Lanesboro Ballyleague Notes
Quirky Quiz
Lanesboro Gathering Festival G2 is holding a fundraising event on Friday 24th October. This is the Friday of October Bank Holiday and Lanesboro is the place to be on that night for a very unique and quirky quiz. It will challenge your worldly knowledge on all aspects of life and you will be royally entertained throughout the night.
How many coffee granules are there in a 500g jar???
Where does the left turn at Tullyvrane crossroads take you???
We are asking all sections of the local communities to get behind this fund raiser both as a means of raising much needed finance and also as a social night out with a difference.
You are invited to get all your friends, work friends and club colleagues out for what promises to be a unique and fabulous night. This will be a night not to be missed by you or any of your friends near or far.
Defibrillator Course/Refresher
A new defibrillator course will take place in the very near future. There will also be a refresher course. You never know the time or the hour that your training in the use of a defibrillator will be required and your ability to save a life.
Leave your name and phone number into O’Brien’s and you will be notified of the date of the course. It is also important that those who need to do their refresher course also give in their names.
Rathcline GAA Lotto
On Saturday night last 4th October the following numbers were drawn for the Rathcline GAA lotto 12, 14, 32, 35, 39 and 41. There was no winner of the €2200 jackpot and the jackpot for next Saturday night 11th October will now rise to €2300. The four winners of the €25 prizes were Gareth Johnston, Rathcline, Cian & Cóilín O’Brien, Clonfower, Eugene Hester, Knock and Rosaleen Egan, Derraughan Mór.
Lanesboro Bridge
The results of Lanesboro Bridge competition held on Wednesday last 1st October are; N/S 1st Loretto Cooney and Freda Kenny, 2nd Frank and Frances Brennan and 3rd Mary Casey and Gemma Douglas. E/W 1st Kathleen Kelly and Mike Flynn, 2nd Brid Mc Dermott and Maureen Hynes and 3rd Mae Casey and Noreen Dunne
Lough Ree Golfing Society
A hardy group of non fair-weather golfers had a very pleasant day at the lovely Dunmurray Springs Golf course on Friday last the 3rd October. It was the only outing of 2014 that had some rain but despite the weather there was some good golf and the usual good companionship. First with a magnificent 18 on back nine in the rain and a total of 30 points was Peter Day, 2nd was Fiona Gillen and 3rd was Liam Rosemond and the minor prizes were won by Mike Brennan, Frank Conmy and Mick Healy. Well done to all.
The Golfer of the year for 2014 is John James O’Shea with 30 goy points from the 5 outings. 2nd was Peter Day on 28 goy points with 3rd place being taken by Colm Dardis and 4th going to Alan Farrell.
The Society is now looking forward to 2015 for another enjoyable year’s golfing on some new courses. Keep it straight!
Sympathy
We would like to extend our sincere sympathy to Teresa and Seadna and Ryan and family, Main St on the death last Thursday of Teresa’s sister Dympna Fallon, Dunmore, Co. Galway and Limerick City
Birth
Many congratulations to the proud parents, Shauna and Michael, Church View, on the recent birth of Kayla Rebecca Neilon.
50/50 Draw Launch
The new 50/50 Rathcline GAA draw will commence on Monday 13th October with the first draw taking place in Adie’s Swan tavern. The 50/50 draw is set up to provide Rathcline GAA with a revenue source to fund the day to day operations of the club as well as meeting the financial commitments on their club debt.
The 50/50 works very simply- you put €2 into your envelope with your name and address on front of envelope and on Monday night of each week the draw is made with the winning envelope drawn taking half of the draw takings for that week. An example of that is where there are 250 envelopes returned, a total of €500, the winning envelope is drawn and the name on the envelope will receive €250. The more that buys the envelopes the greater the prize will be.
Envelopes can be bought in all local outlets and your support will be greatly appreciated.
Register of Electorate
The draft register for 2015.16 is now being prepared. If you live in Co. Longford and wish to vote in upcoming elections you are asked to check to ascertain if you are registered correctly to vote. If you are or have a family member who will be 18 years or over by the 15th February then it is very important to check to see if they are on the voting register. You can check the voting register on www.checktheregister.ie or by phoning 043-3343311.
Registration forms are available online on the following link Registration Forms or from your local post office, library, garda station and local county council offices and must be returned by 15th February.
Badminton Club
Lanesboro/Ballyleague Badminton Club would like to welcome back members and invite new members for the upcoming season. The junior registration takes place on the 11th October in St. Marys Hall Lanesboro from 5-7pm. 8 to 12yrs old from 5-6pm and 12 to 18yrs old from 6-7pm. The Adult Open Night is on the 14th and 16th of October from 9-11pm. Junior membership starts from €40 for one child and adults at €75, with family rates also available.
Saturday Night Fever
On Saturday evening last a remarkable game in the Roscommon senior championship took place in Kiltoom. The county semi-final between St. Faithleach’s and Padraig Pearses created many talking points but the most important factor of the game was that at the final whistle St. Faithleach’s were back in the county final. The county final will take place on Sunday 19th October and the entire area will be rising in their support of St. Faithleach’s as they take on the might of St. Brigids.
To say that Saturday evening was a tense encounter would be an understatement. Faithleach’s with a great blend of youth and experience will have benefitted greatly from the sheer intensity and closeness of the game throughout. Semi finals are never meant to be pretty; it is about getting to the county final and no failing at the second last hurdle and that is what the brave warriors of St. Faithleach’s did on Saturday evening.
It is now onwards and upwards to the county final and we are confident that despite going in as outsiders to the final St. Faithleach’s will do themselves and their parish proud and emerge victorious on the 19th October.
Lanesboro Library
Lanesboro Community Games Under 13 Project Competition winners will display their project entitled ‘The Role of the Internet’ in the library from Monday 6th October for two weeks. The winners of the competition are Áine Kennelly and Patrick Smyth. Many hours were spent preparing this project and well done to all involved on winning 4th place medal in the recent National Finals of Community Games in Athlone. All are welcome to come and see their wonderful work.
Harvest Service
The annual Harvest Service of Thanksgiving will take place in St. John’s church Lanesborough on Sunday 12th October at 4pm. Everyone is welcome to come and give thanks for the wonderful year we have had – all the good things we received during the year full and plenty due to wonderful weather conditions. Do go along and join with prayer and praise.
Have you some spare time?
Athlone Midlands Samaritans are seeking additional volunteers to maintain their befriending service. There is no experience necessary as training will be provided. If you are interested you are invited to call or text 085 2845010. The Samaritans provide a 24hour emotional support on Freephone 116123
Tickets available for Strictly Come Dancing
Tickets became available last week for the Strictly Come Dancing across the Bridge that will take place in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Athlone on Saturday 29th November. Even at this early stage ticket sales are excellent with a lot of people booking or buying their tickets. This promises to be a fabulous night with a host of locals taking to the stage in search of the inaugural Strictly Come dancing over the Bridge title. This night is a joint venture between St. Faithleach’s and Rathcline GAA clubs who are putting a huge effort into making the night a wonderful success. You can play your part too by coming along and supporting the dancers on the night. Tickets are priced €20 each and are on sale in O’Brien’s or from the committees of both clubs. You can book your tickets by phoning O’Brien’s 043-3321107 or emailing your request to joea@iol.ie. It would be a shame to miss out on your tickets for this night so make your purchase or booking immediately.
Monument Replaced
Earlier this year vandalism left a memorial recognising a ferry boat tragedy on the River Shannon in 1701 completely destroyed and the local community left with a bill of €4,000 to replace it. ESB Lough Ree Power was delighted to be able to give a generous donation to The Shannonside Heritage Group to allow them to reinstate the memorial.
It is a fabulous gesture by Lough Ree Power to make such a donation and the entire community are deeply indebted to Tom Moran and Pauline Casey for their great response to the request by Denis and the Shannonside Heritage committee.
Since it has been replaced many people during the excellent weather of August and September have availed of the excellent replacement and enjoyed the beautiful view from its idyllic location.
A New Tennis Club
A new tennis club has been set up in the Lanesborough-Ballyleague area.
The first meeting of the new Lough Ree Bay tennis club group took place at the tennis courts in Ballyleague marina on Saturday and thirty eight men, women and children from all over Roscommon, Longford and the local community were represented in a discussion with Tennis Ireland Level 2 coach Richard Turner from Kells. Four other people had registered an interest but were unable to attend last weekend and will be involved in the club later.
Richard spoke to the group about the importance of selecting a proper size tennis racquet for adults and especially children. He advised parents to ensure all players under 10 has smaller size racquets and appropriate size tennis balls for coaching. He also talked about the age group that children can start to participate in coaching (5-6 years old) and then gave the Under 6’s boys and girls present a short lesson on controlling the tennis ball.
Later the group present held a discussion with the coach and arrangements for the future of the coaching at the club were agreed.
- Coaching for boys and girls under 6 years of age will take place at the tennis court in Ballyleague marina from 6 to 7pm next Saturday October 11th. Children should be on the tennis court at 5-55pm and ready to play. The charge for coaching for the moment will be €3 per child for a one hour group coaching session with Richard. Parents encouraged to stay on while coaching underway. At least 2 parents (one male & one female) required by the coach at all times.
- Coaching for boys and girls under 10 years of age will take place at the same court from 7 to 8pm for the short term future. Players to be ready to play at 6-45pm. the charge is €3.Parents encouraged to stay on while coaching underway. At least 2 parents (one male & one female) required by the coach at all times.
- Coaching for adults will take place on the tennis court in Ballyleague marina on Sunday mornings at 9.30am for 60 minutes. All adults please be on the court at 9.25am and ready to play. As Richard is travelling down especially from Kells for this session on Sundays the charge (for the moment) will be €5 per adult per lesson of 1 hour duration in the group session.
- A membership fee for club members will be drawn up shortly after we get an insurance quotation from tennis Ireland/AIG and confirm what costs are associated with a 2nd net in Ballyleague.
- It is proposed to move coaching indoors during the Winter months as required. A member of the club is co-ordinating the availability of local hall. The possibility of putting up lights and lining the 2nd court at the marina court will be examined
- The availability of first aid was emphasised. A first aid kit is to be acquired or sponsored and a member is looking after that. One other member is an experienced and qualified first aider. Toilets are available on the bridge side of the river bank. (Pedestrian access from the marina will be restored in 3 weeks time)
- A provisional limit of just 12 members taking part in each session of group coaching for all ages has been set by the coach. We will have flexibility where possible but those who registered an interest by e mail and were in attendance last Saturday and filled u the questionnaire will be given priority. New players seeking membership should apply by e mail to: loughreebaytennisclub@gmail.com
- A meeting to establish a club and a committee will be held in 2 weeks time when a representative of Tennis Ireland or a local tennis club will hopefully be available. In the meantime the club has set up a steering committee of: Mark Kerrigan, Ciaran Mullooly, Helen Johnston who will investigate insurance and all other matters.
For more Information e mail: loughreebaytennisclub@gmail.com
Italian Conversational Classes at Lanesboro Library
Are you interested in learning conversational Italian? These classes are aimed at adults wishing to develop their conversational skills and are particularly suited to people travelling abroad or even for parents wishing to help their children with their homework.
The class will be one hour per week for six weeks. Each six week course costs €30.
Pre-booking is advisable as numbers for each class are limited. To do this or to obtain further details please contact Lanesboro Library on 043 3321291.
Shannon Gaels
On Saturday morning next our U14 team will travel to Pearse Park to take on Carrick Sarsfields in the final of the B Championship with a throw in time of 11.30am. A lot of time and energy has been given by all the payers, their mentors and indeed parents to get the lads to this stage. Hopefully a wonderful crowd will be in attendance to cheer on the lads and encourage them to bring the trophy back home. We wish them the very best of luck and look forward to a successful outcome. We encourage everyone to put out the club flags in support of the team on Saturday.
The minor team made a gallant effort to make the A championship final when they took on Clonguish in the semi final at the weekend. They fought right to the end, as is the character of this team and their mentors, who had them prepared so well, can be rightly proud of their effort. It is difficult going up a division to compete against perceived stronger team and it this respect the performance of the lads has to be admired.
The minors will contest the Minor B championship final on Saturday week on Pearse Park, as of yet no time has been set for the fixture.
Our U10 panel will travel to Newtownforbes to compete in the U10 Respect Go Games Floodlit competition where they will play against Clonguish Óg, Carrick Sarsfields, Clonbroney and Grattan Gaels.
The U8 Indoor Blitz will take place on Wednesday night in Kenagh between 7.30 and 8.30. All players and parents are asked to make a big effort to be in attendance. The teams involved with us are St. Dominic’s Moydow Harpers Óg and Carrick Sarsfields. The team will be out again on Wednesday 15th in Kenagh, this time from 6.30 to 7.30pm.
The club encourages everyone to contribute towards the 50/50 club draw initiative that is commencing this week.
The club extends its sympathy to Teresa and Seadna Ryan and Family on the death last week of Teresa’s sister. The club also extends its sympathy to the Mc Caffrey, Maloney and Connor family on their recent sad bereavements.
The club wishes the Intermediates the very best of luck and encourages everyone to go to Cashel on Friday night at 8.30pm for the final game of the season and a chance to take the scalp of recent county Intermediate champions Carrickedmond in the Patsy Reilly Cup Final.
The club congratulates our neighbours St. Faithleach’s on a wonderful semi final win last Saturday and we wish them every success in the final.
Bingo
Bingo will take place in Newtownforbes on Sunday 12th October at 3.00pm. There will be €2500 in prize money to be won on the day.
Rathcline GAA
To football first and although it’s October, there is the matter of the league final to think about this Friday. Rathcline take on Carrickedmond, newly crowned Intermediate champions. Rathcline had a great win over Cashel in the semi final and although late in the season, it’s nothing more than our lads deserve. The game takes place at 8.30 in Cashel, this promises to be another hard fought game, and our lads are looking forward to it. Please come out and support the lads in what will be the last game of the season.
The club have launched a new draw, the 50/50 draw will take place every Monday night, it’s a fundraiser that allows people of the parish to purchase an envelope for €2. Each week sellers and businesses will have the envelopes for sale. They are put into a drum and a winner is picked. If there is €500 in the kitty for the week then the winner gets €250. We need people to support this venture as the club is used by many, but supported by few. These €2 envelopes have been very successful in other parishes and we hope that the people of Rathcline support ours. Tickets will be available from Monday onwards, you can buy as many or as few as you want, but we would urge everyone to give this fundraiser a go, check our facebook page for more details, thank you.
There was no overall winner in the weekly Rathcline Lotto; the €25 weekly winners were Cian & Cóilín O Brien, Gareth Johnston, Eugene Hester, and Rosaleen Egan. The numbers drawn were 12, 14, 32, 35, 39, and 41.
Minor Notes
Hard luck to the Minor Western Gaels team who were defeated in the A championship semi final. Clonguish proved too strong on the day, these lads have put in tremendous effort all season but on this occasion they were just second best to a strong Clonguish team. This by no means is the end for our Minor team. The lads are contesting an A league final, and a B championship final. All in all a fantastic achievement by players and management please check fixture list and facebook page for details on up- coming finals.
The U 14’s play Carrickedmond in the championship final this Saturday in Pearse Park. The game throws in at 1pm. I’ve noted before that all or under age teams have put in huge effort throughout the season. This team is no different and a lot of coaching and planning has gone into this side. We need parents, whose sons are playing to get out and support the lads, it’s vital they have the backing of the parish in these one off, special games.
St. Faithleach’s
Hudson Bay Hotel Group – Senior Football Championship: Congrats to our senior squad and management who are through to the Hudson Bay Hotel Group, Senior Football Championship County Final following a win over Padraig Pearses in the semi-final in Kiltoom on Saturday evening last on a final scoreline: St. Faithleach’s 0-09 Padraig Pearses 1-05. Team: S. Connor, D. McCormack, C. Gunn, D. Murray, C. Brennan, B. Murtagh, K. Farrell, H. Kenny (0-1), S. O’Grady, D. Hussey, A. Dooney (0-1), D. Rooney, D. Murtagh (0-5), C. Murtagh (0-2), E. Kenny. Subs used: C. Gannon. Best of luck to all players and management as they prepare for the County Final against St. Brigids on Sunday 19th October in Dr. Hyde Park.
Junior B Championship Quarter-Final: Our juniors were defeated by St. Aidans on Friday evening last in Kilbride. Final Score: St. Faithleach’s 1-11 St. Aidans 3-10. Team: L. Sweeney, J. Sweeney, P. Murray, MF. O’Grady, K. O’Grady, B. Scally, S. Sweeney, A. Brehon(1-0), G. McGrath(0-1), B. Hussey(0-1), B. Reynolds(0-7), N. Dooney, J. Kelly, P. Brennan, P. Kenny. Subs used: S. Phillips (0-1), M. Fitzpatrick (0-1), J. Wallace.
Minor Men – D4 Championship: Our minors were defeated by Elphin on Sunday morning in Ballyleague. Next game is against Kilbride in the semi-final.
U13 Boys – Féile Roscommon: Our U13 boys had a win over St. Ciaran’s in their Féile game on Saturday last in Ballyleague. Result: St. Faithleach’s 6-13 St. Ciaran’s 5-10.
U12 Boys Skills Competition: Well done to Jack Tucker, Mark Cox, Connor Gannon and Lee Kilcoyne who represented St. Faithleach’s at the Skills competition in Connacht GAA Centre, Ballyhaunis on Friday evening last.
Gaelic 4 Mothers & Others: Many thanks to all who supported the Table Quiz in the clubhouse on Friday last in aid of our Mothers & Others Teams participation in the LGFA Gaelic 4 Mothers & Others National Blitz in Dublin on Saturday 18th October. Special thanks to all who donated spot prizes for the Raffle which took place in the clubhouse on Friday and Saturday night. Congratulations all who won Prizes.
St. Faithleach’s Ladies – Challenge Match: well done to all the Ladies involved in our “Junior Ladies team” & “Mothers & Others team” who took part in a challenge match on Saturday last. It was a great game of football from both sides. A special presentation was made by the Junior Ladies to Qona Cox on her retirement and to managers Denis Mc Loone and Steve Ormsby on their dedication and commitment during their reign.
Cards: Every Tuesday in the clubhouse at 8.30pm. All are welcome. The results of last week’s games are – winners, PJ/Padraig, runners-up, Padraig/Tom and last game, Mickey/Michael.
Strictly Come Dancing – Fundraising Event: Tickets are now on sale for “Strictly Dancing over the Bridge” our joint fundraising event with Rathcline GAA which will take place on Saturday 29th November in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone. Tickets €20 and are available from committee members and local outlets. Transport to the event will be available on the night, details to follow. People are advised to get your tickets early as limited number available.
St. Faithleach’s GAA Minor Club Fundraising Draw: Tickets now on Sale for “Bella” the Heifer, 1st Prize in our Fundraising Draw. List of Prizes as follows: 1st Prize – Belgian Blue/BlondeX (DOB 15.2.14) or €1,000. 2nd Prize – B&B and Dinner for 2 (Value €250 at the Abbey Hotel, Roscommon. 3rd Prize – €100 Meal Voucher. 4th Prize – 1 Tonne Bag of Turf. Tickets are priced at €5 each or 3 for €10. The draw will take place 2nd January in the clubhouse.
Sympathy: The Club extends deepest sympathy to Tom & Eleanor Ryan and family on the death of Toms father Patrick Joseph (Paddy) Ryan, Boyle, Roscommon