Club Notes - 15th July 2018

Lotto
Jackpot - €10,000 NO WINNER
Numbers Drawn: 4, 7, 12, 15

The weekly winners of €30 were
• Eimear & Avril O’Rourke, Hyde Court.
• Paul Reynolds, Cloverhill.
• Marie Hennigan, Fuerty.
• Patricia Hughes, C/o D. Shannon

Thanks to everyone who bought and sold tickets your support is very much appreciated.

COACHING NEWS  (WK 29 2018) 
A. Reminder : Coaching Button on Roscommon Gaels Website
 
Reminder to all our Coaches to check out the Coaching Tips Button on our club website for access to GAA Learning Portal, Information on Activity Planner/Drills, and lots more.       
 
B. Reminder: Note to Coaches on Concussion

​​The full guidelines are available at

http://learning.gaa.ie/sites/default/files/GAA%20Concussion%20Management%20Guidelines%20February%202018.pdf
    
C. National Hurling Development : Provincial Coaching Workshops 2018
Venue & Date: October 20th. Connacht Centre of Excellence, Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo
Registration: 10.30 a.m. Workshop: 11.00 – 01.20 p.m. Lunch 01.30 p.m.
Format:
Practical station based workshop with participants rotating to each station.
Target audience – Youth – Adult Coaches
Workshop Theme – Building the Essentials into Every Training Session:

To include -
• Goalkeeping
• Catching & Striking
• Hooking & Blocking
• Rising & Hand passing
• Defending
• Attacking

Coaches:
Lead coaches at each station will be former inter county stars supported by local full time GAA coaching officers.
Bookings: http://learning.gaa.ie/hurlingworkshops
Early booking advisable as places are limited
Enquiries: All enquiries to Martin Fogarty. Email: martin.fogarty@gaa.ie
Registration: €20 (includes lunch).
 
Camogie 
U8 & U10 Camogie:  Training continues as normal 6.30pm Friday evenings.  There is an U8 blitz tomorrow evening for our U8’s in Lisnamult at 6.30pm.  We had two U10 Camogie games last week.  On Thursday evening we travelled to Gurteen Co. Galway to take on Ballymacward Padraig Pearses.  They had a fantastic team of 10 year olds that train 2-3 times a week and there was a gulf in class.  That said we started the game with 5 girls that never played at this level before.  On Friday evening we had a home game against Sylane of Galway.  This was the 1st time that our girls got to use the new dressing rooms and they and Sylane were very impressed.  The game was played on the main pitch and all our girls were extremely eager to get playing so Sylane agreed to play a third 15 Minute half.  Inside the first 8 minutes of the game we were winning by 4-02 to 0-00.  The decision was made to give the less experienced girls playing time and keep the game competitive.  Fairplay to Sylane they didn’t give up and fought back to win by a point in the end.  We had 23 girls at the game and all of the girls got a lot of playing time.  The kind parents of our U10 panel provided sandwiches, buns and biscuits that were served to all that attended the game.  This was a good opportunity to repay the complement to Sylane who done the same for us last year.  The U10 coaches would like to thank the parents for bringing the refreshments and a big thank you to those that served teas, coffees, orange and treats to the kids.  We would also like to thank the lovely people of Sylane for travelling down and wish them all the best for the rest of the year.  

The team that played Sylane.

 The team that played Padraig Pearses Ballymacward

​U13:  Our U13’s have their first game on Friday evening against Na Brid Oige venue tbc and time.

U14:  Our U14 girls face Oran this Wednesday in a semi final.  Details to be confirmed.

Junior Championship:  Our Junior Camogie team had its first win in the County Junior Championship on Tuesday when they beat Tulsk on a score line of 6:9 to 3:3.  Nineteen of our 23 strong panel were available to play and everyone got to participate in the game.  Our goals were scored by Niamh McCourt, Ella Killion, Ciara Crosbie, Nessa Madden, Eimear McCormack and Amy McNeill.  Tulsk provided difficult opposition but Etain Hession gave some great puck outs from the goal and the girls held a strong lineout for our team which dominated more and more as the game progressed.  Training continues Saturday morning in Lisnamult from 10am to 11.30am.  Next Tuesday 17th July we play a challenge match against Sylane of Galway at 8pm in Sylane pitch.  Assistance with lifts would be appreciated.  

LGFA
U8 & U10’s:  Training continues Wednesday evening in Lisnamult at 6.30pm.  

U12’s:  Our U12’s are taking a break for a couple of weeks.  We will be hosting and taking part in the Shield in the coming weeks.

U14: Well done to our girls who defeated Kilbride in the 3rd round of the Summer League last Monday evening.  We now sit at the top of our group finals to be played in August.  Our Championship kicks off tomorrow evening when we play Oran in the first round.  

U16:  U16’s are training Monday evening at 7.45pm in the Hyde.

Minor: Minor training Monday evenings from 7.45pm to 9pm.  Minor Championship is starting end of July.
 
Junior:   The next round of the championship is the 29th of July when we play Ballinameen.

Hurling
U10’s:  Our U-10 hurlers participated in the Padraig Pearses hosted blitz this morning.   Although the first signs of a change of weather were evident our young boys played with great heart , determination and plenty of skill . They enjoyed 3 games and acquitted themselves very well in all

Football
U16’s: Our U16 boys had a great win today against Strokestown 3-9 to 3-8.  It was a very close game that swung both ways but our lads showed tremendous courage and skill to win by a point, having played the last 20mins with 14 men.  A huge thanks to all the lads, especially the U14’s who helped us greatly.  We were well down in numbers due to holidays, gaeltacht etc but the lads rallied and put in a huge performance for a well deserved win.


** Roscommon Gaels Annual Development Draw **
Our Annual Development Draw was launched on 16th June with the draw taking place on 11th August.  The Development draw has been moved from the customary Christmas time Draw back to the summer time, a time when all our members are using and availing of our Club facilities at Lisnamult.

Tickets are €10 each or a book of 6 for €50, with a fabulous list of prizes on offer.
We need all our Club members to support this hugely important Development draw to assist with the ongoing development of our Club.
Please support the Draw by buying and selling tickets over the coming weeks and be in with a chance of winning one of these quality prizes.

List of Prizes
1. Microsoft Surface Pro Laptop, worth €1,200

2. Holiday Apartment Accommodation in Portugal, for 1 week, worth €1,000.

3. All Ireland Final Hurling tickets x 2

4. All Ireland Final Football tickets x 2

5. Manchester United home match tickets x 2, plus flights & accommodation

6. 3-1-1 reclining suit of furniture (Gannon’s Image Furniture)

7. €500 voucher for McNulty Furniture.

8. 500 L of home heating oil (sponsored DG Oil)

9. 50 Bales of Briquettes

10. 50 Bales of Briquettes

11. 50 Bags of Firewood Timber (donated by Anthony Clogher & Gerry Kelly)

12. Golf Green Fees x 4 - Golf course TBC

13. Golf Green Fees x 4 for Roscommon Golf Course.

14. Customised Gum shield, worth €75 (sponsored by Eleanor Keavney)

15. Dinner for 2 at Darcy12 Restaurant in Clifden.


Message from Roscommon Gaels Chairperson

July 2018

The 2018 GAA year is half way through and has been a hectic but most enjoyable season so far. A lot of work has been put in both on and off the pitch with some huge events and memorable moments happening at all levels in the club.

Teams, Coaching & Education
The pitches have been filled with all codes and age groups playing and training in Lisnamult over the past few months. We have gone from our pitches being closed in March and April due to flooding to our pitches being scorched brown with the high temperatures and a water ban in place. God bless Irish weather!!! Most teams have completed their leagues and are in currently playing in their championships from Senior and Junior and in the underage. Huge congratulations to the U14 boys on doing the double in their football league and hurling championship, the u12 girls on their victory in the football championship final. Both sets of players have worked hard with their mentors in great numbers, in all weathers and their achievements are something the club should be very proud of. Well done to the u17 hurlers on reaching the Co. Championship final, the U16 lads on getting to the co league football final and the u14 girls on getting to their league football final. Victory eluded the latter groups but it was excellent achievement to get to the finals.

The u8s and U10s are all playing at their various blitzes and matches and are participating to a high level. The inaugural nursery football programme is getting great numbers and is being well received by the youngest players in our club and their families.

25 plus u12 camogie players travelled to Croke Park in April for the “Caman to Croker” event. All the girls got to play matches on the hallowed turf against teams from all over Ireland. It was a wonderful day out for players, for the parents who travelled and for the mentors. Well done to all involved.

The adult teams are all participating in their leagues and championships at the moment. The senior footballers have won one and lost one championship match, the junior ladies footballers have drawn and lost one championship match and the senior hurlers and junior camogie teams have played 2 championship games but sadly despite their best efforts have not won either of them. The numbers playing at adult level in the club are probably not what they should be for a club our size. It can be difficult to field at times with players emigrating either permanently or for the summer, work commitments or loss of interest. It is something our club will have to examine and act upon in the near future. However great work is being done with those who are committed and we acknowledge that it can be very difficult to keep momentum going during the summer period. We want to salute and thank all the players and their managements for the time and effort they are putting in to coaching and playing for our club. Well done to all club panels and their dedicated mentors on the work done thus far.

A number of coaches and committee members attended the Child Protection & safe guarding & GDPR training courses which were held in the Hyde centre and the COE in Bekan, Ballyhaunis. Thanks to all who organized and attended these courses on behalf of Ros Gaels.

The club mentoring goals have been progressed and more work will be done in the early Autumn, at the end of the holiday season, to achieve these goals. Many thanks to John Donnellan and the coaching committee on their work to date on this important project.

Thanks also to those who assisted with the participation of our underage players in the Easter Parade who flew our Gaels flag and wore our colours proudly on the day.

Committees
Meetings are a necessary part of club planning, organising and decision making so thanks to all those who attend the meetings and actively participate to make the club as productive and democratic as possible. It is imperative that people attend meetings when they are called as we are a big club and it is a necessary part of the mechanics of the club. The number of meetings is kept to a minimum but they are an integral part of the process by which our club is run. Your opinions and suggestions are important to us so please come to the meetings so your voice can be heard.

Thanks to all our various club committee members for the time and energy they give to the administration of the club both within and externally with the various Co Boards and co committees.

Development of Lisnamult Grounds & new dressing rooms
The development of our new dressing room facilities in Lisnamult is finally complete. The building is a joy to use and a much welcome addition to our club. These new facilities of four large dressing rooms with showers and toilets, a referee’s room along with a kitchen / shop area, a public toilet block and a sports wall are a huge step in the right direction for this phase in the development of our club. It has been a long process but the final building is most definitely worth it. The cost of the new clubhouse project is in the region of €360,000 and our goal is was to have it fully completed and operational by the beginning of the summer in time for the national feile camogie & hurling competition and this goal was achieved.

For those of you who have used them in the past month since opening you will agree that they are state of the art, are spacious, clean, comfortable, environmentally sustainable and offer top quality changing, catering and sanitary facilities to all players, supporters and to anyone using the facilities. It is something to be very, very proud of and has greatly enhanced our playing facilities in Lisnamult. We will have an official opening of the dressing rooms towards the end of the summer with a weekend of activities which will be planned around this opening.

Other works that have been carried out in Lisnamult include the replacement of the ball stopping nets on the main pitch and maintenance works were carried out on all pitches in the
past few weeks. The front training pitch still requires work and all the goal posts are to be painted and get new nets or repair existing ones in the next few days.

Club Presentation Night
We had a lovely club awards night in Carthys in April. It was a most enjoyable night and it was great to welcome back the 1992 Junior hurling champions and their mentors. Tom Doolan was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame and he was one of the selectors on this team. There was great craic and banter on the night especially from Decie Hoare, who as usual, did a brilliant job as MC for the night. Well done to all our deserving winners for 2017 who received their awards on the night. Thanks to all who helped organise and run this annual event.

Feile Hurling & Camogie 2018
One of the highlights of the year so far was the hosting of the national Feile na nGael hurling and camogie finals on the 8th-10th June 2018. A huge amount of work went into the preparations to welcome our visiting camogie teams from St. Mullins of Carlow and Fermanagh and the hurlers from Ennistymon in Clare. We were one of the few clubs in Feile 2018 to host three teams.

The hard working Feile committee of Tom O Farrell, Tricia Torpey, Una Ní Chuinn, Bernie Mulry, Yvonne Lambe, Noel Fallon, Orla Fleming, Niamh Kilmartin, Sinead Killeen and Teresa Hession worked tirelessly for months to get host families, sort Garda vetting, fund raise for Feile hosting, get sponsors, organise the pitches and the logistics of all the matches, food, entertainment, presentations, communications around the event etc etc. As well as that there were three Gaels teams to be trained to take part in the competition. It was a massive undertaking but it was done in a very organised manner and no stone was left unturned to ensure it was as efficient and as enjoyable as possible.

In the run up to Feile there were a few fundraising events – an 80s disco in O’Garas “Nancys Bar”, a fun run from Hannons Hotel and a cake sale from Gleesons shop in the Square. Thanks to the businesses above for their help and sponsorship in the running of these events. Many parents and players got involved and supported these fundraisers so a huge thanks to all who organised and ran them. Thanks also to Mulrys Peppermill restaurant, Seamus Carthy REA auctioneers, Shane & Orla Fleming Supervalu and Liam Mc Neill foodstore for their sponsorship of tops, socks and togs and food for the Feile.

On the pitch there were group games on Friday evening and Saturday morning when our three Feile teams played three matches each in Tremane, Hyde, Lisnamult and Tulsk in both hurling and camogie. We provided meals, refreshments and entertainment for our visiting clubs players and their families and mentors on both Friday and Saturday night.

On Saturday our club hosted 8 clubs from all over the country in our pitches in Lisnamult for their quarter finals. These matches required meticulous logistics and organisation and our club provided top quality pitches and our new dressing rooms, match officials, car parking and refreshments for these 8 visiting clubs. Well done and massive thanks to all the people in the club who assisted in making this part of Feile run smoothly and without a hitch.

Sunday saw the older u14 camogie team play in the shield All Ireland semi final in Kiltoom and they were narrowly defeated by a team from Wicklow after a tough and hard fought battle. They gave it all they had on the day but just fell short of victory. Our Feile hurlers won their semi final in a cracking game of hurling v Pearses of Galway in Kiltormer and they then travelled to Ballinasloe to take on Clara /Brosna Gaels of Offaly in the All Ireland Division 7 final. Clara were the overwhelming favourites for this game as they had comprehensively beaten every team on their path to the final. Sadly a goal in the dying seconds of the game saw our brave hurlers lose by a solitary point in very controversial circumstances in what was a tremendous hurling match. It was a heart breaking loss for all involved and all the Gaels supporters who travelled to Ballinasloe to shout on the lads in the final.

It was a wonderful weekend of sport, fun, comradery and friendships and it epitomised all that is good about the GAA. Our club did an outstanding job welcoming and hosting all the visiting clubs from other counties and we should be very proud of how well it was run and received by all involved over the Feile weekend. Well done and massive thanks to the Feile committee, the underage club and members of the senior club for their assistance in the organisation and running of Feile. It will be remembered fondly by all who were lucky enough to have been involved in it.

Connacht Final in Hyde
After Roscommon earned their place in the senior Connacht football final and the game was forced to be played, by right, in the Hyde there was a huge amount of work to be done to get the stadium match ready. A group of very hard working people, including our some of our minor players who helped give the front of the Hyde a painted facelift, put in a lot of hours of preparation and work to meet the standards imposed by the GAA, H&S, HSE, the Gardai etc and to ensure that Ros Gaels involvement in the running of the provincial final went smoothly and contributed to a great day out for patrons. On the day Ros Gaels had approximately 60 volunteers working in the Hyde running the shops, selling programmes, looking after the press and referees refreshments and other jobs that are a necessary part of running such a huge event. I would like to thank every single person who assisted and helped on the weeks leading up to it and over the weekend of the match. Your contribution to our club by your help in the Hyde around big match days is greatly valued and does not go unnoticed.

Now that Roscommon have made the super 8s section of the All Ireland senior football series we will have Donegal at home on the Saturday the 21st July at 5pm. We will be coming again seeking help with the above activities on the weekend of the game and we know you will not be found wanting again.

Club Rossie Tickets
Thanks to all those who sold and bought Club Rossie tickets to support our county teams in all codes and age groups. All clubs in Roscommon have a quota to sell to support the running of our teams and there are many Gaels players on Co teams in ladies football, camogie, hurling and football across the age groups from U14 to Senior. We have met our quota of CR sales so thanks again to all who assisted with that.

Finance
All of the club infrastructure, maintenance as well as loan repayments on our fabulous facilities in Lisnamult, equipment, refreshments, physio etc and general club running costs/ bills costs money. It takes between €95,000 -€100,000 to run Roscommon Gaels club annually. The membership fees are received in Feb are paid out in Feb – May to the various Co Boards of the GAA, LGFA & Camogie to register members, affiliate and insure teams so none of this income goes into the finances to run the club.

Our sources of income are the club lotto, the shops and programmes in Hyde and Lisnamult and our various fundraisers. It is an area that can’t be ignored and left to a few people to raise and look after. So with that in mind we are encouraging everyone in the club to do their bit to assist with the raising of finances to fund all aspects of our club that we all get so much from.

Tickets have been distributed to all players, members and families in the club for our annual club draw which was deferred from last Christmas to this summer. The draw takes place on the 11th of August. We will are asking everyone who has received a book of 6 tickets to sell all these tickets and return them back to the club via teams, executive or the finance committee asap. There are a fantastic array of prizes on offer and we are really grateful to our sponsors who have donated again so generously.

If you have sold all your tickets already please return them and sell more if possible. There will also be tickets sold at major events that are coming up in the next few weeks and your help will be required with this. If approached to assist please do so as every little bit helps. It is a huge task to fund our club so we are appealing to everyone to do their bit and contribute to this fund raiser so our club can continue provide and improve the facilities, equipment etc that is on offer to all our members, the community, schools etc.

Help is also needed with the weekly selling of the club lotto tickets which is a huge part of our income to meet the day to day running costs of Roscommon Gaels. We encourage all or members to join and sell the club lotto which has a jackpot of €10,000.

Finally help will be required on Saturday next with the shops and programmes in the Hyde for the Roscommon v Donegal game. If you can give us a hand with this please let us know and the more help we have the better.
​
We thank you for the work that is currently being done and for your support of Roscommon Gaels club in 2018 so far. It is very much appreciated. Looking forward to the remainder of the Roscommon Gaels 2018 season both on and off the field – keep flying and wearing those Gaels colours proudly – “Ní neart go cur le cheile”

Teresa Hession
Chairperson