Fixture: Saturday, March 16: RFL Division 3 v Emyvale (Home) at 5pm

 

Monaghan Harps Lotto: Numbers 2, 15, 17 and 22. Jackpot of €3,550 not won. Residual prizes: €100 Bernie McKenna c/o herself; €40 Ann Lawlor c/o Brian O’Sullivan (Hurling Club); €40 Eamon Carroll c/o Brian O’Sullivan (HC); €40 Kay McQuaid c/o Séamus Treanor. Jackpot for Sunday, March 17 is €3,700 and Maria and Hugh McKenna are on duty. All welcome. Anyone who has sold a direct-debit is asked to pass the details on to the Lotto committee as soon as possible, so they can be entered into our weekly draw straight away. The Monaghan Harps Lotto plays an integral role in the running of the club. If you want to volunteer to get involved in any way (e.g. selling tickets), please contact any committee member.

 

Race night: Our much-anticipated race night takes place in the clubhouse at 9pm this Friday, March 15. This is being organised in association with the Barry Doherty fund (Barry is one of our biggest young supporters, who has muscular dystrophy). Our special guest on the night will be renowned horse-trainer, charity fundraiser and personality Oliver Brady from Ballybay. All support would be greatly appreciated. What better way to finish Cheltenham festival week and kick off your St. Patrick’s weekend!

 

St. Patrick’s Day: As usual, our juveniles will be taking part in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Monaghan town this Sunday. Please assemble at Gavan Duffy Park at 2pm. We will be returning to the clubhouse after the parade for refreshments and a traditional Irish music session. Beannachtaí lá fhéile Phádraig daoibh go léir.

 

Congratulations: To our own Fearghal McMahon on winning the ‘Gaelic Life’ Player of the Month award for February. Comhghairdeas Fearghal agus buíochas do gach éinne a caitheamh vótaí.

 

Reserves: The O’Duffy Cup team fell to a narrow defeat in a low-scoring game played in very difficult conditions away to Latton last Sunday. We took a long time to get out of the starting blocks and allowed Latton to build up a sizable lead before we eventually got off the mark with a goal by Conor McCaughey, which was followed by a point from David Loughran to leave us trailing by 1-6 to 1-1 at half-time. We took the game to Latton in the second half, but frees by Emmett McArdle and David and a point from play by Paul Rushe was the sum total of our efforts on the scoreboard, as Latton held on to win by 1-7 to 1-4. Our next RFL Division 1A game is away to Castleblayney on April 3.

Team and scorers: Mark Hughes; Gary Trappe, Robbie Moyna, Darren McMahon; Paul Rushe (0-1), Conor Devlin, Dean McMahon; Shane Coyle, Kevin Loughran; Michael Galligan, Emmett McArdle (Capt., 0-1f), Pat Murphy; David Loughran (0-2, 1f), Conor McCaughey (1-0), Colm Shalvey.

Subs: Johnny Sherry for Trappe, Evan Doherty for Shalvey.

Our third team get the league underway with a home game against Emyvale this Saturday at 5pm.

 

Membership: Under GAA rules, the deadline for affiliation is the end of this month, so membership money should be paid to registrar Maurice Galligan as soon as possible. Fees for 2013 are being maintained as follows: €20 per adult, €10 per child or €50 for a family of two adults and any number of children.

 

Dates to remember: Scheduled start dates for the leagues are as follows. Senior Football League: Sunday, March 31; Under-21 FL: Sunday, March 24; Minor Football League: Tuesday, March 26: Under-16 FL; Thursday, April 4; Under-14 FL: Saturday, March 23; Under-12 Spring Leagues: Saturday, March 30; Senior Hurling League: Thursday, April 25; Development Hurling League: Thursday, April 4; Minor Hurling League: Sunday, March 31. Our Saturday-morning juvenile coaching is due to resume on April 6.

 

Pitch bookings: All pitch bookings this year should once again be made by contacting Jimmy Croarkin at 087 1249635. We remind all managers and team mentors to remain vigilant in their use of our facilities and to always lock gates and turn off lights when finished training etc.

 

Harps watches: We are now selling wrist-watches with the Harps crest for €10. Contact Liadhan Treanor at 086 7837204 for more details.

 

County teams: Well done to Liam Hahessy and the Monaghan Under-21 footballers who beat Tyrone in the Shamrock Cup Final last Wednesday. Good luck against Cavan at Breffni Park in the Ulster championship next Wednesday (March 20). Neil McAdam helped turn the game as Monaghan beat Fermanagh in the NFL last Saturday; we wish Neil, Conor Galligan and the team all the best against Wicklow this Saturday. Good luck also to the hurlers against Louth.

 

Easter camps: Following from the success of previous years, the Farney Academy three-day Easter camps will take place for the third year running from April 2-4. The camp is for boys and girls aged between five and 12 and will be run in three venues in the (Scotstown, Ballybay and Clones). Gaelic football will be at the core of activities during the camp, but activities will also include hurling and camogie. All activities will be delivered by qualified coaches who will ensure your kids have an enjoyable experience. Entry Fee: €40 for first child and €35 for additional children from the same family; free hoodie for all participants. For further information, contact Games Development Manager Paul O’Connor by email at developmentmanager.monaghan@gaa.ie or phone at 086 8374827.

 

Scoláireachtaí Gaeltachta: Interviews for Gaeltacht Scholarships to Coláiste Bhríde, Rann Na Feirste will be held in GAA Administration Office, Cloghan on Saturday, April 20. Interviews for students who are pre Junior Cert will start at 10am, while interviews for post- Junior Cert and Leaving Cert students will begin at 11.30am. No pre-booking is required