Five Galway teams travel to Athlone tomorrow to take part in the National finals of the Community Games cross-country. This is the first time that the event has taken place outside of its ancestral home of Mosney and the first time in recent years that none of the Galway cross-country teams have stayed onsite in the camp.  

Hopefully none of the Galway competitors will suffer any withdrawal symptoms from the experience of not being in Mosney – it’s hard to know how the teams will fare with 3 proper nights sleep in their own homes, no 3-day diet of burgers and chips and sweets, no late night discos, no spine-shaking gut-wrenching roller-coaster rides and no-one barking at them to stay quiet at night and go to sleep! Hopefully the loss of all that won’t affect their enthusiasm and performance over the weekend!!! 

The county have strong teams across all the ages and will be hoping to qualify from the semi-finals on Saturday for the finals on Sunday. Several members of our club will be in action including Aidan Conneely on the U12 boys team, Conor Gillen and Paul Fitzpatrick on the U14 boys team, Tara McNally and Grainne McDaid on the U12 girls team, Sarah Molloy on the U14 girls team, and Nicholas Sheehan, Keelan Ryan and Jamie Spellman on the U13 mixed team. 

The races are run as follows:-

– U12 girls and U12 boys are separate races, with each run as a relay. The first runner runs a 600m leg, the 2nd 400m, 3rd 600m and 4th 400m.

– U14 girls and U14 boys are similar to above except that the relay legs are 800m and 600m.

– U13 girls and boys run as one race – a straight cross-country race where the first 4 girls and first 4 boys from each county score for the team.

The Galway teams are:- 

U12 girls
–          Laura Ann Costello (Milltown)
–          Rachel O’Brien (Claregalway)
–          Tara McNally (Kilnadeemna)
–          Grace Cahill (Athenry)
–          Grainne McDaid (Craughwell)
–          Shauna Hynes (Milltown) 

U12 boys
–          Keegan Kelly (Milltown)
–          Aidan Conneely (Ardrahan)
–          Jack Fitzpatrick (Athenry)
–          John Maher (Salthill)
–          David Carter (Moycullen)
–          Colin Cotton (Ahascragh) 

U14 girls
–          Marie Touhy (Athenry)
–          Orlaith McGrath (Bullaun)
–          Lorna Hannon (Athenry)
–          Sarah Molloy (Craughwell)
–          Katie Carter (Moycullen)
–          Emily Gavin (Claregalway) 

U14 boys
–          Conor Gillen (Athenry)
–          Eamonn Mannion (Killererin)
–          Paul Fitzpatrick (Craughwell)
–          Keith Crehan (NBT)
–          Noel Cotton (Ahascragh)
–          Shaun Collins (Cappatagle) 

U13s
–          Alannah Lally (Abbey)
–          Veronica Burke (Ballinasloe)
–          Michelle Burke (Ballinasloe)
–          Maeve Brannigan (Newcastle)
–          Elizabeth Maher (Salthill)
–          Nicholas Sheehan (Oranmore)
–          Keelan Ryan (Craughwell)
–          Jamie Spellman (Craughwell)
–          Emilio Burke (Killimor)
–          Cathal Reilly (Carlistrane)