[caption id="attachment_68832" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Emma Clarke of New York evades a challenge by Wicklow's Aoife Heffernan at Croke Park in Dublin."]
The end of year is usually a time for review and reflection on the course of events. It certainly was a busy season for the New York GAA as over 210 games were played in a very timely manner. Initially, the senior football division took a serious hit when Down decided to fold and Donegal and Sligo dropped down to the intermediate division, leaving just six teams in the flagship competition. However a double round ensured that the senior footballers got an adequate number of games. This was also the most competitive division as all teams were in contention right to the very end.
The defending champions Leitrim struggled early on but once Tommy Freeman came on board they found their form. Tyrone got a good boost from the disbanded Down squad and played well all through to end up at the top of the league chart. Cork were also slow to gain traction but they picked up momentum and scalps as the season progressed while Armagh held their own despite moving up a division. Kerry were enigmatic as they were consistently inconsistent, mixing excellence with ineptitude. Cavan took some scalps early on but faltered later.
In the semifinals Tyrone got the better of Armagh in a close encounter while Leitrim easily dispensed with Cork. In the final Leitrim started well but a super goal from Shane Ryan and exquisite points from Sean Armstrong after half time had Tyrone ahead by four points midway in the period. However, Leitrim battled back despite being a man down. Man of the match Pat Madden and super sub and captain Adrian O’Connor strove mightily in the middle of the field. Paul Greville skinned the inside of the post with the equalizer with just twenty seconds left. Leitrim clinched the title in extra time by 0-18 to 1-13 with the critical scores coming from the boot of the crafty Dan Doona.
Leitrim also completed the double at the expense of Cavan by winning the knock-out competition. Leitrim started very well as they lead by 0-11 to 0-4 at the break. However two second half goals helped to put Cavan out in front but a late scoring flourish from man of the match Rory Woods put Leitrim over the finish line on a score of 0-19 to 2-9. Cavan did manage to win the John Joe Cassidy seven-side early in the season.
There were nine teams in the intermediate division with Kerry being named the favorite early to lift the silverware from early in the season. The assessment appeared to be sound as they went undefeated in the league, though they did drop a point to Brooklyn/LI Gaels. Dublin, Astoria Gaels, Donegal, Rangers and Brooklyn/LI all qualified for the playoffs while Mayo, Sligo and Roscommon were the also-rans. In the semifinals Dublin edged by Astoria Gaels by the slimmest of margins while Kerry had the measure of Donegal. This was another very exciting final with extra time being required to determine the issue with the Dubs prevailing by 4-9 to 1-11. Kerry started very impressively with Jason Kelly helping them into a commanding lead. However by half time Peter Hatzer, Declan Reilly and company had turned the game around to give the Dubs a slight lead. It was all square at full time but two Dublin goals ensured the victory in added time. Dublin will now be competing at senior level for the first time in the history of the club next season. Judging from their performances this year they will certainly be able to compete with the big boys next year. It seems as if the Dubs let the air out of the Kingdom’s balloon on both sides of the Atlantic this year. The Dubs also completed the double by defeating the Rangers in the final of the knock-out by 2-15 to 1-9 as the duo of Peter Hazer and Sean Purcell went on a scoring blitz.
There were also nine teams in the junior division with Monaghan leading the charts. New boys on the block Kildare did very well for their first year while the Westmeath squad continues to improve. At the end of the league the ranking was as follows: Monaghan, Celtics, Kildare, Westmeath, Cavan while Rockland, St .Raymond’s, St Barnabas and Tyrone brought up the rear of the table. In the semifinal Monaghan defeated Westmeath while Celtics got by Kildare. Monaghan engineered their way to the winner’s circle with the help of inspired play from Lonan Maguire and the scoring of James Connolly. This was another difficult loss for the Celtics as they also went down to St. Barnabas in the final of the knock-out competition by 1-12 to 0-10. The Hogan brothers, Shane and Conor gave the Bronx boys the edge in the middle while Shane Flanagan and company got the scores to ensure the victory as the Celtics made a late charge.
On the hurling scene there were some very positive indicators that the decline in hurling has finally stopped as four junior teams took the field. At the senior level Offaly secured their place in the annals of the game with their five in a row titles, by defeating Galway by 3-23 to 0-12. Galway had no answer to the scoring prowess of Molloy, Sweeney, Naughton and company while McGourty, Lyng and Hartley kept the Galweegians at bay. Offaly was not the only team to record a five in a row feat as the St. Barnabas u 21 football squad did likewise.
Though there was plenty to cheer on the domestic scene, it was all agony on the intercounty scene on the men’s side (in contrast, the women were runners-up in the junior championship after getting as far as a Croke Park final replay with Wicklow). In the Connacht championship the New York footballers were hammered by Roscommon by a score of 3-21 to 1-11. New York was totally out of their depth and perhaps one particular statistic was a good indicator of the disparity in class was the fact that Roscommon had twelve different scorers with three of them being defenders.
It got worse in the FBD final as Mayo hit for seven goals against a makeshift Big Apple squad.
Meanwhile I wish to thank all the team officials and managers for facilitating me with the team lineouts throughout the year.
