After weeks of planning, preparation, and execution, Mini Leagues was finally coming to a close. The Finals/Family Day was here and it was time for Mini Leagues’ grand finale. Mark and I had spent the last week of May in and out of all the schools in the surrounding area of CLG Na Fianna handing out flyers for the Na Fianna Mini Leagues. Mini Leagues are a series of games that five age groups of kids born between the years of 2005 and 2010 play in once a week for three weeks in June. Each age group has a different night of the week. The Mini Leagues are open to all children and finish with the Na Fianna Finals Day/Family Day on the third Sunday of June. The Mini leagues have been instrumental in building registration for the younger divisions of CLG Na Fianna. This year was the 33rd year of the event.
Before the Mini Leagues got under way, there was a lot of work that Mark and Anne O’Dea had to do to prepare. Anne O’Dea is the rock in CLG Na Fianna. Every year for the past decade, Anne O’Dea has spearheaded the organization, implementation, and execution of the CLG Na Fianna Mini Leagues. This includes managing the registration of over 500 kids, pre-ordering and distributing shirts for over 20 teams spread across 5 different age groups. Pre-ordering gift bags filled with water bottles, wristbands, grips, sliotars, footballs, and treats for the kids on Finals Day. Supervising over 20 parents who have agreed to be Mentors for the teams, and last but not least- making sure that every kid is having as much fun as possible throughout the entirety of the three-week event. All of this work is volunteer.
I arrived at CLG Na Fianna at 11:30am on June 21st to begin set-up for Finals/Family Day. As often happens, something had gone wrong. A few days before, we had organized all the gift bags by age group, into different garbage bags, in different piles. Since then, somebody had moved all of the garbage bags into a different room and put them back into one pile. So before we could begin set-up, we had to sift through and reorganize all the gift bags. Once the gift bags were sorted again, Mark and I started to assemble the stage where the kids would be presented their medals. As the stage went up, and the banners and flags were hung, other booths began to get their tents in order as well. The Seosamh (Sho-seph) Breathnach (Bran-uck) Hurleys Shop (located in the back of CLG Na Fianna) set up a tent out front to perform demonstrations on how to make hurls, the girls of Na Fianna had set up a bake sale, and Cater4U catering company in CLG Na Fianna had set up a BBQ as well.
The mentors arrived around noon to begin setting up the pitches for their various age groups. Before I knew it, it was 1pm, the music was playing, and boys and girls born in 2005 were on the pitch playing their final hurling/camogie and football matches. I saw Georgina standing at the far pitch and walked over to join her. It was her youngest of four children, Muirean’s, last Mini-Leagues so there was a bit of reflection, reminiscence and nostalgia in air. After 18 years of mentoring, participating, and contributing to the Mini-Leagues, their run was finally coming to an end. As could have been expected, Muirean played well, controlling the back line and providing support to the keeper when the goalie was not able to to clear the sliotar away from the net.
At around 2pm, the 2005 boys and 2005 girls finished up their matches and went over the stage to receive their awards. Mark had succeeded in bringing in the Liam McCarthy Cup for the kids to take pictures with as well. The Liam McCarthy Cup is the cup that is presented to the county team that wins the All-Ireland Hurling Championship every year. It’s essentially the hurling Stanley Cup. Tomas Brady, Dublin Footballer and Na Fianna club member was there to hand out medals, take pictures, and sign autographs. 3pm came and the 2006 boys and girls came for their awards. Then at 4pm the 2007 boys and girls came for their awards, and then from around 5pm-5:45pm the 2008, 2009, and 2010 boys and girls came for their awards as well. All the while, Anne, Mark and I, were running back and forth gathering the gift bags for each age group, occasionally stopping for a quick cup of tea. As the day went on, Jonny Cooper, another member of Dublin Football and CLG Na Fianna, came to replace Tomas Brady, then three Dublin Camogie players, also Na Fianna members, came to replace Jonny Cooper.
Muirean recieving her medal from Tomas Brady
At around 6pm, mini-camps began to wind down. As tents were being disassembled, the last of the awards were being handed out, and the last of the burgers were being grilled, the Mentors vs Parents match got under way. Mark refereed and the fathers played their 45-65 year old hearts out. Moms, wives, and various others stood on the sidelines making the usual jokes about injuries and defibrillators whenever adults participate in sport. It was a wonderful closure to the day’s festivities. Anne, never one to forget about anybody- made sure that every dad received a medal and a lollypop after the match. A group picture was taken and the crowd began to disperse. Some chose to head on home, others chose to head into the club for a pint. As the sun was setting over the hill adjacent to the pitch, I began my walk out of the club grounds and towards home; grateful to have been able to be a part of the Na Fianna family on this unique day.
Special thanks to Muarice Grehan for the wonderful photos. To see more of Maurice's work be sure to check out his website at http://www.mauricegrehanphotography.com/