Welcome to the AGM of Ballycomoyle GAA Club for 2009.  I am delighted to be reporting to you at the end of a very successful year for the club.  As you know there are many different aspects to our club and they are working in their own area of expertise to ensure the future of our club.  I have asked the secretaries of the Ladies, Scór and Underage to report to you separately.  However, I will give a brief mention to these areas also. 

Our junior men & Under 21 teams.
This year saw the appointment of a new management team for our Junior Men’s team.  The start of the year saw us participate in Division 4 with our Junior A team and division 7 with our Junior B team.  Following two heavy defeats by The Downs and St. Lomans in Division 4 and the realisation that the teams playing in this division were the second teams from senior clubs, with many of their first strength senior players, the management team decided to withdraw from this competition. 

Our Junior championship run saw us winning our first championship game in some years v St. Lomans. With two draws v Loughnavalley and St. Josephs going into the last game, it was a must win game v Milltown.  However, little went our way on that occasion and denied us a championship quarter final place.  We can look to 2010 with optimism when we see that Caulry, who we competed well against in the league and cup, were eventual winners of the Junior championship.

Our Junior B team competed very well in their league, with a draw to Delvin and two narrow defeats to Moate and Ballinagore.  The only significant defeat, coming on a day when we were unable to field a team.  We competed well in the junior B championship, with a game v Ballymore to be refixed by the county board still, however this is not enough to see us advance in the competition.

A Junior Shield competition for solely junior teams was introduced this year.  This was on a knock out basis.  We were drawn in a semi final place against St. Josephs and a significant win on this occasion sees us in the Final.  The final is v Loughnavalley and is fixed for Saturday 14^th November, and the result is not known at time of publishing the report. 

Well done to all the players who attended training on a regular basis and put in huge effort during the year.  With great improvements made in 2009, it is an opportunity to build on this for 2010. 

To Pauraic Cullen, John Smyth & Martin Murphy I say thank you for your work and commitment throughout the year. 

For the first time in well over 10 years (nearer to 20 years I’m told), we entered an under 21 team this year.  We competed well in the first half of the game but were unable to sustain this for the second half, with Ballymore winning easily in the end.  As with any competition it takes a few years to establish a team and bearing in mind that as a team this group of players would not have played together since they were under 14. I have no doubt that in the next few years the under 21s will be a force to be reckoned with.  Well done lads and well done to Johnny Corrigan for all your efforts in getting this team together.

The results of each game that was played can be seen in the appendix.

Ladies Junior & Underage teams:
Congratulations to our Junior Ladies on a wonderful year.  They were unbeaten for the year in Westmeath.  After 10 years in existence, winning the Junior Championship was a fantastic achievement and a great honour for our club.   The achievements of our underage teams over the last 10 years have finally reaped rewards.  This can be seen in the fact that only five of the team that played in the junior final in 2003 were present in this team.

Our under 12 team saw new management this year and worked very well, gaining in confidence as the year progressed.  They lost out narrowly for a place in their final.  Our under 14 and under 16 teams competed in a level higher than we have ever competed before, with the under 14s winning their division easily and the under 16s being robbed of their final by a last minute penalty to lose by 1 point.  The minors reached their final for the first time ever.  Well done ladies.

Thanks to the following who looked after teams: Kevin Walsh & Sabrina Dermody – Under 12s, Helen Coyle & Gerry Farrelly - under 14s, Claire Coyle -  under 16s, Seán & Ann Dermody – Minors and Marius Reilly & Helen Coyle - Juniors

Thanks also to Dermody Haulage, Christy Brady & the Woolpak for their sponsorship for the ladies junior team.

Our Scór na nÓg
In 2008/2009 we entered in all eight categories under Ballycomoyle Ladies club and in five categories under Ballycomoyle GAA Club.  In all almost 30 children participated with four teams reaching the county final – Music, Novelty Act and two quiz teams.  Congratulations to our Music group and our Quiz team on winning our first county final in these categories for Ballycomoyle Club.  Thanks to Catherine Daly and Doreen Farrelly for preparing these groups for the occasion.
Currently we have our two clubs competing, with full complement with one club and only missing out with the set dancing for the other group.  We have improved on the number of participants with almost 50 children participating.  Six out of eight groups through to the semi finals from the first night and by the time of the AGM we will know how well the other group fared out in the competitions.  Thanks to Catherine Daly, Gráinne Healy and Helen Coyle for their work in preparing them.

Our Scór Sinsear
Ballycomoyle was represented in seven categories in the first round of Scór Sinsear and four of these making it through to the county final.  2009 saw us take our second county title in senior scór and our first at ballad group. Well done to all who participated maybe in 2010 we will have the full compliment of eight categories in scór sinsear.

Underage
Our underage structure continues to be very successful, with boys and girls from 4 to 12 training from 7 – 8pm on Friday evenings.  This year saw us rent additional land to cater for the increased numbers at training.  The additional ground provided us with space when the playing field was not playable in this very wet year.  There were some new coaches involved this year which strengthens our base for the future.  There is always room for more people willing to coach. 

Our under 8 team played 8 games winning 3, drew 1 and lost 4.  They also played in blitz in Multyfarnham and Mullingar Shamrocks, growing from strength to strength throughout the year.

Our under 10 competed in the North Westmeath league.  They won 2, drew 1 and lost 3 before beating Delvin in the final.

Our under 12 had a wonderful year winning 5, drew 1 and lost 2.

Our under 14s under St. Michael’s worked very hard during the year and were unfortunate not to have made a place in the final shake up.

Congratulations to St. Michaels under16 team, who reached the division 2 final and lost out by a mere point to Moate. 

Congratulation to St. Michael’s minor team who have reached the division 3 final v Bunbrosna.  This game will have taken place prior to our AGM.

Thanks to the following who looked after teams during the year: Karen Coyle, Elaine Caffrey and many helpers – Under 6s, Paul Mooney & Micheál Fagan – Under 8s, Noel Morgan, Frank Gilsenan & Dermot McKenna – Under 10s, Marius Reilly & Paul McCrossan – Under 12s, Dermot McKenna – Under 14s, Andy McEoin, John Smyth & Johnny Corrigan Under 16s and Johnny Corrigan - Minors.

I would like to thank Dermot McKenna, who after 10 years as underage secretary, has decided to take leave of this position.  Dermot has worked very hard to bring the present day underage structure to the success that it is at today.

Schools teams:
Fore school entered the cumann na mbunscoil competitions in boys and girls.  The girls reaching the semi final.
Castlepollard for the first time in recent years also entered the cumann na mbunscoil in the boys competition.  They too were beaten in their semi final.  I would like to thank the teachers in the schools for their work in preparing our members for these teams and giving them the opportunity for playing football in what is our clubs off season.

Well done to all concerned.

Celebrating 125 years of the GAA. 
Our club celebrated 125 years of the GAA in a number of ways.  To start the year we headed in large numbers to the most spectacular fireworks and lighting display seen in this country. 
In May we participated in a mass in Fore Church for deceased and present members of our club.  Many different age groups of our organisation were represented to assist with the ceremonies.  This we followed with a cup of tea and refreshments in the Coffee Shop.  We organised a meeting of the Ballycomoyle teams of the 1950s to hear their stories of the lives of our players in this era.  Recordings were taken of the night for the records.  Thanks to Johnny & Odie Corrigan for making their home available for this meeting.  On Sunday 10^th May, a day dedicated throughout the country to club events, Ballycomoyle hosted a range of games from the under 6s to the over 40s and provided entertainment and food (by way of roasting a pig and BBQ).

Lá na scoile was a day dedicated to celebrating GAA events in the schools.  Pupils were encouraged to express what the GAA meant to them in art form.  There were also games played to celebrate the day.  Thanks to Dermot McKenna, Seamus McDermot and Marius Reilly who assisted in Fore & Collinstown schools for this day, also thanks to Bernie Leahy, our schools co-ordinator for raising awareness of this day with the schools prior to the event.

Finance & Fundraising.
Our Treasurer, Ann Dermody, has once again kept a very tight eye on the finances of our club.  This year saw us try out some different ways of fundraising.  The following is a list of the fundraising events that we organised or benefited from in 2008/09: Poker Classic in Seven Wonders Bar Fore, Texas Hold’em Poker Classic in Hotel, Concert in Collinstown hall in conjunction with Collinstown/Fore Community Games, Youth Discos in the Hotel, Sponsored Walk in Mullaghmeen, Bag Packing in Dunnes Stores, Steak Festival organised by Seven Wonders Bar Fore, 7-a-side tournament, Concert in conjunction with Comhaltas in Coole, Balloon Race and Sports Day.  We received a grant from Westmeath Sports Partnership to go towards our underage trip in October.  Our lotto is run every Tuesday night by a dedicated lotto group, this has been our greatest source of income over the last few years.  Thanks to everyone who make these events happen and all who supported them.

Grounds Upkeep. 
Once again we had the service of Jimmy Fagan for the upkeep of our grounds for 2009.  Jimmy always had the grounds in top condition and for that we thank you Jimmy.  We saw improvements at our grounds over the course of the year.  We now have flag posts erected were we proudly displayed our flags for Lá na gClub.  The addition of the portocabin has added greatly to our club.  This is now used for meetings, to provide tea and refreshments after games training and for practicing for scór.  Our small portocabin has also been fitted out with kitchen facilities.  Thanks to everyone who made all this happen.

Coaching & Development
Life is a learning curve and so too is coaching teams.  This year we had three of our coaches take on the Level 1 coaching course.  This took place over a number of weeks and your dedication and commitment to it is greatly appreciated.  We hope to reap the rewards of this in the years to come.  Westmeath county board also developed a new style for coaching courses. Here they took 4 clubs together and over a number of weeks went through the basic skills that anyone involved with underage would need to coach teams over the course of the year.  There were a large number of participants from Ballycomoyle on this course.
Many of our newer coaching members took part in a Code of ethics course run by Westmeath Sports partnership.  This is a must have course for anyone involved with a team that has underage players. We also have two members trained for Children’s officer.

Defibrillator
Thanks to Niall McKenna for his sponsorship of a Defibrillator which is now located on the wall of the referees room.  Our hope would be that we will never have to use this life saving device but in the event that we do we can rest assured that it will give the recipient a better chance of survival.  A refresher course of already trained members took place earlier this year.  More volunteers for using this device are needed.  It is something that everyone should know how to use.

GAA headquarters have introduced a few new items that need attending to this year. 
First of all a new email address is now set up that will allow the email address to remain unchanged with the change of secretary.  All registrations must now be done on line.  This involved a huge amount of work for our Registrar, Niall McKenna, this year and will require maintenance on a yearly basis.  It will be a requirement at national level that all underage mentors require Garda vetting in order to take charge of a team.  Our Children’s Officer, Seán Dermody, has started working on this ad if you have got a form and not returned it to him please do so in order for our club to be compliant.  David O’Rourke our Safety Officer and Alcohol & Substance Abuse Officer, has work underway with a policy statement on drug abuse and alcohol misuse.  He is also working on a risk assessment.  All these are additional administration issues that our club now needs to comply with.

Annual Dinner Dance:
Our annual dinner dance was held in Bloomfield House Hotel, Mullingar.  The attendance at this was again beyond our expectations.  We honoured our success in Scór on this occasion - county champions in Novelty Act in scór sinsear and instrumental music in scór na nóg.

Communications: 
Communications in a club is of huge importance.  Thanks to Seamus Coyle, our PRO, who has submitted notes to the papers almost every week this year as well as keeping our website up to date.  The level of information that he will submit is dependent on the information being supplied to him.  While some team mentors are excellent at providing reports on games, there is still a big gap in this area and something that we can improve upon for 2010. 
We again produced a calendar for 2009 together with a newsletter that were both distributed through the schools.

County Board Delegates:
I would like to thank our county board delegates that make the journey to Mullingar at least once a month to represent our club both in Ladies and Men.

Club Gear:
An organised approach was taken to the ordering of club gear during the year.  With Clodagh O’Neill, Celeste Dermody and Therese O’Keeffe organising samples and consulting with other members of the club to arrive at the most popular styles for club gear.  It is fantastic to see the Ballycomoyle T-Shirt or Jacket or Hat being worn about the place.  Well done ladies.  You can contact Celeste Dermody for any further orders.

Thanks:

Many thanks to Martina Murphy, who on several occasions during the year, gave willingly of her photographic expertise. 

I would like to extend a huge thank you to Niall McKenna, who, as in previous years was very willing to provide our club with sponsorship.  Thank you, Niall. 

Thanks also to our many supporters who cheered our teams on during the year.

To those who suffered bereavements during the year I would like to express my sympathy to them and congratulations to all those who have had reason to celebrate this year.

Finally, I would like to thank my fellow officers for their support, their patience and their hard work when ever it was needed throughout the year.  Thanks to everyone who contributed at meetings during the year for the benefit of our club. 

To the new committee I wish you the very best of luck but I have no doubt that with the level of support that exists within the club your jobs will be made as easy as possible.

Appendix: Match Results attached.

Runaí, CLG Baile Uí Chumaoil

Appendix Results

 Back to Top

Libby Hannon, Ladies Secretary 2009              Back to Top
Report on Ballycomoyle Ladies season 2008-2009                                 

This season has been a very busy year both on and off the field for Ballycomoyle ladies resulting in the clubs most successful year since its affiliation ten years ago.  Ballycomoyle took home its first ever adult county title in ladies football this year when they defeated Loughnavalley in the Ladies Junior championship on September  20^th played in St Lomans Mullingar on a scoreline of  Ballycomoyle 5-ll Loughnavalley 0-2

This year was an excellent year for this particular group of girls who remained undeafeated the whole year in championship and league fixtures. This was a great reward for an extremely deciated group of nearly 40 girls who trained all year round 4 nights a week under the managementship of  Marius Reilly, Helen Coyle.

The junior ladies squad also won the junior shield title for the second time this year and also took home the Mountnugent tournament for the 3^rd year in row when they defeated hosts Mountnugent to finish off the teams trio of victories.

Not be out done the Ballycomoyle ladies underage had a very successful year. The u18 and u16 squads both reached county finals with the u18 squad many whom had featured on the successful Junior squad in the previous weeks reached the Minor C final for the first time ever.  Losing out narrowly to Clann Gaels in the final.  This team was capinted by Amy Connell and was managed by Anne and Sean Dermody.

The u16 squad many whom where also members of the successful Junior and Minor squads where very unluckily beaten by Mullingar Shamrocks after extra time on a scoreline of 1-6 to 2-4.  This was the first year that we competed in the B division at this age level. They where very unlucky and deserve great credit for the excellent dedication and spirit they showed all year round many of whom where togging out for 3 different teams during the course of the year. They were managed by Claire Coyle.

The U14 panel under the guidance of Helen Coyle had a great year.  In the early part of the year they competed in the Féile, having only 13 players available for the day, they lost out in the semi final to a 15 squad Athlone selection.  However, they did take home the Féile shield against a 15 squad Garycastle team.  For the first time ever they competed in the B division and won their final with ease on a scoreline 5-10 to Clann Gaels 2-2  These girls gave great effort and commitment all year around.

The U12 under the management of Kevin Walsh and Sabrina Dermondy played 10 games throughout the year. While these knocked up only 2 wins, their defeats were by very small margins. 

The u8 and 6 squads looked after by Elaine Caffrey and Karen Coyle had a great year playing in several tournaments throughout the year.

Thanks to all who worked with each team to ensure the continuity of our teams into the future.

Dermot McKenna, Underage Secretary 2009

Ballycomoyle GAA - Underage 2009     Back to Top

I believe it is fair to say that 2009 was another very good year for all concerned with the Ballycomoyle and St Michael’s underage teams.   In spite of the very poor weather this summer our Friday night training was a great success with record numbers turning up every night. This was the first year that we were in a position to run 24 training sessions with out taking a break as we have done in other years and I would like to pay a special tribute to our group of coaches who gave so much of their time to make this possible.

Our Friday night bus was also a great success and to the small group of people who organised this we express our sincere gratitude.

Luckily we were in a position  to secure the use of  the field next to our pitch and this enabled us to move 4 groups (under 6’s – under 8’s and both boys and girls under 10’s teams  given all concerned enough space to enjoy themselves and learn a little at the same time.

The club also invested in a new portocabin which gave us the facility to offer tea and light refreshments to all the parents who attended our training sessions. Hopefully next year there might be some parents who would club together to organise this very social part of our Friday nights. Thanks to the small group who looked after the tea and refreshments this year and also all that helped to make our BBQ on our final night the best yet. Also any ideas or suggestions that would in any way help or improve our Friday nights would be gratefully accepted.

Another new departure this year was instead of the one under age trip that we usually ran we had two. Our first trip for our 12 year olds and younger took in Dublin Zoo and then on to the Aquatic centre and by all accounts the 84 children and 20 adults had a great time.

As our club has steadily grown over the last number of years it became apparent that we now had a new group with different interests to cater for (i.e. 13 to 16 year olds) so we organised a day trip to Co Down for some out door pursuits. Team building archery and the new sport of bouldering were the order of the day and if the comments on twitter and face book on the following days were anything to go by a very good time was had by all 33 ladies and gents who travelled.

A special word of thanks to Niall Mc Kenna & Co whose generous sponsorship enabled the club to offer the two trips to all concerned at what we hope was a very fair rate.

On the playing fields our under 10,s done very well in this years North Westmeath League playing seven games in total. Losses to the Downs Killucan and St Lomans were well offset by great wins over Tyrellspass and St Paul’s and a draw with Ballynacargy. These results set us up for a final with our neighbours Delvin and on one of the few dry Saturday’s we travelled to Killucan and recorded a great win. All players got plenty of refreshments and their medals were presented by current Westmeath star Francis Boyle.

For the last number of years our under 12 have been doing very well in the Westmeath league and it is fair to say that this years panel reached even greater heights with  wins over the senior clubs of Mullingar Shamrocks, Tyrrellspass, Garycastle, Killucan and Coralstown Kinnegad and only suffering defeat to Shandonagh and the Downs.

St Michaels under 14 also had a good league which left them playing in division B of this years championship. After seven games they missed out on a semi final place by just one point and that the only two games they lost were to the two teams who reached the final (Maryland/Tang and Caulry) shows they were well able to compete with some of the best teams in the county.

St Michaels Under 16 went a couple of steps better and reached the division 2 championship final only to loose out to a very strong Moate team. Their playing record for the year was 8 wins 4 losses and 1 draw. The sad reality is that this was defiantly the most talented of the three St Michaels teams which regularly started eight or nine Ballycomoyle players but for various reasons there had no more than three or four training sessions for the whole year.

St Michaels Under 18s have also reached the division 3 championship final making this the best year so far for our combined teams. Their playing record is won 10 lost 3 and the final against Bunbrosna has yet to be played.

Less there be any misunderstanding, St Michaels at the moment is working very well for Ballycomoyle, without it we would at best be competing in 13 a side games at the lower end of the league or at worst going back to the dark days of not fielding at all, a situation which I believe has contributed to so few players coming through to the junior team in recent years.
As outlined above this has been a great year for Ballycomoyle underage football and this is due to a great team of committed men and woman who’s hard work has put Ballycomoyle on a par with some of the biggest and best clubs in the county. That said there is still lots of room for improvement and we must always try to do it better the next time.
I believe the biggest challenge to our club and the new committee at under age is to ensure that the players who train every Friday night in Ballycomoyle move on into teams  at under 14 – 16 and 18 level that are well trained and organised and then progress into our junior and hopefully intermediate team.
To finish on a personal note I have just completed my tenth year as under age secretary and have probably over stayed my welcome by a year or two. I will not be running for the position this year as I believe now is the right time for the club to have some fresh thinking and ideas for our under age.

Many Thanks.
Dermot Mc Kenna. 

Culture and Language Officer report.  Back to Top
Catherine Daly

It gives me great pleasure to present my first report as Culture and Language Officer of Ballycomoyle GAA Club. This is a role which I shared with Doreen Farrelly for two years but which I have had sole responsibility for since January 2009.

SCÓR NA nÓG.

2008/09.
In 2008/09 Ballycomoyle Ladies were represented in all eight categories in the first round of Scór na nÓg and Ballycomoyle GAA club were represented in five of the eight categories. At the time of last year's AGM we had reached the county final with four groups - 2 Quiz teams, Instrumental Music Group and Novelty Act. Our Music Group of John Coyle, Hillary Gaffney and Cian Farrelly won the county title as did our Quiz Team of Peter McKenna, Killian Daly and Andrew Leahy. The Music Group went ahead to qualify for the Leinster Final.

These two groups were delighted to be honoured at the Annual Dinner Dance in January.

2009/10.
The current Scór na nÓg season is well underway, with the County Final scheduled for Sunday next, November 29th, in Ballymore.

As in previous years we entered two groups of competitors representing Ballycomoyle GAA Club and Ballycomoyle Ladies. I have attached a full list of this year's competitors. In total 48 young people, ranging in age from 6 to 16, were involved in the first round.

Ballycomoyle GAA club was represented  in all eight competitions by a total of 24 competitors. Of these eight, six reached the semi-final last Friday night. Unfortunately neither our Figure Dancers nor Set Dancers have progressed to the final. Representing Ballycomoyle GAA Club in the County Final, next Sunday, will be Fergal Tiernan (Solo Singing), Jennie O'Rourke (Recitation), Hillary Gaffney, Alice Murphy, Agnes Hogan, John Coyle (Instrumental Music Group) and Jane Coyle, Alisha Fitzpatrick, Jennie & Mairead O'Rourke, John Coyle (Ballad Group).

Likewise, 24 competitors represented Ballycomoyle Ladies in seven of the eight competitions. Of these seven, six reached the semi-final last night and again four have qualified for next Sunday's final. Those representatives are Sarah Fagan (Solo Singing), Bláthnaid Daly (Recitation), Andrew Leahy, Peter McKenna, Killian Daly (Quiz) and Ciara Walsh, Saoirse Farrelly, Caoimhe McCrossan, Kelly Coyle, Peter McKenna, Killian, Clíodhna & Bláthnaid Daly (Novelty Act).

Of the 48 competitors who represented the Club a few weeks ago 19 have progressed to the County Final. I would like to take this opportunity to wish them the best of luck next week and also to thank all our young competitors for their interest, efforts and enthusiasm and for the manner in which they represented our Club in this year's Scór na nÓg competition. They are a credit to our Club, their families and, of course, to themselves. We should all be very proud of each and every one of them.

Many thanks to Helen Coyle and Gráínne Healy for their help in preparing these teams. Thanks also to all the parents for all their help, support, encouragement and patience.

SCÓR SINSEAR.

2008/09.
In Scór Sinsear 2008/09 the club was represented in all of the competitions except the Instrumental Music competition. I am delighted that we were represented in so many of the categories, including Figure Dancing for the first time. Four of these made it to the County Final, namely Recitation, Solo Singing, Novelty Act and Ballad Group, who took the club's second Senior Scór County title in as many years, following victory in the Novelty Act the previous year. The members of this group were Siobhán Murphy, Grainne Healy, Doreen Farrelly, Catherine Daly and Micheál Fagan. This group were beaten by Clara in the Leinster Final, who went on to win the All-Ireland title.

Our Novelty Act County Title winners from 2008/09 were also honoured at the Annual Dinner Dance. The group members were Grainne Healy, Doreen Farrelly, AnnaMarie McKenna, Catherine Daly, Seamus McDermott, Dermot McKenna, Neil Salmon and Neville Jessop.

Fundraising Concert.
In April we held a variety concert in Collinstown Hall, in conjunction with Collinstown/Fore Community Games. Many of our competitors from Scór took  part in the concert which gave them an opportunity to perform their various items again. While the attendance was a little disappointing the concert was a success and was, in my opinion, a very worthwhile exercise.

Conclusion.
As can be clearly seen from this report the interest, and subsequent achievements, of our club in Scór continues to rise. Hopefully we will taste more success this season in Scór na nÓg and in Scór Sinsear after Christmas.

On a personal note, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Club for the Presentation which I received at the Dinner Dance, it was greatly appreciated.

Finally I would like to express my thanks to all those who helped and supported me in this role over the past year.

Many Thanks,

Catherine Daly.