by Caoimhinn Barr, Inishowen Independent
THE players of Moville Celtic are aiming to land a
third consecutive Seamus Pat trophy with the action
getting underway in the celebrated summer tournament
at Ballybrack this Friday evening.
Established in 2003, the cup, in honour of popular
Greencastle businessman Seamus Pat McLaughlin, is
now in its eighth year with four teams - Moville,
Greencastle, Carrowmena and Redcastle –vying for
local bragging rights.
Seamus Pat, a lifelong supporter of Greencastle
Football Club, drove team buses all over Inishowen
for many years. His son Pat expects the 2011
memorial event to be one of the most keenly
contested ever.
“The tournament is going really well; it seems to
get bigger and bigger every year. There were huge
crowds at the games last summer and I’m sure it’ll
be the same for the next two weekends. There’s been
a lot of craic around the pubs with people talking
about it. There’s a really good vibe this year,” he
added.
A Greencastle native, Pat said he would love to see
his hometown club scoop the trophy for the first
time.
“It would be great if Eunan [McDaid] and the boys
could do it but I think Moville will probably start
as favourites again this year; they always have a
pretty solid team,” he said.
“Keeping Eunan has been a great boost to Greencastle
and, with a young team, including Davy Houston and
Matty Henry, the future looks bright for us,” Pat
added.
Turning to Carrowmena and Redcastle, Pat said both
had strong sides.
“Raymond Dougal is going with a lot of talented
young players this year while Redcastle are always
strong.”
The annual tournament comprises two semi-finals and
a final, which will take place at Ballybrack next
Friday, August 5.
The tournament begins tomorrow evening, July 29 at
Chapel Lane, where hosts newly-promoted Greencastle
take on relegated Carrowmena. It continues on Sunday
as Moville clash with Redcastle.
Seamus Pat Fixtures
(All at Chapel Lane, Ballybrack)
Semi-finals: Greencastle v. Carrowmena, Friday July
29, 7pm, John Joe Lafferty.
Moville Celtic v. Redcastle United, Sunday July 31,
5pm, Robin McDermott.
Final – Friday, August 5, 7pm. |
