To the Players,Mentors and families of the Dungiven U-14 Visiting panel
From the moment they arrived on the Friday until they left on Sunday, these young men were a credit to their Club,their Parish and their Families with their exemplary behaviour both on and off the field. As Portarlingtons Feile officer I interacted with them on many levels ,eg as a hosting parent and a club official and at no time did i witness any negative aspect to their characters,they showed marvellous sportsmanship,tremendous courage, impeccable manners,a warm and friendly disposition and heartwarming loyalty to one another. An incident that springs to mind occurred when 1 of the injured players was returning from hospital late on the Saturday night after the disco, word got to them that he was approaching the GAA centre and to a man they ran to the main gate and applauded his entry into the car park and much backslapping followed.
They mixed exceptionally well with their host families and were highly thought of by them which was evidenced by when an impromptu visit to the local swimming pool occured and they had no towels with them on the bus, in excess of 40 towels materialised within 15 minutes! For the host families the only complaint that could have been was that their visit was too short!
The Dungiven and “Port ” teams bonded instantly and Facebook friend requests were sent and phone numbers exchanged before their time to leave had come. Indeed a few tears were shed when they left, so great was their impact in such a small time on all the people that met them and yes I am including some of the young ladies who they charmed at the teenage disco!.The final game on the Sunday morning in which the teams were mixed was great craic with the rules varying from Gaelic,soccer to rugby depending on what the players felt like the moment the ball arrived at them .It finished off what could be described as a near perfect weekend in that perfection was not achieved because no silverware was won and you unfortunately went home with a few injuries which thankfully were not inflicted by our hand! Any photos I have at the moment I have put in an album called ” Feile Peil in Portarlington 2012″ in my profile with open access for all to enjoy.If any of your parents/mentors or travelling party have any photos please send them to canice68@gmail.com and i will add them in!
It was our very great honour to host Dungiven at our Club and look forward to developing closer and enduring links with you long into the future.
Go Raibh Mile Maith Agaibh
Regards
Canice McCarthy
