๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ
Compiled by Carina on behalf of Offaly GAA
If you would like to submit information (Player or Club) for this weekly underage promotion, please email administrator.offaly@gaa.ie.
National Schools Player Profiles
Name โ Katie Lee
School โ Cappagh National School
Club โ Naomh Molaoise
What do you play โ Football (Centre half back)
Whatโs your favourite part of GAA โ The GAA has helped me make great friends. I am proud to be a part of the Naomh Molaoise club, I always look forward to training, matches and especially celebrating wins with my teammates.
Who is your favourite player โ David Clifford
What is your favourite meal โ Pasta
What are you GAA ambitions โ I want to become the best player I can be, help my team succeed and hopefully one day play county football while always enjoying the game and being a good teammate and friend.
What I like about my club โ What I like about Naomh Molaoise is how supportive our coaches are, how we are all treated equally and they always make sure everyone gets as much game time as possible. I have made a wide circle of friends through the club, no matter how my day has been, I know once I get to training, I will leave with a smile on my face because we always have the laughs, we all click with each other so well, but we still get the job done.
Name : Matthew Kelly
School : Cappagh NS
Club : Kilclonfert
Favourite Part of GAA โ learning new skills and being part of the Offaly Og development squad.
I enjoy playing with my team-mates, I like the coaches we have and the craic we have when we win a match, there is nothing I really dislike.
Favourite Player โ Keith O Neill
Favourite Meal โ Beef Stew
GAA Ambitions โ I hope to play for my club Kilclonfert & Offaly when I am older.
Development Squad Player Profiles
Name: Keith O’Rourke โ U16 Offaly Hurling & Football
School: Colaiste Choilm
Club: Shamrocks
Favourite part of the GAA: I enjoy the competition and playing with my teammates to win
Favourite Player: Peter Duggan of Clare
Favouite Food: Italian
Your GAA ambition: Win a Leinster title with Offaly
A few word on your academy experience: I have really enjoyed my 3 years playing both hurling and football with Development Squad. I have developed my skills and learned the importance of Strength & Conditioning.
Name: Joe Furey โ U16 Offaly Football & Hurling
Pupil: St Maryโs Secondary Edenderry
Club: Edenderry Gaa
What do you play? Gaelic football and hurling for both my home club Edenderry and my county Offaly!!
Favourite part of the GAA: I really enjoy playing the games and making new friends
Favourite Player: Football-Con O Callaghan Hurling-Adam English
Favourite Food: Pasta
GAA ambition: To play for my county and win an All-Ireland
A few word on your academy experience: I played dual for the development squads from u-14 up to u-16 and played Minor Football and Hurling this year. I leaned a lot of new skills during the year with the development squads.
Get to Know our County Committee
Keith Screeney
As the current Offaly GAA Coiste na nรg Chairperson, I have a huge interest in all aspects of underage GAA in Offaly. I work closely with our Coaching and Games team across our academies, games programmes and new projects, and for me the most important thing is always giving our young players as many opportunities as possible to play and enjoy our games.
I am a big believer that we need to encourage every young player in Offaly to pick up a hurl or a football and play every day. We are living in a time when television, gaming, phones and technology are a huge part of childrenโs lives. For many young people, the hour they spend training or playing a match in the evening could be the only 60 minutes of physical activity they get that day.
That is why our clubs, coaches and games programmes are so important. We need to give children every opportunity to get out, be active, meet their friends and, most importantly, enjoy playing Gaelic games.
One message I feel very strongly about is that your club always comes first.
We say this to the players involved in our Offaly development squads. You train and play with your club, you represent your club with pride, and when you get the opportunity to represent Offaly, you bring that same pride and work ethic with you.
At underage level, one should never substitute for the other. County development squads should complement the great work being done in our clubs, not replace it. A player’s club should never be left behind.
We have a very good system in place with our development squads at the moment, and it is a positive environment for young players to be part of. We have excellent people giving their time to work with these players, and we will continue to improve the pathway and the experience we provide for both players and coaches.
There will always be areas where we can get better, and that is something we will continue to work on. Our aim has to be to provide the best possible opportunities for young players across Offaly, whether that is with their club, through our games programmes or as part of our county development squads.
Finally, I want to wish all of our young players, coaches and clubs the very best of luck in the remainder of the Offaly underage championships.
It is fantastic to see young players now getting the opportunity to play games week in, week out. That is what we want to see. The more our young people are out on a pitch with a hurl or football in their hands, playing with their friends and enjoying our games, the better it is for them, their clubs and the future of Offaly GAA.
Keith Screeney Chairperson, Offaly GAA Coiste na nรg
Games Programme
Games Programme Update
33 underage U12 and U13 league finals took place over the last two weeks in both hurling and football. We have also reached the concluding stages of our U15 Johnny Flaherty and Ollie Daly Cups.
Our championship team games eased off during this period to allow these tournaments to finish and also to stick with the plan that championship knockouts would not begin until September. This gives coaches, players and parents a well-earned break and allows holidays and Gaeltacht trips to take place without any concerns about missing championship games.
All teams will receive a knockout game in most competitions, unless the group stages have already determined otherwise.
With the evenings getting shorter, games will now have to start earlier, which will bring some challenges around timings. However, we are looking forward to a few very good weeks of competition as we reach the business end of the season.
Our Go Games at U8, U10 and U11 are still ongoing, with the final rounds taking place in October. We encourage all parents and players to please finish out the season. This is particularly important out of fairness to the coaches, who have worked extremely hard with their teams since early spring.
We will have a further update on our championship knockouts next week.
Underage Spotlight โ St Vincents Underage
St Vincentโs Underage Structure
St.Vincentโs Gaa, brings together the children and young players from across our parish, representing the four adult clubs of Cappincur,Daingean, Kilclonfert and Ballycommon.By coming together as one underage structure, we provide a strong, unified pathway for young players throughout the parish to develop and enjoy Gaelic football.
Our primary objective is to cater for all levels of football, from Nursery right through to Under-20, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to participate, develop their skills and reach their potential in an environment that is safe, respectful, inclusive and, above all, enjoyable.
At the heart of our structure is a commitment to participation, enjoyment and player development. We aim to foster a positive footballing experience where young players can build confidence, learn new skills, develop friendships and grow both on and off the pitch.
This is supported by a hugely committed group of committee members, coaches, volunteers and club members, all of whom give their time and expertise to ensure that our underage structure continues to thrive. Together, we are building a strong foundation for the future of football in our parish and creating opportunities for the next generation to play, develop and belong.
