Ciarán Crilly, Runái St
Malachy's
St Malachy’s
GAC annual 7-a-side Gaelic football
tournament comes of age this year when they
celebrate 25 years of running their annual
invitation All-Ireland Seven’s competition.
7-a-side football has had a long tradition
in Castlewellan, with the Club winning a host
of County, Provincial, National, and International
Tournaments. The club is 4 times winners of
the prestigious Kilmacud All-Ireland title,
the most recent being in 2000. The Castlewellan
competition, which began back in 1980, was
modelled on the famous Kilmacud Dublin All-Ireland
Sevens and since then has grown in strength
and popularity second only to the Dublin sevens,
with the eve of the All-Ireland hurling final
in Croke Park now firmly established on the
GAA calender as a 7-a-side day in Castlewellan.
The competition date this year falls on Saturday
11th September.
As part
of St Malachy’s silver jubilee celebrations
the organising committee have picked nine
players representing an ‘All-Star’
team chosen from all the teams that have entered
the competition over the past 25 years. Their
names will be announced at a special sponsor’s
function and official Seven’s launch
on Saturday 4th September to which the ‘All-Star
team’ and the Club Chairmen of each
Club that have won the Castlewellan sevens
over the past 25 years will receive special
commemorative awards.
St Malachy’s
have attracted major new sponsorship for the
2004 sevens from the newly formed Irish telephone
company “Clubtel”, (in association
with the Gaelic Player’s Association)
and also from O’Neill’s Irish
International Sportswear. In addition the
Down Democrat will continue to be closely
associated with the event through their continuing
sponsorship. The additional sponsorship has
enabled St Malachy’s to put up additional
prizes to mark the occasion that will include
£1000.00stg O’Neill’s sports
gear voucher to the winning team. The winning
team will also pick up the magnificent ‘Pat
Known’ perpetual cup as well as individual
players prizes of bronze Cuhcuhulain Statuettes
which have long been a hallmark of this prestigious
competition. Newly designed bronze individual
prizes will be presented to the runners-up
supplied by the Medallion Centre Warrenpoint
who will this year also sponsor the ‘player
of the tournament’ trophy. In addition
the ‘player of the tournament’
will receive an O’Neill’s sports
gear voucher to the value of £50.
Invitations
have now issued to top sevens teams throughout
Ireland and this year a number of Dublin teams
are anxious to take part including Round Towers,
Clondalkin, St Ann’s and Thomas Davis
Tallaght, and of course 2001 winners Kilmacud
Crokes. Past winners of the competition including
St Mary’s Sligo, St Gall’s Belfast
Bellaghy in Derry and Scotstown in Monaghan
have all received invitations. 3 Universities
have entered including UUJ; Queens and a combined
British Universities Gaelic sevens team make
a return visit. Senior teams in Down including
past winner's will once again be competing
including Bryansford, Loughinisland and Longstone.
The teams taking part will be divided into
groups of four teams that will play-off on
a league basis at three venues in the town
thus guaranteeing each participating team
a minimum of 3 games. The group winners and
runners-up will then play the final stages
of the competition in St Malachy’s Park
Castlewellan on a knockout basis. The competition
will commence at approximately 10.30am with
team registration between 9.00am and 10.00am.
The quarterfinals should commence about 2.30pm
with the final scheduled to take place between
5.00pm and 6.00pm the same evening.
The
winners banquet follows the presentations
immediately after the final, and then its
time for the enjoyable social side of the
event when the Cowan family ‘Granite’
will entertain guests with a lively ballad
session and the evening is rounded off with
a live band dance and cabaret. Accommodation
is available in the town for many of the teams
that like to make the Castlewellan Sevens
their team weekend away.
For
seven’s enquiries call the Club Secretary
on 07714232783, email castlewellangac@gailmail.com
or visit the Club website www.castlewellangac.com
