The Faughs Gathering – Little did we know when we started planning the Faughs Gathering the success it was going to be. From the minute the doors opened for the Summer Camp on Wednesday morning right through to the finish on Sunday morning, the Town and Club were buzzing. It was crystal clear last week that the Window Competition was being taken seriously with rumour being that Declan Flanagan had worked nonstop for 24 hours so that Flanagan’s window would be perfect, indeed all the traders of the town must be congratulated for their fantastic effort with over 25 windows being dressed in Green and Gold. Thursday evening was a very special night as the club held a Cultural evening in a packed Iontas theatre. Joe Hanratty kicked off proceedings with an interview between Gerry Fitzpatrick Nudie Hughes and the Club Legend Liam McGrath, you could have heard a pin drop as the boys recalled tales of matches and great victories of time past. This was followed by the younger members of the Club who performed a recitation, Irish dancing and a song called the Might Faughs written by Collette Gallen many years ago. After the break we were treated to music and song by a group of local singers assembled by Joe Hanratty for the occasion. On Friday morning we moved to Concra Wood for the Maurice “Mau” Hanratty Open golf competition. The course was full from 7.30am to late on Friday night.. Maurice would have been very proud of handing over the cup to one of his old neighbours from Muckno Street as young Michael McHugh laid claim to the title, with a fantastic score of 40 points playing of a handicap of 4.The Club house was full to the rafters as Joe Hanratty presented the Cup on behalf of the Hanratty Family. Special word of thanks to McElroy Trophies for their sponsorship. Saturday lunchtime saw the now famous Faughs Club Bar-B-Que held on the grounds of Castleblayney College, with the Club award ceremony being the main event , Rory Mc Glynn won the Future Faughs Star award but in reality we had 175 Stars for the week. Then on Saturday evening at 7pm the doors of the Glencarn opened for the Faughs Gala Ball which was a special event to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Five in a row team. This proved to be a night that will go down in the folklore of Castleblayney, the five in a row team were presented with a commemorative medal from Director General Padraig Duffy. The packed house listened to Club Chairperson Stephen Dignam recall tales from the “Past ,Present and Future” of the Club while Padraig told us tales of what it was like to grow up in Castleblayney during the famous five in a row era. Everyone chatted, danced and sang the night way as people from Castleblayney who now live all over the globe, caught up with each other for a few hours. Well done to the huge team involved for what was truly a remarkable few days and a huge thank you to Glenn Murphy who is responsible for all the fantastic photos from the whole weekend. All photos will be available on the club website in the coming days or can be purchased from Glenn Murphy (087 9950712).
Mc Mahons Centra Summer Camp – This week has seen the conclusion of another great Faughs Summer camp with 175 children participating in four days of absolute Fun. St. Marys Park was a hive of activity each day from 10am to 2pm as the children played games right through the day. Friday saw the Street League Finals taking place with the Cup winner this year being Lakeview led by team Captain David Irwin, the Shield Final was won by Joey Hughes’s Lane Harps, the Girls final was won by Conabury. Saturday saw five bus loads of very happy children heading off to the Cinema in Monaghan before returning to the famous Faughs Summer Bar-B-Que and presentation.
Seniors – We had two SFL games in quick succession last week and unfortunately came off second best in both. On Wednesday night Magheracloone defeated us 2-12 to 0-16 after an entertaining hour. Friday evening saw us fall to Latton on a score of 1-09 to 0-08, this was a tight low scoring game until a slightly fortuitous Latton goal swung the game in their favour.
Senior Championship – We play Magheracloone in the SFC this Saturday evening in Inniskeen at 8PM
Minors – The boys are getting ready for their home league Semi Final on Saturday the 7th of September against Doohamlet, with a throw in time of 3pm.
Under 16 – Tonight (Thursday) our Under 16 team compete in the semi-final of the league with an away fixture to Doohamlet at 6.30pm, lads well done our your achievement of getting to this stage of the competition, you have put in a great effort all year and hopefully you can take another step and make it to the final.
Girls Under 12 Final – With everyone still on a high after the great Faughs Gathering weekend, the Girls Under 12 team took to the Cremartin field to play Doohamlet in the County Final on Monday night. A tight match had been expected but few could have anticipated the excitement that would unfold. With the teams tied 2 points each at half time the Faughs Girls took to the field for the second half knowing that a huge effort was required if they were to take the Cup home to St. Marys Park. The Girls really started to get going with some great play by Sally Maloney and Nicole Maguire in the middle of the field, with Jodie Mc Quillan, Aoife McGeough, Emma McGlynn, Caitlin McGeough, Grace Hanratty and Aoibhean McCooey up front, all proving a handful for the tight marking Doohamlet defence. Entering the last 10 minutes Blayney had opened up a three point gap but Doohamlet weren’t done and reduced the gap to the minimum with seven minutes remaining. It was then the girls showed real Faughs determination as they fought hard for every ball, their defence was excellent with Aoibhean Fitsimmons, Rachel Cannon, Aine McGlynn , Melissa Carr, Shona Brady and Shannon Nolan all showing up well when the pressure came on them, with a number of blocks and last gasp tackles preventing Doohamlet getting that all important equaliser. When the final whistle sounded it was greeted with great celebration by the huge Blayney support. The Girls return to Castleblayney where there was about 40 cars waiting for them to take them on cavalcade of the town and back to Old Coach Inn for a meal sponsored by Raymond Watters. Well done to everyone involved, it was a special night for the girls, the mentors, and everyone who have worked so hard to get girls football established in the area and the Faughs Club.
Boys Under 12 Finals – It’s now over to the young Faughs boys who play in the Under 12 Finals Day this Saturday in Drumhown. First up is the Development team who play Clontibret with throw in at 1pm, then at 3.40pm, the Senior team take on Carrickmacross in the Division 1 decider. Both finals will be very close affairs with very little between the teams. The Club would love to see as many people at both matches as possible to help cheer on the Boys. Best of luck to all the players and the Management team of Mark O Connor , Stephen Hanratty, Dessie McAuley, Raymond McHugh ,Martin Hanratty, Martin Carville and Raymond Malone.
Juvenile Training – Training takes a break for a few weeks so the children can settle back into the routine of School, we will recommence in early October.
Operation TrnasFAUGHmation- Now that evenings are starting to get short, it can only mean one thing, Operation TransFAUGHmation gets ready to kick off again. The twelve week programme is aimed at getting our community fitter and healthier. Tuesday night saw a large crowd turn up for the official registration night, so places are very limited. Anybody that would still like to register for the programme can do so by contacting Jazza Hughes 086- 8194157, Tom Miller on 087-6290806 or Louisa O Brien on 087 7981035.
Best of Luck – The Club would like to wish all our members the best of luck as they get ready to start another school year, hopefully the memories of what has been a fantastic summer for our Children and Coaches will keep smiling as we return to the class rooms this week.
Lotto – There was no winner of the €11,000 jackpot this week which was held on Monday night the 26th of August in the Ballymacmanus. The numbers drawn were 05, 09, 20, 28. The 4 lucky dips of €50 were Joan Carragher, Conabury, Niall Mulligan, Cairde, Bernie McCabe and Kieran Deasy, Derrycreevy. Next week’s draw will take place in the The Spinning Wheel. The best of luck to all lotto players in next weeks’ draw and many thanks for your continued support.
By fmctiernan Wed 28th Aug
