Ballad Group Qualifies for Leinster Final

Congratulations once again to our ballad group of Paul Doolin, Paul McDermott, Tony Irwin, Alan Conroy and Shane Bardon who qualified for the Leinster Scór Sinsir final in the category with a great performance in Allenwood on Sunday.  Their arrangements and renditions of The Rocky Road to Dublin and The Parting Glass secured them the place in the finals which will take place in Ballymore on 2 April. 

Leinster Under-13 League: Mullingar Shamrocks 2-9 Western Gaels 3-2

Mullingar Shamrocks maintained their interest in this competition with this victory over the Longford combination. With three teams on 6 points and a head-to-head victory each and one of the three benefitting from a walk-over it looks likely that play-offs will be needed to determine which of the three teams qualify for the final.

This was a superb display by the Shamrocks lads; this is the most unselfish group of players in the club and the emphasis is on combination and passing the ball to the better placed player. This quality was clearly evident on this occasion and some superb examples of combined play was spoiled by some dreadful shooting from both general play and placed balls. We won’t mention that aspect of the play again but one imagines there is going to be some serious shooting practice in the next few training sessions when Robbie, Spike and Derek assemble with the boys again.

Jamie Rooney cracked a goal in the opening minutes after the Western Gaels goalkeeper had saved well from an Adam Boyle shot and Adam added a point that could well have been a goal when he finished a great move that began with Rory Hickey in the full-back line. This was the pattern for most of the first half that was dominated by Shamrocks. Carson Hanlon (0-2) and Conor Fagan added points to establish a 1-4 to 0-0 lead after 20 minutes. It could easily have been doubled given the excellence of Shamrocks play. A Killian Cox goal opened the scoring for Western Gaels but another superb bout of combined Shamrocks play ended with a Conor Kelly point. However, another 1-1 for Western Gaels was a source of concern and reduced Shamrocks to an interval lead of a single point (1-5 to 2-1), a lead that totally misrepresented Mullingar Shamrocks dominance. But the score board’s story is the only one that matters.

Shamrocks went behind early in the second-half to a Western Gaels goal but the lead was restored when Adam Boyle got the vital touch to finish to the net and a very neat Cameron Crichton left-footed point restored the two point lead. Conor Fagan scored two, Cameron got another to put Shamrocks 2-8 to 3-1 ahead. Western Gaels had a pointed free and a great block by Jamie Rooney ended with a point from John Ryan, who had an excellent game, to secure the Shamrocks victory.

This was essentially a great team victory but it would not be fair not to mention the great defending of Nathan McLoughlin, Rory Hickey, Rian Adamson, Tadgh Sheridan  and Ben White, the mid-field play of Ciaran Kiernan and Aaron Russell as well as those mentioned already.

Mullingar Shamrocks: Billy Kavanagh; Nathan McLoughlin, Rory Hickey, Rian Adamson; Tadgh Sheridan, Ben White, Petie McGuinness; Ciaran Kiernan and Aaron Russell; Carson Hanlon (0-2), Conor Kelly (0-1), Conor Fagan (0-3); Jamie Rooney (1-0), Adan Boyle (1-1), John Ryan (0-1). Subs: Cameron Crichton (0-1).    

ACL Div.1, Mullingar Shamrocks 0-10 St Loman’s 0-12.

In the final analysis, St Loman’s were deserving winners of this ACL Div.1 match played in Lakepoint Park on a night when conditions were perfect for football on a pitch that was in splendid condition. The football matched the conditions and was played at a cracking pace for the 60 minutes.

Denis Corroon opened Shamrocks account with a pointed free following a foul on Dylan McDermott and Dónal O’Donoghue added a second from play. In between these two scores a mistake by a Shamrocks defender sent John Heslin careering towards the Shamrocks goal. There is usually only one result when Heslin is presented with such opportunities but on this occasion Dj Fedronas beat away Heslin’s savage shot for the first of four stunning saves made by the 2016 Westmeath minor goalkeeper. Shane Dempsey knocked over one of his typical points and a very good John Heslin point from out on the right wing levelled play in the 10th minute. A great Simon Quinn point off his left foot restored Shamrock’s lead but a long range free by Heslin levelled matters after 15 minutes. Ken Casey was next to find himself facing Dj in a one-on-one situation and once again the Shamrocks goalkeeper pulled off a brilliant stop. A Ronan O’Toole point and a John Heslin point following good work by O’Toole completed the first-half scoring after Denis Corroon had equalised following O’Toole’s effort. Dj’s finest piece of magic came just before the interval when he dived low to his left and somehow got a strong hand (as the analysts say) to a John Heslin effort that was destined for the bottom corner of the net.

Ronan O’Toole and John Heslin scored the opening points of the second-half to open a three point gap (0-7 to 0-4). Denis Corroon and Heslin again pointed frees and Dónal O’Donoghue (dangerous throughout) had a point from play before Tye Adamson scored one of the points of the night – a booming long range effort that sailed between the posts and reduced the deficit to the minimum (0-8 to 0-7). Tye’s surging runs, especially in the first-half, were one of the highlights of the night’s play and he was unfortunate with another long-range effort shortly afterwards that bounced off the post and went wide. Points by Seanie and Daragh Daly edged Shamrocks to a single point lead. Ken Casey was presented with another great goal scoring opportunity and once again Dj defied the Offaly man with another stunning save. Shame Dempsey levelled and another John Heslin point from a free restored the St Loman’s lead.  A brilliant effort from Denis Corroon equalised matters but the two final scores of the evening belonged to John Heslin and Shane Dempsey.

This was Shamrocks best performance in the league to date but as Jim Gavin might say these things have to be put into context. It’s early March and almost five months before a ball is kicked in the championship.

This was Dj’s night and the big goalkeeper displayed his considerable ability under the lights of Lakepoint Park. There hasn’t been a better goalkeeping display in the park. There is no doubt that he has the potential to be a future Westmeath senior football goalkeeper should he have the ambition and desire.

Mullingar Shamrocks: Dj Fedronas; Keith Moore (David Coyne), Eddie Moore, Aaron Purcell; Killian Daly, Seanie Daly (0-1), Micheál Curley (Pearse Corroon); Denis Corroon (0-1) and Daragh Daly (0-1); Tye Adamson (0-1), Simon Quinn (0-1) [Paddy Joyce], Ross Corroon; Dylan McDermott (David Gavin), Dónal O’Donoghue (0-2), Brendan O’Reilly (Ryan Blundell).

ACL Div. 5:  Kilbeggan Shamrocks 4-6 Mullingar Shamrocks 0-7.

The story of this match is easily told; Kilbeggan Shamrocks were much more clinical in their score taking, the Mullingar Shamrocks wasted several good chances and suffered the consequences of an eleven-point defeat.

After missing a number of good scoring chances a Paul Fennell goal punished Shamrocks and when Fennell was fouled and Jamie Stone expertly tucked away the resulting penalty to send Kilbeggan into a 2-2 to 0-0 lead the game was slipping into the beyond redemption category for the Mullingar Shamrocks. A Ross Corroon pointed free was our only contribution to the first-half score line as Kilbeggan finished the half with 2-3 to their credit. Kilbeggan doubled this total after the interval with goals from Jamie Fox and Paul Fennell (even Dj couldn’t save this one). Dónal O’Donoghue kicked two good points for Shamrocks as did Ross Corroon with our other two scores coming from the O’Reilly brothers.  

Mullingar Shamrocks: Killian White (Dj Fedronas); Dylan Ledwith, Keith Moore, Sam Gilmartin; Niall Haningan, David Coyne, Ryan Blundell; Dónal O’Donoghue (0-2) and Paddy Joyce; Ross Corroon (0-3), David Gavin, Pearse Corroon; Brendan O’Reilly (0-1), Gary Corroon, Kenneth O’Reilly (0-1).