On a cold evening we all assembled in Park Avenue for our annual Christmas match against Railway. With a squad of 14 a very wise decision was taken by the manager who decided to put Dee in goal and not play herself. Railway only had 10 players so we very kindly leant them Rita for the match.

The standard of hockey was surprisingly good and the game flowed from end to end and at last our forwards put a string of passes together and Clodagh put us 1-0 up partly thanks to Rochie (their goalie) diving over the ball probably because she could see the bar from the pitch and was dreaming about a pint of the black stuff. About 10 minutes into the match, Margaret, our umpire couldn’t see the orange ball under lights so we duly changed to a white ball only to be informed that their umpire, Kate, could not see the white ball!!! You just can’t win with these umpires.

At half time Gormlaith came off and Helen went on but then Jean pulled her ham string so Gormlaith went back on. The game ebbed and flowed and once again we got into their circle and several attempts were made to flick the ball over Rochie as she is known for diving but this was to no avail until Blaithin managed to push the ball past Rochie who had dived for the 100th time and we scored again.

The match ended up 2-0 to us - a win at last!!!

We all retired to the bar and were entertained and fed by our opposition, speeches were made and a collection for the LauraLynn children’s hospice was made and so far we have raised at least €272.

Our next match is on Friday 27th January in Park Avenue against Corinthians - we need a long rest at our age!!

Prior to the match commencing a rather belated presentation was made to Margaret Towers in recognition of all the umpiring she did for us last season - it was also a bribe for this match!!

With only 11 available I had no choice but to play myself in goal and let Dee play outfield. Birgitte volunteered to play sweeper as Jean, Hilary and Suzanne were all unavailable.

We started with a full 11 against 9 outfield players - needless to say we could not score even though there was nobody in goal for them and we were awarded a short corner! A very youthful looking Alex side scored after several attempts and they lead 2-0 at half time despite the attempts of Dee diving to try and prevent one of the goals. Alex by this stage had 10 players but still no goalie and we still couldn’t score.

The second half got under way and due to lack of fitness one of our members had to have the game stopped to get rid of cramp!! Alex struck again with what I could only describe as a soft goal followed by a brilliant goal which not even a 1st XI goalie could have dealt with.

Final score was 4-0 but it could have been a lot worse as our defence played out of their skins and the woman of the match was Birgitte who played brilliantly - so watch out Jean!!

Next match is on Friday 21st October in Old Alex v Loreto.

On a beautiful evening in March I headed up to Old Alex filled with confidence that we had a full team of fit (well as fit as possible) players only to receive a call from 1 player who had picked up a bug and was now no longer able to play. I was delighted to see that Hermes only had 10 players to begin with as well but they were missing their goalie!!! Needless to say we didn’t manage to get into their circle while their goalie was putting on her gear. Having made her way onto the pitch their captain departed thinking they had 11 on the pitch without her and she works in a bank.

Hermes played some brilliant passing hockey and got into the circle and shot, our goalie (me) thought it was going wide and let it go - yes you’ve guessed it went in - I take full blame for that 1 and we were 1 nil down at half time. I nearly forgot to say that Jean made a spectacular save off the line before they scored their first goal.

The second half got under way and our umpire made a genuine mistake which is now called the spec saver move. Hermes pressed hard and got into the circle again and managed to squeeze the ball between me and the post although newcomer Birgitte took full blame for this one - happy to let you have that one. They scored a 3^rd when a certain person got in my way - another 1 I’m not taking the blame for.

All in all it was a very good match and there was plenty of banter between the 2 teams - played in the true veteran’s spirit. Final score 3-0 to Hermes.

Thanks to Josephine for fixing my helmet before the game started - a screw had come loose!!

Next match is Friday 11^th March v Alex in Railway at 7.30pm.

On a wet and windy Friday evening Muckross and Railway congregated just inside the pavilion to debate on whether or not to play as the weather was horrible and the thought of playing in driving rain did not appeal to the elder members. Having had a chat with my opposite number and found out that they had started off with a squad of 12 but were down to 9 or 10 for this match (sounds familiar) we left it up to the umpires to make the final decision, we also only had 10 having started off with a squad of about 13 - you’ve all heard the excuses before so I will not go on.

Whilst all this was going on yours truly ensured that the bar would be open a bit earlier than planned just in case the match was called off - well it’s always a good plan to have every eventuality covered!!

The umpires, having consulted for all of 10 seconds, came to a decision and it was agreed to adjourn to the bar and call the match an honourable draw - a very good decision if you ask me although some of the younger Railway players did not agree with this decision. In future birth certificates will have to be produced as I’m sure some of their players were very young!!??

Our next match is on Friday 4th March against Hermes in Alex at 8.00pm - yet another re-fixed match.

On a cold Friday evening in November a squad of 17 plus the manager and umpire Margaret arrived in Railway ready to play our annual Christmas match followed by food, drinks, speeches and fun.

The cutlery was neatly wrapped in festive napkins, tables were set up, pots were prepared and a very courageous Rory lit the oven and hob (have you seen the oven in Railway - it should be in a museum!!).

7.30 came and went and the umpires declared the pitch unplayable so all adjourned to the bar for a couple of drinks before being fed royally by Jean and her second in command Collette with a choice of beef bourguignon, chicken korma or vegetarian lasagne served with a variety of salads and garlic bread followed by mince pies and cream.

Well done to all who did the catering, washing up and made the night really good fun.

This match will be re-fixed and played in 2011!!!

In case you were wondering why Mary MacSherry was not present it was because she was decorating Terminal 2 at Dublin airport!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all and see you all next year.

With an initial squad of 17 things were looking up, thoughts of who to start with were causing the manager to think, then came the excuses:

1. I have to go to Cork
2. I have an early flight on Saturday morning
3. I have to work late
4. I have a bit of a cold

That reduced the squad to 13 and with no umpire - not for the lack of trying to persuade one of the younger members of the club to help out - Gormlaith was asked to take the whistle in the absence of Margaret, Helen, Ger and Gillian from Railway.

Now we only had 12 players so the first 11 players to arrive were given their positions and the game got under way. Tidy Bridy even turned up after a year’s absence and was somewhat confused with the auto pass which she had never seen before. The Pink Ladies controlled the ball with finesse unlike the Muckross team (or should we now change our name to Duckross with so many Dalkey players/). Sutton got a short corner and scored - Dee says she didn’t see the ball - it’s that white round object that is hit from stick to stick - well that’s what we are meant to do. Dee was heard shouting “Mark that girl in pink” - what colour to Sutton play in - oh yes it’s PINK. We had a great chance near the end of the first half but the Sutton goalie played a blinder and kept the ball out.

At half time a decision was taken as to who should mark who although the manager did point out that Sutton may switch players around. The second half got under way and sure enough Sutton changed positions and our plans were turned up-side-down. Tidy Bridy went on in place of Eleanor and asked the question “What’s the story with the auto cue?” - There’s just no answer to that. Sutton surged forward again and managed to score a second goal although the defence tried their hardest to keep the ball out. Basher went down on her shoulder (or was she pushed!! - only joking Doreen) and had to come off but she recovered enough to have a pint after the game.

Although we lost 2-0 we must thank our supporters Janice, Liam and Aoibhinn and hope that Janice will now agree that she’d really love to have a game herself in our next match which is on Friday 5th November in Old Alex at 8.00pm against Hermes.

Player of the match was shared between Nora and Bernie.

With a squad of 13 players plus of course the official manager on the side line the first match of the season kicked off in Railway on a glorious evening. The game ebbed and flowed and we probably had the better of the first half although Dee was challenged a few times in goal but needless to say pulled off several saves ably assisted by a determined defence.

Half time came and Mary was complaining her stick was falling apart - her stick!!?? I don’t think so - she forgot to bring her own and had to borrow mine and now it’s falling to pieces.

With several substitutions going on - possibly not the best decisions by you know who - and only about 5 minutes to go the inevitable happened and Three Rock got into the circle and shot, Dee dived but the retched ball managed to creep in under her and the ball trickled over the line for a somewhat lucky goal. The manager quickly strengthened the forward line and both Vanessa and Colette were unlucky not to score.

The final score was 1-0 to Three Rock although a draw might have been a fairer outcome on the night. Our next match is on Friday 15th October in Railway at 8.00pm against the Pink Ladies aka Sutton. Let’s hope I can persuade Railway to open the bar this time??

Oct.     Fri. 1^st Muckross v T.R.L. Park Avenue 7.30pm

Oct.     Fri. 15^th Muckross v Sutton Park Avenue 8.00pm

Nov.    Fri. 5^th Muckross v Hermes Old Alex 8.00pm

Nov.    Fri 26^th Railway v Muckross Park Avenue 7.30pm

Jan       Wed. 12^th Corinthians v Muckross St. Columbas 8.30pm

Jan.      Fri. 21^st Avoca v Muckross Serpentine Avenue 8.00pm

Jan.      Fri. 28^th Muckross v Genesis Park Avenue 7.30pm

Feb.     Fri 11^th Muckross v Pembroke Serpentine Avenue 8.00pm

Mar.     Fri. 11^th Muckross v Old Alex Park Avenue 7.30pm

Mar.     Fri. 25^th Muckross v Botanic Serpentine Avenue 9.00pm