Fixture: Sunday, March 18: RFL Division One v Castleblayney (Home) at 2pm
Monaghan Harps Lotto: Numbers 1, 8, 12 and 28. Jackpot of €4,000 not won. Residual prizes: €100 Richard Rutledge c/o Paddy Donnelly; €40 Gerard Myers c/o Brian O’Sullivan (Hurling Club); €40 Shane Treanor c/o Cosy Bar; €40 Rose Donnelly c/o Paddy Donnelly. Jackpot for Sunday, March 18 is €4,150. Lotto draw takes place in the clubhouse every Sunday night. All welcome. Seán and Kathleen Boyle and Tessie Connolly are on duty this Sunday. A Lotto-committee meeting will take place on Sunday week (March 25) in the clubhouse.
Get involved: The Monaghan Harps Lotto plays an integral part in the running of the club and we greatly appreciate the efforts of all ticket-sellers. If anyone would like to get involved with the lotto, they can contact Maria McKenna at 086 1057725. We have a number of dates coming up in the next few months in the shopping centre (starting this Friday, March 16) and volunteers are needed, so tell Maria if you want to help out.
Reserves: The O’Duffy Cup team have their first home game of the year against Castleblayney on Sunday at 2pm. All support welcome. The Crawley Cup team had to concede their game against Killanny last Sunday.
Juvenile presentation: The club’s juvenile presentation night takes place this Friday (March 16) in the clubhouse. In football, there will be medals presented to the Under-16 Division One championship runners-up, the Under-14 Division One Shield winners, the Under-12 Division One runners-up and the Under-12 Division Four Shield winners, while the double-winning Under-14 hurlers and the league-winning Under-12 hurlers will also receive their medals, so a busy evening is in store, starting at 7.30pm. All welcome.
St. Patrick’s Day: As usual, the club will be taking part in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in town on Saturday. Juveniles are asked to meet at Gavan Duffy at 2pm and to wear club colours/gear if possible. There will then be traditional music in the clubhouse after the parade and everyone is welcome for what is always a great occasion. Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!
Membership: Membership for 2012 is now due and can be paid to registrar Maurice Galligan c/o Cosy Bar or in the clubhouse. Fees are €20 per adult, €10 per child or €50 for a family of two adults and any number of children. Supporters are asked to pay their subscription as soon as possible, as GAA rules dictate that membership must be paid by the end of March in order to have full voting rights at AGMs. All players are reminded that they must be paid-up members of the club. Registration can also be paid at the juvenile presentation night.
Minors: Sincere thanks go to Owen and Ann Smyth for their generous contribution to the minor footballers. The lads lost to Rock Sarsfields last Sunday and now have just two weeks until the first game of the league – at home to Scotstown on Tuesday, Match 27.
U-16: The Under-16s lost their challenge match against Truagh last Sunday and are currently working hard ahead of their first league game on April 12.
U-14: Both Under-14 football teams start their league campaigns on Saturday week. Training for both teams is on every Saturday between 12 noon and 1.15pm and every Wednesday from 7-8.15pm. All eligible players are welcome to attend.
U-12: The Under-12 Spring Leagues start on March 31.
Saturday mornings: Our Saturday-morning coaching will resume on March 24 from 10.30-11.30.
Votes of sympathy: At last Thursday’s club meeting, votes of sympathy were passed to the families of Liam O’Donoghue, Mary McAdam, Mary Mahony, Mary Farmer and Terry Sullivan. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha.
Scór: At our club meeting for March, all involved in Scór Sinsir were congratulated for their efforts, particularly Gerard Clerkin, Vincent McKenna and Niamh Coyle. Belated thanks to our quiz team of Peter Coyle and Ann and Nicholas Treanor.
County teams: Well done to the county senior teams on last Sunday’s wins and good luck again this Sunday. Best of luck also to the Under-21 footballers in the Ulster championship against Derry next Wednesday night (March 21).
Club training: Thanks to our club members who attended the Club Maith Officer Training last Saturday and to our coaches and team mentors who took part in the coaching session organised by Declan McArdle last Sunday.
Rith: Go raibh maith agaibh do na baill club a glacadh páirt i Rith 2012 tríd Baile Mhuineacháin an Sathairn seo caite, go háirithe na mionúir. Thanks to our club members who took part in Rith 2012 through Monaghan town last Saturday, especially the minors, who had a good turnout.
Coaching Courses: Anyone who wants to take part in a Foundations Coaching Course on March 23/24 can contact Juvenile Club Secretary Val Forde at 087 9515175.
Aido File: Thanks to everyone involved in the hurlers’ table quiz in Tír na nÓg last Friday night, especially quizmaster Robbie Healy. The juvenile presentation takes place at Gavan Duffy tomorrow night (Friday) at 7.30.
Handball: Our Ulster Juvenile finalists failed to land any titles last Saturday in Kingscourt. Ryan Mooney’s final was postponed. Caileán Myles, who had been playing great handball recently, started off brightly against Tyrone’s Cormac Munroe. His powerful serves unsettled his opponent and he led by 10 points to 4. However, some poor decision-making led to a comeback by Munroe who took the first game by 15 to 14. The Tyrone player easily won the second on the scores of 15 to 5. Our Under-12 pairing of Justas Dambinskas and Eoghan McGinnity were also in contention in the first game against Tyrone’s Ronan Curran and Anton Fox. Justas coped well early on with the strong serves although the Harps lads lost by 15 to 9. Nothing went right in the second and some missed shots left Tyrone with too big of a lead. The game ended 15-0. This was Justas and Eoghan’s first Ulster final and they will relish more tough competitive matches in the future. Ramunas and Conall McKenna lost the Under-16 Doubles final to top-ranked Johnny Woods and Ryan Mullen. The result was never in doubt but Ramunas put in an exceptional offensive display that surprised the large crowd of supporters. Tyrone won 21-11, 21-11.
Gaeltacht scholarships: Interviews for Gaeltacht Scholarships will take place in the Enterprise Centre, Castleblayney on Saturday, April 21, beginning at 10am. These are half scholarships and are available for students in the 14-to-17 age bracket. There is no need to book in advance, if you need further information email: irishculturalofficer.monaghan@gaa.ie
By michael Tue 13th Mar
