ILL Allstars Take on Bluesfest

bluesfest
National Team Players prepared for the upcoming World Championships at a recent tournament in London
and an exhibition game in New York, and members of the Irish men’s development team who will play in
the Festival of Lacrosse, also in Manchester next month, were in action too.

In London, National Team members Sean Bodie, Sean Gibson, Zak Jordan, Paddy O’Leary, Michael Kennedy,
and Kevin Quinn helped the Irish side to a 6th place finish among 24 men’s teams at Bluesfest 2010.
In New York National team members Mike Conway, Dan Leidl, Ryan Licht, Kevin Owens, Kris Prior, Tom
Riley and Conner Sweeney helped the Irish exhibition team defeat the East End Lacrosse Club, 14-13, in
overtime in a game hosted by the Oak Neck Athletic Association.

National Team member and Irish Lacrosse League (ILL) President Paddy O’Leary submitted this report about
the action in London:

On June 12th and 13th, the men’s ILL Allstars competed at Bluesfest 2010 at the Walcountian Blues Lacrosse
club, London, as well as the Irish Women’s Development team. With six players from Dublin, three each from
Galway and UCD, and two each from Trinity and Belfast, the team represented all of the ILL’s competing clubs.
Many of these players will be competing in the upcoming World Championships, and more will play on the Irish
Development team in the Festival of Lacrosse (see team list below). Editor’s note – Kevin Kavanagh, Rick Iacopelli and Brendan Chillemi from the Development team played in the game in New York.

Bluesfest is the biggest summer tournament in Britain, with 24 men’s and 12 women’s teams. With several of the teams stacked with English and Welsh internationals and American LDOs, the ILL team faced a real challenge.
The ILL Allstars played great lacrosse, winning four games, drawing one and losing two. After a semifinal loss to the touring team, Jedi Lax, on Sunday morning, they showed a huge improvement and knocked out the Welsh
touring side, Sheeps Leeks Lax, 6-3. We finished in a reputable 6th place after running the Sheffield University side (Samba Lax) close before two late goals led Samba Lax to a 4-2 victory. This team had a number of Welsh national side players, so it was great for the Irish guys to get a shot at players they may meet in Manchester this summer.

Bluesfest was a very positive way for our players to prepare for the World’s and Festival. As a group of guys who have never played together on the same team we played with heart and grit, and finished in an amazing 6th place from 24 teams.

ILL Men’s Allstars – Roster

Ireland National Team

Kevin Quinn (UCD)
Zak Jordan (UCD)
Paddy O’Leary (Dublin)
Mike Kennedy (Dublin)
Sean Gibson (Dublin)
Sean Bodie (Dublin)

Ireland Development Team

James Agar (Dublin)
Paul Murran (Dublin)
Cillian Murphy (UCD)
Ryan Doran (Galway)
Sonny Campbell (Galway)
Ian Coughlan (Galway)
Jonny Burke (Galway)
Peter Kehoe (Trinity)
Shane Garahy (Trinity)

Tom Charters from Belfast also played for the ILL Allstars, and Gary Wall, from the Ireland development team,
played for Bath University.

The Irish Women’s development team played against some of the top English touring sides, including Gin & Juice, a side dominated by former American college players. They finished in a great 5th place from the 12 teams.

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