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Kilmeena U-12 boys played their first round of the Summer league at home to Islandeady yesterday evening. It was a great game of football to watch with both teams working very hard. When these lads met earlier in the season there was nothing to separate them with the game ending in a draw. However, this time around Kilmeena outscored Islaneady by 7-06 to 4-06. It was great to see the improvement in the Kilmeena players and only for good defensive work and tidy goal keeping the result could have been much closer. Well done to both teams and management for a good competitive game. Click HERE for images from the game.

Kilmeena U-8 and U-10 boys traveled to Louisburgh this morning with enough numbers for two teams at each age group. The morning was wet, but the Sun came out just in time before the ball was thrown in to leave the spectators in comfort to watch from the side-lines. Each team played two matches where the young lads got to show off their skills as the ball moved from end to end up and down the pitch. Well done to all the lads and their coaches for providing very entertaining competitive football. Also, thanks to Louisburgh for catering so well for everybody after the games. Click HERE for images from the day.

A wave of sadness and nostalgia engulfed the Kilmeena G.A.A. Club and the parish with the announcement of the death, in Chicago, of Mr. Joe Higgins, who was originally from Cushalogurt, Kilmeena. Joe was the oldest of three boys and was predeceased by his brothers Eamon and Paddy who died on 19th May 2019. Joe’s passing ends the final chapter in the life of the Higgins’ family in Cushalogurt and many memories of gold were evoked for those who can recall Joe’s years of friendship and camaraderie. Joe emigrated to Chicago in 1955 and the U.S.A. became his home. He worked in construction, in Alaska, for a number of years before settling in San Francisco. However, he returned annually to visit family and friends and his love for his native shores never diminished. Joe had a quiet, unassuming personality which was enhanced with unwavering qualities of sincerity, loyalty, generosity and kindness. He was reared by Patrick and Bridget Lynn, Cushalogurt, and a tangible bond of affection was created which remained a cherished memory for all three persons throughout their lifetime. Joe played a pivotal role in the revival of Kilmeena G.A.A. Club following the aftermath of World War Two. The inaugural General Meeting was held on Sunday 11th April 1951 and Joe was elected Chairman. Joe’s leadership was inspirational and with a dedicated, determined committee and panel of players, the bedrock for today’s successful football Club was established. He also served as Vice Chairman in 1952, 1954 and 1955. On the football pitch he was a solid and uncompromising centre half back and his dogged persistence doused the scoring aspirations of the opposition on numerous occasions. The “Mayo News” recorded Joe’s departure to Chicago in 1955 with a very descriptive sentence of his football prowess: “He was the rock on which many an opposition’s attack floundered”. Despite emigrating to Chicago Joe never relinquished his affinity with Kilmeena G.A.A. Club. The magnitude of his loyalty to the Club was aptly displayed with the donation of his field adjacent to the football pitch in 1997. His only stipulation was that the field would be utilised to train under-age teams and that it would be dedicated to the memory of Patrick Lynn. Joe certainly possessed a noble heart full of dreams that would enhance and expand his beloved football Club. He sought no reward but had the priceless satisfaction of providing a space which would encourage Gaelic football and secure the future of Kilmeena G.A.A. Club. It is truly befitting that the memory of Joe Higgins will be honoured with the presentation of the Kilmeena G.A.A. flag to his family members in Chicago before he is laid to rest. This unassuming man who bequeathed the Club his blueprint of generosity, loyalty, dedication and friendship. Joe, may you have a pleasant crossing and a safe landing to your new-found land beyond all distant stars and may it be filled with all the happiness, love and joy that you so freely imparted to all who had the privilege of knowing you in Kilmeena. Many thanks to Claire Ryan for compiling this piece with assistance from Paddy O Grady and John Moran. Thanks also to Bernie O Donnell (Carrowbeg) now living in Sydney for supplying photographs. Paddy, Eamon and Joe Higgins. Declan & Dylan Duffy, Joe & Paddy Higgins with Katelin Higgins (granddaughter of Paddy in front). Hugh & Anne O Donnell with Paddy and Joe Higgins. Joe Higgins photoed playing a match in Newport in 1955.

Kilmeena GAA are taking part in the Féile football competition(u14 boys) on the weekend of Friday 28th to Sunday 30th June. Kilmeena will be participating in Division 5. We will be hosting the club St Ergnats from Moneyglass, Co Antrim. The other teams in our four team group (group C) will be Swinford, Co Mayo and St Colums from Kealkil, Co Cork. In the group stage of the competition in Swinford on Friday, we play St Colums at 4:45pm and Swinford at 6:15pm. On Saturday morning we play St Ergnats at home at 10:45am. We will then have a quarter Final on Saturday afternoon. Depending on winning our games, we could then have a Semifinal on Sunday morning and a Final on Sunday afternoon. The times and venues for these games will only be known a few hours before the games. Fortunately, in any event we will not have to travel too far for these games as they will be held in either Westport, Islandeady or Castlebar. The children from Moneyglass will be staying on the Friday & Saturday nights with some Kilmeena families. A special thanks to the families of the u14's who volunteered to provide accommodation. Some of the Moneyglass families will also be travelling down and staying locally in Hotels, B&B's etc. On the Saturday evening we will host a social event at Gracy's Bar and Restaurant in Westport House for the Children and families of both teams. This promises to be a great night and we would encourage all to attend. We plan to watch the Mayo Match from 7pm on TV at Gracy's and then there will be a BBQ served followed by short presentations. All club members are welcome to attend. Just a bit of background for those unfamiliar with the competition. (from the Féile Website!) The John West Féile na nÓg is a Club festival for Gaelic football and Ladies Gaelic football at Under 14 level, involving teams from across the Association. The John West Féile na nÓg National tournaments will be held across Connacht on the weekend of 28th - 30th June 2019. Féile provides an opportunity for: Under 14 players to participate in an annual Festival of Hurling/Camogie, Handball and Gaelic Football/Ladies Gaelic football Clubs to experience playing against teams from other Counties/Provinces Clubs to foster links with other Clubs in other Counties/Provinces Counties to celebrate Gaelic games by acting as hosts A core aim of Féile tournaments is to promote a philosophy whereby every player has the opportunity to participate and play in their respective Féile tournament at a level commensurate to their age, skills and strengths. 1. Participating Teams John West Féile na nÓg competitions are composed of host and visiting teams. Host teams are drawn from the host region (Counties). Visiting teams participating at the National Finals of Féile na nÓg will be nominated by their County Bord na nÓg to represent their respective Counties. Both host clubs and visiting Counties are graded into their respective divisions. Normally the identity of the visiting teams is determined by the results of internal Féile na nGael competitions, however, due to the level of interest from host clubs, each visiting County is usually asked to nominate 2 – 3 representatives. All overseas units are also asked to nominate representatives to take part at Féile na nÓg. In the 2019 John West Féile na nÓg boys football tournament, there are 104 host teams. These 104 host teams, will host visiting teams from across the 27 non-hosting Counties, plus Britain, Europe, North America, and Australia. In total, 13 overseas teams will travel to take part this year. In the girls football event, there are 64 host teams, with 64 visitors travelling from across Ireland, Britain and North America. 2. Competition Format In 2019, the Divisions are composed of 16 teams – 8 host clubs, and their 8 visiting teams. In the boys competition, there will be 11 divisions. Depending on local requirements, deviation from the 16 team division is possible in co-operation with the national Féile committee. Thus, in the girls competition, there are 7 divisions of 16 teams. Since 2014, Féile na nÓg has introduced both Cup and Shield competitions in each Division. To facilitate this each division of 16 teams is divided into four groups (Groups A – D) of four teams (two host clubs and their visiting clubs). Each team plays each other team on a round robin basis. Upon completion of the three group games teams are ranked 1 – 4. Teams ranked 1st and 2nd proceed to the Cup quarter finals, while teams ranked 3rd and 4th proceed to the Shield quarter finals. Therefore, each participating team is guaranteed a minimum of four games – three group games, and either a Cup or Shield quarter final. Thereafter, knockout quarter finals, semi-finals and finals take place in each of the Cup and Shield competitions. 3. Playing Numbers Participating teams shall be 15-a-side, comprising of players who are over 10 and under 14 years of age on 1st January in the year of Féile. Panels in a 15-a-side division are limited to 24 players. Similarly, amalgamated teams are permitted to participate in Féile na nÓg, though again this is limited to those clubs that field as an amalgamated unit in their local Under 14 competitions in that year. It is not possible for either host or visiting clubs to request to amalgamate for the purposes of participation at Féile only. Each team shall be accompanied by a maximum of 4 team mentors. 4. Competition Schedule The final competition schedule is to be confirmed, however usually the schedule is as follows: Friday 28th June: Each team plays their first two group games Saturday 29th June: Each team plays their final group game Each team plays their Cup or Shield quarter final Sunday 30th June Cup and Shield semi finals Cup and Shield finals

A terrific display of football skills from both teams in the Cumann na mBunscol Boys County Final between St Brendan's N.S. V Crossmolina with the Northerners taking the honours for the second year in a row with some classy football. more match images HERE... and further more HERE

Resounding performance from the girls of St Brendan's N.S. Myna on winning the Cumann na mBunscol County Final in McHale Park yesterday. St Brendan's 1 - 13 1 - 3 Charlestown. more images HERE...

In a lacklustre affair, Kilmeena dominate in their clash with Holymount/Carramore in the Michael Walsh Junior Cup in Carromore yesterday. Kilmeena 6 - 15 Holymount/Carramore Match Images HERE...

Kilmeena u14 boys commenced their championship campaign at home to Kiltimagh. The game was played on a wet evening which led to many handling errors. Despite the away side dominating possession in the first half, Kilmeena managed to go in-front at the sound of the halftime whistle thanks to some well worked team scores. The scoreboard at half time read Kilmeena 1-07 Kiltimagh 1-06 The first few minutes were nip and tuck with both teams exchanging scores. Eventually Kilmeena stretched their lead to 3 points but credit to Kiltimagh who leveled proceedings with a goal against the run of play. A pointed Kilmeena free put us back ahead by the minimum and through some excellent defensive work we managed to hang on for the win. Thanks to the strong local support who enjoyed an very exciting game on the evening. Next up on Thursday 13th June at 7pm we play Castlebar at home ! Kilmeena 1 - 14 2 - 10 Kiltimagh Match images here...

Kilmeena U12 girls gave a sterling performance against a strong Kilmaine side in their U12 Girls grading League game in Kilmeena yesterday evening. Kilmeena 5 - 1 6 - 12 Kilmaine more...

Kilmeena were happy to have a home game to start their 2019 season in the U14 Girls League. Islandeady put up a tough challenge, but the Kilmeena Girls kept their half time lead of 7 points to finish as winners on a score of: Kilmeena 7 - 5 4 - 3 Islandeady more...

The annual Paddy Golden Memorial Blitz for U10 boys and girls takes place in Kilmeena on Saturday 22nd June. This event takes an enormous amount of organisation to ensure its smooth running and we appeal to all club members - but particularly to the families of the participants - to volunteer to lend a hand on the day. The burden of the work usually falls on the same individuals, year in, year out so this year, please make time in your schedule to help out on the day. Volunteers are needed in every area: car parking, kitchen work, score keeping, umpiring, refereeing, etc. The family of every participating child should have a family member assisting on the day. Please come back to Barry, Mairead or Pat to let us know who from your family is available to help. Many thanks.

Kilmeena leave it late to assert their authority on the Junior League Division 3 clash with rivals Castlebar Mitchels yesterday played on the Josie Munnelly Park in Castlebar. Match report pending: Kilmeena 1 - 15 1 - 8 Castlebar Mitchels more...

Our U10s GoGames season finally got under way this morning away in a balmy Tourmakeady. Every player got two games and it’s fair to say that everyone did themselves and their club proud. Particularly impressive were the boys that came up from the U8s. Some of the players displayed some of their newly-learned skills, soloing and kicking on their weaker side which was particularly encouraging for the coaches. We cannot emphasise enough the importance of continuing practice - particularly on the weaker side - at home. This develops skills which simply cannot be learned during an hours' training on a Thursday evening. While we realise that more work needs to be done before the upcoming Paddy Golden blitz, there’s no doubt that this was an encouraging start so well done to all our boys. Thanks also to the parents for ferrying lads to the match!

St Brendan's Myna advance to the County Final of Cumann na mBunscol following a great display of football against Gaelscoil Uileog De Búrca Claremorris in McHale Park Castlebar this afternoon. St Brendan's 6 - 1 3 4 - 6 Gaelscoil Uileog De Búrca more...

In an exciting Cumann na mBunscol County Semi-Final Shrule N.S. edged out Carrowholly N.S. to reach the County Final at a later date. Carrowholly N.S. 2 - 6 2 - 11 Scoil Naomh Íosaf Shrule N.S. more...