Feile Fortunes at Portaferry

Monday 25th April 2016

St Patrick’s Park Portaferry was the setting for an extravaganza of hurling last Saturday as clubs from across the County came together for the annual Down Under 14 Feile Na nGael competition. A colourful parade of young hurlers and camogs to the Portaferry pitches had set the scene for the day and the excitement and enthusiasm of all the participants was obvious as the games got underway.

Group Stages
The hurling competition began with two group stages. Group 1 witnessed the first upsets of the day as victories by Ballycran, O Rahillys and Newry Shamrocks relegated host Club Portaferry to the Division 2 stages of the competition. Ballycran with Francis Caldwell and Ethan Bell in fine form went through their group unbeaten while the efforts of Kevin Middleton, Shea Moorehead and the Mc Crickards helped O Rahillys overcome Newry to come second in the group and so qualify along with Ballycran for the Division 1 semis.

There were no less skills on display in Group 2 which saw the two group favourites, Ballygalget and Bredagh also qualifying for the Division 1 semis. An Oisin Mc Gurk goal helped Carryduff defeat CPN to take third spot. This meant that both these sides qualified for the Division 2 knock out stages while a young Kilclief side led by Nathan Kelly and Fionn Mc Fall moved onto the Division 3 playoff.

Semi Finals

The sun shone brightly as the knock out stages got underway. The first Division 1 semi final pitted two unbeaten teams– Ballycran and Bredagh- against each other. Strong performances by Cathal Lavery, Mel Gilmore and Christopher Coffey were not enough to prevent the Belfast side gaining the upper hand. Tiarnan Davis and Ciaran Mc Mullan were to the fore as Bredagh hit 1-3 to record a three point semi final win. In the other semi, surprise packages O Rahillys - who normally play in the lower Down league - fought hard but could not repeat their earlier giant killing and it was Ballygalget who marched on to the Division 1 final.

In the Division 2 semi, Portaferry inspired by a battling performance from Eoin Magee, assisted by Michael Doran and Oisin Mc Grattan defeated a young Carryduff team. Finn Collins and Daire Hegney and Nathan Mc Carthy were the pick of a valiant Carryduff side. The other semi final was an all- South Down affair between local rivals CPN and Newry Shamrocks. The Warrenpoint boys backboned by Oisin Kelly, Eanna Carr, Darragh Austin, battled throughout but didn’t get the breaks as their neighbours from Shamrocks ran out winners to qualify for the Division 2 final

Finals

Division 3 Ballyvarley v. Kilclief

First up was the Division 3 clash to decide who would be the first qualifier to represent Down at National Feile. It was Kilclief’s first appearance at Feile in a number of years and the final proved just one step too far for the East Down side– although the performances of players like Cadog Enright, Sean Deegan and Liam Gordon bodes well for the future of hurling in the Ben Dearg club. Ballyvarley can however look forward to a trip to Tipp as scores from Imran Hussain, Rory Og Mag Fhionnbhairr and Michael Mc Greevy saw them win the Division 3 title amidst jubilant scenes.

Division 2 Final: Newry Shamrocks v. Portaferry

This proved a close fought encounter as an early Eoin Magee point drew a quick response from the Shamrocks side. A long ball from their star player PJ Hughes found its way to James Mc Kay who rattled the ball to the Ards net. Portaferry were however determined to avenge their earlier group stage defeat and a goal from Danny Mc Veagh put them back in the driving seat. Further points were exchanged and a late free from Portaferry’s Tom Mc Grattan put two points between the sides. At the final whistle, it was the host club’s Eoin Magee who accepted the trophy from Feile secretary, Pat Watterson. Newry will be disappointed to have lost out in such a close affair- none more so than PJ Hughes and Luke O Neill who more than matched their opponents throughout.

Division 1 Final: Ballygalget v. Bredagh

There was nothing to separate these sides in the group stages and the final proved likewise with the game swinging from end to end as both teams fought for the George Conway trophy. This was a repeat of the 2015 final and it was clear from the start that the game would be won by the smallest of margins. This proved to be true as Bredagh retained the title when half- forward Enda Dargan converted a last minute free to record a 0-4 to 0-3 victory.

The game had been fiercely contested throughout. An Enda Gargan free gave Bredagh a second minute lead before Ballygalget drew level two minutes later through an Oisin Coulter free. Gargan again converted for the Belfast side before Ballygalget pushed forward and centre back Owen Mc Dermott pointed from play to draw level. Bredagh’s Mel Lavery then had the first goal chance of the game. He shot hard and low from 20 metres and narrowly missed the right hand post. On the stroke of halftime, Ballygalget claimed the lead for the first time when Oisin Coulter pointed from play to leave the half time score Ballygalget 0-3 Bredagh 0-2.

The second half started at a high pace with some early challenges leading to referee Mick Blair awarding frees to both teams. Bredagh drew level when Enda Gargan pointed superbly from a 65 in the 12^th minute. The hard tackling continued by both teams and after a confrontation between several players, the referee issued 2 yellow cards (I per side) which brought the game back under control.

Both teams found chances hard to come by and as the game entered its closing stages, it was clear that the next score would be crucial.

An Enda Gargan free went wide in the 16^th minute and the Ards side pushed forward looking for the lead. The Bredagh defence held firm and in the last minute, Enda Gargan pointed his and his team’s fourth placed ball to give them a one point victory. Both teams were applauded off after a very enjoyable game with Bredagh achieving a remarkable fourth consecutive Feile win.

Despite their defeat, Ballygalget can be proud of their weekend as they had taken the honours in the County Hurling and Camogie Primary Schools competition on Friday evening. They had also made a clean sweep of the individual skills awards when their clubman Owen Mc Dermott narrowly defeated Carryduff’s Finn Collins to win U 14 Hurling Skillstar competition and the Conall Baldwin Memorial Shield. This added to the Primary Schools hurling and camogie awards and Under 14 camogie skills awards which had been won by Callum O Neill, Ciara Fitzsimons and Tara Monan respectively.  The Ballygalget girls had also annexed the County Camogie Feile Title.

At the close of proceedings, Feile secretary Pat Watterson thanked host clubs Portaferry GAC and Ballygalget GAC for their help in showcasing what had been a fantastic feast of hurling and camogie. He congratulated all the teams who took part and finished by presenting the Division 1 trophy to Bredagh captain, Enda Gargan.