Ladies Gaelic Football

www.ladiesgaelic.ie | SUMMER 2022 | 27 CLUB FOCUS By KEVIN EGAN W hen Foxrock-Cabinteely were edged out by Na Fianna in the 2014 Dublin senior final, they had all the hallmarks of a team that was likely to enjoy high level success sooner rather than later. Already they had plenty of intercounty stars in their ranks, they were the dominant force on the Dublin underage scene, and their age profile suggested that they would only get better as time went on. Yet for all that, nobody could have imagined that it would be seven years later before they would next lose a knockout championship match to another team from their own province. Much more than that, if you took 100 of the most astute and enthusiastic club football supporters in the province, and you gave every one of those supporters 100 guesses as to which would be the next Leinster club to beat Foxrock-Cabinteely, chances are that not one would have suggested Dunboyne. That year, the club from the commuter town from just to the west of the Meath/Dublin border competed in a junior championship relegation playoff, having just come back from a couple of seasons without fielding an adult team of any kind. That there were some talented figures in the club wasn't in doubt, but getting them on the field was proving difficult. However, just like Foxrock-Cabinteely, things were about to get a whole lot better, very quickly. Sligo native Paul Sweeney is currently vice-chairman of the ladies football club within St. Peter's of Dunboyne, and he recalls how the club had identified the first steps that needed to be taken, and were moving along the right path. "To have a successful club, you have to get things right off the field of play, and you have to get your underage right," Sweeney said. "Before 2015, we were a standalone ladies football club, but St. Peter's (the local GAA club) approached us about joining up, and it was immediately beneficial on all sides. They doubled their membership overnight, and we suddenly had access to the facilities we needed to cater for our growing membership. It made life much easier for families who might have had girls playing with Dunboyne and boys playing for St. Peter's, and in hindsight, everyone could see that it was the move that made us what we are today. "Even then, people saw the potential it offered. We held a big general meeting, over 100 people attended, and if there were two or three who expressed concern about the idea, that was as much as there was. "It was driven on both sides for the right reasons, to create a better playing environment for young GAA, LGFA and camogie players, and a lot of credit has to go to people like Seán Cox, who was chairman at the time and who played a big part in the amalgamation". Nowadays, the club fields three adult teams, four U-14 teams, five U-12 teams, and their relationship with the local schools is exemplary, in large part because of the work of the club's Games Promotion Officer, Teresa Molohan. "We have good numbers and population data would suggest that those numbers are set to double in the next 10 to 15 years," says Sweeney. "Our focus is very clear – we want to keep players playing. We don't believe in streaming players prior to U-16, and that approach ROYAL COUNTY'S FINEST CONTINUE TO MAKE WAVES

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