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Feile Girls Featured in Evening Herald Article Ahead of Trip to Kildare in July - Wed, 3 Jun 2009

THE Young Ones' -- that's the tune they are humming in Russell Park these days. St Brigid's are off to the National Féile in July, and they'll certainly have one of the youngest squads in the tournament. The vast majority of the girls are still under 13 and under 12. It's a tribute to their ability and determination that they will be flying the Dublin flag in Kildare. Already, preparations are well under way for the trip of a lifetime for the Blanch belles, who are managed by Ken Murphy and Ann and Tony Hegarty. "There's great excitement. We have organised our training schedule and we are in the process of arranging fund-raising to help us with the gear, etc," explains Ken. "It's a very young team, but we'll go there with good hopes and we'll give it a lash. This group of players will give it their best. There's no doubt about that.

"The standard is sure to be high, especially as it's national level. I was very impressed with the quality of the Dublin Feile. "It might have been Division 2, but there were some excellent teams competing and some wonderful footballers. "We managed to win out in the end, but there were any number of sides who could have done it. It was that close," recalls Ken. Contributing to the Brigid's success was Kevin Kilmurray's field of dreams in Russell Park. Kevin was a great footballer with Offaly and a top manager in Dublin and on the inter-county circuit. His famous pitch at the Brigid's HQ has helped to shape futures, and many a winning passing movement.

"It's brilliant. It meant we could train right through the winter. It's been a great benefit to us," notes Ken. One player who has decorated its turf is Sarah Hawkshaw, the Brigid's Captain Courageous. In the Dublin Feile final against Ballyboden St Enda's B, Sarah was the hero as she scored the golden goal and then won the match with a point in the last kick of the game. In the semi-final, Brigid's defeated Ballinteer St John's. "That was such a close match. We drew with them in the group. It was nip and tuck all the way. "We just managed to scrape by them with a couple of late goals. There was just nothing between us." Brigid's beat Foxrock and Cuala in the Pool section, and in every fixture, the Saints played with such a refreshing attitude. Ken can't praise them enough, or indeed his fellow mentors, the husband and wife duo of Tony and Anne -- two Brigid's pillars. Tony has served the club in all departments, and Anne's presence means so much to the squad.

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