Chairperson and Secretary Report for 2016

Chairperson and Secretary Report for 2016

Cuala Juvenile Girls’ Section

Welcome to the 2016 AGM for the Juvenile Girls’ Section.

We have over 222 girls in the Juvenile Girls’ Section. This year we had 6 teams playing in the championship and 8 teams playing go games.

Continuing the trend 2016 has proved to be an exciting and successful year for Club and the Juvenile Girls teams also. The Juvenile Girls section continues to grow in terms of numbers coming in(2007s this year have 39). It is very rewarding to see girls’ participation in sport across Ireland in general growing and we in Cuala are certainly helping in this endeavour.

This year 2001s and 2003s both had two teams participating in the football Championship and league (2001s only). This means less standing on the side line and maximum playing time for most girls. Yet again for the second year running the 2001s received huge support from the 2002s throughout 2016 to field the two teams and then from September 2003s received great support from 2004s. A big thank you to both groups.

In true Cuala spirit we hosted three Football Finals (23 October) in Meadowvale, one of those was a Cuala 2001 team. A huge thank you to Pat O’Donoghue for his continued help, support and kindness to the Chair, Secretary and Juvenile Girls’ Committee and flying the flag for all girls as Executive Member on Dublin Ladies Football Committee. Well done to Pat yet again for securing the 2001 B Final which is great for Cuala’s profile within Dublin Ladies Football.

Our various age groups in Juvenile Girls have had successes throughout the year and each age group will take you through their year later in the meeting. The key highlights from this year are:

• All age groups playing at a competitive level played in a final in the recent Championship/Shield competitions which is a testament to the quality of player and mentoring
• 2000’s were runners up in the Shield football final
• The 2001 A team won the Division 1 Football Championship County Final (for the third year in a row)
• The 2001 B team were runners up in the Division 5bChampionship Football Final
• Cuala hosted the Division 2 Camogie Feile in Thomastown – although it was not Cuala’s day in terms of the result, Cuala showed their true hospitality to welcome 7 teams from all over Dublin. Well done to 2003s, particularly Jenny Drummond,for organising an amazing day.
• The 2002s won the Division 2 Camogie Championship yet again for the second year in a row
• The 2002’s also won the Division 3 Shield Football Final
• 2003’s won their Division 3 Camogie Championship final
• 2003 B Football team (with the help of 2004s) were runners up in the Division 6 Championship
• 2004’s, 2005’s and 2006’s have competed strongly in their Go Games
• 2006 have transitioned well from the Academy and have a strong group for next year. The 2007s have started to attend our meetings from last month.
• Many girls in our Section played for Dublin in both codes at U16 and U14 level – Fantastic achievement (see age group reports).

Alternate week-ends (similar to the boys) has continued. This positive move has benefited the under 12s, under 11’s and under 10’s and also helped the under 13’s as a compromise model implemented for them in 2014 was continued since then. It is essential that the Juvenile Girls’ Committee keeps a close eye on this model to ensure it is continually rolled out. Currently the U 14s (2002s) and upwards adhere to the old model of playing both Camogie and Football EVERY weekend (Saturday and Sunday).

The Juvenile Section Committeemeets monthly and is greatly enhanced when all year groups attend. Many of the committee are involved in many other Groups and Committees. The work behind the scenesis remarkable so many thanks to all who attended Committees, Coiste meetings, Workshops, Strategic Meetings, County Board Meetings, Child Protection Meetings, Quarterly Chair and Secretary meeting etc.

The Juvenile Section could not operate without the countless volunteers from mentors/coaches, administrators, fundraisers who train and manage all the age groups in the Juvenile Girls section (2007-2000 year groups). Let us not forget that all are volunteers who give of their free time.

Whilst the large numbers of girls playing Camogie AND Football is very encouraging it also presents ongoing challenges to the Section:

• Retention and recruitment of players
• Encouraging all age groups to review the GAA code of conduct in terms of substitution, goalkeeping, playing up policy etc.

We are continuously working on addressing the recruitment and retention issues.

There are many others on the Juvenile Girls Committee who carry many other roles within Cuala and in the G.A.A. – thank you to all. Thank you to the Coiste, Adult Ladies Section and Barry Burke who have provided invaluable background support, advice throughout the year and coaching (Barry Burke) throughout the Juvenile Girls’ Section.

We would liketo thank 2000s (Jim O’Toole and Fintan Quill) for the common sense approach and invaluable advice and wish them all the best as they move into the Minor and Adult Ladies Section this January. Thank you also to Patrick O’Donnell for his commitment and efficiency in his role as Camogie Rep.

Karen O’Connor (Chairperson) and Maeve Grogan (Secretary)

Section AGM

Report of 2000 (U16) Team to Cuala Juvenile Girls

Our season this year commenced with what has now become a tradition, an overnight team building trip to Wexford. This event was valued and hugely enjoyed by the team. Thanks to the commitment and support of the 00 parents this occasion gets efficiently organised. Their support is deeply appreciated. The primary purpose was to have fun but in addition Captains for the year were chosen with Loren Fenlon and Roisin O’Toole selected for Camogie and Football respectively.

League

We competed in Division 2 Camogie and Division 3 Football leagues this year. After a successful year at Under 15 our expectations entering both competitions required some readjustment given the higher playing standard we encountered in both codes. In Camogie we were in a league of nine teams and finished seventh having won three games. Similarly in Football, there were ten teams in the division and we finished in mid table following three wins.

Championship

Our Camogie championship run was disappointing with a one point loss to Skerries Harps depriving us of an opportunity to advance to the Shield semi-final. The team were then entered in the Minor D championship which is ongoing but 2 very good performances in the opening 2 rounds are very encouraging signs of a good end to the year. In Football we had better success and reached the final of the Shield. Unfortunately we lost out to N Olaf’s by a point, who to their credit, clawed back a significant half time Cuala lead to deprive us of honours. It was a great Cuala performance nonetheless with the girls raising their performance levels considerably particularly considering we had been beaten at home by the same opposition by 17 points only 5 weeks previously.

Team Development

Our Camogie panel has always been tight but this year contracted further to a bare 15 players. On the margins of being able to field a team we have been heavily reliant on the 01’s (and on occasion the 02’s) to provide girls to play up. We would like to record our sincere appreciation to Magnus O’Driscoll for his unstinting support and consistent delivery for us each week. The dilemma of having sufficient numbers to field an appropriate number of teams at the various age levels continues to be a challenge. On a positive note however we have been successful in retaining players. The 00 Football panel remained stable at 19 players with some girls opting to play one code only but we also gained another new recruit underlining the importance of actively recruiting members throughout all the age groups.

As the 00 group begin their transition to the Adult section we consciously began the integration process by encouraging our players to join in summer training with the older cohorts. This resulted in the majority of our girls playing up with the Minor Footballers and the Adult and Minor Camogie teams. We would like to acknowledge the efforts of the Ladies Section in facilitating the integration process and making every effort to welcome the younger players.

Achieving a balance between keeping the team focussed on their own age group competitions and competing at older levels is challenging. All the 00 girls who played up certainly progressed and benefitted from the experience yet within their own age group our teams struggled against stronger competition. By another and arguably more important measure however we have been very successful in that we expect few players not to continue to participate in Cuala in 2017.

Individually, Sinead Wylde and Ciara Byrne were selected for U16 county representation. In Sinead’s case she was selected for both codes with Ciara playing Camogie. As most of our panel are now embarking on Transition Year several are assisting with coaching at the Academy and will also assist with the Gaelic for Mothers training.

Congratulations also to Mairead Martin and Sinead Wylde who took part in the Dermot Early Leadership Programme and who were conferred with a Certificate in Youth leadership and Community Action in the National University of Galway during the year. Both girls alsospent two weeks in Zambia on a building project with Habitat for Humanity showing true leadership skills and acting as great role models for us all.

Finally, the team also took part in distributing flags in Croke Park on All Ireland Ladies Football final day in what was a most enjoyable day out for the girls. We plan to end the girls time in the Juvenile section of the club with a final visit to Wexford at the end of the year setting them up nicely for their move to the Adult Ladies section of the club.

Acknowledgements

Both players and parents are very fortunate to have such dedicated coaches who have encouraged and developed this team into a group who will count their experience in Cuala as a positive experience and hopefully continue to choose as young adults to develop themselves further within the club. Fintan Quill has been the driving force behind this team and deserves our special gratitude. We sincerely thank Dermot Malone in Camogie and Cormac O’Tiernaigh in Football for their coaching commitment and all those who have been involved in assisting us over our years as a girls juvenile team. As mentioned at the outset this team has a group of parents who approach their daughter’s involvement in Cuala as a positive part of their lives and are supportive in every way for which we are deeply appreciative. Finally, as we depart the juvenile section, the 00’s would like to thank the committee for its hard work and wish it every success in the years ahead. Jim O’Toole

Cuala 2001 Girls Annual Report for 2016

The 2001 girls fielded two teams in the under 15 Football League and two teams in the under 15 Football Championship.

The A Football team played in Division 1 of the League and Division 1 of the Championship.

The girls won the Division 1 Football Championship. This was an excellent achievement and is the third year in a row that the 2001 Girls have won the Division 1 Championship. There still matches to be completed in the Division 1 Football league.

The B Football team played in Division 5 of the League and Division 5B of the Championship. The team did well in their league and finished runners up in the Division 5B Championship Shield. This was a joint team with the 2002 girls and huge thanks is due to them as a second team wouldn’t have been possible without their help.

The 2001 girls fielded one team in the Camogie league and one team in the Camogie Championship. The Camogie team played in Division 1 of the Camogie League and in the Division 1Championship.

The Camogie team finished fourth in the Division 1 League and lost at the semi-final stage of the Division 1 Championship Shield.

The 2001 girls had two players on the Dublin under 16 Football team. The two girls performed excellently for Dublin only losing to a strong Kerry team in the All Ireland Final.

Thanks to Jessica Lewis for managing the fundraising, the social activities and much more. Thanks to the Mums who have helped with ‘Mum on Duty’ rota, Ashley McKeown, Colette Langan, Eileen Deegan, Fiona O’Doherty, Fionnuala O’Kelly, Jessica Lewis, Maryanne O’Carroll, Suzanne Quinn and Ursula Ryan and thanks also to Michael O’Sullivan, Maurice Basquille, Joe Byrne, John McKeown and Rob Hartnett for their help . Thanks to all the parents and girls for theirfundraising efforts throughout the year. Thanks to the Juvenile Girls Committee especially Scott Kirkwood, Pat O’Donoghue and Patrick O’Donnell for all their help with registrations, fixtures etc. Thanks to the Club Coiste and Lorraine for all their hard work. Thanks to Damian, Ken Fitzgerald and Barry Burke for everything they do for the girls particular the great Transition Year activities they are running for the girls at the moment.Thanks to the Magnus, Brian Mullally and Ray Mullholland for all their coaching efforts.

Biggest thanks however goes to the players for their efforts throughout the year. They have been brilliant throughout.

Cuala 2002 Girls Annual Report 2016

2016 was a good year for the 2002 girls. We have 24 girls playing football and 22 who play camogie. They train on Mondays and Wednesdays – attendance is very good and the sessions are very noisy. They are a happy, cohesive and sociable group with a strong team spirit.

We fielded one Camogie team in Division 2 of the league, which contained 7 teams and proved very competitive with little between most of the teams. We won 4 matches and lost 2 and finished depending which way you look at it – either joint second with Commercials or 3rd on points difference. The downside of this meant that we could only enter 1 team in the Camogie Feile, held this year in Thomastown. This proved very difficult to manage with 9 subsin 15 minutesa side matches in a very competitive division.

Massive thanks due to:

• The Club – for their support; in particular players and mentors from the adult ladies and juvenile girls section.

• Jenny Drummond and the 2003's who organised the whole affair and had the facilities in great shape

• Fundraising and organising gear - Anna Whelan, Berry Brophy, Mary Sheridan, Sharon Slowey, Deborah Byrne, Jenny Kirkwood, Karen O'Connor, Siobhan Doyle, Jaci Power.

• First aid – Mary Sheridan, Róisín Sullivan

• Sponsors – T. Bourke (David Bourke), Georgian Townhouse Group (Pádraig Ó Feinneadha) and McMahon O'Connor Residential (Kieran O'Connor)

• All parents who contributed – bagpacking , sandwiches, cakes, lifts and tweets

• David Bourke – photography

For our Football league Campaign we entered one team in Division 3 in which all matches were keenly contested.Despite a somewhat slow start the girls quickly got to grips with the competitive nature of the matches and comfortably retained their Division 3 status. Promotion to Division 2 will be a target for our next campaign.We entered the Division 3 Shield in good shape and defeated Fingallians in a hard fought semi-final win to set up the Shield Final away to St.Maurs of Rush.The girls were determined from the very start and played a fantastic game of Football.They fully deserved their Shield win in a final score of 4-7 to 2-9.

We entered two teams in the Football Féile with the help of 2003 girls. One team in Div 3 and the second in Div 7. The div 3 team were narrowly beaten by the team who went on to win the final.

Barry Burke –deserves special mention who, despite being fired early on for being a footballer , tireless work above and beyond the call of duty for both the Camogie and Football Féile.

We entered the Summer Cup U14 competition this year. The emphasis was on having fun while keeping up the girls camogie skills during the summer.We ended up playing 1 match against KilmacudCrokes in Meadowvale and in 1 blitz in the Phoenix Park. We were helped with a large contingent of 2003 girls and 3 from the 2004 group. Many thanks to all to took part.

We won the U14B Championship Final for the second year in a row beating EoghanRuadh by 7-3 to 0-4.

Two Cuala 2002 girls (Saoirse O’Donnell, Jen Sheeran) played in the U14 Dublin Development Squad in Camogie.

A very big thank you to all the parents who work so hard to support the 2002 girls. Margaret Kelly looks after weekly emails and Juvenile Girls Committee ; Deborah Byrne looks after Camogie fixtures & administration and finance; and Jenny Kirkwood looks after football fixtures and administration (and baking). Sheila Kerrigan and Colm O’Donnell look after Camogie coaching and management; while Garrett Scollard, Mike Beary , Philip Shaffrey and Mike Fenlon look after Football. Fund-raising activities – including a clothing/recycling drive and bag-packs – co-ordinated by Anna Whelan, Mary Sheridan & Michael Fenlon.