Historic Féile Outing For Inniskeen U15 Hurlers & Camógs

Féile 2025 will go down in history in the Inniskeen area of Co. Monaghan. On the 21st June a large of contingent of Inniskeen supporters and players decended upon Co. Wexford with high hopes and a certain amount of anticipation and excitement for what lay ahead.

Both the Inniskeen U15 hurlers and U15 camogie teams qualified from their respective féile competitions and were heading to Wexford to represent Monaghan at the national finals.

This was the first time ever that both teams qualified the same year and it is an immense achievement for the small clubs in Inniskeen who have a small pool of players to choose from. It is testament to the hard work and dedication of the hurling and camogie fraternity in the area who love the game and work extremely hard at all levels to promote and pass on the love of the game to all the teams.

Inniskeen hurlers headed to Craanford GAA club of Wexford.

They were grouped with Wolftones(Longford), St Fechins(Louth), Naomh Aodhan( Fermanagh) and St. Fintans(Wexford)

The hurlers fought really hard through the group games and there was excellent performances throughout the team against really tough opposition. At the end of the group stages Inniskeen qualified for the shield semi-final against near neighbours St Fechins. They won that game by two points on a score line of 1-4 to 1-2 and set up a final spot against St Fintans of Wexford.

Inniskeen started extremely well and went in at half time in a promising looking position ahead by a score line of 0-6 to 0-0. This was their best half of the day with everyone working tirelessly on an extremely hot day. In the second half the Wexford opponents started strongly and were awarded a penalty which took them within two points of Inniskeen, 1-2 to 0-7. With the clock ticking down it looked like Inniskeen were enroute to a historical win but a last minute scramble in front of the Inniskeen goal resulted in the sliotar being buried in the Inniskeen net. There was no time to get another score and St Fintans won the game by a point, 2-2 to 0-7. Not to be for Inniskeen on this occasion but a monumental achievement to reach a national féile final and to come so close.

Team

Oisín Jones(Captain)

Liam Lavelle

Michael Meegan

Liam McGovern

Conor Boylan

Tom Duffy

Luke Duffy

Adam Mulholland

Lorcan Deery

Tomás McHugh

Jack Wilson

Callum Brooks

Emmet Hilliard

Alex Fitzpatrick

James Boylan

Conor Nash

Denis McHugh

Cian Meegan

Luke Mulholland

Cian McMahon

Luke McMahon

Jake McMahon

Seán Mulholland

Lee Smith

PJ Donnelly

Luke McArdle

Manager and coaches

Jamie Dooley, Richie Nash, Trevor Hilliard and Philip Brooks.

The Inniskeen Camogie U15 Team—along with managers Sinéad Hilliard, Trevor Hilliard, and Gavin Dooley—headed off to the sunny south-east of Wexford to Castletown Liam Mellows GAA grounds.

The girls got their campaign off to a winning start against a tough Mayo outfit Tooreen, claiming the spoils on a scoreline of 4.01 to 1.01.

In their second group match they faced Ballyduff from the Kingdom of Kerry. The girls fought to the bitter end to overcome a strong Ballyduff team beating them 0.03 to no score.

To cap off their group they squared up against the New York Camógs from the Big Apple. This was another belter of a match with no quarter given by either side. Inniskeen were more clinical however and took their chances well to run out winners on a scoreline of 2.01 to 0.01.

Having topped the group they were now pitted against the home side Castletown Liam Mellows of Co Wexford in the Cup Semi Final.

In blistering, sweltering heat, the girls gave it absolutely everything—digging deep, fighting tooth and nail for every ball. This was a true test of grit, heart, and determination against the locals

With temperatures soaring and tensions rising high on the sidelines too, the match reached boiling point in the dying minutes with the sides level on 1.02 a piece. Then came the moment of magic – Michaela Hoey drove the ball into the back of the Castletown net from a free to secure victory. Sensational stuff!! Final Score 2.02 to 1.02.

The Cup Final was played against Ratoath of Meath, and after the semi-final win the girls were going from strength to strength and they ran out winners in the end on a 3.04 to 0.01 score line.

They thoroughly deserved their win. Each and every one of them were absolutely outstanding and gave an exhibition of Camogie in every game they played.

Congratulations to Sinead, Trevor and Gavin. Top class coaches and managers.

Team

Jessica Dooley (capt)

Ciara Kindlon

Caitlin Carroll

Megan O Connor

Kaitlyn Morton

Emma Meegan

Abby Hoey

Aoibheann O Rourke

Chloe Meegan

Zoe Mulholland