Monaghan Harps Lotto: Numbers 9, 24, 25 and 27. Jackpot of €2,200 not won. Residual prizes: €100 Rose McAloon c/o Brian O’Sullivan (Hurling Club); €40 Marian O’Brien c/o Ashley White; €40 Liz Brennan c/o herself; €40 Marie Farrell c/o Mick Farrell. Lotto jackpot for this Sunday, December 18 is €2,350. Everyone is very welcome and it would be good to see a decent crowd in the clubhouse for the last Lotto draw of the year. There will be no Lotto draw on the week ending December 25, but it will return on January 2 and tickets for this draw can be left into the clubhouse on the day before 6pm or on December 31 between 3 and 11. Continued thanks go to all involved with the Lotto for their tireless work.

Quiz: Thanks to everyone who helped out at and took part in our table-quiz in the clubhouse last Friday. 24 tables of four players each (some with a little help!) entered and Kathleen Smyth and family edged out Owen Treanor’s team after a tie-break. Thanks to everyone who took part, to the many local businesses that sponsored rounds and donated spot prizes, to quizmaster Séamus Gallagher, to the ladies who corrected the answers and to everyone who made sandwiches for the night. A special well done to John Hahessy and everyone involved in organizing the night.

Lotto AGM: The Lotto-committee Annual General Meeting took place in the clubhouse last Sunday night. Chairperson Maria McKenna welcomed everyone to the meeting, before Secretary Rose Donnelly read out the minutes of last year’s AGM. Maria and Rose thanked all those who sell and buy Lotto tickets, singling out Philomena Hughes for selling at the Saturday-morning training every week. Particular mentions also went to Michael O’Donoghue, Thomas McCabe, Theresa McCaughey and Jacqueline Sheridan for joining the ranks of Lotto sellers this year. The Ladies Club sales were well up this year, while the Hurling Club was also doing well and we have continued to get dates in the Shopping Centre and in Dunne’s to sell tickets. The jackpot had been won four times since the last AGM, up one on the previous year. All who attend the draw every Sunday night were thanked for their support – especially Patsy Kearns for his MC work and everyone who takes part in the Lotto rota – and the committee appealed for more people to attend. Maria asked for the prayers of members for Owenie McCooey in his illness. Club Chairman Dermot Brannigan praised all involved with the Lotto for their hard work, while Owen Connell wished hard-working Lotto seller Paddy Donnelly all the best in his retirement. The Lotto committee was re-elected for 2012: Chairperson Maria McKenna; Vice-Chair Noel Hennessy; Secretary Rose Donnelly; Assistant Secretary Monica Connolly and PRO Colm Shalvey. Thanks to the Lotto committee for providing food and an entertaining raffle on the night, where Barry Sullivan won the prize everyone wanted! The next meeting of the committee is set to take place in late January.

Collection: We have a church-gate collection at all Masses this weekend. Anyone available and willing to help out can contact John Harden at 047 81198. All support appreciated.

Monaghan Harps Christmas Variety Concert: This takes place on St. Stephen’s night, December 26, in the clubhouse from 7-9pm, followed by an open session till late. Light refreshments will be served. Admission is ticket-only, costing just €5 and everyone is welcome! Contact the club’s Cultural Officer Gerard Clerkin at 086 8535992.

Charity match: The club’s annual charity match will take place on the first bank holiday of the new year, Monday, January 2. This is always a great day out over the Christmas season and supports worthy causes. Owen Connell is currently giving out sponsorship forms, so contact him at 086 2453390 or call into the clubhouse if you want to take part.

Congratulations: To the Harps Hurling Club on winning a Youth Achievement Award, to Conor McDonnell on being named Handballer of the Year and to Seán McKenna who was returned as County Secretary at last Thursday night’s convention.

Yearbook: The Official Monaghan GAA Yearbook is now on sale and would make an ideal Christmas present. The publication gives a comprehensive review of all Monaghan GAA activity in 2011, records the fortunes of Monaghan county teams in all codes and recounts the story of the various club championships within the county, as well as featuring articles on each club.

Aido file: For all involved in the hurling club our annual Christmas get-together is on the 28^th of December this year. The plan of attack is to start in Tír na nÓg and see where God takes us after that. Hopefully by the end of it we have someone to take us home! Birthday wishes to former hurler and staunch supporter Noel Hackett who turned the big 30 last week on the 11^th. His rock solid performances in the full-back line have yet to be replaced!

Handball: We had mixed success in the Juvenile County Finals. The results were as follows: Caileán Myles defeated Justas over two games in the Under-12 Final;
Ryan Mooney lost in two close games in the Under-13 Final and Martin Mullen lost to Conor Leonard in the Under-14 Final and Ramunas lost in a tiebreak in the Under-16 Final. How they played: Caileán deserved his victory but Justas showed that determination can go a long way.  Ryan has handball skill in abundance but lacked the fitness required to sustain the effort. Martin had a great first game and his powerful serves caused his opponent difficulty. The biggest disappointment was Ramunas losing the Under-16 final. Let there be no doubt but that Eugene McGeough from Bawn fully deserved his victory and we heartily congratulate him. There will be no excuses from this club. Ramunas won a close first game by 21 to 19.  He lost the second by a big margin and while he led four-nil in the tiebreak he was always second to the ball and Eugene controlled much of the front court and won 11-4.  For Ryan and Ramunas this is the second year in a row to taste defeat in a county final. While the latter will be disappointed at losing in a final he has another chance to redeem himself as he has reached the Under-15 final in the Cavan tournament. He plays Robert Fox from Kells tonight in Kingscourt. The Harps Club would also like to thank Phyllis Moffett, proprietor of Monaghan’s new Fitness Habit Gym for her generous offer of training facilities prior to Ramunas’ trip to America. 

Clubhouse: The Gavan Duffy Park clubhouse, which offers a comfortable lounge and function-room and ample car-parking space, is available to book for parties and functions, by contacting Liadhan Treanor at 086 7837204.