ROCKCORRY G.A.A.

CLUB NOTES

26^th July 2011

The Late Joe Patterson

It is with sincere feelings of sadness and regret that I mark the recent passing of Joe Patterson who died recently after a long brave battle against illness. It is always a sad occasion when a legend of the club passes on for Joe was a true gentleman in every sense of the word whose honesty, decency and good humour touched all who came in contact with him. He was a great character and one of the best known personalities in the village and he had a deep and passionate interest of the GAA and if you ever had the opportunity to meet Joe on the roads one thing was sure the latest match was always talked about and debated thoroughly. For Joe was as straight as they come and had firm views and if he had something to say to you, he just said it. It was these occasions where his passion and motivation were uppermost and these attributes often gave rise to, let’s say differences of opinion with those with whom he came in contact with but it was always enjoyable discussing football games with him. He helped the club in a variety of roles including the administrative side where he served on the executive committee and held the position of club secretary during the early seventies. As a player, Joe graced the field wearing the green and white with pride for many years and gave many an outstanding display and was a member of the Rockcorry team that competed for the Dr. Ward Cup final in 1969 but, unfortunately, on that occasion losing out to Sean McDermott’s. When his playing days came to an end he moved onto team management and with Joe there were no half measures in life as his enthusiasm and passion for whatever he involved himself in was at all times infectious and became instantly recognizable that it was ‘his way or no way’. It was this passion and power that drove him to cover literally every blade of grass along the side-lines and his outstanding knowledge of the game yielded him success in 1982 when he managed the team to capture the elusive “Junior Double” winning the Dr. Ward Cup and the McCaldin Shield for the first time in the club’s history. It is a fitting tribute to his memory that his name will always be synonymous with those wonderful achievements and as long as the club’s existence the revered name of Joe Patterson will always be a part of it. For the next decade he took a break from team management but always retained a keen interest in the fortunes of the local club and was a regular attender at matches and during the development of Pairc Naomh Mhuire he also gave freely of his time and energy in helping the club put in place many of the facilities that we now enjoy today. In 1993 he could not resist the temptation to return and he was back in action to manage both our senior and reserve teams and led the senior team to a Dr. Ward Cup final but unluckily they lost out against Corduff but the reserve team achieved success when they won the Jack Crawley Cup, beating Killeevan in the final. A modest and unassuming man his passing will be sorely felt by all who had the pleasure of knowing him and he is now enjoying the fruits of his exemplary life, in the company too no doubt of many more of his fellow clubmen who graced the playing fields, and one thing is certain the Rockcorry team in heaven will be further strengthened by his arrival. The great respect and esteem in which Joe was held in the community and by the club was best demonstrated by the large numbers of people that attended his removal from his home to St. Mary’s, Chapel where members of the 1982 team honoured Joe by accompanying him to the chapel, while past and present club members formed a guard of honour at the chapel, surely a fitting tribute for all the treasured moments and memories he had given to the club during his life time. To his wife Mary, his daughters Sharon, Paula and Mary Joe, his sons Emyln and Barry his brothers and sisters his grandchildren, sons-in-laws, daughter-in-laws, nephew and nieces, neighbours and many friends we extend our deepest sympathy and may the green sod rest gently on him for he gave the club tremendous services in his lifetime. Go ndeana Dia trocaire ar a anam dilis

Sun Glorious Fun

Summer well and truly arrived last Sunday when we held our vintage hay festival for we had a scorching hot day plus some of the best traditional hay making machinery, vintage cars, tractors accompanied with loads of other side shows and not to sound over enthusiastic in my praise for our latest family day out but it was quite simply an abby-dabby-doooooooooooooooo GREAT day out. That is exactly what took place as there was overwhelming support from the community as huge crowds of locals and people from surrounding areas turned out to support the day which featured a number of fun events throughout the course of the day. The food and cake stand went down a treat and many thanks to all the ladies for making sandwiches and other treats available and making sure the energy levels stayed high. Many thanks to Cathal Fury for offering his field for carparking facilities which was very much appreciated by the club. It is unfair to single out any one person when so many people put in tremendous amount of work to make the weekend a huge success so on behalf of the club I would really like to say thank you to everyone who made a contribution and for helping out on the day. Well done everybody.

Bosco Carroll Memorial Cup

As part of our vintage festival held last Sunday an under 10 football competition took place in memory of my late father Bosco Carroll. Four clubs, Rockcorry, Latton, Aghabog and Killeevan, battled it out to become the inaugural winners of this trophy and after two electrifying games of football (Latton v Killeevan and Rockcorry v Aghabog) the Latton and Rockcorry teams progressed to the final. The final was truly a titanic battle and was undoubtedly the game of the tournament as both teams were evenly matched and all players treated the massive crowd to a great game of football but in the end the Latton team just pipped our wee warriors by a couple of points to claim the victory and be first club to win trophy. In a way, it was fitting that the team captain of Latton, Darragh Dempsey, who is a grandson of the late Bosco Carroll, collected the cup from Ann Carroll. On behalf of the club and my family I would like to thank the Latton, Aghabog, Killeevan and our own club for taking part in the competition and for making it such a wonderful and enjoyable occasion. Finally, many thanks to Pascal Smyth for organizing the competition and to Anthony Tate for refereeing the games. Thanks Lads.

Monaghan Electrical Intermediate League

Following our victory over Drumhowan in the McGuigan Builders intermediate championship we travelled to play them again on Wednesday 20^th July this time in the league campaign. During the first half it was Drumhowan who looked the more aggressive and dominated possession as we played second fiddle for long periods yet still managed to go in at the break with 0-4 points apiece. Thankfully, during the second half we were much improved as all players gave a courageous and at times produced an heroic performance which resulted in a sensational win against a very strong-willed Drumhowan side on a final score-line Drumhowan 1-6 to Rockcorry 0-13. Their next outing in the league campaign is on Sunday 7^th August when we travel to play Currin.

McGuigan Builders Intermediate Championship

We have been drawn against Eire Og in the next round of the intermediate championship. The Eire Og club our opening their new playing field on Sunday 14^th August so our encounter will probably be played the following weekend (19^th, 20^th, 21^st August).

Maguire Transport Minor Championship

The minor football championship got underway on Tuesday 19^th July when we traveled to Threemilehouse to play Sean McDermott’s. We opened the scoring on the 1^st minute when Fergal McGeough pointed from play. Sean McDermott’s hit back when they converted a close range free-kick on the 4^th minute. Mark McGuirk got our second score, on the 8^th minute, when he pointed a free-kick following a foul on Lorcan Smyth. Gerard Graham notched over points on the 10^th and 12^th minutes but we were guilty of some poor passing on the 17^th minute and Sean McDermott’s capitalised with a neat point. Over the next four minutes we hit four unanswered points. The first came from the boot of Mark McGuirk when he pointed a free-kick on the 20^th minute. Lorcan Smyth got the second, a minute later, when he glided over a sweat point and when Keelan Clerkin broke down a Sean McDermott’s attack it instigated a lovely move down the field which was finished in style by Mark McGuirk. Mark McGuirk completed our mini purple patch when he notched over another point on the 24^th minute to open up a 0-2 to 0-8 advantage. The game was temporarily stopped to allow treatment for a Sean McDermott’s player and sadly he had to be stretchered off with a suspected knee injury and we wish him a speedy recovery. When the game resumed Sean McDermott’s responded with a point on the 36^th minute to leave the half time score Sean McDermott’s 0-3 Rock Sarsfields 0-8. We started the second half the fresher and hungrier team and stretched our lead on the 2^nd minute when Mark McGuirk showed great composure and coolly rifled home a penalty kick. Sean McDermott’s pulled one back when they converted a free-kick on the 4^th minute but at this stage we began to stamp our authority on the game and managed to keep them scoreless for the next twenty minutes. When Adrian Reevy was fouled on the 7^th minute Mark McGuirk duly converted the free-kick and moments later Gerard Graham showed great persistence and determination when he cut along the end line and fisted over the bar for a wonderful score. Eoin McDonald was fouled shortly afterwards and Mark McGuirk had a fairly simply task tapping over a close range free-kick and when Ian McConnon surged forward, on the 18^th minute, he curled over a terrific point to make it 0-4 to 1-12. Mark McGuirk added two more superbly pointed free-kicks on the 19^th and 22^nd minutes before Lorcan Smyth collected a good ball from Gerard Graham and pointed in style. Mark McGuirk followed this up with a well taken point on the 24^th minute after he broke through the Sean McDermott’s defence and sensibly fisted the ball over the bar. With five minutes of ordinary time remaining our dominance of possession was evident but in our eagerness to finish off the opposition our defence was caught out of position and Sean McDermott’s launched a frantic attack and they were rewarded with a goal. However, we had the final say when substitute John McGuirk fired over a fabulous point from a tight angle to leave the final score Sean McDermott’s 1-4 Rock Sarsfields 1-17.

GRM Minor Football League Division 2

Last Tuesday 26^th July the minor team travelled to play Killanny in the GRM minor football league. Please log onto www.rockcorrygaa.ie for all latest fixtures and results.

Under 14 Team

Their next outing is on Saturday 13^th August when they take on Drumhowan at Pairc Naomh Mhuire and the game has a throw-in time of 12.00 noon.

Under 12 Team

The next outing for our under 12 team is on Thursday 11^th August when they travel to play Emyvale and the game has a throw-in time of 6.45pm.

Under 8 Coaching

Under 8’s football training continues on Saturday mornings from 10.00am – 11.15am. All five, six, seven and eight year olds are welcome to attend.

Top 4 Lotto Results

The numbers drawn last Monday night were 1, 6, 17 and 18. There was no jackpot winner of €8,200.00. The following won €15 each :- Annie Cusack Aghabog, Margaret Fox Rockcorry, Nicky Calvert Rockcorry, Seamus McGuirk Rockcorry, Rose Greenan Swans Cross, Owen Connell Monaghan, Sean Greenan Rockcorry, Colin & Selina Dartrey. Next week our jackpot will be €8,300.00 and the draw will take place in Aghabog GAA Complex. Thank you for supporting our Top 4 lotto draw.