai, Daragh Dolan, Brian Feeney, Eoghan McCormack, Jason Doolan.

Under-9 GO Games, Saturday August 8th

On a glorious Saturday morning, the Under 9 squad welcomed their Maryland counterparts to Garrycastle as the 2020 Westmeath GAA Go Games got underway.

With 18 players available on the day, Garrycastle fielded 2 teams with a fantastic show of skills and teamwork throughout. The younger members of the squad in particular, some playing their first ever GAA match, must be commended on their brilliant attitude putting all their training into practice to give a great performance during a very enjoyable mornings football.

Garrycastle Reds: Michael Kelly, Dylan Fox, Daniel Sleator, Brían Feeney, Tyler Conlon, Callum Lowe, Kealan McCormack, Senan Farrell, Harry Doran, Jason Doolan.

Garrycastle Greens: Jamie Costello, Kealan Byrne, James Cahill, Eoghan McCormack, Daniel Murphy, William Francis-Redmond, Darragh Donegan, Senan Keena.

2019

Under-10 Management Team for 2019

The Under-10 Management team for 2019 is comprised of Michael Mulvihill (Lead), Paraic Joyce, Roy Glennon, Ray Stankard, Phyllis Furey and Mark Redmond.

Contact Michael at 087-4671762 for details related to training, matches, etc.

Training Times for 2019 for the Under-10 squad

• Sunday morning 11:00am to 12noon

• Tuesday evening 6.30pm to 7.30 pm

Under-10 Summary of the games and matches for 2019

• Pitch size 65m x 40m minimum to 70m x 45m maximum size.

• Matches played with 8 or 9 players a side,  no more than 10 players a side.

• 13 to 15 minutes a half.

• Goal and point worth the same value (1) from scoring viewpoint

Match schedule

• Rd1 Caulry Away (5th April)

• Rd2 Kilbeggan at HOME (26th April)

• Rd3 Castledaly Away (25th May)

• Rd4 Moate & Tyrrellspass at HOME (W/E 8th June)

• Rd5 Shandonagh Away (W/E 22nd June)

• Rd6 Caulry & Tyrellspass at HOME (W/E 6th July)

• Rd7 Ballynacargy AWAY (W/E 20th July)

• Centralised Blitz in Caulry (17th August)

• Rd8 Castledaly at HOME (W/E 31st Aug)

• Tournament in St. Marys Rochfortbridge (Saturday Sept. 7th)

• Rd9 Lilliput Gaels AWAY (W/E 14th Sept)

• Tournament in Caulry (Saturday 21st September)

• Tournament in Clann na nGael (Saturday 28th September)

• Rd10 Kilbeggan AWAY (TBC)

• Tournament in Castledaly (Sunday October 6th)

• Optional Match W/E 12th Oct

• Optional Match W/E 26th Oct

We will be organising friendlies as well - details will be advised.

Castledaly Tournament : October 6th

On Sunday, 16 of our under-10s travelled to the Annual Castledaly tournament. There was a strong performance from our young men, reaching the final of the Shield. Unfortunately they were beaten on the day by a strong Castledaly team.

All told it was a great season by our under-9s and under-10s. A special thanks to all these young men for their commitment all year, to their parents for their efforts to get to training and matches and to our coaches for providing their knowledge and encouragement throughout the year.

Street League Finals Day : September 29th

Picture from the Street leagues final day held in Garrycastle on Sunday September 29th. The street league had 6 mixed teams, made up of boys from under-7 to under-9, and girls from under-7 to under-10. 

Clann na Gael Tournament : Saturday September 28th

On Saturday the under-9s and under-10s went out to Clann na Gael and took part in their blitzes. While the under-10s found the going difficult, the under-9s performed brilliantly to reach the final losing out to the Fingallians team from Dublin.

By all accounts it was a great day’s football, well done all and thanks to Clan na Gael for inviting us.

Under-9/10 - Larry Nugent Tournament in Caulry, September 21st

The Garrycastle Under-9 and under-10 squad travelled to Caulry for the Larry Nugent tournament on Saturday. Brilliant days football. Garrycastle fielded 2 teams, after a slow start Garrycastle got going and won the Plate final and their second team were beaten in the other final. Thanks to everybody that attended the tournament as we now approach the end of the U9/10 season.

Under-9/10 - St. Marys Rochfortbridge Tournament, September 6th

The under-9 and under-10 boys travelled to the St Mary's tournament in Rochfortbridge on Saturday last. It was an excellent day with great football being played. 

Garrycastle fielded 2 teams - an U9 and U10 team. The competition was tough on the day with the U9 side winning the Plate final. Thanks to all the parents for travelling for what was another proud day for Garrycastle.

Garrycastle Under-9 and Under-10 teams with the St. Marys, Rochfortbridge tournament plate.

Under-10 Blitz in Caulry, August 17th

The Garrycastle Under-10 team travelled to Caulry for a county organised GO games blitz.

Garrycastle fielded 2 teams with each team playing 3 matches.

Panel:

Back row:- Jack Tucker McCallon, Brendan Nally, Conor Mubiru McCormack, Breehin Redmond, James Browne, Eoin Joyce, Aaron Mulvihill, Darragh Clyne, Daragh McCormack, Tadhg Mulvihill

Front Row:- Daniel Crosby, Eddie Galvin, Joey Dunne, Rhys Murphy, Dylan Nicholson, Scott Lowe, Luke Stankard, Conor Shields, Nathan Henson, Aidan Costello, missing from photo Shane Glennon.

Under-10 Blitz vs St. Brigids, June 5th

The Garrycastle Under-10 squad played a series of friendly blitz matches against St. Brigids in Kiltoom on Wednesday 5th June 2019.

We fielded 3 teams, with each team playing 3 matches. The games were keenly contested and very competitive with all players playing every minute.

Thanks to all the parents who brought their children to the blitz.

The Garrycastle U9/U10 squad who played a recent friendly vs Padraig Pearses in Woodmount, on Thursday evening the 2nd May 2019

2018

Under-10 Update : Saturday September 29th

The Under 10 team finished up their season recently winning the Shield final against Castledaly in the Larry Nugent Cup hosted by Caulry GAA club. Having lost their opening game, they accounted for Moate All-Whites and Caulry along the way before finishing with one of their best displays of the season in the final.

The trophy was accepted by captain on the day, Luke Quilty.

Well done lads!

Team on the day:

Louis Shine, Daniel Stankard, James Derwin, Darragh Glennon, Eoghan Joyce, Oisin O'Donoghue, Jack Dowling, Rhys Larkin, James Kelly, Luke Quilty, Ronan Croughan, Alex Connor, Senan Nugent.

Missing from picture: Dylan Moloney, Adam Kearney.

Under-10 Update : Thursday September 27th

The under-9 and under-10 teams came up just short in the 3rd place final in the Clann na nGael / Tormey's League where both teams acquitted themselves well over the course of the tournament.

Team for the Tormeys league "C" final:

Daniel Stankard, Rhys Larkin, James Kelly, Darragh Glennon, Jack Dowling, Oisin O'Donoghue, Alex Connor, Dylan Maloney, Senan Nugent, Ronan Croughan Luke Quilty, Adam Kearney, Louis Shine, James Derwin.

The Under-10 team lost out in the Shield Final of the Coughlan Cup held recently in Castledaly by 1 point, after a heroic fightback against Tubberclair, having been behind by 5 points early in the second half.

Panel on the evening was:

Daniel Stankard, Oisin O’Donoghue, Darragh Glennon, Ronan Croghan, Jack Dowling, Louie Shine, Luke Quilty, Rhys Larkin, Dylan Maloney, Adam Kearney, James Kelly, James Derwin, Senan Nugent, Alex Connor.

Under-10 Update : Monday September 17th

Our under 10 team recently defeated Moate in the 2nd round of the Coughlan Cup, which is hosted by Castledaly. It was a fine performance by Garrycastle who worked very hard on the evening to secure the win. Garrycastle had lost the 1st round to St. Josephs.

Our under 10 and under 9 teams recently took part in the annual Rochfortbridge u9/u10 tournament. The Under 10s were successful in winning the plate competition, while the U9s lost out narrowly in their final.

Panel on the evening was:

Conor Shiels, Senan Nugent, Louis Shine, Harry Lowe, Scott Lowe, Eddie Galvin, Conor McCormack, Jack Dowling, Darragh Clyne, Darragh Glennon, Oisin Donoghue, Ronan Croughan, Luke Quilty, Brendan Nally, Ryan Kilmurray, Rhys Larkin, Dylan Nicholson, Jack Kilmurray, Jack Tucker

The U10s and U9s also both took part in the Clann na nGael, Tormey’s League, playing Ballinasloe, Tubberclair, and St. Brigid’s respectively. The U9s lost their first game, winning their second game, and after a fine battle, lost narrowly in their third game. The under 10 team drew their 3 group games. The highlight of their morning’s football was their fine fightback to secure a draw against St. Brigid’s.

The Under 10 panel :

Daniel Stankard, Oisin O’Donoghue, Darragh Glennon, Ronan Croughan, Jack Dowling, Louie Shine, Luke Quilty, Rhys Larkin, Dylan Maloney, Adam Kearney, James Kelly, James Derwin, Senan Nugent, Alex Connor.

The Under 9 panel:

Aidan Costello, Darragh Clyne, Brandon Gallagher, Eddie Galvin, Tadhg Johnston, Eoghan Joyce, Conor Keegan, Jack Kilmurray, Ryan Kilmurray, Scott Lowe, Conor Mubiru McCormack, Dylan Nicholson, Rory O’Connor, Breehin Redmond, Conor Shiels, Jack Tucker McCallon, Harry Lowe, Izaac Casserly, James Earley, Paidi McKiernan

2017

Under-10 2017 Fixtures

The U10 league and Blitz match dates and locations are available on the Calendar link

 U10 Blitz dates:

Under-10 News for 2017

1 October 2017

In the Castledaly tournament final on Sunday week last the under 10s defeated Maryland Tang by 15 scores to 5. In a tight first half the Garrycastle  boys were able to maintain a three point lead  and led by 7 points to 4 at halftime. In the second half Garrycastle  broke down the opposition and found scores easier to come by. They gradually increased their lead and in the end ran out easy winners. This was a hard fought game and the greater skill of the Garrycastle  boys won out on the day.  It was an excellent all round performance by Garrycastle  in which every player played his part. As well as well taken scores there was good build up play and also good defence including many excellent blocks. Most of all there was a will to win which was very impressive. Overall it was an impressive display by the Garrycastle  boys. In addition James McHugh was awarded the player of the tournament title.  

On the previous day the under 9s and 10s had won the Clann na Gael tournament. There will be more detailed reports on both matches next week.

25 September 2017

Well done to the under 10s who completed the clean sweep over the weekend when they added two more tournament wins to their tally.  On Saturday they defeated Ballinasloe in the Clan na Gael tournament.  The format of this competition is that under 9s and 10s play two separate matches and the aggregate score decides the winner. Garrycastle  won the under 10 match easily and the under 9s lost theirs by a point. After celebrating that win they headed to Castledaly on Sunday to play the final of their tournament against Maryland Tang and came out victorious by ten points. In addition Garrycastle  player, James McHugh, was voted player of the tournament. More details on these games will follow.

The boys and girls of Garrycastle represented their club and county magnificently once again as they competed in the Rochfortbridge tournament last Saturday the 14th of September. Our under 10’s and under 9’s competed in two separate tournaments and every child delivered with the terrific performances that we have come to expect.

The under 9’s battled extremely hard in the group stages with victories over St. Mary’s Rochfortbridge girls St. Brigids and holding out for a draw against a very strong team from the Downs. The efforts of the boys and girls was good enough for them to progress to the A final where the met a very strong Roscommon Gaels team. Unfortunately this was a fence too far for our lads, however they are to be commended for the terrific display which they put in.

The under 10’s, driven on by the performances of their teammates in the u9’s, again showed their class as they too topped their group with victories over St. Brigid’s, The Downs and Killucan. This lined up an ‘A’ final against a very strong St. Mary’s Rochfortbridge team. This time however, the boys managed to drive on and put in another super display to take home the cup.

Congratulations to all involved in the day, everybody did themselves, their teammates, their coaches and their families extremely proud. Thanks again to our supporters who came along to cheer on the boys and girls.

Panel: Mairead McBride, Jack Dowling, Daniel Stankard, Dylan Moloney, Senan Nugent, Darragh Glennon, Oisín O’Donoghue, Ronan Croughan, Luke Quilty, Louie Shine, Jack Kilmurray, Darragh Clyne, Tyrese Quinn, Rhys Larkin, Luke Quilty,

Conor McCormack, Van McKay, Rian Gaynor, Andrew Henson, Keelan McNamara, Aaron Keegan, James McHugh, Niadh Shine, Jack Dolan, Cristean Turean, Cian Norris, Fionn McMahon, Dylan Frawley, Christopher Malone.

11 September 2017

Under 10 - Castledaly Tournament

Under 10 - Clann na Gael tournament

21st August 2017

The under 10s were invited into a tournament by Celbridge GAA which took place last Saturday in Celbridge. In the league section Garrycastle  lost to Fingallians in the first match before they had settled down. Subsequently they defeated Edenderry, Castletown, Wexford (the eventual Cup winners). They finished in second spot in the group, losing out on points difference for top place. They beat Miltown Malbay, Clare in the semi final and beat Kilmacud Crokes in the Plate final. This was great experience for the players and gives them confidence knowing they can compete with the best.  Well done to all.

Thanks

Thanks to Knight Construction (Tony Knight)  and to Minister Kevin Boxer Moran for sponsoring socks and shorts for Garrycastle under 10s.

July 4th 2017

Garrycastle U10s took part in a blitz in Caulry GAA on Tuesday July 4th. Despite missing a number of regulars, we were still able to field 2 teams and played against Lilliput Gaels, Rosemount and Mullingar Shamrocks. Both teams played 2 matches each. Each of the 4 matches provided very exciting viewing for the spectators present. This panel of players are ever improving and our hard training is really starting to pay dividends. Some of the tackling, blocking, fielding and score taking really was a joy to watch. Thanks to Caulry for a very enjoyable evening. Thanks to all our parents and supporters for their great support once again. And a big thanks to Giovanni Hudson for washing the jerseys. The Garrycastle panel who  wore the green and red with great pride included.. James McHugh. Aaron Keegan. Oisin Mulvihill. Darragh Glennon. Cian Norris. James Derwin. Grace Costello. Fionn McMahon. Jack Dowling. Ronan Croughan. Christian Turean. Andrew Henson. Niadh Shine. Rian Gaynor. Louie Shine. Callum Hudson. Van McKay. Mairead McBride. Jack Dolan. Luke Quilty. Dylan Maloney.

June 25th 2017

Garrycastle U10s had a very enjoyable morning in Roscommon last Sunday thanks to Roscommon Gaels. We were delighted to be able to field 3 teams and each team got to play 3 competitive matches. The standard of football from both clubs was brilliant. Everything thats great about Gaelic football was very evident in all of the 9 matches. Many thanks to Roscommon Gaels for a very well organised and fun morning. We will be sure to see ye in Garrycastle in the near future. Thanks to all our parents for their continued support. Big thanks to Ursula McHugh for washing the jerseys. 

Our panel included...Kealan McNamara, Christian Turean, Aaron Keegan, Niadh Shine, Kealan Ward, James McHugh, Conor McCormack, Fionn McMahon, Rian Gaynor, Dylan Frawley, Calum Hudson, Van McKay, Darragh Glennon, Maireid McBride, Daniel Stankard,  Luke Quilty, Ronan Croughan, Jack Dowling, Dylan Moloney, Christopher Malone, Louie Shine, James Derwin, Jack Dolan, Senan Nugent, Thanh McCay, Anthony Mannion, Oisin Nugent. 

June 20th 2017

The Garrycastle u10’s yet again put in a fantastic display at the Maryland blitz on Tuesday the 20th June as they overcame the challenges of Caulry, Lilliput Gaels and Millmore Gaels. We had a great turnout of players, fielding three separate teams. The players showcased their high level of skills over the six games with each player receiving plenty of game time. Many thanks to Maryland/Tang for the organisation of the blitz and to our fantastic supporters for making the trip out to Drumraney.

May 9th 2017

Garrycastle u10s had a fantastic evening out in Castledaly on Tuesday 9th. We were delighted to have a panel of 30, which meant we were able to field 3 teams. Each of our 3 teams performed brilliantly in all matches and were a credit to our club. All 30 players got loads of game time and enjoyed very competitive matches against teams from  Maryland/Tang, Moate, Castledaly and Rosemount. Our hard work in training is really starting to pay off. The tackling, blocking, passing, decision making and score taking really was a joy to watch. This talented and determined panel of players are continuing to improve with every week. We will continue to have fun and train hard and we look forward to our next blitz. Thanks to Castledaly GAA for a very enjoyable evening. 

Garrycastle panel included:-  Cian Norris, Oisin O'Donoghue, Christopher Malone, Daniel Stankard, Dylan Frawley, James McHugh, Aaron Keegan, Andrew Henson, Tyreece Quinn, Keelan Ward, Rhys Larkin, Luke Quilty, Dylan Maloney, Calum Hudson, Van McCay, Darragh Glennon, Senan Nugent, Níadh Shine, Oisin Mulvihill, Keelan McNamara, Louie Shine, Jack Dowling, Jack Dolan, Conor McCormack, Ronan Croughan, James Derwin, Maireid McBride, Fionn McMahon, Rían Gaynor, Darren Mulligan.

1 May 2017

We had a very busy evening in Garrycastle on Tuesday. It was great to see 150 children enjoying Gaelic Football and having fun. We were delighted to  welcome five clubs, Maryland/Tang, Caulry, Millmore Gaels, St.Marys Rochfortbridge and Rosemount to Garrycastle G.A.A . We had ten teams and all ten got to play two matches each. Each game was played in a very sporting manner, and provided excellent viewing to all our spectators. Also each child got a goodie bag at the end. Garrycastle had 35 players available and fielded two teams. Each team enjoyed two exciting matches, with all players getting plenty of game time. Many thanks to all who helped out organising and ensuring the blitz was a great success. 

Garrycastle panel included: -Cian Norris, Oisin O'Donoghue, Christopher Malone, Daniel Stankard, Dylan Frawley, James McHugh, Aaron Keegan, Andrew Henson Christian Turean, Tyreece Quinn, Keelan Ward, Rhys Larkin, Luke Quilty, Adam Kearney, Dylan Maloney, Hazel Donegan,  Calum Hudson, Van McCay, Darragh Glennon, Senan Nugent, Níadh Shine, Oisin Mulvihill, Keelan McNamara, Louie Shine, Jack Dowling, Jack Dolan, Conor McCormack, Ronan Croughan, James Derwin, Maireid McBride, Fionn McMahon, Rían Gaynor, Darren Mulligan, Eve Murphy, Oskaras Piskorowski.

18 April 2017

Our U10s got this year off to a great start. On a fine evening for football our U9s and U10s came out on top against two fine Tubberclair teams.  Both games were very exciting to watch with some excellent football played and great determination shown by all players. Even though we were missing a lot of players for various reasons we still had a panel of 27. This was our first outing of the year. This exciting bunch of players will continue to have fun during training and we all look forward to our next match. 

Tuesday evenings panel included....Callum Hudson, Conor McCormack, Van McCay, Jack Dolan , Darragh Glennon, Ronan Croughan, Dylan Moloney, James Derwin, Adam Kearney, Keelan Ward, Darren Mulligan, Jack Dowling, Rhys Larkin, Eve Murphy, Cian Norris, Daniel Stankard, Aaron Keegan, James McHugh, Dylan Frawley, Christopher Malone, Tyrese Quinn, Oisin O Donoghue, Oisin Mulvihill, Niadh Shine, Andrew Henson, Kealan McNamara, Rian Gaynor.

2016

Five Captains!

The Under-10 squad in 2016 brought home trophies from 4 different competitions, the most of any team in the club!

Pictured are:

Anthony Mannion : Tormeys Solicitors / Clann na NGael Tournament, Under-10 captain

James McHugh : St. Mary's Rochfortbridge Tournament, Under-9 captain

Aaron Keegan :  Tormeys Solicitors / Clann na NGael Tournament, Under-9 captain

Killian Keegan : Castledaly tournament Shield

David Carter : St. Mary's Rochfortbridge Tournament, Under-10 captain

Well done to all involved!

Under-10 End-of-year outing, Nov. 13th 2016

The Garrycastle under-10 squad gathered on Sunday for an end-of-year trip to Kingdom of Sports in Mullingar, as a "Thank you" from the club for all of their efforts during the year. We had a full turnout of 28 players, who took part in 10 different sports in the Mullingar complex. 

Honours on the day for the best combined score across all 10 sports on offer went to Louie Shine - no better man!

The Under-10 year is now officially at an end.

Highlights of this year include

• • Cup Finalists, Joe Matthews Memorial Tournament hosted by St. Lomans GAA Club.

  • Quarter Finalists, All-Ireland Under-10 Football Festival 2016, hosted by Celbridge GAA Club, Co. Kildare.

  • Cup Winners, Under-9 tournament, hosted by St. Marys Rochfortbridge.

  • Shield Winners, Under-10 tournament, hosted by St. Marys Rochfortbridge.

  • “B” Final winners, Clann na nGael/Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 league, hosted by Clann na nGael GAA Club, Co. Roscommon.

  • Shield Winners, Coughlan Cup Competition, hosted by Castledaly GAA.

Across all competitions this year, this squad played in no fewer than 71 distinct matches, and on all occasions, represented their club and families with great heart and pride. 

Now it is time to rest and recharge the batteries, before starting again in the new year, with some of this group remaining at under-10, and the remainder of the group moving up a grade to under-12.

Castledaly Under-10 League, Shield Final vs Millmore Gaels, Castledaly, Oct. 16th

The Garrycastle under-10 squad finished their year in style with a hard fought win over Millmore Gaels in the Shield final of the Castledaly under-10 league on Sunday morning. On a very wet and windy day, Garrycastle started the game playing into a strong headwind and struggled to get grips with the conditions. The Millmore Gaels side adapted more quickly, and posted the first two scores before we got a reply back from James McHugh.

Further points from Millmore Gaels saw them extend their lead before points from Tom Sheehan, and Kacey Mulvihill with a great score from a very tight angle, kept Garrycastle in touch. At the break, Garrycastle trailed by three points.

Turning to play with the wind in the second half, the Garrycastle team got off to a poor start and conceded three further points in a row, before the Garrycastle fighting spirit came to the fore, and helped by some positional switches and substitutions, started to reel in the lead. The Garrycastle midfield began to take control, and played some lovely balls into the forward line, who took advantage to knock over some great scores from Niadh Shine, Jack Allen and David Carter. The backs as well started to get the upper hand, and closed down the Millmore Gaels attack convincingly. As the game entered the final quarter, Garrycastle piled on the pressure, and an inspirational point from a sideline ball from James acted as the spur to drive the team on. Garrycastle levelled the game, and took the lead, but had to deal with some serious pressure from the Millmore Gaels forwards, with goalkeeper Dean Greham in excellent form as the last line of defense.  

As the game came to a close, a further brace of excellent scores made the game safe, and it was a very happy and excited group of Garrycastle players, led by captain Killian Keegan, who accepted the Castledaly Shield.

Overall, this game was a very stern test for this group of players, and it was great to see their fighting spirit, and never say die attitude, come to the fore when it was most needed.  The entire under-10 management team is extremely proud of the squad and it was a pleasure working with them throughout the 2016 season. Now it is time for a well deserved break and to recharge the batteries before next year.

Squad:

Dean Greham, Anthony Mannion, Killian Keegan, David Carter, Sean O'Donoghue, Tom Sheehan, Andrew Henson, James McHugh, Oisin Mulvihill, Brandon Devaney, Kacey Mulvihill (capt.), Dylan Fawley, Calum Hudson, Van McCay, Aaron Keegan, Conor McCormack.

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League, 'B' Final, Johnstown, Oct. 6th

After a long wait since playing the last round of the Tormeys Solicitors / Clann na nGael under-10 league, it was finally time for the Garrycastle Under-10 squad to travel to Johnstown on Thursday evening to play Clann na nGael in the 'B' final. After a long league campaign, the finals evening was finally here, and we had a geat turnout of 28 players, allowing us to easily field teams at under-9 and under-10 levels.

For the finals of the league, both teams played, and the scores of the two matches were added together to give a final result.

The under-10 team started well, and traded scores with the host club in a very evenly matched first half. At the half-time break only a single score separated the teams, with Clann in front. A couple of positional switches at half time allowed the Garrycastle squad to push forward more in the second half, and they soon drew level, and then took the lead with some excellent build up play from the centre of the field. Both teams fought hard and fair to try and control the match, but it was Garrycastle who held the upper hand in the third quarter and they stretched their lead with some excellent scores. However, as expected, the home club fought back as the game entered the last few minutes, and it took some fantastic rearguard work from the very hard working Garrycastle backline to weather the storm. As the final whistle sounded, the Garrycastle team emerged victorious by just a single score.

Not to be outdone, the under-9 team also started their campaign against Edenderry, and took charge early on with an opportunistic goal. Further scores followed as they pressed their advantage, to lead at the half-time break. Turning around with the wind in the second half, they gave nothing away and took a well deserved win.

For their second match agsinst the host club, the arrival of some of the players who had a soccer match earlier, added greatly to the squad, and they pushed on hard, knocking up some lovely scores. The St. Mary's team pushed them all the way, but the Garrycastle lads led from the start to the finish to take a well-earned win. 

The third match against St. Lomans was the decider on which level final they would play. The weather conditions deteriorated with driving wind and rain, but the Garrycastle lads adapted better to the conditions, and again led from beginning to end to take a hard fought win. 

At the end of the league part, the Garrycastle team topped their group and progressed to the cup final, where they met Miltownpass. The rain finally cleared and both teams served up some great football, with scores at either end, and Garrycastle a single goal ahead at the half-time break. After the break, though, it was one way traffic as the Garrycastle lads piled on the pressure, and opened up a good lead which they maintained all the way to the finish. The under-9 team celebrated wildly at the final whistle, with some great "champions league" style singing!

Overall, this was an excellent outing for both teams. The under-10 squad bounced back from their opening round defeat to win the shield, while the under-9 team were unbeaten on the day.

It was with great pride that David Carter accepted the shield on behalf of the under-10 team, and James McHugh accepted the cup on behalf of the under-9 team.

The following slideshow of photos is thanks to Ellen Glennon:

Huge thanks are due to Michael and the rest of the St. Mary's organising team for the invitation to play in the tournament, for their excellent hospitality on the day, and for the very well run tournament in what were very poor weather conditions.

Massive thanks also to all the parents who brought the players along, and to those who travelled to Rochfortbridge after already playing a soccer match in the morning so that we had a strong squad. As usual, without this level of support and dedication, the club woud be much poorer.

Squad on the day:

Kacey Mulvihill, Sean O'Donoghue, Nathan McKeon, David Carter, Tom Sheehan, Anthony Mannion, Killian Keegan, Oisin Mulvihill, Aaron Keegan, Rian Gaynor, Conor McCormack, Niadh Shine, Darragh Glennon, Dylan Frawley, Fionn McMahon, James McHugh, Kealan McNamara, Andrew Henson, Van McCay, Oisin O'Donoghue.

Castledaly Under-10 League, Round 1 vs Moate All Whites, Castledaly, Sept. 21st

The Garrycastle Under-10 squad travelled to Moate for the first round of this years castledaly league on wednesday evening, in very poor weather conditions. The format of this league allows each club to play one team, at 11-a-side, so as is normal in tis type of scenario, we prioritise those players who are 10 years old this year.

The match started at a very fast pace with both teams trading scores up to the half-way mark. At the break, the teams could not be separated on the scoreboard, with 0-5 apiece. As the second half started the Moate team took a slender lead, but this was again pegged back by the Garrycastle lads, who fought and tackled for every ball.

As the game headed towards a conclusion, the Moate team tacked on a couple of late points, to win in the end by 4 points.

This was a tough evening for the Garrycastle lads, who played their hearts out, but just came up short in the end. All players can take great encouragement from their displays, though, and there are plenty matches left in this league yet.

Squad:

Conor McCormack, Kacey Mulvihill, Anthony Mannion, Tom Sheehan, Dean Greham, Calum Hudson, Sean O'Donoghue, Nathan McKeon, Niadh Shine, Brandon Devaney, David Carter, Keelan Ward, Killian Keegan, Dylan Frawley, Oisin Mulvihill, Van McCay, Aaron Keegan, James McHugh, Andrew Henson, Rian Gaynor, Fionn McMahon.

Challenge Match vs Caulry, Garrycastle, Sept. 14th

We welcomed near neighbours Caulry in to Garrycastle for a pair of challenge matches, one each at under-9 and under10 level on Wednesday evening. On a lovely fine evening, we had almost a full turnout of players, and all played their parts in two great games of football.

On the evening both Garrycastle teams performed very well, and were just a little too strong for their Caulry counterparts.

Squad on the evening (U10):

Anthony Mannion, Killian Keegan, Dean Greham, David Carter, Kacey Mulvihill, Sean O'Donoghue, Tom Sheehan, Nathan McKeon, Brandon Devaney, Rian Gaynor, Calum Hudson.

(U9):

Oisin Mulvihill, Conor McCormack, Christian Turean, Darragh Glennon, Louie Shine, Cian Norris, Kealan McNamara, Oisin O'Donoghue, Niadh Shine, Keelan Ward, Dylan Frawley, Andrew Henson, James McHugh, Van McCay, Fionn McMahon, Aaron Keegan.

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League, Round 7, Garrycastle, Sept. 7th

On Wednesday evening, we welcomed St. Brigids for our final league round of this competition. As usual we had a great turnout of players, 27 in total, at both age groups. 

The Under-10 team had a tough battle on their hands in the first half, as they and Clann swapped scores to leave only a single point between the teams at the half-time break, in favour of the Garrycastle team. However as the second half started, a couple of positional switches paid off, and the home team took charge of the match, and bolstered by a strong defensive display, started to win the lions share of possession, and converting some nice scores, they led all the way to the end to take a well-deserved, but hard earned win on the evening.  

Not to be outdone, the under-9 team started very strongly, and controlled their game from start to finish. In the first half they limited the St. Brigids team to a single score, and used their possession well to take a strong lead into the half-time break. A highlight of this game was the great passing and movement on display, not to mention some excellent blocking to deny the St, brigids team any time on the ball. In the second half, a number of the younger under-8 players were introduced to give them a chance to show what they could do, and they duly stepped up with a number of well taken scores. This was a very good team performance from this group of lads.

So, overall both teams can be well pleased with their efforts and rewards on the evening.

We have now completed all fixtures in the league, and await other results elsewhere to see who we will face in the finals. Based on results to date, we believe we will contest the "B" final.

Under-10 squad:

Dean Greham, Anthony Mannion, David Carter, Nathan McKeon, Jack Allen, Sean O'Donoghue, Tom Sheehan, Kacey Mulvihill, Brandon Devaney, Killian Keegan, Kealan McNamara, Calum Hudson.

Under-9 squad:

Cian Norris, Van McCay, Andrew Henson, Rian Gaynor, James McHugh, Niadh Shine, Conor McCormack, Dylan Frawley, Fionn McMahon, Keelan Ward, Oisin O'Donoghue, Darragh Glennon, Louie Shine, Aaron Keegan.

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League, Round 2, Athlone, Sept. 5th

On Monday, we made the short trip to Pairc Chiarain to play against Athlone in the rescheduled round 2 of this league. On a fine evening, we had a great turnout of players, and played at under-10 and under-9 level. 

Our Under-10 team started strongly, and showing some great interplay skills, built up a good lead by the half-time break. However, the half-time lead led to some complacency, and they were unable to maintain the tempo in the second half, allowing the home team to pull back the lead to eventually win by 4 points. This was disappointing result for this talented group of players, who will learn from this match that a result can never be taken for granted. To their credit, the Garrycastle boys and girl never gave up, and with a rub of the green could well have gotten a result from the game.

Our under-9 squad also started well pinned the Athlone team into their own half of the field for much of the first half. However, poor accuracy in front of the posts saw them only take a two point lead into the break. As in the under-10 match, a spirited fightback from Athlone saw them take the lead. However, the Garrycastle lads regrouped and fought hard to level the match as the final whistle neared, only to be denied by a last gasp point from the home team.

Overall, two uncharacteristic performances from this squad, who have shown in previous rounds of the league that they have the mettle and strength to come from behind and take the wins. 

Under-10 squad:

Dean Greham, Anthony Mannion, David Carter, Nathan McKeon, Jack Allen, Sean O'Donoghue, Tom Sheehan, Kacey Mulvihill, Brandon Devaney, Killian Keegan, James McHugh.

Under-9 squad:

Cian Norris, Van McCay, Andrew Henson, Rian Gaynor,  Niadh Shine, Conor McCormack, Dylan Frawley, Fionn McMahon, Kealan McNamara, Keelan Ward, Oisin O'Donoghue, Darragh Glennon, Louie Shine, Aaron Keegan, Calum Hudson.

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League, Round 6, Garrycastle, Aug. 31st

Round 6 of this years Clann na nGael/Tormeys Under-10 league saw Garrycastle take on St. Dominics in Garrycastle. As usual, we had a great turnout of players, and fielded teams at under-9 and under-10 levels.

The under-9 team started strongly, and laid siege to the St. Dominics goal in the early stages. However, some wayward shooting meant that scores were hard to come by, and it took a determined effort by the midfield of Niadh Shine and James McHugh to settle the team down and start to get scores on the board. Once the team settled, they dominated the possession for the remainder of the first half, and had a reasonably comfortable lead at the break. The St. Dominics team started the second half defending their goal strongly, but the Garrycastle lads showed great patience to pick off some nice scores when the opportunity presented itself, to take a comfortable win in the end.

In contrast, the Under-10 team found themselves in a real humdinger of a game as they traded score for score with their St. Dominics counterparts. This was a great exciting game of football, with great skill and effort on display from both teams. As the game proceeded, they was nothing to separate the teams, and entering the last few minutes a draw looked on the cards. However, up stepped Killian Keegan to score a great point to give the Garrycastle lads the win by a single point.

Overall, two great team performances on the evening, and all players present can be very proud of their efforts.

Under-10 squad:

Dean Greham, Anthony Mannion, David Carter, Nathan McKeon, Jack Allen, Sean O'Donoghue, Tom Sheehan, Kacey Mulvihill, Brandon Devaney, Killian Keegan, Andrew Henson.

Under-9 squad:

Cian Norris, Van McCay, Kealan McNamara, Rian Gaynor, James McHugh, Niadh Shine, Conor McCormack, Dylan Frawley, Fionn McMahon, Keelan Ward, Calum Hudson, Oisin O'Donoghue, Darragh Glennon, Louie Shine, Aaron Keegan.

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League, Round 5, Ballinasloe, Aug. 29th

The Garrycastle Under-10 squad travelled to Ballinasloe to play the home team in round 5 of the Clann na nGael/Tormeys Under-10 league. On a nice night for football, we had a great turnout of players, with no fewer than 27 players making the trip.

For perhaps the first time this year, we had a full under-10 team on duty, and they started well to take an early lead. In a tough, uncompromising game, the home team knocked over a few nice scores to lead at the half-time break. As the second half started, the home team piled on the pressure, and mid-way thrugh the second half, led by three points. Now it was the turn of the Garrycastle team to settle down to the task in hand, as they whittled down the lead, to draw level, and then pushed on to take the win on the evening by three points. This was a great display by this group of talented footballers, who most certainly rose to the challenge presented, to take a great win.

Not to be outdone, the Under-9 team also started strongly, and traded score for score with the home team to leave the game all-square at the half-time break. The Garrycastle team had the majority of possession, but kicked quite a few wides during the opening half. A few changes at half-time reaped dividends however, as the Garrycastle team pushed on strongly in the second period to open up a good lead. The home team fought hard to get back into the game, but the Garrycastle lads held firm to take a deserved win.

So, a good nights work in this tournament, with two wins picked up.

All the players on both teams can be justifiably proud of their efforts on the evening.

Under-10 squad:

Dean Greham, Anthony Mannion, David Carter, Nathan McKeon, Jack Allen, Sean O'Donoghue, Tom Sheehan, Kacey Mulvihill, Brandon Devaney, Killian Keegan, Aaron Keegan.

Under-9 squad:

Cian Norris, Van McCay, Kealan McNamara, Rian Gaynor, Andrew Henson, James McHugh, Niadh Shine, Conor McCormack, Dylan Frawley, Fionn McMahon, Christian Turean, Keelan Ward, Calum Hudson, Oisin O'Donoghue, Darragh Glennon, Louie Shine.

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League, Round 4, Garrycastle, Aug. 24th

Garrycastle welcomed Clann na nGael on Wednesday evening for the latest round of the Clann na nGael/Tormeys Under-10 league. As is usual in this competition, we played two matches, one each at Under-9 and Under-10 level.

The under-9 team started strongly, and won a lot of possession in the center of the field. This allowed our forwards to take a number of good scores, and build up a good lead by the end of the first half. Any attacks by the Clann forwards were handled well by the backline, who were determined to keep scoring chances to a bare minimum. As the second half started, we swapped out our forward line to give a number of our younger under-8 players a chance to show what they could do, and they stepped up to add a few extra scores to make the match safe.

Overall, a very good performance from this young team, and every single one of the players present can take great pride in their sporting performances on the evening.

In contrast, the under-10 team, which was short a number of the under-10 players, found it difficult to get into their normal rhythm, and found scores hard to get in the first half of their match. The visitors took an early lead, and maintained their advantage until the half-time break. The Garrycastle team was reshuffled a little for the second half and started to make inroads into the Clann lead, but were never able to close the gap completely, and the Clann team ran out deserving victors. 

So, overall, an evening of mixed fortunes for the Garrycastle group, with one win and one loss on the evening, which was a valid reflection of the football on show. Both Garrycastle teams performed to the best of their abilities, and the under-10 team in particular will surely be strengthened by the return of players after the summer holidays.

In the second round of matches, Garrycastle played Athlone. This was a a great game between two very evenly matched squads, with the Garrycastle lads holding a single score advantage at the break. Again, all of the substitues were introduced for the second half, and the game continued at breakneck speed, with Athlone edging the match by a single score at the end.

Overall, even though unsuccessful on the evening, this was a good workout for the Garrycastle lads. With only two under-10 players available, and under-8 players brought in to make up the numbers, they can take great pride in how well they played, and the skill levels and enthusiasm on display.

Squad:

Niadh Shine, Calum Hudson, Oisin Mulvihill, Darragh Glennon, James McHugh, Andrew Henson, Christian Turean, Cian Norris, Jack Allen, Rian Gaynor, David Carter, Dylan Frawley, Keelan Ward, Aaron Keegan, Kealan McNamara.

Under-10 League - Round 7 - July 5th, Castledaly 

The Garrycastle under-10 squad made the short trip to Castledaly for the latest round of this years County Under-10 league blitzes. On a fine evening for football, we had a good turnout of players, which allowed us to field two teams, matched up against Miltownpass and St. Mary's Rochfortbridge.

In the first round of matches, the Garrycastle teams played their counterparts from St. Marys. The Garrycastle "red" team got off to a good start and soon had a few scores on the board. However, poor shooting in front of the posts kept the score down, and a less wasteful St. Marys team had the scores back to level at the break. The second half followed the same pattern, with Garrycastle having the lions share of possession and scoring opportunities, but not getting the scores to reflect it. However, they had enough of a lead to run out comfortable winners in the end. 

The Garrycastle "green" team also played their counterparts from St. Marys, and a very evenly matched game saw the lead change hands on multiple occasions. There was very little between the teams, until the last couple of minutes when two quick scores from St. Marys were the difference on the final score. The Garrycastle team worked hard in this match and can consider themselves a little unlucky not to get a win.

In the second round of matches, Garrycastle played Miltownpass. The "red" team continued their good performance from the earlier game with a comfortable win, in which some of the younger players showed off their skills. The "green" team bounced back from their earlier disappointment  to also win out in their match.

[Put pictures here!]

Overall, this was a good evenings outing for the Garrycastle squad, missing as they were, a number of the older under-10 players due to holidays.

Squad:

Rian Gaynor, Andrew Henson, Calum Hudson, Aaron Keegan, Van McCay, Conor McCormack, James McHugh, Fionn McMahon, Oisin Mulvihill, Cian Norris, Niadh Shine, Christian Turean, Keelan Ward, Peter Lyster, Kacey Mulvihill, Jack Allen, David Carter, Brandon Devaney, Dean Greham, Killian Keegan, Anthony Mannion, Nathan McKeon, Tom Sheehan.

Under-10 League - Round 6 - June 21st, Castletown-Geoghegan 

The Garrycastle under-10 squad headed to Castletown-Geoghegan for Round 6 of this years County Under-10 blitzes. On a very wet evening, 21 players were available, allowing us to field an under-9 team and an under-10 team. Each team played two matches on the evening.

The under-10 team started with a match against Mullingar Shamrocks. This was a real end-to-end battle between two very evenly matched teams, with scores traded evenly throughout. At half-time there was nothing to separate the teams. In the second half, the Garrycastle team started to take control in the middle of the field, and opened up the narrowest of leads, which they maintained all the way to the finish. This was very hard fought game, and the team deserve great credit for sticking to their task and getting the win. 

In their second match, Garrycastle played near neighbours Caulry, and buoyed up by their earlier win, they took the game to Caulry from the start. Some great score taking was a feature of this game, and the Garrycastle team led from start to finish, to round off a good evening's work.

Not to be outdone, their younger counterparts in the under-9 team also started very strongly against the Under-9 team from Caulry, and driven on by the midfield dynamo of James McHugh, Oisin Mulvihill and Kealan McNamara, took early control of the game, and led from start to finish. There were some great performances in this game from all players, with a special mention to stand-in goalkeeper Fionn McMahon, who pulled off a number of very fine saves.

In their second match, the under-9 team found themselves facing the Killucan under-10 squad. This was a very stern test of the under-9 group, playing against a bigger and stronger team. They struggled in the first half, and trailed by a few scores at half-time. However, it was a much more determined Garrycastle in the second half, and they took the game to their opponents, with some excellent tackling, blocking and scoring. As the game entered the last few minutes, it even looked as if they might eke out a win, but ultimately came up short by two points. This was however, a deeply impressive display by this young team, especially in the second half.

So, overall on the eveing we had three wins and a single loss. Both teams deserver great credit for their enthusiasm, skill and overall effort. Some lovely football was on display in both matches. 

Many thanks as always due to the parents who travelled on a miserable evening to cheer on the teams.

Squad:

Keelan Ward, Dylan Frawley, Rian Gaynor, Oisin Mulvihill, Niadh Shine, Conor McCormack, Van McCay, Fionn McMahon, Kealan McNamara, James McHugh, Aaron Keegan, Peter Lyster, Sean O'Donoghue, Calum Hudson, Tom Sheehan, Jack Allen, Kacey Mulvihill, Andrew Henson, Killian Keegan, Anthony Mannion, David Carter, Nathan McKeon.

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League, Round 1, Tubberclair, June 15th

The Garrycastle Under-10 squad headed off to Tubberclair for the first round of the 2016 Clann na nGael/Tormeys Solicitors league, but came away empty-handed on the evening. In this competition, two matches are played in each round, 1 each at under-9 and under-10 level. 

In the under-9 match, the Garrycastle team were slow to start, and soon found themselves behind to a couple of well taken points. However, to their credit, they fought back hard, and at the half-time break it was all square between the teams. An early point on the resumption gave Garrycastle the lead, and the lead change hands repeatedly, before the Tubberclair team pulled away towards the end to win by 4 points. This was a disappointing performance by the Garrycastle team, who had plenty of opportunity to win this game, but poor shooting let them down.

The under-10 match was an equally hard-fought game, with Garrycastle also starting slowly, and even though the battled hard, they trailed by two points at the half-time break. As the second half progressed, they could not close the gap any further, and Tubberclair went on to take the win.

Overall this was a disappointing start to this competition for the Garrycastle squad. However, there is a long way to go in this league, and more than enough opportunities to make up for lost ground.

Squad on the evening:

Dean Greham, Anthony Mannion, Killian Keegan, David Carter, Nathan McKeon, Sean O'Donoghue, Tom Sheehan, Jack Allen, Kacey Mulvihill, Brandon Devaney, Cian Norris, Fionn McMahon, Rian Gaynor, Van McCay, James McHugh, Oisin Mulvihill, Andrew Henson, Niadh Shine, Peter Lyster, Dylan Frawley, Calum Hudson.

Under-10 League - Round 5 - June 7th, Moate 

The Garrycastle under-10 squad headed off to Moate for round 5 of this years under-10 county blitz series. On a lovely warm night, perfect for football, we had 22 players available, and divided them into an Under-10 team and an under-9 team.

In their matches the under-10 team played their counterparts from the Moate All-Whites, and Kilbeggan/St. Josephs. The first match against Moate was a very evenly matched affair, with the lead changing hands on a number of occasions. The Garrycastle team battled hard to get a result from this game, but just came up short in the end. In their second match, it was a very determined Garrycastle team who took the field, and soon established a lead that they held all the way to the end. Overall, a good evenings work with one win and one loss.

In contrast, the under-9 team started very strongly in their opening match, also against the Moate All-Whites. Building from an impressive display of fielding in the middle third of the field, they took an early lead, and continued to press their advantage all they way to the end, taking a well deserved win. Their second match against Castledaly was a repeat of the first game, with an early lead being steadily built on to take a good win. The under-9 team were asked to play a third match on the evening vs. Miltownpass, and even with legs tiring, the Garrycastle lads continued their impressive form of the first two matches to take a third win on the night.

Overall, this was a very strong performance from the Garrycastle teams at both levels, given they were missing quite a number of the under-10 players.

(Thanks to Des McEnery for the photos of the evening).

Squad:

Cian Norris, Van McCay, Andrew Henson, Fionn McMahon, Kealan McNamara, Oisin Mulvihill, James Mchugh, Kealan Ward, Aaron Keegan, Dylan Frawley, Peter Lyster, Christian Turean, Conor McCormack, Killian Keegan, Anthony Mannion, David Carter, Sean O'Donoghue, Tom Sheehan, Nathan McKeon, Kacey Mulvihill, Callum Hudson, Rian Gaynor.

Under-10 League - Round 4 - May 24th, Garrycastle 

The Garrycastle under-10 team was the host for the latest round of County Under-10 blitzes on Tuesday night. On a beautiful summer evening, we welcomed teams from Athlone, Castledaly, Maryland/Tang and Tubberclair - all in all, we had 10 teams playing across five pitches.

Garrycastle fielded two teams under the Garrycastle Green and Red banners, and provided the lions share of a combined "All Stars" team formed along with Tubberclair, which meant that all teams played in each of the two rounds of matches on the evening.

The Garrycastle "Red" team played Athlone and Tubberclair, while the "Green" team played Castledaly and Tubberclair. The combination "All Stars" team played the castledaly teams in their matches.

Overall, 10 excellent games of football were played in front of an appreciative crowd, who provided great encouragement from the sidelines. The garrycastle teams acquitted themselves well, with two wins and two narrow losses on the evening, while the "All Stars" ran out winners in both of their matches.

Many thanks to all of the clubs for attending, and for the great sportsmanship and skills on display. Thanks also to some of the Garrycastle minors, Brian and Ross, for refereeing on the evening. And as always, huge thanks to the players and their parents for the effort they put in.

Squad:

Dylan Frawley, Andrew Henson, Aaron Keegan, Van McCay, Conor McCormack,  James McHugh, Fionn McMahon, Kealan McNamara, Oisin Mulvihill, Cian Norris, Niadh Shine, Christian Turean, Keelan Ward, Kacey Mulvihill, Jack Allen, David Carter, Brandon Devaney, Dean Greham, Killian Keegan, Anthony Mannion, Nathan McKeon, Sean O'Donoghue, Tom Sheehan, Daniel Sierpinski.

Under-10 League - Round 3 - May 10th, Rosemount

The Under-10 group headed to Rosemount for the third round of the County Under-10 league. This round was played in blitz format, so the two Garrycastle teams each played two matches, against Lilliput Gaels and Maryland/Tang.

In the first round of games, the Garrycastle "Red" team played Maryland/Tang. Playing with the aid of a very strong wind in the first half, the team took an early lead but then kicked a huge number of wides to leave only two scores between the teams at the break. Playing against the wind in the second half, the Garrycastle team still had the majority of possession, but poor shooting cost them dearly as the Maryland/Tang team took their chances to eke out a narrow win.

In contrast, the Garrycastle "Green" team were much more clinical in front of goal, and had a good win against a game Lilliput Gaels side.

In the second round of matches, the Garrycastle "Green" team continued their good form, with a straightforward win against Maryland/Tang. This was a good team performance, with all players making a good impact.

The Garrycastle "Red" team bounced back from their earlier disappointment to register a good win against Lilliput Gaels. Although again guilty of a huge number of wides, they had the lions share of possession and made it count on the scoreboard.

All-in-all, this was a good evenings outing for the under-10 squad. All players present played their part in 4 good games of football.

Squad:

Jack Allen, Tom Sheehan, Brandon Devaney, Rian Gaynor, Calum Hudson, Nathan McKeon, David Carter, Fionn McMahon, Cian Norris, Anthony Mannion, Kealan Ward, Killian Keegan, Dean Grehan, Oisin Mulvihill, Sean O'Donoghue, Conor McCormack, Niadh Shine, Van McCay, Dylan Frawley, Andrew Henson, James McHugh, Aaron Keegan.

Under-10 Joe Matthews Memorial Tournament, St. Lomans, May 2nd

The Garrycastle Under-10 group travelled to St. Loman's on bank holiday Monday to take part in the "Joe Matthews Memorial" football tournament. This tournament gathers 16 teams from across the county, divided into 4 groups of 4, with semi-finals and finals at Cup, Trophy, Shield and Plate level. Due to the bank holiday, and other sports finals, it was a much reduced panel of only 11 players available on the day.

Garrycastle were drawn in a group with Mullingar Shamrocks, St. Marys Rochfortbridge and Kilbeggan/St.Josephs.

Our first game was against Kilbeggan/St. Josephs, and playing on the astroturf pitch, with the aid of a strong wind in the first half, the Garrycastle lads started strongly and soon had a number of scores on the board. The strong wind made conditions difficult, but the lads kept at their task, and had a good lead at the break. Turning to play into the wind, they continued to pile on the pressure, and ran out convincing winners in the end.

Our second match against St. Marys Rochfortbridge was a tougher affair, and even though the Garrycastle lads had the majority of possession, some wayward shooting saw them trail at the half-time break. They were a much improved team in the second half, and though they came very close in the end, St. Marys held on to win by two points.

The third pool match against Mullingar Shamrocks was the decider then to see what semi-final level we would play at. The Shamrocks team were very strong, but some great tackling and passing from the Garrycastle lads saw them lead at the half-time break. As the second half started, the rain teemed down, but both teams to their credit kept trying for the win, and this time it was Garrycastle who were more clinical to win out by a single point.

In the draw after the pool games, Garrycastle were placed in the Cup semi-final, where we faced The Downs. This was our first game of the day on a grass pitch, and after a few minutes to get acclimatised with the bounce on grass, the Garrycastle lads powered forward to take a well deserved lead at half-time. Driving on in the second half, they gave The Downs no opportunity to get back into the game, and ran out strong winners in the end.

This result teed up a Cup final game against near neighbours Moate All-Whites. This was a real end-to-end game. Garrycastle opened the scoring with a point from Andrew Henson, before Moate levelled a couple of minutes later. Garrycastle took the lead again with a score from James McHugh, but back came Moate again to level the game at the half-time break. Moate struck first in the second half but their lead was short lived as Jack Allen stepped up with a fine point from play, Again both teams traded score (Garrycastle's from Aaron Keegan and James), and the teams could not be separated. As the game entered its last few seconds, it was heartbreak for the Garrycastle lads as Moate scored with literally the last kick of the game.

Overall, this was an excellent run-out for the Garrycastle lads. Although disappointing to lose by a single score in the final, they all deserve great credit for their enthusiasm, effort and skill as dislayed in all five matches.

There will be other days most definitely for this talented group of players.

Many thanks also to the great support from the sidelines - as good and better than any other team on the morning. It makes a huge difference to these young players to get such great support.

Squad:

Anthony Mannion, Killian Keegan, Jack Allen, Dean Grehan, Sean O'Donoghue, Dylan Frawley, Rian Gaynor, Aaron Keegan, Andrew Henson, Niadh Shine, James McHugh.

Under-10 League - Round 2 - April 26th, Garrycastle

We welcomed Caulry to Garycastle for the second round of this years Under-10 league. On a very windy, and bitterly cold evening, we had an almost full turnout of 24 players, and played two matches, one each at under-9 and under-10 level.

The under-10 squad controlled their match right from the beginning and took some great scores in the difficult weather conditions. This was a great team performance from goalkeeper right though the field to the forward line. Some excellent fielding and passing laid a great framework for picking off some nice scores, and the under-10 team ran out worthy winners on the evening.

The under-9 squad also controlled their game from start to finish. In the windy conditions, scores were harder to come by in the first half, but the team battled hard and had a good lead at half-time. As the second half started, a shower of hailstones seemed to act as a spur for the Garrycastle lads, and they piled on the pressure to eventually win out by a few scores.

Overall, these were two good team performances in difficult weather conditions, and this will surely stand to these players as the year progresses.

Squad:

Jack Allen, David Carter, Dylan Frawley, Rian Gaynor, Dean Grehan, Andrew Henson, Calum Hudson, Aaron Keegan, Killian Keegan, Anthony Mannion, Van McCay, Conor mcCormack, James McHugh, Nathan McKeon, Fionn McMahon, Darren Mulligan, Oisin Mulvihill, Kacey Mulvihill, Cian Norris, Sean O'Donoghue, Tom Sheehan, Niadh Shine, Christian Turean, Keelan Ward.

Under-10 League - Round 1 - April 12th, Athlone GAA Club

The under-10 squad began their league campaign for 2016 with the short trip to neighbours Athlone. On a fine evening for football, 22 players were available, which allowed us to play two teams, one at under-9 level and one at under-10 level. Both teams played their counterparts from Athlone.

The under-9 squad started strongly, and managed to get a few early scores on the board to settle themselves. Using a strong display in midfield as a springboard, they pushed forward continually, to take a well deserved lead into the half-time break. As the second half started, they continued to push hard and took some nice scores, and fought off a determined Athlone fightback to take the win on the evening. This was a real team performance with all 11 players playing a full and equal part in the game.

Not to be outdone by their younger team mates, the Under-10 team also started brightly, and opened with a couple of well taken scores. This game was a much closer affair, with Athlone coming strongly into the game, and scores traded to leave the home team in front at the break. A few positional switches at half-time paid dividends, with Garrycastle pushing on strongly in the second half, and even though the home team battled hard, the Garrycastle team ran out deserving winners on the evening. Again, a great team performance.

Under-9 squad:

Cian Norris, Van McCay, Rian Gaynor, Oisin Mulvihill, Niadh Shine, James McHugh, Aaron Keegan, Christian Turean, Dylan Dylan Frawley, Dean Gacquin, Conor McCormack.

Under-10 squad:

Dean Greham, David Carter, Nathan McKeon, Killian Keegan, Tom Sheehan, Jack Allen, Sean O'Donoghue, Brandon Devaney, Calum Hudson, Darren Mulligan, Keelan Ward.

National GO games week - March 31st, St. Lomans GAA Club

The under-10 squad headed off to Lakepoint Park in Mullingar, the home of St. Lomans GAA club, to take part in the annual national GO games kickoff. As this was held early on a Thursday afternoon, (4:30pm), it was a much reduced Garrycastle squad who were available to travel on the day.

In the first round of matches, Garrycastle faced Killucan in an 8-a-side game. After a hard fought match, the Garrycastle lads emerged victorious by a couple of scores. In their second match, played at 12-a-side, they faced Mullingar Shamrocks, and this match was a real end-to-end game, with the lead changing hands on numerous occasions, before eventually the green-and-red won out by a couple of scores.

This led on to a final match against Coralstown/Kinnegad, with all players on in a 13-a-side game. By now, some of the exertions of the previous 2 games were taking their toll, and the Garrycastle lads found it hard to get into the game. however, a few positional swicthes at half time did their job and the Garrycastle lads came back into the game, and the game ended in a draw.

So overall, a good evening's outing, with 2 wins and a draw from the 3 matches.

Huge thanks on the day to Ger for taking the team to Mullingar, and for the parents who helped out with lifts for the players, and who helped out on the sideline.

Squad on the day:

Jack Allen, Sean O'Donoghue, Killian Keegan, David Carter, Anthony Mannion, Cian Norris, Oisin Mulvihill, Andrew Henson, James McHugh, Dylan Frawley, Cristian Turean, Niadh Shine, Aaron Keegan.

St. Patrick's Day Parade, Athlone!

The Under-10 group marched proudly in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Athlone this year. 

For details and photos, please see the St. Patrick's Day page!

Westmeath Under-10 League

This years Westmeath Under-10 League is due to begin on TUESDAY APRIL 12th, with matches every second Tuesday until September. More details on exact times, matches etc. will be posted here once they become availalbe.

New Kit Sponsorship from McDonalds Athlone!

The Under-10 group will have an all new kit this year, sponsored by McDonalds Athlone!

Photo shows Mark Redmond (underage chairman, Garrycastle GAA Club), and Garrycastle players James McHugh and Killian Redmond, being presented with the new kit by Sean Corcoran of McDonalds Athlone.

The new kit got its first public use in the St. Patricks Day parade in Athlone.

2015

Castledaly Under-10 Tournament

Garrycastle will play in Group "A" of this years Castledaly tournament, alongside Moate All-Whites, Killbeggan/St. Josephs and Maryland/Tang.

The fixture list is included below:

Westmeath Under-10 League

Garrycastle will play in Group-1 in this years Westmeath Under-10 League. We will field 2 teams in each round, playing at 11-a-side. The other teams in our group are:

Athlone, The Downs, Mullingar Shamrocks, Kilbeggan Shamrocks, Coralstown/Kinnegad, Tubberclair : all with two teams

Castledaly, Rosemount, St. Marys Rochfortbridge, Milmore Gaels, Miltownpass,  Caulry : all with one team.

The clubs with 1 team will be grouped together in pairs for the league rounds:

St. Marys Rochfortbridge + Milmore Gaels

Caulry + Miltownpass

Castledaly + Rosemount.

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League

Garrycastle Under-10's have been invited to take part in the Tormeys Solicitors / Clann na nGael League.

The fixture list is included below:

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League Table - Final

Castledaly Tournament, Plate Final, Castledaly, Oct. 18th

The Garrycastle Under-10 team headed to Castledaly on Sunday to play the Plate final of the Castledaly tournament, meeting the hosts in the final. As always, we had an excellent turnout of players, with 21 players being available on the morning.

The Garrycastle lads started strongly, pushing forward right from the throw-in, and were rewarded with some early points from Jamie Carroll and Thanh McCay. A lovely worked move then saw a great pass from Jamie to find Diarmaid Murtagh in space, and he scored a great goal to put some space between the teams. Garrycastle were in control of the game at this stage and tacked on some lovely points from Jamie, Thanh and Oisin Nugent, before Castledaly opened their account with a point from a free. Oisin then pounced to get a good goal, which left Garrycastle in charge at the half-time break.

The second half began as the first half ended with Jamie notching up another point. Castledaly came more into the game and were rewarded with a goal and a point of their own before another point from Jamie and a goal from Cian McCormack put the game beyond their grasp. We introduced all of our substitutes during the second half so all players present got to play in the final, and it is a measure of the strength of the squad, that the team kept pressing their advantage even with so many changes.

This was a great squad performance, and all of the players can be well pleased with their efforts and rewards on the day. It was a very happy Garrycastle group that celebrated at the final whistle, and led by captain on the day, Conor McCarthy, lifted the Coghlan Plate high to the cheers of their supporters.

Huge thanks are due also to Ciaran Henson and all of the other helpers, referees etc. in Castledaly, for a very well run and very enjoyable tournament.

Squad:

Conor McCarthy, Jack Mulvihill, Tom Daly, Brian Mulvihill, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Jamie Carroll, Diarmaid Murtagh, Thanh McCay, Killian Redmond, Oisin Nugent, Mattie Wozniak, Conor Sheehan, David Carter, Nathan McKeon, Brandon Devaney, Dean Grehan, Sean O'Donoghue, Sean Doyle, Killian Keegan, Matthew Conner, Cian McCormack.

Castledaly Tournament, Plate Semi-Final, Castledaly, Oct. 4th

The Garrycastle Under-10 team travelled to Castledaly on Sunday morning, to play Rosemount in the Plate semi-final. After the disappointment of missing out on a cup/shield semi-final, it was a determined group of players who attended to play the match. Due to illness and other reasons, it was also a much smaller than usual group of players - only 14 being available on the morning.

Garrycastle started very strongly, and in a very strong opening 10 minutes kicked 3-2 from play, with Jamie Carroll, Diarmaid Murtagh, Tom Sheehan and Killian Redmond getting on the scoresheet. A brief spell of Rosemount pressure resulted in their opening point of the half, before the Garrycastle lads took total control, and kicked a further 3-4 from play without reply, with Thanh McCay and Oisin Nugent also scoring. At the half-time break, Garrycastle were totally in control.

At the start of the second half, we introduced all the substitutes to give everyone game time, and our back line came under sustained pressure as Rosemount attacked strongly. After withstanding this pressure without conceding a score, Diarmaid and Jamie tacked on two further scores as Garrycastle once gain took control of the game. Not suprisingly, the second half did not live up to the excitement levels of the first half, and the Garrycastle lads were guilty of a large number of wides, when better options were available. Jack Mulvihill swapped to full forward, from his usual full back role, and he duly chipped in with a score. As the game reached its end, Rosemount scored a good goal to finish the scoring.

Final score: Garrycastle 7-9, Rosemount 1-3

This was most definitely Garrycastle's day. The entire squad played their hearts out, and got the reward in a very good win. The Plate final awaits, with the opposition in that final yet to be decided.

Squad:

Conor McCarthy, Jack Mulvihill, Anthony Mannion, Tom Daly, Brian Mulvihill, Jamie Carroll, Diarmaid Murtagh, Tom Sheehan, Thanh McCay, Killian Redmond, Oisin Nugent, Conor Sheehan, David Carter, Killian Keegan.

Castledaly Tournament, Castledaly, Sept. 29th

The Garrycastle Under-10 team travelled to Castledaly on Tuesday evening, to play Kilbeggan/St. Josephs in the third round of the Castledaly tournament. For once the weather was nice, and we had an excellent evening for football. 

Garrycastle started the game brightly, and had the first point on the board, from Diarmaid Murtagh. The Kilbeggan/St.Josephs team responded with a couple of points of their own, before Killian Redmond pounced on a loose ball to score a well-taken goal for the green-and-red. The Garrycastle lads tried to push home the advantage, but were caught by a very good counter-attack almost immediately. A couple of points from Jamie Carroll ended the half, with the Garrycastle lads trailing by 3 points at half time.

Immediately on the resumption, Jamie struck for another point, and this was added to by Diarmaid, to reduce the difference to the bare minimum.The Kilbeggan/St. Josephs team struck back with an unstoppable goal, before Tom Sheehan and Thanh McCay scored two fine points to again reduce the difference to a single score. However, this was to be as close as the Garrycastle lads got, as the opposition tacked on 4 points in a row. Jamie was almost rewarded when his blistering shot taken at full speed on the run seemed to have a goal written on it, only to be denied by a superb save from the Kilbeggan/St. Josephs keeper. The same player denied Diarmaid similarly a minute later, and even though Diarmaid knocked over a late point, the Kilbeggan/St. Josephs team ran out worthy winners on the night.

This result leaves Garrycastle facing a semi-final for the Plate competition, due to be played on Sunday morning next. The opposition for the semi-final has not yet been determined.

Squad:

Conor McCarthy, Jack Mulvihill, Anthony Mannion, Tom Daly, Brian Mulvihill, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Jamie Carroll, Diarmaid Murtagh, Tom Sheehan, Thanh McCay, Killian Redmond, Oisin Nugent, Mattie Wozniak, Conor Sheehan, David Carter, Brandon Devaney, Dean Grehan, Sean O'Donoghue, Sean Doyle, Killian Keegan, Matthew Conner.

Castledaly Tournament, Castledaly, Sept. 23rd

We played the Moate All-Whites in a re-fixed Round-1 game in the Castledaly tournament on Wednesday night in Castledaly. 21 players attended on the night, giving us a large squad from which to choose, but as this competition only allows for one 11-a-side team, it unfortunately wasn't possible for all players to get a chance on the evening.

Moate opened brightly, and scored the opening point, but this was cancelled out almost immediately by a well taken score from Thanh McCay. Further points were exchanged between the sides, the Garrycastle scores coming from Jamie Carroll and Tom Sheehan, before Moate broke through to score a goal. The Moate team then notched up a couple of points to lead at the half-time break.

The second half saw sustained pressure from Moate resulting in a few scores, before the Garrycastle team hit a purple patch, scoring a goal, (from Conor Sheehan) and 4 points, (Conor with three, and one from Diarmaid Murtagh), as the Garrycastle lads started to make inroads in the Moate lead. Driven on by an excellent defensive display from Anthony Mannion and Jack Mulvihill, ably supported by the industrious Kealan Ryan-McIntyre and Brian Mulvihill, they laid seige to the Moate goal, but were unable to close the gap, and were caught just at the end of the game by a breakaway score from the Moate team.

So the homours went to the Moate All-Whites team on the night.

Overall, this was a patchy performance, with some good aspects, and some areas where improvement will be needed before the final league round vs. Kilbeggan/St. Josephs.

Squad:

Conor McCarthy, Jack Mulvihill, Anthony Mannion, Tom Daly, Brian Mulvihill, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Jamie Carroll, Diarmaid Murtagh, Tom Sheehan, Thanh McCay, Killian Redmond, Oisin Nugent, Mattie Wozniak, Cian McCormack, Conor Sheehan, David Carter, Brandon Devaney, Dean Grehan, Sean O'Donoghue, Sean Doyle, Nathan McKeon

Castledaly Tournament, Castledaly, Sept. 21st

The Garrycastle Under-10 squad started their final tournament of 2015, with a match against Maryland/Tang in Castledaly on Monday evening. In the Castledaly tournament, only one team per club is allowed, playing at 11-a-side. On a very wet evening, 18 players attended, and each got to play their part in the match.

Even though conditions overhead and underfoot were not great for playing football, the Garrycastle team started very brightly, and soon had scores on the board from Thanh McCay and Jamie Carroll. The majority of the first half was played in the Maryland/Tang half of the pitch, with the Garrycastle lads applying constant pressure, and were rewarded with further scores from Jamie and Thanh, as well as scores from Tom Sheehan, Killian Redmond and Oisin Nugent. At the half-time break, Garrycastle had a comfortable lead, having restricted Maryland/Tang to a single score.

As the second half started, we emptied the bench to give all players present as much game time as possible. Further scores from Thanh, Jamie and Diarmaid Murtagh pushed the game out of the reach of Maryland/Tang. The team got a welcome boost with the return of Conor Sheehan after an absence of 6 weeks, and he took a brace of nice scores as the game reached its conclusion. Not to be outdone, younger brother Tom helped himself to a score as the referee blew for full time.

On the evening, Garrycastle took a comfortable win. This performance was based on a solid defence, which simply refused to be beaten on the night, a midfield unit which tackled and fought for every ball, and a group of forwards very definitely wearing their shooting boots.

It was an very good team performance, with excellent passing, tackling and support play on view. The lads made light work of the difficult conditions, and can take great satisfaction in their performance. The next round of this competition sees Garrycastle play the Moate All-Whites.

Squad:

Conor McCarthy, Jack Mulvihill, Anthony Mannion, Tom Daly, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Jamie Carroll, Diarmaid Murtagh, Tom Sheehan, Thanh McCay, Killian Redmond, Oisin Nugent, Mattie Wozniak, Cian McCormack, Conor Sheehan, David Carter, Brandon Devaney, Dean Grehan, Sean O'Donoghue.

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League, "C" Final, Johnstown, Sept. 17th

After a long league campaign, the Garrycastle Under-10 squad headed to Johnstown to play St. Brigids of Rosommon in the "C" final of the  Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors league on Thursday evening. On a lovely fine evening, with conditions perfect for playing football, we had a fabulous turnout of 31 players, divided into an under-9 team and an under-10 team.

The under-10 team started brightly, and traded points with St. Brigids over the course of a first-half played at breakneck speed. Jamie Carroll led the way, with no fewer than 6 points in the first half, ably supported by Thanh McC ay, and Diarmaid Murtagh. The backline had to work extremely hard to limit the St. Brigids chances, but stepped up to the mark, and defended strongly. The second half began with Garrycastle attacking from multiple angles, and further scores by Diarmaid and Jamie brought the match level. The game was in the balance for the remainder of the half, and when Oisin Nugent scored from close range to put Garrycastle in front with a couple of minutes left, a win looked possible. However, it was not to be as St. Brigids rallied and closed out the scoring to take the win by 2 points.

Even though the result went against them, the Garrycastle squad can hold their heads high with this performance, From Conor McCarthy in goal all the way around the field, every player gave it their all.

The under-9 team also started well, and pushed hard to get some scores on the board. However, after scoring almost at will all the way throughout the league, their scoring touch deserted them on the night and they found scores very hard to come by. This match was nip-and-tuck all the way through, with absolutely nothing to separate the teams. A few injuries also took their toll, and though the Garrycastle lads fought hard, the scores just would not come, and as the wide count mounted, St. Brigids took the win by a single point.

Again, all the players from Dean Grehan in goal all the way around the field can take great pride in their performance.

As per the rules of the competition, the Final score was the aggregate of the two matches, with Garrycastle losing out by 3 points on the night.

After the matches, the players were presented with their medals, and some much needed refreshments, by the Clann na nGael club.

As this league comes to an end, we would like to thank Tormeys Solicitors and Clann na nGael for a hugely enjoyable and very well run tournament. While we were not successful on this occasion, we look forward eagerly to doing it all again next year!

Squad on the evening:

Under-10: Conor McCarthy, Jack Mulvihill, Oisin Nugent, Diarmaid Murtagh, Brian Mulvihill, Jamie Carroll, Cian McCormack, Thanh McCay, Killian Redmond, Matthew Conner, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Tom Daly, Mattie Wozniak, Sean Doyle.

Under-9: Anthony Mannion, Nathan McKeon, Andrew Henson, Jack Allen, Sean O'Donoghue, David Carter, James McHugh, Killian Keegan, Tom Sheehan, Aaron Keegan, Kyle Greene, Dean Grehan, Brandon Devaney, Rian Gaynor, Oisin Mulvihill, Niadh Shine, Cian Norris.

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League, Round 7, Kiltoom, Sept. 14th

Garrycastle Under-10's travelled to Kiltoom on Monday night for the final round of this years Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors league. As usual, we had a great turnout of players, with no fewer than 26 attending, allowing us to field the required Under-9 and Under-10 teams.

Due to the similarity in colours, as the "away" team, Garrycastle played in white for the evening. 

The Under-9 match was a very one-sided affair, with Garrycastle stronger right around the field. The team took some great scores and built up a very comfortable lead by the half-time break. Indeed, if it were not for the number of shots that returned off the crossbar and posts, the score would have been higher.

In the second half, a number of positional switches were made, to give the players a chance to try out unfamiliar positions, and even with this, the team continued to push forward, and took a good win on the evening. All of the players from goalkeeper up, could justfiably be proud of their efforts on the evening.

The Under-10 match in contrast was a very close affair, with Garrycastle and St. Brigids exchanging scores in a very even first-half. An opening point from St.Brigids was answered by scores from Jamie Carroll and Brian Mulvihill, and the scoring continued in the same fashion to half time, with further Garrycastle scores from Jamie and the industrious Oisin Nugent. In the second half, the pattern continued, with further scores from Mattie Wozniak, Oisin and a final point from Diarmaid Murtagh. However, even as the scores went over, so the wide count increased, and not for the first time in this league, this cost us, as St. Brigids took a narrow victory.

Yet again, one win and one loss on the evening. 

Squad on the evening:

Under-10: Conor McCarthy, Jack Mulvihill, Oisin Nugent, Diarmaid Murtagh, Brian Mulvihill, Jamie Carroll, Cian McCormack, Thanh McCay, Killian Redmond, Matthew Conner, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Tom Daly, Mattie Wozniak, Sean Doyle.

Under-9: Anthony Mannion, Nathan McKeon, Andrew Henson, Jack Allen, Sean O'Donoghue, David Carter, James McHugh, Killian Keegan, Tom Sheehan, Aaron Keegan, Kyle Greene, Dean Grehan.

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League, Round 2, Garrycastle, Sept. 11th

Athlone were the visitors to Garrycastle for the re-fixed round 2 tie in the Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors league. On a truly miserable night for football, we had a good turnout of players, and fielded teams at under-9 and under-10 age groups as normal.

The under-9 team struggled to make an impact in the conditions, and found that handling the ball was very tricky in the wet conditions - even keeping their feet was a challenge at times. However, they dug deep, and buoyed up by an excellent defensive display from Anthony Mannon in the backline, battled hard, and led the game at the half-time break. The second half was more of the same, with the Athlone team fighting hard to get into the game, putting huge pressure on Garrycastle all around the pitch. However, Garrycastle rallied again, and with some excellent scores from James McHugh among other, stretched out their lead and took a deserved win.

in contrast, the under-10 team started well, putting Athlone under pressure from the off. Early scores from Jamie Carroll set the scene, and Garrycastle pressed forward strongly, but were guilty of some over elaboration in the center of the field, and did not translate their possession into scores. At half-time, Garrycastle trailed by 1 point. The second half was all Athlone, as they attacked in waves, and only some excellent defending by the backline, with Jack Mulvihill most prominent, kept the scores down. However, as legs tired in the conditions, Athlone stretched their lead, and ran out deserved winners.

So, for the fifth time in this competition, it was a win and a loss for Garrycastle. Some positives to take was the effort from the under-9 team, and the first half display from the under-10 team. However, heads dropped far too early on the under-10 team in the second half, and much more effort will be required for the final round against St. Brigids on Monday evening next.

Squad on the evening:

Under-10: Conor McCarthy, Jack Mulvihill, Oisin Nugent, Diarmaid Murtagh, Brian Mulvihill, Jamie Carroll, Cian McCormack, Thanh McCay, Killian Redmond, Matthew Conner, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Tom Daly, Mattie Wozniak, Conor Sheehan.

Under-9: Anthony Mannion, Nathan McKeon, Andrew Henson, Jack Allen, Sean O'Donoghue, David Carter, James McHugh, Killian Keegan, Tom Sheehan, Brandon Devaney, Aaron Keegan, Kyle Greene.

Under-10 League Finals night, Cusack Park Mullingar, September 7th

The Garrycastle Under-10 squad headed off to Cusack Park, Mullingar on Monday evening for the final round of this years Westmeath Under-10 league. On a lovely dry night in county headquarters, Garrycastle fielded two teams, and played against Killucan and Coralstown/Kinnegad.

The Garrycastle "Red" team played their match against Killucan, and got off to a great start, with early scores from David Carter and Tom Sheehan to settle the team down. The Garrycastle team were stronger all over the pitch, totally controlling the midfield area, and tacked on further scores from Killian Keegan, Jack Mulvihill and a pair of points from Brian Mulvihill before the break. Killucan came back strongly at the start of the second half, and now it was the turn of the Garrycastle defence to show their strength, and with some excellent tackling and clearances from Jack and Tom Daly, combined with great kickouts from Conor McCarthy weathered the storm. Garrycastle then stepped up a gear, and showed some great football, leading to further scores from Killian, Tom and Thanh McCay. In the end, Garrycastle were comfortable winners on this occasion. This was a real team performance where any of the players could make the case for man of the match.

Squad on the evening:

Under-10: Conor McCarthy, Jack Mulvihill, Sean Doyle, Oisin Nugent, Diarmaid Murtagh, Brian Mulvihill, Jamie Carroll, Cian McCormack, Thanh McCay, Killian Redmond, Matthew Conner, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Tom Daly, Mattie Wozniak.

Under-9: Anthony Mannion, Nathan McKeon, Andrew Henson, Jack Allen, Sean O'Donoghue, David Carter, James McHugh, Rian Gaynor, Niadh Shine, Killian Keegan, Tom Sheehan, Cian Norris.

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League, Round 5, Garrycastle, August 31st

We welcomed Ballinasloe in to Garrycastle to play the fifth round of the Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors league on Monday evening. On a decent evening for football, we fielded 25 players, fielding teams at under-9 and under-10 level.

In the under-9 match, Garrycastle started well, but a combination of poor shooting, and wayward passes kept the scores to a minimum, and at the break, Garrycastle led by just a single score. However, in the second half, a couple of positional switches proved the difference, as the Garrycastle lads took a firm hold of the game. Thanks to some strong defensive work, limiting the Ballinasloe chances, as well as much more accurate shooting, allowed the Garrycastle team to stretch their lead, and they ran out comfortable winners in the end.

In the under-10 match, the Garrycastle team started very slowly, and allowed Ballinasloe to build up an early lead. Some poor handling, especially once the ball was won, and some wayward shooting, meant the Garrycastle team trailed at the half-time break. A much more businesslike start to the second half saw Garrycastle pile on the pressure to try and level the match. Thanh McCay in the center of the field was the focus of much of the good work in the second half, as was Brian Mulvihill, who worked tirelessly, tackling and blocking and linking the play. With some excellent scores from Jamie Carroll, Cian McCormack, Diarmaid Murtagh and Brian, it looked for a while that we would close the gap. However, a large number of wides also meant that we were always chasing the game, and Ballinasloe held on for the win.

So, not for the first time this year, we had one win and one loss on the night, a fair result for both teams.

[ Team pics go here ]

Squad on the evening:

Under-10: Conor McCarthy, Jack Mulvihill, Sean Doyle, Oisin Nugent, Diarmaid Murtagh, Brian Mulvihill, Jamie Carroll, Cian McCormack, Thanh McCay, Killian Redmond, Matthew Conner, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Tom Daly

Under-9: Anthony Mannion, Nathan McKeon, Kyle Greene, Andrew Henson, Jack Allen, Sean O'Donoghue, David Carter, Oisin Mulvihill, James McHugh, Aaron Keegan, Killian Keegan, Tom Sheehan.

Under-10 Larry Nugent Tournament, Caulry, August 29th

The Garrycastle under-10 team won the Shield competition at the Larry Nugent Tournament held in Caulry on Saturday morning, defeating Rosemount in the final.

On the morning, Garrycastle were drawn in the same group as Kilbeggan/St. Josephs and Ballinacarrigy for the group games. In thr first match, Garrycastle played Kilbeggan/St. Josephs, and started brightly, with scores from Thanh McCay and Killian Redmond, and led deservedly at the half-time break. However, we were wasteful with scoring opportunites, shooting a large number of wides, and this really was was to prove our undoing, as in the second half playing into the wind, we could not get the scores needed, and Kilbeggan ran out winners by two points. 

In the second group game, we played against Ballinacarrigy, and due to depleted numbers on their team, this match was played at 7-a-side. In order to give all our players a chance, we changed the team totally at half-time in this match. In the first half, we again started brightly, with scores from Thanh and Jamie Carroll, but struggled a little with only having 7 players on an 11-a-side pitch, and gave away a couple of scores to Ballinacarrigy from frees and 45's. In the second half, with a totally changed team on the field, we took a little time to settle, but a well taken score from Kyle Greene steadied the ship, and we went on to take a deserved win.

This meant that we qualified for the Shield final, where we played Rosemount. The Rosemount team took an early lead before Diarmaid Murtagh levelled for Garrycastle, and further points from Brian Mulvihill and Jamie, interspersed with points from Rosemount, meant the game was level half-way through the first half. However, from then on, it was one-way traffic from Garrycastle as scores from Jack Allen, Thanh and Jamie gave Garrycastle a comfortable lead at the half-time break. In the second half we introduced all of our substitues, and pressed home the advantage, with some excellent scores from Thanh, Jamie, David Carter and Diarmaid, while our defence held firm, restricting Rosemount to just a single point in the second half. 

It was a jubilant group of players, led by captain Jack Mulvihill, who ascended the steps to accept the Larry Nugent Shield, and their medals from the host club.

Overall, this was a decent display from the under-10 squad. The issues with taking scores, so evident in the first match, were nowhere to be seen in the Shield final. All the players present can take huge pride in their efforts on the day, and in bringing the first trophy of the year back to Garrycastle.

Under-10 squad: 

Conor McCarthy, Conor McCormack, Jack Mulvihill, Tom Daly, Brian Mulvihill, Diarmaid Murtagh, Conor Sheehan, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Oisin Nugent, Brandon Devaney. 

Under-9 squad: 

Nathan McKeon, Rian Gaynor, Killian Keegan, Anthony Mannion, Jack Allen, Tom Sheehan, Kyle Greene, James McHugh, David Carter, Aaron Keegan, Dervla Turley. 

Under-10 League Division 1, Garrycastle, July 7th

The latest round of the Westmeath Under-10 league was runoff as a blitz evening in Garrycastle. On the evening, we welcomed teams from Milmore Gaels, Caulry, St. Marys Rochfortbridge and Rosemount. In total, 9 teams were present, with each team playing two matches.

The Garrycastle squad was very depleted on the evening due to many players being absent on summer holidays, so in order to field two teams as usual, we called up some of our under-8 squad to make their debut at this level.

The Garrycastle "Red" team played against Caulry and Milmore Gaels. They were victorious against the Caulry team, and lost out narrowly to Milmore Gaels. There were good performances from Diarmaid Murtagh in midfield, and some excellent scores from Jack Allen and Thanh McCay.

The Garrycastle "Green" team played against the second Caulry team, and St. Marys Rochfortbridge, and even though they never stopped trying, they were unable to match the size and strength of their opponents, losing out in both matches. Impressive performances here from Jazmen Rafiz, and great debut performances from James McHugh and Andrew Henson from our under-8 squad.

Overall, this was a mixed performance, but given that so many of the under-10 group were unavailable, it was heartening to see the effort put in by those players who attended.

Squad on the evening:

Cian McCormack, Conor Sheehan, Jack Allen, Matthew Conner, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Thanh McCay, Diarmaid Murtagh, Killian Redmond, David Carter, Tom Sheehan, Brian Mulvihill, Tom Daly, Killian Keegan, Nathan Kelly, Nathan Jackson, Anthony Mannion, Jazmen Rafiz, James McHugh, Andrew Henson.

Clann na nGael / Tormeys Solicitors Under-10 League, Round 1, Tubberclair, June 29th

Garrycastle Under-10's opened their campaign in this years Clann na nGael/Tormeys Solicitors league with an away fixture to Tubberclair. On the evening, we had a much reduced number of players available, so two matches were played at 9-a-side.

The Garrycastle "Red" team, comprising the older players started slowly, and soon found themselves down by a couple of points. However, driven on by Brian Mulvihill and Conn O'Hara, they worked their way back into the game, and went in at the half-time break down by the narrowest of margins. Tubberclair started the second half strongly, and opened up the lead again, but the Garrycastle team dug in and aided by some great scores from the industrious Thanh McCay and Jamie Carroll, eventually took the lead, to win out the match by a single score.

The Garrycastle "Green" team, started at speed, and except for some wayward shooting, would have had a handsome lead. Tubberclair were more clinical in their shooting, and opened up a slender lead, which was pegged back by two fine points from Jack Allen. Further points from David Carter, Tom Sheehan and Jack left the Garrycastle team trailing by two points at the break. However, in the second half, nothing worked for the Garrycastle team, and try as they did, they could not break down a determined Tubberclair rearguard, and were caught repeatedly on the counter attack, giving up a lot of easy scores. Tubberclair easily took the win in the end of this match.

So, overall, a mixed bag from a Garrycastle point of view. The old problem with wasteful kicking was present again, and the collapse of the "Green" team in the second half of their match was not something that we had expected, based on some great performances in recent weeks. We can only hope that this was just "one of those nights", and we will bounce back in the next round.

Squad on the evening:

"Red" team: Conor McCarthy, Killian Keegan, Jack Mulvihill, Conn O'Hara, Brian Mulvihill, Jamie Carroll, Thanh McCay, Nathan Jackson, Matthew Conner, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre.

"Green" team: Dean Grehan, Anthony Mannion, Nathan McKeon, Tom Daly, Brandon Devaney, Tom Sheehan, David Carter, Jack Allen, Jazmen Rafiz, Nathan Kelly.

Under-10 challenge vs. Maryland/Tang, Garrycastle, June 27th

Garrycastle Under-10's played a challenge match against neighbours Maryland/Tang in Garrycastle on Saturday evening. As the school summer holidays are now in full swing, it was a much depleted Garrycastle squad available for the match, but this gave us the opportunity to try out some players in unfamiliar positions, to see how they would cope.

Garrycastle started well, and were off the mark early with points from Jamie Carroll and Nathan McKeon. However, despite having the better share of possession, poor choices in front of goal led to an ever increasing wide count. Maryland/Tang competed strongly for every ball, and the Garrycastle lads had to soak up a lot of pressure, with the defensive trio of Conor McCarthy in goals, Killian Keegan and Anthony Mannion in the back line, solid at all times.  

Tom Sheehan and Brian Mulvihill were everywhere in midfield, and some of the interplay and passing was as good as could be seen anywhere. Up front, the industrious Jamie Carroll and Thanh McCay caught the eye, taking some excellent scores. 

All 17 players present got at least half-a-game (the match was played as per under-10 guidelines at 11-a-side), and every player played their part in what was a good overall team performance, let down a little by wayward shooting in front of goal. The Garrycastle side were a little too strong for their opponents on the evening, and took a deserved win from this challenge.

Huge thanks to Declan and the other mentors and players in Maryland/Tang for travelling in to play the match.

Squad on the evening:

Killian Keegan, Conor Sheehan, Brian Mulvihill, Sean O'Donoghue, Thanh McCay, Brandon Devaney, David Carter, Nathan McKeon, Conor McCarthy, Anthony Mannion, Matthew Conner, Tom Sheehan, Jamie Carroll, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Jack Allen, Cian McCormack, Jazmen Rafiz. 

Under-10 League Division 1, Garrycastle, June 23rd

The Garrycastle Under-10 team welcomed St. Marys Rochfortbridge in to Garrycastle for round 5 on the county under-10 league. On a great evening for football, with nice sunshine, and no wind to speak of, Garrycastle fielded two teams to take on the visitors.

The Garrycastle "Red" team started slowly, taking a while to find their range, and even though had more of the possession, simply could not score, racking up a large number of wides. St. Marys, by contrast, were far more clinical with their chances, and deservedly led at the half-time break by two points, the Garrycastle scores coming from Brian Mulvihill and David Carter. The second half started for Garrycastle as the first half finished, with three wides in succession, before finally the scoring boots came out, and courtesy of a brace of points from Conor Sheehan and an excellent score from Thanh McCay, Garrycastle took the lead, which they built on and held to the finish, to take a hard-earned win on the evening. Some excellent defensive work from Jack Mulvihill and Killian Keegan set the team up for their second half performance.

The Garrycastle "Green" team started strongly in their game, and took and early lead with some fine scores from Diarmaid Murtagh and Jamie Carroll, and building on a solid defensive and midfield showing, led by 4 points at half-time. St. Marys fought back strongly in the second half, but great defence by Anthony Mannion, Sean Doyle and keeper for the evening, Matthew Conner, kept them at bay. The second half was a very even affair, with both teams trading scores equally, but the "Green" team never relinquished the lead they built up in the first half to take the win.

[ Team pics here when I get them ]

Overall this was a very good performance from the under-10 squad. The St. Marys teams certainly gave nothing away cheaply, and it took real effort right across the field to get the results. Some great examples of skill on display, from both teams, but also some areas where improvements may be made, and these will be targeted in training over the next few weeks.

Many thanks to Michael and the mentors and players from St. Marys for two great games of football played in a true sporting spirit.

"Green" Team: Matthew Conner, Sean Doyle, Anthony Mannion, Conn O'Hara, Cian McCormack, Diarmaid Murtagh, Tom Sheehan, Jamie Carroll, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Jazmen Rafiz, Oisin Nugent, Nathan Kelly.

"Red" Team: Conor McCarthy, Jack Mulvihill, Killian Keegan, Conor Sheehan, Tom Daly, Nathan McKeon, Brian Mulvihill, Sean O'Donoghue, Thanh McCay, Dervla Turley, Brandon Devaney, Killian Redmond, David Carter. 

Under-10 League Division 1, Rosemount, June 9th

The Garrycastle Under-10's travelled to Rosemount to take part in Round 4 of the Under-10 County league on Tuesday evening. This round of the league was played as a blitz, with teams from Rosemount, Garrycastle, St. Malachys/Ballinagore, Tubberclair and Millmore Gaels taking part on the evening. As usual, we had a great turnout allowing us to field two teams on the evening.

The Garrycastle "Red" team played two matches, against Rosemount, and Tubberclair, while the Garrycastle "Green" team played their counterparts from St. Malachys/Ballinagore and the second Tubberclair team.

The "Green" team started brightly against the host club, and driven on by Diarmuid Murtagh and Tom Sheehan in midfield, got some early scores to settle the team down. Having played Rosemount previously this year, the "Green" team were under no illusions about the need to keep pressing the game, and did so effectively, helped on by some nice scores from the energetic Jack Allen and Jamie Carroll, to hold out for the win. In their second game, a tough battle with a strong Tubberclair team, was decided at the death by the narrowest of margins in favour of the Garrycastle team.

The "Red" team started well, and soon registered scores from David Carter and Conor Sheehan. St. Malachys came back strongly and levelled the scores before taking a slender lead. However, Garrycastle rallied with scores from Thanh McCay, Conor, David and Killian Redmond to take the lead as the game entered the last few seconds. A final attack from St. Malachys resulted in the last score of the game to leave it all square at the end. A fair result given the effort from both teams. In their second game, the "Red" team played the second Tubberclair team. This was a real end-to-end battle with some excellent fielding, tackling and scoring on display from both teams. The teams traded scores from start to finish with neither able to pull away on the scoreboard, and for the second time on the evening, the "Red" team was involved in a drawn game.

Overall, this was an encouraging display from the Garrycastle squad, missing some regulars due to other commitments. Unbeaten on the evening, they can use this as a springboard for the next round of the county league, and the first round of the Tormeys/Clann na nGael tournament, due to start soon.

"Green" Team: Dean Grehan, Sean Doyle, Anthony Mannion, Conn O'Hara, Diarmuid Murtagh, Tom Sheehan, Jamie Carroll, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Jack Allen, Oisin Nugent, Cian McCormack.

"Red" Team: Nathan McKeon, Matthew Conner, Jack Mulvihill, Jazmen Rafiz, Conor Sheehan, Tom Daly, Brian Mulvihill, Sean O'Donoghue, Thanh McCay, Mattie Wozniak, Killian Redmond, David Carter. 

Under-10 League Division 1, Streamstown, May 26th

Garrycastle Under-10's headed off to Streamstown to play Kilbeggan/St. Josephs in round 3 of this years under-10 county league. On a lovely evening for football, 24 players made the trip, allowing us to field two even teams.

The Garrycastle "Red" team started brightly, and went on the offensive right from the start. With good build-up play from midfield, there were plently of chances for the forwards to get on the scoreboard. Some wayward shooting kept the scores down, but at the break the "Red" team led by two scores. As the second half got underway, it was the turn of the hosts to apply the pressure, but the Garrycastle rear-guard held firm, and limited the chances available. Having weathered the pressure, the "Red" team then took over to take some nice scores, and ran out worthy winners.

In the second match, the Garrycastle "Green" team started very slowly, playing into the sun and against the wind, and found it hard to get any momentum going. Scores were hard to come by, and they trailed Kilbeggan/St. Josephs at the break. With a few positional switches at half-time, in addition to playing with the wind in the second half, the Garrycastle team pressed forward strongly, and were rewarded with a trio of well taken scores in the first few minutes. Buoyed up by this, the team continued to press forward, but despite outscoring their opponents in the second half, could not pull back the entire deficit from the first half, and the honours went to the home team.

So, on the evening, it was all square, with each club winning one match.

Overall, this was a satisfactory performance from both Garrycastle teams. The importance of starting well was evident in the second match, which showed that against a strong team, pulling back a lead is not easy, or guaranteed to be successful. The overall skill levels are improving, and with some focus now on accurate shooting in training, this squad will surely develop further.

"Green" Team: Brandon Devaney, Sean Doyle, Anthony Mannion, Conn O'Hara, Matthew Conner, Diarmuid Murtagh, Tom Sheehan, Jamie Carroll, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Jack Allen, Oisin Nugent, Cian McCormack.

"Red" Team: Nathan McKeon, Jack Mulvihill, Kyle Greene, Conor Sheehan, Tom Daly, Brian Mulvihill, Sean O'Donoghue, Thanh McCay, Mattie Wozniak, Killian Redmond, David Carter, Dean Grehan.

Under-10 Challenge vs St. Brigids, Garrycastle, May 20th

The Garrycastle Under-10 squad welcomed St. Brigids from Roscommon in to Garrycastle on Wednesday evening for some challenge games. On a good evening for football, even allowing for a strong breeze, a good turnout of players allowed us to field 2 teams at 11-a-side.

To suit St. Brigids, many of whose players are contesting a community games final soon, we played 4 20-minute matches, with the teams re-fixed after the first round of games. Due to the similarity of colours, Garrycastle played in unfamiliar white colours on the night.

In the first game, the Garrycastle "Green" team started off playing into a strong breeze and had the better of the possession during the first half. Although playing against the wind, and with some very wayward shooting, at half-time the "Green" team trailed by just one score. After the break, and with the aid of the wind, the "Green" team quickly took the lead, and held it to the end of the game, fighting off a brave St. Brigids comeback, to win by one score.

In the second game for the "Green" team, the first half was a real-end-to-end battle, with neither team able to pull away, and at the break, the teams were level. In the second half, as tiredness set in, the scores became more plentiful, but the balance between the teams remained, and at the final whistle, the teams could not be separated on the scoreboard.

In their first game, the Garrycastle "Red" team also started playing into the wind, and building from an excellent performance in the middle of the field, built up a slender lead by the break. Playing with the aid of the wind, they closed out the game and took the honours on the evening.

In their second game, the "Red" team started to show the effects of their exertions from the previous match, and struggled to make use of the wind in the first half, going in level at the break. In the second half, St. Brigids opened up a narrow gap, and despite the best efforts of out "Red" team, held on to their advantage to run out deserving winners.

[ Pictures here when I get them... ]

Overall, this was a great evenings football, and we thank Aidan and the other mentors from St. Brigids for travelling in to play us. We look forward to returning the trip later in the summer.

There were a lot of positives to take from these matches; our positional play is improving, as is our tackling/blocking, and general work ethic. There are still improvements to be made, however, and we will work on these over the coming weeks.

Garrycastle "Green" Team:

Dean Grehan, Sean Doyle, Anthony Mannion, Conn O'Hara, Diarmuid Murtagh, Tom Sheehan, Jamie Carroll, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Jack Allen, Oisin Nugent, Kyle Greene, Nathan Kelly, Nathan McKeon.

Garrycastle "Red" Team:

Matthew Conner, Cian McCormack, Jazman Rafiz, Jack Mulvihill, Killian Keegan, Conor Sheehan, Tom Daly, Brian Mulvihill, Sean O'Donoghue, Thanh McCay, Killian Redmond, David Carter, Brandon Devaney

Under-10 League Division 1, Garrycastle, May 12th

Garrycastle was host to Castledaly and Rosemount for Round 2 of the Westmeath Under-10 league. On the evening, a great turnout of players allowed us to field two even teams, with the Garrycastle "Red" team playing against Rosemount, while the Garrycastle "Green" team played against Castledaly. Conditions on the evening were almost ideal, cool and dry, although with a strong breeze blowing the length of the pitch.

The Garrycastle "Green" team started strongly in their game, driven on from midfield by the dynamic pairing of Diarmuid Murtagh and Tom Sheehan, well supported by a solid defence marshalled by Brandon Devaney in goal. A solid display of tackling and blocking allowed much ball to be driven in towards the forwards where the forwards led by Jamie Carroll were clinical in taking their scores. It was most certainly not all one-way traffic however, as the Castledaly team posted some fine scores, and pushed hard all the way to the end of the game. However, on the evening the Garrycastle "Green" team were just that little bit stronger and took a deserved win.

The second match saw the Garrycastle "Red" team take the field against Rosemount. This was a thrilling affair, with possession and chances evenly split during the first half, with Garrycastle being a little more accurate to go in at half-time even though they were playing against the wind. Garrycastle started the second half strongly, with some excellent displays right across the field. A special mention goes to to Brian Mulvihill who was everywhere tackling, blocking and linking the play, very well supported by Conor Sheehan and Sean O'Donoghue. With the aid of the wind, the "Red" team opened up a solid lead which they held to the end of the game.

Overall these were 2 very strong performances from our Under-10 squad. All the players present played their full part in securing the results on the evening, and can take great pride in their performances. Our shooting accuracy is definitely improving, and the effort put in to regain the ball when possession is lost is extremely encouraging to see.

Many thanks to Michael and the other mentors in Castledaly, and to David and the mentors in Rosemount for a great nights football, played in the right spirit.

Garrycastle "Green" Team: 

Brandon Devaney, Sean Doyle, Anthony Mannion, Conn O'Hara, Matthew Conner, Diarmuid Murtagh, Tom Sheehan, Jamie Carroll, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Jack Allen, Oisin Nugent, Dervla Turley, Kyle Greene.

Garrycastle "Red" Team :

Daniel Sierpinski, Jack Mulvihill, Killian Keegan, Conor Sheehan, Tom Daly, Brian Mulvihill, Sean O'Donoghue, Thanh McCay, Mattie Wozniak, Cian McCormack, David Carter, Nathan McKeon.

Under-10 Challenge vs Moate All-Whites, Garrycastle, May 6th

The Garrycastle under-10 team welcomed near neighbours Moate All-Whites into Garrycastle on Wednesday night for a couple of challenge matches. On a good evening for football, when thankfully the rain held off, we had a good turnout of 26 players, allowing us to field 2 teams.

A great evenings football was served up by all the teams present in two fast paced and sporting games, played in the right spirit. On the evening, the honours were shared with one win each for Garrycastle and Moate. Overall, there is great development in this squad, and we can see the improvement in skill levels and playing confidence on a week-by-week basis.

Many thanks to Brendan and the other mentors in Moate for coming in to play us, and we look forward to travelling to Moate to return the fixture in the near future.

Squad on the evening:

Red Team : Conor McCarthy, Kyle Greene, Jack Mulvihill, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Brian Mulvihill, Diarmuid Murtagh, Dean Grehan, Anthony Mannion, Sean O'Donoghue, Killian Keegan, Thanh McCay, Mattie Wozniak, Nathan McKeon.

Green Team: Sean Doyle, Nathan Kelly, Tom Daly, Matthew Conner, Conor Sheehan, Conn O'Hara, Daniel Sierpinski, Oisin Nugent, David Carter, Tom Sheehan, Jamie Carroll, Killian Redmond, Brandon Devaney.  

Under-10 League Division 1, Athlone, April 28th

The Garrycastle squad travelled the short distance to neighbours Athlone for the first round of this years Under-10 league on Tuesday evening. On a shockingly bad evening, with torrential rain and high winds, we had practically a full squad travel, 29 players being available on the evening.

The squad was divided into two teams, with each team playing against the equivalent Athlone team, at 11-a-side.

The Garrycastle “Red” team started brightly, and soon a score on the board from David Carter. A second from Kyle Greene soon followed, before the anticipated Athlone fightback began. As the first half progressed, the “Red” team were guilty of some very wasteful shooting, clocking up no fewer than 6 wides, as Athlone made much more productive use of their scoring chances, and led by three at the break. As the second half-started, the heavens opened, and playing into the wind and the rain, the “Red” team found to hard to keep possession, and were unable to close the gap, with Athlone running out worthy winners in the end.

In the second match, the Garrycastle “Green” team started slowly and were 2 points down before Thanh McCay pointed which settled the lads. A great save from Mathew Conner led to a pass to Conor Sheehan who broke out from defense and pointed from range to level the game. Play of the half had to be Killian Keegan gaining possession, kick passing to Sean O'Donoghue who soloed up the wing and hand passed to Tom Sheehan who side footed over the bar. Athlone started the stronger in the second half but outstanding defensive play from the Garrycastle backline kept them at bay. Gradually, the Garrycastle midfield got on top and with some excellent scores from the forwards, the match ended in a narrow win for Garrycastle. Despite the weather, this was a very enjoyable game to watch with a great work rate from everyone. 

(Thanks to Chris McKeon for the photos).

Overall, it was very impressive to see the numbers turn out for this opening round, but with conditions as they were, it was difficult to play good football. All players present got an extended run, and this will be a feature of the league going forward from here.

Huge thanks to Dave and the rest of the Athlone crew for the organisation on the evening.

Garrycastle “Red” team:

Conn O’Hara, Sean Doyle, Brandon Devaney, Mattie Wozniak, Tom Daly, David Carter, Kealan Ryan-McIntyre, Jack Allen, Jame Carroll, Killian Redmond, Kyle Greene, Nathan Kelly, Cian McCormack, Dean Grehan, Oisin Nugent.

Garrycastle “Green” team:

Matthew Conner, Killian Keegan, Jack Mulvihill, Nathan McKeon, Conor Sheehan, Conor McCarthy, Diarmuid Murtagh, Tom Sheehan, Thanh McCay, Anthony Mannion, Sean O’Donoghue, Brian Mulvihill, Nathan Jackson, Dervla Turley.

(Posted by William Leahy)

Under-10 County Football Blitz, in Cusack Park, Mullingar, April 7th

The Under-10 football season kicked off with a blitz held in the county ground, Cusack Park, Mullingar, on Tuesday evening. A fantastic sunshine filled evening was the perfect backdrop for some excellent football served up by all the teams present.

On the evening, Garrycastle fielded 16 players, an excellent turnout considering that the club’s Easter Camp is also ongoing this week. This allowed us to field 2 teams, and each team playeed two matches on the evening.

In the first round of matches, the Garrycastle “Red” team played the Shandonagh first team, and the Garrycastle “Green” team played the Shandonagh second team. Both games contained some excellent displays of skill from both teams, with a highlight being the excellent fielding on display.  After some engrossing football, the Garrycastle teams just edged out their Shandonagh counterparts.

In the second round of matches, the Garrycastle “Red” team took on Ballynacargy, while the “Green” team played the Shandonagh first team. Given their exertions in the first round of matches, coupled with their involvement in the Easter Camp, it was inevitable that there was a drop in energy in these games, but even so, the “Green” team maintained their perfect record, while the “Red” team came up one score short, after an epic tussle with Ballynacargy.

Overall, this was an excellent evenings football, with great enthusiasm and no little skill on display. This hopefully sets us up for a good league campaign, due to start next week.

Many thanks as always to the players for attending, and also to the parents and other supporters who travelled up to Mullingar to cheer them on.

Squad on the evening:

Daniel Sierpinski, Oisin Nugent, Brandon Devaney, Jack Allen, Conor Sheehan, Nathan McKeon, Thanh McCay, Anthony Mannion, Killian Keegan, David Carter, Tom Daly, Killian Redmond, Diarmuid Murtagh, Tom Sheehan, Jamie Carroll, Kyle Greene.

St. Patricks Day Parade

The younger players in Garrycastle, (from Nursery/Under-6 up to Under-10), marched proudly in this years St. Patricks Day parade. For photos etc, please see the St. Patricks Day Parade page!

2014 Information

Under-10 team wins Shield competition at Castledaly tournament!

The under-10 team emerged victorious from the Shield final of the Castledaly tournament against near neighbours Tubberclair, on Sunday morning, October 12th.

Please see the Match Report !

Under-10 team qualifies for the final of the Shield competition in the Castledaly tournament

The Garrycastle Under 10 team travelled to play Moate last Wednesday night, (October 8th) under lights in the semi-final of the Castledaly Tournament Cup Competition.  Garrycastle started well and traded point for point with Moate until a mix up in defence let Moate in for a goal that left them 1-3  to 3 points ahead at the break.

Disaster struck in the first few seconds of the re-start when a cruel bounce deceived the 'Castle defence and another goal was conceded.

This was the start of a constant barrage on the Garrycastle goal by a physically far superior Moate team who ran out deserving winners in the end, but full credit must go to the bravery of the Garrycastle players who battled to the end putting their bodies on the line time after time against their physically stronger and bigger opponents.

Some lovely passages of play, even in the closing stages of the game, showed the determination of these lads  and their skill levels have soared in the last few months as a result of games against strong opposition.

Under-10 Training Session, Garrycastle, June 16th 2014.

Some images from the under-10 training session held on June 16th.

Under-10 South Westmeath League, Athlone, June 2nd 2014.

2012

Under-10 Management team for 2012

The Under-10 Manager is Mark Redmond.

Contact Mark by phone at 086 2771935, or by e-mail.

Training

Training times for the Under-10 squad are on Tuesday from 6.30pm - 7.30pm, and Thursday from 6.30pm - 7.30pm.

Training is normally held on the pitch in Garrycastle.

News / Fixtures / Results

U10 End of Season Trip

This year we brought our U/10 boys to the Pure Skill Sports Complex in Galway, where they got to compete in the different 10 sports Skills being awarded a max 10 pts for each successfully score. Our winner on the day went to James Murphy on 42 pts, Afterwards we stopped off in Supermacs in Loughrea and a great day was had by all. This brings to an end a very successful season for our U/10 boys which started on Feb18th training twice a week and playing 40 matches and 2 challenges. Highlights were wining the Larry Nugent (Caulry) Cup for 1 st and the Tormeys (Clann Na Gael) Shield, Garrycastle Spar U9 tournament, Street Leagues, trips to Coolderry as part of build up to the All Ireland Club final, U/9s in The All Ireland mini 7s Competition in Kilmacud Crokes, 2012 Skills Competition. Big Thanks to all that helped this year. Mentors Emmet, Brian and Aiden, Seniors players and John Fagan and manager Mark Redmond.

U9/U10 Skills Competition

Garrycastle Skills Competition Final round took place place last Thursday evening. We had 23 players competing for 1st and 2nd placings at U/9+U/10. At U/9 our 2012 SKILLS CHAMPION was Ben Kilkenny on 23 pts (he only started gaelic last May) and Peter Mulvihill was runner up 22pts. At U/10 it was a much closer contest with a sudden death kick off (point over the bar from the hands) to separate James Murphy, Tommy Stephens, Ryan Cornally and Charlie O'Connor. Ryan Cornally took runner up up for the 2nd year leaving this years title to Charlie O'Connor U/10 SKILLS CHAMPION 2012. Well done guys.

Garrycastle SPAR U9 Tournament

The Finals night of the Garrycastle Spar U9 tournament was held last Monday evening with up to 90 boys/girls playing on 3 separate pitches. Teams involved were Garrycastle, Caulry, Athlone, Clann Na Gael and Tubberclaire. A great evening of competitive football, teamwork and skill was on display for parents and supporters. Well done to Clann na Gael who were overall winners. All players who took part received medals and a bag of goodies sponsored by Spar in Garrycastle. Thanks to those that helped on the night, Co-ordinator John Fagan, refs Rowan Mulvihill, John Ruane, Martin Carey. Harry Mooney and Mammy Larkin slaving in the kitchen looking after the tea and snacks!

KILMACUD CROKES UNDER 9 ALL IRELAND SEVENS COMPETITION

Garrycastle U10s enjoyed a great day in the Kilmacud All Ireland mini Sevens tournament, They represented Westmeath with pride and put in magnificent displays against the mighty Dublin teams which consist of Ballyboden St Endas, Kilmacud Crokes and Clontarf, Only a single score could separate Garrycastle and Ballyboden, who went on to compete in the final against Kilmacud Crokes. All 11 G/Castle players wore their Club jersey with pride and passion and should be very proud of their performance on what was a very enjoyable day for our young players and club, Garrycastle would like to wish John Dylan O'Shea a happy birthday who celebrated his 9th birthday with his team mates in Burger king on the way home. The Club would like to thank parents who travelled and supported the team Micheal Nugent, Joe Donegan, Tara and Aiden Mulvihill, Bud Sharkey and Richie Quinn.

Tormeys Clann na nGael league (16 July)

The Under 10s played their first match of the Tormeys Solicitors Clann na nGael League on Monday night last away to local rivals Athlone in Pairc Chiarain. This is Garrycastle’s first year to be invited to play in this annual tournament which also involves teams from St. Brigids, Padraig Pearses, St. Dominics as well as the host club Clann na nGael. The league is played off in a round robin format with each team playing in a final in Johnstown later on in the Autumn depending on the ultimate league placings. Each club is required to field two teams of 11 players per fixture with Team A to be generally made up of the older/physically stronger players and Team B the younger players. Teams are awarded 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw.There is also a variation in scoring where 3 points are awarded for a goal but a score over the bar is worth 2 points which obviously encourages point taking and rewards accuracy.

Garrycastle were playing these matches just 48 hours after winning the Caulry Cup tournament and although there was certainly no lack of effort from any of the players there were definite signs of fatigue showing, both mental and physical, particularly in the second half of the A game which was played at a blistering pace throughout against a very athletic and skilful Athlone side. Garrycastle played into a strong breeze in the first half and did extremely well to go in at the half down just 6 “overs” to 3. However, the efforts of the previous couple of weeks began to tell their toll in the second half and no matter how hard they tried Garrycastle simply could not bridge the gap going down in the end 2-10 to 1-7 (26 points to 17 under the scoring system). Best for Garrycastle on this occasion were Ryan Cornally in defence, Tommy Stephens and Joseph Henson in midfield, Shane Coffey in attack, and particularly Cian Donohue in goals.

Although fatigue might have been a factor in the A game this was certainly not the case in the B game where Garrycastle’s younger players put in a storming performance coming out the right end of a 7-9 to 0-5 scoreline (39 points to 10) and emphasised the strength in depth of this Garrycastle squad. Aided in no small part by yet another clean sheet from Michael Dooley in goals, Garrycastle took control from the start and never let up with other excellent performances coming from the likes of Ben Kilkenny, Sean Quinn, and John Dylan O’Shea although this was definitely a case where every player could receive a special mention.

This squad will now enjoy a well earned rest from the intensity of matches and can get back to concentrating on some serious training for the next couple of weeks before going back into the fray against St. Brigids in the next round.

Team A: Cian Donohue, Ryan Cornally, Scott Duffy, Nathaniel O’Neill, Nathan Breslin, Joseph Henson, Jack Norton, Tommy Stephens, James Murphy, Charlie O’Connor, Cathal Redmond, Shane Coffey, Luke Clinton.

Team B: Michael Dooley, Stephen Gaffey, Niall Awagboro, TJ Natufe, Peter Mulvihill, Ben Kilkenny, Corey Nugent, Brandon Farrell, John Dylan O’Shea, Rory Kilgarriff, Ben Moroney, Sean Quinn, Jack Dalton.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD

Congratulations to Joesph Henson who got this months most improved player at U/10s award,and received a pair of Atax Gaelic gloves. keep up the good work Joesph.We have lots of contenders for the August award with players putting in lots of extra work!

Under 10s Bring home the Larry Nugent Cup

Our U10 panel enjoyed the sweet taste of success last Sat coming out on top in this South Westmeath Caulry tournament. After the disappointment of being beaten finalists last year, our boys weren't going home without the Cup! We had a panel of 28 on duty in Caulry last Sat afternoon with others away on holidays. The first round of matches were against Rosemount. The red team were captained by Tommy Stephens and the Green Team captained by Ryan Cornally.Both teams took a while to find their range while shooting against a strong breeze but when they settled they went on to win both games comfortably,Our boys took a well deserved break as Rosemount and Moate took to the field with Moate winning their two matches.The result set up a winner takes all final rd between Moate and Garrycastle, both our teams registered early scores to settle the nerves and went on to totally control both matches and win out with double digits scores, lifting the cup for the 1st time, As this was a brilliant team performance giving us lots of man of the match contenders, we have decide to name the whole panel for their determination ,teamwork and skill and deserve great credit.

Red Team: Tommy Stephens, Cian Dowling, Jack Norton, Cathal Redmond, Luke Clinton, Nathan Breslin, Shane White, T.J Natufe, Corey Nugent, Sean Quinn, Rory Kilgarriff, Steven Gaffey, Cian McCarthy and Jack Dalton.

Green Team: Ryan Cornally, Shane Coffey, Charlie O Connor, Micheal Dooley, Peter Mulvihill, Scott Duffy, Ben Kilkenny, Niall Awagboro, Ben Moroney, Nathaniel O'Neill, John Dylan O'Shea, Brandon Farrell and Eoin McCarthy.

On holiday were James Murphy and Ruairi Lyons who played in the group matches. All were brought to Supermacs to celebrate their great win.

Many thanks to managers Mark Redmond, Emmet Keena, Brian Murphy, and also mentors Aidan Mulvihill and Mick Dooley for their work with this team.

CAULRY TOURNAMENT (7/7/2012)

Garrycastle Under 10s earned themselves a place in the Caulry Cup final after coming out on top in the preliminary Group stages on Saturday last. Garrycastle were pitted against the home team and Tubberclair in their 3-team group. The Group was played off in a round-robin format with each club fielding two sides in simultaneous matches and two points counting for a win, one for a draw.

Garrycastle shared the points with Tubberclair in their first match. The Green team managed by Brian Murphy and Emmet Keena went down to the narrowest of margins and were a little unlucky not to come away with a draw after hitting the post twice. Final score 7-6 (goals counting the same as points). On the other pitch the Red team managed by Aidan Mulvihill and Michael Dooley enjoyed an excellent 14-3 win against a very game Tubberclair side.

Garrycastle then enjoyed a well earned break whilst Tubberclair and Caulry faced off against each other. Again the spoils were shared here meaning if either Caulry or Garrycastle could win both games they would top the group but if another draw occurred then it would all come down to scoring difference. On this occasion the Green team put into a dramatically improved performance scoring six early points without reply and never looked back running out 17-6 winners in the end. That meant it would all come down to the action on the other pitch where the Red team faced a very tough challenge from a strong Caulry side who went in at the break leading by two points. However, playing with the aid of the breeze in the second period Garrycastle came storming back to run out 10-7 winners in the end. Twenty-three players turned out for Garrycastle which was great in the poor weather conditions with a number of other regulars missing through holidays and illness.

The final is likely to be played on Saturday the 14 th July.

Green team: Cian Dowling, Shane Whyte, Nathan Breslin, Rory Kilgariff, Joseph Henson, James Murphy, Tommy Stephens, TJ Natufe, Luke Clinton, Ruairi Lyons, Corey Nugent, Brandon Farrell.

Red team: Michael Dooley, Nathaniel O’Neill, Ryan Cornally, Peter Mulvihill, Bartos Dybis, John Dylan O’Shea, Scott Duffy, Charlie O’Connor, Niall Awagboro, Ben Kilkenny, Shane Coffey

UNDER 10

The under tens had a very successful opening round of games in the Caulry tournament on Saturday 30 June. We finished top of group A and qualified for the cup final next Saturday. Best for Garrycastle were Luke Clinton, James Murphy, Tommy Stephens, TJ Natufe, Shane Coffey and Ryan Cornally.

STREET LEAGUE 2012 

STREET LEAGUE FINALS

The street league finals took place last Sunday (17 June) on a very pleasant day in Garrycastle. There was a great standard of football on show. The under 11 blitz had a turn out of over 40 players which is great to see. The Shield Final saw victory for Moydrum, under management of Karl Henson and Enda Keena. The narrowly got the better of a gallant Coosan team, managed by Emmet Keena, who put up a great show despite missing a few players.

The Cup final was played between Retreat, managed by Padraig Cosgrove, and Ballymahon Rd, managed by Brian Murphy and Thomas Keena. Retreat got off to a great start, with Adam O Brien very influential in attack, and went in at half time 4 points infront. Ballymahon road came out fighting in the second half and a huge performance from Eoin Keogh and John Moran was enough to see them finish infront with a couple of points to spare. This was a well deserved win after they had suffered the agony of a one point defeat in last year final.

Special thanks goes to Mark Redmond who was the driving force behind this years under 11 street league. Also thanks to John Fagan, the managers and the referess who helped out.

The crowd were very well entertained by the brilliant Athlone Town Marching Band, and nobody went hungry as Terry Larkin and Fergie Jameson provided a great bbq.

STREET LEAGUE Preliminary Rounds

The under ten street league was played in glorious weather on Sunday (26 May 2012) evening. There was a large turn out and their was some fine displays of football on show. The opening game was an exciting affair between Moydrum and Ballymahon Road. The game finished level, after a very exciting finish. The secong game saw Retreat notch up their secong victory at the expense of Coosan. This game had some really fine football from both sides. The children deserve great credit for their efforts on a very hot day. 

Thanks to Kenny Dolan for being referee.

This years street league kicked of last Saturday afternoon. Teams are made up from this years U/10s and U/11s panel with each team having a panel of 13 plus players playing 11aside matches 20 mins a half, games are played on go-games rules and scores are 1pt over the bar, 1pt for goal, 1skills pt for a block. The teams competing this year are Moydrum, Coosan, Retreat and Ballymahon Road. RD 1, 2, 3 matches will be played in Cornamaddy NS pitch. Finals will be played in Garrycastle on 10th June.

Ballymahon Rd -v- Coosan

First match Ballymahon Rd against Coosan after a delayed start to wait for Coosan choir singers. Ballymahon Rd were first to register a score from the boot of Daniel Ibuba followed by John Moran and Tommy Stephens. Coosan were under pressure for the first ten mins to clear the ball from there half. Andrew Monaghan and Nathan Breslin started winning the breaking ball in midfield for Coosan but found it hard to break down the defence lead by Owen Keogh. In the second half Coosan started well pulling back pts from blocks to leave 3pts between them. Ballymahon Rd pushed on with John Moran and John O'Shea 3 pts each giving them a 6pt win.

Moydrum -v- Retreat

This match was a very competitive game despite the final score tally. Retreat found there scores a lot easier than Moydrum in the first half from the long kickouts that Jucub Kociolek delivered to Charlie O'Connor who scored 3 pts , 1goal. Darragh Kenna and Fergal Mullins pulled the scores back with a 1pt and a block Shane Coffey scored 3 unanswered pts and Adam O'Brien added another before half time. Moydrum started the second half with pts from Sean Quinn and Luke Clinton. Shane Coffey won the next 3 kickouts and converted them to pts. Moydrum came back with goals from Tommy Devery and Cathal Redmond, but Shane Coffey was on fire and kicked another 4 unanswered pts and run out 8 pt winners.

U10 SOUTH WESTMEATH LEAGUE (30 May 2012)

Last Wednesday night 28 of our U10 panel were in Cusack park to take part in the go games finals night. We had 2 teams of 11aside playing against Kilbeggan/st Josephs. Both matches were very competitive with only 3pts on aggreagte separating the side at full time in Kilbeggans favour. Best on the night for us were Scott, James, Ryan, Shane, Cathal, Tommy, Luke, and Cian. Well done to Liam O Reilly and co for securing Cusack pk for the final round of matches this fun/go games league.

U10 panel on the night were: Tommy Stephens, Ben Moroney, Peter Mulvihill, Cian Dowling, Ryan Cornally, Shane White, Cathal Redmond, Luke Clinton, Jack Norton, Rauri Lyons, Luke Fenlon, Micheal Dooley, Brandon Farrell, Steven Gaffey, Corey Nugent, John Dylan O Shea, James Murphy, Sean Quinn, Jack Dalton, Conor Gillen, Bartoz Dybisz, Joseph Henson, Cian mc Carthy, Eoin McCarthy, Nathaniel O'Niell, Charlie O'Connor, Shane Coffey, Scott Duffy.

UNDER 10 SOUTH WESTMEATH LEAGUE (12 May 2012)

On Saturday Garrycastle played host to St. Malachy's/Ballinagore. This was a thrilling game from start to finish with both sides producing some excellent football. Garrycastle took advantage of the strong breeze in the first half and lead by two points at the break. The determined visitors started the second half in great style and with the strong breeze behind their backs they managed to bring the game back to a draw.

Garrycastle dug deep and and battled hard throughout the second half. In the end it was Garrycastle who ran out two points winners and overcame a determined St. Malachy's/Ballinagore team. Best on the day for Garrycastle were Cathal Redmond, Nathan Breslin, Charlie O'Connor, James Murphy, Scott Duffy and Luke Clinton.

Cathal Redmond was awarded the man of the match after putting in a huge battling performance in the back line. As ever Cathal was a rock at the back and led by example in seeing off a strong second half challenge by the visiting team.

UNDER 10 SOUTH WESTMEATH LEAGUE (3 May 2012)

We were away to Tang/Maryland last Thursday where we were up against two very strong home teams. Despite having less than half our panel available, our lads played two very competitive matches and shared the spoils coming away with a draw. Best on the day were Shane White, Cathal, Niall, Cian, Ben, Tommy and Bartzso. James Murphy put in another outstanding performance in midfield earning him man of the match for the reds.

For the greens it was one of our younger players, T. J Natufe, that stood out to take Man of the match.

UNDER 10 SOUTH WESTMEATH LEAGUE (26 April 2012)

Last Thursday evening we were away to Ballynacargy in this refixed match, 18 of our panel of 30 travelled playing two 9-a-side matches on a cold windy evening, both teams were playing into the wind in the first half and did well to keep the adding on scores. The Red team were 5 points down only to come back and win by 8 points with Cian McCarthy in top form earning him Man of the Match.

The Green teams match was a closer game with both teams keeping the scores ticking over with Eoin McCarty getting on top in midfield and giving a long ball in to Jack Dalton who turned and scored the wining point, best on the day for both teams were Luke, Shane C, Ryan, James, Tommy, Cathal, Sean, Jack, Ben, Bartzso, T.J. Joseph.

Thanks to all that travelled and carried our players.

U 10 South Westmeath League

Last Saturday afternoon, our under 10s were out against Milmore Gaels. We had a panel off 22 players available and played two 10 a side matches, with both teams recording wins.

The Red team showed great commitment, teamwork and determination to come from behind at half time and win. Ryan Cornally displayed great leadership earning him Man on the Match. Best for the Reds were Tommy, Shane, James, Luke, Cian, Seán and Shane White.

The Green teams match was more one sided with some great displays of skill and passages of play resulting in great scores. Cathal Redmond and Peter Mulvihill put in man of the match performances. Best for the Greens were Joseph, Michael, Steven, Ben, Niall and Jack. Big thanks to Refs Kenny Dolan and Mick Dooley.

Under 10s Go Games league

Our under 10s played against Rosemount in the under 10 league where we fielded two 9 a side teams. There was some great displays of skill infront of goals from Scott, Tommy , Ben and Cory. Best on the day were James, Cathal, Cian, Peter, Luke and Steven and not forgetting our two goalies Cian Dowling and Jack Dalton.