Body on the line.
The annual Canterbury 7s GAA tournament took place in Christchurch last weekend, with teams from Waimak, Wellington and Christchurch taking part in the hurling and Gaelic football competitions which were contested over the whole weekend.
The New Zealand Championship doesn’t start until the beginning of the new year, so the teams were taking this tournament seriously, none-more-so than Triona Kelly from Whitegate, county Clare.
The Clare woman represented the Christchurch McKenna’s in the event, and by the looks of things, she wasn’t in the mood to concede a goal.
The McKenna’s were taking on Wellington in the senior hurling competition, and with Kelly playing a blinder for the Christchurch side, she put her body on the line to block a goal-bound shot from the stick of a Wellington forward.
The sliotar struck the brave Munster woman in the arm, and she was left with a fairly gruesome looking bruise to show for her efforts.
Full forward on the Christchurch side, Oisin O Maolmhuaidh, got in contact with us to laud the bravery of his teammate, and to emphasise the importance of the GAA in the culture of Irish based New Zealanders.
“As you can see, it wasn’t too comfortable in the aftermath,” he said.
“The GAA and the Canterbury tournament is a great way to meet new people when you’re away, and it also brings a bit of home to New Zealand. We don’t start championship until after the new year so we do take this tournament very serious,” he said.
The McKenna’s won the senior football, and were beaten in the semi-finals of the hurling, but it was an enjoyable, and beneficial outing none-the-less.
“The girls won the senior football but the rest of the Mckenna’s teams got as far as the semis,” he said.
Keep the Irish flag flying out there, lads.
