Kilmeena 4-13 1-8 Moy Davitts Some wonderful free-flowing football against Moy Davitts ensured the points for our U14s on a lovely sunny evening in Kilmeena. From the whistle, the lads moved the ball about with confidence, racing into a six-point lead after 15 minutes after some superb link-up play. Moy Davitts, however, clawed their way back into the game and drew level with a goal and three points of their own before we slotted over another few points. In the second half, our boys reset and went about their work with intelligence and skill, sometimes patiently working the ball from one end to the other before some masterful finishing saw them pull clear of Davitts with 14 points to spare at the final whistle. This was the performance the coaches - and the boys themselves - knew they had in them and it was fantastic to witness. Their efforts in training really paid off so well done to every one of them. We go into our final League match, away to Swinford next Monday, confident in the knowledge that we’re on the right path. Back row, left to right: Tadhg Daly, Finn Mulchrone, Felix Zeray, Darragh Mulchrone, Tom Cox, Kevin Hastings, Jamie Durkan, Robbie Murphy, Donnachta McGauley From row, left to right: Jason Feehan, Noah Coughlan, Cian Moran, Darragh McDonnell (captain), Lorcan Holland, Lorcan Lane, Ryan Cannon, Charlie Geoghegan, Billy Lane

On Thursday evening our u16 boys faced Tourmakeady in the league! Tourmakeady had inflicted a number of heavy defeats on us last year so a strong performance would definitely be a good sign of progress this year! Kilmeena played against a strong breeze. Cormac O'Malley won ball from throw in and we attacked well at the start but after a turnover, tourmakeady picked up the ball and went to the other end to score the first point. Not long after that tourmakeady got a goal but kilmeena lads continued to battle hard. We won lots of ball but lost it time and again. Kilmeena were facing an up hill battle as well as the stiff breeze. Half time Tourmakeady 2 -6 to Kilmeena 1-1. Stern words at half time and a few tactical changes by Darragh and Kilmeena were up for the fight. 2 goals and 3 points scored without answer (Kyle 0-1,Cormac O'M 2-1, Dean 0-1,) Tourmakeady came back with a point to leave the score Kilmeena 2 5 Tourmakeady 2-7. A very intense last few minutes were in store for both sets of managers. Points were traded between the teams and then coming near the end of the game , Cormac sent in a high ball that hit the cross bar and then deflected off their goalkeeper and over the line . There was a strong fight back by Tourmakeady, who were only stopped by a great save by Louie in goal. A highly entertaining but stressful game of football played by both teams, with a one point win for Kilmeena !

Kilmeena All Stars is back this weekend! Saturday 22nd April at 11am at Kilmeena GAA Pitch Looking forward to seeing you there! All welcome!

GAA Generations is a major new oral history project that will be built on conversations between young and old sections of our membership. We are our stories, and we tell them while standing on the shoulders of those who came before us. Ireland boasts a rich tradition of passing our stories from one generation to the next. To honour that, and to capture a better understanding of what the GAA means to its members, the Association has launched a ‘GAA Generations’ oral research project. The idea is simple – we are inviting young GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association members aged 12-21 to record on their mobile phone a conversation with ‘One Good Adult’ in the 55+ age bracket that they look up to and admire. It could be, for example, a parent/grandparent, a coach, or a teacher, past or present, that saw and nurtured your potential. The older participants will also be given the opportunity to quiz their young interviewees on their GAA experiences and how it may have impacted their understanding of who they are. The project aims to recruit between 500-1,000 young members (aged 12-21 years-old) who will receive online training in conducting a semi-structured interview with a person of influence in their life aged 55+. It aims to include the Irish diaspora’s perspective particularly through the club networks of north America and the UK. The conversations with their selected ‘One Good Adult’ (aged 55+), recorded on a smart phone along with a photo of the participants, will be stored for prosperity and future research purposes on the GAA’s eLearning platform. How to get involved? GAA members aged 12-21 years (inclusive) who would like to participate in this research project, are requested to provide an expression of interest which can be found at: www.gaa.ie/generations. Depending on the volume of applications received, it may not be possible to facilitate everyone due to the analysis of the data required. Parental consent is required for those under 18 to participate in the project and to complete the expression of interest form. Participants under 18 will require parental consent to complete the expression of interest. For further information contact gaagenerations@gaa.ie or Stephen Quinn at +353 (0) 1 819 2387

Kilmeena 3-09 Loughanavalley 1-09 On Saturday the 15th April 2023, Rachel Keane had the honour of captaining the Kilmeena ladies football team when they played a challenge match against West Meath Intermediate football club, Loughanavalley LGFA. The game was played in the largest sports air dome in the world located at the Connaught Center of Excellence campus in Bekan. The game was played over three twenty minute periods. Loughanavalley started the game with intent, and their high pace running from deep in their defence split open the Kilmeena defenders to out score Kilmeena by eight scores to four in the first third. However, all of the Loughanavalley scores were points, where Kilmeena managed to hit the net twice through goals from our dynamo centre half forward Ciara Joyce and our potent full forward Grace Gibbons. The energetic midfielders Eabha Carney and forever reliable Fiona Groden also tagged on a point a piece. The score was all square at 2-02 to 0-08 at the first break. Some encouragement and tactical advice from the Kilmeena management team resulted in a much tighter defensive effort by the Kilmeena ladies in the second third. The lung bursting runs, back by the kilmeena forwards helped prevent the hard working Loughanavalley ladies from launching attacks from their own kickouts. Kilmeena scored 1-04 in the second third while managing to keep Loughanavalley scoreless. Our third goal came from the speedy Fiona Groden while Lisa Hastings, Eabha Carney and again Groden x2 added points. Going into the final third Loughanavalley staged a comeback. Despite heroic defending by the Kilmeena ladies Loughanavalley scored 1-01 in the final third. The Kilmeena minor duo of Eabha Carney and wing forward Lisa Hastings covered every inch on the pitch and chipped in with another point each in the last third. One of the scores of the day then came from our corner forward Emma Murray, where she swung over a beautiful point with her left boot. A special mention must go to our young and courageous goal keeper Aoife Gannon. Aoife pulled off some great saves during the game, while her ability to restart the play with pinpoint accuracy really had a huge influence on the game. We had impact subs come off the bench in each third and it was great to see Roisin Gannon make a welcome return to the kilmeena jersey. Kilmeena LGFA would like to thank Loughanavalley LGFA for inviting us to play in this fun filled challenge match and we wish your club every success in the future.

Our Under 16 boys played their first game of the 2023 League campaign on the 23rd of March against Westport B on the Rice College pitch. This was a competitive, entertaining, and high-scoring match, with many of the lads going up against their classmates. Despite a valiant effort in what was a dingdong battle, we came out on the losing side by just one point, 4-12 to 4-11. Many thanks to Michael Rabbette for the use of the school pitch on an evening when many pitches across the county were completely unplayable due to recent weather conditions. We played our second game of the League at home last Thursday (30/3/23) against Bohola Moy Davitts. The Moy Davitts panel was somewhat depleted so they requested to play 13 a side, which we agreed to do. We got off to a great start with a few goals, but in fairness to Moy Davitts they kept their heads up and played well to leave it at an unusual score of 5-1 to 1-5 at the break. Moy Davitts came back into it early in the second half with a more few scores, but later Kilmeena pushed right on with a few decisive scores to finish strongly and secure the victory on a scoreline of 7-5 to 2-8. Next up we play Castlebar Mitchels B away on Thursday evening in Páirc Josie Munnelly (pitch behind McHale Park stand). All support is appreciated!

In what can only be described as a bonkers game of football, our U14s fell short this evening against a good Carras side. Despite some fine performances, especially from our younger players, at times the Carras forwards were too hot to handle and some near misses at the other end were the difference between the teams. However, our boys worked their socks off and all should be proud of their efforts. We have no game next week so we encourage all the boys to attend training.

In a first for a Kilmeena boys team, a U14 challenge match was held under the brand new lights at the training pitch against Louisburgh. The place looked spectacular and we can all be hugely proud of the facilities at our club. The game ebbed and flowed with fine performances from all of our boys. With the first match of the season just two weeks away it was great learning experience for all involved. Well done lads!

Our Ireland Lights Up walks are now finished for 2023. Thank you to everyone who turned up every week to take part. It has been a wonderful success. Watch our social media pages for news of further walking challenges coming up throughout the year.

Here is the S&C program we are following for 12 weeks from 15th March. The links for the guidance video to each exercise are also listed below. The Full Program of Exercises (A to D's) needs to be completed three times per week. Twice at training and one on own at home ! Please fill out the section of the Booklet provided after each session. Knee Ability Zero, Step 1: Tibialis Raise youtu.be FHL Calf Raise youtu.be KOT Calf Raise youtu.be A1- tib raise 25 reps A2- FHL calf raise 25 reps A3- tib raise 25 reps A4- kot calf raise 25 reps Patrick Step youtu.be Modified Single Leg Romanian Deadlift youtu.be Knees over toes Split Squats - Loaded Mobility youtu.be The Good Morning youtu.be B1- Patrick step- 25 left and right B2- RDL 25 L and R B3- ATG SS 25 L and R B4 good morning 25 reps How to Do Push Ups on a Bar youtu.be The Pike Push-Up Tutorial youtu.be Inverted Rows youtu.be How to dead hang youtu.be C1- press up 10x3 C2 inverted row 10x3 C3 pike press 10x3 C4 bar hang 60 sec x 3 Elephant Walk Step youtu.be Long Sitting Straight Leg Raise youtu.be How To Do A SUPERMAN LIFT | Exercise Demonstration Video and Guide youtu.be D1- elephant walks 60 reps D2- L sit holds 60 secs L and R D3- super man holds 10 breaths x 3

Kilmeena GAA are holding a “Tackling Bullying Workshop” on Wednesday 22nd February. We are inviting parents and children from 6th class to 2nd year to attend this session. Guest speaker on the night is Eanna Casey Kilmeena GAA Clubhouse at 7pm on Wednesday 22nd February

Kilmeena GAA Club is honoured to have been nominated in the following categories for Mayo County Council’s 2022 Cathaoirleach’s Awards: Community Partnership Award: Kilmeena GAA Healthy Club Project Community Social Inclusion Project: Kilmeena GAA Social Rounders Team Mayo Publication Award: Kilmeena GAA Annual Newsletter

Are you interested in becoming a Steward for match days in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park? A Stewards Training Event will take place in Hastings Insurance Mac Hale Park on Saturday 4th March. If this interests any of our club members please contact our club secretary by Thursday, 16th February. secretary.kilmeena.mayo@gaa.ie

Club membership is now due for the 2023 season. Note: Registration deadline for GAA & LGFA is 31st March Log on to the GAA registration system www.foireann.ie to complete. Enter your username and password. If you have forgotten your username or password, you can click on the links at the bottom of the login screen and follow the instructions. Step 1, If its your first time completing club membership you will need to complete your profile. If returning member please check and confirm your profile details are correct. Step 2, Complete membership - As an individual (Adult) or - As a Family Note: Use a laptop or computer with a larger screen instead of a phone if possible when completing the initial registration steps. Register as an Adult: Individual membership (18 years and over) Click on Membership, then Membership Options. Click on the ’Single Playing Member (Mens & Ladies)’ membership option. Click on Register in blue at the bottom of the selected membership option. Fill in the required details selecting your preferences & consent to the Code of Conduct. Choose the payment option to complete the registration process. Register as a Family: Parents/Guardians of juveniles (17 years and under) Note: Adult children (18 years & over) must be registered as individual members. The following steps are very important, so please take time to complete all information correctly. Click on Family, create your family and add each member using “Invite Parent/Guardian” or “Add Child” & complete each member’s details, Date of Birth/Preferences/Consent. When inviting a Parent/Guardian, they will receive an email which they must acknowledge within 24 hours. Guide to setting up your family on Foireann Once the Family is setup and any additional parents/Guardians have accepted the invite to join, click on Membership, select the Membership option which suits your family. Click on Register in blue at the bottom of your selected option. YOU MUST now select each family member from the drop-down menu, enter details for each family member. After you have entered the 1st members details you need to scroll back up the page to complete the next members details, before moving on to payment, otherwise only the head of the family or those selected will be registered. Choose the payment option to complete the registration process. Note: Once payment is received and verified, the registrar will approve your membership and you will receive a receipt of payment to the email address you provided in your profile. All non-playing females should tick GAA when completing their registration. Thank you for your continued support of the club.

Kilmeena GAA Club recently made a donation to Breast Cancer Ireland after our fashion show. We are very grateful to Rachel Fitzgerald Feeley, Education & Outreach Co-ordinator for Breast Cancer Ireland who recently came to our clubhouse and gave a talk and advice on breast cancer awareness.