Membership
We are nearing the end of the crucial month for club registration with GAA membership deadline of March 31st looming. Presently we have only 200 of the usual 550 or so members registered. This means there is a huge volume of people out there who haven’t taken care of registration for 2016. To facilitate registration we are running a number of open registration sessions this week in the club rooms in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh at the park. The first is from 7.30pm to 8.30pm on Wednesday. The second is on Good Friday from 1pm to 2.30pm. Registrations can be dropped in at Betty McIntyre’s house on the Mall or Gerry Ferguson’s Jewellers also facilitates registrations. Players can also download registration forms from aodhruadh.org and submit this along with the relevant fee directly to their manager. Please bear in mind that all players MUST register with the club. You must be a club member to be in consideration for All-Ireland final tickets should Donegal reach that stage. Also, only club members have a say in club decisions and a vote at the AGM.
Inaugural Easter camp
Aodh Ruadh are delighted to announce their first ever Easter Camp. The camp will run from Wednesday 30th March to Friday 1st April. Under 6s and under 8s will be catered for from 10am to 12.30pm. Then the under 10s and under 12s come in from 1pm to 3.30pm. It’s excellent value at just €25 for the three days. Brian Roper is organising the camp and you can contact him on 0876139065 to book a place or get further information.
Football
We were remiss last week in not saluting our representative on the senior county panel, Peter Boyle, on his sterling performances between the posts against Roscommon and Kerry in recent matches.
Our minors travel to Dunkineely tomorrow, Tuesday, to take on Naomh Ultan. throw in is at 6.30pm for that league encounter.
An exciting under 14 game in Glenties last Saturday saw Aodh Ruadh emerging victorious for the first time in many years against a strong Naomh Conaill side. The Ernesiders took the early initiative and went in at the break leading on a scoreline of 2-6 to 0-4. The hosts rallied in the second half, but Ballyshannon matched them over the second 30 to win by 4-10 to 0-12. Goals win matches and thankfully Aodh Ruadh managed to get them on the day. Naomh Conaill tried hard and were unlucky not to find the net, with the Ballyshannon defence strong and Matt Gillespie saving a penalty. It was good all round team effort from Aodh Ruadh. The panel who played last Saturday were Calum Ayres, Calum Craig-Doherty, Cian Barden, Colm McGloin, Daire Gallagher, Daire Warren, Daniel Dolan, Eugene Doherty, Frankie McGinley, Harry Howarth, Jake Foley, Kyle McCafferty, Kyle Murray, Mark McGlynn, Marty McGarrigle, Matt Gillespie, Mitch McLaughlin, Nathan Owens-Kelly, Senan Rooney, Shane Brady and Shane Duffy. Under 14 training continues Mondays and Wednesdays at 4.15pm. There may also be a session on Friday, depending on fixtures. The under 14’s next opponents are Saint Naul’s away this weekend, but day and time remain to be nailed down, further details at training over the course of the week.
Under 12 training moves outdoors from now on. Training will last an hour and 15 minutes from 5.15pm to 6.30pm and will take place on Mondays and Fridays, but not Good Friday, in Páirc Aoidh Ruadh [Munday’s].
The under 12s will travel to Croke Park on Saturday 26th for Donegal’s match against Dublin. On the way we will have challenge games against Cavan Gaels, throwing in at 11am and Dublin outfit Erin’s Isle, throwing in at 3pm. We will visit the Croke Park Museum before the match and hope to be home about 12 midnight. The bus will leave the Market Yard at 9.15am and all players should bring appropriate gear for the two matches, a Donegal jersey – if possible, a towel and a packed lunch. There will be a short meeting lasting about ten minutes in relation to the trip for players and parents in the club house, Aras Aoidh Ruaidh, on Monday at 6.30pm just after training. We request that all players who are going have a parent, guardian or adult family member attend this meeting.
Under 10 training is on a break this week for good Friday. But we will be back training on Friday 1st April from 6.30pm to 7.30pm at Páirc Aoidh Ruadh [Munday’s]. A preliminary fixture schedule has been released for the under 10 season and is outlined below. Although this should be fairly accurate, it remains subject to change.
Saturday 14th May: Saint Naul’s – Hosts, Aodh Ruadh, Four Masters, Bundoran.
Saturday 11th June: Naomh Muire – Hosts, Aodh Ruadh, Ardara, Pettigo.
Saturday 2nd July: Bundoran – Hosts, Aodh Ruadh, Naomh Conaill, Naomh Ultan.
Saturday 20th August: Four Masters – Hosts, Aodh Ruadh, Dungloe, Bundoran.
Under 8 and under 6 training is on a break this week for good Friday. But we will be back training on Friday 1st April from 6.30pm to 7.30pm at Páirc Aoidh Ruadh [Munday’s]. The week after we hope to stage our first skills test of the year, with our first challenge match of the season the week following. A preliminary fixture schedule has been released for the under 8 season and is outlined below. Although this should be fairly accurate, it remains subject to change.
Saturday 7th May, 11am: Four Masters – Hosts, Aodh Ruadh, Bundoran, Saint Naul’s.
Saturday 4th June, 11am: Ardara – Hosts, Aodh Ruadh, Naomh Muire, Pettigo.
Saturday 25th June, 11am: Naomh Conaill – Hosts, Aodh Ruadh, Bundoran, Dungloe.
Saturday 16th July, 11am: Aodh Ruadh – Hosts, Bundoran, Four Masters, Dungloe.
There will be a Bord na nÓg meeting this Wednesday, 23rd March in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh at 8.30pm. All committee members are asked to attend.
Ladies
The monthly meeting of the Ladies committee takes place this Tuesday 22nd at 8.30pm in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh. All committee members are asked to attend.
Under 14 training continues on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Páirc Aoidh Ruadh at 5.45pm. The first under 14 league game will be on Saturday, 2nd April.
Under 12 training will commence outdoors from this Thursday, 24th March at Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh [Munday’s] from 6pm to 7pm. Training again on Saturday from 10am to 11am. Under 12 training will continue at these times every Thursday and Saturday. Currently our programme of games looks like this, but this may be subject to change.
Tuesday 3rd May: Aodh Ruadh v Kilcar
Tuesday 10th May: Saint Naul’s v Aodh Ruadh
Tuesday 17th May: Aodh Ruadh v Four Masters
Tuesday 24th May: Naomh Columba v Aodh Ruadh
Tuesday 31st May: Aodh Ruadh v Killybegs
Indoor training for under 8s [2008s and 2009s] and under 10s [2006s and 2007s] will commence on Wednesday 30 March from 7pm to 8pm at the Mercy Hall. The cost is €2 and remember to bring a bottle of water. Please ensure that your child’s registration is paid before training starts though, as the deadline for that is March 31st. We will train indoors for the month of April and go out doors on Mondays from 6pm to 7pm. If you have further enquires please contact Gabby on 0872902245 or Louise on 0876388562.
We would like to remind all who intend to play this year that they must ensure they are registered with the club by March 31st. Players not registered with the club are not insured and as illegal players they endanger any potential success their team might enjoy.
Hurling
Pride of place this week goes to our under 14 hurlers who won the Donegal B Féile competition on Sunday and as a result qualified for the National Finals of Féile na nGael which are being jointly hosted by Tipperary and Waterford in June.
We hosted the tournament with four teams taking part, Letterkenny Gaels, Setanta, Four Masters and ourselves. The blitz was played in a round robin format with the top two teams qualifying for the final.
In the opening round of games after a slow start Aodh Ruadh beat Setanta, while Letterkenny Gaels were too strong for Four Masters. Round two saw us remain in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh where we took on Letterkenny Gaels. Again we were slow to get going, but in the second half the lads were much improved and ran out convincing winners. Setanta at this stage were playing to stay in the competition and had a much improved performance and ran out easy winners against Four Masters. We were now through to the county final and the prospect of getting to the Féile na nGael National finals was getting closer for this young squad. Round three saw them claim an easy win over Four Masters in Father Tierney Park while over in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh Setanta had a good win over Gaels.
The stage was now set for the final between Aodh Ruadh and Setanta, the lads knew that a similar start to the one in their group game wouldn’t do in the final. Thankfully, we saved our best performance of the day to last. From the ball was thrown in we were well on top and were not going to be denied our place at the National Féile Finals. This small squad of just 17 players have worked very hard for the last month and have done everything that was asked of them. They have become only the third Aodh Ruadh team to have qualified for the National Finals and all involved in underage hurling are very proud of them. After playing four games they were glad to get all the goodies their mothers had ready for them in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh. Thanks again to all the mothers who provided refreshments for all four clubs. Thanks to Brian Drummond for his excellent photography. Thanks to the Park Committee for the use of both pitches which were in excellent condition. Thanks to the senior football management who brought forward their game with Erne Gaels. Thanks to the referees James Connors and Peter Horan all who acted as lines men and umpires and finally thanks to the lads themselves who have restored great pride in underage hurling as we’ve been going through some difficult times over the last few seasons. We have pictures from the competition up on aodhruadh.org.
On Saturday Donegal under 17s claimed their first points in the Celtic Challenge Cup with a draw against Derry in Letterkenny, they were denied victory by a last minute Derry goal which left the score Donegal 3-2 Derry 1-8. Stephen Anderson and Brian McHenry were on the starting 15 and Conal Sweeny came on in the second half. They have a difficult game this Saturday away to Antrim.
The Donegal Leagues begin this Thursday with the under 14s up against Dungloe in Father Tierney Park with a 6pm throw-in while the minors make the trip to Killygordon to take on Setanta.
This Saturday we are having a bucket collection in the town to help raise funds for Féile na nGael. Please support the collectors if you’re out and about. If any business would like to get involved in sponsoring the team for this great festival of hurling to be held in June please contact John Rooney on 0862587793.
Underage hurling training continues as normal at 12 noon on Sunday. Numbers have been good over the opening two weeks, all welcome especially beginners. Hurls and helmets will be provided for training.
Aodh Ruadh Park/Development Committee
The Quiz in Owen Roes on Thursday 24th is our first fund-raiser to generate funds to refurbish Aras Aoidh Ruaidh. This is one of our main projects for 2016 and the outcome will benefit everyone in the club and community. We need a good turnout of teams. This is a quiz for everyone and will be an enjoyable night. Please let David McLoone, Tom Daly or Conal Gallagher know in advance if you can bring a team of four. The starting time will be 9.15pm. On the night certificates will also be presented to all those who took part in the Skydive fundraiser last year.
Saint Patrick’s Day
Well done to our young footballers and hurlers who came out in larger numbers than ever for the annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade last Thursday. Thanks to all those who helped pull together a great display by the club. We have pictures of the club taking part in the parade up on aodhruadh.org.
Recreational football
With Donegal playing Dublin during our usual slot and a number of the regulars away to the capital, there will be no recreational football this week.
Abbey Centre Bingo
Last week’s €400 bingo jackpot was won by Eileen Maguire of Donegal town. There was no winner of the snowball prize, so it now stands at €275 on 45 numbers or less. It’s Big Bingo time again with the March big bingo this Friday at 9pm at the Abbey Centre, with a massive €2,900 prize fund including the €1,000 jackpot game. Books priced at €15/€8, or get the book and a half deal for €20.
Aodh Ruadh Lotto
There was no winner of last week’s Aodh Ruadh Lotto jackpot of €3,700. The winning numbers drawn were 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 14. In the lucky dip €20 went to Bridget Quinn, Knather Road; Dylan McGloin, Glenade; William Doogan, Kildoney; Donna Meade, Corker Lane; and Ita Doherty, Cluain Barron. Next draw is on Sunday in Dorrian’s Hotel with a Jackpot of €3,800 on Sunday at 8.30pm.
The lotto team for McCosker’s Centra 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 Mon 21st Mar
