Local Notes: Hurling legends visit Portlaw, under age news, AED update and more
Dave Long and Frankie Whelan were honoured guests of Portlaw GAA club recently.
The AED is currently out of service at Portlaw NS. We have to repair the cabinet so the defib is available only during school hours from the reception at the school. As soon as the repairs are complete we will communicate on social media platforms. Available defibs to the public 24/7 are located at Portlaw United FC, Portlaw GAA Club and Martin Centre.
Portlaw Gaa Club was delighted to receive a recent visit from one of Portlaw and Waterford's former hurling greats, Dave 'Dob' Long. Dob met with his former Portlaw and Waterford teammate and friend, the legendary Frankie 'Horse' Whelan, at our new clubhouse where they viewed the new gym and Club rooms. They also enjoyed viewing some paper cuttings of great matches and county finals they played in the past and reminisced about great hurling battles they competed in together. One such match was the 1962 county final which Portlaw won and Dob Long as a county minor, played midfield that day and in a storming display won man of the match. Dob and Frankie spoke about the great men of Portlaw they played with - many gone to their eternal reward. They remembered the tough training sessions with men like Kilo, The Cahill's - Paddy and Seamus, the Maher's Keith, GAA, Peter and Mickey, the Whelan's, Cheasty and so many more. When viewing the new gym equipment Frankie quipped: "Be God, if we'd done this stuff in our day we'd have won a load more county finals on top of all the ones we won already."
Of course they went on to win many county finals and to represent their county on fields all over the country. Both men also played together in Gaelic Park, New York, in the early 1970s along with other Portlaw and Waterford greats such as Jackie Whelan and Martin Hickey. They spoke about how they were among five Waterford men who donned the Black & Amber of Kilkenny to play the New York final versus Wexford only to be beaten by a solitary point after two previous drawn games. They remembered working in those days, on the building of the World Trade Centre in Manhattan - some men.
Wonderful memories from two of Portlaw's hurling legends. Thanks Dob and Frankie for your contribution to Portlaw's proud hurling tradition - what a legacy you have left us.
A huge well done to our U13s who put in a huge performance to make it through to the county final. They beat St Oliver's on a scoreline of 4-9 to 2-1 in impressive fashion and we wish the lads and their mentors Vinny, Barry and Ger all the best in the final.
A big thank you to our Intermediate Hurlers, Darren Rockett, DJ Foran and Cormac Rooney, who paid a visit to our WellKids training session recently with the County Intermediate Hurling Cup that they recently won brilliantly in Fraher Field. There was great excitement as our youngest age group got to meet their heroes and they all lined up and took a turn at lifting the cup and shouting 'Up Portlaw'. Practice for what's hopefully ahead of them in years to come. Wellkids training is for boys and girls up to 6 years of age and we train every Sunday morning at 10am in the Alley. New kids are always welcome - just turn up or DM this page for more details. No equipment needed.
Well done to our U12 team who played their hearts out in the recent Diamond Cup County Final. Unfortunately we were narrowly beaten by a goal but we are beyond proud of this group of girls. Yee never gave up and fought hard for every ball. The result didn't go our way but we have made such fantastic memories along the way and we all enjoyed following you throughout the year. A big thank you to your coaches Michelle, Ruth and Patrick for all their work and dedication. Thank you to all the parents/guardians for your support also. Lastly well done to Áine who received the player of the match award, so well deserved. It's onwards and upwards for this talented group of girls. Keep working hard, keep your heads up but more importantly keep enjoying your camogie.
We traveled to Kilmacow for our first league game of the season down plenty of bodies due to injuries and players not available, so we had to call on a few U15s to help out. We started on the front foot hitting the crossbar and the Kilmacow goalkeeper making two great saves but an evenly matched game ended scoreless at the break. In the second half Kilmacow started to come more into the game and caught us with two quick goals, but our lads never gave up, replying quick enough. Eoin raced down the line and crossed in but unfortunately for their keeper, it ended up being an OG. From then on our lads started to tire and a good Kilmacow team caught us out again for their third of the game. Special mention to Jack on goal, who then made a terrific triple save to deny the opposition, before we finally got our second with a wonder strike of a free kick from Kev, that had the whole place talking. Take a bow Kev, top corner from outside the box final and the score was 3 - 2 to Kilmacow. However, the Man of the Match award goes to the whole squad who never gave up from start to finish and thanks to the referee and Kilmacow for a very sporting game, and to the U15 lads for helping us out.
Thanks to all the parents, players and members who ensured a large attendance at our annual awards last night. Thanks to The Clodagh Bar for the use of the lounge and special congratulations to all the winners on the night: U11 - Colm Nugent and Alex Roche; U12 - Dean O’Driscoll; U13 - Darragh Long; U14 - Eimhim Mullowney; U15 - Cian Power; U16 - Conor Foley; Youths - Cian Kelly; Premier Player - John Power; Young player - Michael O’Connor; 2nd Division - Robbie Allen; Oscar Traynor Presentation - Darryl Walsh; Special Merit - Freddie Kelly, Leo Flynn and David Walsh; Hall of Fame - Ray Murray; Club Person award - Adam Walsh.
Our U12’s were out recently away to Ferrybank, for their first game of the season. Conditions were perfect for the young players and they didn’t disappoint. Everyone contributed to get a 9-1 win which is a great start to the league. Captained by Sean Maher the goals were spread across the team with Colm Nugent getting a hat-trick. Both Sean Maher and Taylor Flannery grabbed a brace and Charlie Carroll and Evan Kiely also got on the scoresheet. The defence was solid with Luke Devereux, Connor O’Donoghue and Lily Kinsella and backed up with Brian Grant making his debut for the club in the goal, welcome Brian. Excellent work rate from Alex Roche and Charlie Carroll on the wings, supporting play but also doing their duties. Well done all but a long way to go with tough matches to come. We would again like to thank everyone who signed up for the Club Supporters Development Syndicate to date.
The results of the latest draw were composed of: 1st prize - Joan Mackey (€100); 2nd prize - Elaine Power (€50); 3rd prize - Megan Walsh (€25). If anyone would like to join the syndicate to improve the club facilities contact any member of the committee or the club Facebook page directly
