Lanesboro Ballyleague Notes
Triathlon this Saturday:
The ‘Audi Athlone Two Provinces’ National Series Sprint Triathlon will take place in Lanesboro and it is a tremendous honour for the local Lanesboro Triathlon club to be hosting such a prestigious event. Saturday next 13th July is fast approaching and work is continuing apace to ensure that everything for this huge event.
Not only will there be the full event but there will also be a kid’s race on the Saturday morning consisting of a 100m swim, 2km cycle and 1km run. The race is open to children from 8-15 years of age. It promises to be a fun-filled day with goodie bags, medals and treats for all who take part.
Cemetery Sunday
The Blessing of graves and Mass will take place at Lanesboro Cemetery on this coming Sunday 14th July and it will conclude in Clonbonny on Sunday 21st July. People with family members interred in any of the graveyards are encouraged to tend to their family graves in time for the blessing of the graves and Mass. The blessing of the graves will commence at 6pm at each cemetery.
Lough Ree Golfing Society
On Saturday 29th June the Lough Ree Golfing Society held their 3rd outing of 2013 at Moate Golf Club. A splendid day was had by all at this lovely woodland course. There was a good turnout and it was great to meet again old and new members.
The results were as follows: nearest the pin on the 4th: Robin Lane; front nine with 22 points was Hugh Devereaux; back nine on 17 points was Peter Day; 2nd was Liam Rosemond on 34 and 3rd was Ray McCormack also with 34 points. The first prize went to John Martin who had a good score of 35 stableford points.
The next outing is to Longford Golf Club and the date will be announced in next week’s notes
Lanesboro Triathlon Club
Lanesboro National Series Sprint Triathlon 2013: The ‘Audi Athlone Two Provinces’ National Series Sprint Triathlon is nearly upon us, and the last few places are up for grabs. The race is set for Saturday July 13th, and not to be disappointed, register as soon as possible via our race website http://audiathlonetwoprovinces.com. Registration closes on Wed night 10th July or earlier if race capacity reached prior to this date. We shall also be hosting a kid’s race on the Saturday morning consisting of a 100m swim, 2km cycle and 1km run. It promises to be a fun-filled race with goodie bags, medals and treats for all who take part. Please see the Kidathon section on our race website http://audiathlonetwoprovinces.com for further details. Please note that due to the popularity of the kid’s race, the race is now full and registration is now closed.
Road Closures: For health and safety during the ‘Audi Athlone Two Provinces’ National Series Sprint Triathlon on Saturday July 13th, the following road closures are going to be in place: (1) The R371 from Ballyleague to Scramogue on the 13th of July 2013 from 10.45am to 2pm (2) The Rathcline road from O’Brien’s Corner to Harold’s Cross on the 13th July 2013 from 11:30am to 2pm. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and hope you can come out and support all the athletes on the route during this fantastic local race. Watch out and try spot a few celebrities that are coming to take part in the race!!
Sponsored Swim: The Lanesboro Triathlon club are currently organising a sponsored swim in aid of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland. The swim shall take place on the August Bank Holiday week end – date to be confirmed. The charity we have selected is Cystic Fibrosis Ireland; an organisation which does fantastic work on behalf of people with CF in Ireland. For more information on the work carried out by CF Ireland please visit http://www.cfireland.ie The proposed course runs from Kilnacarrow bridge (Born na Mona) to the bridge in Lanesboro. If you don’t know where Kilnacarrow Bridge is, don’t worry, we’ll have boats on hand to ferry swimmers to the start point from Lanesboro and it’s downstream from there. We’re asking for as many swimmers as possible to take part and help raise funds for this worthy cause. For those who think that the distance will be an issue, you can volunteer to swim as part of a relay team. Support boats will be on hand to give breaks along the way as well as kayaks which will also provide safety cover for swimmers. Sponsorship cards are available from club executive, so if you think you can take part, or even if you can’t take part yourself and are willing to raise funds on behalf of another club member for this excellent cause, please drop us an e-mail sponsoredswim@trilanesboro.com confirming your interest. We’ll then get a sponsorship card to you as soon as possible. For those people who may want to take part in the swim but don’t want to have to collect sponsorship, we’ll ask for a donation on the day. So, if you can it would be great to hear back from you. In your reply, please give your name and say whether you will swim the full course, would like to form part of a relay or would rather collect sponsorship on behalf of another club member who will be taking part. We also plan to have an event T-shirt for every swimmer so please tell us your preferred T-shirt size as well. Many thanks and look forward to hearing from you.
Out and about: Congratulations to all those represented the club so well recently at the Hell of the West triathlon, Kilkee and at Tri Athlone. The last race of the Midland Aquathon Series 2013 takes place in Mullingar on Wed 10th July at 7pm, hosted by the Midland Tri Club.
Gathering Schedule Announced
All is set to go with the Lanesboro Gathering Festival 2013 in the town of Lanesboro on August Bank Holiday weekend Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th August. Lanesboro will no doubt be the place to be with artists, local, national and international coming to town.
Lanesboro for many years had been synonymous for having one of the most outstanding carnivals in the midlands with people travelling from all over the country to dance and enjoy the atmosphere around the Lanesboro carnival and we are sure that August weekend will bring back the memories as well as the people for what promises to be an outstanding weekend.
The festival is described as a ‘parish hooley’ welcomes past residents and even people with the slightest link to Lanesboro to the town over the weekend. The town also welcome everyone that wants to come to join in and share the Gathering celebrations. It will be a most fantastic weekend – be there with us and have a ball.
The organising committee have worked diligently to put on a great festival for our community an
The line-up of events is;
Friday 2nd August:
Music in the Parish Hall from 7pm with Jimmy Flanagan and his merry bunch of musicians. 7.30pm the official opening of the Lanesboro Gathering Festival will take place in the hall. There will be a Wine and cheese reception.
This will be followed by an audio visual exhibition of a passage through Lanesboro and the Parish of Rathcline by Kieran Feeney.
At 8.45pm in the Library Bernadette Clancy will present her Historical Readings from schoolchildren of the parish from 1939 – an amazing array of readings – not to be missed. This event will be sponsored by FDT Consulting Engineers & Project Managers Ltd. Dublin. There will be a Wine and cheese reception.
8.30pm to 10.30pm there will be a Junior Disco
Meeting and Greeting from 11pm with a music concert by local group Actin De Maggot. This is a free event where everyone is invited to come along and set the atmosphere for the weekend in the marquee.
Saturday 3rd August:
All day International Fishing competition hosted by Lanesboro Pike Angling club and sponsored by Adie Farrell.
3pm Nature Woodlands walk through the newly developed walkway through the woods with Nature Conservationist Sue Moles sponsored by O’Brien’s Corner Shop. There is no charge for this event
5pm A tour of the Lough Ree Power Station. There are only a limited number of places available for the tour – booking at O’Brien’s. There is no charge for this event
11pm Dance with the Internationally famous Brendan Bowyer – a legend in his own lifetime and only just flying in from performing in Las Vegas.
Sunday 4th August:
11.30am Gathering Mass in St. Mary’s Church Lanesboro.
From 2pm to 5pm in the Car Park
Vintage Car Rally, Boats in the Bay, Family afternoon of fun with bouncing castles, music and picnics
9pm in the marquee Sean Mc Grath and his band
10pm Knights of Leon
12 midnight Disco with local DJs
Tickets for Saturday and Sunday night, priced €15, are available in O’Brien’s and as the numbers are limited it is essential that early booking takes place for will be the hooley of the year in Lanesboro.
There are a still a number of events open for sponsoring and if anybody is willing to come on-board we would be delighted to welcome them and publicise their offers of the events.
Golf Classic
The memory of Paul Enright will live on when a Golf Classic in his name will take place at Longford Golf Club on Saturday 10th August. The sum raised for the Golf Classic will go to the Oncology Ward of Galway Clinic and all golfers are asked to bring along their golfing friends to support a wonderful cause and acknowledge the memory of a great man. To compete will cost €200 for a team of 4.
Sponsored Swim for Cystic Fibrosis
Lanesboro Triathlon club are in the process of organising a sponsored swim from Kilnacarrow (Bord na Mona) bridge to Lanesboro on August Bank Holiday weekend – most probably Sunday 4th or Monday 5th August in the afternoon in aid of Cystic Fibrosis. The date details will be confirmed in the very near future.
The club is seeking volunteer swimmers to join with them on the swim. If you are interested please contact sponsoredswim@trilanesboro.com. This will be a wonderful and new challenge for swimmers but most definitely an excellent cause will benefit to a major extent.
A very active Lanesboro Library this summer
Lanesboro Library – Summer Reading Buzz
Summer Reading Buzz – Pick up an entry form in your local library and collect some surprises on the way – you can enter as often as you wish!
Photography Competition – ‘Summer in Longford’ Photographs will be displayed in local libraries for the month of September
Bee Crafty – Arts & Crafts – Friday 19th July at 11am (all ages)
Storytelling with Chris Thompson – Everyone Loves Summer! – Tuesday 23rd July at 3pm (age 3-8)
Caring for your pet, learn about responsible animal ownership – with Longford Co Co Veterinary Dept. and Irish Dogs Trust – Wednesday 24th July at 3pm (all ages)
Summer Surfing at Lanesboro Library. Want to improve your computer skills or just want to know how to email and use social media?
Tailored Internet Courses to suit your needs; Introduction to social media Facebook & Twitter; Learn how to use the Internet for Internet Banking, Motor tax etc. Learn how to upload photos on your laptop or PC; Keep in touch with family & friends using Skype; Touch typing and Basic computer skills; How to use your IPAD to get the most from it.
€50 for 5 weeks (1 hour per week)
For more information contact Lanesboro Library 043 332 129 or email Stella at lanesborolibrary@longfordcoco.ie
Co Longford VEC visits Lanesboro Library – The Adult Educational Guidance Service (Co Longford VEC) will visit Lanesboro Library on Tuesday July 16th from 2-4pm. If you are interested in getting back to learning and want to know what’s available locally, come and chat with Mary or Liz, both qualified guidance counsellors, who will be happy to go through your options with you. This is a free service and all are welcome
Shannon Gaels
If you are interested in joining up with the Shannon Gaels choir for the Gathering Mass on Sunday 4th August you are asked to contact Brendan Keane immediately.
All teams are now in action and on Monday night our minors played Drumlish and on Monday night next we play Ballymahon Forgney Gaels in Clonbonny at 7.30pm. The minors will be out every Monday until championship and it is up to every player to put his shoulder to the wheel and put in a huge effort in preparation for the championship.
Our Under 16 players will travel to the Laurels on Saturday next for the U16 Shield Final. At 7pm. It is hoped a large number will follow he lads to Mullinalaghta on Saturday to cheer them on to victory.
Our U14 panel will train every Thursday and Saturday and it is hoped to have a challenge game this weekend.
In the U12 league our under 12 team put up a magnificent performance and in the end were only pipped by 2points by Killoe. Well done to all on a great effort.
Under 6, 8, 10 and 12 panels will train every Friday from 7 to 8pm.
Congratulations to the U16 girls team that had a wonderful championship win during the week. Commiserations to the U14 team that failed to win the county final last week.
Good luck to the senior ladies who commence their championship on Sunday next in Carrickedmond.
The Rathcline senior club are holding a Day at the Galway races on Monday 29th July. If you would like to go you are asked to contact Albert Cooney or Liam Connerton.
Tremendous times for Ladies GAA
On Tuesday last the local U14 ladies team travelled to Killashee to play in the Championship final against Grattens. Unfortunately is was not to be our ladies day but they achieve a memorable feat in reaching the final and it bodes well for the future of our ladies club. The panel that did us proud was; Niamh Skelly, Niamh Chawke, Lara Sullivan, Leahy Wyse, Molly Fox, Zoe Gallagher, Áine Bannon, Áine Kennelly, Hannah Shea, Lauren Casey, Sarah Farrell,, Eimear Gavigan, Grainne Chawke and Ciara Healy.
The bad memories of Tuesday were laid to rest on Thursday night last when the U16 ladies played Carrickedmond in the championship final in Dunbeggan. It was a tense and exciting game and when the referee blew the final whistle the Rathcline ladies were in front by 1point. Celebrations at the final whistle were unbounded. The panel that represented us was Anna Peters, Sarah Farrell, Tanya Farrell, Dearbhail Flood, Emily Farrell, Ciara Casey, Niamh Shea, Niamh Chawke, Lara Sullivan, Shannon Rooney, Hayley Rooney, Aoife Magan, Tara Sweeney, Niamh Sheehan, Róisin Carberry, Ciara Healy, Sarah Farrell, Áine Bannon, Lauren Casey, Niamh Skelly, Niamh Gavigan and Molly Fox
The Senior Ladies will play the first round of the championship on Sunday against Carrickedmond at 6 pm in Carrickedmond. It is hoped that a big crowd will turn out to support the ladies.
Well done to Claire Greene, Noleen Donlon, Lauren Farrell Paula Kenny and the Longford Ladies Intermediate Team on their victory over Wicklow in the Leinster Championship on Sunday last in Killoe.
Flag Day
Ballyleague Tidy Towns will hold an Awareness and Flag Day on Saturday next July 13th for the forthcoming River bank project and on-going tidy towns work. Details of the re-development of the quay wall and swimming pool area will be available during the day and your support for the forthcoming duck race on the Shannon would be very much appreciated. The river bank is used by everyone in the community and making it safe for future generations is now the priority so please support the Flag Day throughout Ballyleague and Lanesborough this coming Saturday July 13th.
Lanesboro Tourism Co-Op
Next Saturday will be one of the busiest days of the year in the town as Lanesboro Triathlon club hosts its 4th triathlon. The committee wishes everyone success and that it will be an enjoyable day for visitors and locals alike.
Everyone is asked to do their bit in the lead up to the event and ensure that Lanesboro is looking its best and that it is litter free.
The lotto jackpot of €15,000 was not won and it is still available for you when you buy a ticket in any local shop for just €2. The €50 winner last week was Mary Rice, and the three €20 winners were Dolores Flynn, Michael Greene and J.P. Murtagh.
Sympathy
Would like to extend our deepest sympathy to Annie Rose and Mick O’Reilly The Green and their family on the death last week on Bobby Gorman, Kilbeggan, last weekend.
Annual One Day Retreat
The annual one day retreat to Lough Derg will take place on Sunday 25th August leaving Ballyleague Hall at 7am. Last year there was a great demand for this annual one day retreat and early bookings are advisable. The bus will pick up pilgrims at Scramogue, Rooskey and Carrick-on-Shannon. The cost of entry to the island is €40 and the bus fare is extra. For bookings and further details you are asked to contact Mary at 043-33 21969.
Lough Ree AC
Tullamore stadium was the venue for some of the All Ireland finals for the U12 to U19 age group. The club had two qualifiers in action; Orla Keane in the U13 80m on Saturday and James Scally in the U18 3,000m on Sunday. Great credit to both teenagers. They gave it their best but it was not enough to get into the medals.
The loose remark in last week’s notes about Barry Hogan’s record brought some questions. The answer is simple. In the 40 years of travelling to various events and venues up and down the country, he was the only one that was left behind. The circumstances are interesting: The venue was Castlegar, on the outskirts of Galway city where they were staging an open sports day. Transport was leaving for home to Lanesboro at 6pm. It was announced over the PA system that the bus for Lanesboro was leaving and for all to go back to the bus. After two stops for ice cream on the way home; it was only discovered on arrival at Ballyleague that Barry was missing. Nobody had seen him and it was assumed that he had travelled home with PJ Casey earlier. When the bus was in the Rathcline area the driver thought he would call into Hogan’s to check that he was home safely. He was not! His father Ray was all set to go to Galway but agreed to wait until the driver had finished his run before embarking on the journey. They had planned to inform the garda Timmy Glynn who was stationed here but was a native of Castlegar. When the driver retuned to Hogan’s after completing the bus run he discovered that Barry had phoned from Roscommon – having received a lift from the mid-Roscommon club. Come to think of it, we never heard Barry’s side of the story.
Rathcline GAA
Rathcline GAA would like to wish Longford Senior Team the best of luck in their 2nd round All Ireland qualifier game with Wexford on Saturday afternoon coming 13th July at 2pm in Pearse Park. If any is interested in doing steward for the game please contact Louis Skelly (086) 2754585.
Championship 2013 – It has been confirmed that Rathcline’s first round championship game against Legan Sarsfields will take place on Saturday 20th July at 7pm. Venue has yet to be decided so keep an eye on fixtures for more details.
Galway Races – The inaugural Rathcline GAA Race day will take place at the Galway Races on Monday 29th July. The club hope to replicate the success of that achieved by Longford County Board at Punchestown only on a much smaller scale which will satisfy the needs of our own club. The occasion will present our parishioners, members, supporters and friends a fantastic afternoon of horse racing on opening day of the 2013 festival. The club have agreed an attractive hospitality package with the organisers in Ballybrit which surpasses that seen at the Annual Punchestown County Board Fundraiser. Most people will be familiar with the Galway Races but for those who are not; a great day out is always guaranteed. Ballybrit at the end of July is always the highlight of the horse racing calendar in Ireland and it is the aim of Rathcline GAA to tap into the atmosphere, banter and craic to serve our own needs as well as giving something back to our supporters. For more information, please contact Albert Cooney, Alan Fayne or Liam Connerton. With less than three weeks left to the event, table bookings are now being accepted by the club.
Club Rathcline Lotto Draw – The Jackpot total of €500 was not won this weekend with numbers drawn as follows: 3, 4, 18, 19, 26, and 42. Congratulations to our four €25 winners this week as follows: (1) Una, Mary, Nuala & Martha – Lanesboro Ballyleague Credit Union (2) Pat Mollaghan – Dublin St., Longford (3) Ann Farrell – C/O Seamus Flynn (4) Conor Casey – Rathcline Rd. Next week’s Jackpot will €600.
Rathcline GAA extends its best wishes to Phelim Henry on his retirement from Cloontuskert National School.
We would like to wish Danny O’ Sullivan a speedy recovery from horrible injury sustained at training during the week. We’re sure with Danny’s attitude and determination that he will do everything in his power to get back on the field as soon as possible.
Triathlon – The annual “Two Provinces Triathlon” will take place in our community this coming Saturday 13th July. This event promises to be bigger and better than previous years as the event is registered on the National Triathlon series for the first time. Large numbers are expected on Saturday and as such our local Tri club are looking for as many stewards as possible. Rathcline GAA is looking to support the event to the best of our ability and we would appreciate if our members could come out for a couple of hours on Saturday to help with the stewarding of the event. Please give your name to Cathal Chapman, Liam Connerton or indeed any member of either Executive. Our club would like to wish Lanesboro Triathlon Club every success with the hosting of such a prestigious event.
Rathcline Ladies – The senior club would like to congratulate Rathcline Ladies U14 and U16 teams in reaching the league finals of their respective grades during the week. Mixed fortunes for both teams though with the U14’s losing out to Grattens
on Monday evening last. Commiserations to team manager Aodhnait Casey who did a fantastic job with the girls this year. Success was not to be denied on Thursday evening last as our U16 Girls team under the stewardship of Kieran Feeney were victorious over Carrickedmond in Killashee. It was a fantastic achievement for both teams last week and the future looks bright for Ladies football in Rathcline. Photos of both finals can be seen on the Club Facebook page.
To follow on, the senior Club wishes every success to the Senior Ladies who play Round 1 of the Intermediate Championship on Sunday evening next 14th July against Carrickedmond in Michael Moran Park at 6pm. We hope the team can build on the winning foundations of the U14 & U16 last week. Your support would be greatly appreciated on Sunday evening next.
Shannon Gaels – Coaching for U6, U8, U10 and U12 will continue in Clonbonny on Friday in Clonbonny from 7pm to 8pm as normal. All parents are asked to return ticket money from the Dog night to the Club as soon as possible.
Western Gaels – U14 – Preparations are now in full swing for the first round of the championship which is scheduled to kick off in mid-July. Training continues in Clonbonny on this Thursday evening coming between 8pm – 9pm and then again on Saturday between 5pm – 6pm.
U16 – Round 3 of the Special Juvenile League Division 1 will take place on Tuesday evening coming 09th July when Western Gaels play St. Vincent’s in Dunbeggan at 7:30pm. Round 4 will take place a week later on 16th July playing Northern Gaels in the Laurels at 7:30pm. The first round of the championship is due to take place on 15th August with an away match to St. Colmcilles. On Saturday coming 13th July, the team will meet Northern Gaels in the Shield Final in the Laurels. The time of the game has yet to be confirmed so keep an eye on fixtures for more details. We hope are large crowd from the parish will travel to the Laurels to support the lads in their pursuit of silverware.
Minor – Round 4 of the minor league is scheduled for Monday 8th July when Western Gaels will play away to St. Vincent’s in Monaduff at 7:30pm. The team will then play St. Dominic’s/Moydow amalgamation on Thursday 11th July at 7:30pm in Dunbeggan. Training for U16 & Minor continues this week per the normal routine. Players will get the usual text message in advance of training.
Gathering 2013 – Shannon Gaels are organising a choir for a special mass during the Gathering celebrations on the August Bank holiday weekend. Anyone wishing to participate in the Choir can give their names to Brendan Keane.
Congratulations to the Lough Ree Sub Aqua Club on the reopening of their Club house on Sunday last. Great credit must go to all concerned in rebuilding their facility after the unfortunate fire damage last year. We wish the club continued success after 30 years from their foundation.
St. Faithleach’s GAA
LGFA – Connacht Finals: Best of luck to Rachel Costello along with the Roscommon U16 Girls, in the Connacht U16 B Championship Final this coming Saturday 13th July, against Leitrim. The time and venue have yet to be confirmed. The best of luck to Amanda Mc Loone along with the Roscommon Ladies, in the Connacht Championship Final this coming Sunday 14th July, against Sligo at 2.00pm in Tuam.
Junior Men: Our Juniors have a game against Kilbride this Tuesday evening 9th July at 8.00pm in Ballyleague.
Junior Ladies – Championship: Our junior ladies were defeated by Ballinameen on Wednesday evening last. Final Score – St. Faithleachs 1-07 Ballinameen 3-07. Team: P. McCormack, C. Brennan, E. Kenny, M. Farrell, J. Melia, A. Ormsby, A. Nerney, A. Mc Loone (1-1), J. Geoghegan (0-1), R. Costello (0-1), L. Mc Loone, R. Banahan (0-1), M. Kenny, T. Nerney, K. Murphy (0-3). Subs: C. Geoghegan and M. Corcoran.
Minor – Championship: Our Minor men had a win over St. Aidans on Friday evening last in Ballyforan. Final Score – St. Faithleachs 4-14 St. Aidans 1-08.
U14 – Championship: Our U14 Boys a win over Western Gaels on Thursday evening last in Frenchpark. Final Score – St. Faithleachs 8-07 Western Gaels 1-07. The next game is against Boyle, at home, this coming Thursday evening 11th July at 7.00pm.
U8 County GoGames Blitzes: Well done to our U8 panel of players who took part in the County U8 Blitz on Saturday last in St. Groans GAA Club.
“Fully Booked” – St. Faithleachs GAA Cúl Camp 2013: Please note that our Cúl Camp, taking place from Monday 15th July to Friday 19th July, is now fully booked. There has been huge interest in the event and unfortunately the club can only facilitate a limited number of Children. Registration is now closed as all places are full.
Lotto: The numbers drawn were – 9, 10, 11 and 28. There was no jackpot winner and the five €20 winners were- Michelle Kenny, Sean Connaughton, Ollie Hackett, Joe Cribbin and Vincent Glennon. The next draw will take place on Tuesday 16th July for a jackpot of €9,000.
Cards: Every Tuesday in the clubhouse, 9.00pm. All welcome. Winners – Pete/Ronan. Runners-up – Tom/Brendan. Last game – Ann/Mick. Ticket Winners – Mick, Fr. Larney, Tom D and Tom S.
It is amazing what you find
Michael Kenny, son of Mike and Molly Kenny, Knock, many years ago departed our shores for a new life in New York. Time has been good to Michael and he has his own successful home improvements business in New York. On his travels through Massachusetts he came upon the town of Lanesborough and at the entry point of the town was the sign below. A few years ago a number of people from our community as well as some County officials travelled to Lanesborough MA for a twinning of both towns. It is great to see that the time spent there was well recognised by the authorities and the sigh erected.