Open membership sessions
There will be open registration sessions in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh on Thursday 12th March from 6.30pm to 8pm and Saturday 14th March from 12 to 2pm. The deadline for 2015 club membership is approaching rapidly and all club members are asked to submit their registration form and fee at their earliest convenience. Some key points to bear in mind:-
· Paid up members will receive preference for tickets to Donegal’s championship matches, including All-Ireland final tickets.
· In order to be entitled to the rights of a full member, a person must have their fees paid to the club on a date before March 31st and be registered by the club on the online system in order to have a vote in the upcoming membership year.
· Only fully registered players on the GAA online registration system are allowed to take the field for the club. If your name is not in this system you are ineligible. That has repercussions in terms of insurance cover for injuries.
· Registration is an important component in meeting the running costs of the club.
· Only fully paid up members will be eligible for the annual draw for tickets to the football and hurling All Ireland finals.
Membership can be paid to Mary Matthews at Shannon’s Corner. Players can also download registration forms from aodhruadh.org and submit this along with the relevant fee directly to their manager.
Football
The intermediate championship draw held in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh after the Donegal Cork game on Sunday saw Aodh Ruadh drawn in group one, along with Buncrana, Saint Naul’s and Naomh Colmcille. We have sparred with all three regularly enough in the past few years and will look ahead to the group stages with a quiet confidence bolstered by the fact we got home draws against Buncrana and Saint Naul’s.
The minors will take on Naomh Columba in Father Tierney Park on Sunday 8th March.
Training continues for the under 14s this Saturday 7th March from 10am-11am in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh.
Well done to the under 10s and 12s who gave a great display of football in the half time game during the Donegal v Cork match. Many thanks to the coaches who marshalled them through the day and our referees Niall McCready and Val Murray.
Indoor training continues this Friday 6th March for under 10s in the new hall at Coláiste Cholmcille from 6pm to 7pm followed by the under 12s from 7pm to 8pm, also in the new hall. Under 10s and 12s are asked to remember to bring in any outstanding registration forms and fees. PLEASE NOTE, THERE IS A CHARGE OF €2 PER HEAD TO COVER THE COST OF HALL HIRE. Please bring your own water and wear runners as no other footwear allowed. Parents/Guardians are asked to please collect children promptly after their session is finished.
With the Mercy Hall unavailable due to mock examinations, under 6 and under 8 indoor training are on a break. Training resumes in the Mercy Hall at the usual times for under 6s and under 8s on Friday 13th March.
The Bord na nÓg quiz takes place on Thursday 5th March in Owen Roe’s. Managers are reminded that they are expected to bring along a team on the night.
Hurling
Many thanks to all who helped with our annual bag packing day in Supervalu, Bundoran on Saturday last, we had a very successful day. Special thanks to Des Cosgrove, Tara Gorman and all the staff in Supervalu for their help and continued support for our efforts.
Over the last week all our teams have begun training, we had a great crowd of under 8s, 10s and 12s on Sunday morning, over 40 in total. The most encouraging thing was the amount of new comers who showed up. Training is back to the usual time of 12 noon this Sunday, all welcome.
Coach the Coaches. We are having a coaching session for all involved in underage hurling coaching this Saturday in Creevy National School from 3pm to 5pm. This course is being facilitated by Pauric Dowdall Ulster GAA and should be very informative. There are some places still available if any parent would like to attend please contact John Rooney 0862587793.
Ladies
Training for under 16s, minors and seniors takes place on Tuesday 7pm and Saturday 11am.
Well done to Sarah Patton and the Donegal ladies on another emphatic win in tough conditions defeating Kildare 5-19 to 1-2.
Club shorts
We now have official club shorts available to order. They are O’Neill’s, so top quality kit. Kids sizes (24 and 26) cost €18, while adult sizes (28, 30, 32, 34, 36 and 38) cost €22. We’ll have samples available shortly, watch the Facebook page for images. Contact Chris Kelly on 0868813553 to place your order.
Donegal v Cork
Special thanks is extended to all the stewards and helpers who worked on Saturday and Sunday in preparation for the NFL game and who assisted during and after the game. The grounds have never looked better and the smooth running of the day was a great credit to all concerned. We have an extensive gallery of pictures from the game up on aodhruadh.org featuring the talents Brian Drummond and Ronan Matthews.
Dinner Dance
The annual club dinner dance in Dorrian’s took place on Saturday. On the night the individual awards were distributed as follows. Hall of Fame: Teddy Kane, Club person of the year: Conal Gallagher; Senior player of the year: Michael Dolan; Reserve player of the year: Ciaran Slevin; Hurler of the year: Jack Matthews; Ladies player of the year: Tanya O’Shea; Young footballer of the year: Pauric Patton; and Young hurler of the year: Oisín Rooney. Also recognised on the night were our representatives on the Ulster MFC winning side – Niall Harley and Colm Kelly, our reserve football league champions, and our representatives on Donegal’s Division 3A league winning side. We would also like to acknowledge the generosity of these great local businesses for their generous support of the raffle at the dinner dance; Centra; Slevin’s; Ballyshannon Shoe Company, Zuba, Nirvana, Essence Of Beauty; Erne Enterprise, Gerry Ferguson’s Jewellers and Ballyshannon Musical Society. Once again Sean Perry did an assured job as master of ceremonies and we will have his quips on the night preserved for posterity for you later in the week. In the meantime, you can browse a gallery of pictures from the evening’s craic in the Image Gallery on aodhruadh.org.
GAA national draw results
The draw was made at last Thursday’s executive committee meeting for the Aodh Ruadh element of the GAA National Draw. The winners were as follows: €100 Mick Melly; €50 Donal Buggy; €50 John Feely; €20 Johnny Gallagher; €20 Michael Ward; €20 John McGuinness; €20 Simon Gillespie; amnd €20 Paula Keon. Unfortunately Aodh Ruadh club members drew a blank in both the the national draw at last weekend’s GAA congress in the Slieve Russell and in the Donegal county draw. We thank everyone who put their hands in their pockets and supported the draw and provided greatly appreciated funds for Aodh Ruadh at a time of year when there are many outgoings pressing on club finances.
Coaching courses
Below are coaching courses in March. If you would like to attend any of these please e-mail Emma Gaughan on secretary.aodhruadh.donegal@gaa.ie or text 0863039610.
Foundation Award for hurling
All-county – MacCumhaill Park
Friday/Saturday, 13-14th March
National Go Games Activity Day
Sat/Sun 17-18th August, Croke Park.
Abbey Centre Bingo
James Gettins was the winner of last week’s big bingo jackpot of €800. Bingo this week is in Coláiste Cholmcille due to the musical, Hello Dolly, being staged in the Abbey Centre. The winter snowball is still waiting to be won, now standing at €625 on 52 numbers or less. Books available priced €10/€5.
Aodh Ruadh Lotto
There was no winner of last week’s Aodh Ruadh Lotto jackpot of €4,600. The winning numbers drawn were 1, 2, 8, 9, 10 and 17. In the lucky dip €20 went to: John O’Donnell, Moy Road; Dolores McWeeney, The Mall; Freddie Henry, Garrison; Marie Gallagher, Erne Street; and Eamon Doherty, Erne Dale Heights. Next draw in Dorrian’s Hotel with a Jackpot of €4,700 on Monday at 8.30pm.
The lotto team for McCosker’s Centra this Saturday is: LADIES.
You can receive the club notes by e-mail every Tuesday morning. To subscribe, enter your details on the website, www.aodhruadh.org, or e-mail your request to info@aodhruadh.org.
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This is the weekly e-mail newsletter from Aodh Ruadh GAA Club. If you have received it in error, please contact us at info@aodhruadh.org.
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By Sinéad Breen Donegal PRO Wed 4th Mar
