Barretstown the benefactors as friends and family remember the late Ellen Kinch
She died in 2007 following a brave battle against cancer, but the community in Tinahely and its surrounds had long rallied behind her and her family by then. This helped her to get the very most from her 16 years, and 18 years on from her passing, her family still feels that support locally and from further afield.
We see it every year at the Ellen Kinch Memorial competitions, which have become something of a festival of Ladies Football since their foundation in 2008. In the interim, the event has raised north of €40,000 for Barretstown, a cause that's close to the Kinch family's heart for good reason.
'When Ellen attended Crumlin Children's Hospital, they organised for us, as a family, to go up to Barretstown,' Ellen's sister, Jackie Kinch, a former Wicklow footballer, told The Wicklow People and The Bray People. 'We spent a weekend there, and it was one of the standout moments during her illness for us as a family; they were all very, very good to us above there, they gave us a nice memory to hold on to, and the care they gave her was second to none.'
Jackie was speaking ahead of her family's cheque presentation to Barretstown, proceeds raised from yet another successful staging of this fantastic event. Those funds clocked in at approximately €5,000 on this occasion.
But while the competitive side of things is very much secondary to what the tournaments raise for charity, there are titles up for grabs nonetheless. Host club Tinahely's second team lost out to An Tóchar in the B Division final in 2025, but Jackie and her team-mates couldn't be denied in a competitive A Final against Wexford side Baile Dubh. It wasn't Jackie's first time claiming the trophy bearing her sister's name, but the high of doing so has not diminished one bit.
'We had previously won it in the past, but we have won it the last couple of years, and we've been lucky to be able to retain the cup!' she said. 'But it's very important, and it's nice to be able to bring it back to the club, there is a sense of pride in it, and it's important to us as a family.'
Jackie thanked everyone involved in making the day a success yet again, including volunteers, referees, and Tinahely for making their facilities available. There was, also, a world of gratitude for the 15 participant teams, which included four 'Mothers and Others' outfits.
'You could never thank people enough for the support they give us every year,' Jackie said. 'The same faces keep coming back, year in, year out, and it's great to have their support and their help.'
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