An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir April 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 28 | 28 | by COMDT EUgENE COOKE T he Cadet School team won the Ard Comhairle Gaelic Football final on the 21 February, at Queens University, belfast. The team, comprised of mem- bers of 89 and 90 Cadet Classes, made it to the final after a decisive win over Drogheda College of Further Education (CFE) by 7-10 to 1-12. In the All-Ireland final four days later the cadets faced Westport CFE, who had a similar straight forward run to the final. Winning the toss and choosing to play with the aid of a strong wind the Cadet School took the initia- tive with a half-time lead of seven points. The expected second-half it comeback from Westport failed to materi- alise and the Cadet School continued where they left off and kept the scoreboard tipping over. The most obvious distinguishing factors were the cadets' higher levels of fitness, discipline and aggression, which allowed them to dominate the middle third of the field, from which the inside-forward line reaped dividends. Cadets Bray and Harte were continuously converting possession into scores and the team finished comfortable winners by 3-16 to1-4. Team captain (and man-of-the-match) Lt Graham, ac- cepted the Corn Comhairle Ardoicheas on behalf of the team and thanked their management, which consisted of Capt O'Donoghue, Capt Duggan, Lt Tooher and Lt Whelan. A little bit of history was also made with this victory as the Cadet School goalkeeper, Cadet zammit, became the first Maltese All-Ireland Gaelic football medal holder. MAjor GAA Win for df L/r: Cadets Dowling, Zammit (Armed Forces Malta) and Sheahan. The Cadet School panel and mentors. Defence Forces –v- An Garda Siochana TExT AND PhoToS by SgT RENA KENNEDY D F Ladies Rugby narrowly lost to An Garda Sio- chana in their annual fixture on 26 Feb at Cill Dara RFC. Although outscoring the Ladies in blue in terms of tries, a strong kicking performance by the Guards gave them eventual victory by eigh- teen points to seventeen. best performances on the day for the ladies were from Niamh ni Dhroma (fresh from representing Ireland in the World 7's competi- tion), bernadette byrne and Sinead Taylor. The DF men were successful in their bid to retain the gordon Wood Trophy in their annual representa- tive match against An garda Siochana. A tight match saw the DF win out on a score line of 19 points to 8 with impres- sive performances from Martin Cummins, Willie Power, Peter Condon and Colin Watters. Many thanks to Cill Dara RFC for hosting the games at short notice and compli- ments to the club for the excellent standard of pitch- es and facilities shared. The Hooker-Regan 7-a- side rugby Tournament is scheduled for April, contact Unit Sports Reps or BPEO for details. Defence Forces Ladies Rugby team. Lt John Holmes makes a break. Pte Paula Spillane, 12 Inf Bn, kicks a conversion. Cpl Martin Cummins, 2 MPC, wins the ball in the lineout.

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