Busy Community Games schedule for children throughout Mayo in 2022
Michael Brophy
Community Games have been at the forefront of our lives for many decades in Mayo, with a busy schedule of events for our children each year. Parents, trainers, supporters and participants have been travelling to local, county, provincial and national finals all over the country.
Covid prevented Community Games from holding a full schedule of indoor games 2022, but we have seen a slow return to normality within the games.
However, Mayo Community Games was hit with the loss of several areas this year, and the lack of volunteers coming forward is a worrying development for the organisation at all levels. The challenge to regain the lost areas for 2023 is going to be a major battle and the amalgamation of areas may be a solution in order to keep the games alive in some parts of the county.
The busy schedule of events took competitors to Sligo for the regional finals, Carlow for the track and field finals and the national arts and culture weekend, while UL in Limerick held the team finals along with the swimming, grass cycling and marathon. Navan was the venue for mixed distance relays and cross-country, with Westport Golf Club hosting the national pitch and putt finals.
While the aim of the games is participation, there is success and disappointment at all levels of sport and culture, but it's vital to be involved so that children develop an active, healthy lifestyle in a safe environment. Many hundreds of medals of all colours have been won by individuals and teams over the past few weeks after months of dedicated practice and training.
Claremorris has certainly proven to be one of the best Community Games areas this year. The Claremorris girls Under 13 choir were silver medalists at the arts and culture weekend and their performance was top class. Great credit must go to their tutors and well done to Aoife and Anna Walsh, Mollie Noone, Eilidh Jackson, Carrigan Hunt, Amelia Moore, Grace Murphy, Ruby Gibbons, Emma Clarke, Caoilinn Carney and Kayla Brennan.
The Castlebar Community Games quiz team put in a super performance over 10 rounds of 100 questions to take the fourth place medals. The questions were tough but the team worked their knowledge together to gain a successful outcome. Congrats to Grace Webb Floyd, Darragh Lawlor, Tadhg Kearney, Eoin Feerick, Aiden Dempsey and Jayden Bourke Einav.
In May of this year, Castlebar Community Games were virtually gone but regrouped after a number of parents came forward and saved the day.
In the national art competitions, Turlough Towers had great success when Juliette Devaney received a bronze medal in the girls Under 8 category. Anna Freney picked up a silver medal in the girls Under 10 competition. Both girls produced fabulous paintings.
In the handwriting, Emma Kilboyle from Carra Community Games finished in second place to win a silver medal in the girls Under 10 event. Emma certainly has a busy season competing in art, swimming and handwriting.
Eloise McDonnell from Kilmovee reached the podium to be presented with her fourth placed medal in the girls Under 12 handwriting event. Handwriting has proved to be a popular choice, with some outstanding individual scripts.
Mayo Community Games had participants in all activities and Anna Forycha from the picturesque village of Cong came fourth in the solo dance competition at Under 16 level. Stella Kanyi from Shrule-Glencorrib-Kilroe also won a fourth placed medal in the girls Under 12 group music.
TEAM FINALS
A big contingent of Mayo Community Games participants arrived in the University of Limerick for the ALDI National Community Games team finals in swimming, grass cycling and marathon.
Two very well-known sporting stars and ambassadors for Community Games – Dan Morrissey, the limerick hurler, and Maria Cooney, the Galway camogie star – were in attendance to meet the thousands in attendance at the games.
The Claremorris swimmers had a very successful day in the pool, winning eight individual and two sets of team squad medals. When one considers they were without their own pool for over two years but still continued to use other pools to keep in peak shape for competitions, it was some achievement.
Their girls Under 16 4 x 50 medley swim squad received the gold medals, with Amy Breslin, Meadbh Burke, Eabha Finnerty, Emma Heffernan, Cara Higgins and Aisling Rabbitte showing a clean pair of heels to the opposition on the day.
Eva Harte captured the gold medal in the girls Under 12 breaststroke in impressive style, while Tomas Burke was in top form when winning a silver medal in the boys Under 14 butterfly event.
It was a memorable day for Meadbh Burke when she added a bronze medal to her gold squad medal collection for finishing third in the girls Under 14 backstroke. Aisling Rabbitte, a member of the gold-winning squad also, added to her medal collection when she won a bronze medal in the girls Under 16 breaststroke.
Adam McNamara produced the goods to win a fourth placed medal in the boys Under 16 breaststroke. Kyle Gleeson is a very young successful sportsperson and winning national medals is nothing new to him. This time he won a fourth placed medal in the boys Under 10 freestyle. Darach Higgins celebrated a birthday and a fourth placed medal in Limerick in the boys Under 12 backstroke and was a member of the Under 13 boys swim squad, who were presented with fourth place medals.
The boys Under 13 swim squad 4 x 100m length freestyle team had a fantastic day by finishing fourth in the final. Congrats to Mark Warde, John Ryan, Joey Rabbitte, David Torres Mulkeen, Daniel Heffernan and Darach Higgins on their success.
Castlebar swimmers had a quieter day in the pool, but Conor McNamara had a brilliant swim to secure a silver medal in the boys Under 14 breaststroke. Matthew Walsh swam very well to be placed fourth in the boys Under 16 butterfly and reach the podium to receive a justified medal.
The Claremorris girls Under 15 soccer team are Mayo and Connaught champions, and ended up in the final of the national Community Games in Limerick. In their semi-final game against Graiguecullen from Carlow, they finished level and proceeded to extra-time before going to the dreaded penalties. Claremorris saw off the Carlow champions by five penalties to four to move on to the final.
Roscrea, the Tipperary champions, were classed as favourites coming into the final but Claremorris showed great team spirit to keep coming forward despite falling behind by two goals. In the second half, Claremorris pulled one back to make it 2-1 before Roscrea added a third to wrap the game up.
On this evidence, soccer in Claremorris is in a healthy, progressive state. It has been a wonderful experience playing Community Games soccer for the girls – congrats to coaches and players: Mary Ann Warde, Amy Wallace, Alisha Slattery, Daisy Phillips, Zainab Naeem, Alyssa Murphy, Aine Lynn, Aisling Leydon, Alana Kelly, Ruby Jennings, Emma Higgins, Naoise Heffernan, Kate Hanley, Emily Foy, Lucy Dunne and Rachal Clarke.
Breaffy rounders have a long-standing tradition with Community Games dating back decades, and it looks set to continue judging from the latest success. On this occasion Breaffy boys were in action with two teams.
The Breaffy Under 13 team played Adamstown, Co. Wexford, in the semi-final but were unfortunate to meet a stronger southeast team. The Breaffy boys returned to the field of play and were determined to make a comeback against the Ulster champions, Innishkeen of Co. Monaghan, in the playoff for third and fourth place. They duly came away on a winning score of 25 runs to 24 to proudly claim the bronze medals. Players like Jack Ryan, Ryan Reilly, Harry O'Donnell, Daniel and Clancy O'Conner, Aaron Murphy, Noah Lunn, Brian Loftus, Shane Fahy, Ethan Canny and Cian Byrne will never forget their weekend in Limerick and maybe next year step up to another level of success.
The Breaffy Under 15 were next to hit the green turf and expectations were high that this could be the year to celebrate, provided all went to plan on the day. Their opposition in the semi-final would be Clonbroney from Co. Longford, who settled well early on, but Breaffy held on to win by the tightest of margins nine runs to eight. A place in the final against Munster champions Sixmilebridge-Kilmurry, Co. Clare, was the prize. This final had everything possible in it that makes rounders such a great game. Nobody really took control and they stayed very even until the very end, when Breaffy rallied to win by one score – 35 to 34.
Celebrations were wild as managers, supporters and players hugged each other. This was a victory brought about by belief and hard work over a number of years by the coaches who persisted with the panel over many training sessions in all types of weather. The bonfires in Breaffy burned brightly for both teams as they entered the village from Limerick. For the players involved it will never be forgotten by the likes of Ben Sloyan, Eoghan Murray, Mark Mulchrone, Michael McTigue, Nevan Lynch, Ronan Loftus, Adam Jennings, Rian Fallon, James Curran, Cillian Curley, Darragh O'Connor and Colm Clarke.
The two Mayo grass cyclists did extremely well, with Lauren Clarke from Westport winning a silver medal in the girls Under 14 event over a distance of 2km. Jack Brennan from Cong was competing in his first major competitive grass cycling event at Under 12 level and won a fourth place medal.
In the 7km marathon event, Alan Hegarty from Turlough Towers came in with excellent training times and was in the leading pack for long stages before finishing third and collecting his bronze medal. His running mate, Kevin Duffy from Claremorris, did extremely well and finished strongly in seventh place on the day.
TRACK AND FIELD
Mayo Community Games competitors made the long journey to the South East Technological University in Carlow to compete in the ALDI National Community Games track and field finals.
It certainly was a busy day, with 28 track events taking place along with 14 field events. A total of 10 individual medals were won along with two sets of relay team medals by athletes from Mayo Community Games.
Over 2,000 children took part in the national finals in the sweltering heat, which reached over 30 degrees in Carlow. Over 7,000 bottles of water were distributed on the day to keep everybody hydrated. Several thousand parents, officials, volunteers and supporters poured into this splendid venue to witness the best of competitive action from children who travelled from all corners of the country.
Congratulations to Kayla Garvey from Shrule/Glencorrib/Kilroe, who ran to the best of her ability to secure a treasured gold medal in the girls 60 metres Under 8 final.
Kyle Gleeson from Claremorris is a great athlete and he picked up a gold medal in the boys 60 metre hurdles Under 10 event in some style and with great technique.
Ciara Jennings from Castlebar had a marvelous day, winning her heat earlier in the day before finishing in second position to take a silver medal in the girls 200 metres Under 12 final.
The experienced Alan Hegarty from Turlough Towers went home with a silver medal after a great race in the boys 1,500 metres Under 16 final.
The Claremorris mixed relay team Under 10 can be so proud of their performances after winning the silver medals in an exciting final. Congrats to Elena Crowley, Calum Alworthy, Molly Noone, Kyle Glesson, Eilis McHugh and Luke Duffy.
James Darcy from Bohola was in top form in Carlow to win a bronze medal in the final of the 60 metres Under 8 sprint final.
Laura Hoade from Cong has been competing for years at underage level and once again she succeeded in adding another national medal to her haul of Community Games medals, finishing third in the girls 100 metres Under 16 final.
Aoife Blewitt from Knockmore ran a brilliant race in warm conditions to take a bronze medal for her efforts in the girls 1,500 metres Under 16 final.
The Claremorris boys Under 16 relay team secured a set of bronze medals – congrats to Sean Killeen, Mark Wallace, Sean Hallaran and Kevin Duffy. Their hard work on the tartan track in Claremorris paid dividends in the end.
Stephen Gibbons from Ballinrobe put in a wonderful performance to gain a fourth place medal in the boys long jump at Under 14 level.
Matthew Kelly from Turlough Towers added another medal to his huge collection of Community Games medals since he first competed at Under 8 level several years ago. On this occasion he secured a fourth placed medal in a tough 800 metre boys Under 14 final.
Chloe Connolly from Hollymount must be delighted with her overall displays to end the season with a fourth placed medal in the girls 80 metre hurdles Under 14 final.
Mayo and National Community Games have successfully concluded their season of events for 2022 following the holding of the Aldi National Pitch & Putt golf competition at Westport Golf Club and the ALDI National Cross-Country and mixed distance relays in Navan, Co. Meath.
Westport Golf Club had the honour of hosting the Pitch & Putt Under 16 event for the boys and girls. Just over 40 entrants converged on west Mayo from all over Ireland – a considerable increase from the previous year. Wet and stormy weather was forecast but after some early morning rain, the day cleared up and playing conditions were favourable for all participants.
Mayo Community Games had two teams entered following a very successful Mayo event held several weeks ago at the same location. Great credit must go to Enda Lonergan from Westport who coordinated the Mayo and national finals with a very good team of officials to make sure everything went to plan.
The boys competition started first and there were some excellent scores recorded over the first nine holes, and this continued over the final nine holes. Despite some developing windy conditions, score cards were handed in by the officials from all the groups who played. The overall winner was Owen Kelly from Turlough Towers, Mayo, who ended the day on five under par to claim the gold medal and recorded a hole in one during the competition. The silver medal went to Fionan O'Sullivan from Kerry, while bronze went to James McDermott from Co. Carlow and Scott Mannerings from Co. Offaly received the fourth place medal.
Mayo Community Games had two other excellent golfers in action on the day. Max Humphreys from Ballinrobe gave his best while Patrick Griffith from Balla was delighted to be playing in his first major competition at such a very young age. Keep an eye out for these boys in the coming years as their day will come sooner rather than later.
The girls competition was eagerly awaited as some of the country's top golfers had assembled for this Community Games competition. With the misty rain beginning to appear over Croagh Patrick, conditions turned wet but the girls returned some great scores. The gold medal was presented to Jessica Reynolds from Sligo, while Mary Kate Lonergan from Westport received the silver medal, Mae Fenton from Sligo picked up the bronze medal and Charlie Browne from Westport was awarded the fourth place medal.
Youth golf is in a very solid position with so many talented golfers playing and learning the game.
All the medals in the girls competitions stayed in the west and went to Mayo and Sligo participants following a great day of pitch and putt in scenic Westport Golf Club.
Presentations were made by Tom Mulqueen, captain of Westport GC, who spoke about the excellent golfers and results achieved on the day by the Community Games golfers. He praised the officials and thanked them for choosing Westport as their destination for this national competition. Maybe they will return next year again.
National Community Games were strongly represented by David Hoystead, CEO, Eleanor O'Brien, activities director, Sinead Colleran, operations manager, Jane Walsh, PR and marketing director, Mary McGreal, Westport Community Games, and Michael Brophy, PR, Mayo Community Games. Sincere thanks to Westport Golf Club and their staff who provided refreshments and food on the day. The competition was a great success and professionally organised under the guidance of Enda Lonergan and his team of officials.
CROSS-COUNTRY
The ALDI Community Games cross-country and mixed distance relays was held at the Navan Adventure Centre, and Mayo Community Games had participants involved.
On this occasion, and for the first time in over 20 years, no medals were won by the county but the teams gave their best on the day and can be proud of their performances.
Well done to the girls mixed relay team Under 12, which included Micheala Mongan, Roisin Moran, Ella Feeney, Olivia Duffy and Anna Joyce. The girls mixed distance relay Under 14 team also contested the finals and Niamh Moran, Sarah Brennan, Cliodhna Meenaghan, Amy and Lauren Dunne did very well. Thanks to Ita Brennan, Patrica Duffy and Norita Dunne, who managed the teams on the day and supported them during the races.
Mayo Community Games would like to acknowledge the great work that is being done at area level in the county and thank all the volunteers and officials who give their time at all events. Thanks also to the sporting bodies who provide excellent indoor and outdoor facilities to participants on a yearly basis. A very special thank you must go to the great officials who provide their time, knowledge and experience, and are always available when needed for county finals throughout the year.
Very shortly, National Community Games will publish dates, times and venues for next year so that planning can go to a better level. All information relating to the national competitions can be found on the Community Games website – www.communitygames.ie.
Mayo Community Games will have the honour and privilege of hosting the Connaught Community Games finals in April and July next year. Over the next few weeks, areas will be holding their annual general meetings and selecting new officers. The year 2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of Community Games in Mayo and it would be great to see as many areas as possible registering for the season ahead.