- Our first girls tour for the club took place on the 23rd to the 25th of June, to the Geraldines GFC, Dundalk Co Louth.
We had an action packed weekend in Dundalk with 35 of our Parnells girls.
We flew out from Heathrow on Friday morning. After landing in Dublin, we set off with the coaches and the players along with their siblings to Emerald Park (Tayto Park).
After, we headed to our hotel for dinner and then got ready for the ‘Geraldine’s Club’. We had a light training session with two of the Louth ladies county players.
The following morning we headed back to the Geraldine’s club for a day of football hosted by two former Parnells coaches, Fiona and Colin who couldn’t have made us feel more welcome.
All of the girls played very well against the other clubs. We had a mixture of results, wins and losses, but was truly enjoyed by all.
In the afternoon, when the blitz was over, we all headed to Black-Rock to the beach for ice cream then ended up in Uncle Tom’s for some food and refreshments.
That night we went back for the after party to The Geraldine’s Club where
there was a disco for the girls and parents!! Great night and morning had by all.
Sunday morning was an early start with a tour of Croke Park at 10am and then we headed to a water park. Dinner was booked in the Skylon hotel on the way to the Airport.
After dinner, it was time to head for London after an amazing weekend.
The organisation that went in to this trip was full on but without a doubt worth every hour spent. A special thanks to Michelle Rattigan as it would have not been possible without this ladies help.
It was a great weekend overall and nice for players and parents to get to know each other better, making new friends for life!
These trips need huge effort to arrange and would not be possible without the support of our Club, parents and of course our sponsors. I would like to thank the following for their generous donations (in no particular order):
Dan O’Sullivan
John Rattigan
Caroline Ruddy
Joe Murphy
Brendan McNicholas
Joanne Montgomery
Dermot McSweeney
R Coll
Morans Builders
John Barrett
Orbital Plant
Adrian O’Malley
Burnt Oak Builders
Micheal Healy
Connolly Homes
Glenmore Developments
British Gas (Nicky Cameron)
Paul O’Brien
Mark Henry
J P Kennedy
A special thanks also goes to Tom Hanbury for a sponsored 50 mile run and to Tara Murphy for organising a Race Night to raise funds.
Photos from the trip can be viewed here
