[caption id="attachment_70796" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Gaelic Park."]
The official 2012 season of the New York GAA starts on Sunday with three senior football games on the card. This is the knock-out competition for the Ned Devine cup. In recent times Leitrim have monopolized this competition, winning it three times in succession, while Cork and Cavan have also managed to get their names etched on the trophy. This year there are seven teams grouped into two sections. Kerry, Cavan, Tyrone and Armagh are assigned to section one, while Cork, Dublin and Leitrim are in the other section. At this stage the team rosters are beginning to take shape as the transfers and drafts are secured with just the summer sanctions remaining to complete the squads. Still the opening Sunday will give the pundits a good opportunity to assess the talent and make their predictions for the various honors later in the year.
In the opening game Cavan take on Kerry. Last year the Breffni Boys were beaten in the final of this competition. Indeed it took a late scoring splurge from Leitrim’s Rory Woods to deny them the spoils. However the Cavan mentors did well in the closed season as Paddy Smith, aka “Tomo” returned to the fold plus they also landed an experienced keeper in Martin O’Connor and an ace forward in Mickey Sloan via the transfer route. Their ranks were further reinforced with the acquisition of James Connolly, Sean Kelly and Shaun Munnelly from the draft and Alan Foley from the disbanded Astoria Gaels. Cavan were highly impressive in the “sevens” last week, and though they were knocked out in the semifinal by the Wolf Tones, they gave the eventual winners the sternest test. In addition the Breffni Blues have a solid core of home based players among whom are Ciaran Shiels, Paul Lambe, Alan Carolan and Gavin Joyce. Their opponents Kerry, were the beaten finalists in the “sevens”. The Kingdom gave up Paddy Smith and Jason Kelly in the transfer stakes but they secured some very influential drafts, especially Darren Moore, Robbie Moran and CJ Molloy. James Huvane is a seasoned campaigner with a powerful work ethic plus young Kieran Walsh is a very talented player. Kerry have the largest panel of home based players and with the likes of Shane Clifford, Mike Jim Fitzgerald, Kieran Scannell, Eoin Hogan, Padraic King, they are more than prepared to turn the Kingdom’s fortunes around this year. Sunday’s clash should be close with fitness likely to be a key factor in this thirteen a side competition.
The second game pits Northern rivals and neighbors, Armagh and Tyrone against each other. Last year Armagh did quite well despite stepping up a division and eventually lost out narrowly to Tyrone in the championship semifinal. Meanwhile Tyrone might consider themselves a little unlucky not to win the senior football championship as they were ahead by a point with just twenty seconds left on the clock. Unfortunately for the O’Neill County, Leitrim drew level and clinched the spoils in extra time. Since then the football gods have not shone favorably on Tyrone. The club lost a cadre of seasoned and solid performers through the transfer market. Stephen Keating, Mickey Sloan, Paul Mulhearne, Donal Hartnett and Darren Doherty plus a slew of their junior squad found new clubs. Such an exodus of players forced the club to fold their junior team. Granted some of their losses were mitigated with the acquisition of the drafts such as Gerard McCullagh, Dermot Hayes and Patrick McGuire, still they do not appear the well drilled outfit that they were last year. Armagh’s stock didn’t increase in the closed season either as they parted with two of their most prolific forwards, namely James Moynagh and Shane Lyons. However their drafts will give them a good boost, particularly PJ Flanagan, Ramie Kane, Richie Morgan and Gary Nugent. Armagh still have a very solid and cohesive core of home based players among whom are Alan Hearty, Caolan Short, Patsy Martin, Kevin McGeeney, Ciaran Conlon and Collie Fearon. Tyrone will be countering with Joe Bell, Aidan Power, Conor McNabb, the Skeffington brothers and Mickey Coleman as some of their local players. At this stage the Orchard County would seem to have the edge, but Tyrone has been quite adept at restocking and retooling over the years.
The last game features Dublin against Cork. This is uncharted territory for the Dubs. as they make the transition from intermediate to senior ranks. Despite having a stellar year at intermediate level, they lost some very influential players via the transfer route, particularly Conor Hunter, John Fitzgerald, Sean Purcell, Ronan Carter and Paul McDaid. Without comparable replacements it is reasonable to assume that playing in the higher division may be a struggle but players such as the Reilly brothers, Shane Carty, Barry McKiernan, Andy Gray and Peter Hatzer can play competently at any level. Meanwhile Cork look to have too much fire power in this match up. The Rebels just gave up their hard running defender John Fitzpatrick to his native Offaly via a transfer. Meanwhile their drafts are versatile and skillful, especially Jason Kelly, the epitome of perpetual motion. Also factoring into the equation will be Derek Courtney, John Keaveney, John Power and Sean Kinahane. Cork will also be drawing on Darren Mahoney, the Hanley brothers, Gary Lowney, Rory Stafford Francie Cleary, Shawn McNamee, Eoin McHugh and Paddy Harrington to put them through. For the next round Leitrim will play the winners of the Dubs. and the Rebels, while the winners of Armagh and Tyrone will play the victors of the Kerry and Cavan clash.
The St. Raymond’s football club is hosting their annual dinner dance on April 20 at Rory Dolan’s in Yonkers. The guests of honor are Barry Walsh and Phil Wickham. Walsh is a native of Cork and he has been very active with the under-age teams as well as being part of the management of the New York Feile team. Wickham has had a long career, both as a hurler and a footballer in the Big Apple. He played for and captained St. Rays, while earlier in his career the Wexford man played with Stamford as well as for the New York hurlers. The player of the year award goes to CJ Doherty. Doherty, a Donegal native, is a very versatile player, who not alone has excelled in central positions in the Gaelic code but also has a very commendable career as a soccer player. Despite being in the twilight of his playing career and overcoming serious injuries, Doherty is still a great leader on and off the field. The first annual Ciaran Walsh Memorial Scholarship will also be presented at the dance to Emma and Kaelan Walsh.
The Donegal club is holding their dinner dance this weekend at the Greentree Restaurant, in Riverdale. The Damian Meehan Memorial Award is being presented to Annie O’Donnell, a native of Letterkenny. Through the years the Donegal native fulfilled several administrative roles with distinction and diligence as her husband Charley was doing more than his bit for the team and the score board. The Campbell-Houlihan Award will be presented to Seamus Smith. The Bailieborough native has been very active for three decades in the Big Apple. During that time he has held several positions with the Donegal club, including manager of senior and junior teams as well as being manager of the New York senior team. Recently he has become the very articulate voice at Gaelic Park and his and insightful commentaries are greatly appreciated by the patrons, Away from Gaelic Park, Big Seamie holds court in Moriarty’s on McLean Avenue, where besides serving plenty of good food and drink, the man with the encyclopedic knowledge of Gaelic sports can be found adjudicating or resolving all sorts of debates and discussions about Gaelic games.
