Jubilant Notre Dames footballers hoist their beloved captain, Maureen Ennis, over their shoulders.
For Maureen Ennis, captain of Philly’s Notre Dames Gaelic football club, the team’s first ladies senior football championship will likely be her last.
One minute, she was thrusting the silver cup above her head to wildly enthusiastic cheers by her teammates; the next minute, she was holding in her arms the reason for her retirement, at least for now, from the sport she loves. It was her son, Shea. (She loves him more.)
“This is my first year with a child,” she said. “This is probably my last game, but it’s brilliant to win.”
Win, the Notre Dames most decidedly did, taking the final game against Connacht (Boston) with a score of 3-15 to 0-06. (Here’s how to understand Irish football scoring.) There was no moment at which Connacht even came close. Ennis wasn’t surprised by how well the Dames played.
“We knew we were going to be strong,” she said. “As soon as we started training, we just knew.”
The Dames’ North American championship continues a tradition of national ladies football titles by Philly teams. The Mairead Farrells held the honor last year and the year before.
Two other Philly teams made it all look too easy.
The Eire Ogs Junior C team triumphed over the team from San Francisco, 3-16 to 1-6. It was a long time coming for the Eire Ogs, too.
“We’ve been trying to win (the championship) for 10 years, so we didn’t know what to expect,” said Conor Trainor, captain of the eire Ogs. “You come out, not knowing who you’re playing.” Giving due credit to the team from San Fran, Trainor acknowledged, “We both played against tough teams to get here.”
And while we’re on the subject of lopsided victories, let’s all raise a glass for the Young Irelands, who took the men’s intermediate football trophy gainst the Michael Cusacks club from San Francisco, 5-16 to 0-7.
Edged out on Sunday in their final game against New Hampshire were the Hibernians of Allentown: New Hampshire 1-11 to the Hibos’ 0-16. They didn’t win, but they sure didn’t make it easy.
We have so many photos from the championships, both on and off the field, that we’ve just lost count of them all.
Check them all out here.
