Football
Aodh Ruadh got their intermediate championship off to a good start with a solid display to see off Downings in Father Tierney Park on a scoreline of 1-13 to 0-8. Best for Aodh Ruadh were Ciron Whoriskey with his driving runs from deep defence, Eamonn McGrath and Conor Patton who dominated at half back. Anthony Boyle and Diarmaid McInerney who showed well in attack and hit three points from play apiece. There is a full match report and pictures up on aodhruadh.org.
The reserves got a walk over, but they should make their 2014 championship bow this coming Sunday when they face Naomh Bríd in Ballintra. Their game throws-in at 1.30pm and is followed by the seniors championship meeting with the neighbours at 3pm.
The under 10s attended Melvin Gaels end of year blitz in Kinlough last Saturday. After an opening loss to Devenish the seniors rallied well and got wins against Bundoran and Melvin Gaels. The juniors won both their games against Melvin Gaels and Bundoran with strong performances across the pitch. Fielding for Aodh Ruadh were Danny Breen-Brosnan, Séimí Campbell, Conor Cleary, Oisin Daly, Padraig Daly, Ryan Daly, Shane Delahunty, Michael Doogan, JJ Doran, Diarmaid Flood-Dolan, Jack Gallagher, James Gallagher, Ryan Keenaghan, Eoghan Kelly, Art Mag Fhionnghaile, Lorc Mag Fhionnghaile, James McGinley, Shane McGloin, Cian McKenna, Cillian Meehan, David Roper, Drew Ryan, Aidan Sweeny and Aonghus Sweeny.
No under 8 training this Friday. Our final blitz of the year takes place in Father Tierney Park on Saturday 4th October. Players to be up at the park for 11am, games at noon. Corofin and Erne Gaels are visiting so we need a good spread of food. A loaf of sandwiches, tray of buns or similar from ALL PLAYERS is absolutely essential. Help will also needed with catering in Aras. After the games there will be treats, presentation of participation certificates and a minidisco and under 6s, under 10s, and siblings are all welcome to attend.
We have signed up to Lucozade Kit Out Project. We are not asking people to start buying Lucozade, but could anyone who does drink it please note the code on the bottle under the wrapper and pass it to your manager or to Tracey Flood. Codes will be added to our account and we get some free kit. Please pass this on to your friends or anyone you know that drinks Lucozade and ask them to keep codes for the club. The more codes we collect the more gear we can get.
Hurling
The curtain came down on the under 12 season on Sunday with the hosting of the annual Aodh Ó Dálaigh tournament. In existence since 1982, this year’s event was one of the best tournaments we’ve had. The following teams took part Tuam (Galway), Easkey (Sligo), Drumcliffe (Sligo), Manorhamilton (Leitrim), Keady (Armagh) and ourselves. We were blessed with a beautiful day weather wise and both Father Tierney Park and Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh were in splendid condition which led to great hurling being played by all teams. The competition was played on a round robin basis with games of 20 minutes, ensuring all teams had lots of hurling. In round one Easkey were victorious over Drumcliffe in the Sligo derby, a very young Aodh Ruadh team had a good win over Manorhamilton and Tuam had a narrow win over the Armagh boys. Round two saw a big win for Keady over Drumcliffe, holders Easkey had an easy win over Aodh Ruadh, while Tuam had their second win beating Manorhamilton. The top two teams were to contest the Aodh Ó Dálaigh final while third and fourth were to play for the Primary League shield so round three was going to be make or break for a number of teams. This round saw important victories for Keady over Manorhamilton, Easkey continued their pursuit of four-in-a-row of titles with a win over Tuam, while Drumcliffe had a narrow win over Aodh Ruadh. Round four saw a victory for Drumcliffe over Manorhamilton in a northwest Leitrim Derby, a determined Tuam team had a good win over Aodh Ruadh where their extra physical strength proved decisive and Easkey suffered their first defeat in this tournament in a number of years at the hands of Keady. The stage was now set for the final round and the final places were still to be decided, Tuam had a narrow win over Drumcliffe, Easkey had a facile win over Manorhamilton while Keady defeated the home team over in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh.
The round robin section was now over and it was time for the calculators to come out as three of the teams finished on eight points, it took scoring difference to separate Tuam, Keady and holders Easkey. When all was totted up Easkey (+74) and Keady (+65) qualified for the Aodh Ó Dálaigh final and Tuam (+45) were through to the Primary League Final against Drumcliffe. Both these finals were full of everything that’s great about hurling; Passion, skill and determination. In the Primary League final after a great game Tuam showed that goals win matches as they completed a two-in-a-row on a 2-3 to 0-3 scoreline.
The Aodh Ó Dálaigh final was a classic between two very evenly matched teams. The large crowd were treated to a classic where the first goal was to prove crucial and it was the West Sligo men who got it early in the first half. Every ball was ferociously contested and Easkey led at half time 1-2 to 0-1. The strength of the Easkey panel proved crucial in the second and after a titanic battle they ran out worthy winners 2-5 to 0-2 against a gallant Keady team who never gave up.
After the battles the presentations took place on the Park. Chairman of Aodh Ruadh Juvenile Hurling Committee John Rooney thanked the Daly family for allowing them to run this tournament annually, he thanked all the teams who took part on the day and thanked all the members of the juvenile committee who helped running the event. He called on the newly appointed Principal of Creevy NS Aoibhínn Kelly to present the Primary League Shield on behalf of all the local national schools in the area. Ms Kelly thanked all involved in organising the event, she complimented all the teams on their skill levels, as a Sligo woman she was happy to see Sligo teams in both finals. She presented the runners up medals to Drumcliffe and then called on the Tuam captain to accept the Shield on behalf of the Galway team.
John Rooney then thanked all those who helped out as umpires and linesmen and thanked all the refs who did a great job which was made easier by the attitude of all the teams who just wanted to play hurling, the refs were Peter Horan, Niall McCready, Ciaran Rami and John Rooney.
Michael Daly then spoke on behalf of the Daly family. He spoke of his late father Hugh Daly in whose memory the tournament is played, he complimented all the teams and officials as well as the local National Schools who promote Gaelic Games in the area. He spoke of how this tournament started off as a local town league, but over the last number of years it has grown to be one of the most prestigious tournaments in the northwest characterised by the quality of teams it attracts. He presented the runners up medals to a great Keady team, before handing over the Aodh Ó Dálaigh Shield to the joint captains of Easkey, he acknowledged the fact that they had completed the four-in-a-row and described them as the Kilkenny of the northwest.
Before finishing John Rooney thanked the Aodh Ruadh Park Committee and the club for the wonderful facilities which we all enjoyed. He described them as being a major factor in their ability to run tournaments and attract good quality teams, he thanked caretaker Johnny Gallagher for all his help on the day. All agreed that as always hurling was the real winner again in Ballyshannon today. From the pitch it was up to Aras Aoidh Ruaidh for welcome refreshment’s for all which as always were provided by our very loyal mothers and we’re very grateful to them for their continued support at all our tournaments.
We have a substantial gallery of images from the day’s action up on aodhruadh.org along with more on the Aodh Ruadh CLG Facebook page.
The final under 8 and under 10 blitz takes place in Convoy on Sunday, details will be circulated during the week.
Aodh Ruadh 5K
Aodh Ruadh Bord na nÓg present our first annual 5K on Sunday 12th October. Registration on the day from 1pm – 2.30pm before runners and walkers go under starter’s orders at 3pm. We have selected a level route from the park out towards the Knather and back to suit all abilities. The map and elevation of the route can be viewed at the event’s Facebook page. There are category prizes for the boys and girls in the under 14, under 16, under 18, senior and over 40 age grades, with trophies for the first man and first woman home. Registration fees are as follows. Under 16s €5; Adults €10; Families €20. This is Bord na nÓg’s main fundraiser for the year and we will be building it up in the years to come. We especially want to encourage club members to come out and support this event.
Fantasy Race for Sam
After Kerry winning the All-Ireland this year, there were still two fairly happy men in Ballyshannon. Johnny J Patton and his team Yes Patsy have won the Fantasy race for Sam 2014, along with the top prize of €500. His final tally was 309 points. He was pushed most of the way by Paul McLoone and his team Abbey Utd on 257 points with John Keon and his team Lakeside Lads finishing in third place with 253 points. In fourth place we had Rachel Patton and her team Dunmuckrim Dolly Bird on 249 points while Karol Foley and her team Biggest Losers finished in fifth place on 248 points. In truth Michael Dolan and his team Dolans Dragons had last place and the €100 prize wrapped up long before, Kieran Donaghy stuck the ball in the back of the Donegal net. His tally of 50 points was pushed close by Jim McGrath and his team I’d Say So on 52 points. Two runners up prizes were drawn out of the hat with Jean & Eoin and their team The Royal Blues earning them a Club Donegal jacket, while Rebecca Patton and her team Legal Eagles won an Aodh Ruadh Jacket. I’d finally like to say a big thank you to all who took part this year, and hopefully we’ll see some similar names enter again next year. Also thanks to John Hughes and Sean Perry for their work on finalising the scoring players. The final leader board will be available on the website, and also in Ballybookies, Owen Roes bar and the Bridgend bar.
Club crest soft shell jackets
Aodh Ruadh now has a new piece of kit for club members to buy. It is a navy blue soft shell jacket with the Aodh Ruadh crest on the left and the GAA crest on the right. They are priced €49 each with the option of initials on the sleeve for an extra €5. Jackets are available in sizes small, medium, large, XL and XXL. You can view samples of the jacket on aodhruadh.org.
Bingo
The big bingo jackpot of €800 was won by Mary Patton of Creevy. It’s back to normal this Friday at 9pm in the Abbey Centre, with books priced €10 for a full book or €5 for the half book.
Up For The Match
Aodh Ruadh were Up For The Match on the Thursday before the All-Ireland final. With almost 300 packed into Dorrian’s it was a great night of debate, banter and craic. The undercard of Brian Roper, Niall McCready, Sylvester Maguire and Mick McGrath compered by Michael Daly got the crowd rightly in the mood for the main event. The highlight was McCready’s rendition of his first time marking Joe Brolly. Then shortly after nine Joe Brolly, Brian McEniff, Brendan Devenney and Brian Roper took to the stage, Roper back on after an injury at Gaoth Dobhair training ruled out Kevin Cassidy. Sean Perry steered the discussion masterfully, before the debate was opened out to the floor and a number of penetrating questions dissected by the panel. It was close on midnight by the time things were wrapped up and everyone headed home in good form and raring for the big day. Thanks to our all our panelists who put in such a great performance, Brolly, McEniff, Devenney, Roper, McCready, Maguire and McGrath. Thanks also to our comperes on the night Sean Perry and Michael Daly who made such a professional job of pulling things together. Thanks to our raffle prize sponsors on the night White’s Hotels, The Great Northern Hotel and O’Neill’s Sportswear and everyone who helped out on the night in whatever capacity. We have a mountain of pictures from the night up on aodhruadh.org.
Lotto
There was no winner of the Aodh Ruadh Lotto Jackpot of €2,500. The numbers drawn were 2, 6, 10, 16, 17 and 18. In the lucky dip €20 went to Jimmy McGee, Roscor; Sean Gormley, Ballintra; Imelda Drummond, Abbeylands; Margaret Gahan, Tirconaill Street; and Bridie Corr, Bundoran. Next week’s draw for a jackpot of €2,600 takes place at 8.30pm in Dicey Reilly’s on Sunday.
The lotto team for McCosker’s Centra this Saturday is: JUVENILE HURLERS.
The lotto team for Kernan’s Spar this Saturday is: SENIOR HURLERS.
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By Sinéad Breen Donegal PRO Thu 2nd Oct
