Who is the Stand out performer when it comes to women in sport in Waterford during April?

We’ve entered another new month, so it is time once more to name some female’s involved in sport that impressed be it on or off the field of play in the previous month and to name then as an unofficial female sports star of the month.

It is important to note the person named here might not be exactly the name that won the highest honours but someone that in their own way helped to promote women’s sport or helped their team to achieve something.

As is always pointed out each month, there is nothing to be got from being named as the overall monthly winner here, apart from the fact that they are getting the chance to promote their chosen sport and to maybe get some new people involved.

April was a relatively quiet month when it comes to women’s sport. Maybe there is a good reason for this. Lots of sports are run over the winter months and their season is coming to an end or has come to an end. The school’s were also closed for a considerable part of the month due to the Easter Holiday’s while many school’s competitions have drawn to a close as the state exams draw near.

In Basketball a team from the Presentation Secondary School in Waterford travelled to the continent to take part in a schools competition and while they finished down the pecking order the girls that were part of the panel did themselves, their school and the country whom they were representing proud.

Ardscoil na Déise had a team of five first year students at the East Munster Track and Field Championships at the end of the month in Templemore. Lucy Holmes finished 5^th in the 800m race. Anne McGrath finished second in the heats of the 100m competition which qualified her for the final but narrowly missed out on a medal. Aoife Dee and Orla Keane also took part and gave very good accounts of themselves in the shot put competition. The four took part in the relays and put in a great performance where they finished third which qualifies them for the Munster Finals later this month in Cork.

Most of the action in the past month when it comes to women’s sports centred round Ladies Football and Camogie.

First up it would be very wrong not to congratulate the Waterford Intermediate Camogie and Ladies Football teams on reaching National League Finals during the month of April. The Camogie team have already played their final and if you don’t know how they got on you can read a report here. http://thomaskeane1973.blogspot.ie/2015/05/magnificent-waterford-ladies-win-league.html The Footballers are in action on Saturday in Dublin against Sligo at Parnell Park. More about that game can be found later in the week, so keep an eye on thomaskeane1973 on both Facebook and Twitter. If you know anyone interested in sport why not let them know about the sites and get them to like and follow the pages.

Waterford’s under 14 Ladies Football Team played Kerry in the ‘A’ Grade Munster Semi Final recently and had a excellent win. Waterford have put together another very good team at this grade this year and some of the players to keep an eye out for are Annie Fitzgerald who hit three goals against the Kingdom, Sarah Lacey who him 1-3, Sheenagh McGuckian, Rosie Landers, Mary-Kate Curran, Keeley Corbett-Barry and Jade Queally.

In the minor grade this year Waterford have also put together a good team and they too beat Kerry recently. The team is full of players with experience like Lauren Guiry, Emma and Aoife Murray and Lauren McGregor.

Waterford’s Intermediate team beat Roscommon at Nenagh to qualify for the League Final on Saturday. The team has a nice mix of youth and experience with the likes of Sinead Ryan, Grainne Kenneally, Maria Delahunty, Michelle Ryan, Elaine Power as well as Karen and Michelle McGrath playing vital parts.

In Camogie Waterford qualified for their recent final with Laois after a win over Kildare. Trish Jackman was their top scorer on the day, finishing with nine points but again they had plenty of other hero’s in the likes of Deirdre Brennan, Claire Whyte, Jenny Simpson, Lorraine Bray, Molly Curran and Dawn Power.

In Camogie, the Gailltir Club also were in the news of late. They recently won the County Féile Final for the third year in a row, beating De La Salle in the final at Bushy Park. In the last two years the girls from the Barony after winning the competition locally went on to win the National Division two final. This year however, things are a little different, as Gailltir will be representing Waterford in a Division one Regional Competition, while De La Salle will travel to Ulster to represent the county in the Division two grade at the National Competition.

So it is now time to name this months overall winner. Is it someone named already or is it someone to be named yet. Like in previous months, the winner has yet to get a mention.

This months winner comes from the Counties Intermediate Ladies Football team, with the player chosen being Aileen Wall for her performance against Roscommon.

The Ballymacarbry player over the past few years is a regular in the county team but this year with over 30 in the panel and every player getting their chance to show what they can do to the new management team in charge this year, the Ballymacarbry player has had to settle for a place on the bench for much of the games from the off this year but has come on and played a major roll in games that were at times tight.

Aileen started the game against Roscommon in Nenagh and put in a player of the Match performance kicking five points in a 18 point win. It was not only at scoring that she impressed as many at the game were very impressed with her pace and was involved in a lot of what Waterford did on the day.