South Belfast Sporting
Life... without being able to field the same starting eleven for either the first or reserve team on consecutive Saturdays all season makes the achievement all the more remarkable.” What makes it even more special for the club is that the vast majority of the players have all come through the junior ranks of the club, having played in south Belfast for most of their lives, which is manifested in the unique bond and team spirit that has contributed significantly to Aquinas’ success this year. “Captains Paddy Turley and Richard Murphy started their AFC careers in mini soccer along with many of their team mates. The same can also be said for my fellow managers and coaches. Pascal Donnelly used to help manage the U14 team on Saturday mornings before focusing his efforts on guiding the reserves to the summit of Division 3F. Stephen McDonald and Stevie
GOOD SPORTS
Paddy Turley receives the NAFL Trophy from Portadown manager Ronnie McFall.
sport plays in important role in our everyday lives. be it watching or playing, it attracts massive interest, and in south belfast we are spoilt for choice, no matter which sport you prefer. South Belfast is a hive of sporting activity. Every night of the week you will see people out running, playing football, Gaelic football, rugby, swimming, tennis, boxing, lawn bowling, golfing etc. You name a sport and chances are there is a club for it in south Belfast. In each issue we take a look at some of the clubs that are such a great asset to the community, clubs that help bring people together to get fit, get a
little bit competitive and most importantly of all to have fun. AQUINAS Football Club
This time last year Aquinas FC was celebrating its acceptance into the Northern Amateur Football League and now they are celebrating success as double league winners. Delighted manager Noel McKee told South Belfast Life: “To achieve this
Martin were a successful partnership in the South Belfast Youth Football League and Down & Connor Junior Leagues before Stephen McDonald, Paul Fay and myself went on to form the senior team set up just six years ago. We all have a common bond and goal to hopefully establish this 45 year old junior club as a senior force in the NAFL,” said Noel. Noel was also quick to point out how important south Belfast itself has been to the team’s success now and in the future: “We are so fortunate to have state of the art facilities in south Belfast on which to train and play our home matches at the Dub and Rathmore GS respectively, both of which are conducive to the style of football we strive to play. We all hope to give our loyal band of supporters, who brave the elements week in week out, more to cheer over the coming years though we are very aware of the tough challenges ahead with the quality of teams in the NAFL. We look forward to those challenges and to developing our junior players so as they can become successful seniors in the future.”
Back row L-R: Des Brennan (chairman) Stephen McDonald (manager) Garrett Cullen, Odhran Lenaghan, Kevin Hunter, Simon Ramsey, Richard Murphy, James McKee, Gavin McDonald, Martin Ramsey, Deccy Owens, Paddy Turley, Conor McCarthy, Daragh Reynolds (Physio), Noel McKee (manager). Front row L-R: Pascal Donnelly(manager) Conor McKenna, Conor Geoghegan, Conor Quigg, Tom Maguire, Pete McIlvenny, David Cummings, Ruairi Taylor, Ciaran Smyth, Dee Fitzpatrick and Michael McCamley. Photo courtesy of Match on Tuesday. 66 South Belfast Life