After the parade, we were introduced to our host Club, Castleknock St. Thomas who are a relatively new club in Dublin. John Hillery, Manager of the Castleknock club was our co-ordinator for the weekend. Words cannot describe how well he looked after our every need and was contactable at all times and nothing was a problem to John. He personally guided us to each and every venue, took care of our team kit, organised transport for anyone who required it. He introduced each of us to the host families who made our children feel so at home over the weekend. We must thank these families for the outstanding manner in which they looked after the girls and an everlasting bond has been formed between the girls from both clubs.

 We must also thank Kevin Horgan who throughout the weekend made us feel so welcome and with his humour and wit entertained us late in the night.....and was also on hand to support us in all our games as were the host families along with all the girls in the club. On All Ireland Final Day, it was heart-warming to hear the Castleknock girls singing the Beara songs and shouting for Beara. It was particularly rewarding to see all the Beara people who live in Dublin who came out to support us as we travelled around to the different venues throughout the locality.

Beara's march to the All Ireland Final began on Saturday morning in dreadful weather conditions when they met the host club, Castleknock whom they easily defeated on a score of 6-8 to 0-00.

 In the next game, Beara came up against Confey and after a close first half Beara pulled away to win well on a score of 5-7 to 0-1.

As part of the Féile weekend, all participating teams were guests of Croke Park for the Leinster Semi-Final between Dublin and Westmeath. All the children enjoyed this outing immensely and having tasted the atmosphere of the occasion gave the girls the incentive to return on the following day for the All Ireland Finals. Between the minor and senior games, it was a very special honour for Elaine O'Sullivan and Ciara Murphy to proudly march around Croke Park and carry the Beara banner behind the Artane Boys Band.

Ballyboden/St. Enda's was the venue for the semi-final where Beara met with Mayo champions, The Neale, who were tipped as favourites for the competition. Beara turned on the style and their free-flowing football on the night was a pleasure to watch. From goal-keeper to corner forward, their simple style of football and a combination throughout the field led to some marvellous scores and the Neale simply could not cope with this awesome Beara performance. Beara went on to win on a score of 2-9 to 0-2. The scenes of joy, jubilation and tears of happiness were a sight to behold as the victorious Beara girls sang their song, "Red is the Jersey we wear on our backs................" The atmosphere after the game was electric and on the bus journey "home" to Castleknock, both sets of girls sang and cheered and the scene was set for a long night. The Carpenter was the venue for the sing-song which was enjoyed immensely by all the adults while the girls had to rest for the big occasion on Monday.

Monday morning dawned and again our marvellous host, John Hillery accompanied by Kevin Horgan sporting the Beara flag escorted us like royals to Croke Park to face Limerick champions, Dromcollogher/Broadford, in the All Ireland Final. In what was a very very tense atmosphere leading up to the game, Beara were the team to settle first and once they got their first score, the whole team seemed to relax and once again played a stylish game of football to which Dromcollogher had no answer. Beara led at half time on a score of 2-4 to 0-1. After the break, things changed dramatically and Dromcollogher scored 1-1 without reply. The Beara defence had to endure extreme pressure throughout this period. The turning point of the game came when Dromcollogher hit the upright and from the rebound Beara's defence drove forward and in a classic move Beara kicked over a marvellous point. From here on out the Beara defence overwhelmed their opponents, and the domination at mid-field led to their forwards creating the opportunities which saw Beara capturing the All Ireland Féile Title for the first time ever.

 The Beara girls and their many supporters were ecstatic and the emotional scenes of joy will live in our memories for ever more. It was a proud Beara captain, Amanda Goggin, who accepted the All Ireland Trophy from Walter Thompson, President of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association.

 As part of the celebrations, our host club invited us out to the Phoenix Park and each child was presented with a certificate of participation by John Hillery. A special presentation was made to Ciara Murphy and Niamh O'Sullivan by Kevin Horgan for their overall team spirit throughout the weekend.

After this emotional presentation, it was almost time to part with our new friends who accompanied us all over the weekend. We returned to Castleknock where we said our goodbyes to the host club to whom we must once again express out sincere thanks for making this a weekend we will never ever forget and we hope that one day the Castleknock Club will visit Beara where a huge "Cead Míle Fáilte" will await them.

The long journey home was made all the more enjoyable by our wonderful driver, Kay Burke, who right throughout the weekend was a tremendous support and was always available to take us to our many destinations.As the song says "County Roads Take Me Home" she duly did this in style!

As we arrived into the Beara Peninsula, we were greeted by numerous bonfires, banners and people cheering us all along the way from Glengarriff, Adrigole and onto Castletownbere where people from all over Beara gathered to welcome us home. It was a proud moment for all the girls and a just reward for all their work throughout the year. Once again, a special thanks to all who supported us in any way.