There were plenty of cheers and beers on Saturday afternoon, 24 June, as hundreds of spectators enjoyed the finals of the Cayman Islands Gaelic Football League, from the sidelines at the Cayman International School playing field.
In a back and forth game, Magheracloone captured the men’s league title, while Bredagh secured the women’s trophy to close the season sponsored by Harneys.
In the men’s final, Magheracloone, who were underdogs throughout the season, defeated Wolfe Tones 0-08, 0-06, in what Magheracloone’s captain Eoin Fitzpatrick described as a brilliant game.
“It feels absolutely incredible,” Fitzpatrick told the Compass. “I said to the team at the start of the season, we really can go on and do something big.”
While Fitzpatrick had hoped to rack-up wins during the league, things didn’t go as planned.
By week 12, Magheracloone had won two games, lost nine and drew once. He blamed their results on frequent absences and injuries but noted that, when it mattered most in the playoffs, his team delivered to finish strong.
“It was a very difficult time – week after week, loss after loss,” he said. “Ultimately, towards the end of the season, we started picking up wins… The guys started to believe; the guys started to get confidence.”
Realising that it’s not how you start but how you finish, Fitzpatrick added that the final match against Wolfe Tones was won with determination – something he believes was necessary to get the edge.
“Both teams were equal in terms of quality,” he said. “I think we just wanted it more and you can see that in the second half, but in fairness to the whites (Wolfe Tones), they played a brilliant game, they were excellent.”
Women’s final
In the final women’s fixture, Bredagh comfortably defeated Na Piarsaigh 0-6, 0-2, to capture the league title.
Like Magheracloone, Bredagh realised their potential in the season’s playoffs, having won three games, losing eight and drawing once by week 12.
“We had a lot of inconsistencies but when it came to the knockout stages, we really came into our strides and performed really well,” Beth Lowen, Bredagh’s team captain, told the Compass after the match on Saturday. “We played our hearts out today and we couldn’t have done anything more and, luckily, that was enough.
“It’s just great to have the opportunity to play all together on the final day and ultimately come out with the win.”
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