My opening line in last
year’s report, stated that it did not seem like a year had
passed since our last A.G.M., but this year I will have to
state that indeed it only seems like six months this time
round. They say that a week is a long time in politics but I
can assure you that 12 months is a very short time in the
life of a busy little GAA Club like ours. In my report we
will briefly outline the way in which the year unfolded for
us, the high’s and low’s etc. Our respective Underage and
Ladies Secretaries will deliver their reports in due course.
JUNIOR MENS
2007 rolled in and with it
brought a change at the helm. Joey Williams was forced to
withdraw as manager due to work commitments and Mr. Pat
Shryane was approached with a view to taking over and this
he did. We started training in mid- February and our league
campaign began on St. Patrick's Day. It was a very difficult
year for us in the Junior ranks, but we can take comfort in
the fact that we are on a team building mission at the
moment and we would be very hopeful of faring much better in
the season ahead. Pat has been introducing young blood onto
the panel to great effect and even though we were beaten by
Ballinagore in our last Div.3 match, the quality of our play
is constantly improving. Pat and Ray have organised indoor
soccer on Tuesday nights at present and there is a great
“buzz” regarding this. We hope 2008 will be rewarding but
probably it will be 2009 before we see the true extent of
Pat’s strategic planning. The following is a brief list of
some of our results:
17th March –
C/F/C/W 2.09 Ballycomoyle 0.03
24th March -
Loughnavalley 0.08 Ballycomoyle 1.05
14th April -
Tang 2.12 Ballycomoyle 1.05
4th May - St.
Joseph's 1.14 Ballycomoyle 1.10
25th May JFC –
Delvin 2.04 Ballycomoyle 2.04
17th June JFC –
Shamrocks 0.15 Ballycomoyle 1.05
22nd June JFC –
Rosemount defeated Ballycomoyle
14th July J Cup –
Loughnavalley defeated Ballycomoyle
27th July JFC –
Multy 2.10 Ballycomoyle 1.04
7th Sept -
Ballinagore defeated Ballycomoyle
Some Junior B games were
played during the course of the year and these proved to be
of great benefit to our younger players and even some older
ones).
JUNIOR LADIES
As already stated, our Ladies
Secretary will give her account of the 2007 season, but it
would be unfair of me not to congratulate the Junior Ladies
team for doing our club so proud in annexing the 2007 Junior
Shield. Unfortunately, due to the nature of our personal
business the P.R.O. and myself were unable to witness this
great occasion, which the Ladies brought to the Club. We
look forward to many good years ahead and hope that Marius
will continue with his winning ways.
UNDERAGE
Our underage section
continues to grow at an astounding rate and this must be
attributed to the hard work put in by the team mentors for
2007, many of whom, have held these positions for a number
of years. We must congratulate them and the parents of the
children for the time and dedication that they have put in
during the year and I am sure that we will reap the benefits
in the years ahead.
SCÓR
NA NÓG
This aspect of our Club has
really taken off this year, with 36 children taking part in
8 categories representing both sections of our Club,
Ballycomoyle GFC and Ballycomoyle Ladies. To date,
Ballycomoyle GFC will be contesting a semi-final next
weekend in the Instrumental Music and Ballad Group
sections. At time of going to press, we have ran another
first round of Scór which included Ballycomoyle Ladies, here
is how they got on…………….Doreen and Catherine would like to
thank Gráinne Healy for helping them out this year, the
Board of Management of Fore N.S., Ms. Fanning and staff.
The Culture and Language Officers would like to invite any
parents or persons who feel that they could help in any area
to come forward early next year.
FUNCTIONS AND SOCIAL EVENTS
In
Coole Hall on Tuesday 29th May we held our
presentation for our U.12 girls, who won the 2006 “C”
Championship. We were very fortunate to secure the services
of Stephen Stack, All-Ireland medal winner 1986 and 1997.
Stephen delivered a very encouraging speech to all of the
youth in attendance. Stephen also brought the “Sam Maguire
Cup” with him, which proved to be a huge hit with both
children and parents alike. Also present on the night was
Chairperson of the Ladies County Committee, Mr. Tom Walsh.
A special word of thanks must go to Helen Coyle for her part
in organizing such a memorable night.
Club
Calendar
A simple idea early in the
year came to fruition with the publication of our very first
calendar. Great credit goes to Dermot, Helen and Seamus who
were responsible for its creation and it has taken pride of
place in many homes. Looking forward to the 2008 version.
Newsletter
Prior to our underage
training starting, yet another simple idea came into reality
in the form of our newsletter. This went out to all local
schools in the area and provided concise information about
the Club and its activities. Enclosed in the newsletter was
a membership form and colouring competition, which proved
very successful. Thanks to all who contributed to its
publication.
Ladies Quiz Night
On March 2nd we
held a very successful quiz night in Meehan’s, Coole. This
night was well supported and a big thanks goes to Ned Flynn
who was quizmaster on the night.
Sponsored Walk
Mullaghmeen Forest was the
venue on Friday 6th July for our annual sponsored
walk. The weather during this week did not make the
prospect of holding this outing very possible, but luckily
enough it cleared for a few hours and allowed us to
proceed. Again it was well attended on the day and a tidy
sum of money was raised. Thanks to Joe Masterson who led
the walk and all the children and parents who took part.
Bag
Pack
Two years had passed since we
last had a bag pack and on the weekend of the 16th
to 18th August we successful held a bag pack in
Dunne's Stores, Mullingar. The success of this bag pack can
be attributed to the 71 people who gave up their time
generously to help us out. A large sum of money was raised
and we would hope to make this an annual event. Thanks
again to all concerned.
Underage Finale
On Friday night 14th
September our underage training came to an end for this
year. A very large number of children and parents were in
attendance and they were treated to a barbecue, tea,
sandwiches, drinks and crisps. A great evening was had by
all and to quote one of our well-known Club members,
“Whatever we do, we do well”.
Annual Social Dance
This was held on Sunday night
28th October in Hotel Castlepollard. This event
in the past would have been very well attended, but due to
other functions numbers in attendance were down. The future
of this dance will have to be looked into.
Underage Trip
Three coaches, with upwards
of 130 persons left Castlepollard on Monday 29th
October at 9.30am with the National Aquatic Centre the main
destination of the morning. This was our annual trip which
has been viewed as the highlight of the Ballycomoyle social
calendar. Following a meal it was off to the final stop of
the evening, the Life Valley Cinema, where all were treated
to suitable films. A very memorable day was had and we are
looking forward to the 2008 trip. Many thanks to Dermot,
Helen and anyone who helped out on the day.
Forthcoming Event
For the first time in the
history of our Club, we are holding a Dinner Dance on Friday
night 18th January 2008 in The Crover House
Hotel, Mountnugent, Co. Cavan. Preparations for this are in
full swing at present and more details can be obtained from
the Club Secretary in due course.
Club Lotto
Our Club lotto continues on a
fortnightly basis and a huge thanks must go to the dedicated
lotto committee members who give up their time to ensure the
smooth running of our lotto. As the lotto is our biggest
fundraiser, a conscious effort must be made by all involved
in the club to support it, as without it our club would have
difficulty in running financially. The yearly lotto has
increased quite well and hope this trend will continue.
Web-site
Our web-site continues to be
the talking point of the county and indeed the country and
great credit for this has to go to Seamus Coyle. Seamus is
always seeking new material to keep the web-site up-dated
and he can be contacted at
www.ballycomoyle.com
Keep up the good work Seamus.
The last word is to say thank
you to my children and husband for their help and
understanding for the times I wasn’t around or busy with
Club business. At times it has been difficult and as I
stated last year, a challenge and most definitely this year
has been that. Some of the work carried out by the club
Secretary is very essential, while some, especially this
year could have been carried by others dealing with teams
etc.
Some ideas have come into
being, others not but, we will still keep going because of
the love of our national pastimes, our culture, our language
and most importantly our young people. I wish to thank my
fellow officers for the commitment to their posts and the
club, committee members, mentors, teams, parents and
children for their involvement in training and social
activities. Without everyone we could not call ourselves a
“Club”.
Nominations
Chairman Seamus
McDermott
Vice-Chairman Gerry
Farrelly
Ray Farrelly
Dermot McKenna
Sean Dermody
Ciaran Ring
John Smyth
Secretary Doreen
Farrelly
Ciaran Ring
Ass Secretary Ciaran
Ring
Gerry Farrelly
Doreen Farrelly
Ray Farrelly
Underage Sec Dermot
McKenna
Treasurer Anne
Dermody
Majella Walsh
PRO Ray
Farrelly
Club Registrar Niall
McKenna
Delegates to
Co. Board Gerry
Farrelly, Ciaran Ring, Paul McCrossan,
And Sean Dermody
Players Rep Derek
Cheevers, Tossy Brady, Ronan Fagan, Ray
Farrelly, Kevin Gavigan, Maurice Gavigan
Youth Officers Helen
Coyle, Sean Dermody
Club development
Officer
Johnny Corrigan, Ciaran Ring, Maureen Fay, Andy
McEoin, Paul McCrossan, Seamus Leahy, Larry
Masterson
Culture and
Language officers Catherine
Daly and Doreen Farrelly,
Larry Masterson
Ballycomoyle
Ladies Chairperson : Dermot
McKenna, Claire Coyle, Libby Hannon
Maureen Fay
Ballycomoyle Ladies
Secretary Libby Hannon, Sinead
Gallagher, Claire Coyle
