U16Bs CONTEST CO. FINAL WITH HOPE IN THEIR HEARTS!
Our 16Bs play in the Championship Final on Saturday next, 26th of May, at Parnell Park Vs. Naomh Barrog. Here is a nice piece from club scribe and long-serving team mentor (and ManU follower!) Matt Cahill in the lead up to it. I think you will agree this team just cannot lose ..... enjoy!!
WITH HOPE IN OUR HEARTS
It grieves me to write this but, in my opinion, the best and most powerful "football" song of all is "Youll Never Walk Alone" which Liverpool FC adopted in the dim and distant past. Legend has it that Manchester United fans sung it first on the terraces but did not clasp Rogers and Hammersteins Carousel classic to its collective heart tightly enough. How many goals and cups did that song inspire? The things we let slip - not to mention Alex Ferguson missing Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart who was once going for a song at £100,000 sterling...even Homer nods!
On many an occasion Ive had to sing "Youll Never Walk Alone" with a choir I was in - as a Man United fan for nearly fifty years I have sinned! Music and singing are of course important and powerful in all our lives and capture the whole gamut of emotions and perhaps most vibrantly so in sport. Listening to the Garryowen rugby standard "There Is an Isle", the Welsh singing " Bread of Heaven", the French "La Marsaillaise" or "Amhráin Na BhFiann" at Croke Park for a player must be spine-tingling and uplifting. In all the teams I played in over the years in Kilmacud Crokes the sing-song was integral to celebrations and thankfully there were many. But we also sang, maybe even better, when we lost......singing is a great consolation too.
Reading Charles J. Kickhams classic Irish novel " Knocknagow" recently re-inforced the idea for me that sport and music and singing are central to the Irish pysche and soul and intertwine at many twists and turns. The great character Matt Donovan aka "Matt the Thresher" the hurling legend and captain of Knocknagow won the epic throwing contest against the local army captain and resident of the big house.
He threw "for the credit of the little village". As we know much of the GAA ethos is rooted in pride in ones place. When the captain returned from the Crimean war minus an arm Matt felt such compassion for his erstwhile opponent that he half-regretted launching that last winning throw years earlier. He was a singer too anda marvellous dancer. There is a great scene at a wedding where a door is taken from its hinges and Matt and his sister dance on it. In fact it seems there was nothing he couldnt do.
The U16 lads have been asked to pick out a piece of music that would inspire them and help them focus on the game they are about to play.
We have not got around yet to selecting an agreed team song. If Premiership stars arrive for a game listening to their favourite music on headphones why cant we? Its fun but with a purpose. Hopefully George Hamilton will play a request for them on his Saturday morning programme "Hamilton Scores" on Lyric FM.
Win or lose it is a great achievement for these lads to be playing on the hallowed turf of Parnell Park. They will give it a right go and try to play with style come what may. Extra work has been asked of them in recent weeks particularly on their own individual skills with the emphasis never far away from the all important fun element. The form in the last three official games has been excellent and they gave "as good as they got" against the stiff challenge of Ballyboden in a challenge last week. They deserve medals anyway for the way they have improved over the years and the perseverence they have shown in the face of so many set backs. "They have walked on through the wind and the rain!" A win would merely be the icing on the cake. Speaking of which Sally Sultan has promised to bake one of her exceedingly good biscuit cakes which outdo Mr Kipling any day....... Who knows mentor Tom Lundon may bring his guitar along afterwards..........!
All this is a roundabout way of saying that we are all looking forward to a good and fun day out and will give of our best on and off the pitch whatever the outcome. Like the song says we will travel " With Hope In Our Hearts".
Matt Cahill
FINAL PREPARATIONS...................
Never let it be said that there was a stone left unturned! On Saturday we hada most enjoyable session in the Paddock - if only eleven could attend it was vital that Fintan Jordan and John McDonald from the left bank of our defence and goalkeeper Robert Cahill got in practice as they could not play on the Sunday - John and Fintan having to go on their Gaisce hike. Showing commendable commitment Oisín O Doherty and Ronan Kennedy and Ruairí Geraghty who each had played an under 16 hurling match earlier also went through their paces. Under 14 player Matthew Cahill jnr also attended and did not look at all out of place amongst the "Big Boys" and proved that there is life after Féile.