Monday, August 31, 2009

Mon. 2pm.
Ticket Meeting:
There will be a meeting of the Club on this Tuesday at 9pm in the Royal Hotel to review the All Ireland Football Final ticket sales and other items.
Ongoing Appeal:
All team managers are asked to please co-operate with the park co-ordinator in ensuring that the main pitch is not used for training during the current inclement weather. It is emphasised that the Warren pitch is useable for training at all times and that overuse of the Abbey Park pitch will result in Boyle having to forfeit home advantage when it becomes unplayable.
Respect in Parking at Abbey Park:
Patrons of Abbey Park are asked to respect private property in the locality and refrain from parking in or in front of the driveways of local private residences.
Junior Ladies in Semi-Final

U 12s’:
Boyle U 12s suffered a narrow defeat to Padraig Pearses in the County Championship, Division 1 on Sunday in Woodmount.They have a busy week ahead of them as the will host Clan na Gael in the Abbey Park on Wednesday at 7pm and they will take on St Dominics on Sunday next in the next rounds of the championship.
U 14s’:
The U14s suffered a narrow defeat to old rivals Strokestown in the Garda Cup semi final on Thursday evening last in Castlerea. They are looking forward to their next action which will be their league semi final date with Castlerea.
Garda Cup final:
Meanwhile the Garda Cup Final between Western Gaels and Strokestown will be played in Boyle on Thursday 10th September.

Feelystone Juniors:
The Feelystone junior team is likely to have a championship game at the weekend-see fixtures.

Intermediates:
The McGovern Directional Drilling intermediate team will have their relegation play-off versus Kilglass Gaels on the weekend of 12th/13th September. They will also have the O'Gara Cup Final with Roscommon Gaels to look forward to.
Sympathy:
The Club extends its sympathy to the Cox and Callaghan families on the death of Mrs Cox, Abbeytown.

Boyle Ladies Club
The U14s had a very exciting 4.11 to 5.6 win over Kilmore in their championship game in the Abbey Park on Sunday evening. This win will give the girls great encouragement for their upcoming games. The Junior Ladies will play Western Gaels in the Junior A Championship Semi-Final on Saturday in Ballinameen-see fixtures for details of time etc. The Club appeals for full support for this important game.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Thurs. 1.30
The Garda Cup Under 14 Football Semi Final, between Boyle and Strokestown, will now be played in Castlerea at 7pm on this evening, Thursday, and not in Elphin as previously scheduled.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Wed. 1.30
I am taking the liberty of posting an email letter from a friend of mine, Paddy Conlon, a former fine player with the club and someone who keeps in touch with its activities through various outlets. The note shows what the feeling is from these ‘old timers’ regarding the efforts of the club and its workers today.
T.

Sent: 26 August 2009 10:00
To: tconboy1@eircom.net
Subject: Abbey Park

Tony,

I’ve just read your piece and seen the photos of the dressing rooms in progress, what great strides the club has made in the last number of years and the people concerned are to be complimented for their vision and commitment. This will further raise the profile of this beautiful place and of course the club. It amazes me when I read of the number of teams and the activities taking place and it must take a lot of people to make this work, people with great commitment. As you say the park is one of the finest settings in the country and I believe anyone who has played here for the club will have lasting memories of this place.

Good luck to the club and to everybody who are taking it forward.

Will be in touch.

Paddy

Pat Conlon

England

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

2.30.
Abbey Park Development:
On Sean's realboyle there are pictures of the progress of the substantial new dressing room development. This includes 4 dressingrooms, two large, two smaller, with attendant shower facilities. There is also a referee's room and showers and a large meeting/multi-purpose room. It is a very substantial building and will provide a state of the art facility for teams in the Abbey Park. The Abbey Park is of course one of the loveliest settings for a sports ground to be seen anywhere and this has been much commented on by many visitors down the years. It is fair to say that it holds no inhibitions for visiting club teams from the area playing here. The main pitch is, I suppose of necessity, overused but hopefully when the College field comes on stream this will reduce and the pitch can be used for higher profile games etc and retain its high quality. There are many people who contribute to all of this. The gentleman who has allowed the use of his lands in the Warren demonstrates a great GAA sportsman's spirit in allowing this. It would be great if another field was available in say Felton which would act as a recreational area for the kids of that area be it Gaelic and Soccer. That's for another day. The contractor with the present development is Frank Dwyer a great GAA supporter himself. I remember the glowing terms he was referred to by Frankie Feighan and Sean Daly for his work, years ago, on the Boyle Celtic building. Overseeing the development is Chris O'Dowd a Shannon Gaels stalwart. So there is an alliance at play here. Indeed Boyle Abbey park isn't just a Boyle GAA ground but a local regional ground and I expect this is recognised as such by those clubs. It is a huge undertaking of course and hopefully when fund raisng proper begins it will be supported and we are confident that it will. I imagine that next Easter or so would be a reasonable expectation for the new dressing rooms to be officially opened but that has not been tied down.
The old dressing rooms will be retained, in the short term at least, for whatever general purposes that may obtain.

9.30 am
Top Corner:
All-Ireland Ticket Draw and County Board Draw Results:
The draw for the All-Ireland tickets plus other prizes takes place on …..Tickets can be got from anyone with connections to the club and if anyone has problems they can contact me, T.C., at 086 816 33 99.

Due to an understandable query, from a ticket purchaser, regarding the winners of the County Board €100 Draw, which was initially postponed but took place on July 24th, I’ve dragged the results, which I previously published here, up to this slot. Personally I think the Results did not get the publicity which its supporters were entitled to. Its pre promotion certainly got this.
As can be seen, regrettably, there was no Boyle winner but still a good spread throughout the county. The Club wishes to thank once again the people who supported the Draw so well this year.

Roscommon GAA Members Draw 2009:

Winners

1St. Prize €50,000
Ms. Catherine Connelly
Ballinakill
Glinsk
Co. Galway

2nd. Prize Ford Focus Style
Mr. Kieran Madigan
Tudor Lodge
Kilkelly Rd.
Castlerea
Co. Roscommon

3rd. Prize Ford KA Style
Padraig Pearses GAA Club

4th. Prize Holiday to Orlando of €5000
Mr.Tom Varley
Emlaghmore
Donamon
Roscommon

5th. Prize Carribean Cruise or €5,000
Leo & Grta Watson
Carrownderry
Kiltoom
Athlone
Co. Roscommom

6th. Prize Return tickets to Australia or €2,500
Mr. Michael Colligan
Graffogue
Scramogue
Co. Roscommon

7th. Prize European Holiday to the value of €2,500
Mr. Vincent Canny
Corlackin
Creggs
Co. Roscommon

8th. Prze European Holiday to the value of €2,500
Ms Sinead Hoare
23 Henry Street
Roscommon

9th. Prize Trip to New York for Roscommon v New York May 2011 or €2000
Mr. Erin Whyte
Liascarrow
Fuerty
Roscommon


Sunday Next:
Best Wishes to Boyle Show on Sunday and especially to the ‘long sod of turf competitors’. I kid you not. There are also a couple of events in Boyle Abbey, a traditional music session from 2 to 3.30 and a lecture at 4.
Lotto:
The jackpot was not won at the recent Club Lotto draw which was held in the Royal Hotel. The numbers drawn were: 9/10/22/27. [These numbers are always subject to verification for the following reason; if by chance I typed in the wrong number above and a person had the numbers I had typed in, including that wrong number actually drawn, then there would be misunderstanding etc. That is a reason why newspapers normally shy away from publishing the numbers. Still it has been said that the numbers are not published so 'there's the rub..' Everyone.... comprende!!!]. The following were €20 winners; Henry Clifford, Barbara McQuaid, Pat Wynne, Bernard Hickey, Mary Fallon, Frank Brennan, Catherine Browne, Ronan McQuaid, Richie Walsh and Tom Browne. The house prize was won by Catherine Mattimoe. The next draw will be held on this Saturday night the 29th in Scanlon’s with Mary Clifford’s team in charge.

Intermediate Team:
The McGovern Directional Drilling intermediate team is awaiting the fixing of two important upcoming games-the championship relegation play-off which is likely to be circa 12th September and the O'Gara Cup Final.

Juniors:
The Feelystone junior team has qualified for the semi-final of the North ‘B’ Junior Championship which is likely to be on Saturday the 5th September, by virtue of a walkover from Eire Og.
Minors Bow Out:
The minors bowed out of the championship following their loss to St Ciarans in Fuerty. 2 goals in the last five minutes put paid to a brave effort. Thanks to the lads and their trainers Vinnie, Dessie and Bernard for their efforts throughout the year and good luck to those who are graduating upwards to the older ranks.
U 14s’:
The U14s had a comprehensive win over Kilglass in the Garda Cup in the Abbey Park on Thursday last.They will face old rivals Strokestown on this Thursday evening-see fixtures for venue. This team is also awaiting details of a league semi-final appearance with Castlerea.
Best Wishes:
The Club extends its best wishes to Rory O Donoghue and Sinead Regan who are getting married this coming week-end. Rory and the O’Donohoe clann have been one of the backbones of club teams for Best for many years so good luck Rory and Sinead. Best wishes for a speedy recovery are extended to Michael Paul Gilmartin who is receiving treatment for his injury this week.
County Representation:
The Club was well represented on county panels over the past week. Damien Keenehan put in a fine performance on the Roscommon juniors who went down to Cork in the All Ireland Final on Saturday in Portlaoise. Donal Smith and Mark Goldrick were members of the Roscommon team which retained the Fr Manning Cup on Thursday evening last. Donal picked up the ‘Man of the Match’ award. Colin Goldrick at centre field, Luke Brennan at left half and Eoin Lavin at corner forward were key performers with the Roscommon U14 Development Squad which was in action in Mayo at the weekend.The Club is getting a great response to the sale of tickets for the forthcoming draw for All Ireland tickets and other valuable prizes.
Big Week-end Games: Kerry v Meath Senior and Mayo v Down Minors. It was good to see Cork come through last Sunday.

Ladies
The Ladies team lost out to Western Gaels in the Junior A Championship on Wednesday last in the Abbey Park. Despite this loss they have qualified for the County Semi-Finals and their reward will be a chance to reverse last week's result as they will face Western Gaels again on Saturday the 5th September. The U14s game at the weekend, understandably, fell victim to the awful

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Top Corner:
All-Ireland ticket Draw:
Club officers and players are urged to make a special effort to sell the tickets which are currently abroad for All Ireland Football Final tickets and other excellent prizes. If anyone has difficulty in obtaining same you can give me a ring and I’ll put you right. [086 816 33 99]A meeting of all ticket sellers will be held on this Tuesday at 9pm in the Royal Hotel to monitor progress.

U 12s’ Championship Opener:
Boyle' U 12s made a good start to the Championship with a 5.9 to 2. 4 win over Roscommon Gaelsin Boyle on Sunday. They will host Clan na Gael in the next round on Sunday next at 12.30pm.
U 14s’:
The Garda Cup team got a walkover from St Barry’s last week. They will travel to the east of the county again for their next game in this competition when they take on Kilglass Gaels in Kilglass on this Thursday evening.
U 16s:
The Under 16 blitz continues this week in Elphin.This team is also awaiting the fixing of their forthcoming league semi- final .

Fuerty 1.6 Boyle 1.8:
The McGovern Directional Drilling Intermediate team have bowed out of the running for this year’s Intermediate Championship. Having lost to St Barry’s some weeks ago (which was an equal part of the problem), the team was required to beat Fuerty in the subsequent game by a minimum of four points to progress in the championship. What was not so well known was had they won by three points, against Fuerty, it would have meant a play-off, perhaps between the three sides. All that is irrelevant now. Unfortunately they only secured a two point victory in the Abbey Park on Friday evening last. This means that they have to face a daunting relegation battle in which the other teams I believe are; St. Ronan’s, Michael Glavey’s and Eire Og. It was a bad loss not just for the Intermediate team but for the club in the midst of considerable development etc. Good luck to St Barrys and Fuerty in the remaining stages of the competition and thanks to those involved in preparing the Abbey Park for last week’s big game.


Congratulations:
Congratulations are extended to all involved with or connected with the Club who got their Leaving Cert results last week. Best wishes are extended to Enda Smith and Mark Goldrick who are members of the Roscommon U16 team which plays in the Father Manning Cup Final on Wednesday evening.
The All-Ireland 125 GAA Quiz with Jimmy Magee
This summer the GAA Museum in Croke Park, together with Jimmy Magee, are searching for the biggest GAA “BRAINAIC.” A special 125th Anniversary GAA quiz will run over two nights.
It is an individual quiz, people will be seated at tables together on the night but will not be conferring, they will have their individual answer sheets to fill out. It is open to everyone; so more than one person from each county/club can enter.
The Qualifier Night will take place on Friday 28th August. Registration is in the GAA Museum on the Cusack Stand side of Croke Park at 8.30pm. On the night contestants will compete to reach the All-Ireland Quiz Final by answering questions set by quizmaster Jimmy Magee. Finger food and music from Kildare band ‘The Isotobes’ will follow. Bar available.
The Final Night will then take place on Friday 18th September in the GAA Museum, eight finalists will go ‘Head to Head’ until the ultimate GAA Quiz Champion is crowned!
It costs €20 per person to enter which is payable on the night, proceeds will go to GAA designated charity CARI. If the contestants want to bring along spectators to partake in the dancing after the quiz, which is very much welcome, it is €10 per spectator.
• Win All Ireland Quiz Champion Trophy
• Win All-Ireland Final Tickets
• Win dinner and a night’s accommodation in the Croke Park Hotel
• Appear on RTE’s “The Sunday Game.”
Ladies Club;
Boyle ladies will play Western Gaels in the County Junior B Championship on this Wednesday at 7.30pm in the Abbey Park. Maximum support will be appreciated.
U 14s’:
The U14 girls will meet Michael Glaveys in the second round of the Division 2 Championship on Sunday evening next at 7pm. Training for this panel continues every Tuesday and Friday and they have an extensive programme of upcoming games.


2009 Division 2
Under 14 Championship Fixtures


Round 1:Sun 16th August @7pm
Eire Ōg V Kilmore
Roscommon Gaels V Boyle
St Dominics V Western Gaels
Ballinameen V Michael Glaveys
Oran a bye

Round 2:Sun 23rd August @7pm
Oran V Eire Ōg
Kilmore V St Dominics
Michael Glaveys V Boyle
Western Gaels V Ballinameen
Roscommon Gaels a bye

Round 3: Wednesday 26th August @7pm
Roscommon Gaels V Oran
Eire Ōg V St Dominics
Kilmore V Ballinameen
Boyle V Western Gaels
Michael Glaveys a bye

Round 4: Sun 30th August @7pm
St Dominics V Oran
Roscommon Gaels V Michael Glaveys
Ballinameen V Eire Ōg
Boyle V Kilmore
Western Gaels a bye

Round 5: Sunday 6th September @7pm
Michael Glaveys V Oran
Ballinameen V St Dominics
Western Gaels V Roscommon Gaels
Boyle V Eire Ōg
Kilmore a bye


Round 6: Sunday 13th September @7pm
Ballinameen V Oran
Western Gaels V Michael Glaveys
St Dominics V Boyle
Kilmore V Roscommon Gaels
Eire Ōg a bye

Monday, August 10, 2009


9.30 pm mon.

top corner

  • Keenan Cup Tuesday evening at Boyle
  • Note there are tickets going on sale for All-Ireland tickets plus other prizes.
  • The Intermediate game on Friday evening.
Intermediates versus Fuerty Friday Evening in Boyle:
This is the key event of the coming week and perhaps of the summer. Fuerty had a good win over St. Barry’s last week and with Barry’s having beaten Boyle earlier in the championship Boyle have to win this game by a margin of four points – I believe- to remain in the Intermediate Championship and avoid the traumas of another championship relegation play-off. Boyle has the good advantage of home venue on Friday at 7.30. I can’t see a big Fuerty following but they will certainly be buoyed by their win over St. Barry’s so it will be a real test for Boyle who tend to blow hot and cold. Hopefully next Friday it will be blowing hot and that a good number of followers will make the effort to come and support the team in this vital game. It could make a good deal of difference. All Club officials are asked to be present at 6.30 for stewarding duties.
Lotto:
There was no jackpot winner of the most recent Boyle Club Lotto draw which was held in Wynne’s Bar. The following were €20 winners; Matt Smith, Damien Killoran, Hilary Clifford, Gary Wynne, Majella Flynn, John Mullooly Jnr, Niall Gallagher, Orla Vesey, Niamh Mullaney and Stephen Tonra. The house prize was won by Paul Condon. This week's draw will be held in the Royal Hotel on Saturday night with Kathleen Hanmore's team in charge. The jackpot will be €2,000.
U 14s’ Great Effort:
The U14s’ bowed out of the championship on Thursday when they lost to Strokestown in a cracker of a game in Kilmore. The final score was 4. 11 to 2.12. The game turned on a questionable penalty award. The Club extends its best wishes to Strokestown in the upcoming final. The lads will be back in action on Thursday in Tarmonbarry when they will commence their Garda Cup campaign against St Barrys. The U14s' enjoyed a great day out in Croker on August Bank Holiday Monday supporting Roscommon minors. Thanks to Kevin Mullin of Mullin’s Abbeytown Express for their sponsorship of refreshments for the team after last week’s semi-final.
Feelystone Juniors:
The Feelystone junior team had a great win over Western Gaels in the championship on Saturday evening on a scoreline of 2.16 to 3.4. This team has an outstanding game versus Eire Og which may be fixed for this weekend-please see fixtures. The team is certainly benefitting from the organisation and commitment of themselves and their mentors. I have always seen the importance of a good back-up team and certainly all deserve credit and support here.
Common Sense Housekeeping:
All club team managers are asked to ensure that lights and showers are switched off and that dressingrooms are locked after training sessions. Rubbish goes in the rubbish bins recyclables go into the recycle bins and try and empty the bottles please!
All-Ireland Ticket Draw:
The Club is holding a draw for valuable prizes including 2 All Ireland Senior Football Final tickets which will include overnight accommodation in Dublin for two. Other prizes include a weekend break in a Lynch Hotel, 4 green fees in Glasson Golf and Country Club and a dinner voucher.Tickets are available from all Club officers.
Congratulations:
The Club says well done to Gary Wynne and the Roscommon minors on their fantastic, albeit unsuccessful, performance against Kerry and also to the Roscommon juniors, especially Damien Keenehan and panel member Cian Smith on reaching the All-Ireland Junior Final.
Also, a belated congratulations to Eddie and Sharon Conroy who got married recently in Spain. Apologies. I was really just waiting a little to allow Eddie’s tan and the Hawain shirt I saw in a photo on the internet recently, I was waiting for all that to cool down. Eddie was an eager player with Boyle GAA teams down the years but in searching for a picture I have to dig deeper. Bear with me. Also, he was always willing to offer advice to the Gaaah from a Boyle Celtic perspective which has been much appreciated! His blog musings here on realboyle are amusing and collector’s items and his talents also extend to quizzes of which he a member of the local guild. I won’t even mention his dancing skills…. A Renaissance man surely, perhaps it is the influence of a Renaissance teacher! Thanks for the memories Eddie and……… still so young……at heart.

Sympathy:
Sympathy is extended to Ollie Kelly, Ballyleague on the death of his father. Ollie’s brother was killed tragically some time ago.

Ladies Club:
The U14 Girls Championship commences next Sunday August the 16th. The full details of the first game will be given at training. Training continues every Tuesday and Friday and a full attendance required. Boyle's group include; Oran, Kilmore, Western Gaels, Ballinameen, Michael Glavey's, St.Dominic’s, Roscommon Gaels and Eire
Og.

Junior Team:
Boyle Junior Ladies have no game this coming week. Their game v Western Gaels will possibly be played the week commencing August the 16th.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Mislaid:
• Black Cap, Sat. July 25th on the main drag in Boyle town, sentimental and functional plus value, one careless owner.
• A bunch of keys lost by a visitor to Boyle mid July between railway station and Boyle Abbey. (If anyone has any information on above please contact me, T.C., at 086 816 33 99).
Intermediates for O’Rourke Cup in 2010:
Pride of place this week goes to the McGovern Directional Drilling Intermediate team which secured O'Rourke Cup status for next season following their O'Gara Cup semi-final win over St Dominic’s in Kilbride on Sunday. This is just reward for the panel and management for their effort and consistency throughout the campaign and hopefully they can complete the job and win the final and also that they will do well at the higher level next season. They will be in action in the Intermediate Championship very shortly. Best wishes for a speedy recovery from injury are extended to Michael Paul Gilmartin and Darren O'Connor.
U 10s’:
The Under 10s' had an enjoyable morning in Elphin recently when they participated in the Gavin Lee Tournament. Thanks to all involved in this very well organised tournament. This was the last event of the season for the U 1Os.Thanks to all the players, management and players for their efforts in 2009 and hopefully all will be back in action next season.
U 14s’:
The U 14s’ had a hard earned win over Oran on Thursday last. At half time Boyle were in a comfortable lead of Boyle 0.7 Oran 0.1. However, inexplicably, in the first seven minutes or so at the beginning of the second half Oran scored 7 unanswered points to put them in front. Then Colin Goldrick scored a great goal to reassure Boyle. There were a few more twists and turns in the game after that but Boyle finally emerged as winners on the score of Boyle 2.11 Oran 1.11. There are some fine players on this team with Colin Goldrick and Evan McGrath being exceptional with McGrath being under-age again next year. They will meet Strokestown in the County Semi-Final on this Thursday evening-see fixtures for details of this very important game. Boyle were due to play their Garda Cup first round game versus St Barry’s on Thursday but this has been postponed because of the U 14 championship.
Juniors:
The Feelystone Junior team's championship fixture versus Eire Og which was fixed for Saturday last did not take place. Thanks to the players and management who made the trip to Loughglynn and had to return without playing the game. A communications error was responsible for this disappointment. It will be refixed. They will be in action in the Championship this weekend versus Western Gaels in Frenchpark-see fixtures.
Keenan Cup Final:
The Keenan Cup Final between Strokestown and Eire Og will be played in the Abbey Park at 7 pm on Tuesday 11th August.
Eugene McGee Lecture:
The Club was well represented at a very informative and interesting lecture on the first 125 years of the GAA by Eugene McGee which was held in King House on Thursday evening last as part of the Boyle Arts Festival.
Congrats:
Congrats to Gary Wynne and team on the valiant efforts of the Roscommon minor team defeated by Kerry, in extra time, in the quarter finals of the minor championship at Croke Park.
Ladies Club Great Night:
Well done to the Ladies Club on the excellent Queen of the Curlews event on Saturday last. Well done to our own representative Ailbhe Hanmore and congratulations to the winner, Aine O'Connor.