The Kerry Diocesan Youth Service (KDYS) in partnership with the Castleisland Garda Siochana ran their annual soccer tournament at Castleisland AFC Grounds at Limerick Road on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
By: Helena Falvey, KDYS
The event was a great success, with 12 teams and around 110 players taking part. This year there were three categories: Primary School, U-15 and U-18 competitions.
The primary school competition had six teams taking part. It was run in two groups with each team playing each other and the top team going through to the final on the Wednesday night.
In the end it came down to a final between Currow FC and Castleisland’s Finest. The final was a thrilling match with Currow FC winning on a score line of 2-1.
Currow FC was delighted to win the trophy for the second year running and victory brought huge celebrations.
Dream Team V United FC
Thursday night saw the U-15 and U18 teams take to the pitch.Two teams battled it out in the U-15 event. The final was between the Dream Team and United FC with both teams from Castleisland.
The game ended 1-1, with an exciting penalty shoot out which went to sudden death and the Dream Team being victorious. There were four teams in the U-18 competition. Again all teams played each other with top two teams in the final.
The final was a great game of soccer and at full time was a draw, which lead to a thrilling penalty shoot-out also.
The match was played out in a great spirit and in the end ‘You’re Actually Fine Like’ were victorious in beating Camp United.
Shane Coffey – Player of the Tournament
In each competition, there were also awards handed out to individuals for Player of the Tournament. In the Primary game, Shane Coffey from ‘Castleisland Finest’ received the award.
In the U-15 category Jason Brennan from Dream Team received the award. Eamon Nolan from ‘Camp United’ received the award for the U-18 category.
This event has been held every summer since 2003 and has gone from strength to strength, being enjoyed by participants and spectators alike.
Once again Sgt. John O’Mahony alongside Helena Falvey, Youth Justice Worker, KDYS, coordinated the competition.
People to Thank
However, the event depends on the support and help of many local volunteers. The KDYS and Castleisland Garda Siochana would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people:
Vincent Murphy Sports, who provided medals and engraving; Tom Stewart of EBS for sponsorship of medals and plaques; George O’Callaghan for preparing the soccer pitch; Jim O’Connor, Ethan Brosnan, Lee O’Connor, Jamie Heffernan, and Danny Costello who refereed the games. Garda Niamh Corkery, Garda Declan Hallett, Daniel Murphy and Chris Brosnan (KDYS) who helped on both nights.
Thanks also to all the team organisers, players and everyone else who supported the event. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
You can contact The Maine Valley Post on… Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: 087 23 59 467. Please Note: A click on any of our adverts will reveal all you need to know about what our advertisers need to tell you.
Copyright Notice: The images and text which appear on The Maine Valley Post site remain the exclusive property of John Reidy, (unless stated otherwise) and are protected under International Copyright laws. Images or text may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without the written permission of the author, John Reidy, in this instance. Use of any image as the basis for another photographic concept or illustration (digital, artist rendering or alike) is a violation of International Copyright laws. All images are copyrighted © by John Reidy 2017 087 23 59 467.
