Barnhall J4 player, John Enright has been selected on the Ireland International Aussie Rules team for the upcoming International Cup in Sydney and Melbourne this August. Despite fierce competition John came through the selection process and was named as one of the 14 elite players travelling from Ireland. An additional 16 players were selected from players living and playing in Australia.
The extremely talented team contains a number of players playing intercounty football with Laois, Westmeath, Antrim, Leitrim and Roscommon. Included in the squad is Westmeath player John Heslin who will be starting life as a professional sportsman with AFL club Richmond in November. Ex-AFL player and Laois star Conor Meredith is also named on the team. Former Kerry u-21 player, Mike Finn will be looking to add to his player-of-the-tournament medal from 2008.
This is the fourth running of the competition and this year teams from 22 other countries will be competing in the prestigious tournament. The competition will take place over two weeks in Sydney and Melbourne this august. Ireland won the inaugural tournament in 2002, finished 4th in 2005 and 4th again in 2008. The favourites for this year’s competition will be Papa New Guinea and New Zealand with Ireland expected to push them both. Irelands opening game will be against local rivals Great Britian and having beaten them twice already this year, Ireland will be confident of a result.
“I’m really looking forward to the competition – it’s a great opportunity to test yourself against the best in the world in your chosen sport” said John on this year’s competition. “We’ve a great team heading out and we’ll be looking to do well. After winning the European Championships last year, confidence is high and we’ll be looking to push on from that result.”
John is running a raffle to raise much needed funds and if you’d like to support him in then you can donate any amount and be entered into the draw for a five night stay with dinner and excursions in beautiful Glengarriff in west Cork. All the details can be found here http://www.sponsorjohnenright.com
Lesley Aitken and Aoife Donovan have also been named on the womens team that will be competing in the first womens international tournament.
