By Shay Connolly
By Shay Connolly |
Hi Folks. Enjoying the beautiful weather I hope. Wonderful it surely is but even wonders have a price. Believe it or not folks, we are praying for rain. “Ah will you stop,” I hear you say, but we need the rain to keep our pitches in good order. So we would be grateful if you go down on bended knees and ask the good Lord himself to bring us tears from the sky. We don’t need an ‘Irish summer’ but we do need a couple of rainy days. What happens on these pitches is what we are all about and let me fill you in on the goings on since the last edition. The Juveniles are approaching their mid-term break. Pride of place goes to the U11 girls who captured the league title and U11 footballers who won the county Championship. O’Dempseys from Laois paid us a return visit after we journeyed there earlier this year. The preparation was unbelievable. Not to be outdone by the hospitality on that trip, mothers were busily making cakes, scones, tarts and a list of confectionary that even this much-travelled scribe never heard of. Deirdre McGrath was the Darina Allen of the whole show, calling to the parents’ homes the night before tasting and sampling all the food in preparation. In one of these visits Alice Foley told her politely where to put her opinions before flicking jam and cream at her going out the door. However a brave front was put up by all the aspiring chefs for the visit and in the end O’Dempseys conceded the hospitality contest when they could eat no more. With all the splendid dishes on display no one bothered watching the match at all, much to the delight of the young teams involved. Reports from that quarter suggest we sneaked it by a couple of points. Ballina School also paid us a visit in the past month for the annual Moclair Cup contest with Star of the Sea school. There were no fancy doughnuts here as Ballina, despite losing the second leg, won the overall trophy on aggregate scoring. Everyone had a bag of chips afterward with a string of chicken thrown in and there wasn’t a scrap left for the Brent Geese. Staying with the Juveniles, they ran their annual fundraiser in the Function Hall on June 25th; poncho in Chief, Ken O’Byrne, threw down the gauntlet by demanding that all and sundry had to buy a horse for this much-needed fundraiser. Penalty for failing to do so was 60 press-ups in the Hurling Wall arena the following morning. The parents who attended were aghast at the newly-refurbished Function Hall in all its glory, with flashing lights and pink elephants bombarding the walls throughout the night. This was a night for the young parents as they danced the night away after all the races were run. Pat Duffy didn’t like it at all. He sulked away in the corner chanting “why can’t we have a sing song?” Bernard Barron tried to console him by bringing him out the back where Pat sang ‘Four Roads to Glenamaddy’ into his ear ever so quietly. After Dave Walsh’s escapades last year he had to be frisked on the way in and security kept a close eye on him throughout, especially when he did ‘The Walls of Limerick’ at the end of the night. Mentioning Pat Duffy and Ken O’Byrne, Pat and Ken are resurrecting the ancient game of Rounders for the summer break every Tuesday night at 7.00. Anyone interested in this ‘great craic’ sport please meet at Clubhouse each Tuesday at 7.00 or phone Pat Duffy at 086-8316827. Bats and balls will be provided. These long-suffering mentors in the Juvenile section brought all the kids to Croke Park to view the wonderful museum there and again for Dublin’s opening round championship match against Wexford. It was bad enough having to control over 100 youngsters, but having to watch Dublin’s display was much worse that anything a 100-plus kids could get up to; so all were glad to get out of there in one piece. The next match against Meath was even more heartbreaking, as the Dubs tumbled to a heavy defeat. What’s gone wrong with our County team? Not enough people from this area on the team, methinks! Ladies Footballers are in the semi-final of the championship and new trainer Claire Egan has all the girls on their toes in preparation for same. Special diets, no alcohol, 8.00 am training sessions on Sunday mornings are part of the preparations and the girls are responding magnificently. The second ladies adult team is up and running and name of the game here is fun and games and it is also a great preparation for the younger teams coming through. The senior hurlers have come so close to winning matches it is unbelievable. Losses of 1 point, 2 points and 3 points seem to be the order of the day and if they can reverse their fortunes they can still save their season, especially in the championship.
Important dates Registration Day: 2010/2011 season at 10.30 am on September 4th Note: Anyone wishing to book our sparkling, sensational, unbelievable, decorative new Function Hall please phone Shay at 087-9011716. Enjoy the rest of the Summer but don’t forget to pray for rain! Top: Visit of O’Dempseys to Clanna Gael. |
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Adult footballers are lying in 2nd place after relinquishing top spot two weeks ago in their match with St Monicas. However, they kept their title-winning aspirations very much alive with a 20 point trouncing of O’Dwyers three days later. With 6 matches to go, the Senior Footballers are still in with a good chance.