‘We still can't believe we were chosen to go to New York’

“New YORK, New York. So good they named it twice. New York, New York all the scandal and the vice.”

So goes the words of one of the many songs inspired by the city that never sleeps. It's a place known for many things although Gaelic football is probably not high among that list - unless, of course, you're a member of the Irish community who likes to sustain some connection with the old sod.

Ol’ Blue Eyes himself also sang about New York and how “if you can make it there you can make it anywhere.”

A group of female footballers from Dunboyne are certainly hoping to make it in the Big Apple when they jet across the Atlantic to take part in 'Mothers & Others' Gaelic football tournament that promises to be a blast. The tournament is scheduled to take place in October.

They are not going to just win the thing. Rather - in the true Corinthian spirit - they are heading for the bustling metropolis to primarily take part in the tournament although, you suspect, once the ball is thrown in they will be going all out to do all they can to represent their club - St Peter's, Dunboyne and by extension the Royal county - with pride and honour. They would not have it any other way.

“There will be around 32 of us travelling to New York with coach Sean Murphy,” says Natalie Bollard one of the mothers involved in the Dunboyne group.

“The full capacity of the group is around 35 but the average turn out for our weekly training session is 20 or 25 on a good week, it can be difficult for people to get out with family and other commitments. When the children are playing a match that takes precedence. I'm a mother of two. All of us who are on the team are mammies.”

The fact that the Dunboyne Mothers & Others group are heading to New York at all is something, you suspect, the members are still getting accustomed to, because it was a project that came right out of left field.

Natalie recalls how somebody saw something on social media about the Mothers & Others tournament in New York. They mentioned it to Natalie who mentioned it to somebody who, in turn, talked to somebody else in the Dunboyne group about it. Somewhere along the line the decision was taken to apply and - surprise, surprise - the Dunboyne girls were selected to take part.

“We applied not thinking we had a chance of getting an invitation but about three weeks later we got notification saying we had been successfully chosen. We were absolutely thrilled, we couldn't believe it. We still can't believe we've been chosen to go,” says Natalie.

“There are, I think 20 groups going from Ireland but we are the only one from Meath. There will be also teams from other parts of North America, such as Boston and New York of course - and at least one from Canada. About 700 players are involved.”

There is, however, a catch. The cost of the group of Dunboyne girls heading west and staying in the Big Apple for four days will take a considerable sum of money. They will aim to raise that in the coming months. Which is where sponsorship comes in.

The Dunboyne Mothers & Others would be delighted with any donations or support as they seek to prepare for what promises to be a few days to remember Stateside.

Despite the fact winning the tournament is not big on the agenda the Dunboyne Mothers & Others want to make sure they are ready for what awaits them. “It's not a sight-seeing tour, each day will be full. The first day we arrive there is a reception then the next day there's a guided run around Central Park in preparation for the games on the Saturday and Sunday. On the Monday we fly home again.”

When Natalie Bollard took up playing Gaelic football a few years ago (because her daughter was involved with underage teams) she admits she didn't know much about the game. “Sometimes I'd kick the ball and it goes where I intended, sometimes it would land a mile away from where I intended,” she says. She stuck at it encouraged by the positivity she felt in the group.

Now she and her colleagues are on their way to the Big Apple. It's funny the twists and turns, the highways and byways, that life, and sport, can take people. New York, New York beckons.