Win tickets to see Leitrim V Roscommon

In the run up to the Leitrim V Roscommon Championship game on May 31st next Cloone GAA have launched the regions first ever online GAA competition. The free competition is being ran entirely on the clubs website and is offering people the chance to win two seated stand tickets for the big game.

The competition is free to enter and users just need to answer a simple question to be in with a chance to win the two tickets. Entry to the competition is free and people have until 8pm on Tuesday May 26th to enter. Full details are available on the clubs website at www.cloon GAA.net

 

 

15-May-09 by Cloone GAA

New ticketing arrangements for Juvenile Groups on May 31st

Please note that this information is an advance notice of new special ticketing arrangements for Juvenile Groups only.  You will be advised of the General Ticketing arrangements at a later date.

 

Please be advised that Juvenile Group Passes will be made available by Comhairle Connacht CLG for the Connacht SFC match Liatroim v Roscomain on 31 Bealtaine next.

In order to access these passes your club must make an application by email direct to Runai Comhairle Connacht CLG Sean O Pronntaigh connachtgaa@eircom.net to arrive no later than 5pm Aoine 22 Bealtaine.  No applications will be considered after this date.

 

The cost of the Juvenile Passes will be €0.50 each and there will be one complimentary adult with each 10 passes ordered by your club.

Group Passes will gain admittance to the Ground at a designated Stile only.

Please note that Group Passes apply to Under 16 only.

Please make cheques, to cover the cost of your order, payable to Comhairle Connacht CLG and send by post to Sean O Pronntaigh, Runai Comhairle Connacht CLG, Aras Connacht, Baile hAmhnais, Co. Maigh Eo.

 

These Group Passes will not gain admission to Stand at Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada.

You will be advised of the General Ticketing arrangements at a later date.

 

 

14-May-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

Clubs take centre stage on day of 125 Celebrations

Clubs take centre stage on day of 125 Celebrations
As many as 400,000 GAA members across Ireland and overseas attended club events over the weekend to celebrate Lá na gClub as part of the GAAs 125 Celebrations.

The Association is asking clubs to send their video clips and photographs to Croke Park by email for inclusion in a collection of memories of the day.

On a weekend free of competitive inter-county games, clubs across the organisation were encouraged to organise events that underlined their links with their host communities by placing a special emphasis on family, fun, games and culture.

Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Criostóir Ó Cuana praised clubs who actively supported and promoted the day across the country and expressed satisfaction that the event helped underline the special place of the club at the heart of the organisation.

He said: "Today was a special day for clubs across the country and I was privileged to be present at a number of club events over the course of the weekend to witness first hand the excellent work that our clubs are doing.

"These events offered club members involved in the various different activities of club life the chance to come together on the same occasion and celebrate their involvement and membership of the same unit.

"Our clubs lie at the heart of our Association and I believe the success of todays festivities underlined the importance of the work they do."

Clubs are asked to send their video clips and digital photographs to 125@gaa.ie to allow the association to compile a collection of the events that took place today.

 

 

10-May-09 by Croke Park

La Na gClub – Sunday May 10th

The GAAs 125 Celebrations will take on a special club focus this weekend when clubs the length and breadth of the country and those overseas celebrate Lá na gClub.

Association President Criostóir Ó Cuana has called on members everywhere to engage with their local clubs next Sunday.

Clubs have been encouraged to celebrate the GAAs century and a quarter anniversary by organising events within their communities which underline their importance to their respective areas.

A variety of different initiatives have been organised by units with a special emphasis onÓgames, culture and community on a day when no club fixtures have been scheduled.

The GAA President, who is a Youghal clubman, joined forces with Ard Stiúrthoir Páraic Duffy and Iar-Uachtarán Nioclás Ó Braonáin to shine a light on their own club allegiances and he urged members everywhere to make a special effort to ensure that Sunday is a memorable day that places our clubs – some of whom are also celebrating their 125th anniversaries – at the heart of the Associations 125 calendar.

He said: "Our home club is where it begins for us all and for that reason it occupies a special place in us all. Its where we are first introduced to the games and it very quickly assumes a badge of identity that in many cases comes second only to our family allegiances.

"Sunday is all about highlighting the incredible work that our clubs do in every community in Ireland and re-affirming the place of the club at the very heart of the organisation.

"Some of our older club units are also celebrating their 125th anniversaries, which is testament to the massive and long standing contributions that they make to the fabric of the communities they interact with and serve so well.

"I acknowledge the superb work overseen by our volunteers in clubs everywhere and hope that the GAA will be as well served by its members in the years ahead as it has been since its inception back in 1884."

 

 

08-May-09 by Croke Park

Dromahair – Best of Luck from Leitrim Supporters

Message to Dromahair:

The Clubs of Leitrim, Leitrim County Board and the Leitrim Supporters in Dublin would like to wish St Patricks Dromahair the very best of luck in tomorrow s final in Parnell Park.

"Wishing Katherine Lynch & Dromahaire the best of luck in the final from Eamonn Duignan, Mike Feeney and all the Leitrim Supporters in Dublin."

 

 

 

06-May-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

Celebrity Bainisteoir – The Semi Final

Congratulations to Dromahair who won their semifinal by 1 point.  Final score line 2-06 to Rockwell Rovers 0-11.  They are now through to the final in Parnell Park on May 8th. 

Report to follow later …

 

 

11-Apr-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

Winners of Supporters Draw 09

Last night (Friday), 20th March, the draw was held for the Leitrim Supporters Members 2009 in The Bush Hotel. The Draw was a huge success and set a new record with over € 105,000 raised.  This is a fantastic achievement considering the current economic climate – many thanks to all of our valued supporters !

The 11 winners, in reverse order, are:

11th Prize:
Alan Banks (Ballinamore) won €300 – sponsored by Commercial Hotel, Ballinamore

10th Prize:
Joe Flynn (snr) (St, Marys Close, Carrick) won €300 – sponsored sponsored by Aoife Gorman, Longford

9th Prize:
John Joe Gilmartin (Ballinaglera ) won €300 – sponsored by Gerry ORourke, Longford

8th Prize:
Sean McWeeney (Hartley, Carrick) won €300 – sponsored by Gerry Murray, Foodstore, Sligo

7th Prize:
Seamus Gilligan (Gortnaskea, Manorhamilton) won €300 – sponsored by Sean Clarke, Rynn Valley Lodge Hotel, Mohill

6th Prize:
Olive Heslin (Drumgowlan, Mohill) won Tricity Bendix Washing Machine – sponsored by Reynolds Topline Providers, Carrick

5th Prize:
Eddie Byrne (C/O JJ Duffy Dublin) won Plasma Screen TV – sponsored by Berney Crossan Electrical, Longford

4th Prize:
Eddie Fitzpatrick (New York) won €500 – sponsored by Joe Layden, Priory Hall, Dublin

3rd Prize:
Enda Stenson (Eslin) won Weekend Break for 2 – sponsored by McNiffe Group Hotels

2nd Prize:
Peter & Bridie Flynn (Aughnasheelinl) won €2,000 – sponsored by Kevin Quinn, Embassy Rooms, Sligo

 

1st Prize:
BrendanÓgallagher Snr (Lucan) won €5,000 – sponsored by The Bush Hotel.

 

 

Clubs Sales Draw:

Clubs who increased sales from last year were in a separate draw and the two winners are :

Kiltubrid – €2,000

Ballinaglera – €1,000

 

Many thanks to all our supporters, our sponsors, our sellers and to the fundraising committee.

Congratulations to the 11 lucky winners !

 

 

21-Mar-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

Final push for Supporters Club Draw

This Friday March 20th the highly anticipated draw of the Leitrim Supporters Club takes place.

With only days to go the incentives for entering have never been higher as ticket purchasers will not only be in with a chance of winning the €5,000 top prize but also be able to give some much needed assistance to the countys major GAA projects.

Since the Supporters club was launched at the Herbert Park Hotel in Dublin in January interest in the draw has been as high as in previous years. This is due much in part to the healthy prospects of Gaelic games in the county which has seen some major progress both on and off the field. At the launch Chairman of Leitrim County Board, Gerry McGovern spoke of some of these project. In the run to Fridays draw he again explained what these were with particular attention to the state of the art facilities that have already been put in place at Pairc Sean and will be put in place at the Centre of Excellence in Annaduff. "We have been very busy in the county implementing a number of major developments. The stand at Pairc Sean has been completed and is great success. We have also bought the Centre of Excellence to a level where it is ready to go to the stage. The stand has already cost €3.2million and the training ground is going to cost in the vicinity of €1 million."

In addition to these infrastructual developments, the county board have also set the wheels in motion for bringing better training methods to teams throughout the county. The seeds are being set for success at inter-county, club and underage levels, all of which bring additional costs. "Another development has been the introduction of high profile coaches for the countys senior team. Not only will these development players at the level but it will also hopefully improve the overall development of teams throughout the county," continued Gerry.

In its 23rd year the Supporters Club in Dublin have had a major role in bringing the county to a stage where it can compete on all fronts. Ahead of Fridays event all clubs in Leitrim have been furnished with tickets and with all things taken into considerationÓgerry is hopeful that the target can be met with one final push from gaels around the county. "The county board are very much dependent on the loyalty of supporters. This draw assists greatly in the day to day running of Leitrim GAA affairs. We are looking to gather in the region of €110,000 and are hoping that a final push can be made to reach that. The response has been fantastic to date and in these last few days everybody club can sell their allocation I am confident that we can reach that target and maybe do more."

 

 

13-Mar-09 by Supporters Club

Celebrity Bainisteoir – The Cuala experience

Up for the match Friday night 6th March in Cuala GAA Club Dalkey

Des Cahill interviewed George Hook, Paddy Cullen, Katherine Lynch and Mickey Quinn before a large attendance in Cuala Clubhouse on Friday night’s up for the match. The general view from the George & Paddy  camp was that it really was a David v Goliath affair and it was great Dromahaire were coming up to give them a game.  The Cuala Club  have sixty five teams  (yes 65) so no one could argue with the description. However George Hook did mention that he felt Dromahair  were a lot better than he was led to believe and he felt Katherine Lynch was telling him loads of sad tales of injuries, players not turning up for training etc. Katherine Lynch knows her football and knows exactly what she is doing. She grew up in a GAA house with Maureen & Tom dissecting every game played by Mohill over the last thirty years. The Cuala management team seemed cocky of winning and were not shy about showing it.  The advance party of Dromahair supporters were looking worried at this stage but when Des Cahill asked Mickey Quinn’s wife Mary to the stage to sing Lovely Leitrim she really got the Dromahair supporters in the right frame of mind for the big weekend ahead.

 

Match Day

On a beautiful sunny & mild day, streets in Dalkey  were closed off around the Cuala Pitch to facilitate the crowds. The population of Dromahair seemed to be in Dalkey and  Dublin based Leitrim supporters all travelled to the beautiful Dublin village. Gerry McGovern Chairman of Leitrim County Board took the train to Dalkey and on his way met up with  the one  and only Peter Gordon originally from Mohill. They were met at Dalkey station and taken to the venue via a guided tour of Dalkey. A number of supporters travelled from other clubs in the county to support the Dromahair team.

 

Who was there?.

Celebrity Bainisteoir is a Televised national event. Where there is a camera you will find a politician. Among the politicians present were Mary Hanafin, Barry Andrews, Sean Barrett, John Bailey, Mary Lou McDonald & Gay Mitchell. I am sure there were many others there I did not see or know.   Two Leitrim men heavily involved in the Cuala club are Willie McHugh ( Mohill) and Enda McGowan ( son of Aidan McGowan Kinlough).  Both men made Leitrim people especially welcome and the family atmosphere  of the club reflects their massive contribution to it.

 

The venue

Cuala venue was expecting a large crowd and they got it.Marquees were set up in the ground where tea, coffee sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers were all available for young and old. All age groups were facilitated. In the club house you could get hot food and a beer, and mix with supporters from both clubs. Everything was in place for a wonderful game.

 
The game

Dromahair received a massive welcome on to the pitch from its supporters. When Katherine Lynch appeared on the pitch and waved to the supporters the place went wild with supporters shouting Dromahair –Dromahair.  The players told me afterwards it was unbelievable to hear the supporters shouting Dromahair.  The game itself will be shown on TV shortly and will be worth watching. It will go down as one of the longest matches ever played  as it  involved  normal time ( 60 minutes) + extra time ( 2 x 10 minutes) + extra time ( 2 x x5 minutes ).  The winning score for Dromahair came with the last kick of the game and sent their supporters wild with delight. Grown men hugged and kissed each other, and there was a few women hugged as well. I witnessed one supporter hugging a tree.

 
After the game

Supporters converged on the pitch  and were very reluctant to leave it. While the players were absolutely brilliant all the supporters sought out Mickey Quinn & Katherine Lynch. The team were brilliantly prepared and played with pride, passion, confidence  and intelligence.

As a player Mickey never accepted defeat and you could see his input all over the team. Katherine loves a bit of fun but when a job needs to be done no better woman than Katherine. It was like 1994 when Leitrim won the Connacht Championship. It was a very special  day.

Apres Match

RTE’S 1 afternoon TV presenter Blathnaid Ni Chofaigh conducted the after match interviews in a packed club house with George Hook, Katherine Lynch & Mickey Quinn. The Dromahair supporters seemed  to outnumber the locals such was the excitement with the victory. Paddy Cullen did not attend and the Cuala gang were in total shock. George Hook certainly was shocked and thanked all his Cuala players and the Cuala club for all the support they gave him. Such was his state of shock he forgot to congratulate Dromahair. When Mickey Quinn & Katherine Lynch spoke the clubhouse roared its approval. David has slainÓgoliath and every  Dromahair supporter  present had been part of a very special day.

 

 

10-Mar-09 by

Niamh wins Connacht GAA Sports Writer award

Carrick Communitys School Niamh Spellman was recently selected as the Connacht Junior female sports writer for 2008.

The award, a fabulous piece of Galway crystal was presented at the Connacht Council GAA Banquet and awards night which was held at the TF Royal Theatre in Castlebar on Friday, February 20.

A daughter of well-known referee Gerry Spellman, Niamh, who is a transition year student in the Carrick school, writes sports reports and articles for school and has had some of her work published locally.

Towards the end of last year she sent a selection of her articles and reports to Ita Hannon from the Connacht Ladies GAA council. Her submission on the effects the educational cuts announced in last Octobers budget will have on team sport in her school drew very positive attention and helped clasp this coveted title for the young Leitrim Gaels girl.

One of the main topics of focus in that particular article was the impact of the cuts on the journey of the Carrick-on-Shannon junior Ladies football team through the Connacht league which was ongoing at the time and how best to minimise the effects of the cuts on the games. Niamh, herself plays inÓgoals for this team.

The awards on the night were introduced by another well known woman in sports journalism, Angelina nÓgent, sports editor with Mid-West Radio.

Niamh said she was thrilled to have won this award – "Its a great achievement and its great to be recognised for something that you like doing and are good at." she commented. Niamh concluded by thanking all who made it possible.

 

 

This full report is available thanks to the Leitrim Observer
– it s available in this weeks edition of the Observer and online here

 

 

 

 

05-Mar-09 by LeitrimObserver.ie

NFL – Rd 1 – London v Leitrim

A goal from debutant DeclanÓgilhooly in the 50th minute proved decisive for Leitrim in their five-point victory over London at Ruislip yesterday.

The Exiles had taken a deserved three-point lead to the dressing room at half-time after playing with a considerable breeze.

After Leitrim took the lead through a fortuitous Declan Maxwell goal in the fifth minute, London battled well to overcome the conditions and reply with two goals through Peadar Friel three minutes later and a fine solo effort from Michael McGill in the 13th minute to take a four-point lead.

Despite adding two pointed frees through Chris Eastwood within 10 minutes of the resumption, Gilhoolys goal put the visitors back into a lead they never relinquished as they went on to dominate the last quarter with five unanswered frees and run out worthy winners.

ScórERS — Leitrim: E Mulligan 0-7(4f), D Maxwell, D Gilhooly 1-0 each, D ODonnell 0-2, R Cox, D OConnor, S Foley 0-1 each. London: C Eastwood 0-4(2f), P Friel 1-1, M McGill 1-0, A Casey, E OCuiv 0-1 each.

Leitrim — E Lyons; M McGuinness, J McKeon, B McWeeney; B Price, M Duignan, A OFlynn; G McCloskey, N Doonan; E Mulligan, D Maxwell, D ODonnell; R Cox, T Beirne, D Gilhooly. Subs: D OConnor for D ODonnell (47), J Holohan for D Gilhooly (65), S Foley for A OFlynn (65).

London — B McBrearty; D Conlon, P Malone, B Comer; C Beirne, E O Cuiv, J Callery; P Geraghty, B McGuigan; O Coffey, M McGill, C Eastwood; P Friel, A Casey, J Cott. Subs: G OHare for B McGuigan (ht), B Quinn for J Cott (53), P Duffy for C Eastwood (53), M Hughes for A Casey (y/c 26), A Murray for P Friel (y/c 32).

REF — Thomas Quigley (Dublin).

 

 

02-Feb-09 by Irish Independant.ie

Leitrim & Tyrone jersies auction highlight of fundraiser for Honduras

This June, Killargue girl, Laura Feeney, will be among one of a group of twenty from NUI Galway that will travel to the central American country of Honduras.

Far from it being a holiday Laura and the group will be building houses with Habitat for Humanity (HFH) for those affected by the catastrophic Hurricane Mitch that swept across Central America in 1998. She is not the only person travelling from Leitrim with Manorhamiltons Christina Fox and Louise Huston from Cloone joining her on the excursion.

In order to assist the fundraising of €3,000 for Laura to attend this worthwhile project a very special event is taking place in Dromahaire this Friday evening (January 30th) at the Clubhouse. The function is sure to appeal to all interests with the highlight of the night being the auctioning of a Tyrone GAA jersey signed by the 2008 All-Ireland winning panel.
The first event begins with Bernie Delaney, Style coach. Not only will you have an enjoyable time you will also leave knowing how to look and feel your best as Bernie will give tips on how to analyse body shapes, wearing appropriate clothing for your age and shape. Using accessories wisely as a cover-up or to enhance areas and features. How to be the best you can be every day.

In addition there will be ideas for making your wardrobe function better including de-cluttering and re-organising tips. Skin and hair tips will also be given on the night and there will be lots of opportunities to ask questions and to get advice. Entry for this event is €10 and tickets can be purchased in advance from Anne Kelly at (071) 649164572.
Talented local musician Padraig Sweeney will then provide music on the night and set the tone for a special draw which is taking place. A number of wonderful prizes have been offered as part of the raffle. First Prize is a Hotel Break for two at any of the McEniff Hotels, second Prize is a €100 voucher for the River Bank Restaurant Dromahair, third prize is €50 with a fourth prize is a bottle of Brandy.

The auction of the jersey signed by the team that stopped Kerrys three-in-a-row last September will conclude proceedings. But for those who may miss out on this a Leitrim jersey signed by all of Mickey Morans troops will also be auctioned off on the night also.
On top of all this there is sure to be some lively banter with refreshments being served throughout.

Laura says: "As Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere the people there are still suffering the effects of the devastating hurricane. As a team we will work with local people to build new home during our three-week visit. As volunteers we will be working under supervision of local skilled tradespeople, doing jobs such as bricklaying, carpentry, plastering and painting. We will be work with local families who will live in the homes.
"Hopefully the event this Friday will be a success. There is something there for everybody, both male and female, young and old. For those who have supported me together with anybody that comes this Friday I want thank them in advance for their support. It is a great cause"

For further information please contact Stephen Feeney @ (086) 0663228

 

 

23-Jan-09 by Submitted