After twelve months of preparation and a final warm up match against the Kildare U14 Development squad,  finally the weekend of the Dublin feile had arrived. The panel of 22 players, made up of U12’s U13 and U14’s met at the club at 08:45am in their perfectly coordinated and personalized “feile gear” for their team photo’s.  After  a few presentations we had to make the short trip over to Thomas Davis in Tallaght. The weather was fantastic, ideal conditions for Camogie. The girls all looked relaxed (the parents looked more nervous) and ready to get going.

All the mentors felt we stood a good chance to make the semi finals/finals stage but never did we dream of winning, which is why we always said we would take one game at a time and see where we finished.

First Match vs St.Judes:

On the All-weather pitch, we made a great start to our first match,  striking an early goal:  we were up and running. That settled  any nerves for players and supporters alike  and we just kicked on from there.  This was a total panel performance with everyone contributing to a fine win with the final score Lucan 4-8 St Judes 0-0.

Next up was the hosts Thomas Davis:

After a change of pitch and a change of jersey to the “White set”, we knew this match was going to be a hard fought battle and so it transpired. Like the first match we got off to another great start scoring a goal early but ‘Davis came back on the attack and put our defence under extreme pressure. The Lucan rear-guard  answered all questions asked of them and proved the platform for the impressive Front line. This was another match where the panel paid dividends as again all contributed as we picked up a few knocks during the course of the match. We came out on top with a 3-8 to 0-0 victory securing us a semi final spot with a game to play.

Final match in the group vs Erins Isle:

The final group game pitted Lucan v’s Erins Isle, back on the all weather surface. Both teams at this stage team had qualified for a semi final berth,  but in theory, the winners of this game would have the easier semi-final draw. We once again started well, but only registered 2 points from sustained pressure in the first quarter. Isles eventually  broke the siege, and from a sweeping move from  midfield  scored a very good goal leaving the half time score Lucan 0-2 Isles 1-0. With a foothold in the game, Isles confidence began to grow as the exertions from the earlier games began to tell on the Lucan girls. Isles notched up 1-1 in the second half, including a sweetly struck free from 55m from their influential mid fielder. Erins Isles  ran out  as winners and deserved group topper on a score line of 2-1 to Lucan’s 0-3.  Lucan was far from done. 

Semi Finals Vs Naomh Barrog:

Barrog had made the semi finals topping their group and from watching them in their last group match we knew we would have a tough task on our hands. Lucan had the benefit of a long break  before their SemiFinal, back on the all weather surface,  got underway.  The lowering sun in the sky and dropping temperate did not distract the girls. Once again the Lucan girls start was fast out of blocks and piled eminence pressure on the Barrog defense. That pressure told and again Lucan were first to score with a vital score coming by way of a goal,  giving the girls from Lucan the key momentum. The girls just grew from there and once again the panel paid dividends as players were seamlessly interchanged with all making key contributions to deliver a final scoreline of Lucan 1-6 to Barrog 0-0. The girls didn't really celebrate this victory, I don't know whether this was down to being tired or they all knew the mammoth task ahead the next day. The second Semi-Final saw Erin’s Isle overcome Beann Eadair, setting up the rematch of Lucan V Erin’s Isle in the final.

Final Vs Erin's Isle:

After a good nights rest, the morning of the final saw another glorious day for the art of Camogie and this talented bunch of girls.  All were raring to go and focused on reversing the result of that final group game when we met at the club at 08:30am. Once again all the girls were calmness personified while the parents and  managements showed the nerves. Picking the starting 15 was an arduous task after all playing outstandingly well on the Saturday. The Sundayfinal saw a short trip to O'Toole Park Crumlin.

Arriving at the grounds,  the girls quickly settled into their normal routine, taking to the dressing room  followed by a rigorous warm up. The team returned to the dressing room for a final briefing before taking the field to the accolades of the huge and vocal Lucan support on the terraces.. (a special thank you to all who supported the girls, I've never seen or heard better support for a juvenile final).

All the talking was over and it was game time. As we had done in all our other matches Isles did to us, not even 1 minute on the clock and they had the ball in the back of our net. My first thought was "oh no" its going to be one of those days, already thinking about how my half time team talk was going to go, but these girls are made of strong stuff and while their resolve was tested, it was not to be dented. They started to settle into the game picking up some nice scores and frees, eventually levelling it 1-0 to 0-3. The team were now performing well and playing the better Camogie, but we got hit with another sucker punch just before halftime. Isles got a 45 and launched it towards the road end which went straight into the Lucan net through a bunch of players, the Lucan keeper didn't stand a chance seeing it late.

Halftime and Isles lead 2-0 to 0-3, we just told the girls to keep playing the same as they had in the first half and we would get the just rewards. They came out in the second half with the same “never say die” attitude and started picking away at the Isles lead. Before long they had leveled it up 2-0 to 0-6 and had  Isles on the back foot. We were now edging into the final 5 minutes and the girls kept on putting pressure on the Isles goal which accumulated in two quick frees, which edged Lucan ahead by 2 points. The match wasn't over as Isles mounted an attack on the Lucan goal, resulting in the concession of a free from 30 meters from the Lucan goal. The Lucan defence stood strong and were able to clear our lines. Moments later, the final whistle blew and the girls had done it, securing a historic victory for Lucan.

U14B Squad:

Aisling Walsh, Aimee O'Connell, Aoife Fortune, Caitriona McNamara, Caoimhe Enright, Caoimhe McManus, Kate Byrne, Emma O'Connor, Hannah Crowley, Jessica Fitzgibbons, Lauren Dawson, Mariamna Foley, Millie Reid, Moya McKearney, Phoebe Shannon, Rachel Geoghegan, Saidhbh Greene, Sinead Daly, Shauna Conway, Shannon Boyle, Emma O'Brien.

Mentors:

Adam McManus, Lorraine Byrne, Ian O'Connor, Therese Keating.