Monaghan Harps notes

300 Miles in 300 Minutes: Last Saturday saw all sections of Monaghan Harps GAA Club rise to the challenge in support for two worthy local charities, Crocus and SVP Monaghan. We set ourselves a challenge to complete 300 miles in 300 minutes (between 7am and 12 noon), with the hope of raising €3,000. With all parts of the club (young and not so young, led off by ‘Leo’) getting involved in their club colours, we went well beyond both of these initial targets; covering more than 1100 miles on the morning and receiving donations of well over €8,000 via our GoFundMe page. This was a great day for our club in these extraordinary times, as summed up by Chairman Jimmy Croarkin in a video that is available on our social media accounts. Well done to Martin Sheridan, Brenda McConnon, Úna Forde, Nicola Shalvey and everyone involved in organising and thanks to everyone who took part or donated. Thanks also to Ruairí Forde for his work on videos, including putting together a great compilation of Saturday’s challenge. Crocus are a voluntary, peer-support group for those living with a cancer diagnosis who are at different stages on their journey, who are solely dependent on donations and charity fundraising events. St. Vincent De Paul Monaghan work directly with people who have a variety of needs. Any assistance offered is given in a non-judgemental spirit of compassion, based on the need of the individual or family.

Cumann Cláirsigh Mhuineacháin – Here To Help: We are aware of the fear and disruption caused by Covid-19, particularly to the elderly and vulnerable members of our community. The health and wellbeing of all our community is extremely important to us in Monaghan Harps GAA‏. Should you or a person you know require prescriptions, groceries collected or a reassuring chat if you feel lonely/isolated, please phone or text the following: Úna Forde, Healthy Club Officer 0876107329; Nicola Shalvey, Secretary 0864040161; Jimmy Croarkin, Chairperson 0871249635. See our club’s social media accounts for many other useful contact numbers.

Kerry Foods: Monaghan GAA, in conjunction with Kerry Foods, have donated some free frozen meals for members of our community. Deliveries take place on a weekly basis. If you or someone you know would like to avail of this, please contact our Healthy Club Officer Úna Forde, in strict confidence, on 0876107329.

Activity suspended: In keeping with the guidelines issued by the Government and the HSE and national advice from the GAA due to Covid-19, we have suspended all activity and our facilities remain strictly closed until further notice. This includes all games, training and team gatherings for all ages and any recreational purposes. Thanks for your continued co-operation. Please follow the HSE and World Health Organisation guidelines and try to look out for people in our community who may need help at this time. We would like to thank the front-line staff in the health services during these times and remind people to find their news updates from trusted and verified sources. Monaghan Harps GAA Club is closed to all GAA activity and our pitches and gym are closed to all. We look forward to being able to welcome all our players and members back to our club in the not too distant future but in the meantime, we ask you to be responsible for yourself and the health of all our community, especially those most vulnerable. We encourage our members to remain active and to keep an eye on our club’s social media accounts for updates. Bígí sábháilte.

Stress Control: The Stress Control course that ran in our clubhouse in February is now available online at https://stresscontrol.org and may be useful for many during these extraordinary times.

Monaghan Coaching & Games: Monaghan Coaching and Games are running online courses and webinars for the weeks ahead. See social media for more details.

‘It’s Good To Talk’: Monaghan GAA recently launched a new ‘It’s Good To Talk’ initiative in conjunction with the Monaghan Age Friendly programme. If you would like to nominate someone to receive a call, you can contact Monaghan GAA Assistant PRO Mary McEneaney on 087 6887332 or pro.corduff.monaghan@gaa.ie.

Free fitness class: Monaghan U3A, in conjunction with Border Bounce Gym Club, are running a free fitness class on every weekday morning for May at 9.30am. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday are fitness, Wednesday is Pilates and Friday is Tai Chi. It is aimed at over-50s, but all are welcome to join.

Darkness into Light: Pieta House had to postpone the annual Darkness into Light from its usual May date. We continue to support Pieta House in their very important fundraising.

GAA Digital Archive: The GAA, in conjunction with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, have launched the GAA Digital Archive at Croke Park providing free access to past GAA matches to internet users around the world. This might be useful to all GAA fans during this time of isolation! https://gaa.ie/gaa-now/archive/

Monaghan Harps Lotto: In keeping with the guidelines issued by the Government and the HSE regarding the Covid-19 outbreak, our Lotto is suspended until further notice.

Hurling Club:

300 Miles in 300 Minutes: We had an incredibly proud day on Saturday as the entire Monaghan Harps community pulled together to support two worthy charities in Saint Vincent de Paul and Crocus. It was great to see so many people rising to the challenge and contributing to what was a highly successful event. Many thanks to all of our club members who ran, walked, organised and donated.

Monaghan Coaching & Games: A four-week skills challenge programme devised by Monaghan coaching and games is now available on our Facebook page. Get out and get practicing your skills!

We advise all club members to stay safe over the coming weeks and we hope to see everyone in full health in the near future. Please follow all guidelines and ensure that you look out for others during these troublesome times.