Junior Championship.
On Sunday  next Ballycomoyle face St. Paul's in the third round of the junior championship. The match, which was originally fixed for Saturday last, is at 1pm in The Downs and a good turnout of support would be appreciated.

Mullaghmeen Walk.
On Friday evening last we held our annual sponsored walk in Mullaghmeen Forest. The weather was very kind to us and this added to the enjoyment for  the 110 children who took part in the walk. A big thank you to each of them and a reminder to bring in all outstanding cards and money over the the next couple of weeks. Thank you also to all the parents who turned up to help out with refreshments, marshalling etc.  

Clothes Collection.
Have you finished your spring clean and find yourself with a dozen black bags full of clothes. Maybe you have finally shed those few pounds and have moved to a smaller size. Ballycomoyle can now solve your wardrobe space problems while making a few worthwhile quid for the club at the same time. Up until Friday July 2nd we will accept bags of clothes in Ballycomoyle. The condition of the clothes doesn't matter as long as they're clean.  Give Clodagh O'Neill (087) 6418977 or Sinead Gallagher (087) 2955587 a call for more details.  

Summer music workshops.
Have you any budding musicians in the house with time on their hands during the long Summer holidays. Siobhan Murphy  is holding a series of week long Summer Music Workshops in Fore school for ages five to sixteen. Siobhan, who has represented Ballycomoyle in Senior Scor for the past number of years, has just completed a music degree. The workshops are an introduction to music and music theory with games and instruments. They will be held during the following weeks. July 19th to 23rd. July 26th to 30th and August 9th to 13th.  Contact Siobhan for more details on (087) 7678283.

Monday June 20th 2010

Mullaghmeen Walk.
Next Friday evening June 25th we hold our annual sponsored walk in Mullaghmeen forest. The walk takes place at 7pm and replaces the usual Friday evening training. The bus from Collinstown/Fore/Castlepollard will travel directly to Mullaghmeen. As usual the walk will be followed by a picnic on site. If possible bring your sponsorship cards and any money collected with you on the night.   

Clothes Collection.
Have you finished your spring clean and find yourself with a dozen black bags full of clothes. Maybe you have finally shed those few pounds and have moved to a smaller size. Ballycomoyle can now solve your wardrobe space problems while making a few worthwhile quid for the club at the same time. Up until Friday July 2nd we will accept bags of clothes in Ballycomoyle. The condition of the clothes doesn't matter as long as they're clean.  Give Clodagh O'Neill (087) 6418977 or Sinead Gallagher (087) 2955587 a call for more details.  

Junior Championship.
On Saturday evening next Ballycomoyle face St. Paul's in the third round of the junior championship. The match is at 6pm in The Downs and a good turnout of support would be appreciated.  

Under 10 North Westmeath league.
On Saturday morning 19th June 2010 we played host to the Downs in the third round of the Nth. Westmeath League. The game was at 11am on a Sun drenched Ballycomoyle pitch.  Both Teams were pretty well matched on the day with the Downs taking no prisoners in front of goal and shooting over some fine points.   Both full back and half back lines fought hard to keep the Downs out with some fantastic football played by Eoin English and Nicholas Isdell. Our mid field duo of Cian Smyth and Cian Cheevers had to work hard to win and retain possession and on many occasion delivered fine ball in to our forwards.  Eoin Daly played some heroic football winning possession and taking what opportunities he had.  Paul Nangle and Aaron Kennedy cleaned up the breaking ball in the forwards to punish the Downs at every opportunity.  The result ended up with the Downs wining but credit goes to all our players for their efforts.  On the day we had the dynamic brother duos of the Smyth lads and McGuigan lads we also had the debut of two younger players Kevin English from the under 8s and Kaellum Morgan from the under 6s.  Ballycomoyle team on the day were, Ian Flaherty, Desmond Smyth, Eoin English, Denis Farrell, Nicholas Isdell, Cillian Smyth, Jamie McGuigan, Cian Smyth, Cian Cheevers, Dylan Smyth, Paul Nangle, Eoin Daly, Odhran Hannon, Shane McGuigan, Aaron Kennedy, Kaellum Morgan, and Kevin English.  Thanks to Dermot McKenna for refereeing the game and Marc Cunningham and the Downs team for a great game of football.

Lotto. 
We held our fortnightly lotto draw in the Lough Lene Inn on Tuesday June 15th. The numbers drawn for a jackpot of €6,200 were 1, 5, 7 and 17. There was no winner and the €30 winners were as follows. Olivia Kenny, Tom O'Mahoney, S. Byrne, Phyl Melligan and Margo McCann. The next draw on June 29th will be for a jackpot of €6,400 and will be held in The Woolpack, Castlepollard.

Summer music workshops.
Have you any budding musicians in the house with time on their hands during the long Summer holidays. Siobhan Murphy  is holding a series of week long Summer Music Workshops in Fore school for ages five to sixteen. Siobhan, who has represented Ballycomoyle in Senior Scor for the past number of years, has just completed a music degree. The workshops are an introduction to music and music theory with games and instruments. They will be held during the following weeks. July 19th to 23rd. July 26th to 30th and August 9th to 13th.  Contact Siobhan for more details on (087) 7678283.

Barrettstown Picnic.
Fore School Parents' Association are holding a sports day and picnic in the new sports field opposite the school on Sunday next June 27th. The day will kick off with a blessing of the field shortly after 1pm by Father Michael Walsh P.P.   This will be followed by an afternoon of fun, games and refreshments. The event is being held in conjunction with Avonmore milk and donations given will go to Barretstown camp for kids.  

Monday June 7th 2010

Mullaghmeen Walk.
On Friday evening June 25th we hold our annual sponsored walk in Mullaghmeen forest for all age groups.  Sponsorship cards will be distributed in the next week. This event has proved very popular in the past and as usual the walk will be followed by a picnic on site. 

Clothes Collection.
Have you finished your spring clean and find yourself with a dozen black bags full of clothes. Maybe you have finally shed those few pounds and have moved to a smaller size. Ballycomoyle can now solve your wardrobe space problems while making a few worthwhile quid for the club at the same time. From Friday June 25th to Friday July 2nd we will accept bags of clothes in Ballycomoyle. The condition of the clothes doesn't matter as long as they're clean.  Give Clodagh O'Neill (087) 6418977 or Sinead Gallagher (087) 2955587 a call for more details. 

Junior Men
On Tuesday 1st June we were host to Castledaly for a division 4 league game.  This was a very evenly contested game with lots of good football played on both sides.  The defence worked hard throughout the game  against a very lively Castledaly forward line.  Ballycomoyle led by 2 points at half time.  The second half saw us take some excellent scores from long distance as well as fisted points to go into a five point lead before conceding a goal from a penalty in the late stages of the game.  Final score Ballycomoyle 1-16 Castledaly 1-14.
Team: Niall McKenna, Seamus Carroll, James McHugh, Robert Cooney, Brian Caffrey (0-1), Ronan Fagan, Paul Dermody, Billy Ryan, Tommy Doyle (0-1), Joey Williams (0-1), Keith Weldon, Gerry Rynne (0-1), Alan Fitzsimons, Jim Ward (1-4), Steven Bardon (0-8).

Under 14 Girls
The under 14 girls played Mullingar Shamrocks on Thursday 2nd June.  Our first half performance in this game was not up to our usual standards and left a lot of work to be done in the second half.  Our second half performance while it was a huge improvement on the first half was not enough to overcome the lead that Shamrocks held in the first half.  Final Score: Ballycomoyle 3-5 Mullingar Shamrocks 6-7
Team: Ciara Walsh, Aoife Fitzsimons, Shannon Farrelly, Gemma Faherty, Shauna Coghlan, Amy McNicholas, Bibi O’Reilly, Laura Coyle, Rachel Flood, Anne Marie Kennedy, Caoimhe McCrossan, Kelly Coyle, Ailsa O’Connor, Saoirse Farrelly, Alex Farrelly, Roisín Gilsenan, Katie Egan, Marie Egan, Meave Charles & Cliodhna Daly.

Fixtures for the coming week. (Subject to change. Check with team mentors)
Lads:     Division 7 League v Mullingar Shamrocks  Wed 9th in Springfield @ 7.30pm
Ladies:  Under 14 girls v Clann Gaels on Thursday June 10th in Ballycomoyle @ 7pm

Monday May 30th 2010

Mullaghmeen Walk.
On Friday evening June 25th we hold our annual sponsored walk in Mullaghmeen forest for all age groups.  Sponsorship cards will be distributed in the next week. This event has proved very popular in the past and as usual the walk will be followed by a picnic on site.  

Clothes Collection.
Have you finished your spring clean and find yourself with a dozen black bags full of clothes. Maybe you have finally shed those few pounds and have moved to a smaller size. Ballycomoyle can now solve your wardrobe space problems while making a few worthwhile quid for the club at the same time. From Friday June 25th to Friday July 2nd we will accept bags of clothes in Ballycomoyle. The condition of the clothes doesn't matter as long as they're clean.  Give Clodagh O'Neill (087) 6418977 or Sinead Gallagher (087) 2955587 a call for more details.  

Under 12 lads.
Our under 12 lads had a resounding victory against Ballynacargy on Wednesday of last week (May 26th).  Match report next week.

St. Michael's Under 14.
St. Michael's under 14s travelled to The Downs on Thursday of last week where they recorded a victory against the home team on a scoreline of 7-5 to 6-5.

Under 14 Girls League
We travelled to Clonmellon last Thursday 27th May for our third game in the league.  As St. Pauls could only field 10 players we played a challenge game and came out easy winners. Team: Ciara Walsh, Aoife Fitzsimons, Alex Farrelly, Shannon Farrelly, Bibi O’Reilly, Amy McNicholas, Shauna Coghlan, Rachel Flood, Anne Marie Kennedy, Kelly Coyle, Caoimhe McCrossan, Laura Coyle, Roisin Gilsenan, Saoirse Farrelly, Ailsa O’Connor, Gemma Faherty, Katie Egan, Marie Egan, Cliodhna Daly.
Our next game is on Thursday evening in Springfield v Mullingar Shamrocks @ 7pm.

Leinster Under 14 Shield Final.
It's a sign of the increasing strength of our ladies teams when you see more girls playing county football. Shannon Farrelly was part of the Westmeath under 14 team who contested the Leinster shield final on Sunday last against Carlow in Athy. Well done Shannon and keep on flying the Bal' flag on the county scene.

Fixtures for the coming week. (Subject to change. Check with team mentors)
Lads:       
Division 4 game Tue 8th June @ 7.30 in Springfield vs Mullingar Shamrocks.  Division 7 game Wed 9th june @ 7.30.  in springfield vs Mullingar Shamrocks.

Ladies: 
Thurs. June 3rd at 7pm. Under 14 girls  vs Mullingar Shamrocks in Springfield.

Monday May 23rd 2010

Men’s Junior Championship.
Our second outing in the junior championship took us to Cusack Park on Sunday 23rd May in the sweltering heat to take on St. Fintans Multyfarnham.  Ballycomoyle came under immense pressure in the opening half and when Niall McKenna saved a penalty it appeared to be the signal to settle down and play some serious football.  Points from Alan Fitzsimons, Tommy Doyle and Billy Ryan in the opening half saw us trail by just 1 point at half time.  The second half saw Ballycomoyle play with renewed energy.  Stephen Bardon levelled the scores shortly after the throw in.  A goal by Alan Fitzsimons followed by a point each from Billy Ryan and Dan Carty in quick succession saw us lead by 5.  Multy brought this lead back to 3 points before Stephen Bardon added a point from a free.  With 5 minutes to go Multy were awarded a second penalty.  On this occasion it beat Niall.  David Cunningham added a point in injury time.  Throughout the game the full back line of Paul Dermody, James McHugh and Robert Cooney defended superbly Dan Carty and Billy Ryan worked tirelessly at centre field. Final Score Ballycomoyle 1-8 Multyfarnham 1-6.
Team: Niall McKenna, Paul Dermody, James McHugh, Robert Cooney, Keith Weldon, Jamie Ward, Gerry Rynne, Dan Carty, Billy Ryan, Kevin Gavigan, David Cunningham, Joey Williams, Alan Fitzsimons, Tommy Doyle, Stephen Bardon Subs used: Ronan Fagan for Kevin Gavigan, Brian Caffrey for Gerry Rynne, and Pauric Fitzsimons for Joey Williams.

Under 14 Girls League
Our under 14 league started with a home game to St. Lomans on Saturday 8th May.  This was a very hard fought game against a strong St. Lomans team.  The first half saw Ballycomoyle play with the wind and we used it to the best advantage marking up a number of scores.  However, in the second half this wind proved too influential to overcome a well balanced opposition.
Our second outing was at home to Killucan on Thursday 20th May.  This was a game where the lead changed hands on several occasions.  Ballycomoyle trailed at half time by one point having been level on 3 occasions during the first half.  Throughout the pitch everyone worked tirelessly supporting and playing for each other.  Again there was nothing between the teams in the second half and when Caoimhe McCrossan was fouled in the square in the last minute of the game one would wonder at the decision of the referee to award a 14 yard free and not a penalty. The free was converted to leave the final score Ballycomoyle 4-7 Killucan 3-10.  Afterwards the girls helped Orla Nea celebrate her birthday. 
Team: Bibi O’Reilly, Gemma Faherty, Rachel Flood, Roisín Gilsenan, Shauna Coghlan, Shannon Farrelly, Saoirse Farrelly, Anne Marie Kennedy, Laura Coyle, Kelly Coyle, Caoimhe McCrossan, Sarah Fagan, Orla Nea, Amy McNicholas, Ailsa O’Connor, Ciara Walsh, Aoife Fitzsimons, Alex Farrelly, Amy Gahan, Katie Egan, Marie Egan, Cliodhna Daly.

Fixtures for the coming week. (Subject to change. Check with team mentors)
Lads:       
Wed 26th Under 12 boys v Ballynacargy in Ballycomoyle 6pm.
Thurs 27th St Michael's under 14  v The Downs away 7pm.
Tuesday 1st June Division 4 men v Castledaly in Ballycomoyle at 7.30pm

Ladies: 
Saturday 29th. Division 2 ladies v Loughnavalley at 7pm in Loughnavalley.
Thursday 27th Under 14 girls v St. Pauls in Clonmellon at 7pm.
Tuesday 1st June Under 12 girls v St. Pauls in Clonmellon at 7pm.

Monday May 17th 2010

Junior Championship.
All roads lead to Cusack Park on Sunday evening next 23rd May, where at 5.30pm, we take on St. Fintan,s/Multy in the second round of the Junior Championship. This game is of huge importance to both club's, and Multy  are going into this game as firm favourites. Our lad's are just getting it hard to get their confidence up and Sunday evening will be a stern test. Our "big" guns such as James Mc Hugh, Stephen Bardon, Jim Ward, Billy Ryan and Ronan Fagan will need to be at their best to get a win and they will be backed by Paul Dermody, Jamie Ward, Keith Weldon, Alan Fitzimions,etc to name but a few. We hope that we will have good support in  Cusack Park and we wish all management and team members the very best of luck in this critical encounter. Both our Junior A team and Junior B teams played The Downs in Div. 4 and Div.7  of the league recently and we were beaten in both games by a good margin. We must commend our lads for putting in such a great effort, right to the final whistle, but however we succumbed to the greater experience of The Downs, who in fairness, had quite a number of their Senior team playing in both games. It would appear that the GAC in Westmeath should re-think the structure of the leagues and possibly have a Senior, Intermediate and Junior League with a Reserve League for the second team's. Finally we would like to thank Johnny Corrigan for stepping in to ref our Div. 7 game and made a very fine job of keeping everyone in check, thank's Johnny

Ladies Leinster Minor Final.
It's not often that Westmeath reach the Leinster Final stage of a football championship. It's even more rare and probably even unique to have a Ballycomoyle player on a Westmeath team who reach a Leinster final. Ruth Daniels, one of our best footballers lined out at centre forward for the Westmeath ladies minor team against Laois in the Leinster final on Tuesday May 11th in Tullamore. Congratulations Ruth. You do us proud and with a bit more luck you could have lifted a Leinster medal.   

Under 16 Girls.
We played the Downs last Thursday evening and we had another superb win. Our team was: Maria Henry, Allie Murphy Rebecca Flood, Emma Sullivan Aoife Flynn, Claire Cheevers, Jane Coyle, Aoife Gallagher, Avril Fagan, Nicola Fagan, Sinead Connell, Aoife Gallagher Orla Lynch Kelly Coyle Caoimhe Mc Crossan, Niamh Clogher. Final score 5-11 to 2-2 Well done girls

Fixtures for the coming week. (Subject to change. Check with team mentors)
Lads:
Junior Championship Sun 23rd vs Multyfarnham in Cusack park @ 5.30pm.
Division 7 junior lads v Rochfortbridge Tue 25th in the bridge at 7.30.  
St. Michaels under 14 vs The Downs away Thurs. 20th 7pm.

Ladies: 
Thurs 20th at 7pm  Under 14 girls v Killucan in Ballycomoyle
Tue 25th in Mullingar at 7pm. Under 12 girls v Shamrocks

Lá na gClub correction.
In last weeks notes I mistakenly gave credit to Robert Maclean instead of his brother Niall for sponsoring the lamb in the raffle during the Lá na gClub  celebrations. Thank you Niall.

Monday May 10th 2010

Lá na gClub.
Sunday last was Lá na gClub and we marked it in fine style down in Ballycomoyle. We had football games for all age groups from under 6s up to adults. This was a day to celebrate together as the Ballycomoyle family and we certainly achieved that with a huge number of our membership turning out. We were treated to a festival of food and music during and after the various football matches. There were three barbeques running full steam as well as a pig roasting on the spit. The pig was donated by Brian Kiernan. Seamus McDermott started to prepare him on Saturday evening and was up from 6.30 on Sunday morning getting the fire ready and lit. He then manned the spit from around 8am until after the last game at 6.30 in the evening . A marathon performance by any standards. The tea room was also in full swing. We had live music provided by Liam Fagan and Noel O’Neill as well as some of our own talented musicians and singers. To attempt to name the many others who gave so generously of their time for the day would be suicidal so I’m going to simply say thank you on behalf of the club to one and all.  This army of help that seems to just appear when needed is what makes our club so strong. To the many people who arrived with food to add to the fayre thank you also. Thanks also to Robert McClean who gave us a lamb for the raffle and Gerry Doyle of Castlepollard Service Station who gave us the loan of his pig roasting spit.

Lotto Winner.
The fortnightly lotto was held last Tuesday night in McCormack’s bar, Castlepollard. The €10,000 jackpot was won by Kenneth Farrelly on a ticket sold in Comiskey’s. Congratulations Kenneth. The next draw will be on Tuesday May 18th for a jackpot of  €5,800.

Under 10 North Westmeath league v. Finea
Our under 10 team had their first outing of the year on Friday last when we hosted our neighbours Finea in Ballycomoyle. Finea were first out of the blocks with a strong display and went into the lead playing some fast flowing football. Ballycomoyle eventually found there feet and reduced the deficit before going in at half time. With the half time chat over the boys got straight back into the game.  Ballycomoyle were first out of the blocks in the second half and had soon closed the deficit to one single point.  Neither team were able to pull away with only minutes left when Ballycomoyle scored the equalising point.  Ballycomoyle showed great character in defence to deny Finea any additional scoring opportunities and the end result was a draw.  Team who played on the day were Denis Farrell, Jack O’Shea, Desmond Smyth, Killian Hogan, Eoin Daly, Jamie McGuigan, Cian Smyth, Cian Cheevers, Ian Flaherty, Aaron Kennedy, Cillian Smyth, Odhrán Hannon, Paul Nangle, Mitch Doyle, Nicholas Isdell, Jason Malone, Robert Kelly, Eoin English.Training continues every Friday night at 7.00pm

Monday May 3rd 2010

Lá na gClub.
Following on from the success of last years Lá na gClub, the GAA nationally have encouraged clubs to repeat the event in 2010. They have nominated Sunday May 9th as the day and have kept the fixtures for clubs and counties to an absolute minimum for that day. In Ballycomoyle we will be marking the occasion with an afternoon of football and fun. We will have football games for all age groups from under 6 through to adult. On the fun side we will have live music on stage and a barbeque to feed all the players and supporters. It promises to be a fantastic day.   

Junior Championship.
Our men's junior team played the first round of the championship on Sunday last against a very strong Milltownpass side. Milltownpass got out of the blocks faster than our lads and had three goals bagged in the first 15 minutes. It was very obvious that their experience playing in higher divisions was paying off. They finished the half 3-5 to 0-3 ahead. In the second half Ballycomoyle gave a far better account of themselves and adjusted better to the pace. Steven Bardon netted twice to show his capabilities and the game finished 3-11 to 2-3. The team lined out as follows: Niall McKenna, Gary Farrelly, James McHugh, Paul Dermody, Brian Caffrey, Dan Carty, Keith Weldon, Jim Ward, Billy Ryan, Kevin Gavigan, David Cunningham, Ronan Fagan, Tommy Doyle, Derek Cheevers, Stephen Bardon. Subs used: Alan Fitzsimons, Maurice Gavigan, Jamie Ward, Gerry Rynne, Joey Williams

Under 14 Girls Féile
Under 14 ladies kicked off their season with the Féile on Tuesday night.  Ballycomoyle were host to The Downs and Tyrrellspass on this night with the winners of the group going forward to the semi-finals on Thursday night.

First game was against The Downs.  We got off to a good start playing with the breeze and lead by 3 points at half time.  With 5 minutes to go we added a goal and things were looking good for a win, however, The Downs had different ideas of how the game was going and a 45 taken with the wind behind it sailed to the top of the net.  They quickly added another goal to leave the sides all square on Ballycomoyle 1-3 The Downs 2-0.

The second game saw The Downs take on Tyrrellspass.  Tyrrellspass won this 0-6 to The Downs 1-0.

It was all to play for in the last game a must win game for Ballycomoyle if we were to see ourselves through to the semi finals.  We started well with the wind in our backs and led 1-1 to Tyrrellspass 1-0 at half time.  Facing into the wind and rain in the second half was not an easy task but these girls took on the challenge and took their early chances before defending like their lives depended on it.  We added another 1-2 in the second half and conceded nothing.
On Thursday night we headed for Moate to take on the challenge of St. Loman’s club in the Féile semi final.  We got off to a very poor start conceding 3 early goals before setting down.  However, while our performance did improve it wasn’t enough to make an impact on the scoreline. This led us back to the Shield final.  The opposition for this was Moate.  While we played this game with great heart and determination, it was not enough to see off the strong challenge of Moate.  Final score Moate 1-8 Ballycomoyle 0-3.

Panel: Shauna Coghlan, Ciara Walsh, Shannon Farrelly, Aoife Fitzsimons, Amy McNicholas, Sarah Fagan, Bibi O’Reilly, Anne Marie Kennedy, Laura Coyle, Kelly Coyle, Caoimhe McCrossan, Roisín Gilsenan, Gemma Faherty, Saoirse Farrelly, Orla Nea, Alex Farrelly, Rachel McMullan, Cliodhna Daly, Katie Egan and Marie Egan. Well done girls on a very tough week of games. A huge thank you to the many people who supplied and dished out refreshments to everybody present in Ballycomoyle on Tuesday evening. They went down very well indeed.
We kick off the league games this week where we are at home to St. Lomans. Due to the camogie féile final on Friday this game is being changed from Thursday.  Details of the change will be notified to all players when available.

St Michaels U 16 League V Mullingar Shamrocks.
Our under 16 played there third game in this years league when we entertained Mullingar Shamrocks in Ballycomoyle last Wednesday evening. If a good start is half the battle then Mullingar Shamrocks had a lot of there work done after the first 15 minutes when they hit us with three quick goals and left us with a mountain to climb even at this early stage. However we began to settle and player some lovely football for the remainder of the first half with Conner Laye, Chris Lawlor John Coyle and Michael Murray very much to the fore. Half way through the second half we had reduced the defect to just six points and with a little bit of luck could have got even closer but our opponents came with a late surge and eventually ran out worthy winners by a margin of 8 points.

Under 16 Leinster League.
We played our last game in the Leinster on Sunday when Edenderry came to Ballycomoyle last Sunday on what was a perfect day for football.        As in our last number of games our opponents were strong in every department and played the game at a very intense pace.
However with Tommy Gallagher back to his best  at midfield and both John Eagan and John Coyle playing some intelligent football we went in at half time just five points down playing against quiet a stiff breeze. To say the second half was a very fiery and robust affair would  be putting it mildly but our players got stuck in and  if a fine shot from full forward John Coyle had been a couple of inches lower in stead of cannoning of the cross bar the result could have been different. However as in our last game we seemed to run out of steam and our opponents added on a few scores to claim victory by a five point margin. Even though we have tasted defeat in the last couple of games the standard of our opposition has been very good and some of our football has been excellent. We hope to have another game this week and then get back to training after that.
Again a sincere thanks to every one who provided and helped with the excellent refreshments which were given to both teams, selectors and supporters after the game.

Fixtures for the coming week. (Subject to change. Check with team mentors)
Ladies:
Under 12 girls: Tue 11th May @ 7pm Ballycomoyle v Clann Gaels in Ballycomoyle
Under 14 girls: Ballycomoyle v St. Lomans in Ballycomoyle possibly Sat 9th tbc.
Under 16 girls: Thursday 13th May @7pm Ballycomoyle v The Downs in Ballycomoyle
Intermediate Ladies: Sunday 9th May Div. 2 league Ballycomoyle v The Downs in Ballycomoyle time tbc

Mens:
Junior B Division 7: Sat 8th May @ 7pm Ballycomoyle v The Downs in Ballycomoyle
Junior A Division 4: Tue 11th May @ 7.30pm Ballycomoyle v The Downs in The Downs
Under 12s Wed 12th May @ 7.15pm vs Athlone in Athlone.
St. Michael’s Under 16: Monday 10th May @ 7.15pm vs Caulry in aulry.
St. Michaels Under 14: Thursday 13th May @ 7.15pm vs Coralstown/Kinnegad  in Castletown or Ballycomoyle.

Monday April 26th 2010

Fashion Show.  
On Friday last, April 23rd, Ballycomoyle held a fashion show in Coole hall. To say it was a huge success would be a complete understatment. The organising committee, from within the club, deserve great praise for the meticulous way in which this event was put together and executed on the night. We were blessed with one of the best fashion show comperes on the circuit in Elaine Downey, who moved proceedings along at a perfect pace while giving the event great atmosphere with her descriptions of the style on display.   
All the models (female & male)  were from within our own ranks and they all looked fantastic. They modelled some of the finest clothes available in the country and we are very grateful to the boutiques who supplied them. Celeste Dermody put together a beautiful  commemorative programme and we thank all those businesses in the community who supported it's production with their advertisments. The music and lighting also contributed greatly to the occasion and for that we thank our wonderful Soór participants for the live element, Sabrina Dermody who put together the backing soundtrack for the parade of fashion and Derek Cheevers who manned the spotlight for the evening.    
Dermot McKenna was our Fear an Tí and handled the job in his usual faultless and professional manner. Behind the curtains and working under extreme pressure we had a hairdressing and make up team of Gillian Ward, Sinead O'Neill and Olivia Kenny. Indeed throughout the day there was a steady stream of models to Kutz and Bernie's hair salons both of whom supplied their services free of charge for the occasion.
The Cheese and Wine reception put the audience in a great mood for the evening and there was an amount of work putting that together and getting it out to the people. The number of people involved in that are too numerous to mention but their contribution is nonetheless appreciated. The same applies to the crew who put the catwalk together on Thursday night and laid out the chairs on Friday afternoon. Finally a big thank you to the huge number of people who turned up on the night to support us and to the many people who bought tickets even when they couldn't make it to the show.   
If I left anybody out (which I'm sure I did) I'm truly sorry, but the deadline for the papers is upon me.

Junior Championship.
Our men's junior team are playing in the first round of the Championship next Sunday May 2nd. The game is inThe Downs at 1.30pm and the opponents are Milltownpass. The first round of the championship is a defining moment in any club or county and we expect a huge crowd of supporters to get behind the team for the occasion.   

St Michaels U16   
St. Michaels under 16s travelled to Ballinagore on Sunday evening last for a Div. 1 game against  St. Malachy's/Ballinagore. It was a close game throughout with our lads having the edge right up to about 5 minutes from the end when the home side snatched the game with a couple of well taken goals. There was very little to fault from the St. Michael's lads who gave their all in this very sporting encounter and can be very proud of their effort. The game finished St. Malachy's/Ballinagore 5-6 St. Michael's 2-10.

Ladies games.  
Intermediate.
Our ladoes intermediate team travelled to Rosemount on Sunday last for a game in division 2 of the league. Result.  Moate 1-15. Ballycomoyle 3-3

Under 12
St.Lomans V Ballycomoyle.
Our Under 12 girls travelled to Mullingar on Tuesday evening to play St.Lomans. We had a great turn out on a fine but breezy evening. We lost the toss and unfortunately we were playing against the wind in the first half. St. Lomans had a very strong side and they certainly took advantage of playing with the wind. We improved immensely in the second half but we could only reduce the deficit. All girls played incredibly well against such tough opponents. Well done to all girls.
Team: Lorna Hilliard, Siobhan Nea, Cliodhna Daly, Eva Kiernan, Rebecca Craig, Shaunagh Maher, Cathriona Kennedy, Katie Egan (0-1) Marie Egan, Jane Nangle, Clodagh Fox, Ciara Keyes, Caoimhe Dermody (1-0) Cianagh Meenaghan, Lauren Fagen, Ella Clogher (1-0) Jade Crone, Yvonne Dobson, Olivia Flood, Lauren Mackey, Rachel Wheatley, Amaya Healy

Lá na gClub.
Following on from the success of last years Lá na gClub, the GAA nationally have encouraged clubs to repeat the event in 2010. They have nominated Sunday May 9th as the day and have kept the fixtures for clubs and counties to an absolute miniimum for that day. In Ballycomoyle we will be marking the occasion with an afternoon of football and fun. We will have football games for all age groups from under 6 through to adult. On the fun side we will have live music on stage and a barbeque to feed all the players and supporters. It promises to be a fantastic day.    

Pioneer Quiz.
Congratulations to the Fore/Collinstown under 16 Pioneer quiz team who came third in the all-Ireland final on Saturday last in Monasterevan. The team, comprising of Killian Daly, Peter McKenna, Andrew Leahy and Kelly Coyle, had successfully come through the Leinster final a few weeks earlier.    

Scór All Ireland Final.
Congratulations to Mullingar Shamrocks Novelty Act who took the All Ireland Title in Killarney last weekend. Comiserations to Bunbrosna Set-Dancers who didn't do it on this occasion but who I am sure will be back next year to start all over again.

Fixtures for the coming week. (Subject to change. Check with team mentors)
Lads:
Junior Men Sunday 2nd May Junior Championship Ballycomoyle v Milltownpass in The Downs @ 1.30pm
St. Michael's Under 16.
Wed. 7pm  Home (Ballycomoyle) to Mullingar  Shamrocks. (County league)
Sun. 11am  Home (Ballycomoyle) to Edenderry. (Leinster league)

Ladies: 
Thursday 29th Apirl Under 16 girls Ballycomoyle v Garycastle in Garycastle @ 7pm - (subject to change depending on the Féile results on Tuesday night)
Tuesday 27th Féile (under 14) first round. Ballycomoyle  
Thursday 29th  Féile (under 14) Finals. Moate businness college 6pm
Thursday 6th May Under 14 girls Ballycomoyle v St. Lomans in Ballycomoyle @ 7pm. 

Monday April 19th 2010

Fashion Show.
Our much talked about Fashion Show is fast approaching. On Friday night next April 23rd in Coole hall some of the finest fashion available in the Country will be on display. The models will be players from our ladies and men's teams. In addition to that we have a number of committee members and club members on the catwalk.  If you are looking for Ballycomoyle club gear look no further because some of our talented models will be parading that as well. It promises to be a fantastic night with a cheese and wine reception included in the admission price of €10. To top it  all off we have live entertainment from some of our Scór participants including our senior ballad group who were narrowly defeated in the recent Leinster final.

Men's Junior Football.  
Ballycomoyle V Delvin -  Division 7.
Our second team played Delvin's first team in division 7 of the football league in Ballycomoyle last Thursday on what was a lovely evening for football. An early goal put Delvin in the driving seat and despite playing some good football we were unable to get the scores our play deserved and it looked likely that we would go in at half time 4 or 5 points down. However a brilliant goal by Andrew Dowdall just on the stroke of half time left us trailing by a single point Delvin 1-3  Ballycomoyle 1-2.We started the second in a very positive fashion and an early goal by Keith Fitzpatrick after some good work by Tommy  Doyle put us ahead for the first time. To there credit Delvin were not prepared to give up easily and this very entertaining and competitive game was in the balance right to the final whistle when we edged out winners by the narrowest of margins Ballycomoyle 2-7 Delvin 2-6. On a night of many positives it was great to see some of this year's minors starting to play for the junior team and we would ask all the players to keep up the training which is going very well at the moment. 

Ballycomoyle V St Lomans - Division 4. 
At the third time of asking our first team registered there first win in this years division Four when we had a great win over St Lomans on Sunday last in Ballycomoyle.Winning is important but sometimes how you play is just as important and in this game we undoubtedly played some of our  best  football  for quite some time. An opportunist goal by Jim Ward gave us a 3 point lead at half time and in the second half we built on this and went on to register a great win on a score line of Ballycomoyle 1-14 St Lomans 0-11.This was a most entertaining game with St Lomans as you would expect playing a very good fast brand of direct football and on this occasion we were able to match them in all departments. Stephen Bardons contribution of 9 points was a man of the match performance and he was well assisted in the forwards by Joey Williams and the very busy Kevin Gavigan. Around the middle of the field Billy Ryan and Jim Ward gained a lot of possession and when called upon our backs were not found wanting. There were particular good performances from Jamie Ward, Brian Caffrey, Keith Weldon and Robert Cooney.

St. Michael's.
St Michaels U14 V Ballinacargy.
Our under 14's continued there great start to the season with a fine 8 point win over a good Ballinacargy side in a league game that was played in Castletown last week . Having recorded 3 wins in this years Feile and having  reached the shield final for the first time in which we will be playing Rochfortbridge, we ask all players on the panel to make every effort to attend the excellent training sessions being organized by Dessie Doolin, Seamus Leahy and Gerry Farrelly.   

St Michaels U16 V Tubbercalir. 
St Michaels had their first competetive outing of the year when we played host to Tubberclair in Ballycomoyle last Thursday in the first game in this years league. Although we started quite well and had the majority of posession, half way through the first half we found ourselves trailing by 3 points to 1. For the last 10 minutes of the first half our forwards were a  little less rushed and some good finishing saw us go in on level terms at 5 points each. Tubberclare started the second half very strongly and raced in to a four point lead, however two quick goals from Shane Cunningham and Ian Kilcoyne put us in front for the first time and we went on from there to play some of our best football so far this year.  In the end we ran out eight point winners with the final score . St Michaels 4-9 Tubberclare 1-10.We had a great turn out of players, 24 in all and we ask them all to make the effort to be at the next training session so we can build on this excellent start to the season.

Ladies games.
Intermediate.  
Our intermediate ladies team played Clann Gaels in the league on Saturday evening last and emerged with a comfortable win on a scoreline of Ballycomoyle 2-9 Clann Gaels 1-2.   

Girls under16.
Ballycomoyle 9 -8               
Mullingar Shamrocks 1-0
On Thursday evening (April 18th) in Castlepollard we had our first game of the league with an excellent win over Mullingar Shamrocks. Our brilliant squad started with Maria Henry in goals only allowing one goal passed her. Thanks to our terrific back line of Allie Murphy, Rebeckah Flood, Aoife Flynn, Claire Cheevers, Jane Coyle and Emma Sullivan who were all outstanding, wkept the ball up field. Our two midfield players Avril and Nicola Fagan were terrific, they never stopped running and hassling the opposition. The superb performance of our forwards Sinead Connell, Aoife Gallagher, Orla Lynch, Kelly Coyle, Niamh Clogher, Caoimhe Mc Crossan kept taking their scores. A special mention to Orla Lynch on her first outing with the Under 16 Ballycomoyle team who made a great contribution to the overall team effort. Kelly Coyle and Niamh Clogher performed very well in the forwards and set up alot of scores. Our top scorer of the game was Caoimhe Mc Crossan with 4 -2 followed by a close second Aoife Gallagher 4 - 1. Niamh Clogher scored another goal, Sinead Connell 3 points and Jane Coyle 2 points. Our next game is away to Garycastle on Thursday 29th April at 7 o’clock, keep it going girls, well done.

Fixtures for the coming week.
Lads fixtures:
Under 12 boys home to shandonagh Wed 21st. at 6pm.
Under 16 St Michael's v Shamrocks Sat 24th  in Ballycomoyle at 6.30pm.
Minor St Michael's v Shamrocks in Springfield Sun 25th at 11 am

Ladies Fixtures:
Under 14 Feile Blitz Sunday 25th @ 10.30am venue to be decided.
Under 12 away to Killucan on Tuesday 27th at 7pm.
Intermediate Division 4 away to Moate Sunday 25th at 6pm.   

Monday April 12th 2010

Men's Junior Football.
The lads  played Ballynacargy in a div. 4 league game on Friday evening last in Ballynacargy. Ballycomoyle performed very well on the night and showed great promise for the upcoming championship. Ballynacargy however took the spoils for the night on a scoreline of 1-9 to 0-8. We have a couple of league matches in the coming week (see fixtures below).

Under 12 Girls.
Ballycomoyle 5-5 Delvin 1-2O
Our under 12 girls were out for their first game of the season against Delvin on Tuesday evening. We had a panel of 15 girls who all played exceptionally well in very poor conditions. Our backs did a very good job on keeping a strong Delvin team out, the midfielders did an excellent job both attacking and defending and we had some impressive scores from the forwards. We would like to welcome all our new players to the panel and if there are any other girls that are interested in playing football, we train on a Friday night 7-8. Panel: Lorna Hillliard, Jade Crone (0-1), Blathnaid Daly, Cliodhna Daly, Cathriona Kennedy, Katie Egan (3-3), Rebecca Craig, Marie Egan, Shaunagh Maher, Ella Clogher (1-0), Lauren Fagan (1-0), Siobhan Nea, Rachel Wheatley, Cianagh Meeneghan, Caoimhe Dermody (0-1).

Fixtures for the coming week.
Lads:
Thursday 15th Division 7 Ballycomoyle (Home) v Delvin at 7pm
Thursday 15th Under 14 St. Michaels v Ballynacargy at 7pm in Castletown
Sunday 18th April Division 4 Ballycomoyle (Home) v St. Lomans at 11.30
Wed 21st. Under 12 Boys Ballycomoyle (Home) v Shandonagh at 7pm 

Ladies:
Thursday 15th Under 16 Ladies Ballycomoyle (Home) v Mullingar Shamrocks at 6.30pm
Saturday 17th Ladies Division 2 Ballycomoyle v Clann Gaels at 6pm in Bunbrosna
Tuesday 20th Under 12 Girls Ballycomoyle v St. Lomans at 7pm in St. Lomans

Fashion Show.
Our much talked about Fashion Show is fast approaching. On Friday night April 23rd in Coole hall some of the finest fashion available in the Country will be on display. The models will be players from our ladies and men's teams. In addition to that we have a number of committee members and club members on the catwalk.  If you are looking for Ballycomoyle gear look no further because some of our talented models will be parading that as well. It promises to be a fantastic night with a cheese and wine reception included in the admission price of €10. To top it  all off we have live entertainment from some of our Scór participants including our senior ballad group who were narrowly defeated in the recent Leinster final.

Congratulations.
Congratulations to Ciara Fanning and Joey Adams who got engaged in the past week while on holiday in the US.

Monday April 5th 2010

Mens Junior Football.
Division 7.
The men's div 7 game scheduled for last Saturday evening sadly had to be postponed following the tragic death of a member of Delvin club.
Division 4.
By the time you read this we will have played our first div. 4 game away to Ballynacarrigy.

Underage Training.
Training for all players up to under 12s resumed last Friday evening and will continue every Friday night until early September. We had over 70 players out on the first night and look forward to a great year. Earlier on the Friday evening  we took delivery of two new sets of goal-posts and nets to be ready for the increased numbers that we anticipate will be attending this year. We now have a full set-up for our very important under 6s who will be looked after this year by Sinead Gallagher ably assisted by a number of the girls from the under 16 and under 14 teams.  The layout on Friday nights will be as follows. Under 6 combined. Under 8 combined. Under 10 girls. Under 10 boys. Under 12 girls. Under 12 boys.

County Player. 
Congratulations to Ruth Daniels who made the Westmeath Intermediate team last week against Cavan. Ruth is also on the County Minor team and by the time this appears in print will have played in the Leinster semi-final on Easter Monday.

Fashion Show.
We will be holding a fashion show in Coole Hall on Friday night April 23rd. More details nearer the date but put it in your diary. Ladies and Gents fashions will be on display all modelled by our own people.

St. Feichin's National School.
Best of luck to the girls from St. Feichin's N.S who contest the county semi-final of the cumann na mbunscoil competition on Tuesday April 13th. The game will be held in St. Lomans at 4.30 against Milltown.

Monday March 29th 2010

Senior Scór Leinster Final.
The weekend in Killarney has escaped us again. Our Ballad Group of Siobhán Murphy, Doreen Farrelly, Micheál Fagan, Gráinne Healy and Catherine Daly were representing Ballycomoyle and Westmeath in the Leinster final of Scór sinsear in Ballymore Community Hall on Sunday evening last and again lost out to Clara who are the reigning All-Ireland champions. It's hard to pick yourself up after a disappointment like this but I have no doubt that this is exactly what this group will do to be back next year even better.  

St Michaels U14 Feile semi-final.
The St. Michael's Under 14 team contested the semi-final of Feile in Kinnegad on Saturday evening last. They lost out to a very strong Coralstown/Kinnegad team on this occasion but will go through to the Shield final against Rochfordbridge.

Mens Junior Football.
Mens Division 7 game v Delvin in Ballycomoyle on Sat 3rd April at 5.30pm.
Mens Division 4 game v Ballynacargy Tue April 6th at 6.30 in Ballynacargy.

Other Upcoming Fixtures.
Girls Under 12 in Ballycomoyle against Delvin. Tuesday 6th April 6.30pm.  

Underage Training.
Friday night training for players up to Under 12s will resume on Friday April 2nd (Good Friday) at the usual time of 7 to 8pm. The Bus from Collinstown via Fore and Castlepollard will be operating as in other years. We are looking forward to seeing all the young faces back in Ballycomoyle and to welcoming plenty of new ones.

Registration.
Another reminder that you must be registered before you can take part in club activities. If you haven't already sent back your registration form to Niall McKenna get on to it straight away. If you can't find your form or you didn't get one contact Niall (087)2424757 or Helen (087)2207374 and one will be dispatched to you straight away. Our aim is that the only people still to be registered when training resumes on the 2nd of April will be children who are attending for the first time.

Social Night.
Ballycomoyle are holding a social night in the Lough Lene Inn, Collinstown on Saturday night next April 3rd. This has been a huge success in the past and we expect this year will be no different.

Fashion Show.
We will be holding a fashion show in Coole Hall on Friday night April 23rd. More details nearer the date but put it in your diary. Ladies and Gents fashions will be on display all modelled by our own people.

Pioneer Quiz.
Well done to Ballycomoyle stalwarts,  Peter McKenna, Killian Daly, Andrew Leahy and Kelly Coyle who represented the Parish of Fore/Collinstown in the Leinster final of the Pioneer association quiz (under 16s) last Saturday in Monasterevan. They  came in second overall, just one point behind the winners, and qualified for the all-Ireland finals on Saturday April 24th.

Drug and Substance abuse conference.
Ballycomoyle were represented at the GAA drug and substance abuse conference in Croke Park at the weekend by Anna Marie McKenna (Club Drug & Substance abuse officer) and Dermot McKenna. This is a topic that is of ongoing concern to parents and Ballycomoyle, along with the wider GAA community, realise that we must all play our part in facing up to it.

Monday March 22nd 2010

Senior Scór Leinster Final.
Our Ballad Group of Siobhán Murphy, Doreen Farrelly, Micheál Fagan, Gráinne Healy and Catherine Daly will be representing Ballycomoyle and Westmeath in the Leinster final of Scór sinsear in Ballymore Community Hall next Sunday evening at 3pm. This is a huge achievement for this group and for the club and we expect a large contingent of support to travel to Ballymore to support them. Admission is by ticket only.  Tickets can be had from Catherine on (087) 9185962.

Ladies Intermediate.
The Ladies had their first League game on Sunday last against Kilbeggan. In a very close game our girls came out second best by a single point.

St Michaels U14 Feile semi-final.
The St. Michael's Under 14 team contest the semi-final of Feile against Coralstown/Kinnegad in Kinnegad next Saturday evening at 4pm. This will be our fourth away game on the trot in this competition and hopefully our fourth victory.

St. Michaels under 16 Leinster League.
Our Under 16 team played its first game in the Leinster League when we travelled to Geashill in Offaly to take on the local combination team Na Fianna.  We played against a very strong wind in the first half and with the home team playing some very direct intelligent football, we found ourselves trailing by nine points at half time. Despite the one-sided score line St Michaels had also shown lots of skill and with the wind advantage for the second half all was far from lost. Our midfield pair of Tommy Gallagher and Fergal Tiernan took full control and with lots of passion going to the forwards we slowly clawed our way back and got within 3 points of our opponents thanks to good scores from Emmett Corrigan, John Coyle, John Egan and Peter McKenna. On the rare occasion that Na Fianna threatened in the second half they found no way round our full back Michael Murray and Goal Keeper Brendan Doyle who were both outstanding on the night. However time ran out as our opponents scored a late free to leave the final score Na Fianna 1-11 St Michaels 0-10.  Many thanks to those who travelled to the game and also to our hosts, for the refreshments that were served after the game.

St Michaels Minor League.
We played our third game in this year’s league when we were host to Athlone in Castlepollard on Sunday last. As in our first two games we were slow to get going and were very lucky to be on level terms after the first fifteen minutes as Athlone wasted a lot of good scoring chances.          Half time score St Michaels 0-3 Athlone 0-2. An early goal from Emmett Corrigan in the second half was the start of a period of dominance which brought us a nine point lead and despite Athlone getting a few late scores the result was never in doubt and we ran out winners on a score line of St Michaels 2-07 Athlone 2-04,
Many thanks to Castlepollard Hurling Club for the use of their pitch which was in perfect condition.

Upcoming fixtures.
Mens Division 7 game v Delvin in Ballycomoyle on Sat 3rd April at 5.30pm.
Mens Division 4 game v Ballynacargy Tue April 6th at 6.30 in Ballynacargy.

Girls Under 14.
The Under 14 girls have their first game on Tuesday next March 30th in Ballycomoyle at 6.30. The opponents are Clann Gaels and all players are requested to be at the pitch by 6 o.clock. 

Scór Gaeltacht Scholarships.
Westmeath Scór committee are funding a number of part-scholarships for the gaeltacht. As in previous years they are open to anyone who took part in Scór na nÓg 2009/2010. Ballycomoyle participants interested should contact Catherine Daly on (087) 9185962. Closing date for receipt of applications is Friday March 26th.

Underage Training.
Friday night training for players up to Under 12s will resume on Friday April 2nd (Good Friday) at the usual time of 7 to 8pm. The Bus from Collinstown via Fore and Castlepollard will be operating as in other years. We are looking forward to seeing all the young faces back in Ballycomoyle and to welcoming plenty of new ones.

Registration.
Another reminder that you must be registered before you can take part in club activities. If you haven't already sent back your registration form to Niall McKenna get on to it straight away. If you can't find your form or you didn't get one contact Niall (087)2424757 or Helen (087)2207374 and one will be dispatched to you straight away. Our aim is that the only people still to be registered when training resumes on the 2nd of April will be children who are attending for the first time.

St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Ballycomoyle took part in the North Westmeath St. Patrick's Day parade in Castlepollard on March 17th. This year we chose to go in the walking parade and to have a jersey from each of the 32 counties worn by one of our young walkers. The hunt for jersies started over a month ago and favours from all over the Country were called in. Thanks to all the people who did the hunting, to all the people who gave us the loan of jersies and to all our walkers. We had over 60 people on parade including our victorious Ladies team Men's team and Girls under 14 team. Congratulations to the parade committee who once again had Castlepollard buzzing for the afternoon.

Table Quiz.  
We held a very well attended fundraising Table Quiz in Meehans, Coole on Friday night last March 19th. With close to a capacity crowd in attendance a great night was had by all. Thank you to our quiz master, Seamus McDermott, our hostess, Maura Meehan, and all those who helped out in the preparation and on the night in any way.

Fashion Show.
We will be holding a fashion show in Coole Hall on Friday night April 23rd. More details nearer the date but put it in your diary. Ladies and Gents fashions will be on display all modelled by our own people.

Monday March 15th 2010

Ladies Intermediate.
The ladies were to play their first league match on Sunday evening last at home to Athlone. Unfortunately Athlone were unable to field and our girls had to make do with a training session to fill the slot.

St Michaels U14 Feile quarter final.  
St. Michael's Under 14s advanced to the Feile semi-final in fine style on Saturday last against Garrycastle. The match finished St. Michael's 6 - 9 Garrycastle 2 - 3. This is an outstanding team who are putting away opposition from some of the best senior clubs in the county.  They now play Coralstown/Kinnegad in the semi-final. Venue and time unknown at the time of writing.

St. Michael's Under 16.
The under 16s have the first round of the Leinster league on Thursday March 18th against Na Fianna of Offally. The game is scheduled for Geashill at 7.30 under lights.

St. Michael's Minor.
The Minors were on the receiving end of a 1-24 to  1-4 scoreline against St. Malachy's/Ballinagore on Sunday evening last in Ballinagore. Despite some positive individual performances the teamwork just didn't happen on the night. 

County Player.
Congratulations to Shannon Farrelly who lined out with Westmeath under 14 girls on Saturday against Louth. Shannon turned out in the full back position.

Lotto.
We held our fortnightly lotto draw in Farrelly's Bar, Castlepollard last Tuesday. The numbers drawn for the first jackpot of €10,000 were  1, 15, 20, 21. The numbers for the second jackpot which has now reached €4,800 were 9, 18, 19, 26. Neither were won and the €30 winners were Joe Masterson, Caoimhe Dermody, Maureen Masterson, Maggie Fagan, Mary Farrelly. The next draw will be in The Lough Lene Inn, Collinstown on Tuesday March 23rd .

Scór Gaeltacht Scholarships.
Westmeath Scór committee are funding a number of part-scholarships for the gaeltacht. As in previous years they are open to anyone who took part in Scór na nÓg 2009/2010. Ballycomoyle participants interested should contact Catherine Daly on 087 9185962. Closing date for receipt of applications is Friday March 26th.

St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Ballycomoyle will be taking part in the North Westmeath St. Patrick's Day parade as usual this year. The parade takes place at 5.30 on St. Patricks Day and we will be taking part in both the walking parade and the float parade.

Table Quiz.
There will be a fundraising table quiz for the club in Meehan's, Coole on Friday March 19th. Teams of four €20. Put your thinking caps on and bring a team to Coole for this great night out.

Birthday Wishes.
Happy birthday to Cian Farrelly who celebrated his 18th birthday at the weekend.

Monday March 8th 2010

Scór sinsear.   
Ballycomoyle's talented Ballad Group progressed comfortably through the Leinster semi-final on Sunday last in Ballymore Hall. They now go forward to the Leinster final in the same venue on Sunday March 28th. This event will be ticket only so order your tickets early from Catherine Daly on 087 9185962.

St Michaels U14 Feile 2nd Round. 
Having recorded a great away win against St Malachys Ballinagore in the first round of  this years Feile  competition the draw for the second round found us traveling away again, this time to Shandonagh, on Sunday last on what was a perfect evening for football. The home team settled much quicker and with only ten minutes gone had taken a six point lead and to be fair they were dominant all over the field. However our midfield pairing of Ian Kilcoyne and Michael Daly began to gain a lot of good possession and allowed our forwards to score seven good points to leave just two points between the teams at half time. Shandonagh 2-3 St Michaels 0-7. Possession wise we made a great start to the second half but we failed to take our chances and when Shandonagh scored 2 quick points to leave us 5 points behind it looked like we had missed the boat. However  two goals and a point in quick succession suddenly  gave us a two point advantage with time running out. There was to be another twist in this very exciting game when our opponents scored a break away goal to leave us one point in arrears as the game entered injury time. With time for just one more attack we swept the ball up the field and after some confusion in the Shandonagh defence the ball was swept to the net by Jamie Gordon to give us a deserved if some what lucky 2 point win.On the day there were many good performances but Ciarán Fagan and Pete Conners deserve special mention for the numerous times they cleared there lines and sent the ball up to our forwards. At the moment the 3rd round is set for Garrycastle next Saturday (March 13th) at two o clock we hope to leave from Castlepollard at 12:30. Parents with cars wanted to travel.

Girls Under 14 Training.
The under 14 girls training begins Tuesday March 9th from 6 to 7pm and will continue every Tuesday at this time. Contact Helen Coyle or Gerry Farrelly.  

Scór Gaeltacht Scholarships.
Westmeath Scór committee are funding a number of part-scholarships for the gaeltacht. As in previous years they are open to anyone who took part in Scór na nÓg 2009/2010. Ballycomoyle participants interested should contact Catherine Daly on 087 9185962. Closing date for receipt of applications is Friday March 26th.

St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Ballycomoyle will be taking part in the North Westmeath St. Patrick's Day parade as usual this year. The parade takes place at 5.30 on St. Patricks Day and we will be taking part in both the walking parade and the float parade.

Table Quiz.
There will be a fundraising table quiz for the club in Meehan's, Coole on Friday March 19th. Teams of four €20.
Put your thinking caps on and bring a team to Coole for this great night out.

Monday 1st march 2010

Scór sinsear.
Ballycomoyle participated in four categories of Senior Scór in The Downs GAA Hall last Saturday evening Feb. 27th having qualified from the county semi-final of the previous week. First up was Siobhán Murphy in the Solo singing competition. Siobhán sang a beautiful song perfectly and left the decision very difficult for the judges. Unfortunatley she was up against two former all- Ireland champions and one of  last year's all-Ireland finalists and the form was too difficult to overcome. Next we had Catherine Daly in the Recitation. Catherine had to sub into this competition at very short notice at the semi-final stage and despite giving her usual faultless performance, had too much of a  hill to climb.  She had more luck with her colleagues Doreen Farrelly, Gráinne Healy, Siobhán Murphy and Micheál Fagan in the Ballad Group. They got the nod from the judges and retained their county title.  Our Novelty act comprising  Seamus McDermott, Dermot McKenna, Carmel Coyle, Seán Daly, Helen Coyle, Catherine Daly, Anna Marie McKenna and Gráinne Healy performed a very original sketch penned by Catherine Daly. They put everything into it but sadly were also disappointed when the votes were cast. The Ballad Group take part in the Leinster semi-final on Sunday next March 7th in The Downs GAA hall at 3pm.  

Scór Gaeltacht Scholarships.
Westmeath Scór committee are funding a number of part-scholarships for the gaeltacht. As in previous years they are open to anyone who took part in Scór na nÓg 2009/2010. Ballycomoyle participants interested should contact Catherine Daly before Friday of this week on 087 9185962.

Men's Junior Team.
Our men's junior team are still in the process of building a team at present and as part of this, we had a very worthwhile challenge game in Ballymachugh on friday night of last week. We again fielded a very experimental side and indeed we were very pleased with some of the performance's on the night. Damien Fagan proved very steady at full back, whilst Jamie Ward was a tower of strenght at center back and was ably aided by Brian Caffery. It has been very encouraging to see youthful talent emerging such as Michael Comiskey, Colm Dermody, Alan Fitzimions and Brian Smyth who all performed quite well. New faces back on the scene this year is Shane Reilly and Keith Fitzpatrick who are also showing great promise and as the year moves forward, i have no doubt that all these guys will be called upon during the course of the season. The game itself started at a blistering pace and despite intense pressure, our back-line held firm and we went in at the interval two points ahead of the home side. James McHugh was leading by example in the centre of the field and as the second half progressed, it seemed as if we might come home with the spoils. However, "Ladyluck", was to play her part and aginst the run of play we conceded a soft goal which was the margin at the final whistle. Despite the result, we can take a lot of positive's from this match and we do realise that we have a mountain to climb to be ready for the championship which kicks off on April 29th. Training continue's every Monday and Friday evening at 8.15 sharp and everyone is expected to be there. We wish Joey Williams, Paul Dermody, Michael Gurren and Derek Cheevers a speedy recovery from recent injury. 

St. Michael's Minor.
St. Michael's minor team played their first League game in Division 1 on Sunday last against The Downs. The game took place in Castletown and was reminiscent of the championship and league finals between these two sides a few years ago at Under 14 level. Very little between the sides as the final score showed. Result St. Michael's 2-13 The Downs 3-10.

St. Michael's Under 14 Féile.
The St. Michael's under 14s played the first round of féile on Sunday last against St. Malachy's/Ballinagore. St. Michael's had a comfortable win on a scoreline of 5-7 to 1-4. They play Shandonagh in round 2 next Saturday evening (March 6th) at 4pm in Shandonagh.

Lotto.
We held our fortnightly lotto draw in Meehan's of Coole last Tuesday. The numbers drawn for the first jackpot of €10,000 were  6, 7, 8, 13.. The numbers for the second jackpot which has now reached €4,600 were 12, 13, 14, 19. Neither were won and the €30 winners were Gerry Doyle, Joe Smith, Nan & Pat Hughes, Colm Briody, Tomas Owens. The next draw will be in Farrelly's, Castlepollard on Tuesday March 3rd.  

Sympathy.
We all extend our condolences to the family of Rose McGinn (nee Egerton), Hilltown, who died on Thursday last February 25th after a short illness. May she rest in peace.

Monday February 22nd 2010

Scór sinsear.
We were out in The Downs GAA Hall last  Sunday  in the county semi-final of Senior Scór . We were represented in seven of the eight categories and after the performances took place and the votes were cast we qualified for the county final in four of the seven as follows. Solo singing- Siobhán Murphy. Recitation - Catherine Daly. Ballad group - Doreen Farrelly, Gráinne Healy, Siobhán Murphy, Catherine Daly and Micheál Fagan.  Novelty act - Seamus McDermott, Dermot McKenna, Carmel Coyle, Seán Daly, Helen Coyle, Catherine Daly, Anna Marie McKenna and Gráinne Healy.  Sadly, despite a lot of hard work prior to the event and great performances on the night our Question time team -- Seamus McDermott, Seán Dermody and Seamus Coyle sub: Andrea Farrelly our  Figure dancers - Carmel Coyle, Miriam Dolan, Catherine Daly, Tanya Kenny, Olivia Kenny, Ciara Fanning, Martina Murphy and Bridget Murphy Sub: Helen Coyle and our Set Dancers - Kathleen Caffrey, Deirdre Healy, Sinéad O'Neill, Liz Fagan, Marius Reilly, Micheál Fagan, Michael Caffrey and Michael McDonnell with a very eager sub in Kevin Walsh were all disappointed. The county final takes place in The Downs GAA hall next Saturday night.

Challenge matches.
The men's team had a very worthwhile challenge match against a strong Mountnugent side last Saturday evening. We were very much understrength but with the introduction of Keith Weldon in second half we gave them a better challenge.. We play ballymachugh on Fri eve next at 8pm under lights in ballymcahugh...full turnout requested.

Speedy Recovery.
We all wish Aisling Farrelly a speedy recovery. She's recovering in hospital from a recent accident.  

Monday February 15th 2010

League gets under way.
Ballycomoyle had their first outing in Div. 4 of the league on Sat. last away to  St. Josephs in Streamstown. It was a good first outing for the season and it was great to see some of the young players from last years minor panel fielding. Combine that with the return of a few players and you have a very positive outlook for 2010.  Team: Niall McKenna, Colm Dermody, James McHugh, Maurice Gavigan, Gerry Rynne, Jamie Ward, Keith Weldon, Derek Cheevers, Paul Dermody, Joey Williams, Pauric Fitzsimons, Tommy Doyle, Gary Farrelly, Alan Fitzsimons, Aaron Leahy. Subs used: Barry Smyth, Kevin Gavigan, Andrew Dowdall, Keith Fitzpatrick. Scores: Tommy Doyle 0-2, Alan Fitzsimons 0-2, Joey Williams 1-0 & Paul Dermody 0-1.

Scór sinsear.
All roads lead to The Downs GAA Hall next Sunday for 4pm where we will be taking part in the county semi-final of Senior Scór . The following people will be representing Ballycomoyle in the various categories: Figure dancing - Carmel Coyle, Miriam Dolan, Catherine Daly, Tanya Kenny, Olivia Kenny, Ciara Fanning, Martina Murphy and Bridget Murphy Sub: Helen Coyle. Solo singing- Siobhán Murphy. Recitation - Una D'Arcy. Ballad group - Doreen Farrelly, Gráinne Healy, Siobhán Murphy, Catherine Daly and Micheál Fagan.  Question time - Seamus McDermott, Seán Dermody and Seamus Coyle sub: Andrea Farrelly.  Novelty act - Seamus McDermott, Dermot McKenna, Neville Jessop, Seán Daly, Helen Coyle, Catherine Daly, Anna Marie McKenna and Gráinne Healy. Set Dancing - Kathleen Caffrey, Deirdre Healy, Sinéad O'Neill, Liz Fagan, Marius Reilly, Micheál Fagan, Michael Caffrey and Michael McDonnell with a very eager sub in Kevin Walsh. Rehearsals are ongoing throughout the area and we wish all the competitors the best of luck.

Lotto.
We held our fortnightly lotto draw in Comiskey's, Castlepollard last Tuesday February 9th. The numbers for the €10,000 jackpot were 20, 21, 23 and 28. The numbers for the €4,400 were 1, 9, 12, and 19. Neither were won on the night and the €30 winners were: Liz Brogan, Geraldine & Breda (David O'Rourke's book), John Fitzpatrick, Roisín McDermott and Winnie Caffrey. The next draw for €10,000 and €4,600 will be held in Meehan's, Coole on Tuesday February 23rd.  

St. Michael's Presentation Night.
There was a great turnout for the presentation to the St. Michael's Minor and Under 16 teams of 2009 last Friday night in the Parish Centre, Castlepollard. Thanks to John Weir chairman of Westmeath Bord na nÓg for presenting the medals. Thanks also to the people who turned up with sandwiches and refreshments on the evening.

Monday February 8th 2010

Games get under way.
The lads have their first game of the 2010 season on Saturday next in Streamstown at 3.30pm. The game is against St. Joseph’s in Division 4 of the County league. After the great turnout of support for the Shield final a couple of weeks ago we hope that a good proportion of those people will now get behind the team on a regular basis.

St. Michael’s Under 16
St. Michael’s under 16s have resumed  training for the season under the watchful eyes of Dermot McKenna and Ryan Plunkett. They had their first match of the season in Ballymachugh last Thursday night. After a great performance from both teams, in wet and windy conditions, St. Michael’s emerged victorious. We expect it is only the first of many fine performances from this very promising  team.

Scór Sinsear
We will be taking part in the county semi-final of Senior Scór  in The Downs on Sunday evening February 21st at 4pm. The following people will be representing Ballycomoyle in the various categories: Figure dancing - Carmel Coyle, Miriam Dolan, Catherine Daly, Tanya Kenny, Olivia Kenny, Ciara Fanning, Martina Murphy and Bridget Murphy. Solo singing- Siobhán Murphy. Recitation - Una D'Arcy. Ballad group - Doreen Farrelly, Gráinne Healy, Siobhán Murphy, Catherine Daly and Micheál Fagan.  Question time - Andrea Farrelly, Seán Dermody and Seamus Coyle. Novelty act - Seamus McDermott, Dermot McKenna, Carmel Coyle, Seán Daly, Helen Coyle, Catherine Daly, Anna Marie McKenna and Gráinne Healy. Set Dancing - Kathleen Caffrey, Deirdre Healy, Sinéad O'Neill, Liz Fagan, Marius Reilly, Micheál Fagan, Michael Caffrey and Michael McDonnell. Rehearsals are ongoing throughout the area and we wish all the competitors the best of luck.

Dinner Dance photos on youtube..
Log onto www.ballycomoyle.com and follow the links to view a slideshow of  Martina Murphy’s Dinner Dance photos on youtube. You can also follow us on twitter. If you have anything to put on our website or twitter page let me know on 087 6855808. A text message can be put straight onto twitter from my phone in seconds. The more stuff we put up there the more people will start looking there for club updates.

Monday February 1st 2010

Dinner Dance.
We held our annual dinner dance and presentation night in Crover House Hotel, Mountnugent on Saturday night last January 30th. This was a huge night of celebration for the club with presentations to our men's and ladies adult teams, our minor players who play with St. Michaels and our senior scór ballad group all of whom had won competitions at County level in 2009. We would like to thank a number of people who helped to make the night so successful. The hotel management and staff who, from the date of our first enquiry, were both courteous and professional and who fed and looked after us so well on Saturday night. Our invited guests from the Ladies and men's county boards, Westmeath scór and our own Father Walsh for their contribution to the occasion."Switch" our entertainment for the evening. P.J. Brophy of Brophy Trophies  for providing the trophies (some of them at very short notice). Martina Murphy for taking some wonderful photos which can be viewed on our website www.ballycomoyle.com.   Our players and scór performers who provided us with the reasons to celebrate and finally all the people who attended on the night and made this one of the best nights we have had so far.    

Scór sinsear.
With the dinner dance behind us it is now full steam ahead for senior scór. We will be taking part in the county semi-final in The Downs on Sunday evening February 21st at 4pm. The following people will be representing Ballycomoyle in the various categories: Figure dancing - Carmel Coyle, Miriam Dolan, Catherine Daly, Tanya Kenny, Olivia Kenny, Ciara Fanning, Martina Murphy and Bridget Murphy. Solo singing- Siobhán Murphy. Recitation - Una D'Arcy. Ballad group - Doreen Farrelly, Gráinne Healy, Siobhán Murphy, Catherine Daly and Micheál Fagan.  Question time - Andrea Farrelly, Seán Dermody and Seamus Coyle. Novelty act - Seamus McDermott, Dermot McKenna, Neville Jessop, Seán Daly, Helen Coyle, Catherine Daly, Anna Marie McKenna and Gráinne Healy. Set Dancing - Kathleen Caffrey, Deirdre Healy, Sinéad O'Neill, Liz Fagan, Marius Reilly, Micheál Fagan, Michael Caffrey and Michael McDonnell. Rehearsals are ongoing throughout the area and we wish all the competitors the best of luck.

Lotto
We held our first lotto draw of 2010 on Tuesday January 26th in The Woolpack. The numbers drawn for the jackpot of €10,000 were 10, 11, 12 and 22. The numbers for the second jackpot of €4,200 were 7, 10, 18 and 28. Neither was won and the €30 winners were. 1. Grace, Peter & Michael McKenna. 2. Gerry Doyle. 3. Mick Owens. 4. Peter Devine. 5. Marius Reilly. The next draw for a total of €14,400 will be held in Comiskey's, Castlepollard on Tuesday February 9th. Make sure you have your ticket.

Training.
Training for both ladies and men adult teams has resumed. Contact Marius or Paudge for details.

Wit    Monday January 25th 2010

Junior Shield Final.
The 2009 Junior Shield final between Ballycomoyle and Loughnavalley took place last Saturday afternoon in The Downs. This fixture had to be postponed on a number of occasions previously but in the end proved to be well worth the wait for Ballycomoyle. From the throw in our lads were straight into action and had the better of the play for the opening exchanges. The first score of the game came Ballycomoyle’s way with a free perfectly taken by Kevin Gavigan. This settled our lads even more and they went on to dominate the first twenty minutes of the half with some great passage play and further points from Dan Carty, Alan Fitzsimons (3)  Bill Ryan and a second from Kevin Gavigan. In this period Loughnavalley registered only 2 points both from frees. In the last ten minutes of the first half Loughnavalley with whom we have had many a hard battle over the years showed that we weren’t going to have it all our own way. They scored a further 3 points to finish the half 2 points adrift on a scoreline of 7 points to 2.
The second half started as the fog was beginning to descend on the field and turned out to be more of the ding dong battle that we would have expected. Loughnavalley scored a point in the first exchanges to come within one point and put the pressure on Ballycomoyle. We replied with a point from the boot of Derek Cheevers. Two further points from Loughnavalley brought the sides level. It was at this stage that Ballycomoyle’s true grit emerged. The introduction of stalwarth Tossy Brady and a mammoth effort by all on the Ballycomoyle side combined to give us another point from Alan Fitzsimons and the goal from Roaney Fagan that would eventually see us over the line. Loughnavalley registered a further 3 points but by now we could smell victory and weren’t letting go. It finished 1-9 to 11 points. In addition to those scorers mentioned there were fantastic individual performances throughout the field from all those who started as well as the three substitutes used. I don’t like to single out  particular players but our midfield pairing of Dan Carty and Bill Ryan were exceptional as were Gerry Rynne and Captain Fantastic James McHugh in the backs. This victory was just reward for a Ballycomoyle panel and management who had put in huge effort throughout the year. As James McHugh said in his victory speech the next thing we want is “The one with the lugs on it”. The team on the day were as follows: Niall McKenna, Maurice Gavigan, James McHugh, Damien Fagan, Keith Weldon, Paul Dermody, Gerry Rynne, Dan Carty, Billy Ryan, Kevin Gavigan, Ronan Fagan, Pauraic Fitzsimons, Alan Fitzsimons, Derek Cheevers, Paul Molloy  Subs: Tossy Brady (Came on), Gary Farrelly(Came on), Mark McNicholas (Came on), Brian Caffrey, David O’Rourke, Jamie Ward, William Corrigan, Robert Cooney, Andrew Dowdall, Noel Morgan, Ray Farrelly and Eddie Boylan..

Thank You.
Ballycomoyle club would like to thank Ringtown and Ballymachugh GAA clubs for the use of their facilities in the run up to the above game. It gave us a great advantage to have the use of all-weather facilities during the harsh weather.

Dinner Dance
The annual Ballycomoyle dinner dance and presentation night will be held next Saturday January 30th in the Crover House Hotel, Mountnugent.  By now we would hope that you all have your tickets. If not rush around to one of the following outlets. Lakeshore Homestore, Castlepollard; Seven Wonders Bar, Fore; Kutz Hairdressers, Collinstown; Doynes, Glenidan or ring Ray Farrelly, Helen Coyle or Ann Dermody.  As in previous years Alan Salmon will be handling the transport to and from the venue. To arrange your pick-up point phone Alan on (086)1526338.

Monday January 18th 2010

Dinner Dance
The annual Ballycomoyle dinner dance and presentation night will be held on Saturday night January 30th in the Crover House Hotel, Mountnugent.  Tickets at €40 each are now available and can be had from the following outlets. Lakeshore Homestore, Castlepollard; Seven Wonders Bar, Fore; Kutz Hairdressers, Collinstown; Doynes, Glenidan or from Ray Farrelly, Helen Coyle or Ann Dermody.  We strongly encourage people to get their tickets before Monday 25th of January to give the Hotel a fair chance of being prepared for the numbers who arrive.  For the last 2 years our Dinner Dance has been the highlight of the Ballycomoyle social calendar and a great springboard from which to launch the following years activities. We expect that this year will be no different. Looking forward to seeing you all there. 

Scór na nÓg.
Although Ballycomoyle didn't have any competitors in the Leinster Final of Scór na nÓg, we were represented well at the event by Sarah Fagan who sang Amhrán na bFhiann. Sarah is the Westmeath solo singing county champion and has been asked to sing the National anthem again for the All Ireland final of the competition. Well done.

Scór Sinsear.
Preparations for Senior Scór are ongoing. Ballycomoyle will be taking part in the County Semi-final on Sunday afternoon February 21st in The Downs GAA hall at 4pm. I hope to have a full list of our participants in the coming weeks. 

Sympathy
The members of Ballycomoyle extend their sympathy to the Doyne  family, Glenidan following the death of Una (Nee Meehan)  last Friday. May she Rest in Peace. 

Membership.
Now that all Christmas related activities are over could you please turn your attention to the documentation sent out by Club Registrar, Niall McKenna at the end of the December. As explained by Niall it is important that we get all memberships sorted out before any club activities get underway.

Monday January 11th 2010

Dinner Dance
The annual Ballycomoyle dinner dance and presentation night will be held on Saturday night January 30th in the Crover House Hotel, Mountnugent.  Tickets at €40 each are now available and can be had from any of the committee members. If you have any difficulty getting a ticket ring Ray Farrelly (087) 2264205 or Helen Coyle (087)2207374. For the last 2 years our Dinner Dance has been the highlight of the Ballycomoyle social calendar and a great springboard from which to launch the following years activities. We expect that this year will be no different. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Scór
The Leinster final of Scór na nÓg will be held in Ballymore Community Centre on Sunday next January 17th. While Ballycomoyle have no survivors at this stage you might want to go along to see how the remaining Westmeath participants get on. The event is all ticket so if you wish to attend contact Catherine Daly (087)9185962. She may able to get hold of a few tickets even at this stage.
Meanwhile preparation for Senior Scór has commenced. Catherine is still recruiting in some categories and would welcome volunteers. You’ll get her on (087)9185962.

Sympathy
The members of Ballycomoyle extend their sympathy to the Farrelly family, Hilltown following the death of Mary (Nee Travers) on December 30th last. May she Rest in Peace. 

Membership.
Now that all Christmas related activities are over could you please turn your attention to the documentation sent out by Club Registrar, Niall McKenna at the end of the December. As explained by Niall it is important that we get all memberships sorted out before any club activities get underway. Get stuck into it.

Club Contacts:  

 
Last modified: June 29, 2010