After the long absence due to COVID, Scór na nÓg was finally back. In the end, the restrictions lifted quickly, and so the time to prepare was shorter than usual. Unfortunately, this reflected in the number of acts Milltown fielded, which was lower than usual.
Whatever the reasons, on the 13th of March, the county finals were held in Allenwood...and it was good to be back. Certainly, the hall felt (and looked) fuller than usual. And while Milltown may have had fewer than usual acts, it was refreshing to see a number of other Kildare clubs taking part, whom we hadn't seen for some time.
In the end, Milltown entered 2 quiz teams:
Team 1: Andrew Shannon, Patrick Shannon, Sam O Hara, Matthew Downey
Team 2: Conor Sheerin, Robert Shannon, Cormac Byrne and Karl Heuston
The top 3 teams in the quiz made it to the stage part of the event, and both Milltown teams ended up on stage. A great testament to the quiz talent in the village. They faced a young, but well-drilled Maynooth side. In the end our Team 2 took the honours and went on to represent Kildare as county champions.
On the 3rd April, our team made the trip to Lordship GAA in Louth for the Leinster final. In a fantastic performance, the lads finished 2nd which was good enough to see them through to the All Ireland final.
The All Ireland took place in Killarney on 1st May and hopes were high that this might be the year. As always, the standard was high, but our team rose to the challenge. Unfortunately, this time, they came up just short, finishing just a few points off of a stage finish. One thing is for certain though, we're certainly not far off that elusive All Ireland.
Over to the Seniors now for the autumn...
Friday 7th October saw the return of Scór Sinsir to the GAA hall in Allenwood. It was great to have the event back after a long absence due to COVID.
A large crowd on the night ensured a brilliant atmosphere. Milltown had representation in 5 out of the 8 categories:
Solo Singing: Jenny Doyle & Alan Davoren
Recitation: Noel Shannon
Ballad Group: Jenny Doyle, Alan Davoren, Lorraine O Toole, Shane Shannon & Leo Shannon
Novelty Act: Michelle O Hara, Enda Dowling, Eileen Tiernan, Emmett Mulhall and Tom Malone
Quiz: Ronan Byrne, Noel Dunne, Noel Shannon and Andrew Cody
In what was one of the strongest competitions in years, there was an even spread of 2 titles each for Allenwood, Maynooth, Ardclough and Milltown, with Milltown's titles coming in the Novelty Act and Quiz sections.
Milltown and Allenwood shared the Club of the Year title.
Alan and Jenny gave powerful performances of The Bright Blue Rose and Mise Éire in the Solo Singing and can consider themselves unfortunate to lose out in what was a strong field. However, they were also part of the first Senior Ballad Group Milltown has fielded in many years, being joined on stage by Lorraine O Toole, Shane Shannon and Leo Shannon. Although not carrying the title on the day, I think it's fair to say the crowd really enjoyed their versions of Ride On and N17.
Noel Shannon performed a self-composed piece in the Recitation called The Men of '72, in celebration of the Intermediate Football title Milltown won in 1972. It was a brilliant piece and, if it were left to the Milltown crowd, he'd have been given the All Ireland there and then.
The Novelty Act performed a smart sketch about The Energy Crisis, and carried the day.
While the Quiz Team showed their stuff to come back from 2nd position to win it in the stage round.
Our Quiz team now progressed to the next round of the Leinster competition on Fri 14th Oct in the Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise where they finished first!
Onwards to the Leinster Final on Sat 22nd Oct in the Kells Theatre, Co. Meath, where they joined our Novelty Act. First up were our Quiz Team. It was a tough final, with only 1 point separating all 3 teams going into it....and one of those teams were the reigning All Ireland champions. In the end, it was just one of those days when the right questions just didn't fall our way and we finished 2nd. Still, 2nd in Leinster isn't to be sniffed at, and we still qualify for the All Ireland final.
It was then the turn of our Novelty Act. Despite a great performance (especially from our donkey Eileen Jenny!!), the result went the way of the act from Wicklow.
Although disappointing in the end, we still have an All Ireland final to look forward to with our quiz team (they will be the only Kildare representation in the finals). So fingers and toes crossed we can pull it out of the bag.
So....off we set for Castlebar again. Hopes were high after a strong showing in the Leinster finals, where we finished 2nd to the reigning champions Offaly.
With Mary Byrne coming in as a strong substitute for the unavailable Andrew Cody, the team gave it their all. While not reaching the podium, they did the parish and county proud, finishing 7th in Ireland. Maith sibh!
A short rest now, before turning our thoughts to Scór na nÓg in spring...
Baile an Mhuilinn abú! ❤️💚
Comments