Ballyboden was the venue for day 1 of the Division 1 Camogie Feile this year, and there was great hospitality lined up for players and supporters alike.

The morning was bright but quite breezy. The girls had done all the preparation, and were fit and ready for action. The folding table was set up with the coffee, water, cake and flapjacks.

First up in the Qualifying rounds was Good Counsel. From experience, this was expected to be a tough start and expectations were realised. The Lucan girls were well up for the challenge and despite some heart-stopping moments, held Good Counsel to a 4 point draw.

The second match against Raheny, was hoped to be less demanding than the first, however Raheny were well prepared and surprised Lucan with some well taken scores. However Lucan continued to hold firm and claimed their first win of the day.

Final score – Lucan 1-6 Raheny 1-2

Third up was Ballyboden, whose skill always keeps Lucan on their toes. Lucan managed to get a strong foothold on the game and continued strongly throughout, running out with a higher margin than they might have hoped for. On this basis Lucan topped the group.

Final score – Lucan 1-8 Ballyboden 0-2

Next to the semi final. Due to a tie at the top of the other group, there was an hour long delay while the first and second places were decided there. Lucan took advantage of this break to get lunch in, and have a rest and a chat.

Eventually the draw was known – last match of the day to be against Cuala. At this stage the wind had died down almost completely, so playing conditions were more predictable than in the earlier matches. Forging ahead, Lucan ran out comprehensive winners in this challenge, with a final score of 4-13 to 1-2. 

After sheltering from a very heavy hail-shower which had been threatening all afternoon, with words of advice on what to eat and how much rest to get, the girls all headed home, tired but delighted with their performance of the day.

Sunday dawned wet and windy, the girls were glad their match was in the afternoon as the forecast was for clearer skies then, and indeed that was the case.  There was strong support from the club which was very encouraging for the girls to see.  The girls all arrived early to O’Toole Park for the final showdown.

Having been beaten on home turf the previous day, Ballyboden were ready for the challenge and with several nail biting encounters, Lucan’s hopes began to dwindle as the clock ticked down, ending with that most agonising of margins, a 2 point defeat.

While the girls were disheartened not to have taken the trophy, they still have the Regional finals to look forward to in June – as Pat Martin said, there are no losers on Final day, just runners up.

Faye O’Reilly in goals pulled off some great saves, well supported by the solid full back line of Aoife Byrne, Heather Kenny (vice-Captain), Ciara McDonagh and Maria Crowley. Dependable as always in front of them, Chloe O’Connor, Hannah Brady, Caoimhe Morris and Willow Byrne provided that additional layer of defence.

The midfield pairing of Aoife Mahon (Captain) and Siofra Byrne continued to dominate all challenges.

In the half forward line, Carla Delmar, Ciara Crosbie and Laura Quinn repeatedly challenged their opponents, while full forwards Aoife Coffey, Aisling Gray, Laura Boland, Rachel Feighery and Laura Lawless threatened the goalmouth consistently throughout all matches.

The mentors are extremely grateful for all of the support from parents, club members and the many friends who travelled to support them over the 2 days.

Mentors : Daragh Feighery, Ollie Mahon, Paul Morris, Antonio Sejean