Wellington Gaelic Games

Well the 7's tournament ended yesterday. The biggest GAA tournament ever undertaken in this hemisphere we call home. A tournament 2nd only to the mighty Sam Maguire & rated just ahead of the Liam McCarthy. A tournament that was played with such spirit & intensity, that you'd get intoxicated just watching. A tournament so well organised that it put Gladys, from the Brady bunch, or Mrs. Doyle herself, to shame. A tournament that had no losers, but just one winner. Lets have a wander through the teams.  

Mixed Rebels:- beaten finalists. Cronin injured in the final (hair a bit tossed) & O'Connor wanderin' around half-dressed, like some sort of a porn-star. It's fair to say that Alana's injury in round 3 was crucial & this shower never recovered.  

The Kidos:- If you had to point a finger at this gangs failure, you'd have to start at the top. Lets face it, Kavanagh hasn't a clue. Mary-anne did her best, & was the star, but with no help at all from the likes of Maurice, she was always fighting a losing battle.  

Clearers & settlers:- Comby assembled a gang of suits to fight the good fight, & it has to be said they did their best. Slow start, ending with a couple of wins, it's probably fair to say that the tournament was a bit short for them - Shame that.  

Damas destroyers:- Did incredibly well to come third. Damas was indeed a fine leader who was only too happy to laugh in the face of all the adversity that came his way. A team to watch for the future & of that there's little doubt.  

Wellington SPCA:- Struggled to get a team on the paddock - despite Carol's best efforts. A pity about that because on paper - apart from O'Reilly & English - they looked a very good team.  

The Liars:- Taggart was after a Sam & Wellington 7's double, but came up against a superbly marshalled team in the semis, & had no chance. A 3rd place finish was respectable, I suppose.  

Cocosteel 7's:- Cotter & Foley put themselves up as the pre-tournament hot hot favourites, but ended up as just one of the also-rans. Word is, Cotter could be out of a job.  

Sparky McKenna's GFC:- O'Hare seemed to spend more time with a whistle in his hand, than a ball, & the team suffered as a result. This article will have to decide where his priorities lie.  

I have fallen....:- The Kiwi / Galway combo at the top of this side just didn't happen - no didn't happen at all I tellzya. The team did their level best, but Cameron & McDermott were always arguing, like a bag of cats.  

Angela's asses:- Rynne managed to turn a team of champs into a team of chumps - & all in the space of 5 weeks. The story goes, if he'd taken time out from polishing his Australasian medal & concentrating on team duties, this team could have been a real threat.  

Isotonics:- Healy had his work cut out just getting a crew on the field. This fine Dublin man did his level best, but was constantly let down by a couple of his culchie cousins. I'm not one for naming names - Lake & Mihalovics.  

Kerry-gold:- The champs. 5 weeks ago Dunner & Kennedy were handed an assignment that was similar to what poor oul' Tom Cruise faced in Mission Impossible. The team they were given were a disparate gang of boys & girls that had never even seen a ball before, had never even heard of Gaelic Football & even thought Ireland was a figment of Father Ted's imagination. Lesser mentors would have run for cover & feigned injury ( like Kavo ). But this pair are made of stern stuff, they just rolled their sleeves up & set about the task with an intensity not seen since William Wallace was running around Scotland in a skirt & a blue face. Well the rest, as they say, is history. The team's performances, yesterday, will be spoken of in hushed tones for the remainder of the time that Gaelic football's heart still beats in the Wellington area. The huge crowd could only look in awe at the way the mighty Kerry-gold set about their task, ripping their hapless opposition apart - like tigers dining out on a herd of wildebeest. Marian, Nikki, Maggie, Niamh, Laura, Paula, Wiremu, Dylan, Hone, Michael, Jase, Kevin, Guy - superstars the lot of them. & then there's the megastar himself - the mighty Dunner.  

What a fantastic job Comby & the rest of the committee did on this tournament. I can only imagine the thankless time & effort that was put in on the GAA's behalf. The Wellington Association is in a very healthy state indeed, & it's a great tribute to these men & women. They deserve all the support that we can provide & I, for one, am looking forward to what they're cooking up for the New Year.   Happy Christmas to one & all & have an even better '09 & always remember to be good each other & behave yourselves & no acting the go-boys & the go-girls. Slan agus beannacht   Brian Dunne

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