Pictured: Clanns Anne O’Donavan – Junior Player of the year.
What a time it’s been of late at Clanna Gael Fontenoy.
Two of our ladies teams have won championship titles, while a number of our under-age teams have also been making good progress through their respective championship competitions. We have also been busy celebrating the champions of the past in marking the 25th anniversary of the winning of the O’Broin Cup.
Pictured: Senior Ladies vs Clontarf.
A last-gasp goal by Sinead Taylor saw our Senior Ladies footballers win the Intermediate Championship title in Parnell Park with a score line of 3-9 to 1-12. It was their Clontarf opponents who led for most of the game, but it was the Clanns ladies who nicked the final score and had the pleasure of lifting the cup and bringing it southside.
In a contest that was fairly even throughout, Clontarf were first to register on the scoreboard. However, it was Clanns player, Aisling Ryan, who was first to find the net and only seconds after, Marie Twomey came close to another goal but hit the crossbar.
Meanwhile, up the other end Claire Byrne made a fine save from one of Clontarf’s dangers, Sarah McCaffrey (sister of Dublin footballer, Jack McCaffrey), only for McCaffrey to pounce shortly afterwards for a goal to give the northsiders a half-time lead of 1-8 to 1-4.
The second half started brightly for Clanns, with Rebecca McDonnell finding the net while Claire Byrne in the Clanns goal continued to make a number of good saves. The teams continued to exchange scores, but it was a pair of points from Sinead Taylor, followed by one from Aisling Ryan, which brought the teams level at the start of injury time. And up popped Taylor again to shoot from the edge of the square and find the net and clinch the winning score in dramatic fashion.
Pictured: Junior Ladies vs Castleknock.
Junior ladies win thriller to lift cup
A stoppage-time point from Clanns midfielder, Emer Kelly, gave our Junior Ladies footballers victory over Castleknock in a thrilling E-Championship final that ended 2-8 to 2-7.
In breezy but dry conditions both sides produced some great football and traded scores throughout the game. Clanns were first to settle into the game with good points from Marie Alice Cleary and and Emma Sayers.
When Castleknock started to play their way back into the game it was the industrious Cleary who again pounced to palm home the opening goal of the game after the Castleknock goalkeeper failed to hold a dangerous, long-range free kick from Faun Duggan. This was followed by another Clanns point from Anne O’Donovan. Although their opponents responded with a goal of their own and a couple of points, it was the Clanns girls who reached half time in front on a score line of 1-4 to 1-3.
Early second-half points from Marie Alice Cleary and Ruth Shaw seemed to give our girls the momentum again, only to be followed by a period of domination by Castleknock which resulted in their taking the lead for the first time with a one-goal advantage and ten minutes playing time left.
But the Clanns girls responded with great spirit and, on being awarded a penalty on 52 minutes, Cleary stood up to strike it home. With both sides continuing to trade points, the game remained on a knife edge going into the final minutes. Indeed, a draw looked a likely result until Emer Kelly’s right-foot short split the posts to give Clanns the narrowest but sweetest of victories.
The mood of anticipation around the club on the eve of the All-Ireland football final was added to by an air of celebration as the club marked the 25th anniversary of the winning of the O’Broin Cup with a reunion of many of the players and supporters involved.
At the same time, the Saturday morning under-age Academy has never been so well supported; and the volume of traffic in the area is testament to this. Some 100 youngsters are put through their paces in ‘The Cage’ and out on the playing fields as the need arises.
Pictured: O’Broin Cup Anniversary: Jason McDonnell and Robert Buckley, members of the Clanna Gael Fontenoy 1991 O’Broin Cup winning team. All these images courtesy of Peter Hickey Photos.
Away from the field of play the club has developed a new website, new online facilities for membership registration, as well as an online system for purchasing products from the club shop.
Use of myclubfinances.com is proving very popular and convenient for membership registration and payment. Meanwhile, a new click and collect club shop ordering service is now available online on the Click & Collect tab on the club Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ClannaGaelFontenoy/ and on the website at https://clannagaelfontenoy.ie/club-shop/online-club-shop/.
By Felix O’Regan
