GAA Youngsters get stars in their Eyes

By Brian Roberts

Local GAA Youth stars, coaches and teachers traded their Gaelic sports wear for formal evening dress for the night at the
recent Warwickshire GAA Youth Awards 2006.
The Irish community joined special guests John Gormley (GAA of Britain), Sheamus Howlin (GAA of Ireland), Seamus McGarry (DION) to celebrate the success of club and school Gaelic sports in the midlands.
The popular McDonald Burlington Hotel in Birmingham hosted the evening which saw 17 winners awarded for their achievements on and off the Gaelic games field. Overseas GAA chief Sheamus Howlin opened the evening with special praise to the Warwickshire GAA youth programme which now includes 80 schools and 38 community club GAA teams. He highlighted the unique partnership that exists with many clubs and schools in Warwickshire as the key to the future of the GAA and paid tribute to the 4,000 young people taking to the field to participate in Gaelic sports.
Junior player awards were first up and GAA stars Michael Kenny (Setanta GFC), Conal Dowling (Sean McDermott’s), Mickey O’Sullivan (St. Brendan’s), Michael Nelson (Stuart Bathurst School|) and Letisha Hutchinson (Bishop Challoner) all received accolades and proved to be a very popular choice with the 250 strong crowd. The senior Youth awards followed with Tom Henry (Roger Casements), Laura Richards, Chris and Michael Hayden (all Sean McDermott’s) and Johnny Boxwell (Erin Go Bragh) getting recognised for their achievement in 2006.
Sheamus McGarry from the DION Fund opened the second part of the awards ceremony with kind words for the countless number of volunteer coaches and administrators now running Gaelic sports in the midlands. Micheal Healy (John Mitchell’s, Martin Langan, (St. Brendan’s), Martin Coen (St. Finbarr’s) John Gormley (Newman College) and Tara Boyle (Blessed George Napier School) won individuals awards whilst Erdington based club Erin Go Bragh and Our Lady Lourdes Primary School received team honors.
The search for the GAA stars of 2007 in the midlands will start on the 13th April when the Warwickshire GAA youth league opens with more youth community clubs teams then ever before.