Like so many GAA clubs throughout the country, Clanna Gael Fontenoy is very much at the heart of its community – in our case a large and diverse community that stretches from the inner city to the inner suburbs of Dublin 2, 4 and 6 in particular.
As such, the club is delighted to encourage the involvement of members of our community, whatever their age and in whichever way they wish to become involved.
This was recently illustrated in the Club Fun Day in September when hundreds of people – young as well as not so young – came down to Sean Moore Park to partake in the fun, games and general entertainment which was laid on free of charge. Dublin senior hurler, Ryan O’Dwyer, was on hand to meet and greet people, to present medals to our U-13 hurlers and to partake in the poc fada competition – which he duly won!
On the playing field, all of our underage teams have been acquitting themselves very well. For instance, the U-16 footballers have continued to impress following last season’s tremendous winning performances which eventually saw them capture the league title in the final in Parnell Park.
At the time of writing, our U-13s lead their league table in football and are closely contesting the lead in hurling; while the U-12s deliver consistently strong performances against all comers. Not to be outdone, many of the girls’ teams have surpassed expectations with notable stand-out championship performances from the U-14 footballers.
The recent arrival of Claire Ryan as the club’s new Games Development Officer will ensure further developmental support, not just for the juvenile section of the club but also the academy section for kids up to the age of six in “the cage” every Saturday morning. Claire brings a wealth of experience as a coach at inter-county level with her native Tipperary and with Dublin; also as a medal-winning player at county and all-Ireland level.
Nor has the senior section of the club been without its success. While the senior hurlers have struggled to deliver consistency, at time of writing the intermediate footballers look like they’re holding their own in their division as do the senior and junior ladies football teams and the camogie team. And of course it was two of our leading female players, Kim Flood and Rachel Byrne, who helped the Dublin Ladies team become TG4 Leinster Champions for the ninth time!
Clanna Gael Fontenoy is generously sponsored by Dublin Port Company.
Above: There was loads of fun and games at the Club Fun Day in September.
By Felix O’Regan
