DÚN LAOGHAIRE to DÚN AONGHUSA

On Saturday 23rd February 2008, as part of the Club's TSP Programme, members of the "B" Squad visited the ancient fort of Dún Aonghusa on Inis Mór in the Aran Islands. This was certainly the highlight of the weekend trip which took in the sights of Galway City and the Aran Islands as an introduction to Irish culture, heritage and history. Accompanied by the Co-Founders of the Club, Abrahim Abdul-Wahid and Ian M. Kane, the party travelled by private coach from Dún Laoghaire on Friday 22nd February for Galway picking up three more of the "B" Squad in Dublin City on the way. Arriving in Galway City at 17.30hrs, after a brief stop in Moate for a late lunch, the lads soon settled into their accommodation at the Galway City Hostel before exploring the City itself. Traditional music venues were high on their agendas and most got a taste of the real "ceol agus craic" in and around Shop Street and Quay Street which included a bit of "sean nós" dancing. Next day it was off to the Aran Islands firstly by bus transfer to Ros a Mhíl and then by ferry to Cill Rónáin on Inis Mór. The 40 minute ferry ride over was described as "choppy" but most, though, naturally not all, were exhilarated by the experience of the high seas. On arrival we made our way for some light refreshments as the tour of the island was arranged. Our driver/guide, Noel MacMahon, then brought the group through the various sights of interest including, the Seven Churches, Seal Sanctuary, homes of famous islanders etc en route to Dún Aonghusa. As we arrived at the small hamlet at the base of the national monument heavy drizzle descended soaking us all as we climbed the meandering limestone pathway to the monument. Then, as if the old Celtic gods were pleased at our arrival, the sun broke through the clouds to reveal the true purpose for which our ancestors laboured to construct this monument. Standing in the centre of the "dún" and looking over the stone playform as the rays of the sun reached down to the surface of the Atlantic below, nobody was in any doubt of its ancient religious significance and all were in awe at the shear beauty of this magical place. Each of the lads seemed to seek out and capture their own private moment amidst the traquility and yet, the wild remoteness of this place. Hundreds of digital photographs taken we commenced our descent to the base only to pause outside the walls, alone and sometimes in small groups, attempting to capture and retain the moment. At the base more refreshments before heading back to Cill Rónáin for a few pints (and soft drinks) in a local to catch up on match results and to relax. Each of the group leaders practised their command of An Ghaeilge (Irish language) whilst ordering the much needed stimulant to face the expected bumpy ferry ride to the mainland. At 17.00hrs we departed Inis Mór and to our great surprise the journey back was quite smooth and very enjoyable. Landing once again in Ros a' Mhíl we boarded our coach to Galway City centre for another night of "ceol agus craic" and this time at An Púcán on Forster Street. On Sunday morning after breakfast we all tried to take in the last of the City sights before boarding the private coach at 15.00hrs for Dublin. With a brief stop at Athlone for a late lunch at Rayner's we arrived back in Dublin City at 19.36hrs - just as predicted by our coach driver Ian. Most of the party left the coach at O'Connell Bridge with the remainder dropped off in Dún Laoghaire around 20.05hrs. (pictured above, part of the group pose with the Dún Laoghaire flag overlooking the Atlantic in Dún Aonghusa on Inis Mór whilst the rest explored the monument)

"B" Squad in Cup Match : "A" Squad in Planet Love

Saturday 16th February 2008 was to see both squads in action, the "A" Squad in Division 3 away to Mount Tallant in Stannaway Park and the "B" Squad at home to Division leaders Malahide United in the Tom Watt Cup. However, on Saturday morning it transpired that about six players of the "A" Squad had contacted the manager to say that they had obtained tickets for "Planet Love" at Leopardstown, thankfully the League organisers and Mount Tallant were very understanding and permitted the Division 3 match to be postponed. The "B" Squad, under the management of Ian Kane and missing Jack Bwalya through the one match ban and without the star players Bruno de Carvalho and Tiziano Makanzu, fielded a team drawn from both squads to play Malahide. The match was a tense affair with both sides battling it hard and the halftime score of one all perfectly reflected the strengths of both teams. Our goal, the first in the game, came from the "B" Squad's striker, Johnson Goodwin. The pace quickened in the second half with some very hard tackles from both sides, but thankfully all in good sporting manner. A great loss to the lads was the injury to goalie Derek McAsey who had to hobble off to be replaced midway in the second half. The lads of "The Town" went briefly ahead with a fine goal from young Karl Smith. But not long after the visitors equalised as their greater strength and experience started to show in the last twenty minutes of the game and very soon the winning goal put Malahide through to the next round of the Tom Watt Cup. Final score: DLTFC 2 : Malahide 3

Second Win in the Wally Winn Cup

Match report to follow.

Trip to the Brazil Match

On Wednesday 6th February 2008 the Club, as part of its TSP integration programme, attended the International Friendly Match between the Republic of Ireland and Brazil. Twenty members braved the cold and later the driving rain to see this match from the heights of the Cusack Stand. Though, the match was a lacklustre affair with an underperforming Brazilian team barely battling it out with an Irish team that only displayed a few moments of flair, enthusiasm and determination. This match was only a little better than the last friendly encounter between these countries which produced a nil all draw. The final score was hardly a surprise with a one goal win for the visitors. The Club's intention in including visits to international matches as part of our TSP integration programme is clearly to expose the programme's participants to the Irish sporting culture, its expression of national solidarity and, of course, the inclusivity of the "New Ireland" especially in the arena of sport. The participants, from many countries (mainly in Africa), had a unique opportunity to join their Irish team-mates at this international match - all supporting "the lads in green" and to personally experience the wonderful stadium at Croke Park - the home of our national games. The group met at Connolly Station and walked the short distance to the cathedral of Gaelic games, Croke Park, experiencing all the buzz and the colour of the occasion right in amongst the fans from both countries en route to the game. Sitting high up in the Cusack Stand and right on the halfway line provided the group with an excellent view of the match and indeed, with the full panoramic view of the stadium. Though, the weather was cold and damp, this did not hamper in anyway whatsoever the participants' fullest enjoyment of this important and wonderful exposure to Irish sporting culture. The organisers are sincerely grateful to the TSP programme for providing the funding to enable this aspect of the Club's integration programme to be so very successful. The participants are now looking forward to the Galway Trip between February 22nd to 24th and indeed, to the next international game against Serbia.

Dún Laoghaire Town 1 : Blackforge FC 5

We've all heard of the well worn and often threadbare cliché that the scoreline didn't reflect the game, well in this case on Saturday 2nd February, a truer observation couldn't be made on this hard fought and immensely enjoyable game. Dún Laoghaire Town's "B" Squad was at home to Blackforge FC in the LSL Div. 3A. An early and arguably foolishly easy goal for the visitors threatened to totally disrupt the carefully constructed game-plan of acting Manager, Ian M. Kane, as the lads of the "B" Squad struggled to get back into the game. It seemed that Blackforge FC were taking the game to the lads of "The Town" and punishing them for each lack of concentration or sloppy passing. But as chances arrived for "The Town" luck seemed to desert the lads until Johnson Goodwin finally found the back of the net with an exceptionally executed goal. The first half ended with the score 3 : 1 to the visitors. The half-time instructions by the acting Manager seemed to have hit home as the lads came out in the second half certainly in better shape and with a determination that was sadly lacking in the earlier stages of the game. But just as the lads of "The Town" were putting their own stamp on the game injuries plagued the squad and tiredness due to the pace of this game began to take its toll. The introduction of substitutes Dean Kelly and Nathan Jennings midway in the second half unfortunately didn't produce the badly needed goals for "The Town" and the sending off of Jack Bwalya for retaliation didn't help at all. Certainly Blackforge FC found the second half a tougher match, however, they still were able to add to their tally. Despite the scoreline, it was generally agreed that Goalkeeper Derek McAsey had an outstanding and yet, very difficult and challenging game. Final score: DLTFC 1 : Blackforge FC 5. (Ref: Noel Kelly)