John Mitchels on the road to Cavan - Press Release (01/07/08)
This weekend the John Mitchels under 14 boys team represent the county in Féile na nÓg in Cavan which will be held from July 4th until July 6th. The club are honoured to be representing the county in this competition which is a wonderful festival of Gaelic football for the U-14 footballers from Ireland, UK and USA and has proven a most rewarding experience for the teams fortunate to participate.
Féile na nÓg is geared towards promoting all that is good in Gaelic football, where sportsmanship is a priority and footballers get the opportunity to foster links with players of their own age, from totally different club units. The weekend is one of the biggest festivals of youth sport taking place anywhere in the world this year, with over 150 teams, 3500 participants and their families visiting Co. Cavan.
En-route to representing the County, the John Mitchels team, who compete in Division 1 of the national competitions, were successful in their games against An Ghaeltacht, Ardfert and Kerins O'Rahillys. The club are twinned with Shercock Football Club for the weekend and over the duration of the competition will play teams from two Cavan based clubs - Kingscourt and Shercock. The team will also play Galway representatives Salthill/Knocknacarra on the Saturday of the festival. The team captain is Gearoid Clifford and the team are managed by Conor O'Donovan, Frank O'Donnell and Ger Dan Dennehy. The main team sponsor is Brendan Moynihan, Mechanical Services.
Team Manager, Conor O'Donovan outlined that the teams preparation in representing the county has gone well and they are looking forward to representing both John Mitchels and the Kerry in Cavan. "The team are looking forward to representing Kerry and the honour that represents. Preparations have gone well and the club has received tremendous support from the main team sponsor and other generous contributors. Progressing to the national finals has given the club a great boost and the goodwill being demonstrated to us in exceptional. "

FEILE 2008 - Our U-14s do us proud!
Our under 14 team travelled to Cavan last weekend to represent Kerry in the All Ireland Feile Peile Na Og. We left the John Mitchels club on Thursday at 1.00pm where a large crowd of parents and supporters had gathered to see us off. On arrival in Shercock in Cavan we were paired with host families who treated us like royalty for the duration of our visit. On Friday morning we had a mini pitch and putt tournament to start off the day. In the afternoon the business of the weekend got underway. Our first match was against the host club Shercock. Our opposition opened the score with a well taken point, Mitchels responded with two cracking points from Niall Sheehy and Jake Moran, Shercock then had a pointed free, at this stage the Mitchels boys began to settle, with Niall Sheehy and Jake Moran adding two more points, Darragh O'Neill scored a fabulous goal and we had three more points on the score board, one from Tony O'Brien and two from Niall Sheehy, Shercock replied with a point just as half time drew to a close. Half time John Mitchels 1-07 Shercock 0-03. The second half saw Shercock score two points before Niall Sheehy responded with a fantastic goal and Wayne Duggan with a point. Shercock then scored a point, Jonathon O'Halloran added one for Mitchels, Shercock added another point the last score of the game. Final score John Mitchels 2-09 Shercock 0-07.
Our second game was at 9.30am on Saturday morning against Kingscourt from Cavan. The game was played under a deluge of rain that continued for the duration of the game. The match itself was a low scoring affair with points in the first half from Niall Sheehy, Tony O'Brien and Wayne Duggan. Half time score Mitchels 0-03 Kingscourt 0-0.
Kingscourt came out in the second half all fired up, they opened the half with a point, then scored a goal from a penalty and added another goal from play. At this stage we were four points down, the John Mitchels boys rallied and in true Boherbee never say die attitude they responded, we had a point from Darragh O'Neill, Sean Maloney with a great pass to Wayne Duggan who hit the back of the net with a fantastic goal, with time running out Mitchels were awarded a penalty, Niall Sheehy stepped up with great maturity and hit the back of the net. Kingscourt tried in vain for the last few minutes but the Mitchels backs won every ball. Final Score John Mitchels 1-05 Kingscourt 2-01. We had a break before our next match for the skills competition; Danny O'Connor represented the John Mitchels club and did fantastic to finish second, narrowly missing the final by 10 points.
Our third game was against Salthill/Knochnacarra from Galway, this was the make or break match with the winners going through to the semi-finals, Salthill were on the score board within the first minute with a well taken point, some dubious decisions from the referee saw them adding three more pointed frees, they then added a goal and two points to leave the scoreboard at half time reading Salthill/Knocknacarra 1-06 Mitchels 0-0, The Mitchels boys came out in the second half and scored two points from Wayne Dugan. Once again some decisions by the referee didn't go our way. Salthill added a point to the scoreboard and then scored two goals in quick succession; we were guilty of a few wides before Salthill added another point and with the clock running out they added another goal. Our boys tried hard throughout the match and never gave up right to the final whistle. Final score Salthill/Knocknacarra 4-08 John Mitchels 0-02.
Our Goal keeper Sean Birdsall made fine saves in the three games. Our full back line Peter Murphy, Jack Cahalane and Jared O'Sullivan and half back line of Shane O'Connor, Argent Castrati, Gary Murphy and Frank O'Donnell cleared their lines and put their necks on the line time and time again. Our midfield pair of Gearoíd Clifford and Blake O'Brien fielded fantastic ball and made great runs forward. Our forwards Niall Sheehy, Jake Moran, Adam Leahy, Wayne Duggan, Darragh O'Neill, Sean Maloney, Tony O'Brien and Jonathon O'Halloran played great football with great passing and well taken scores. Our subs Danny O'Connor, Michael O'Donovan, Luke Horan, Conor O'Mahony, Michael Wrenn and Mike O'Brien all played their part over the course of the three matches.
The John Mitchels team and scorers over the three games were Sean Birdsall, Peter Murphy, Jack Cahalane, Jared O'Sullivan, Gary Murphy, Argent Castrati, Shane O'Connor, Blake O'Brien, Gearoid Clifford, Niall Sheehy(2-05), Jake Moran(0-02), Adam Leahy, Wayne Duggan(0-05), Darragh O'Neill(1-01), Sean Maloney, Tony O'Brien(0-02), Jonathon O'Halloran(0-01), Danny O'Connor, Frank O'Donnell, Michael O'Donovan, Luke Horan, Conor O'Mahony, Mike O'Brien and Michael Wrenn.
With our football games finished for the weekend in Cavan, it was time to let our hair down and enjoy our time with our hosts, on Saturday evening we were treated to a meal in the local hall followed by a disco for the players. We left Cavan on Sunday morning for the long Journey to Tralee with heavy hearts, sad to leave the new friends we had made in Shercock. Thanks to the large group of parents, supporters, officers and the members of the senior team who made the journey to Cavan.
Well done to the players, you did your county, your club, your families and yourself proud with your fantastic behavior over the course of the weekend on and off the field of play. The team and mentors would like to thank all who helped to make this weekend possible. It was a once in a lifetime experience for many, and hopefully the club will be represented again in the near future.

U14s celebrate succesful year!
The U-14 team awards night was held at the club on Saturday December 20th. Our "Feile" team received their medals from Dara O Se and Sean Geaney. In addition they also received their Town Board and North Kerry medals. Special thanks to Conor O Donovan,Team Manager and Selectors Frank O Donnell and Ger Dan Dennehy for their commitment throughout the year!