Monaghan Harps Lotto: Numbers 6, 7, 15 and 28. Jackpot of €2,500 not won. Residual prizes: €100 Eva Mullen c/o Mick Farrell; €40 Séamus Treanor c/o Paddy Donnelly; €40 Gretta and Rachel Rice c/o Paddy Donnelly; €40 Séamus McCabe c/o Hurling Club. Jackpot for Sunday, February 27 is €2,650. Lotto draw takes place in the clubhouse every Sunday night. All welcome.

Upcoming fixtures: Our first Senior Football League game of the season is at home to Clontibret on Sunday, March 6 at 2.30pm.The Crawley Cup team begin their Reserve Football League Division Four campaign at home to Currin on Saturday, March 12 at 4pm, while first up for the O’Duffy Cup team is an away game against Scotstown on Sunday, March 13 at 11.30am.

 

Debate: The Great Monaghan Debate, hosted by Friends of Monaghan Harps, attracted a healthy crowd to the Hillgrove Hotel last Friday night, despite the bad weather. All seven Monaghan Dáil candidates took part in the debate, which was capably chaired by Declan Nelson and Brendan Ó Dufaigh. Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Sinn Féin), Seán Conlan and Heather Humphreys (Fine Gael), John McGuirk and Séamus Treanor (Independents), Darcy Lonergan (Green Party) and Margaret Conlon (Fianna Fáil) all put forward their cases ahead of tomorrow’s general-election vote. Thanks to everyone involved in organising the fundraiser and to everyone who supported the event. Thanks also to Colm and Audri Herron of the Hillgrove Hotel.

Juvenile Presentation: The club juvenile presentation night takes place in the clubhouse on Friday, March 4, when the Under-16 Division One League winners, the Under-12 Division One runners-up and the Under-12 Division Three Shield winners will receive their medals. Members of these teams are asked to keep this date free.

Membership: Membership fees for 2011, which are being maintained at €20, can now be paid to registrar Maurice Galligan c/o Cosy Bar or to Liadhan Treanor in the clubhouse. Please note that all players must be paid-up members of the club. We would like to request that club members pay their fees as early as possible, as members must be registered by March 31 to have voting rights, in accordance with Croke Park guidelines.

 

Defibrillator training: It is hoped to have defibrillator training for club members on Saturday, March 5. Anyone interested can contact club secretary Lorcan McAdam at 087 8505446. Meanwhile, the Monaghan Sports Partnership is hosting sports first-aid courses in the Ballybay GAA Complex on the next two Saturdays (February 19 and 26).

NFL: Good luck to Neil McAdam, Conor Galligan, David Hughes, Shane Smyth, Stephen Driver and the county senior footballers in their NFL game away to Cork on Sunday. Good luck also to the county Under-21s, who play Tyrone in the Shamrock Cup Final in Emyvale tomorrow (Wednesday, February 23) at 7.45pm.

Coaching Courses: There are a number of coaching workshops coming up in Cloghan, run by the Monaghan Coaching Committee. See www.monaghanharps.gaa.ie for dates and more details.

 

Slimming World: Now operating every Tuesday in Gavan Duffy Park at 5.30pm and 7.30pm. Anyone interested should contact Susan at 087 1313631.

 

Farney GAA For All: The Farney GAA for All event takes place in St. Macartan’s College on Saturday, February 26, from 11am to 1pm. The aim is to provide a variety of suitable sports and activities for children/youths *(5-18 years)* with a disability.

 

Aido File: Any outstanding money from the Last-Man-Standing fundraiser should be given to Jack Lee as soon as possible. A decent number of entrants have already been eliminated, showing our sports knowledge is entirely limited to hurling! Conor Duffy and David Lowry finally made their long-awaited returns to the hurling fold last week. When pressed for a quote, Conor Flynn stated he was glad to see the two lads back as he was tired of carrying the Under-14 team!

Handball: There was disappointment for Terry McElvaney in Kingscourt on Saturday when he lost a thrilling Ulster Minor Singles Semi-Final. Tyrone’s Conor McElduff advanced to the final but only after surviving a brave challenge from the Harps player. Terry lost a very close first game 21-19 and halfway through the second it looked all over as his opponent controlled the court and held a comfortable lead. Terry produced a remarkable comeback, though, to win the second game 21-20. Terry led the deciding game 16-9, but disaster struck when he sustained a leg injury which hampered his movement. McElduff seized his opportunity and clawed his way back to win 21-16. There was no luck for Conor McDonnell or Martin McEntee in their Ulster matches. Martin withdrew due to injury and Conor failed to reach his normal standards in losing to an Antrim opponent. Hopefully, our juvenile county players will have some success in Kingscourt on Sunday.

 

Clubhouse: The Monaghan Harps clubhouse at Gavan Duffy Park is an ideal location for functions and parties. To book the clubhouse, contact Liadhan Treanor at 086 7837204.