Lanesboro Ballyleague Notes
Preparing for our President
THE PRESIDENT of IRELAND, MARY Mc ALEESE will visit Lanesboro Ballyleague Community Playschool at their wonderful childcare facility in the new premises on the Green on Thursday week 4th November. President Mc Aleese was happy to accept the kind invitation of the Lanesboro Ballyleague Community Playschool committee to visit their extremely well appointed and state-of-the art facility and the local area. The Playschool is one of the great success stories of the Lanesboro Ballyleague communities since its inception in September 1997.
It would be a mark of respect to our President that all householders in the area would have their houses and business premises spic and span and fly our national and parish flag. It is not possible to invite everybody to the school for the visit of President Mc Aleese and the committee would like to ask those that received invitations to respond before the due date on the invitation.
In order to mark this wonderful event and share it with the wider community Lanesboro Ballyleague Playschool is going to have an ‘Open Evening’ on Thursday 4th November from 7pm to 9pm to afford everyone the opportunity to view the refurbished premises. Refreshments will be served and the committee extends a general invitation. All are welcome.
Fashion Show Spectacular
Time is closing in on the Fashion Show Spectacular taking place in Ballyleague Hall on Saturday week 6th November in aid of Rathcline GAA and Action Breast Cancer. To date the following fashion stores have committed to supporting the night – Dixons Menswear, Spirit, Tally Well, Dolls, Lure, Next, Wide Variety, Grasshopper, Wards Menswear, Dunnes Stores, Fabiani and Paul Byron Shoes. The compere for the show will be Benny O’Brien, Longford. The doors will open at 7pm and the show will commence at 8pm. Tickets priced at €10 are on sale in O’Brien’s and other local businesses or from club executive members. You are encouraged to purchase your tickets immediately to avoid disappointment as seating is limited and sales are very good.
Shannon Gaels Minor Club
Sympathy: The club would like to extend its deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the late Pat Heneghan, The Green, to the family and friend of the late Tom Casserley, Clonfower and the Sullivan family Main Street on the death last week in England of Liam O’Sullivan, brother of Hilary O’Sullivan.
Our minor team were unfortunately defeated in the semi-final of their league and brings down the curtain on their season. We thanks the team manager, his selectors and all players and their parents for their time with the club this year.
ESB Lanesboro
The annual Mass for deceased members of the staff of ESB will take place in the ESB Sport and Social clubhouse on Wednesday 10th November at 8pm.
Ballyleague Bingo
Bingo continues in Ballyleague Hall every Thursday night at 8.30pm. Congratulations to George Breaden who won the snowball of €4,800 on Thursday last.
Date for your Diary
Shannonside Heritage has just announced the return of the very popular and long awaited traditional concert. This year’s event is entitled “Poems and promises”. The favourite and very popular musicians Johnny Duffy, Noel Carberry, Jimmy Flanagan, Brendan Doyle, Moyra Fraser, Martin Cooney, Vinny Baker and everyone’s favourite singers Willie Kelly and Siobhan Casey. As always, a night to be missed and the date is Friday 12th November in St. Mary’s Hall. Tickets, including a wine reception, €15. Tickets will be on sale in outlets throughout Lanesboro.
Lough Ree AC
The Connaught Schools Cross-Country Championships was the principal event of the weekend for most primary schools. The venue was Sligo and the going was heavy. Even though several teams were entered from Longford – the turnout was poor, it is a shame that the numbers were down to a handful. Still, it was a great day!
The Ballyleague quartet that travelled included Eanna Donohoe who was the only representative in the boys 3rd/4th class race. He came in 36th in an event that had over 100 finishers. Dillon Harkin (Kenagh), runner up in the Co. Longford Schools was 31st. It was a fine show from the lads at this level of competition.
There was better to come! Sarah Scally (Ballyleague NS) ran ‘out of her skin’ to finish a brilliant 5th and her classmates Ellen Irwin(22nd) and Marie Kelly(31st) were very well placed in a race where 120 girls faced the starter. Had they another team-mate who could finish in anything less than 90th place, they would have taken the silver medal from the Killoe girls team led home by Emily Mc Carthy (29th). That is another great story that the lack of space will not allow me cover. In fairness to Ballyleague School, they entered those who wanted to run in Boyle, not realising the talent they had, now coach and mentor will have to find another girl or two for next year to win the Cahill Cup.
Now to the 5th/6th class 1000m, nothing eventful in the girls race only the fact that Mary Sloane, Melview NS was an impressive 4th. Ikek Collins Edgeworthstown, 29th, can be well pleased with her efforts.
It was in the senior boys that we saw the action and it came from Killoe. Here Brian Harte finished 3rdand if that was not enough Shane Thompson was in 5th place. It was always known that the Killoes were a useful outfit, but we never thought they would show a clean pair of heels to the best of Connaught. Conor Moran (26th) and Eamon Keogh (35th) completed the scoring four, for a scoring total of 69pts and earn the silver medal. Oranmore, Galway took the gold and Ballina, Mayo with 79pts took the bronze medals.
Thanks to Anne Harte and the Killoe contingent for giving us something to shout about. Everything did not go well for them on the day, they persevered and survived and came home with two sets of silver medals.
Cahill Cup – This cup was presented to the Connaught region many years ago when competition in Primary School started. It was to commemorate the memory of the late Olive Cahill who had been a teacher in the local girls’ school. As it happened, her daughter Bríd was there on Saturday with Mohill NS and was available to present the cup to the winning Craughwell, Co. Galway winning school.
Lanesboro Bridge Club
The results of the competition held on Wednesday 20th October; N/S 1st Margaret Gillen & Mary Mullooly, 2nd Bernadette Gillen & Bernadette Clancy, 3rd Gemma Douglas & Elish Gray. E/W 1st Frank & Frances Brennan, 2nd Noreen Dunne & Mae Casey, 3rd tie Katherine Harrison & Bernard Kyne and Tom Feeney & Kathleen Reilly.
Harvest Festival Presentation
The Harvest Festival held in Rathcline was tremendous success and the dispersal of the profits to the local beneficiaries will take place in Adie Farrell’s on this Friday night 29th October at a presentation social. Music will be provided by the very popular Seamus Farrell and everybody is invited to come along and help make the night a one to remember. The night will kick off at 10pm.
Dublin Gospel Choir comes to Ballyleague.
Having acquired the Dublin Gospel Choir to perform in Ballyleague is a major coup for St. Faithleach’s GAA Club and it is a night not to be missed. Dublin Gospel Choir, founded just 12 years ago has become one of the most sought after acts in the country. To list some of the acts they have shared the stage with shows how far they have come in the 12 years – the list is impressive and includes Rod Stewart, Chris de Burgh, John Legend, James Brown, Damien Rice, and The Chieftains. In September they had the privilege of playing The Main Stage of Electric Picnic where they received rave reviews. Tickets for their show on Friday 26th November have just gone on sale and the tickets are very limited. The show will take place in The Church of the Holy Rosary, with the kind permission of Fr. Larney Shine and the Pastoral Council. You are encouraged to make sure you get your tickets before they are sold out. Make no mistake, miss this show and you will a life of regret. Tickets priced €20 are on sale from any club member or from O’Brien’s Corner Shop, phone 3321107.
Frank Moynihan Comes to the Co-Op
Lovers of good cooking should make a special note of Tuesday 7th December when Chef Frank Moynihan invites you to tastes of Christmas – a celebration of Christmas Day cooking.
Ballyboro
U13 Girls: Ballyboro V UCL. Final Score 3-2.
Boro girls got their league off to a great start on Sunday last against UCL winning 3-2. Boro started slowly with UCL taking the lead but that seemed to spur the girls on and they levelled the game with a goal from Olivia Cooper. Boro pushed on and with any luck should have been ahead at half-time. In the 2nd half Boro kept the pressure on and it payed off with 2 goals coming from Ellen Hegarty and then a cracking free kick from Megan Banahan to lead 3-1. UCL got a goal back near the final whistle. Team: Dearbhail Flood, Megan Banahan, Niamh Scally, Catherine Brennan, Olivia Cooper, Ellen Hegarty, Rachel Costello, Aoife McGann, Rachel Banahan, Niamh Gavigan and Leona Hoare.
U13 Boys: Ballyboro V Newtown. Final Score 3-3.
Saturday last saw us drawn away to Newtown Forbes on what was a lovely sunny morning. Boro started off brightly with Mikey Cox relishing his free role in midfield supplying fantastic passes on to strike partnership of Shane Phillips and Cian Gannon and with Johnny Hussey finding his old form on the wing it wasn’t long before Boro were causing all kinds of problems & should have scored 3 or 4 with Mikey Cox, Jonathon Hussey, Max Zimarevs & Ryan Guinan all going close. Daniel Barry, Jack Irwin & Ryan Gill all doing well in defence, kept the ball pushed forward & Cian Gannon who was Boro’s best player on the day was proving more than a handful up-front for the Newtown defence setting up chance after chance. With 24 minutes on the watch Boro opened the scoring when Conor Smith passed to Gannon whose touch found Shane Phillips on the edge of the box and he slotted home from 10 yards. Boro had most of the play and should have finished the half ahead but for a slip up in midfield that saw the ball run through to the on-rushing Newtown striker to level things up just on the stroke of half time. The 2nd half was a much more even affair with chances falling at both ends & Newtown pressed forward. Eran Farrell brought off some fine saves for Boro but there was nothing he could do about Newtowns second as again a mix up in defence gifted the home team their second. Boro pressed on and were rewarded when Cian Gannon was brought down in the box and up stepped Phillips to fire home his second. Jordon Donlon came on and was straight into the action, popping up at the back of the box to slot home from Husseys cross.
It looked like Boro had done enough but with 3 minutes left on the clock Newtown leveled matters. Boro then had a player sent off & were happy to see things out to the final whistle. Man of the Match for Boro was Cian Gannon.
St. Faithleach’s GAA
Junior League Semi-Final: Our Junior Team play against St. Aidan’s in the Junior League Semi-Final on Saturday next. Venue & time yet to be confirmed.
U21 Championship: Our U21’s were defeated by Oran on Saturday last. Final Score – St. Faithleachs 0-9 Oran 2-11. Team: S. Garvey, A. Manning, A. Hanly, L. Connell, J. Regan, P. Farrell, D. Rooney, S. Kenny, P. Brennan, D. Connerton, B. Murtagh (0-6), A. Kenny, N. Dooney, M. Neilon, B. Hussey (0-1). Subs: K. Murtagh (0-2), J. Wallace, D. Rogers, C. McCaffrey. Game next weekend, see fixtures for details.
Minor Girls: Our Minor Girls were defeated by Shannon Gaels on Sunday last. Final Score – St. Faithleachs 0-5 Shannon Gaels 1-10. Team: J. Corcoran, C. Brennan, R. Collier, C. Cleary, A. Kenny, S. O’Neill, S. Carty, K. Murphy (0-4), J. Geoghegan, S. Brennan, E. Kenny, A. Nerney, R. Hanly, L. Mc Loone (0-1), N. Carty. Subs: A. Collier.
Lotto: Next draw 26/10/10, Jackpot €1,900. Team on duty: J. Brennan, A. Brennan, D. Mc Loone, J. Hegarty.
Cards: Every Tuesday in the Club House, 9.00pm. Results of last week’s games – 12 games, Packie/PJ. 10 games, Mickey/Mary. Last game, Joe/Mike. Ticket Winners – Michael, Jacinta, Peggy, Sean.
Halloween Disco: Our Minor Club are holding a Kids Halloween Disco in the Club House on 29th October.
Halloween Celebrations with ELVIS: Saturday 30th October, Halloween with a difference at St. Faithleachs GAA Club House. Eireann ELVIS, Ireland’s Award Winning Elvis Impersonator will entertain from 9.30pm in what promises to be a great night. Fancy Dress optional.
The Dublin Gospel Choir: Friday 26th November in St. Faithleachs GAA Club House – By kind permission of Fr. Larney Shine and the Pastoral Council in the Church of the Holy Rosary, Ballyleague Interval Act performed by the Choir of the Community College Lanesboro, under the direction of Jimmy Flanagan. Show Commences at 8pm sharp. Admission by Ticket Only. Tickets €20 available from usual outlets & any Committee Member.
St. Faithleachs GAA on FACEBOOK: We now have our Official St. Faithleachs GAA Facebook page up & running. If you have St. Faithleachs GAA Photographs or content you would like to include on our Facebook Page, please email same to stfaithleachgaa@gmail.com.
Table Quiz
The Ballyleague Village Renewal and Tidy Towns Group is holding a fundraising table quiz in St. Faithleach’s Club House on Friday night November 12th at 9pm. A special guest will be on hand to ask one of the key rounds of the questions on the night with an array of prizes for the brain boxes present, lots of spot prizes and even better fun promised for everybody who attends. The Village Renewal group is coming to the end of one of their most successful years to date – with the Ballyleague score in the National Tidy Towns Awards having gone up by no less that nineteen points after a lot of hard work and last weekend the committee was again busy, out and out putting in some daffodils in the village in readiness for Spring. The committee lobbied hard for the main road through the area to be properly re-surfaced recently and has also carried out a lot of behind the scenes work with Roscommon County Council and the contractor which worked on the complete re-surfacing of the roadway through Ballyleague. The committee would like to thank the Council, the contractor and Councillor Tom Crosby who provided invaluable support to the residents during the work on the road. Out thanks also to Councillor Valerie Byrne and Councillor Sean Beirne who attended our committee meetings this year. The Tidy Towns committee is indebted to Niall Donlon, Pat Connor and Joe Browne who have ensured the grass has been cut at the river Shannon banks all year, the litter is always collected and this scenic area is looking well. For further information on any of our projects or to join the committee please contact Denis Dunne, Chairman at 0433321150 or e-mail : keepballyleaguetidy@gmail.com