Unfortunately last week’s notes were put into the Wicklow People only. This is not a problem, however I do feel compelled to reiterate our sympathies with regard to the recent passing of Laurence Coughlan which cast a cloud over the club, culminating in his funeral last Saturday week. Our thoughts are with all the family, and in particular Stephen who has been a loyal Kilcoole footballer over the years, just as his father was before him.  

Last week’s edition of the Bray People gave a feature report on the Under 16’s all county league win over Carnew down in Arklow, and for that reason, I don’t intend to revisit the whole evening, even though it probably does deserve it, as the victory gave the title to Kilcoole. Those of us in the stand had decided long before the final whistle that Matthew Gilbert was the outstanding individual of the game, and thankfully the powers that be agreed, and officially bestowed the title on him during the post-match awards. I would have to say, that I found myself questioning the merit of the victory as the county officer presenting the trophy seemed to think that we had beaten Carnew’s under 14 team, and was hell-bent on pointing this out to the assembled crowd. Anyway, you can only play what’s put up in front of you, and Bernard Collier’s men (complete with four or five under 14s of our own) did just that.

The significance of this win cannot be overlooked either. As winners of the all-county league, Kilcoole will now play in the ‘A’ championship with the big guns Bray, Baltinglass, St. Pats, Éire Óg, and the various amalgamations from the West and South of the county. This is quite an achievement. I think it is fair to say that had Kilcoole stayed in the ‘B’ Championship, they would have been hot favourites, and perhaps a handy medal would have been there for the taking. The reality is that if we want to take our football seriously in the coming years, these boys have to dine at the big table, and that is exactly what they are doing. Their first outing was against St. Kevins last Monday night up in Hollywood. As ever, I hope to have good news on that match in next weeks notes

The hurlers headed to Arklow last Saturday evening for what many thought was a damage limitation exercise, but what transpired was a game of true grit and determination, and you might even say that at one point Glenealy were rattled. That point would have been at around half time where goals by Gerry Murray, and Ciarán Goff left the teams level at 2-03 to 0-09. Getting the points tally up into double figures has been the Achilles heal this season, and that was again to prove a decisive factor in a second half which saw Glenealy equal their first half performance with a nine point haul, while we had to make do with just three. Vinny Quigley at centre half back, and Stephen Kelly at full back were both exceptional throughout, while Ronan Keddy also played well. Overall this was easily our best performance of the year, and I think it would be fair to say that Glenealy narrowly avoided a shock defeat.