On the morning of September 14th, the u9 footballers headed off to play Clondegad GAA Club in County Clare. What started as a quiet journey due to the early start soon turned into a sing-song because as soon as we hit the motorway, the Saw Doctors hit N17, played numerous times on one of the coaches’ Bluetooth speakers.
As soon as we crossed into Banner County, we started counting the number of Clare flags in the countryside, and this continued until we reached the grounds of Clondegad GAA club.
Then, the excitement really started to build up as they got off the bus, collected their gear bags, and headed into the dressing room to get togged out and have the final team talk before the games.
After a quick warm-up, they played two great games against very worthy opponents in lovely conditions. After the games and some photos with their opponents, it was back to the clubhouse for some well-deserved refreshments.
When we eventually got them all back on the bus to face the journey home, that is when the energy and spirit of this bunch of lads really kicked in. We had not travelled for two minutes, and the Bluetooth speaker was requested. The songs were played the whole way home, and this made the journey very short back to rainy Moycullen.
The boys really enjoyed the day out, and we would like to thank Clondegad GAA for the invite and hospitality shown. We look forward to returning it in the future.
To gauge how much they enjoyed the whole experience, one of the lads said he felt like a real GAA player, getting on a bus to the game with all his teammates and walking to the dressing room with them as well.
Great memories for a great bunch of lads.