Rockcorry
ROCKCORRY G.A.A.
CLUB NOTES
4th December 2012
Annual General Meeting
This week’s club notes are dominated by the reports from our Annual General Meeting which was successfully held last week in the clubrooms. There was a great turnout of members and I would like to thank all who braved the elements and attended the meeting.
Secretary’s Report
Club secretary, Martina McKeown, presented her annual report which was divided into the following sections senior team, reserve team and minor team achievements, county minors, underage structures, details of our ASAP policy, financial affairs, administration, club membership, Scor competitions, referees, bereavements and looking to the future. She highlighted “WE DID IT, IN STYLE” referring to the historic victory of our senior team who secured promotion to senior ranks of Monaghan GAA next year and she also referred to the other two great wins involving the under 12 and 14 footballers. She pointed out that the reserve team “fell on its face” due to our inability to field teams and stressed the need to get everybody who can play reserve football to tog out because they are the “back-up to the senior team”. Regarding the administration affairs and club meetings she made reference that attendance for the first half of the year was very good but sadly this dwindled towards the end of the year and felt this needed to be improved.
Youth Officer Report
With regards to our juvenile teams Pascal Smyth gave a detailed account of all the events and achievements of our underage teams during 2012 and presented his report under the following headings Go Games, (under 8’s and under 10’s) under 12 team, under 14 team, under 16 team, under 18 team, juvenile coaching & adult success, code of best practice & volunteerism. He paid tribute to all the underage coaches for their efforts in coaching and looking after our young players over the course of a fun-filled year of activities and he also thanked referees who officiated at blitz sessions. He stressed the importance of building up a strong coaching culture in the club and urged more club members, including parents, current players, retired players to show a willingness to gain coaching qualifications in order to sustain a vibrant youth section and ensure the long-term viability of the club into the future. He thanked all parents who continue to support the club in the provision of a programme of coaching and games and looked forward to working with them again next year.
Treasurer’s Report
Tina Rooney presented her financial report which again was very comprehensive and gave an item by item account of our income and expenditure over the past year. She highlighted the revenue generated from our Top 4 lotto sales last year accounted for 75% of our income with the balance being produced by other fund raising events such as the Rock Country & Irish night, golf classic, table quiz, membership etc. Regarding our expenditure it was very evident from the spread-sheets that insurance & affiliation’s along with injuries and physiotherapy treatment costs remains a significant constraint on the club and she emphasized the importance of administering the financial affairs and having proper financial procedures in place.
Chairman’s Address
The chairman, Jimmy McGeough, commenced his address by stating that 2012 was an historic year for the club winning our first ever intermediate trophy and now a “senior club”. He made reference that we had 6 or 7 under 21 players that participated in the final and this certainly augers well for the future. He said the club owed a huge debt of gratitude to the senior team management of Jim Clifford & Cormac McFadden and the panel of players for bringing us this success and congratulated four players in particular Mark Daly, Keith Daly, Damien Matthews and Garry Calvert for winning their first ever medal (at any grade) with the club and imagined it was a very, very sweet one! He thanked the management and staff of the Maple Bar for offering and sponsoring the meal after the league final and stated that it was great to come back to the village and celebrate with Rock people. He said 2013 will be a challenging year and a lot of difficulties lie ahead BUT he believed that the team will be stronger next year with the young players gaining in confidence and maturity and our ‘experience’ players will be reinvigorated and fighting fit ready to take on the senior challenge. On the reserve team he pointed out that we have a small panel of players to select from and urged all players to make themselves available because next year YOU will be needed. He highlighted the problem of grading 13 players and stressed it was not possible for the club to grade that amount and still play reserve football. He then moved on to the juvenile section of the club and expressed that this was a very important part of the club. He said he was absolutely delighted that good coaching structures have been put in place and thanked the work of the youth officer Pascal Smyth and his sub-committee for administering the juvenile affairs of the club. Many people give endlessly of their time to instil the basic skills of the game. He thanked all the underage mentors in recognition of the immense voluntary commitment of time and effort they devote to promote and nurture our games at the grass root level and keep up the good work. Regarding the financial affairs he thanked the members who sell the Top 4 lotto envelopes and appealed to club members for a greater need to participant and help out with the raising funds. He thanked Bridie & Aidan Sheridan, Noreen Calvert and Mickey Friary who continue to make an invaluable contribution towards the club with their efforts. He thanked the local community and beyond for supporting the lotto and stated it was very much appreciated during these difficult and challenging times. He made reference to a very successful golf classic that took place during the year and the hard work of the sub-committee which was chaired by Ollie McQuillan. He thanked the committee members who helped out with what was a new departure for the club and also thanked John Quinn, Eugene Cleary, Paddy McKeown and Donal Guckian for all their efforts in ensuring the success of this fundraiser. He also thanked all sponsors big and small for their generous support. He paid tribute to all the singers who contributed to the making of the Rock Country & Irish CD and a special word of thanks to Robert Brown for his invaluable input. He thanked club secretary Martina McKeown for her work and assistance during the year and he also thanked Tina ‘multi-tasker’ Rooney in her many roles as club treasurer, team physio and club cook. He thanked Ann Carroll for taking care of the jerseys and he knows the lads appreciate putting on spanking clean and fresh jerseys. He acknowledged the great work of Hughie Carroll, Anthony Clerkin and Seamus Tate for looking after the pitch and lining out the field before matches and he thanked our gate man Mickey Friary for his unselfish work in carrying out a demanding job. He thanked Anthony Tate for continuing to represent the club at refereeing. He concluded by stating that it was a fabulous year for the club and gaining promotion to senior football was a wonderful lift to everyone within the community and will be a year to look back on with pride. He stressed that he was looking forward to next year with great interest and anticipation and urged everyone, including committee members, team management, all players and club members to put their shoulder to the wheel to make sure we preform creditable in senior ranks.
Election of Officers
The election of officers was as follows; President Canon G. Ferguson, Chairman Jimmy McGeough, Vice Chairman Ollie McQuillan Secretary Martina McKeown, Assistant Secretary Siobhan McQuillan, Treasurer Tina Rooney, Assistant Treasurer Ann Carroll, PRO Michael Carroll, Players Representative Mark Daly, Youth Officer Pascal Smyth, Registrar Pat Brannigan, Committee Members Tom Daly, Anthony Clerkin. The Irish & Cultural Officer and the ASAP Officer positions were not filled and will be appointed in due course.
“A Year to Remember”
This year’s annual yearbook entitled “A Year to Remember” was officially launched at our annual general meeting and is now on sale. I have always maintained that a picture is worth a thousand words and in my mind it’s easier to recall the enjoyment and excitement with images and this year’s book is just that. It is a pictorial record of some magical moments that occurred during 2012 and is truly a collector’s item. It is loaded, packed and jammed with information and features over 300 pages, full colour, including action shots, team photographs of our underage teams right up to senior level, match reports and other interesting articles on various events that the club held during a special year. I hope the images that I have captured will leave a lasting impression on you and is something you will treasure for many years to come. If you are interested in buying a copy of the yearbook they are on sale in Coyle’s Service Station or alternatively you can send me a text message to 086-1041165 or an email to rockcorrygaa@live.ie confirming your name and details. Books cost a reasonable €20 each. Thank you for your support.
Monaghan GAA Writing Project 2012
As part of the Monaghan GAA Yearbook children from around the county were invited to submit writing projects about their own experiences within the club. I am delighted to announce that submissions from Emma McKeown, Kyle Brannigan and Ryan Lynch from Scoil Mhuire have been chosen and as a result will be featured in this year’s Monaghan GAA Yearbook. The children and two guests each are invited to the launch of the Monaghan GAA Yearbook in the Hillgrove Hotel on Sunday 9th December at 10.30am. The children will be presented with a specially designed T-shirt. Well done boys and girls and look like we have some up and coming PRO’s for the future!
Top 4 Jackpot Won
Congratulations to Kieran Fitzpatrick, Rockcorry who won our €2,500.00 jackpot at last Monday nights draw. The lucky numbers were 9,11,18 and 19. The following people also won €15 each. Paul Sherry, Ballinode, Aaron Clerkin, Rockcorry, Mae, Brandon & Brogan McDermott, Rockcorry, John Bradford, Rockcorry, Karen & Sinead, Rockcorry, Alex O’Brien, Latton, Bernie & Paddy Gaffney, Rockcorry, Margaret Reilly, Dartrey. Next week our jackpot will be €1,000.00 and the draw will take place in the Maple Bar. Thank you for supporting our Top 4 Draw.
Good Luck
Last week the county minor team management was rectified and on behalf of the club I would to extend our best wishes to Frank Brady, Mick O’Dowd, Noel Marron and Ross Corbert in their endeavors to bring silverware to the county. Also best of luck to the under 21 team management of Finbar Fitzpatrick and his team selectors of Donal McAdam and Eddie Kelly in their attempts to bring home silverware in 2013.
Christmas Tree Table Quiz
We all like to see the village looking Christmassy over the festive season and there’s nothing nicer than seeing a well-lit Christmas tree on the village green. The Christmas tree committee is holding a table quiz tomorrow evening, Friday 7th December, in St. Mary’s Hall at 8pm and I would appeal to everyone in the village to support this as generously as they can. Table of 4 costs €20 and refreshments will be served.
Christmas Raffle
Please note we have rescheduled the date due to unfortunate circumstances and the draw will now take place on Saturday 29th December. You could be the lucky winner of a fabulous suite of bedroom furniture for just €5. That’s right, for only €5 you can enter our Raffle and win any of the following prizes. 1st prize is a suite of bedroom furniture, kindly donated by the Maple Bar, Rockcorry (bed, 2 x lockers & 5 drawer chest) 2nd prize €200, 3rd prize is a meal for two at the Errigal Country House Hotel in Cootehill, 4th prize €50, 5th prize €20. All committee members and players have raffle sheets and I would urge them to put in the effort over the next couple of weeks to fill their sheets.
