Noonan adds expertise to Naomh Bhríde sideline
Michael Noonan on water boy duty for Naomh Bhríde Photo: James Lawlor
Naomh Bhríde had the help of some top level expertise on their sideline as they competed in the Minor ‘B’ Football Championship Final at Cedral St Conleths Park on Saturday afternoon.
Shamrock Rovers and Republic of Ireland Under 21 striker Michael Noonan acted as waterboy during the game for the Ellistown and Nurney amalgamation team.
Noonan had played almost 65 minutes the night before as Rovers were beaten by St Pats and their wait to get their hands on Premier Division trophy goes on for another week at least.
The hugely talented youngster has a lot on his plate at the moment with Rovers inching towards clinching the league, and they have an FAI Cup Final and UEFA Conference League games next month. Noonan also has an Under 17 World Cup in Qatar early in November on his horizon and he tried to do what he could from the sidelines to inspire Naomh Bhríde to victory.
On the pitch, Naomh Bhríde were also able to call on an international athlete as they fielded Theo Hanlon, who represented Ireland in the U20 European Championships in the shot putt last August. Since the end of the athletic season, Hanlon has been focused on GAA and turned out for Nurney during the Intermediate Championship to good effect.
Despite all that, Naomh Bhríde were still beaten by their opponents St Oliver Plunketts, who came out on top by just a single point after extra time in a thrilling final.
