Archive for category: Club Football

The first of 10 championship weekends is over in the Senior and Intermediate campaigns and 8 out of 12 teams in both sections have taken to the field in an attempt to set out their respective stalls.

Saturday provided 4 games in total with double headers in Páirc Seán and Ballinamore as the competitions opened at 6pm.  In Carrick it was Mohill who saw off Annaduffs challenge in the first game and Melvin Gaels who pulled a draw out of the fire as they scored a goal in the last kick of the game in injury time against Allen Gaels (who led throughout).

In Ballinamore the Intermediate championship started with Fenagh St Caillins against Aughawillan and Aughawillan finished the better by 1 goal after the 6pm throw-in.  At 7:30pm Drumreilly and Kiltubrid took to the field, the green and reds got on top early on and maintained their lead despite a strong challenge from Drumreilly in the second half.

On Sunday all the action was in Ballinamore and Ballinaglera with Allen Gaels second team taking on Cloones first string at 2pm in a game that proved very 1 sided with Cloone registering a large tally.  At 2:30pm over in Ballinaglera it was Drumkeerin and Glenfarne/Kilty who fought out a hard earned draw.  The final game was back in Ballinamore in a Senior affair as Division 2 title holders Carrigalen took on debutantes Aughnasheelin in a game that ended with a Carrigallen victory.

The coming bank holiday weekend will provide lots of entertainment over the 3 days as 12 games are in the pipeline in Senior & Intermediate round 2 fixtures and the opening round of Junior A.

26-Jul-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

In the run up to the Club Championship it is desired to have the forthcoming years county management team in place and available to attend as many games as possible where they can observe club players playing at their peak.  This will be the case for this years championship starting on Saturday as Mickey Moran and John Morrison have been ratified as the team Managers at last nights county board meeting held in Páirc Seán.  The clubs of the county reflected on the new managements first year which didn’t live up to earlier expectations but none the less voted in favour of returning the outgoing Managers and selector Martin McGowan to the helm for 2010.

22-Jul-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

With the Championship just around the corner and on track for 3 weekends time the next two weekends are going to be taken up with league fixtures including 2 league finals.

Division 1 – Kiltubrid lead the way with Glencar/Manor and St Marys in close pursuit. Kiltubrid have led for some months now but they and Glencar/Manor have 8 played while 5 teams directly below have games in hand so it will be a very tight and interesting finish to the league which will not be completed this side of the club championship. Gortletteragh look to be in trouble at the bottom and Aughawillan, Melvin Gaels and Ballinamore/SOH will all be trying to avoid the other relegation place.

Division 2 – We have a Final here and it is scheduled for Wednesday week at 8pm in Páirc Seán. Carrigallen and Dromahair have been head to head all season and have been clear leaders for some time. 3 other fixtures will be played this weekend and Round 9 is the full round that remains to finish up the season and decise the relegation placings. Annaduff, St Marys, Cloone Drumkeerin and Glenfarne/Kilty are in the danger area.

Division 3 – Ballinaglera and Glencar/Manor are in the Final which will be played on Sunday in Páirc Seán at 2pm. Only one other fixture remains which is not needed to calculate relegation places and with that Drumkeerin and Annaduff will move down a division for the 2010 season.

Division 4 – Kiltubrid lead the way here with Leitrim Gaels first team close by. There was the distinct possibility of a final this weekend had Leitrim Gaels overcome Allen Gaels to remain in the top berths but that loss may be costly as the door is now open for Ballinamore to cause an upset and create a playoff situation should they win their remaining 2 fixtures. St Marys and Glencar/Manor are sweating at the other end.

Division 5 – There is only one direction to go in this division and thats up as the bottom teams dont have relegation to worry about. At the business end of this mammoth 14 team division Carrigallen and Aughnasheelin are flying and with 15 fixtures in total left to play they are almost safe. Friday nights game between Aughnasheelin and Allen Gaels will determine when the final will be played.  The boots will definitely be well worn after this division is played out as it contained 91 fixtures in total.

So two finals to look forward to before the Club Championship which is on schedule for the July 25th throw-in. The league situation never looked better for the time of year and the early start to the year looks to have paid off handsomely.

07-Jul-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

The Leitrim Senior team and panel to play Longford on Saturdays Qualifier encounter in Carrick is listed below. Note that Players numbered from 17 to 24 are listed alphabetically by first name as is the practice for all Senior team announcements for 2009.

1 Enda Lyons
2 Michael McGuinness
3 Pat Gilmartin
4 Dermot Reynolds
5 Gary Reynolds
6 John McKeon
7 Barry Prior
8 Gary McCloskey
9 Shane Canning
10 Michael Foley
11 Declan Maxwell
12 Philip McGuinness
13 David O Connor
14 Tomás Beirne
15 James Glancy

16 Noel Gill
17 Adrian O Flynn
18 Barry McWeeney
19 BrendanÓgallagher
20 Brendan Guckian
21 Colm Clarke
22 Damien ODonnell
23 Daniel Beck
24 Darren Duignan
25 Darren Sweeney
26 DeclanÓgilhooly
27 James Glancy
28 James Holohan
29 Paddy McGowan
30 Ray Cox
 

02-Jul-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

The club leagues have never been in better shape at this time of the year as we creep closer to the club championship season. Some divisions have only a small number of rounds left before they are completed and in Division 2 its possible that a final could be played shortly as the two teams on top cannot be overtaken. Credit for this must go to the Clubs for permitting the League season to start earlier this years due to an opportunistic break in the Intercounty Allianz National League and also to the Leitrim CCC for spotting the opportunity and keeping a tight reign on proceedings plus ensuring everything has run smoothly. It must also be said that the weather has less of an impact on postponements this year than in recent years.

As we head into the championship does the league form indicate whats to come in the championship ? Time will tell but its not always a real indicator as certain teams peak at championship when the appear only average during the league.

In Division 1 some teams have as little as 3 games to play while others have 4 or more. Kiltubrid top the table but Glencar/Manor and St Marys follow closely. At the other end Aughawillan and Gortletteragh could face relegation.

Division 2 could possible have their final shortly as indicated at last nights county board meeting. Carrigallen and Dromahair are clear table toppers on equal points and are in the final. St Marys and Annaduff may be in trouble at the other end as there are only 1 full round of games to be played in the final round 9 and 3 games in round 8.

Division 3 is also in a very healthy state as 11 games remain out of 45 and Ballinaglera and Fenagh St Caillins lead the way. Annaduff are in trouble at the bottom end and any one of 3 teams could fill the 2nd relegation place.

Division 4 has a total of 66 games (11 rounds) and 47 are completed to date. As it enters the final stages Leitrim Gaels are clear table toppers with Kiltubrid and Dromahair in 2nd and 3rd. St Marys and Glencar/Manor are in the danger zone at the other end of the table.

If you want games then Division 5 is the place to be as these teams have 13 rounds to complete throughout the season. This competition is currently two thirds completed with 32 games left out of a total of 91. Carrigallen lead the way with Aughnasheelin in close pursuit.

The overall figures show that out of the 313 league games 93 remain which is 30% and is very good going for the middle of June. It goes to show that an early start to the season complemented by few postponements means that there is less of a chance of playing end of league crucial games in the winter months !

16-Jun-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

Sean OHeslins, one of the legendary clubs of Leitrim GAA, has seen many big occasions but this coming weekend will be one of their greatest ever. The culmination of seven years of work comes on Sunday next when Uachtarán Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Criostóir Ó Cuana, officially opens the new Páirc Sheáin Uí Eislin.

Páirc Sheáin Uí Eislin was the first GAA-owned grounds in Leitrim when it first opened in 1952. For years it was the main County grounds and hosted County Finals, Connacht Championships and many big games. Indeed National League games were played there until the early 1990s. However, it was prone to flooding and many a game had to be changed elsewhere even in summertime.

In 2002 the club embarked on a major development the like of which had not been seen in Leitrim before. The main pitch was intensively drained and is now the best in the County. The club then developed a second pitch, something which is common in many counties but not in Leitrim. The second pitch is also a Prunty pitch and is as good as the main one. The final phase was the development of a stand and dressingrooms and other facilities. The stand can seat nearly 800 people. There are four dressingrooms underneath as well as referees rooms etc. Upstairs there is a gym and clubrooms.

On next weekend there are a series of activities, details of which can be seen in the Leitrim Observer. The official opening is on Sunday at 3.00pm. Local clubs Aughawillan, Aughnasheelin, Drumreilly and Fenagh as well as Sean OHeslins will partake in a tournament for the Thomas Galligan Memorial Cup.

The club has also produced a DVD history which will be launched in Priors Lounge on Saturday night by Uachtarán, Críostóir Ó Cuana, at 9.30. This will be a wonderful look at the history of a famous club in all its aspects. It will be on sale after the launch as well as in the pitch on Sunday and in local shops.

All of the Gaels of Leitrim are invited to the opening on Sunday. Admission is free. Agus tá fáilte roimh gach duine.

19-May-09 by Sean o Suiilleabhan