Junior Shield Final.
The illusive Junior Shield final almost happened on Sunday last. On this occasion the lads actually got as far as boarding the team bus but unfortunately the venue was unplayable due to the weather conditions. The match has now been rescheduled for Saturday January 2nd in the Downs at 1.30. Great credit is due to all the players and management who are still training hard in very unfavourable weather conditions. Hang in there lads; everything comes to he who waits.

Lotto.  
Our Christmas lotto draw was held in the Seven Wonders Bar, Fore, on Friday night last. The numbers drawn for the €10,000 were 8, 9, 26 & 27. The numbers for the €4,000 were 6, 22, 26 & 27. Neither jackpot was won and the €30 winners were as follows: 1. Lezette Ketley, 2. Oisín Bolton, 3. Ann Lynch, 4. Louise Farrelly, 5. Brian Murphy. The special Christmas draw prizes went to the following: Christmas Hamper - Patrick Ginnell, Turkey Voucher & Brandy - Colin O'Rourke, Ham Voucher & Brandy - Eamon Lynch, Roast Voucher & Gin - Maurice & Gemma Gavigan, Christmas Cake - Seamus & Lesley Fay, Brandy & Biscuits - Ray Farrelly, Brandy & Chocolates - Declan Browne, Whiskey & Biscuits - Johnny Keating, Whiskey & Chocolates - Una Doyne, Baileys & Biscuits - Katie Gavigan, Baileys & Chocolates - Martin Murphy, Hardware Voucher - Bridget Weir, Wine - Mick Comiskey, Biscuits - Ushnagh Fitzpatrick, Chocolates - Liam Reilly.  The Lotto Committee would like to thank all the people who sold tickets during 2009. They would particularly like to thank the hosting venues for their help and co-operation throuhghout the year. Thank you also to the many people who bought tickets whenever they were asked. If you haven't already struck lucky maybe  2010 will be your year.  

Seven Wonders Poker Classic.
Ita Halpin says a big thank you to all who turned up on Sunday evening last to support the annual poker classic. The weather was attrocious but the event was nonetheless a huge success. Proceeds will go to the Jack & Jill Foundation.

Congratulations.
Congratulations to our ladies Chairman, Sinéad Gallagher, who hit the jackpot in the Westmeath GAA Club Development Lotto last week. Sinéad, who got a prize of €4,700, bought the ticket from Helen Coyle who has been selling these tickets on behalf of the Ladies County Board for the past couple of years. 

Dinner Dance
The annual Ballycomoyle dinner dance and presentation night will be held on Saturday night January 30th in the Crover House Hotel, Mountnugent.  This has become one of the social events of the year in the community and we expect this year will be no different. Further details nearer the night but put it in your new diary as soon as Santy delivers it.

Happy Christmas.
We wish all our players, members and supporters a very happy & holy Christmas and a healthy new year. We hope to see you all out in force again in 2010 to build on the very successful year gone by.

Monday December 14th 2009

Scór na nÓg.
The Leinster Final of Scór na nÓg will take place in Ballymore community centre on Sunday January 17th. Anybody in the club who wishes to attend this event should contact Catherine Daly for tickets on (044 9666370)

Scór Concert.
Thank you to all our Scór participants who took part in the fundraising concert in Delvin on Friday night last. It was a great evenings entertainment. Thank you also to Olive Leonard of Delvin Scór for the invitation to take part.  

Lotto.
The next Lotto draw will be our Christmas Special. It will be held in The Seven Wonders Bar, Fore on Friday night next December 18th. In addition to our two jackpots of €10,000 and €4,000 we will have loads of extra prizes on the night. Sellers who want extra books can contact Niall McKenna or Helen Coyle.

Seven Wonders Poker Classic.
Ita Halpin will be holding the annual poker classic on Sunday December 20th in the Seven Wonders bar at 5pm sharp. Proceeds on this occasion will go to the Jack & Jill foundation. Tickets are €25 each and can be purchased from Ita at (044)9661114.

Dinner Dance
The annual Ballycomoyle dinner dance and presentation night will be held on Saturday night January 30th in the Crover House Hotel, Mountnugent.  This has become one of the social events of the year in the community and we expect this year will be no different. Further details nearer the night but put it in your new diary as soon as Santy delivers it.

Monday December 7th 2009

Scór na nÓg.
Sarah Fagan, our Westmeath County Champion in the solo singing category of Scór na nÓg was representing Club and County in the Leinster semi-final on Saturday evening last in Ballymore. Sarah gave a beautiful rendition of “The Hills of South Armagh” as usual. On a night when the competition was very tough, however, Sarah’s and Ballycomoyle’s voyage in Scór na nÓg for this season was judged to be over by the adjudicators present. Sarah and each of the other 47 Ballycomoyle participants, who took part since early November, are already looking forward to next year’s competition with confidence.
I was asked by the Ladies Cluib to relay their congrtatulations to Sarah and all her co-participants in scór on a job well done.

Scór Concert.
For any of you who haven’t already seen the abundance of talent which was on display by our Scór participants, there is one last chance. Delvin Scór committee have arranged a fundraising concert to be held in St. Patrick’s Hall, Delvin next Friday night December 11th at 8pm. Most of the young people who have beeen representing Ballycomoyle and Delvin in the Scór na nÓg competition will be taking part as will a host of other talent. It promises to be a great night’s entertainment and will also give our talented youngsters the opportunity to perform without the pressure of competition and adjudicators. An opportunity that I know they are looking forward to.

Lotto.
The next Lotto draw will be our Christmas Special. It will be held in The Seven Wonders Bar, Fore on Friday night December 18th. In addition to our two jackpots of €10,000 and €4,000 we will have loads of extra prizes on the night. Sellers who want extra books can contact Niall McKenna or Helen Coyle.

Best Wishes.
Best wishes from all in the club to Noreen Egan & Jimmy Rhynne who are getting married at the weekend.

Seven Wonders Poker Classic.
Ita Halpin will be holding the annual poker classic on Sunday December 20th in the Seven Wonders bar at 5pm sharp. Proceeds on this occasion will go to the Jack & Jill foundation. Tickets are €25 each and can be purchased from Ita at (044)9661114.

Dinner Dance
The annual Ballycomoyle dinner dance and presentation night will be held on Saturday night January 30th in the Crover House Hotel, Mountnugent.  This has become one of the social events of the year in the community and we expect this year will be no different. Further details nearer the night but put it in your new diary as soon as Santy delivers it.

Girls Night Out.
The more mature (if mature is the right word) members of our victorious Ladies Junior team had a night out at the weekend. They were accompanied by a couple of male accomplices and it emerged over the course of the night that “slut red” is Seán Ds coulour of choice when it comes to make-up. Most of them finished up in the final fence but for one in particular the fence proved too high to overcome.

Snippets
Harry F had almost to ring fire brigade after setting wheelie bin alight. Seamus F has a nice picture of himself  hovering his sitting room on facebook.. The modern man.

Monday November 30th 2009

T. Lynch [Thomas] RIP
It was with sadness that we learned, last week, of the untimely death of T. Lynch of Robinstown. The Lynch family has been a major part of Ballycomoyle GAA club since its foundation and T was no different. He wore the blue and white jersey proudly on many occasions and was part of the first team to field for the club after it was reformed in 1985. Our thoughts are with the Lynch family at this time. May he Rest in Peace.

Scór na nÓg
Our young Scór competitors were out in Ballymore on Sunday evening last, in the County Final, where every one, individually and as team members, gave their very best. We were represented in six of the eight categories as follows: Solo Singing (2 representatives): Fergal Tiernan & Sarah Fagan. Instrumental Group: Hillary Gaffney, John Coyle, Alice Murphy, Agnes Hogan. Recitation (2 Representatives): Jennie O’Rourke & Bláthnaid Daly. Ballad Group: John Coyle, Jennie O’Rourke, Mairéad O’Rourke, Alisha Fitzpatrick & Jane Coyle Question Time: Killian Daly, Peter McKenna, Andrew Leahy. Novelty Act: Kelly Coyle, Killian Daly, Clíodhna Daly, Saoirse Farrelly, Bláthnaid Daly, Ciara Walsh, Caoimhe McCrossan, Peter McKenna.  After the dust settled, as it were, and the judges gave their verdict we were disappointed in a lot of categories. We were, however, delighted to hear the name of Sarah Fagan one of our Solo singers being called out as the winner of that category. Sarah now goes forward to represent Ballycomoyle and Co. Westmeath in the Leinster semi-final in Ballymore Community Centre next Saturday evening where proceedings kick off at 6pm. Once again we must thank Catherine Daly, her helpers and particularly the entire forty eight young people who represented our Club and Community for all the entertainment so far.

Lotto.
Our Lotto draw due to be held this week was cancelled as a mark of respect to T. Lynch. The next draw will be our Christmas Special. It will be held in The Seven Wonders Bar, Fore on Friday night December 18th. In addition to our two jackpots of €10,000 and €4,000 we will have loads of extra prizes on the night. Sellers who want extra books can contact Niall McKenna or Helen Coyle.

Santa Claus is coming to Fore.
The man with the white beard is coming to The Abbey House in Fore next Sunday evening December 6th at around 3pm. The event is being organised as a fundraiser for Crumlin Children’s Hospital and a small donation of €5 per child is all that is being asked for. I hear he won’t on this occasion be using his sleigh but instead may be arriving by horse and trap. Perhaps this is as a result of global warning.

AGM Update.
My apologies to the following people who were appointed to positions at our AGM on Sunday 22nd November but whom I neglected to mention in last weeks notes. Culture and Language Officer: Catherine Daly, Underage Secretary: Kevin Walsh, Health & Safety Officers: Micháel Fagan & Noel Morgan. Sorry folks but I got waylaid on the way home from the AGM and the surprise is not that I left people out but rather that I managed to put anyone in.

Seven Wonders Poker Classic.
Ita Halpin will be holding the annual poker classic on Sunday December 20th in the Seven Wonders bar at 5pm sharp. Proceeds on this occasion will go to the Jack & Jill foundation. Tickets are €25 each and can be purchased from Ita at (044)9661114.

Get Well Wishes.
We all wish Bill Corrigan a speedy recovery from a recent illness.

Congratulations.
Congratulations to Barbara Heslin and Ciarán Ring who got engaged during the week. Congratulations also to two Ballycomoyle men who started new ventures recently. Marius Reilly has opened his new premises “Lakeshore Homestore” at Tesco, Castlepollard and David Cunningham has taken over the stewardship of The Lough Lene Inn, Collinstown.

Monday November 23rd 2009

Junior Shield Final.
The Junior Shield final has still to take place. Our opponents Loughnavalley are involved in some fixtures which are back-logged due to the recent bad weather and we should have more news next week.

Scór na nÓg
After outstanding performances from participants in all categories of the two Semi-finals of Scór na nÓg last weekend Ballycomoyle were successful in the following:  Solo Singing (2 representatives): Fergal Tiernan & Sarah Fagan. Instrumental Group: Hillary Gaffney, John Coyle, Alice Murphy, Agnes Hogan. Recitation (2 Representatives): Jennie O’Rourke & Bláthnaid Daly. Ballad Group: John Coyle, Jennie O’Rourke, Mairéad O’Rourke, Alisha Fitzpatrick & Jane Coyle Question Time: Killian Daly, Peter McKenna, Andrew Leahy. Novelty Act: Kelly Coyle, Killian Daly, Clíodhna Daly, Saoirse Farrelly, Bláthnaid Daly, Ciara Walsh, Caoimhe McCrossan, Peter McKenna. Unfortunately our remaining participants did not get the go-ahead from the judges on this occasion. We can now look forward with optimism to a County final in Ballymore next Sunday evening at 3pm, where we have our strongest ever representation. We have participants in six of the eight categories with a double-up in the two solo events.  Great credit is due to our Culture & language Officer, Catherine Daly, on her tremendous work with all our scór participants where she has lifted them to a new high. Best of luck to all next weekend.  

AGM.
Our Club AGM took place last Sunday evening, Nov. 22nd in our new Portacabin at Ballycomoyle. After a very successful meeting where all categories of the club reported a great year we proceeded to elect our Officers for the coming year as follows: Presidents: Jimmy Leahy & Jimmy Fay, Vice-Presidents: Larry Masterson, Mick Ginnell & Maureen Fay, Chairman: Ray Farrelly, Vice-Chairman: Dermot McKenna, Secretary: Helen Coyle, Assistant Secretary: Catherine Daly, Treasurer: Anne Dermody, P.R.O: Seamus Coyle, Registrar: Niall McKenna. Ladies Chairperson: Sinead Gallagher, Ladies Secretary: Clodagh O’Neill,  Ladies Registrar: Claire Coyle, Development Officer: Michael McCormack, Coaching Officer: Marius Reilly, Youth & Children’s Officer: Seán Dermody, Alcohol & Substance abuse officer: Anna-Marie McKenna, Schools Co-Ordinators: Gráinne  Healy, Clodagh O’Neill & Anna-Marie McKenna, Players reps: Junior Men: James McHugh, Ladies: Joanne Walsh & Sabrina Dermody, Delegates to County Board and Convention: Men’s: Gerry & Ray Farrelly and Larry Masterson, Ladies: Claire Coyle, Marius Reilly, Sinead Gallagher & Mary Quinn.  Executive Committee as nominated but too plentiful to mention.  A number of recommendations and motions before the AGM were noted and put forward for consideration at the first committee meeting. We finished with tea sandwiches and some beautiful pastries provided by our talented membership, men and women.  

Lotto.
The lotto draw took place in Doynes on Tuesday 17th.  There were no winners of the two jackpots.  The numbers were €10,000: 7, 12, 24 and 27. €3,800: 5, 15, 19 and 27.  The winners of the €30 were: Ciara Walsh, Dympna English, Alma Hayden, Elaine Downey and Tomás Owens.  Thanks to everyone who supports our lotto.  Next draw is December 1st in Comiskeys for jackpots of €10,000 and €4,000.

Monday November 16th 2009

Junior Shield Final.
The elusive Junior Shield final still hasn’t taken place. At the moment it is not fixed for this coming weekend.

Scór na nÓg
We had our second group of Scór na nÓg participants out in Milltown Community centre last Saturday evening. We were represented in seven of the eight categories. In six of these we were successful and the following go through to the County semi-final in the Downs GAA Centre on Saturday night next Nov 21st  at 7.30pm. Solo Singing: Sarah Fagan. Instrumental Group: Kelly Coyle, Killian Daly, Andrew Leahy, Sarah Fagan, Amy McNicholas. Recitation: Bláthnaid Daly. Ballad Group: Marie Egan, Clíodhna Daly, Saoirse Farrelly, Amy McNicholas, Shauna Coghlan. Question Time: Killian Daly, Peter McKenna, Andrew Leahy. Novelty Act: Kelly Coyle, Killian Daly, Clíodhna Daly, Saoirse Farrelly, Bláthnaid Daly, Ciara Walsh, Caoimhe McCrossan, Peter McKenna. Our young figure dancing troupe didn’t win the vote of the judges but they did win the hearts of the audience and no doubt they will be back in future years to collect many trophies. They lined out as follows: Naomi Fitzpatrick, Aoibhínn Dolan, Bláthnaid Daly, Saoirse Fitzpatrick, Clodagh Williams, Caitríona Kennedy, Clodagh O’Brien & Orla Fox, Subs: Emily O'Brien, Laoise Dolan.
The Group who performed last week and who are in the semi-final in Ballymore on Friday 20th at 7.30pm are as follows. Figure Dancing: Hillary Gaffney, Alanna Clogher, Katie Egan, Bibi O'Reilly, Alisha & Yesim Fitzpatrick, Mary Doyle, Agnes Hogan. Sub: Alice Murphy. Solo Singing: Fergal Tiernan. Instrumental Group: Hillary Gaffney, John Coyle, Alice Murphy, Agnes Hogan. Recitation: Jennie O'Rourke. Ballad Group: Alisha Fitzpatrick, Jane Coyle, Jennie & Mairead O'Rourke, John Coyle. Set Dancing: Alice Murphy, Alisha Fitzpatrick, Jane Coyle, Sinead Connell, John Coyle, John Egan, Conor McLaverty and Tommy Gallagher.   

St Michael’s Minor.
The St. Michael’s minor team played the Div 3 county final on Friday evening last against a strong Bunbrosna side. After a close encounter St. Michael’s emerged victorious by a margin of four points. This was the last of the juvenile games for the season and a big thank you is due to all the people who gave tirelessly of their time since last March to keep the Ballycomoyle and St. Michael’s flags flying.

AGM.
The Club AGM takes place in Ballycomoyle on Sunday next November 22nd at 2.30pm. All members are encouraged to attend. This is the meeting that will shape the club for the next twelve months and it’s important that voices from all facets of the club should be heard.    

Monday November 9th 2009

Junior Shield Final.
At the moment it isn’t clear when the men’s Junior Shield Final will take place. This match is of huge importance to the club and when it goes ahead we would expect a large turnout of support. We will get notice of the fixture to as many as possible by text as soon as we have news.

Scór na nÓg
The first troupe of participants representing Ballycomoyle GFC were performing in Streete on Friday night last. After the judges had finished their deliberations we were deemed to be successful in six out of the eight categories. Figure Dancing: Hillary Gaffney, Alanna Clogher, Katie Egan, Bibi O'Reilly, Alisha & Yesim Fitzpatrick, Mary Doyle, Agnes Hogan. Sub: Alice Murphy. Solo Singing: Hillary Gaffney, Alanna Clogher, Katie Egan, Bibi O'Reilly, Alisha & Yesim Fitzpatrick, Mary Doyle, Agnes Hogan. Sub: Alice Murphy. Instrumental Group: Hillary Gaffney, John Coyle, Alice Murphy, Agnes Hogan. Recitation: Jennie O'Rourke. Ballad Group: Alisha Fitzpatrick, Jane Coyle, Jennie & Mairead O'Rourke, John Coyle. Set Dancing: John Coyle, Alice Murphy, Alisha Fitzpatrick, Jane Coyle, Sinead Connell, John Egan, Conor McLaverty, Tommy Gallagher. Unfortunately our Question Time team: Mairead O'Rourke, John Coyle, Reuben Byrnes. And our  Novelty Act featuring: Michael Mc Kenna, Caolan McLaverty, Ryan Farrelly, Max Charles, Reuben Byrnes, Lauren Devine, Katie Egan, Mairead O'Rourke were not successful on the night. The winning participants will be out again on Friday November 20th in Ballymore in the County semi-final.

Meanwhile on  Saturday night next in Milltown the following participants will represent Ballycomoyle Ladies Club. Figure Dancing: Naomi Fitzpatrick, Aoibhínn Dolan, Bláthnaid Daly, Aideen & Niamh Dermody, Clodagh Williams,  Caitríona Kennedy, Orla Fox, Subs: Saoirse Fitzpatrick, Emily O'Brien, Laoise Dolan. Solo Singing: Sarah Fagan. Instrumental Group: Kelly Coyle, Killian Daly, Andrew Leahy, Sarah Fagan, Amy McNicholas. Recitation: Bláthnaid Daly. Ballad Group: Marie Egan, Clíodhna Daly, Saoirse Farrelly, Amy McNicholas, Shauna Coghlan. Question Time: Killian Daly, Peter McKenna, Andrew Leahy. Novelty Act: Kelly Coyle, Killian Daly, Clíodhna Daly, Saoirse Farrelly, Bláthnaid Daly, Ciara Walsh, Caoimhe McCrossan, Peter McKenna.

St. Michael’s Under 16s.  
Thursday evening last saw St. Michael’s under 16s take on Moate in the Division 2 County final. The game started of  very tight and the teams traded scores for the first half with Moate finishing the half with a one point advantage on a scoreline of 1-7 to 2-3. They fortified this lead in the early stages of the second half and at one stage were ahead by 6 points. St. Michael’s rallied well, however, and brought it back to 1 point where the game finished. Well done to these young lads who were missing a couple of key players due to injury and had they been available who knows what the result might have been.

St Michael’s Minor.
The St. Michael’s minor team played the Div 3 county semi-final on Saturday last against Kilucan and emerged victorious. This leaves them in the final against Bunbrosna on next Friday evening in St. Lomans at 7pm.

Sympathy.
The membership of Ballycomoyle GAA Club extend their sympathy to the family of Paddy Doran who died on Wednesday of last week. May he rest in peace.

AGM.
The Club AGM takes place in Ballycomoyle on Sunday November 22nd. All nominations for the Offficer Board should now be with Helen Coyle, Club Secretary to enable her to notify the membership of the names of the nominees in advance of the meeting.  

Monday November 2nd 2009

Junior Shield Final.
At the moment it isn’t clear when the men’s Junior Shield Final will take place. This match is of huge importance to the club and when it goes ahead we would expect a large turnout of support. We will get notice of the fixture to as many as possible by text as soon as we have news.

Scór na nÓg
Our junior scór competitors will all be out flying the Bal’ flag over the next two weeks. The troupe representing Ballycomoyle GFC will be taking part in the first round in Streete Community Centre on Friday night next and are as follows. Figure Dancing: Hillary Gaffney, Alanna Clogher, Katie Egan, Bibi O'Reilly, Alisha & Yesim Fitzpatrick, Mary Doyle, Agnes Hogan. Sub: Alice Murphy. Solo Singing: Hillary Gaffney, Alanna Clogher, Katie Egan, Bibi O'Reilly, Alisha & Yesim Fitzpatrick, Mary Doyle, Agnes Hogan. Sub: Alice Murphy. Instrumental Group: Hillary Gaffney, John Coyle, Alice Murphy, Agnes Hogan. Recitation: Jennie O'Rourke. Ballad Group: Alisha Fitzpatrick, Jane Coyle, Jennie & Mairead O'Rourke, John Coyle. Question Time: Mairead O'Rourke, John Coyle, Reuben Byrnes. Novelty Act: Michael McKenna, Caolan McLaverty, Ryan Farrelly, Max Charles, Reuben Byrnes, Lauren Devine, Katie Egan, Mairead O'Rourke. Set Dancing: John Coyle, Alice Murphy, Alisha Fitzpatrick, Jane Coyle, Sinead Connell, John Egan, Conor McLaverty, Tommy Gallagher.
On the following Friday night in Milltown the following participants will represent Ballycomoyle Ladies Club. Figure Dancing: Naomi Fitzpatrick, Aoibhínn Dolan, Bláthnaid Daly, Aideen & Niamh Dermody, Clodagh Williams,  Caitríona Kennedy, Orla Fox, Subs: Saoirse Fitzpatrick, Emily O'Brien, Laoise Dolan. Solo Singing: Sarah Fagan. Instrumental Group: Kelly Coyle, Killian Daly, Andrew Leahy, Sarah Fagan, Amy McNicholas. Recitation: Bláthnaid Daly. Ballad Group: Marie Egan, Clíodhna Daly, Saoirse Farrelly, Amy McNicholas, Shauna Coghlan. Question Time: Killian Daly, Peter McKenna, Andrew Leahy. Novelty Act: Kelly Coyle, Killian Daly, Clíodhna Daly, Saoirse Farrelly, Bláthnaid Daly, Ciara Walsh, Caoimhe McCrossan, Peter McKenna. Catherine Daly, with the help of Gráinne Healy and Helen Coyle, has put a lot of work into preparing these young people for the various events and we wish them all the best of luck in their respective competitions.

St. Michael’s Under 16s and Minors.
The St. Michael’s Under 16 team have reached the final of their division and the final has not yet been fixed. Their Minor counterparts were due to play the semi-final of their  competition on Sunday last against Kilucan but unfortunately the game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. When ever the game goes ahead a final slot against Bunbrosna will await the victors.

AGM.
The Club AGM takes place in Ballycomoyle on Sunday November 22nd. All nominations for the Officer Board should now be with Helen Coyle, Club Secretary to enable her to notify the membership of the names of the nominees in advance of the meeting.  

Monday October 18th 2009

Annual Underage trip
Our trip this year will take as usual on the bank holiday Monday – October 26th.  We are travelling to Dublin Zoo and the National Aquatic Centre for anyone that aged 12 and under. Bus will leave Castlepollard at 10am and we are expected to return at 8.15pm.  Please bring packed lunch and swimming hat.  Anyone who has yet to confirm that they are going should contact Dermot McKenna 9661805 or Helen Coyle 087 2207374/ 044 9661096 as soon as possible.
For all our teenagers we are taking a trip to an adventure centre in Newcastle, Co. Down, where you will experience water based activities (with wet suits on) along with other team building activities for the day.  Bus leaving Castlepollard at 8.15am and expected back at 8.30pm.  Again contact Dermot or Helen if you have not already done so.

Men’s Junior Shield Semi-final.
Our men’s junior team fielded on Saturday evening last against St. Josephs in the semi-final of the Junior Shield. The match took place in Streamstown and our lads emerged victorious on a score line of 5-5 to 1-5. We are now into our first final at this grade in 10 years and are looking forward to the game with confidence. At the time of writing the date for the final had not been arranged.

Girls Under 16 final.
The Under 16 girls played the B final against Shamrocks in Turin on Saturday evening last also. The girls could be forgiven for thinking they were playing Manchester Utd and not Shamrocks as they lost the game on a penalty which was awarded on about the 7th or 8th minute of injury time. This is not to take from the performance of the Shamrock’s side, however, as it was a very close game throughout and could have gone either way.  It was an outstanding performance from all the team given that they were playing up in the B division.  This is a higher division than we have ever competed in under 16 previously.  Well done girls.

St. Michael’s Under 16.
St Michael’s under 16s were also victorious last week in their encounter with Killucan on Thursday evening under lights at St. Loman’s. They will now play Rochfordbridge in the County semi-final on Bank Holiday Monday Oct 26th,    

Balloon Race.
On Sunday September 13th at our Sports Day we released 1000 helium filled, biodegradable balloons from the centre of Ballycomoyle pitch.. All present watched in amazement as these balloons headed off across country in a south westerly direction; each one numbered and with instructions for the eventual finder to return it to Catherine Daly stating the location in which it was found. After a few days the balloons started to arrive back by post and very soon a geographical pattern started to emerge. There was a very distinct line appearing along the river Shannon when Catherine started to join the dots on the map. The date set for closure of entries was one month after the launch, October 13th. On that day Catherine and Seán Daly got out their geographical instruments to determine the winner.  It was a close call between one in Killnaboy in Co. Clare and one in Sixmilebridge also in Co. Clare. The Killnaboy location was found to be furthest away and Alice Murphy who sponsored the winning balloon was deemed to have won the €100 prize. Congratulations Alice and a big thank you to Catherine Daly who conceived of this novel event and organised it from start to finish,

AGM
This year’s AGM will be held in Ballycomoyle on Sunday November 22nd. Notice of the meeting and nomination papers for Club Officers should be with all members before this week is out.  Nomination forms must be returned by Friday 30th October.  If you have not received your nomination forms please contact Helen Coyle. 

Scór
Practice for Scór na nÓg is now well under way.  We have teams competing on Friday 6th November and again on Saturday 14th November.  Keep these dates free and come along and support these talented young people.

Monday October 11th 2009

Minor and Under 16 Girls.
Our Ladies Minor team under the guidance of Seán Dermody and Marius Reilly played the division 3 final on Sunday last October 11th. Unfortunately despite putting up a huge performance our girls came out second best on the day. This is a very young Minor team, however, and all but four of the starting fifteen will be out again next week in the under 16 final against Shamrocks. This game will be on Saturday 17th at 4pm with the venue still to be confirmed.

Men’s Junior Shield.
The men’s junior team will be playing in the semi-final of the Junior Shield competition most likely next Saturday but no confirmation was available at the time of writing.

Indoor Soccer.
Meanwhile the indoor soccer has commenced in Moylough on Tuesday nights. As Ray said in the text message all are welcome, young, old, big, small, fit and especially  those wishing to get fit.

Lotto
I hope you are all buying your fortnightly lotto tickets. The Jackpot now stands at €13,400. The most recent draw was held in the Town & Country, Castlepollard on Tuesday October 6th.  The numbers drawn for the €10,000 were 16, 19, 24 and 26. The numbers drawn for the €3,200 were 1, 5, 8  and 20  There was no winner of either jackpot.  The  €30 prizes went to 1. Emma Curran, 2. Seán Dermody, 3. Chris Keegan, 4. Eddie McMonagle, 5. Eilish Walsh. The next draw will take place in the Abbey House, Fore on October 20th.

Scór na nÓg
Preparations are continuing for Scór na nÓg. The first rounds will take olace in early November and I will have a full list of participants next week.

Balloon Race.
The closing date for the repatriation of  balloons which were released on September 13th at our Sports Day is Tuesday of this week. Quite a large number already been returned and Catherine Daly has had all manner of geographical measuring equipment out to determine which was found furthest away. Full details will appear next week.

Monday October 5th 2009

St. Michael’s U.14
We played our last game of the year when we travelled to take on top of the table Maryland/Tang in this years championship.  A poor first half left us trailing badly at half time but a fabulous second half performance brought us within 5 points of our opponents, but just not enough to get the draw that we needed to keep us in the championship.  Though we only lost 2 games we drew three and this left us agonisingly 1 point short of a semi final place.  Despite this set back this was still quite a good year for our U14’s with a number of excellent wins during the season.  We also for the first time organised regular training sessions every Wednesday night in Ballycomoyle and for the most part these were very well attended by the players. We hope to build on this next year by keeping Wednesday night as our training night and also finding a night that suits what will be a very talented U16 panel.

Ballycomoyle Underage Training Finishes for another year.
Despite the wettest summer on record we were once again blessed with fabulous weather when we held our final training session for the year in Ballycomoyle last Friday night. This was a year of record numbers for Ballycomoyle both in the number of training sessions we held and also the number of children attending, which averaged almost 100 children every Friday night. As we had lots of help this year with the training we decided not to take the usual two week break in August for the first time ever. This meant we held a record number of 24 training sessions in a row. On the final night when we brought down our U 14 boys and girl’s teams over 160 children filled our two pitches to capacity and put huge pressure on our catering staff for the evening.  Our BBQ and refreshments which served burgers, hot dogs and drinks and there was also a cup of tea and sandwiches for the many parents that also attended on the night. A huge amount of time and effort goes into organising our training sessions and this could not be achieved without the help and co-operation of a great bunch of people. 
To our trainers who gave a huge amount of their time not only on Friday nights but also on attending training courses during the year we say a huge Thank You.  Those involved were:
U6         Elaine Caffrey, Karen Coyle, Amy Connell, Ciara Clogher and a large number of helpers
U8          Paul Mooney and Micheál Fagan
U10 boys   Frank Gilsenan, Noel Morgan and Dermot McKenna
U12 girls    Kevin Walsh and Sabrina Dermody
U12 boys  Marius Reilly and Paul McCrossan
U14 girls    Helen Coyle and Gerry Farrelly
A very important part of Friday night is the bus service which we organise from Collinstown, Fore, and Castlepollard.  A special thank you to Paula Hillard and friends who supervised the children on the bus since the service began a number of years ago.  This takes huge pressure off the underage committee and is very much appreciated. Thanks to Salmon Bus Hire also for the great service provided.
To Clodagh O’Neill for making the tea for us all and providing refreshments every Friday night we thank you sincerely.
To the afore mentioned catering staff on the night led so well by the naked chef himself Sean Daly Paddy and Christine Egan Maureen Fay Ann and Sinéad Gallagher  Sean and Ann Dermody and Teresa O’Brien and friends we  say thank you very much. To all the Parents who have supported our training sessions and football games during the year and who also brought lots of goodies for the children on the final night we sincerely thank you all for your support.
Ballycomoyle are always looking for ways to improve the facilities and services that we provide to our underage players and if any of the parents/guardians would like to get involved or have any ideas which might help we would be delighted to hear from you.
See you all again in Ballycomoyle in 25 weeks time PG.

Minor Ladies.
Our Minor Ladies team under the guidance of Seán Dermody and Marius Reilly held out against a gallant Loughnavalley side on Saturday last to win the Div. 3 championship semi-final. They play the final against Clann Gaels on a date yet to be fixed. The Under 16 ladies div 2 final also remains to be fixed. They will most likely be on the next two weekends but we don’t know in which order.

Monday September 28th 2009

Under 14 Girls add Division 2 Championship to the honours for 2009.
The under 14 Girls took the Division 2 Championship final in style on Saturday last in Kinnegad.  The opposition was near neighbours Clann Gaels.  With a full compliment of players available and everyone willing to give of their best it promised to be a good day.  From the throw in the Ballycomoyle girls chased every ball, they ran into space for each other and supported each other right throughout the field.  They  never gave their opponents a chance to settle on the ball.  All the forwards had their ‘on target boots’ on for the day with scores coming from six different players.  In defence Clann Gaels found it very difficult to break through our very solid defence with superb performances from all.  Our goalkeeper pulled off some wonderful saves.  Our mid field pairing worked tirelessly throughout the game, never holding back at any stage.  All in all it was a superb team performance which we are all very proud of.
Thanks to Helen, Gerry and Micheal who have looked after this team all year.
Final Score: Ballycomoyle 5-10 Clann Gaels 2-2
Team:  Shauna Coghlan, Laura Coyle, Maria Henry, Shannon Farrelly, Amy McNicholas, Niamh Clogher, Anne-Marie Kennedy, Nicola Fagan, Avril Fagan, Caoimhe McCrossan, Alice Murphy, Captain, Ruth Mulligan, Kelly Coyle, Aoife Gallagher, Alanna Clogher. Subs: Lauren Devine, Ciara Walsh, Sarah Fagan, Saoirse Farrelly, Rachel Flood, Bibi O’Reilly, Gemma Faherty, Katie Egan, Marie Egan,

Under 10 Boys Finals
On 12th September our under 10 boys travelled to Killucan for the finals of the north Westmeath league.  Their opponents for the day were Delvin.  This was a very close encounter with very little between the teams.  Hard work and determination were the order of the day for the Ballycomoyle boys who came out eventual winners.  Final score Ballycomoyle 5 points Delvin 2 points. 
Thanks to Noel, Frank and Dermot for looking after this team all year.
Team: Eoin Daly, Ryan McLoughlin, Nathan Aughey, Dillon Smyth, Charles Flynn, Shane McGuigan, Barry Dowdell, Eoin Fagan, Seán Doran, Mark Leahy, Joe Higgins, Stephen Wheatley, Killian Smith, Aaron Kennedy, Joe Gilsenan, Shane Lynch, Michael McKenna, Aaron Walsh, Ryan Lawler, Ben Riordan, Dillon Mackey, Oisín Sheil, Cian Smyth, Oran Hannon, Denis Farrelly, Mitch Doyle.

Scór
Scór na nÓg is kicking off shortly.  There are 8 different categories for this competition : Figure dancing, Instrumental Music Group, Recitation, Solo Singing, Ballad Group, Novelty Act, Question Time and Set Dancing.  Any one wishing to take part should contact Catherine Daly 087 9185962.

Fundraiser for Ladies County Board
The Ladies county board are looking for bags of old clothes, shoes, bed linen, curtains as part of a fundraiser for the county under 14 team.  If anyone has a bag full can you please drop them to Helen by Thursday evening. 

Sympathy
The members of Ballycomoyle GAA Club extend their sympathy to the family of Des Carter Senior, Glenidan who died last week. May he rest in peace.

Monday September 21st 2009

Ladies win the Junior Championship.
After 10 years in existence the junior ladies have reached the top of the junior ranks with a superb display of football at St. Lomans on Sunday last against Loughnavalley.
Games between Ballycomoyle and Loughnavalley over the last two years have always been close affairs.  It is six years since Ballycomoyle first contested a junior championship final with Loughnavalley contesting their third in a row.  The girls from Ballycomoyle have worked hard all year.  With only 5 of the team on the 2003 team, this was a first county championship final for most.  From the start of the game we got on top in all quarters of the field.  Sinead Gallagher between the posts had little to do through out the game but did pull off a save when needed to. Clodagh O’Neill and Libby Hannon on the full back line were relatively untested but dealt with what ever came their way and ensuring that no openings were given to Loughnavalley. Orla Doolin – centre forward – played a role around the centre of the field leaving Aisling Farrelly and Ruth Daniels to bridge the gap to the full forward line.  All in all the spirit and determination that all the girls played with, ensures that we will be a force to be reckoned with at intermediate level in 2010.
Loughnavalley opened the scoring with a point from a free taken by Fiona Ruane after 2 mins.  Ballycomoyle were put under a lot of pressure in defence before Ruth Daniels opened the scoreboard for us in the 7th min, with a well taken point following a free.  Ruth Daniels and Celeste Dermody followed with a point each.  In 14th min Loughnavalley Goalkeeper Alice Kerrigan pulled off two fine saves before pushing the ball out for a 45.  Celeste added another point before Loughnavalley broke through the Ballycomoyle defence and Gillian Corbett pointed from a free in 23rd min.  Celeste added a point from a free in the 24th min.  It was in the 26th min of the first half that the break through came in the way of a goal from Ruth Daniels after advantage was given for a foul on Celeste.  Celeste added another point before half time.  Half time score Ballycomoyle 1-6 Loughnavalley 0-2.
They say that the first 10 mins of the second half are crucial in deciding how the half will go, well Ballycomoyle girls made no mistake about this time.  Sabrina Dermody pointed after a pass from Keri Flynn in 3rd min and Orla Doolin scored a point in 4th min.  In the 7th min Celeste rattled the back of the net.  A minute later a ball rebounded from a shot by Alma Hayden and Celeste was on hand to shake the net again.  Loughnavalley tried to break through the defence but Mary Quinn, Jane Coyle and Karen Coyle were superb and were not letting anything through.  Cariosa O’Neill held Loughnavalley’s top scorer for the year Gillian Corbett scoreless from play for the whole game.  Celeste added another point from a free in 12th min before Ruth ended a solo run with the ball in the back of the net. Throughout the game Captain Joanne Walsh, Hazel Whyte and Orla Doolin worked tirelessly around the middle of the field.  Ruth added another point in 20th minute.  In 27th min Alma Hayden was pulled down in the square and the penalty which was awarded was delivered safely to the back of the net by Celeste.  In the final minute of the game Celeste to display her true style for the day fisted over a point from a pass from Carmel Coyle.
Final score Ballycomoyle 5-ll Loughnavalley 0-2.
Well done to Marius Reilly and Helen Coyle who have looked after the team all year.
Ballycomoyle team: Sinéad Gallagher, Clodagh O’Neill, Libby Hannon, Mary Quinn, Cariosa O’Neill, Karen Coyle, Jane Coyle, Hazel Whyte, Joanne Walsh, Ruth Daniels, Orla Doolin, Aisling Farrelly, Celeste Dermody, Alma Hayden, Sabrina Dermody. Subs: Keri Flynn for Aisling Farrelly, Thérese O’Keeffe for Hazel Whyte, Carmel Coyle for Sabrina Dermody, Claire Cheevers for Clodagh O’Neill, Olivia Kenny for Alma Hayden, Aoife Gallagher, Alice Murphy, Sinéad Connell, Shauna Boyne, Amy Connell, Mairéad O’Rourke, Michelle Rooney, Rebekah Flood, Ciara Clogher, Aofie Flynn, Louise Nea, Emma Sullivan, Aisling Dermody, Gillian Ward, Jenny Cooney and Laura Tierney.

Scór
Scór na nÓg is kicking off shortly.  There are 8 different categories for this competition : Figure dancing, Instrumental Music Group, Recitation, Solo Singing, Ballad Group, Novelty Act, Question Time and Set Dancing.  Any one wishing to take part should contact Catherine Daly 087 9185962.
Under 14 girls play Clann Gaels in their county final on Saturday at 1pm.  Venue has yet to be confirmed.  Contact Helen Coyle 087 2207374 for confirmation later in the week. All support for this team is greatly appreciated.
Sports Day:  A very successful sports day was held on Sunday 13th September.  Many thanks to every one who helped out, on the day and in the weeks leading up to it, to make it a very worthwhile fundraiser.  The weather was also very kind to us.  The balloon race is on and anyone who may still have cards please return them to Catherine Daly or any of the committee asap.

Monday September 7th 2009

Big Weekend Coming Up.
The weekend of 11th 12th and 13th of September will be the biggest weekend in the Ballycomoyle Calendar for 2009.

Friday 11th.
On the evening of Friday the 11th we will have the finals of our Men’s and Ladies 7-a-side tournaments. After the preliminary rounds on Sunday last we are left with the following pairings for the final. At 6 30pm the ladies final takes place between Ballycomoyle and Coralstown/Kinnegad. This wil be followed at 7.15pm by the men’s final between Mountnugent and Castletown Finea Coole Whitehall. Many thanks to all the other clubs who fielded on Sunday in very hostile weather conditions. These tournaments are being held in honour of two great Ballycomoyle people who died over the past year. The men’s tournament is for the Paddy Masterson Cup. Paddy, who died this time last year in a traffic accident, was a former player and great friend to Ballycomoyle. The ladies tournament is for the Kathleen Corrigan Cup. Kathleen, with her brothers Paddy & Seán Kennedy and husband Bill have been associated with the Ballycomoyle club since its foundation.

Saturday 12th
On Saturday the 12th we will team up with Clann Lir C.C.E to present a day of Irish Music and Culture. On Saturday afternoon there will be Irish Music workshops taking place in Castlepollard Community College from 2pm. Details from Ray Farrelly (087)2264205. On Saturday night in Coole Hall The Leinster Comhaltas Youth Group will be in concert. This is an event not to be missed as up to 25 of the best traditional musicians in this Country will be on stage.

Sunday 13th
On Sunday the 13th our Ballycomoyle Monster Sports Day will be taking place in the pitch from 1pm. The number and varietyof events and side-shows which will form this day gets bigger and bigger. There will be races for tots up to Mammy’s and Daddy’s. There will be ladies and men’s tug-o-war. You will get an opportunity to throw a wet sponge at your team mentor. You can test your skill in any number of side shows like wellie throwing, riding a crazy bike, steady hand test and throwing horse shoes to name but a few. There will also be a dog show so bring along your family pet and test his or her beauty and talent against the competition. The Highlight of the day will be when we release 1000 balloons to the four winds. Each of these balloons will have been sponsored and the person whose balloon is returned from the greatest distance (be it balbriggan or Ballymanus) will get a prize of €100. Make sure you get yours before they are let go at about 3pm on Sunday the 13th.
The barbeques will  be going all day to make sure nobody goes home hungry and there is plenty of live music lined up for the gig-rig to entertain you while you take a break from the hectic schedule.

Under 16 Girls.
Our under 16 girls had a great victory in the County semi-final on Monday evening Aug 31st. Against a very good Athlone team our girls held on to win by a nailbiting margin of two points.

Speedy Recovery
We wish Amy Connell a speedy recovery from injuries received in an unfortunate collision during training on Saturday evening last.

Monday August 31st 2009

Phil Shields
Our sympathy is with the Shields family, Hilltown, this week following the death of Phil. Phil, a President of Ballycomoyle GAA Club, was a very capable footballer as a young man.  He played on the 1953 team who reached the County Final of that year. When we had a reunion of the players from that era in May of this year Phil, unfortunately, was unable to attend. His name, however, came up again and again on the night. He will be sadly missed by his family and many friends.

Big Weekend Coming Up.
The weekend of 11th 12th and 13th of September will bring a mixture of celebration and sadness to all in Ballycomoyle.

Friday 11th
On the evening of Friday the11th we will have the finals of our Men’s and Ladies 7-a-side tournaments. These tournaments, both of which commence next weekend are being held in honour of two great Ballycomoyle people who died over the past year. The men’s tournament is for the Paddy Masterson Cup. Paddy, who died this time last year in a traffic accident, was a former player and great friend to Ballycomoyle. The ladies tournament is for the Kathleen Corrigan Cup. Kathleen, with her brothers Paddy & Seán Kennedy and husband Bill have been associated with the Ballycomoyle club since its foundation.

Saturday 12th
On Saturday the 12th we will team up with Clann Lir C.C.E to present a day of Irish Music and Culture, again in tribute to Paddy Ma who was the life and soul of all such gatherings locally. On Saturday afternoon there will be Irish Music workshops taking place in Castlepollard Community College from 2pm. Details from Ray Farrelly (087)2264205. On Saturday night in Coole Hall The Leinster Ceomhaltas Youth Group will be in concert. This is an event not to be missed as up to 25 of the best traditional musicians in this Country will be on stage.

Sunday 13th
On Sunday the 13th our Ballycomoyle Monster Sports Day will be taking place in the pitch from 1pm. The number and variation of events and side-shows which will form this day gets bigger and bigger. There will be races for tots up to Mammy’s and Daddy’s. There will be ladies and men’s tug-o-war. You will get an opportunity to throw a wet sponge at your team mentor. You can test your skill in any number of side shows like wellie throwing, riding a crazy bike, steady hand test and throwing Horse shoes to name but a few. The Highlight of the day will be when we release 1000 balloons to the four winds. Each of these balloons will have been sponsored and the person whose balloon is returned from the greatest distance (be it balbriggan or Ballymanus) will get a prize of €100. Make sure you get yours before they are let go at about 3pm on Sunday the 13th.The barbeques will  be going all day to make sure nobody goes home hungry and there is plenty of live music lined up for the gig-rig to entertain you while you take a break from the hectic schedule.
 

Monday August 17th 2009

Bag Packing
Thanks to all who volunteered their time over last weekend packing bags in Dunnes Stores to raise funds for the club. Once again this proved to be a worthwhile fundraiser and we are very grateful to the management and staff of Dunnes for the opportunity and for the courtesy and cooperation shown to us.

Ladies Junior Championship Semi-final
Our Ladies Junior team had a great win in the championship semi-final on Saturday evening last against The Downs. We are now through to the County Final which is fixed provisionally for Sunday August 30th. More details re venue and time next week.

Great Night in Fore.
A great night was had by all in Fore on Saturday last at the annual Seven Wonders Bar Steak festival. Ita Halpin and all who worked so hard to make the night such a success deserve a big thank you. Thanks to the man formerly known as “Beardy Micksheen” for sacrificing his beard of 36 years for the cause and to Martin Daly the Barber who performed the deed in a very professional manner, to Oliver Gilsenan the MC for the night, to the musicians who entertained us, to  the participants in “Fore’s Got Talent” and their agents, to the people who sponsored food for the barbeque and to the many chefs who cooked it, to everyone who donated items for the auction and the raffle, to the ticket sellers, to the crew who put the “tented village” together on Saturday and who turned up again on Sunday morning to dismantle it, to Ned Nolan for the power supply, to the bar staff on the night, to people who took sponsorship cards for the ”Beard Shave” and to the huge number of people who sponsored them. Finally to everyone who turned up on Saturday night and gave so generously all night long. Your support is acknowledged and appreciated by  Ballycomoyle GAA Club, St. Feichin’s N.S. Parents Association and Anne Coyle on behalf of Nazareth House Orphanage in Johannesburg.

Monday August 10th 2009

Men’s Junior Championship.
The men’s junior team exited the Championship on Tuesday evening July 28th after an epic battle with Milltown. In a game where Ballycomoyle struggled to find form we still managed to stay in touch with the opposition until very close to the end. Ballycomoyle along with the other teams who didn’t make the knockout stages of the Championship now go forward to the The Junior Shield competition. 

Bag Packing
Is your name on the roster for our bag-packing fundraiser in Dunnes Stores over the coming weekend? If not and you have a couple of hours that you can spare on Thursday, Friday or Saturday contact Gerry Farrelly (087)0527782, Anne Dermody (086)8264803 or Dermot McKenna (044)9661805 and I’m sure they’ll be able to slot you in.

Ladies Junior Championship Semi-final
Bunbrosna is the venue next Saturday evening Aug. 15th at 6.30pm for the semi final of the Ladies Junior Championship. Ballycomoyle take on The Downs and the reward for the winners will be a final against Clann Gaels or Loughnavalley who contest the other semi-final.

Steak Festival and Beard Shave.
Ita Halpin and friends from The Seven Wonders Bar, Fore have organised this year’s Steak Festival for Saturday evening next August 15th. As part of the evenings activities Michael Farrelly (Beardy Micksheen) has agreed to have his first shave in 36 years and become “Beardless Micksheen” Proceeds from the event this year will be divided between Ballycomoyle GAA Club, Fore N.S. Parents Association and Nazareth House Orphanage in Johannesburg.  The eagerly awaited “Fore’s Got Talent” competition will also form part of the evening’s entertainment. A great evening is guaranteed.

Under 10 North Westmeath League.
Ballycomoyle VS. Killucan
Our under 10 team had 2 games in the last number of weeks and although we were defeated in both there was some very nice football played in these games. Our first was away to Killucan and this was a very tight affair up to half time when we trailed by just four points and even though we scored the first point in the second half we ran out of steam and our opponents recorded the win with a few points to spare. Best on the day were Stephan Wheatley, Oisín Sheilds, Joe Higgins and Charles Flynn.

Ballycomoyle VS. The Downs
Our second game was at home to the Downs and this to be fair was a very one sided affair with our opponents much stronger than us in every part of the field. They were by far the best team in this grade to have come to Ballycomoyle over the years and played some lovely football. However it is unlikely that either team will get any real benefit from this particular outing. On the positive side our lads never stopped trying and there were great performances from Mark Leahy, Nathan Aughey, Eoin Fagan and Dylan Smyth.

St Michaels U 14 Championship.
We played our fourth game in this year’s championship when we hosted Shandonagh in Ballycomoyle on Thursday last. Having lost one game, won one game and drawn our last game against Delvin we knew that it was very important that we got a good result on this occasion to keep us in touch with the teams at the top of the league. Though we had the lions share of the possession in the first half a string of wides left us in the position that with five minutes to go to half time we had failed to register a single score Our opponents on the other hand had scored six points and totally against the run of play were well and truly in the driving seat. Thankfully we woke up and Colin Kennedy got good possession on two occasions and he quickly passed to Alan Jennings who put both across the bar to give us a foothold in the game. We need to carry on where we left of in the second half but we got the worst of starts with Shandonagh scoring a goal and a point to go into an eight point lead. Just when all seemed lost we hit a purple patch and with the help of two goals from the excellent full forward Alan Jennings and points from midfielder Ian Kilcoyne and the hard working half forwards Andrew Leahy and Killian Daly left us a point in front. At this stage it was definitely not a game for the faint hearted as the ball went from one end of the field to the other with lots of hard tackling and a few poor passes from both teams adding to the excitement. Shandonagh rallied and scored two quick points and regain the lead with time running out. It was fitting on this occasion that man of the match from St Michael’s point of view Alan Jennings gained possession on the 21 yard line and slotted across the equalizer to give us a well deserved share of the spoils. If there ever was a game that we should have won and ended up very lucky not to lose this was it. In the second half the commitment and effort shown by all our players in an effort to rescue this game was for the team management and supporters alike very satisfying. On the day our goalkeeper Peter Mc Kenna made two excellent saves to keep us in the game and the full back line of Kevin Shield, Ciarán Fagan and Shane Mc Garry were solid through the game. In the half backs Brendan O Donnell and Israel Ungunga were both excellent. There are three games left in the league section of this year’s championship and we will need a couple of good results to get us in to the top four and a semi-final spot. Having only lost one of our four games to date a top four place can be achieved if we all give 100 % over the next few weeks at both our training sessions which are held every Wednesday evening at 7 pm in Ballycomoyle and our remaining games. We cannot overstate the importance of attending training as often as possible because we are all part of the team and don't forget "THE MORE YOU PRACTICE THE LUCKIER YOU GET".

Sympathy
The members of Ballycomoyle GAA Club extend their sympathy to the family of Collette Hannon, Cummerstown who died on Friday of last week. May she rest in peace.

Monday July 27th 2009

Sponsored Cycle
The sponsored cycle was postponed due to the proximity of Championship matches for both the men’s and ladies junior teams. It was decided that a 100k cycle wouldn’t be the most appropriate preparation for such crucial games.

Ladies Junior Championship.
The ladies junior team played a tough championship game on Friday evening last against Loughnavalley. At the final whistle our girls emerged victorious and held onto their unbeaten tag for the season. On Thursday next July 30th they play the last of the first round games against Clann Gaels in Ballycomoyle at 7.30pm.  This team have developed a huge following over the past couple of seasons and will need them all and more in full voice over the next number of games. 

Summer Camp.
Well done to the Ballycomoyle players who took part in the football summercamp in Delvin last week. There was around 25 participants from our Club. A big thank you to Karen Coyle and Amy Connell who gave up their time to travel as escorts on the bus morning and evening for the week.

Steak Festival and Beard Shave.
Ita Halpin and friends from The Seven Wonders Bar, Fore have organised this year’s Steak Festival for Saturday evening August 15th. As part of the evenings activities Michael Farrelly (Beardy Micksheen) has agreed to have his first shave in 36 years and become “Beardless Micksheen” Proceeds from the event this year will be divided between Ballycomoyle GAA Club, Fore N.S. Parents Association and Nazareth House Orphanage in Johannesburg. Sponsorship cards are available from Ita Halpin, Kevin Walsh or Seamus Coyle. We ask that as many people from the club as possible take a card and get sponsors or at the very least make sure that your name goes on some card as a sponsor.

Sympathy
The members of Ballycomoyle GAA Club extend their sympathy to the family of Johnny Gilsenan, Cumerstown who died last week. May he rest in peace.

Monday July 20th 2009

Sponsored Cycle
Following the success of last year’s sponsored cycle; we have decided to hold a repeat performance this year. On Sunday 26th next at 11.15am the pelethon will be leaving Fore Abbey car park and heading off on a 100km trek taking in three counties. There is a 50km option for anyone who doesn’t feel up to the full course. They will start in Millbrook at 1.30pm approx by which time the 100km pack should have reached that point. The entire event will conclude with a Barbeque in Fore. Sponsorship cards and route details can be had from Ray Farrelly (087) 2264205

Men’s Junior Championship.
Our men’s Junior team face Milltown in the last of the first round championship games on Tuesday July 28th. This is probably the most important championship game the team have played in a number of years. A good win here and a couple of favourable results in the other last round games which take place on the same night at the same time will see us through to the quarter finals of the championship. The venue is Multyfarnham at 7.30pm on Tuesday 28th so be there and give all the support you can.

St Michael U 14 Championship.
We had our third championship game this year when we travelled to Delvin on Thursday last on what was a perfect day for football. St. Michaels started the livelier and having played some good football went in at half time leading by 3 points. Some good solid work for the next 15 minutes seen us extend our lead by 6 points and at that stage a second championship win looked a distinct possibility However, as we all know the game is never over until the final whistle blows and a strong last 10 minutes by Delvin say them score 1 3 without reply and take a share of the spoils. Although we were initially disappointed with the draw we must remember we are competing in division 2 and winning results are not easily achieved. Best on the day for St Michaels were Ciarán Fagan, Kevin Shiel, Israel Unguga and Adrian Leahy whose excellent goal was one of the highlights. Training continues in Ballycomoyle every Wednesday night at 7 o clock sharp. Any player unable to attend please contact Ned Flynn.

Under 12s and Under 14 Girls.
Congratulations to our Under 12s and Under 14 girls teams who were both victorious during the past week. The under 12s beat Tyrrellspass while the under 14s beat Garrycastle.

North Westmeath Under 10
Having lost our first game to St. Loman's and drawn our second with ballynacaragy we achieved our first win in this year’s completion with a hard fought victory against a strong Tyrrellspass team in Ballycomoyle last Friday evening week. We had a strong start and gained a lot of possession midfield which gave us the platform to take some lovely scores and lead by 5 points at half time. Tyrrelspass started much the stronger in the second half and 3 unanswered points reduced our lead to 2. However, we once again found our rhythm and pushed on to emerge winners by 5 points. This was undoubtedly our best performance by far and it is fair to say that the team has improved at every game. Best on the day was Mark Leahy, Dillon Smith, Aaron Kennedy and Aaron Walsh. It is important that all players continue to come to training every Friday night in Ballycomoyle at 7 o clock.

Mullaghmeen Walk/Run
All outstanding money from the Mullaghmeen walk should be handed into your team mentor as soon as possible.

Monday July 6th 2009

Mullaghmeen Walk/Run
Over 150 people from the club turned up in Mullaghmeen on Friday evening last July 3rd to take part in the annual sponsored walk/run. The weather treated us well and the event was held in perfect conditions. A great evening was had by all. Most of the participants handed in their cards and sponsorship on the day and the response was overwhelming. Any outstanding cards and money can be handed in on Friday evenings to team mentors. A big thank you to all who took part and to the many parents who gave a dig out in Mullaghmeen. 

Under 10 North Westmeath league v. Ballinacarrigy
Our under 10 team had there second outing of the year when we hosted Ballinacargy in Ballycomoyle last Friday week. Our visitors were first out of the blocks and went into a four point lead playing some fast flowing football however Ballycomoyle eventually found there feet and steadied the ship to go in at half time 3 points in arrears. The introduction of Eoin Fagan had a very positive effect on the whole team and his ability to gain possession in the middle of the field and feed the forwards left us all square with five minutes left to go. However Ballinacarrigy got their second wind and scored two points on the trot. An excellent point by the hardworking Michael McKenna left the minimum between the teams and in the end it fell to the classy Eoin Fagan who showed the coolness and precision of dessie Dolan to send over a last minute free to give us a well deserved share of the spoils. Also impressive on the day were Oisin Shields, Nathan Aughey, Joe Higgins, Shane lynch, Charles Flynn and Eoin Daly
At time of going to press our next game is scheduled for this Friday night (10th of July) at home to Tyrrellspass. All players to be in Ballycomoyle at the usual time for seven o clock.

St Michael’s Under 14
We played our second game in this year’s championship when we travelled to Caulry on Thursday last. Having won the corresponding league fixture by a narrow margin we knew, this would be a hard fought affair. our slow start cost us dearly and at half time we found our selves ten points behind however a much improved performance in the second half saw us cut the lead to a mere two points but unfortunately Caulry finished the stronger and with a goal and two points gave them  a 7 point winning margin. Best on the day for St. Michael’s were Shane Cunningham, Ian Kilcoyne, Fergal Tiernan, and Brendan O’Donnell. This was undoubtedly a game that with a little luck we could have won but we now must put this disappointment behind us as our next game is away to Delvin next Thursday night July 9th.  Any parent who could bring a car please contact Ned Flynn.

Delvin Summer Camp.
All Ballycomoyle players (boys and girls) who are participating in the vhi cul camp  in Delvin from Monday the 20th of July to Friday the 24th and who are interested in travelling on the bus please contact underage secretary Dermot McKenna (044 9661805) no later than Friday July 10th. As in previous years the bus will travel from Castlepollard picking up in Fore and Collinstown on the way. Other stops on the route by arrangement.

Lotto
Our Club Lotto has now reached  €12,000. The latest draw took place in Doyne’s, Glenidan on Tuesday June 30th. The numbers drawn for the €10,000 were 6, 7, 11 and 15  while the numbers for the €1,800 were 17, 18, 20 and 21. There were no winners of either jackpot and the €30 prizes went to the following. 1. Geraldine O’Rourke, 2. Anne Fitzsimons, 3. Owens family, 4. Teresa O’Brien, 5. Seán Doyne. Our next draw takes place in Comiskey’s, Castlepollard on Tuesday July 14th for a combined Jackpot of €12,000.

Men’s Junior Championship.
Before most of you will have seen this Ballycomoyle will have played their second last championship game of the season against St. Lomans. Wins in this and the last game of the season against Milltown on July 30th would leave us in with a shout of reaching the quarter finals of the competition. A look at the championship table tells us that the two drawn games both of which were well within our capabilities were our problem this year. However it’s not over as they say until the fat lady sings and the right combination of results in the last couple of games for all the clubs could see us progressing.

Ladies Junior Championship.
The Ladies Junior team got off to a winning start in the Championship last Sunday evening in Ballycomoyle. They played The Downs and came out with an easy victory. This stretches their unbeaten run in competition to four games. Keep rolling girls.

Under 14 Girls v Mullingar Shamrocks
The Under 14 league has been rearranged by the county board.  We are now placed in Division 2 along with Mullingar Shamrocks, Clann Gaels and Garycastle.  This is the highest division that we have ever been placed in this under 14 competition. 
On Thursday night last we came up against the challenge of Mullingar Shamrocks.  Ballycomoyle contested well in all areas of the pitch, however, we were not able to put up the scores.  Well done to all the girls who gave it what they had on the night but it was not just good enough to shake off the strong challenge from Shamrock.  Final result: Ballycomoyle 1-4 Mullingar Shamrocks 3-10.
Team: Laura Coyle, Rachel Flood, Shannon Farrelly, Saoirse Farrelly, Amy McNicholas, Niamh Clogher, Bibi O’Reilly, Nicola Fagan, Avril Fagan, Alanna Clogher, Aoife Gallagher, Shauna Coghlan, Sarah Fagan, Ruth Mulligan, Kelly Coyle and Ciara Walsh.
We play Clann Gaels this Thursday 9th July in Multyfarnham at 7.30pm.  A bus will be leaving from Castlepollard at 6.30pm. The following Thursday July 16th we are at home to Garrycastle.

Sympathy.
The members of Ballycomoyle GAA Club extend their sympathy to the family of Mary Murphy who died on Sunday last July 5th. May she rest in peace. 

Monday June 29th 2009

Mullaghmeen Walk/Run
On Friday evening next July 3rd at 7pm we will be holding our annual sponsored walk in Mullaghmeen Forest. This year in addition to the juvenile walk, adult members will be undertaking an 8k run. Underage training is off on that evening. The feeder bus from Collinstown, Fore and Castlepollard will pick up at the usual times and travel to Mullaghmeen for the walk.

Disappointing trip to Croke Park.
Over 70 club members young and old travelled to Croke Park on Sun June 28th to watch Westmeath playing in the Leinster semi-final against Dublin. While the result was disappointing, all agreed that they had a great day out.   The reality is that too many of our experienced players were dogged with injury for most of the league campaign and it was always going to be a huge task to get up to championship pace in two games. Never forget that there will be nobody in the county more disappointed than the players themselves and their management team. They are the people who have sacrificed so much of their time and social life over the winter months while the rest of us were sitting in our armchairs telling them how it should be done.  Don’t give up lads. Who knows where the qualifiers will take us.

St Michael’s Under 14
We had our first game in this year’s football championship on Thursday last when we played St Paul’s in Ballycomoyle.  As soon as the ball was thrown in it was clear that there would be no repeat of our comprehensive victory in the corresponding fixture less than two weeks ago. Paul’s played the better football, were much more determined and we were finding it difficult to compete in any area of the pitch. We were very lucky to go in at half time leading by two points thanks mainly to a goal each by Colin Kennedy and Adrian “the cheese" Leahy. A strong team talk at half time seemed to do the trick as we emerged in the second half a much more determined outfit. After twenty minutes of good hard football we extended our lead to seven points helped by an excellent goal from centre half forward Micheal Daly. St. Paul’s responded with a goal and two points to leave a very dangerous two points difference. However we were to have the final say with a great point following some excellent link up play by Christopher Gurrran, Shane Cunningham, Ian Kilcoyne and Max Charles which took us over the finishing line by a margin of three points. This was a good performance to start off the championship but there is no doubt there is a lot of room for improvement so it is very important that all players attend training in Ballycomoyle every Wednesday night at 7:15.

Coaching Course
The “Cluster Coaching” course is proceeding at pace with two of the four sessions complete.  Ballycomoyle had a strong representation on the first two dates (June 20th in Ballycomoyle and June 27th in Milltown) The final two dates will be July 11th Multyfarnham and July 18th (Venue to be announced.)

Lotto
Our Club Lotto is now close to €12,000. The last draw took place in McCormack’s, Castlepollard on Tuesday June 16th. The numbers drawn for the €10,000 were 13, 18, 23, and 26. while the numbers for the €1,600 were 5, 6, 10 and 19. There were no winners of either jackpot and the €30 prizes went to the following. 1. Malachy Hand, 2. Marco DeKleer, 3. IGAA (Seller Laura Owens), 4. Dara Kennedy, 5. Raymond Halpin.

Ladies Junior Championship.
The Ladies Junior team play the first round of the championship next Sunday July 5th. The match is in Ballycomoyle against The Downs. The best of luck girls.

Bon Voyage.
The best of luck to Tracey Weldon who is heading down under to a warmer climate. Her colleagues in the ladies team had a night out to wish her bon voyage and I heard that Olivia K borrowed a pair of plasterer’s stilts for the occasion.

Monday June 15th 2009

Trip to Tullamore
A coach load of our juvenile players had a very worthwhile trip to Tullamore on Sunday June 14th to watch Westmeath beat Wicklow. Dermot and Marius are hoping to organise a similar trip to Croke Park on June 28th for the Leinster semi-final against Dublin subject to the availability of tickets.  

Fixtures (Check with mentors as fixtures can sometimes change)
St. Michael’s U14
Thurs June 18th or Fri June 19th 7.30pm Home Game Vs St. Paul’s
St. Michael’s U16 (Back Match)
Mon June 22nd 7.30pm in Clonmellon Vs St. Paul’s
Ballycomoyle Under 12 Boys
Wed June 17th 7.30pm in Multy Vs Multy.
Ballycomoyle Under 12 Girls
Tues June 16th 7pm in Garrycastle Vs Garrycastle.

Match Reports
Match results and reports for our underage games can be emailed to me at seamuscoyle@yahoo.com. by the team mentors.

St. Michael’s Under 14
St. Michael’s under 14s have finished strongly in phase one of their competition winning two out of their last three games. They narrowly missed qualification for the premier division but now go into Group 2 in a very strong position. Their first game is at home to St. Paul’s on Thursday or Friday night this week. Check with Dermot McKenna for the exact fixture.

Under 14 Girls v Tyrrellspass
The under 14 girls travelled to Tyrrellspass on Thursday evening to play in their 3rd game of the league.  Ballycomoyle started well and went into an early lead.  Following some slack defending we saw ourselves 2 points behind at half time.  Then at the start of the 2nd half it all went our way and when we were 3 points ahead with  2 minutes left in the game we thought we were home and dry.  Tyrrellspass did not see it like that and hit the back of the net with a minute to go.  Then we saw one of the most direct passages of play, starting with a short kick out and ending in the back of the Tyrrellspass net with only seconds left in the game.  It was a superb performance from all. Final Score: Ballycomoyle 2-10 Tyrrellspass 3-4

Team: Rachel Flood, Ciara Walsh, Shannon Farrelly, Saoirse Farrelly, Shauna Coghlan, Niamh Clogher, Amy McNicholas, Anne Marie Kennedy, Avril Fagan, Laura Coyle, Alice Murphy, Ruth Mulligan, Caoimhe McCrossan, Aoife Gallagher, Alanna Clogher and Bibi O’Reilly.

Our game on Thursday v Athlone has been refixed for June 30th to facilitate the participation of many of our team in the Camogie Féile.  We wish all the girls that are taking part in the Féile the best of luck.

Under 8s “Stay and Play” Games.
On Saturday June 13th Michael Fagan and Paul Mooney took upwards of 20 under 8 boys and girls to the last of three outings in the “Stay and Play” games series. It was a very successful outing where we won one drew one and lost one of the three games played. A big thank you to Paul and Michael and we all appreciate that particular skills are needed with this age group who are the future of our club. Thanks also to Peter McKenna and Max Charles who helped out on the day and to the very many parents who travelled to support the event.

Sports Partnership funding
Ballycomoyle received a grant of €800 from Westmeath Sports Partnership to help fund the club’s annual outing for juvenile players. This outing takes place at the end of the football season (Usually on the October Bank Holiday) and has been a very successful fixture in the club diary over the past number of years. We very much appreciate this funding from Westmeath Sports Partnership who have been a very positive force in GAA circles through the organisation of coaching courses for team mentors and many other training courses for club officers.

Coaching Course
A coaching course has been organised for Ballycomoyle Pitch for four Saturdays for 1½ hours each day. Anyone who is interested in taking this course should contact Dermot McKenna before the end of the week.044 9661805. The Dates are Sat. June 20th & 27th and July 11th and 18th. This coaching course is particularly suitable for parents of the underage players who might like to get involved in training a team.

Mullaghmeen Walk/Run
On Friday evening July 3rd we will be holding our annual sponsored walk in Mullaghmeen Forest. This year in addition to the juvenile walk, adult members will be undertaking an 8k run. This promises to be a great evening in a beautiful setting.  

Birthday Wishes
Happy birthday to Margaret Fagan and Angela Masterson both of whom celebrated significant birthdays over the weekend.

Monday June 1st 2009

Junior Championship
Ballycomoyle had to settle for a draw in their championship game against St. Joseph’s on Friday last. In a game where the lead switched a number of times, the last quarter seemed to be going Ballycomoyle’s way. With a three point lead and four minutes to go we thought we had done enough to secure victory. St. Joseph’s had other ideas and came back one more time and finally scored the equalising point with the last kick of the game. Our next outing is scheduled for Cusack Park on Sunday evening next at 6.30pm against St. Paul’s.   

Exams
Ballycomoyle Club would like to wish all our players who are sitting exams over the next couple of weeks the very best of luck. Do your best but remember that there is life after the Junior or Leaving Cert. Go nEirí an bothair libh freisin to all our young members who are heading away to the gaeltacht for a few weeks.

Fixtures (Check with mentors as fixtures can sometimes change)
Men’s Junior
Sun June 7th 6.30pm in Cusack Park.  Vs St. Paul’s
St. Michael’s U14
Thurs June 4th 6.30pm in Clonmellon Vs St. Paul’s
Ballycomoyle Under 12 Boys
Wed June 3rd 7.30pm in Ballycomoyle Vs The Downs.
Ballycomoyle Under 12 Girls
Tues June 9th 7pm in The Downs Vs The Downs.
Ballycomoyle Under 14 Girls
Thurs June 4th 7pm in Ballycomoyle Vs Ballinagore.

Match Reports
Match reports for our underage games can be emailed to me at seamuscoyle@yahoo.com. by the team mentors.

Mullaghmeen Walk/Run
On Friday evening July 5th we will be holding our annual sponsored walk in Mullaghmeen Forest. This year in addition to the juvenile walk, adult members will be undertaking an 8k run. This promises to be a great evening in a beautiful setting. Mullaghmeen is the biggest beech forest in Europe and provides a very healthy and safe environment in which to walk or run. Any of you who were listening during science class will know that leaves convert Carbon dioxide  to oxygen and because of this Mullaghmeen is an even healthier and more oxygenated environment during the leafy season. It all means that even the least fit among us should have no problem running 8 kilometeres on the night in question.

Monday May 25th 2009

Junior Championship
A big turnout of support would be appreciated in Shandonagh on Friday evening next May 29th at 7.30 when our junior men’s team play the third round of the Championship. Their opponents on this occasion are St. Joseph’s who are one point ahead of Ballycomoyle in the Championship table. A win in this game will put Ballycomoyle in a very strong position. Best of luck lads.

Ladies Junior Shield
The Ladies Junior team continued their winning ways in the shield on Sunday May 24th with a comfortable win against The Downs. This completes the league stages of the competition with three wins out of three. They are now through to the final of this competition where they meet either Loughnavalley or Clann Gaels.

St. Michael’s Under 14s
Versus Coralstown/Kinnegad
Because of the bad weather we have only played 2 games in recent weeks one of which was away to féile champions Coralstown/Kinnegad. The game was played away on what was a terrible night for football. On this occasion we were well outplayed by a very strong opposition.

Versus St. Malachy’s/Ballinagore
We travelled to Ballinagore last Thursday to play St Malachy’s/Ballinagore in what turned out to be a very enjoyable game. On one of the better nights of the year so far we started brightly and after 15 minutes lead by a single point (3 to 2). However the last 10 minutes of the half are best forgotten as we completely went to sleep and allowed our opponents to dominate and score 4 – 2 without reply leaving us trailing by 13 points at the interval. After some strong words at half time we came out with a lot more determination and 2 quick goals from Shane Cunningham and Andrew Leahy quickly put us back in the game. Our opponents picked of a few good points but 2 further goals from Colm Kennedy and Fergal Tiernan left only 4 points between the teams. It was at this time that a number of passes not finding there man and a few poor decisions by our players  probably cost us the game because when we got position in front of goal we did quite well. On the day Peter McKenna in goal had a solid game as had backs Ian Kilcoyne and Kevin Shields. Forwards Michael Daly and Shane Cunningham competed very well and Andrew Leahy’s contribution of 1-3 was excellent. Our star performer on the day was wing half forward Brendan O’Donnell who was first to every ball, gained a lot of possession and used it well. He took the hard knocks and just kept coming back for more. Final score St. Malachy’s Ballinagore 5-9 St. Michael’s  4-7

Our next game against Killucan is fixed for Thursday in Ballycomoyle at 7.30. All players will be notified by text and should be at the pitch by 7pm at the latest.

Lotto
Our most recent lotto draw took place in The Town and Country, Castlepollard on Tuesday May 19th.  The numbers drawn for the €10,000 were 16, 18, 19 and 25. The numbers drawn for the €1,200 were 14, 17, 19 and 28. There were no winners in either case. The winners of  the  €30 consolation prizes were 1. Billy Allen, 2. Emma Curran, 3. Brian O’Rourke, 4. Elaine Doyle, 5. Seamus Lynch. The next draw will take place in The Abbey House, Fore on Tuesday the 2nd of June. The jackpots will be €10,000 and €1,400. Make sure you have your tickets.

Monday May 18th 2009

Lá na gClub
Lá na gClub was on Sunday May 10th 2009. It's the day on which every GAA club in the Country was asked by the national organisation to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the foundation of the association. In Ballycomoyle we turned it into "Deireadh Seachtaine" na gClub.
Friday Evening: We started with a club Mass in St. Feichin's church, Fore on Friday night. The mass celebrated by Fr. Michael Walsh was well attended by club members and supporters. Members of Ballycomoyle who participated in the mass were as follows. Readers: Marie Henry & Karen Coyle. Gift bearers: Bill Corrigan, Maureen Fay, James McHugh and Clodagh O'Neill. Prayers of the faithful: Ray Farrelly, Hilary Gaffney, Alice Murphy, Seán Lancaster and Caoimhe Dermody. St. Feichin's Church choir sang beautifully as usual. We adjourned to The Coffee Shop afterwards where we were well looked after by Jane O'Reilly and her staff for the evening.  
Saturday Evening: On Saturday evening in the home of Johnny and Odie Corrigan we had a reunion of some of the people who played or were associated with the team of 1953 who reached the junior championship final of that year. (See history pages). The group, who are pictured below, regaled us with stories of football in the 50s. A different era. Also present were the six individual chairmen of the club since it was reformed in 1985. Seán Dermody recorded as much of the proceedings as he could to video tape. Odie Corrigan along with Gerry Doyle of Castlepollard Filling Station provided us with hot food and all in all it was an exercise which was well worthwhile.
Sunday. Lá na gClub: Sunday was a day on which we needed sunshine and we got it in abundance. The programme for the day started at 1.30ish and consisted of games for every age group in the club from under 6s to over 40s. In addition to that we had music laid on with no less than four separate performers giving their time free for the day. We crowned off the day with a pig-roasting on site and a barbeque. Long before the music or football started (7.30am to be precise) the pig-roasting crew of Paul Mooney and Anthony Rogan were on site to light their fire and set up shop. They were followed very closely by a large and willing crew who are too numerous to mention. There were tent erectors, flag-pole erectors, sound engineers, grounds people and more. Everybody just arrived, saw what had to be done and did it. A few people deserve a special mention. Gerry Doyle gave us the pig-roasting equipment.  The musicians who gave us their time, Liam Fagan, Noel O'Neill and Adrian Connolly. Greg McCabe was also on hand if needed. Eugene Gallagher provided the stage and Alan Nolan the amplification. Mrs Jackson gave us the use of her field for car parking. Fore Motorcycle racing club gave us the loan of their marquee. Dermot McLoughlin and Micksheen Farrelly oversaw the crew who erected it. Celeste Dermody provided the video equipment for both the Saturday evening and the Sunday. To everyone else (I'm sorry not to be able to name you personally) thanks for the help. It all went to make this one of the most memorable days in the history of the club. Close to 500 burgers and one medium sized pig were devoured in a couple of hours. That sums it up.

Junior Championship
After 2 rounds of the men’s junior championship Ballycomoyle are holding their own. The first round was against Loughnavalley and finished in a draw with a scoreline of 1-9 each. The second round was against a strong Mullingar Shamrocks side on Saturday last in Shandonagh. Ballycomoyle had a great first half and were well in contention at the break. In the second half against the wind they struggled and finished 10 points adrift on a scoreline of 1-15 to 1-5. The next championship outing is scheduled for May 28^th against St. Josephs in Streamstown at 1pm.

Ladies Junior Shield
The Ladies Junior team have got off to a great start in the shield competition with two wins out of two games. The first against Clann Gaels and the second against Loughnavalley.

Girls Under 14 Féile
Ballycomoyle under 14 girls travelled to the County Féile blitz in on Saturday May 2^nd. With a depleted side they produced the shock of the day by winning all their first round games to top the group. This gave them a semi-final place which they narrowly lost to Athlone. They then faced the losers of the other semi-final in the Shield final which they won comfortably. This was an outstanding achievement for which they all deserve great praise when you consider that they travelled with 13 players and the same 13 players had to play all matches against teams with the full 15 plus subs. Helen treated the full squad to a well deserved ice-cream on the way home.

Sympathy
Ballycomoyle club would like to extend their sympathy to the Corrigan and Kennedy families on the death of Kathleen on Monday May 11^th. Kathleen with her husband Bill son Johnny and brothers Seán and Paddy Kennedy had played a central role in the full weekend’s activities marking Lá na gClub in Ballycomoyle. She attended the mass on Friday night, the reunion on Saturday night and was at the sports day on Sunday. She definitely lived life to the full up to the time of her sudden illness on Monday. Kathleen will be sadly missed by her family and by all those who had the pleasure of knowing her. May she rest in peace.

Monday April 27th 2009

Junior Championship
The men’s junior championship kicks off in Springfield next Saturday evening (May 2nd) at 5pm. Ballycomoyle take on Loughnavalley and we all wish them the very best of luck. We hope to see all our supporters out to cheer the team on.

Ladies Junior Shield
On Tuesday evening April 28th (probably before many of you will read this) the junior ladies play Clann Gaels in the first round of the Junior Shield competition which they won two years ago. The match takes place in Ballycomoyle at  7pm and again we wish them the best of luck and hope for a big turnout of support.

Youth Disco
The next of our youth discos will take place on Friday May 1st in Hotel Castlepollard. This will be the third in the series and they are getting bigger and better as we go on.   

Under 12 boys
The under 12 boys took on Tyrellspass on Friday night last and emerged victorious against strong opposition. The result was Tyrellspass 1-7 Ballycomoyle 4-8. Well done lads.

Girls Under 14 Féile
The best  of luck to our under 14 girls who take part in the County Féile blitz in Athlone on Saturday May 2nd.

Lá na gClub.
Lá na glub is on Sunday May 10th. It's the day on which every GAA club in the Country have been asked by the national organisation to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the foundation of the association.
In Ballycomoyle we will start the celebrations on the Friday night with Mass in St. Feichin's Church Fore at 7.30pm. Mass will be followed by refreshments in The Coffee Shop in Fore.
On Sunday a full schedule of events is planned. Tournaments for all age groups, Pig Roasting and Barbeque, Family entertainment, Medal presentations. All welcome.

Fixtures
Junior Championship
Sat. May 2nd  Springfield  5pm  Ballycomoyle  v  Loughnavalley.
St. Michael’s Minor
Wed May 6th  7pm Tubberclair V  St. Michael’s
St. Michael’s Under 16
Mon May 4th 7pm Kilucan V St. Michael’s
St. Michael’s Under 14
Thurs May 7th  7pm Coralstown/Kinnegad V St. Michael’s.
Ballycomoyle Under 12s
Sat May 9th  12.30pm Shandonagh V Ballycomoyle

Ladies
Under 12s
Tues May 5th St. Paul’s V Ballycomoyle
Under 14s
Sat May 2nd Féile Blitz Athlone
Under 16s
Thurs April 30th 7pm Ballycomoyle V Garrycastle
Thurs May 7th  7pm Tyrellspass V Ballycomoyle

Monday April 20th 2009

Successful Concert
On Saturday Night April 18th Collinstown Hall played host to a concert featuring performers from Ballycomoyle Scór and Collinstown/Fore Community Games. The range of talent on display was testament to the great work that has gone into preparing the participants for both of these competitions over the past number of years. While we obviously have an abundance of talent in the area, little of it would see the light of day were it not for the nurturing given to our younger participants in particular by the mentors involved. We must say a huge thank you to Catherine Daly who put this event together, to Seamus McDermott who was our Fear an Tí for the night, to Tommy McCormack who travelled from Rosemount to handle the sound, to all the people who turned up to help in preparing the hall, in catering and in the clean up, to the audience without whom it would have been pointless and last but certainly not least to the entertainers who gave us a great show.  

Youth Disco
The next of our youth discos will take place on Friday May 2nd in Hotel Castlepollard. This will be the third in the series and they are getting bigger and better as we go on. Keep the night free.

Membership/Registration
A number of membership/registration forms have still to be returned to Club Registrar Niall McKenna. It is very important that all these forms be returned now so that all the players concerned will be eligible to play for the club. If anybody needs copies of the registration forms please contact Helen Coyle (087)2207374 or any of the team mentors and forms will be posted out immediately.

Under 12 boys
The under 12 boys have a game away to Tyrellspass on Friday night next. Bus leaving Castlepollard at 5pm. Further details from Marius on (087)2709639

Defibrillator
Ballycomoyle have joined a growing number of GAA and other sports clubs who have acquired their own defibrillator. This has been made possible by the generosity of Niall McKenna of N. McKenna Accountants & Auditors who personally sponsored this potentially life-saving piece of equipment for the club. The immediate availability of a defibrillator in the circumstances of cardiac arrest greatly enhances the victims chances of survival. Unfortunately in all too many cases this is not the case. Over the next number of weeks and months the club, together with May Gilsenan of the ambulance service, will be offering training to personnel in the most effective use of the defibrillator and in general CPR which goes hand-in-hand with the use of the defibrillator. 

Birthday Wishes
Happy birthday to Siobhán Murphy who celebrated her 21st birthday over the weekend (over the whole weekend from what I hear)

Monday April 6th 2009

Underage Training
Training for boys and girls under 8s, 10s & 12s takes place in Ballycomoyle on Friday nights from 7 to 8pm. The feeder bus leaves Collinstown at 6.30pm Fore at 6.40 and Castlepollard at 6.50. Please give Dermot McKenna a ring on (044) 9661805 if you want to be collected in between these stops. The bus returns in the opposite order reaching Collinstown at approximately 8.30pm.

Ladies Training
Ladies training is continuing on Tuesdays 7 - 8pm, Fridays 8.15 - 9.15pm and Sundays 11am -12noon.

A Date for your diary.
On Saturday Night April 18th Collinstown Hall will play host to a concert featuring performers from Ballycomoyle Scór and Collinstown/Fore Community Games. The evening’s entertainment promises to be top class with Musical Groups, Ballad Groups, Comedy Sketches and much much more. The Concert is being organised by Catherine Daly as a joint fundraising event for Ballycomoyle and Collinstown/Fore Community games.

Membership/Registration
A number of membership/registration forms have still to be returned to Club Registrar Niall McKenna. It is very important that all these forms be returned now so that all the players concerned will be eligible to play for the club. If anybody needs copies of the registration forms please contact Helen Coyle (087)2207374 or any of the team mentors and forms will be posted out immediately.

Results
Lads
U12s League. Mullingar Shamrocks 2-8  Ballycomoyle 6-11
U14s League. St. Michaels lose to Mullingar Shamrocks
Ladies
Under 14s Ballycomoyle 10-13  Kilucan  1-0

Fixtures (Subject to change; check with mentors before game)
Lads
Under 12s Ballycomoyle Vs The Downs Wednesday April 1st 6.30 in Ballycomoyle.
Under 14s St. Michael’s Vs Mullingar Shamrocks Thursday April 2nd 6.30pm in Ballycomoyle.
Under 16s St. Michaels Vs St. Paul’s Monday April 6th 6.30pm in Clonmellon.

Ladies
Under 12s Ballycomoyle Vs Mullingar Shamrocks 6.45pm Tuesday 14th April in Ballycomoyle.
Minor Ballycomoyle Vs St. Paul’s 6.45pm Thursday 7th April in Ballycomoyle.

St. Michael’s Under 14 League
We played our first game in this year’s under 14 football league on Thursday last when we hosted Mullingar Shamrocks in Ballycomoyle. Despite playing some excellent football in the first half and taking some good scores we found ourselves six points down at half time to a very strong Mullingar Shamrocks 15. With the wind advantage in the 2nd half our opponents pushed on to a comfortable win. On the positive side we had a great turnout of players and despite playing one of the best teams in the county we put together many good passages of play. This team has plenty of potential but this will only be achieved with all players attending training on a regular basis. Our next training session will be in Ballycomoyle at 6:30 sharp on Wednesday next 8th April. We ask any player who can’t attend to please text Ned Flynn to let us know.

Birthday Wishes
Happy Birthday to Amy Connell who reached the magic 18 early in the week.

Monday March 30th 2009

Underage Training
Underage training for boys and girls up to under 12s commences in Ballycomoyle next Friday night at 7pm. The feeder bus will leave Collinstown at 6.30pm Fore at 6.40 and Castlepollard at 6.50. Please give Dermot McKenna a ring on (044) 9661805 if you want to be collected in between these stops. Training finishes at 8pm and the bus will return in the opposite order reaching Collinstown at approximately 8.30pm.

Lotto
We held our fortnightly Lotto in the Anchor Bar on Tuesday 24th March. The numbers drawn for a jackpot of €9,600 were 1, 12, 16, 27. There was no winner and the €30 prizes went to. 1. Peter Carty. 2. Eugene & Margaret Fagan. 3. Michael J. Comiskey 4. David O’Rourke. 5. Pat & Nan Hughes. The next draw for a jackpot of €9,800 will be held in Meehan’s, Coole on Tuesday April 7th.

Results
Lads
League Div. 4 Ballycomoyle 0-5 The Downs 3-15
Minor St. Michael’s 3-8 Shandonagh 2-6
U14 St. Michaels win over Ballymachugh in challenge game.

Ladies
No Games

Fixtures (Subject to change; check with mentors before game)
Lads
Under 12s Ballycomoyle Vs Mullingar Shamrocks Wednesday April 1st 6.30 in Springfield.
Under 14s St. Michael’s Vs Mullingar Shamrocks Thursday April 2nd 6.30pm in Ballycomoyle.
Under 16s St. Michaels Vs St. Pauls Monday April 6th 6.30pm in Clonmellon.

Ladies
Under 12s Ballycomoyle Vs Kilucan 6pm Tuesday 7th April in Ballycomoyle.
Minor Ballycomoyle Vs St. Paul’s 7pm Tuesday 7th April in Ballycomoyle.

Youth Disco.
We held our second Youth Disco on Friday March 27th. Thanks again to Hotel Castlepollard who are making the Hotel Ballroom available to us for these events. Thanks also to all the people who helped to supervise the event. To the DJ for the evening, and to the many young people who danced until they couldn’t dance anymore.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Ballycomoyle received an award for their Float from the North Westmeath St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee at an awards ceremony in Comiskey’s Bar, Castlepollard on Sunday last March 29th. The award was very much appreciated and once again we would like to thank this committee for their hard work in making the Parade possible and giving the community the chance to parade their wares.

Monday March 23rd 2009

Scór Sinsear 
Our Ballad group (Siobhán Murphy, Catherine Daly, Gráinne Healy, Doreen Farrelly and Micheál Fagan) represented club and County in the Leinster Final of Scór Sinsear on Sunday last March 22nd in Ballymore. They were up against stiff opposition with groups from Offaly, Longford and Wicklow. The Ballycomoyle group gave a flawless performance but unfortunately did not get the decision of the judges on this occasion. Thanks to this group who have put in Trojan work over the last three years and indeed thanks to all the Bal’ performers both in Scór Sinsear and Scór na nÓg who have made the winter shorter for us all. As this is the end of the line for the 2009 Scór for Ballycomoyle we can look back proudly on a very successful year with County honours in three categories and two of the three making it to Leinster final level. We are already looking forward to next years competition and be assured that Provincial honours are very close. 

St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Ballycomoyle put in a huge effort this year to prepare two trucks and trailers for the North Westmeath St. Patrick’s Day Parade. They turned out very well and gave the Club a very obvious presence in the convoy. A number of people deserve thanks for bringing it together. The Dermody family and Dermody Haulage for making their trucks and trailers available for the day.  Declan Brown and David Murphy who between them provided the paint and spray equipment to convert the trailers to the all important ‘Blue & White’.  The Walsh family, the Dermody family, the Farrelly family and the Coyle family for their painting and decorating skills. Our Musicians and Set Dancers for performing on the Day. And finally the many Bal’ club members who turned up to add that final bit of colour, sound and life to the floats as they made their way around Castlepollard. Great credit must also go to the North Westmeath St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee who put a huge amount of work into the parade each year and without whom there would be no parade for everybody in the area to participate in and enjoy.

Men’s Junior
The League fixture between Ballycomoyle men’s junior team and the Downs scheduled for last Saturday evening was postponed due to bereavement in the Downs Club. It is expected to be re-fixed for next weekend.

Ladies Minor.
Our Ladies Minor team played their first game of the season on Saturday March 21st against old rivals Loughnavalley. Despite a great performance from our girls they came out second best on the day.

Youth Disco.
After the success of our first Youth Disco we are following it up on Friday March 27th in Hotel Castlepollard with number 2. Thanks again to Hotel Castlepollard who are making the Hotel Ballroom available to us for these events.

Lá na gClub
Sunday May 10th has been nominated by headquarters as national club day or “Lá na gClub” All GAA clubs are encouraged to hold some form of activities on that day to mark the 125th anniversary of the association. Ballycomoyle will start the weekend on Friday evening May 8th with a Mass in St. Feichin’s Church, Fore for deceased members and supporters of our club. On the Sunday we intend to hold a number of mini tournaments for players from the youngest in the club to the oldest. Details of these will be announced by the mentors over the different age –groups. We will finish off the day in Collinstown Hall with medal presentations to participating players and some entertainment from our very successful Scór participants. It promises to be a great day and weekend.

Monday March 16th 2009

Féile (Under 14)
St. Michael’s Under 14s are still wondering where it went wrong in the second round of Féile. They played a Maryland/Tang combination on Saturday March 7th. In a game that by all accounts they should have won they came out second by a margin of two points. As is often the case the Gods were not with them on the day. They look forward positively to their league fixtures where they intend to make amends for an all too early exit from the Féile competition

Scór Sinsear 
We wish the best of luck to our Ballad group (Siobhán Murphy, Catherine Daly, Gráinne Healy, Doreen Farrelly and Micheál Fagan) who represent club and County in the Leinster Final of Scór Sinsear on Sunday March 22nd in Ballymore at 6pm. This is an all ticket event and those supporters wishing to travel should check with Catherine Daly  (087) 9185962 re availability of tickets.  

Primary Schools football.
Best of luck to St. Feichin’s national school girls who play the County semi-final against St. Tola’s on Tuesday 24th March.

Lotto.
The latest Lotto draw took place in the Lough Lene Inn, Collinstown on Tuesday March 10th. There was no winner of the jackpot which stood at €9,400. The €30 prizes went to: 1. Paddy Smyth, 2. Noel Robinson, 3. Ronnie Nally, 4. Nan Hughes, 5. Johnny Fitzpatrick. The next draw will be for a jackpot of €9,600 and will be held on Tuesday March 24th.

Speedy Recovery
We all wish a speedy recovery to our clubman Seamus Leahy who was hospitalised over the weekend.

Ladies Minor.
Our Ladies Minor team play their first game of the season on Saturday next March 21st against old rivals Loughnavalley. The match is fixed for 4pm and all players should meet in Castlepollard at 2.30pm. Seán Dermody (087) 2652215 who looks after this team can be contacted for further details.

Youth Disco.
After the success of our first Youth Disco we are following it up on Friday March 27th in Hotel Castlepollard with number 2. Thanks again to Hotel Castlepollard who are making the Hotel Ballroom available to us for these events.

Lá na gClub
Sunday May 10th has been nominated by headquarters as national club day or “Lá na gClub” All GAA clubs are encouraged to hold some form of activities on that day to mark the 125th anniversary of the association. Ballycomoyle will start the weekend with a Mass in St. Feichin’s Church, Fore for deceased members and supporters of our club. On the Sunday we intend to hold a number of mini tournaments for players from the youngest in the club to the oldest. Details of these will be announced by the mentors over the different age –groups. We will finish off the day with medal presentations to participating players and some entertainment from our very successful Scór participants. It promises to be a great day and weekend.

Sympathy.
The members of Ballycomoyle GAA Club wish to extend their sincere sympathy to the family of Marie Fitzpatrick who died last week after an illness bravely borne. Our thoughts and prayers are with her husband, Kevin and four children. May she rest in Peace.

Monday March 9th 2009

Féile (Under 14)
As promised last week here is a report on The St. Michael’s Under 14 Féile game of Saturday February 28th

1st Round Vs. Millmore Gaels
Final score.
St. Michaels 3-10
Millmore Gaels 2-6
On what was a perfect day for football we played our first game of the year when we hosted Millmore Gaels in Ballycomoyle in the first round of this years U.14 Feile on Saturday last. After a very successful run last year and losing a lot of our stronger players to the U.16 panel, we did not really know what to expect but with a full turn out of this years squad - 26 players in total the omens looked good. We settled quicker than our opponents and with Fergal Tiernan and Michael Daly gaining a lot of possession in midfield we went into a 7 point lead, 1-2 of which  was scored by Andrew Leahy who had an excellent game. With very little training done and this our first game the quality of the football played was excellent with some great passing moves the full length of the pitch. A lot of ball went in to our full forward Conor Reilly and his quick and accurate distribution contributed to a lot of our scores.Our defence and in particular Ian Kilcoyne who was playing his first game for St. Michaels was coping very well with our opponents attacks and we went in at half time with a 10 point lead. We made number of changes at half time to give as many players as possible a run and this unsettled us a little which let Millmore Gaels back into the game with 2 quick goals. However we rallied again and a goal from Adrian Leahy pulled us 7 points ahead again and this was a lead which we maintained until the final whistle. Warren Casserly, Shane McGarry and Alan Jennings showed well when they came on at half time and all in all this was a great team performance so well done to the whole panel.  

Scór Sinsear 
Our Ballad group (Siobhán Murphy, Catherine Daly, Gráinne Healy, Doreen Farrelly and Micheál Fagan) have taken another step forward in the senior scór competition. On Sunday night last in The Downs GAA hall they competed in the Leinster semi-final and qualified, from a strong field, to represent club and County in the Leinster Final which takes place on Sunday March 22nd in Ballymore at 6pm

Scór Gaeltacht Scholarships.
The Westmeath County Scór Committee are holding a lottery competition for part-scholarships (3 in total) for young people who wish to attend Irish Courses in the gaeltacht during the year. The competition is open to anyone who participated in Scór na nÓg in the 2008/2009 season. (i.e. events which were held between November 2008 and February 2009.) Application forms, which must be returned before March 27th, are available from Catherine Daly (044)9666370 or Helen Coyle (087)2207374.

St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Ballycomoyle will take part in this year’s North Westmeath St. Patrick’s Day parade in Castlepollard on March 17th  with representatives from all aspects of the club. The parade starts at 5.30pm and we would like any club members interested in taking part to assemble at Castlepollard primary school at 5 o.clock. 

Birthday Wishes.
Happy Birthday to our club chairman who celebrated his birthday during the past week. Birthday wishes also to Jenny Cooney and Gerry Wrynne both of whom celebrated their 21st birthdays recently.

Monday March 2nd 2009

Junior Cup.
Our junior men’s team played the first round of the Junior Cup against Caulry in Ballycomoyle on Sunday March 1st. Conceding a penalty would leave any team with an uphill battle and so it did to Ballycomoyle on this occasion. The game finished Ballycomoyle 0-7 Caulry 1-7. It seems a bit harsh to ask players to play their first competitive match of the season in a knockout competition when they are bound to be a bit rusty. Ideally one would like to have a couple of rounds of the league over first where the punishment for losing isn’t so drastic. The team lined out as follows: Niall McKenna, Jamie Ward, James McHugh, Brendan Halpin, Brian Caffrey, Paul Dermody, Gary Farrelly, Billy Ryan, Ronan Fagan, Kevin Gavigan, Michael McCormack, Andrew Dowdall, Gerry Rynne, Colin McCormack, and Seán Óg Doyne. Subs used: Maurice Gavigan for Gary Farrelly, Keith Weldon for Andrew Dowdall.

Féile (Under 14)
St Michael’s under 14s played the first round of Féile against Millmore Gaels on Saturday evening last in Ballycomoyle. St. Michael’s ran out easy winners and I hope to have a match report for next week.

Scór Sinsear 
The County final of Scór Sinsear was held in the Downs GAA Hall on Saturday night last Feb 28th. Ballycomoyle were represented in 4 categories having come through the semi-final in Ballymore a fortnight beforehand. Solo-singing: Doreen Farrelly gave a brilliant performance and was up against the sitting All Ireland Scór champion and the sitting All Ireland Fleadh champion. She was as good as either but unfortunately wasn’t the choice of the judges on this occasion. Recitation: Another flawless performance from Catherine Daly in this category which must be one of the hardest competitions to judge. Catherine was up against three other talents ranging from the comic to the poignant and there can only have been a toss of a coin between the four of them. Unfortunately she finished on the wrong side of the judges decision. Novelty Act: Seamus McDermott, Dermot McKenna, Carmel Coyle, Catherine Daly, Neville Jessop, Elaine Caffrey, Seán Daly and Gráinne Healy won the hearts of the audience with Catherine’s own sketch set on board a no frills flight to London. Again the competition was tough and we didn’t make it but the beauty of this competition is that the disappointment is so broadly shared amongst performers and back stage crew that it is diluted somewhat. Ballad Group:  Our Ballad group (Siobhán Murphy, Catherine Daly, Gráinne Healy, Doreen Farrelly and Micheál Fagan) however, made amends for all other results by taking the County title. This was fitting reward for the hard work put in over the last two months and indeed the last three years by this group who now go to the Leinster semi-final in the same venue on Sunday evening next March 8th at 6pm.  

Scór Gaeltacht Scholarships.
The Westmeath County Scór Committee are holding a lottery competition for part-scholarships (3 in total) for young people who wish to attend Irish Courses in the gaeltacht during the year. The competition is open to anyone who participated in Scór na nÓg in the 2008/2009 season. (i.e.  events which were held between November 2008 and February 2009.)
Application forms, and further details if required, are available from Catherine Daly (044)9666370 or Helen Coyle (087)2207374.

Youth Disco.
Our Youth Disco held in conjunction with Hotel Castlepollard on Friday Feb 27th was a resounding success. It was well attended and some of the girls even used the occasion to celebrate Rebekah Flood’s birthday. Gerry Farrelly was the first up to get his hands on some of the cake. So much for lent. Thanks to the Hotel management and staff for a great night. Thanks to Noel Morgan, Feichin Morgan, Gary Nea, Gerry Farrelly, Micheál Fagan, Michelle Rooney, Kevin Walsh, Helen Coyle, Paul Mooney, Seán Dermody, Claire Coyle and Frank Gilsenan who gave their time to ensure the night ran smoothly. Thanks especially to Marius Reilly who put in Trojan work in organising the event and I think it’s fair to say that he left no stone unturned. We hope to see more from “Mar’s Event Management” in the near future.

Lotto
We held our fortnightly lotto draw in Comiskey’s, Castlepollard on Tuesday 24th February. The numbers drawn for a jackpot of €9,200 were 6, 9, 13 and 27. There was no jackpot winner and the €30 prizes went to 1. Laura Owens  2. Adrian Duffy  3. Maura Meehan  4. Mick Lynch  5. Joe Fagan. The next draw with a jackpot of €9,400 will be held on March 10th in The Lough Lene Inn, Collinstown.

Birthday Wishes.
Happy Birthday to Catherine Daly who celebrated a “significant” birthday on Sunday last. Also to Rebekah Flood who turned 15 last week. 

Monday Feb 23rd 2009

Scór Sinsear  
Congratulations to all who represented Ballycomoyle in the Senior Scór on Friday Feb. 13th in Ballymore. All 27 participants gave their best on the night but as will always be the case not all were fortunate enough to get through. Our figure dancers and set dancers put in a brave effort as did our quiz team but will have to wait until next year to have another crack at it. The remainder of our contestants very deservedly got the nod from the judges and will be taking part in the County final in the Downs GAA hall on Saturday night next February 28th at 7.30pm. We wish them all the best of luck and they line out as follows. Solo-singing: Doreen Farrelly. Recitation: Catherine Daly. Ballad Group: Siobhán Murphy, Catherine Daly, Gráinne Healy, Doreen Farrelly and Micheál Fagan. Novelty Act: Seamus McDermott, Dermot McKenna, Carmel Coyle, Catherine Daly, Neville Jessop, Elaine Caffrey, Seán Daly and Gráinne Healy.

Junior Men’s challenge game.
Our junior men’s team had a challenge game on Saturday evening last against Ballymachugh. The game gave the new management the opportunity to see their charges in action and proved to be a very worthwhile experience. Ballycomoyle played at full strength for the first half and finished the half well in the lead. The second half saw a lot of experimental changes and a strong wind which eventually cost us the game. The overall impression from the game is very positive and a number of the younger players coming through are showing well.

Membership/Registration.
All memberships are now due for renewal. If you haven’t already filled up your registration/membership form, now is the time to do it and get it back to Club Registrar, Niall McKenna.

Youth Disco.
Friday night next 27th February will be a very exciting night for the young people of the area. In conjunction with Hotel Castlepollard Ballycomoyle are holding a youth disco in the said hotel between 8 and 11pm. Marius Reilly has been working hard getting it together and we are expecting a great night.

Lotto
We held our fortnightly lotto draw in Doyne’s, Glenidan on Tuesday 10th February. The numbers drawn for a jackpot of  €9,000 were 4, 14, 18 and 20. There was no jackpot winner and the €30 prizes went to 1. Elaine Doyle 2. Maura Meehan 3. Nan Hughes 4. Kelly Coyle 5. Mary Farrelly

Congratulations
Congratulations from all in Ballycomoyle to Jimmy Rynne and Noreen Egan who got engaged recently.  

Speedy recovery.
One of our star ladies, Jane Coyle, had a knee operation last week and we all wish her a speedy recovery. You’ll be back in the blue and white before you know it Jane. I hope you got a few well deserved days off school.

Coaching Course.
Three of our best, Marius Reilly, Dermot McKenna and Kevin Walsh are attending a level 1 coaching course at the moment and I’m sure the club will reap the rewards in the coming season. I believe the hurler amongst them has been teaching Dermot a few football skills. I hope you appreciate getting lessons from the master, Dermot 

Snippet.
Ciara C is practising for the monster Truck show. You need to take a run at it Ciara.

Monday Feb 9th 2009

Scór Sinsear
Friday night next February 13th in Ballymore Community Centre sees our senior scór contestants take to the stage to pit their talents against those of six other clubs from within the county. This is the first round of Scór Sinsear and all our participants have been working hard in preparation for the past number of weeks under the watchful eye of Catherine Daly our Scór co-ordinator. This year the club will be represented in seven of the eight categories as follows.  Figure Dancing: Olivia Kenny, Bríd Dobson, Miriam Dolan, Abbey Ennis, Sabrina Dermody, Angela Sullivan, Elaine Caffrey and Deirdre Healy. Solo-singing: Doreen Farrelly. Recitation: Catherine Daly. Ballad Group: Siobhán Murphy, Catherine Daly, Gráinne Healy, Doreen Farrelly and Micheál Fagan Quiz: Andrea Farrelly, Seán Dermody and Seamus Coyle. Novelty Act: Seamus McDermott, Dermot McKenna, Carmel Coyle, Catherine Daly, Neville Jessop, Elaine Caffrey, Seán Daly and Gráinne Healy. Set Dancing: Michael Caffrey, Kathleen Caffrey, Micheál Fagan, Anna Marie McKenna, John McManus, Deirdre Healy, Marius Reilly and Sinéad O’Neill.

Sympathy
The members of Ballycomoyle GAA Club offer their sympathy to the family of Phillip(Dicey) O’Reilly, Loughpark, who died suddenly on Thursday of last week. May he rest in peace.

Membership/Registration.
All memberships are now due for renewal. If you haven’t already filled up your registration/membership form, now is the time to do it and get it back to Club Registrar, Niall McKenna.

A Date for your diary.
Friday night 27th February. Remember it. That is the night of Ballycomoyle’s first ever youth disco. It will be held in Hotel Castlepollard and we will have more details nearer to then.

Birthday Wishes
Happy birthday to Jack Farrelly-Briody who celebrated his first birthday on Feb 9th.

Monday Feb 2nd 2009

Great Weekend for Ballycomoyle Club
Dinner Dance
With the winter now officially over you could say that we saw it out with style in Ballycomoyle. On Friday night we held our Dinner Dance in The Bloomfield Hotel and it proved to be a great night. Close to 250 people sat for a meal prepared and served by the excellent staff of the hotel. They even produced and set up a few extra tables at very short notice when we had underestimated our popularity by a dozen or so. A number of people deserve thanks for their work in making the night such a success. Our ticket sellers of whom we had many spread throughout the community made a special effort to put the word around and we even had a few “turf wars” to add a bit of interest. Our chairman and MC for the night did a professional job and handled proceedings admirably. Noel Briody and  “The two of us” kept the floor throbbing for the night. Martina Murphy took some fabulous photos which will be up on the website during the week. Gerry Farrelly and Johnny Corrigan manned the door. Our younger club members and those from our neighbouring club deserve special credit for their attendance and contribution to the whole spirit of the occasion. We also thank Father Walsh, Pat Lynagh of the Westmeath county board and George Hatton and Rose Longworth of the Westmeath Scór committee for attending and helping to make the night so hugely enjoyable for us all. When all was over Christy, Alan and Gerard of Salmon’s bus hire looked after us very well and left everybody home to their door.

Croke Park Trip
If Friday night in the Bloomfield showed the strength of the club in the GAA hierarchy, Saturday night was all about the bigger picture when the national organisation proved that Croke Park surely is a field of dreams. Close to a capacity 80,000 people were in attendance to mark the official launch of the 125th anniversary of the GAA. Firstly we were treated to a game of football that had everybody on the edge of their seats. The Dublin and Tyrone teams both rose to the occasion and performed at a level that was well up to championship standard. We were then treated to probably the most spectacular light show and fireworks display that have ever been seen in this country, with young and old sitting in awe never wanting it to end. On my own behalf and on behalf of the other150 people from the club who travelled to Croke park, I would like to thank our underage secretary, Dermot McKenna, for organising the trip and for writing a new chapter in our club history. Ballycomoyle had the biggest single order of tickets for Croke park on the night (that’s official from the Croke park ticket office). With something in the region of 2,000 clubs in the 32 counties, that’s not a bad achievement for our humble little outfit. Thanks also to the many adults who attended and helped with the head counts and shepherding which wasn’t easy.

Lotto
The first lotto draw of the New Year was held in McCormack’s, Castlepollard on Tuesday January 27th. The numbers drawn were 3, 12, 25, 26. The jackpot stood at €8,800 and wasn’t won. The €30 winners were Joe Cheevers, Charlie Kennedy, Maureen Fay, Martin Brennan and Julie Ann Comiskey. Our next draw with a jackpot of €9,000 will be held in Doyne’s, Glenidan on Tuesday February 10th.

Congratulations
Congratulations from everybody in Ballycomoyle to Tossy Brady and Aisling on their recent engagement. Birthday wishes to our assistant secretary, Ciarán Ring who celebrated one of the 0ty birthdays. Birthday wishes also to Paddy Egan, and the twin Lynches Mary and Feichin all of whom celebrated 0ty birthdays but slightly more 0ty than Ciaráns.

Monday January 26th 2009

Dinner Dance
The club dinner dance will be held this Friday January 30th in The Bloomfield House hotel. The night will take the same format as last year with presentations on this occasion to our Scór competitors who won County medals during the past year. A number of other club awards will also be presented on the night. Tickets are still available in the following locations. Castlepollard-Mars Home Entertainment. Fore-Seven Wonders Bar, Collinstown- Lough Lene Inn and Glenidan-Doyne’s. They can also be had from Ray Farrelly, Helen Coyle, Anne Dermody or any of the executive. Transport to and from the venue will be provided by Salmons bus hire on the same basis as last year. Pick up points in Castlepollard and Fore at 7.30. Further pick-up points can be arranged by contacting Christy (086 8302657) or Alan (086 1526338). Transport from Collinstown is being organised by Jenny in The Lough Lene Inn. The dinner dance is a special occasion in the club year and it gives us all a chance to come together in a social environment and celebrate our successes.

Underage trip to Croke Park
Our underage secretary Dermot McKenna is organising a trip to Croke Park for the evening of Saturday January 31st.  All underage players, boys and girls, are welcome to travel and the price of  €10 covers match ticket and transport.   The occasion is the Div. 1 league game between Dublin and Tyrone under lights and the GAA are taking the opportunity to launch their programme of events for the 125th anniversary of the association. Pre match entertainment starts at 6.30pm with a 7.30 throw in. The match will be followed by a spectacular fireworks display set against music and a commentary on the history of the GAA. It promises to be an evening to remember. Ring Dermot on 9661805 for the few remaining tickets.

Ladies Training Resumes
The Ladies Junior panel are returning to training on Sunday morning next at 11am in the pitch. Marius says “What better way to burn off the excesses of the dinner dance two nights before”.

Monday January 19th 2009

Dinner Dance
Our dinner dance will be held on Friday January 30th in The Bloomfield House hotel. The night will take the same format as last year with presentations on this occasion to our Scór competitors who won County medals during the past year. A number of other club awards will also be presented on the night. Tickets are now available in the following locations. Castlepollard-Mars Home Entertainment. Fore-Seven Wonders Bar, Collinstown- Lough Lene Inn and Glenidan-Doyne’s. They can also be had from   Ray Farrelly, Helen Coyle, Anne Dermody or any of the executive. We are encouraging people to buy their tickets this week if possible so that we can get a handle on the numbers going.

Men’s Junior training
The men’s junior panel will return to training next Friday night January 23rd at 8pm in the pitch. All players are required to register before training commences. There will be an opportunity to register and pay membership on Friday night in the clubhouse if you haven’t already done so. Registration forms will be available but it would speed up proceedings if players complete the form sent out by the club registrar before arriving on Friday.

Underage trip to Croke Park
Our underage secretary Dermot McKenna is organising a trip to Croke park for the evening of Saturday January 31st.  All underage players, boys and girls, are welcome to travel and the price of  €10 covers match ticket and transport.   The occasion is the Div. 1 league game between Dublin and Tyrone under lights and the GAA are taking the opportunity to launch their programme of events for the 125th anniversary of the association. Pre match entertainment starts at 6.30pm with a 7.30 throw in. The match will be followed by a spectacular fireworks display set against music and a commentary on the history of the GAA. It promises to be an evening to remember. Ring Dermot on 9661805 for further information

Monday January 12th 2009

Dinner Dance
Our dinner dance will be held on Friday January 30th in The Bloomfield House hotel. The night will take the same format as last year with presentations on this occasion to our Scór competitors who won County medals during the past year. A number of other club awards will also be presented on the night. Tickets are now available in the following locations. Castlepollard-Mars Home Entertainment. Fore-Seven Wonders Bar, Collinstown- Lough Lene Inn and Glenidan-Doyne’s. They can also be had from   Ray Farrelly, Helen Coyle, Anne Dermody or any of the executive. The Dinner dance was definitely one of the highlights of 2008 for the club and we will be hoping that this year will be just as good.

Scór na nÓg Leinster Final
Unfortunately our very talented instrumental group didn’t win the Leinster final on Sunday last in Ballymore. Despite giving a fantastic performance as usual John, Cian and Hilary were beaten on this occasion by the group from Co. Wexford. We must congratulate them on their performance throughout the competition and say thank you to their band of loyal supporters who turned out again on Sunday. Neither can we forget Doreen and Catherine without whom none of this would have happened. They can both be duly proud of Ballycomoyle’s achievement in Scór na nÓg 2009. 

Christmas Lotto
The bumper Christmas Lotto draw took place in the Seven Wonders Bar on Friday night December 19th. The numbers drawn for the €8,600 jackpot were 5, 16, 20 and 26. There was no winner and the following people won the €30 prizes. Anna Gilsenan, Ita Halpin, Evan Farrelly, Emma Sullivan and Emma O’Hara. The bonus Christmas prizes were won by the following. 1. Christmas Hamper- Paddy Smyth. 2. Turkey and Brandy-Larry Dalton. 3. Ham and Whiskey-Brian Caffrey. 4. Roast and Gin-Stephen Deveraux. 5. Christmas Cake and Box sweets-David Smyth. 6. Brandy and biscuits-Bridget Weir. 7. Brandy and chocolates-Jimmy Murtagh. 8. Whiskey and biscuits- Larry Masterson. 9. Whiskey and chocolates-Jackie Smyth. 10. Baileys and biscuits-Eamon Kelly. 11. Baileys and chocolates-Michael Farrelly. 12. Hardware voucher-Elaine Doyle. 13. Wine-Mags Carter. 14. Biscuits-Terry Rehill. 15. Chocolates-Michael Timmins. The fortnightly Lotto is the main source of income for the club and we encourage everybody to support it as often as they possibly can. Our next draw is on Tuesday January 27th. If you want to be sure of inclusion in every draw why not buy a €50 yearly ticket from any of the lotto committee.

Sympathy
The members of Ballycomoyle club would like to extend their sympathy to the families of Peter Corrigan and Con McEnroe who died during the week. May they rest in peace.

Calendar
The Ballycomoyle calendar for 2009 is now available. It was designed by the usual team and printed on this occasion by our own Celeste Dermody. It will be distributed over the next couple of weeks. If one doesn’t make it’s way to you through our normal distribution channels and you would like to have one give me a ring on 087 6855808 and I will remedy the situation.

Monday January 5th 2009

Scór na nÓg Leinster Final
We will all be rooting for our instrumental group, Cian Farrelly, Hilary Gaffney and John Coyle in the Leinster final of Scór na nÓg in Ballymore community hall on Sunday January 11th at 3pm. These three fabulous young musicians have already come through three rounds to become Westmeath county champions. They went from there to represent Ballycomoyle and Westmeath in the Leinster semi-final where they were also successful and now contest the Leinster final. Best of luck from us all.

Senior Scór
Now is the chance for the adult club to show that there is plenty of talent among their ranks also. Catherine Daly (087) 9185962 or (044) 9666370 is now recruiting people to either participate in or help out with scór sinsear(senior scór). Last year was very successful with our novelty act reaching the Leinster final and Catherine will be hoping to equal or better that achievement this year in one or more of the following categories. 1.Figure Dancing, 2. Solo singing 3. Instrumental Music Group, 4. Recitation, 5. Ballad Group. 6. Question Time, 7. Novelty Act, 8. Set Dancing.  If you are interested in taking part in any of the above or if you simply want to give a help out, ring Catherine on either of the numbers above.

Dinner Dance
Our dinner  dance will be held on Friday January 30th in The Bloomfield House hotel. The night will take the same format as last year with presentations on this occasion to our Scór competitors who won County medals during the past year. A number of other club awards will also be presented on the night. Tickets are now available from   Ray Farrelly, Helen Coyle, Anne Dermody or any of the executive. The Dinner dance was definitely one of the highlights of 2008 for the club and we will be hoping that this year will be just as good.

Texas Hold’em
We held our first Texas Hold’em fundraiser in Hotel Castlepollard on Tuesday Dec. 30th. The event was a huge success and raised a considerable sum of money for the club. To the large number who participated on the night we say thank you and we hope you enjoyed the evening. Quite a few were local and we were delighted to see a few of  “our own” surviving so long amongst a very competitive field. A number of people deserve special mention for their work in the lead up to and during the event.   First amongst them has to be Seamus Farrelly and Marius Reilly who put a lot of hard work into organising and promoting the venture. It wouldn’t have happened without you. Our Chairman and Vice-Chairman who stepped up to the mark in the hotel and kept a steady flow of fluids to the hall. Well done lads. Your performance was definitely above and beyond the call of duty. Marius and Helen for their work on the door. Rose and her staff from Hotel Castlepollard for feeding us and looking after us so well. Well done one and all.

Calendar
The Ballycomoyle calendar for 2009 is now available. It was designed by the usual team and printed on this occasion by our own Celeste Dermody. It will be distributed over the next couple of weeks. If one doesn’t make it’s way to you through our normal distribution channels and you would like to have one give me a ring on 087 6855808 and I will remedy the situation.

Club Contacts:  

 
Last modified: February 07, 2010