Quiz:
The Fun quiz will take place from 9.30 on this Wednesday, with all wrapped up by 12, in the Moving Stairs.
Club Presentation Night
The Minor club will hold its presentation evening for all underage teams on Friday January the 8th in St. Joseph's Hall.
Senior AGM:
The Senior Club AGM will be held in the Royal Hotel on Sunday, January 10th at 6pm.

Mon. 11 am:

ntdwga: A lovely Pomeranian dog missing, presumed stolen, from the Greatmeadow area. Apparently it is not the first one.

Got a curious text yesterday to phone back a no., which had no I.D. etc. which I deleted. Someone said if I phoned it back the possibility existed that my credit I.D. etc would be taken as well as whatever credit I had. Anyone know anything of this scam or am I just paranoid?

Lotto:

There was no winner in the Lotto at the Hideaway on Satuday last. The numbers drawn were: 4/5/9/10. The €20 winners were; Bernard Sahnnon, Anne Conboy, Finbar Feely, Deirdre Purcell, Deirdre O'Connor, Avril Egan, Patricia McDonagh, Ml. Smith Jnr., Noel Conroy ( a-ha-ha), Chris O'Sullivan. The House Prize was won by by Paddy McLoughlin. The next draw takes place on January the 2nd in Clarkes's with Team 'C' and the Jackpot at €3000.

St. Stephen's Day Match:

There will be a game between Boyle 'A' and Boyle'B' on St. Stephen's DAy at 12 0'clock in the College Field.

The year starts there! I wish the management well and wish Pat and Noel, who were there the last two years the very best. Perhaps, on an occasion or two, my frustration with the performance of the team flowed over in this blog. While I don't like to indulge in excuses, my comments were meant to be meaningful. I'm sorry if they were ott and caused umbrage. We all make mistakes. Must do better. We are all in it for the good of Boyle GAA Club and should strive to go forward as a collective group of friends. We may disagree from time to time about football and I think we are entitled to that. We are all, to use a popular word of the moment 'stakeholders', team, management, officers, and supporters. It was nice to hear John Healy refer to that group-supporters- a couple of times after wins recently.

Our interest in Boyle GAA should not be a reason for straining friendships.

We've seen great examples of Boyle GAA Meithals this year on La na gClub and in the hall for the dinner dance and for the Convention.

The hope is that we might one day compete well at senior level. Can we 'dream the dream' of winning a Senior title? That would be something. I think that there is a wealth of material coming through the under-age teams now and in say a few years time we should be really strong.

So, a Happy Christmas to all and here's to 2010.

Convention Thanks:

The Club wishes to thank all who helped to make the hosting of the County Convention, which was held in St Joseph's Hall recently, such a success. Gratitude is extended to those who assembled and dissassembled the hall for the occasion, especially Michael Furey for providing the transport for haulage of furniture. We thank especially the two young members Brian Furey and Mark Goldrick who efficiently operated the roving mikes on the night. Thanks also to Tony for his efforts on 'the picture'. Indeed the Officers of the County Board and delegates were loud in their praise of the arrangement. Willie Hegarty had a complimentary paragraph in his column of the R.H. this week about same.

Quiz:

The Club will hold a monster quiz in the Moving Stairs on Wednesdaythe 30th at 9.30 ish, as part of it Clubroom construction fundraising campaign.

Minor Club Presentation Night Jan. 8th:

The Minor Board will hold its presentation night on Friday, January the 8th, in St Joseph's Hall.

Senior AGM:

The senior Club AGM will be held in the Royal Hotel on Sunday January the 10th.

Pitch:

The main pitch will remain closed to all activity until further notice to allow recent work on the goalmouth areas to mature.

Sportswear Offers:

Aidan Ray Menswear have entered into an agreement with the Club to provide discounts to Club members.

Seasons Greetings:

The Club extends the season's greetings to all members, supporters and sponsors for their continued support during the past year. We also thank the local media for their excellent coverage of our activities throughout the year.( M.D.)
I hope to add a few pics here and initiate the caption competition over the Christmas, so tune in again at your leisure but don't spill any mulled wine into the works.

Greetings especially to Pat Conlon who is getting married in in Wolkingham in Berkshire. It will be a white wedding obviously. Greetings too to Austin Beisty, Frankie Flaherty, Pat Lavin & Co. and the Beirne brothers in N.Y., Arnold Gaffney in Boston, Miss Mulvilhill in California and we used to have a reader in Chicago but she is gone off the monitor. Also there is the English diasporia Paraic O'Connor and the Young boys Liam and Sean and in the Antipodes, Damien Keenehan, Cillian Conboy, Donal Young, Alan Monson in N.Z.; Mark O'Donohoe, Cillian Egan, Roch Hanmore, John Harrington, Ciaran Keenehan, Ciaran Conlon, Seamie Gallagher, Com Brennan in Oz and Alan Emmett in Canada and those who have slipped me memory on this cold snowy morning here in Boyle. Oh to be young and fearless.

Slan and keep well.

Sun. 10 pm.
Boyle Ladies held their AGM last Sunday, the following officers were elected
Chairman John Cummins, Secretary Chris Lowe, Treasurer Sharon Conry, PRO
Mary Flynn, Children's Officer Caroline Carty, Registrar Sinead Cummins and
Development Officer Eimear Killilea.

A Club Presentation night is being held next Sunday 27 December in Boyle
Golf Club for all members. The underage presentation is from 7.00 to 9.00pm
and the Junior Ladies presentation will be at 9.30pm, there will be
refreshments and music. All non member welcome.

Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas from Boyle Ladies Club.

Fiona

Tuesday 3 ish:

Nil to do with GAA (ntdwga) but….. Paudie O’Sullivan reminded me to mention Pat Lyons’s Roscommon Barperson of the Year vote in the Roscommon Herald. Closing date for votes is next Friday Dec.18th.

Club Star of the week-end: Ml. Furey.

County Board Convention:
The County Board Convention was held in St Joseph's Hall on Monday night. A great effort was put in by many club members in the preparation of the venue. It was commended by all visitors in that respect. (To see an account of ‘the picture’ project see the Roscommon People from Thursday evening if my account is used)
Scor:
Karen Carty gave a beautiful rendition of "Raglan Road" in the Scór na nOg County Final in Athlone on Sunday and she was unlucky not to have taken the county title. Thoughts will now turn to Senior Scór and it is intended to recruit participants over the next month or so.
Aidan Ray’s Offers:
The Club is pleased to announce that Aidan Ray Menswear, Patrick Street, Boyle whereby there will be a 5% discount available to Boyle GAA Club members on purchases of €100 in their premises. The Club wishes to thank them for this generous offer.
Abbey Park Re-instatement:
Abbey Park playing pitch will remain closed for repairs until further notice.

Sympathy:

The Club expresses its sympathy with the McKenna family, Maple Drive and Elphin Street on the death of John Joe.
The Christmas Quiz:
This will take place in the Moving Stairs on Wednesday the 30th. While a number of people have contacted me trying to enter early, entries will be taken on the night…..terms and conditions apply ….regulatory authority…..and you know the scope that gives!
Junior’s Bar:
As many people will know Junior has returned as proprietor of his bar in St. Patrick’s St. So we wish him and his family well with the business and I imagine a few teams will be selected and de-selected sorta there in the coming seasons! I look forward to a few discussions with ‘experts’ on setting the country, and all things askew, to rights sorta, especially in the next two weeks or so. And I had nearly given up altogether sorta and along comes another excuse for…..as a friend J.K. used to say ‘a silk thread would bring our ….’
Caption Competition:
Cian Beirne has sent me a number of good GAA pictures, a selection of which I hope to ‘put up’ here, say from early next week and try a Christmas Caption competition…….could do with a sponsor! Look out for that. Continually broadening our services!
Lotto:
The following were the €20 winners at the most recent Club Lotto draw which was held in An Craoibhín;- Deirdre Purcell, Joseph O'Dowd, Vincent Grehan, Denis Dodd, Donal Kelly, Colin Beirne, Cian Smith, Dan Kennedy, John and Jean Mcpherson and Sean Connaughton. The house prize was won by Teresa McQuaid. The jackpot was not won and it will stand at €2,900 for this Saturday night's draw which will be held in the Hideaway, with Michael Gilmartin's team in charge.
Oz / N.Z and the other Colonies:
Seasons greetings.You are in our heads (thoughts). Take care.

Sin a bfuil anois de cursai sport agus rudai eigin eile freisin!

Antoin O Conbui agus Mairtin O Dolain (insert fadas as appropriate).

Mickey Harte in Carrick-on-Shannon:
I just got this note, obviously from Mulvey's Ck.-on-Sh. Perhaps it is of interest to some one out there. I actually had his first biography but I 'loaned it and .....
"The Legendary All-Ireland winning manager Mickey Harte is coming to Mulvey’s House of Gifts Carrick on Shannon on this Saturday the 12th of December from 3pm. He will be signing his acclaimed “ Autobiography”, all welcome".
Acclaimed is a bit strong is it not?

The Minor Committee and some spin doctors (after last week's AGM): Back row: Paul Beirne, Ass. Sec.; Pat Goldrick, outgoing Chair.; Jan Flanagan, outgoing Sec.; Olive Filan, Ass. Tr., Aidan Lavin, Senior Ch.; Bernie Shannon and Sean Young.
Front: Mary Clifford, Registrar; Charlie Candon, Secretary; Gerry Cregg, Chairman; Karl Keenan, Vice-Ch.; Mary Halligan, Treasurer.

Above the Boyle team which won the Div. 4 League Final (Boyle 2.6 Kilbride 2.4) at Boyle on Sat. December the 5th.

Back row: Dessie, Richie Walshe, Ciaran Cox, Kyle McLoughlin, Ml. O'Donnell, Karl Keenan, Cian Smith, Noel McKenna, J.S. Lyons, Ciaran Beirne, John Healy, Capt., David O'Connor, Manager.

Front: Bernie Shannon, Mark O'Connor, Cathal Horan, Cillian Cox, Peter Lavin, Darren O'Connor, Aaron Finn, donal Kelly, Paul Beirne.
Joh Healy (Capt.) receives the cup from Seamus Sweeney.

Roch Hanmore, Sydney, Australia, told me about this pic. of Rossies supporter Willie Tiernan (on the Hogan Stand site) in full flight at Ros. v Mayo last year...at least before the game began! Sean McLoughlin is the more undestated genleman under Willie's left arm!

Monday 7.45.
It has been a busy week though this is the off season!
Not a GAA Thing But (nagtb); consider Pat Lyons for Roscommon Barperson of the Year says his campaign manager Paudie O’Sullivan. Voting slips in The Roscommon Herald of Tuesday December the 8th.

Club Minor A.G.M.
On Thursday there was the Minor Club Convention where two outstanding officers stood down i.e. Jan Flanagan as Secretary and Pat Goldrick as Chairman. Pat is contesting the County Minor Board Chairmanship next week. So, good luck to Pat on that. Boyle’s loss will be a gain for the County Board. The new officers certainly have a hard act to follow. Tributes were paid to the outgoing officers and the various teams and team managements who made 2009 a successful year at underage level for the Club. The following officers and management teams were elected:
Chairman, Gerry Cregg with Vice-Chairman, Karl Keenan. Secretary, Charlie Candon with Paul Beirne. Treasurer, Mary Halligan with Olive Filan. Registrar the indomitable Mary Clifford.
There was a very impressive panel of team managers selected as follows (Note- I didn’t get all the names so someone might e mail me and I’ll update):
U 8; C. O’Connor/S. Bohan/ G. Emmett/ A. Brogan/S. Carroll. ……U 10; J. Sweeney/ K.Keenan/…………………..U 12; G.Cregg…….. U 12 (B) Peter McKenzie
U 14; B. Shannon/A. Lavin/P. Beirne/S. Young/P. Goldrick/ ……….U 16; J. Conroy/G. Goldrick/D. Kelly/ M. McGovern/ N. McKenna. U 18; V. Flanagan/T. Kearney/ Jnr. Smith.
That is an impressive line up with a wealth of experience and bodes well for the upcoming year. All teams will be in the ‘A’ Division, initially at least.
The code of discipline was presented and hopefully it will be adhered to and act as a basis of appropriate conduct by players, parents and management so that we can achieve a harmonious, fair and friendly environment for all.
One of the first initiatives of the new Secretary is the booking of Tyrone star Ryan MacMenamin for the Minor Presentation night on Friday January the 8th. Ryan will also be giving a coaching session on the following Saturday.

Division 4 League Victory:
Boyle 2.6 Kilbride 2.4
The playing season ended on a successful note on Saturday at Abbey Park when Boyle Feelystone team won the Division 4 Junior League title by virtue of a 2 point win over a spirited Kilbride outfit. This was a brave performance, having gone in at the interval three points in arrears and playing against the wind in the second half they fought their way back with well taken points and an excellent Kyle McLoughlin goal to take the title. This victory will see them playing Tansey Cup football next year which will be very helpful. Thanks are extended to the entire panel and the management of David O’Connor, Dessie, Paul Beirne, and Bernard Shannon, for their commitment throughout a long season. Thanks also to Finbar Feely and Feelystone for their continuing sponsorship.
The game was one of swaying fortunes and at times it looked as if Kilbride were the stronger outfit but then things changed and so on. Kilbride’s two goals, the first latching on to a mistake and the second a good punched effort, on 22 minutes left the score then at Kilbride 2.2 Boyle 0.2. However after a good Boyle move involving Darren O’Connor and Cillian Cox, Ciaran Cox finished to the net. Half time Kilbride 2.2 Boyle 1.3. Kilbride had a large number of wides in the second half and failed to score for 17 minutes. A quick Cain Smith free was transferred to Kyle McLoughlin who scored a fine goal on 20 minutes. Boyle held out in a somewhat nervy finish. If Boyle have been on the wrong side of unlucky results, this wasn’t one of them. I do not know the number of games this team has had this year but they seem to have been very active which is great. Best for Boyle; Ciaran Beirne in goals, the Cox brothers, Noel McKenna, Cathal Horan, Cian Smith and Donal Kelly chipped in again with an important score. The team; C. Beirne, C. Horan, J. Lyons, J. Healy (Capt.), A. Finn, C. Cox, Ml. O’ Donnell, N. McKenna, C. Cox (1.0), P.Lavin, D. O’Connor (0.1), K. McLoughlin (1.0), D. Kelly (0.3), D. Callaghan, C. Smith (0.2) with Mark O’Connor, R. Walshe, Karl Kelly and Karl Keenan.

County Convention in St. Joseph’s Hall;
Monday night next will be an historic occasion for the Club when it will host the County Convention in St Joseph's Hall, commencing at 7.15pm. Arrangements were put in place at a Club meeting last week and all Club members are asked to be available to provide assistance before, during and after the Convention. The previous Conventions were in 1889, 1984, 1989 and this year.

Fund Raising and Dressing Room Status:
A reasonably well attended Club (regrettably I wasn’t there) meeting last week made arrangements for the commencement of an intensive fundraising campaign for the dressing room construction project which is well advanced in Abbey Park. The first such event will be a monster table Christmas Quiz in The Moving Stairs on Wednesday 30th December. So, keep your diary free for that and of course spread the word. It is not a GAA quiz in the sense that there are a lot of GAA questions. It is a GAA fund-raiser.

New Rules:
The GAA has endorsed a number of new rules which seem pretty interesting particularly the mark for the high catch.

Scor:
Best wishes are extended to Karen Carty who will represent the Club in the solo singing event on the Scor na nOg County Finals which will be held in Dean Crowe Hall, Athlone on Sunday next.

Pitch Closure for Remedial Work:
The Club wishes to point out that the main pitch is closed for goalmouth and surface repair and will remain closed until further notice.

Sympathy of the Club:
Sympathy is extended to the O'Dowd, Cunningham and Casey families on recent bereavements. The O’Dowd family members Gerry and John were club stalwarts down the years.

Boyle Ladies Club;
The Ladies Club AGM will be held on Sunday the 13th at 4pm in the Moving Stairs. All officials, players and all others who are interested or wish to be involved in the continued development of ladies football in Boyle are asked to attend.
U16 girls' training continues every Wednesday and Friday between 6.30pm and 7.30pm in the Abbey Park training pitch. New players are also encouraged as the competitions will commence early in the New Year.
Sin e.
T.C./M.D.