Minors:
Well done to the lads on a great performance on Fri night last in Monaduff which now guarantees them a semi-final spot, which will take place after the exams.

​The committee would like to once again wish all exam students the very best of luck in their upcoming exams.

For those players not partaking in exams the county board plan running an U17 and U15 over the course of the exams and the trainers will be in contact relating to this shortly.

U16:
The Western Gaels juveniles are the new Division 2 Champions after a thrilling final in Pearse Park on Tuesday evening last. Though the throw In Was delayed, and the lads fell victim to two early goals, they showed great character to rally on. The two goals are ones keeper Eanna McGrath will want to forget but he more than made up for it with some in valuable saves and pin point kick outs later in the game. The gales didn't let this deter the, and thanked to a goal from Oran Kenny, nicely set up by Kian Gilmore, they found themselves a point in-front 15 mins into the game 1-4 to 2-0 up. The later (kian) then netted himself later in the half after a great run through the middle and a personal tally of 1-2,from Rory Howlin seen the Gaels go in at half time 3-7 to 2-2 up.

However the Drumlish/Dromard team started the second half in similar style with a 2-2 blitz of the Gaels defence it's only a solitary point in reply! This was in the melting pot with 15 mins to go in Longford HQ but after a doggie 5 mins of play where neither team really excelled, the Gaels up a gear and kicked and three unanswered points saw them race into a 3 point lead! Both teams exchanged a point a piece but the Western Gaels had done enough to bring the silverware home winning on a score line of 3-12 to 4-05!

Well done to Jimmy, Mark, Seam & PJ and all the lads on a tremendous result! Check out the Twitter and face book pages for photos from the night!

U13:
The Western Gaels will travel to Balinalee to take on Granard/Ballymore and Longford East this coming Thursday. If results go our way we could see progression to the semi final stages to following Monday so best of luck to all!

U12:
The U12s had a challenging game on Friday last 20th away to Longford Slashers, this proved a very worthwhile challenge as we prepare for the upcoming Longford/Leitrim league which begins on Thursday 9th June and also the Longford League which is due to start in July,  we have a panel of 16 for the coming season with a mixture of some players on their final year at A1 and more at this grade for a couple of years which gives the team a nice balance overall, our team on Friday evening was Daniel Gallagher in goals  had a fine game , our full back line of Kielan Ruske, Darragh Campbell & Tessa Tiernan were solid all through, our half back line of Dan Devlin, Ryan Casey & Beau O’ Connor combined well together all through the game, our midfield pairing of Eoin Kinlan & Harry Mulvihill worked tirelessly with great running and each chipping in a with a couple of scores, our half forward line of Rasheed Yeobah, Matthew Hawes & Gavin Nulty worked very well together again some fine scores coming form this forward line, our full forward line of  Gary Hand & Sarah Farrell played very well both would get on the score sheet Sarah scoring a lovely goal, we were minus the services of Naill Hawes & Stephen Oates who will part of the panel also this year, the great thing about playing challenges is you can change the positions of some players during the game and as the season will go on it gives you an idea of the positions they look comfortable in, thanks to Longford Slashers for the game and we look forward to playing them again in our home ground later on in the season, well done also to Grattan’s U12 players who were recently part of the winning schools championship team.

U10:
This Wednesday the club looks forward to hosting a home blitz, with teams from Shannon Gaels, Southern Gaels and Moydow/Kenagh taking part. Games kick off at 7 pm and opportunity for each team to play up to 3 games.

U8: 
Our U8's took part in their third blitz of the season in Lanesborough on Wednesday last and a great night was had by all with a full cycle of games to keep The children entertained!

Off the field:
Strength & Conditioning Training - Thanks to John Twaddle who delivered an excellent session on Monday night last as the club completed their 3rd and final Club Specific Course. Very informative session and thanks to the coaches in attendance and also the Coaching & Games organisers for arranging the series of very worthwhile training.
The club's annual bag packing will take place in. Dunne’s Stores on the June Bank Holiday weekend and we are seeking volunteers please to help out. There are two hour slots available on both Friday and Saturday - can you please contact a member of the committee if available as the more helpers the less of a burden on all. Thanking you.

We are also having a Grattan Gaels Fun Canal Walk Challenge Monday 6th June 6 PM – see website for details

SEMI-FINALS FOR THE CUP & SHIELD (  HOPEFULLY WE WILL BE PLAYING FOR THE CUP)  ARE DOWN FOR THURSDAY 28TH JUNE , THE FINALS ARE DOWN FOR SATURDAY 9TH JULY. ( So if you can keep aware of all these dates )
 
PITCH DETAILS FOR AWAY VENUES:
 
 
Mohill: From longford take the N4 Sligo road, on the Rooskey bypass take the 3rd exit off the second roundabout  signposted for  Mohill, on entering Mohill the pitch is on your right .
 
CLONBONNY: Take Roscommon/Lanesboro road out of Longford and upon entering Lanesboro turn right alongside the filling station, follow the road to the right and take the immediate left over the narrow bridge, the pitch is on your right.
 
The Longford League is due to start Thursday July 21st , the division grading for this league will be done after the Longford/Leitrim league finishes, we will follow up with dates for fixtures for this league at a later date.
 
Training Schedule:  
 
Training will be on:  
Mondays  6.30 – 7.30
and
Fridays 5.30- 6.30 ( starting from Friday 20th May)
 
Please bring a water bottle ( name or logo on it) to training at all times along with gumshields.
 
If there is a change with any of these fixtures we will notify  by text , but for now we look forward to the season ahead with great excitement and if you need further updates on events/games happening within the club you can visit our website www.grattangaels.com
 
Thanks, Tommy, Alan, Liam

U18.  Our minors continued their unbeaten league run with a strong performance against Clonbroney/Wolfe Tones in Balinalee last week.  A great performance by all concerned and their last game in the league will take place this coming Friday (20th) at 8pm in Mondaduff.  Victory/1 point will ensure a semi-final spot, which will take place after the exams) so best of luck to Willie John, Billy, Shane, James and all the players!

On that note we would like to wish all our players undergoing state exams this summer the very best of luck and good fortune!  While training will continue for players not taking part in state exams, all players are welcome to attend but will not be expected to train!  On behalf of thee committee - The Very Best of Good Luck!!

U16.  The juvenile Western Gaels Team have reached the Division 2 Final which at going to print we will not know the result of.  The game took place in Glennon Brothers Pearse Park at 6.15pm on Tuesday 17th May.  We hope that the lads got the result they deserved for all their hard work and commitment this year!  Well done to Jimmy, PJ, Sean, Mark and all the trainers and players - keep up the good work!

On Thursday last , our Western Gaels juvenile team played the league division 2 semi final against Mostrim/Clonbroney amalgamation in Dunbeggan. The western Gaels lads started slowly and found themselves 2 points down after 5 minutes but got into the game and with goals from Oran Kenny and Conor Campbell changed the game with the home side leading at half time by 6 points. The second half continued as the first half had finished, with the Western Gaels lads winning comfortably in the end. Well done to all the lads , Jimmy and Mark especially for their commitment to the team and good luck to the lads in the final.


U14   The current U14 league campaign has been completed for Western Gaels with a great performance in both Divisions!  The U13 competition will get underway this week and Western Gaels take to the field in Micheal Fay Park at 7pm with a game v Granard/Ballymore and the winner playing Ardagh at 7.45.  The results of the games will determine venues/opposition for the following weeks so please keep an eye on the notes for the coming weeks!

U10s
It was a busy week of sport. Last Wednesday in glorious sunshine Grattans enjoyed a blitz in Ardagh, where they played two different Ardagh teams and one Slashers team. They enjoyed three victories and all players contributed strongly to the victories.
Some of the U10s also competed in the Longford South team of community games, and met a strong Mostrim team who got the final result. Best of luck to them.
A number of the U10s were also played on the Stonepark team who enjoyed great success in Pearce Park on Thursday night by winning against St Michaels in the Div 2A final. Well done to all involved in this amazing result. 

U8.  
Our next blitz takes place this Wednesday and we travel to Clonbony to face Shannon Gaels, St. Patrick's Og & Wolfe Tones Og

U6
There was no training Monday last due to the bank holiday, but back for all the fun this Monday

Western Gaels U14
completed their Division 1 campaign with comprehensive victories against Slashers and Ardagh, rounding off the league in style. Some tweaks to the playing style, allowed the team to play much faster and more fluid football, and excellent scoring allowed the team to rack up bid leads in both games. Not to be outshone, the defence put in sterling work to only allow scores of 2-4 and 2-10 respectively, and it would be fair to describe this as a great team effort, with over 25 players contributing in both wins. With only one defeat in the league campaign, the team can consider themselves unlucky not to have made the league final. Our division 3 team also concluded their league campaign with a hard fought loss away to Southern Gaels. Leading at the break by a single point, the team battled valiantly, but eventually the superior physical strength of the opposition wore the lads down, and they were narrowly beaten. The Division 3 campaign was an excellent introduction to U14 football for some of the younger players, and will stand them in good stead next season. Attention now turns to the U13 league which kicks off next week.

 
U16's
The juveniles have progressed through their league stages of their
Competition unbeaten and now go into the semifinals with home advantage on Thursday next 12th May. They will face a gallant Clonbroney/Edgeworthstown side who have also enjoyed a good campaign to date. Throw in in Dunbeggan is 7.30 and we hope the locals can come out and support the team and hopefully shout them onto victory and a final spot!
 
Well done to all our players and their families
who were involved in Confirmation last weekend - we hope they had a great day!


The Western Gaels U18
team started their league campaign in good style with a victory over Ardagh in Dunbeggan on Tuesday last. At going to print the result of their second game against Colmcille is not known but hopefully another good performance will help the lads progress in the competition. Their final game is also away, this time to Drunlish/Dromard on Monday next. A detailed report on both games will follow in the coming weeks.

Best of luck to all our members who start state exams this week!

U15 - the west longford regional team (Western Gaels/Kenagh) start their regional comp today (wednesday) with a trip to Killoe. Best of luck to all involved.

U10 - This Wednesday the team look forward to playing a blitz in Killoe. A large number of the team also got to enjoy the canal walk on Monday last.

U8 - thanks to Ardagh who hosted the blitz on Wednesday last. With 12 teams from 4 clubs, it was a great outing and ran very smoothly - well done to the organizers and the all the players who competed.

Thanks to all the helpers who assisted with the bag packing last weekend! It was a huge success and raise led much need we funds for the club!

Our fun walk took place on bank holiday Monday and a great evening had by all! Details and pics to follow next week