Clontibret Camogie News.

Yes it’s true, Lazarus has indeed returned – though I wouldn’t exactly go so far as to say from the dead!!!

Indeed at the rate our club members are excelling themselves in so many spheres it’s a book I will have to write instead of ‘Club Notes’.

Pride of place this week must go to Eleanor!! What a girl!! Going to be representing Monaghan at the Rose of Tralee festival in August!!! Such excitement her involvement with the competition has generated locally and much further afield, particularly following her tremendous performance over a gruelling weekend of activities last weekend in Portlaoise. But the ol’ camogie training stood to her and she showed true form leaving many contestants trailing in her wake! Already a Camogie Club House has been booked for a full week, in Tralee, and negotiations are underway with local hostelries and food producers to ensure plentiful supplies of whatever is needed to maintain high energy levels!! Apparently the ladies concerned are taking the hurls and organising training sessions on the beaches!! I imagine that should prove popular with the local lads!

But of course Sinéad Mohan has already gone one step further and secured a national title in Youth Boxing (Ladies), in the O2 Arena some weeks ago, so perhaps Eleanor could do worse than have a chat with Sinead to find out what it takes to pack in a winning performance at the highest level. Well done Sinéad!

Of course for the next few weeks we will be seeing less of Sinéad and Shauna (McKeever) as they do their Junior Certificates examination.  Every good wish girls!

And of course we came within a point of having a provincial camogie medal holder in our midst following Marie’s selection for the Ulster team a fortnight ago. Ulster defeated Connacht and met a strong Munster side in the final, only to lose out by the narrowest of margins.  However Marie thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the training in Cookstown in the lead up to the weekend. A well-deserved accolade for a very committed worker and player!

But we have an Ulster football medal holder among our ranks as Muireann is part of the successful Monaghan Minor team that defeated Armagh recently. Well done Muireann and you are wished every success as your team continues its campaign at national level.

Many of our second level students have come to prominence over the past few weeks achieving in sporting and academic areas with their various schools. But what of our rising U-14 star, Emily Madden, who recently participated in the Cootehill Triathlon and completed a river swim of 750m in 13 minutes!!! Think about that folks!  Roughly, 30 lengths of a full-sized pool. Breathtaking!

On a sad note we said goodbye to Nathalie who had become an integral part of the club over the past 9 months. Nathalie, an exchange student from Switzerland staying locally, came to the pitch on a wet, mucky evening last October as our seniors prepared for the league final. Time was not on our side – or hers – to learn the basic skills of the game. But she proved to be a tenacious young girl, really taking to the game like a duck to water, and rarely missing a training session. This year she earned herself a place on the senior team on several occasions. However her placement has concluded and she returned to Switzerland on Monday to commence her carpentry apprenticeship. We are genuinely sad to see her go and hope that she continues to play the game in the future.

And yes, believe it or not, despite all of the above we are still playing camogie!!

Commiserations to 11 of our senior team who formed part of the County team that lost out by one point to Armagh in the Ulster Junior championship on Monday evening last. Our seniors have had a challenging run this past few weeks exiting the Monaghan league and succumbing to Cullyhanna and Derrynoose in the Armagh League. At U-16 level the frustration of matches being cancelled in Louth rumbles on but the girls defeated Castleblayney then lost out narrowly to Derrynoose. On Tues June 11^th they play Camlough in an away game. At U-16 county level a good cohort of our club players train under the expert eye of Paul Monahan and we would encourage as many as possible to attend these sessions held every Saturday morning at 11. Our U-14 team defeated Cooley but had their match against St Annes postponed. In Armagh they were defeated by Ballymacnab on Tuesday but put in an excellent performance. Their next match is this Thursday June 6^th when we host Inniskeen. Our U-12s were scheduled to play St Brides but this did not take place and neither did their match against Mattock Rangers. However they defeated Inniskeen 2 weeks ago.

Parents will continue to be contacted regarding all forthcoming matches and could I urge parents to kindly let management know if your daughter is not available to attend a match or training session. Many thanks to all those who have provided transport to the underage matches and, as always, we welcome offers from those who may not have provided lifts so far. A case of everyone pulling their weight for the sake of the children – particularly when we have so many teams playing at the moment.