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CATHAL Brugha's Deirdre Cassidy got a pleasant surprise this week when she was offered and
accepted the captaincy of the Ireland women's water polo team that plays in a four-nation tournament at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin on Saturday and Sunday.
The St Dominic's Girls Grammar School PE and Biology teacher has a record of achievement which takes some beating.
She has competed in European and Commonwealth Championships, has three Irish Senior Cup and National League winners' medals and has been twice selected on the Allstar team of the year.
She is joined on the team that plays Denmark, Scotland and Wales by Brugha colleagues Lynn Hanna-Short, Orla Monaghan and the Cooke sisters - Caoimhe and Dearbhaile - and is still a bit overwhelmed by the way things have turned out. "I was happy enough just to make the team, but the captaincy is the cream.
I am honoured and delighted," she said last night.
Setanta's Declan McKerr is the team coach with Elaine Alexander (Donegall Diamonds) acting as chef d'equip. Apart from Aoife Murray (Glenalbyn) the rest of the team come from St Vincent's and consists of Orla Mahon, Laura and Jennifer Murphy, Selina Smellers, Lisa Kelly, Mairead and Roisin Baker and Sinead McArdle.
The Ireland games are against Wales (Saturday, 2.45pm), Denmark (Sunday, 10.15am) and Scotland (Sunday, 3.45pm).
The Johnston brothers - Kevin and Conor - from Clonard are the only Ulster players on the men's team that competes against the same countries, also at the NAC this weekend.
Coach Mick Banks (Sandycove) has
gone for a somewhat experimental team as he looks forward to the six-nation tournament in Malta next month.
It is as follows: Eoin Doyle, Gavin Curley (captain), Barry Murphy and Josh Reilly (all Sandycove), Shane Moraghan, Jozsef Krejak and Mark Fitzgerald (Half Moon), Eoin Nolan, Eoin Bridgeman and Adam Caulfield (St Vincent's), Jamie Cope (North Dublin) and Ben Matthews (London Penguin). The man in charge of the party is Clonard's very capable Ian McComish.
The Ireland games are against Wales (Saturday, 12noon), Scotland (Saturday, 5.45pm) and Denmark (Sunday, 1pm).
On the administration scene, things seem to be settling down somewhat after three months of uncertainty following the AGM when the meeting ended without a treasurer, secretary or fixtures secretary.
Former fixtures secretaries Declan McKerr and Cara Mulcahy, with the help of a few others, stepped in and have produced a programme with the first series of games scheduled for September 28.
Swim Ireland has taken over the day-to-day running of water polo but it is expected that a new committee will quickly be in place and that things will be restored to full working order.