The Trip to Abbotstown

The visit of our under-13 footballers to Abbotstown to play St Jude’s provided a depressing insight in to how ‘the other half lives’ to use a cliché. The GAA’s National Games Development Centre is part of the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus in Abbotstown. The GAA complex is a suite of floodlit, impeccably manicured pitches and AstroTurf surfaces maintained to the highest possible standards, a state of the art gym and numerous dressing rooms and meeting rooms. It’s a GAA Royal Palace. Although the complex is a national one there is no doubt that the main beneficiaries will be Dublin and Dublin clubs and more luck to them. Last night it was busy with young players from Dublin clubs playing hurling, football, camogie and Ladies Gaelic Football. One thing is patently clear: the gap between Dublin and the rest of the counties in Leinster is only going to get wider.  The Westmeath’s of this world have no chance.  

The match between our footballers and St Jude’s provided more evidence of the gulf in class between Dublin football and the weaker counites as our lads were outplayed and outmuscled in every aspect of the game. It was a valuable lesson for the lads and indicated the amount of work that is needed to compete with the best. It’s where we intend to be but the road ahead is going to be long and difficult.

Our team was: Michael McDonagh; Nathan McLoughlin, Rory Hickey, Conor Kelly, Óisin  Sheridan, Rían Adamson, Conor Fagan; Shane Ormsby, Matthew Clinton; Aaron Russell, Tom Hickey; Ben Meredith, Jamie Rooney, Adam Boyle, Óisin Garry; Tadgh Sheridan, Caoilainn Walsh.