Sponsored by Douglas Credit Union Ltd.

The Street Leagues cater for boys and girls up to 10 years of age with a season covering both hurling and football. The games are not played on the streets of Douglas as the name would suggest but rather got the name from the original way it was organised. The first Street League was organised in 19yy to cater for children too young to play in the formal competitions. Teams were formed from different areas of the Parish and were named after that area. Since it humble beginnings the Street Leagues has been an integral part of the GAA scene in Douglas. Over the years the Street League committee have been improving the activities and this year was no exception.

Teams are no longer named after parish areas but are now named after the counties of Ireland, with teams from Mayo, Armagh, Dublin, Wexford etc. now a regular sight on match days. The season begins with registration and games are held on Friday nights, Saturday and Sunday mornings. Each outdoor session starts with coaching so that each player gets a chance to develop his/her skills. Teams are small in number, ranging from seven to ten players and games consist of 15 minutes per half.

The season now goes on over the whole 12 months since the GAA club have developed a fabulous new indoor facility (opened in October 1998) to provide for the winter months. Prior to the hall being built, the leagues played their indoor games in the club pavilion. Now indoor competitions are run from October to March. The first outdoor sessions are held during April and May and these cater solely for football. In June there is a change over to hurling with four weeks of enjoyment. The hard working committee then take a well earned rest for the summer and the action resumes in September with a further four weeks hurling and the outdoor season finishes with another xx weeks of football. By then it is back to the indoor scene.

At the end of each period the Street League finals are held and these are eagerly awaited by the young players. On that day the teams meet in the local Community field and parade through the village behind the Carrigaline Pipe Band to the GAA complex. There the pitches are lined out and the real action begins. All the teams play on final day and trophies are presented to all participants. As you can imagine this is a costly exercise and the club is very grateful to the Street League sponsors, the local Credit Union. The Credit Union have long been associated with the leagues and this relationship is very important to the successful running of the leagues.

The first finals of the new Millennium were held on 27th May to round off the first football session. There were six Under 10 teams, eight Under 9 and eight Under 7 teams. Team lists and pictures can be found by clicking on the relevant link.