Monaghan Harps Lotto: Numbers 4, 16, 20 and 23. Jackpot of €1,800 not won. Residual prizes: €100 Jimmy McCaughey c/o Barry Sullivan; €40 Emma Hunt c/o Paddy Donnelly; €40 Liz Brennan c/o herself; €40 Deborah Lawlor c/o Ladies Club. Jackpot for Sunday, September 20 is €1,900. Lotto draw takes place in the clubhouse every Sunday night. All welcome.

 

Family Fun Day: The countdown is on to our Family Fun Sports Day at Gavan Duffy Park on Saturday, October 3, starting at 12.30pm. The fun for young and old will start at 12.30pm and will continue throughout the day, including ‘The Great Harps Balloon Race’, where the prizes up for grabs include an iPad. Anyone who has sold a full card is asked to return it to Jimmy Croarkin and get extra cards. The current leader is Kelly Croarkin, who has already sold 12 balloons, so get to it!

 

Seniors: We still await the winners of the Latton v Magheracloone tie in our Greenfield Foods Senior Football Championship Round 3B fixture, which is now due to be played on Saturday week, September 26. Thanks to Owen Smyth for sponsoring a new set of kitbags.

 

U-14: Our Under-14 teams had mixed fortunes in a busy weekend. Congratulations to our Division Four team, who won an exciting Shield Final against Castleblayney in Clones on Saturday. 1-2 by Terence McDonald, goals by Tiarnán O’Rourke and Jamie McCarron, plus a brace of points from Dylan Ballantine got our lads off to a flying start and although Blayney worked their way into the game, Terence found the net again just before half-time to make it 4-4 to 1-3. Terence added the first point of the second half, but we were then rocked by a blitz of scores from Blayney which brought them level. A goal by Terence and points from Terence, Tiarnán and Shay Cooney regained our lead, however, before Liam Conway went forward to hit the net. Shay and Adam McGarry added points either side of the score of the game, where Shay played a brilliant one-two with Adam to score a goal that sealed a 7-11 to 5-7 win for the Harps. This was a fine team performance, from Daragh Croarkin in goals through to the five subs who came on. James McKenny, Brian McAteer, Liam Conway and Dean Doherty got through a lot of work in defence along with subs Lukas Virfilas and Ryan McSkeane, as did the tireless Tiarnán O’Rourke and team captain Jamie McCarron at midfield. Terence McDonald had good support from Dylan Ballantine, Adam McGarry, Mujtaba Gamal and subs Shay Cooney, Deivydas Kaklauskas and Tyler Murray up front. Well done to Chris Conway, Brendan Burns and all involved.

Team and scorers: Daragh Croarkin; James McKenny, Brian McAteer; Liam Conway (1-0), Dean Doherty; Jamie McCarron (Capt., 1-0), Tiarnán O’Rourke (1-1); Dylan Ballantine (0-2), Adam McGarry (0-1f); Terence McDonald (3-5, 0-2f), Mujtaba Gamal.

Subs used: Shay Cooney (1-2), Deivydas Kaklauskas, Tyler Murray, Lukas Virfilas, Ryan McSkeane.

There was no luck, however, for our Division One team, who lost their league semi-final at home to Blayney in very difficult conditions on Friday evening. Our lads started slowly and despite points by Oisín Fagan, Anann Connor, Dylan Ballantine and Mujtaba Gamal, Blayney opened up a 1-6 to 0-4 lead by half-time. An improved second-half performance by our defenders and midfield sector saw us put Blayney on the back foot for long spells, but there was no way through for the scores we needed and all we could manage was a point each from Oisín and Luke Coyle, meaning it finished 1-7 to 0-6. This brought the year to a disappointing end, but this team had a progressive year and we hope they will continue to improve. Thanks to Finbarr Conlon, Mel McMorrow and everyone involved.

Team and scorers: Daragh Croarkin; Lochlainn Power, Andrew Lyden; Conor Devlin, Liam Conway, Tiarnán O’Rourke; Lorcan O’Rourke, Oisín Fagan (Capt., 0-2, 1f); Anann Connor (0-1), Dylan Ballantine (0-1), Killian Conlon; Brendan Óg Ó Dufaigh, Mujtaba Gamal (0-1).

Subs used: Luke Coyle (0-1f), Stephen Ward, Eoghan McGinnity.

 

Juveniles: Well done to our Under-11 footballers, who reached the final of the Clann na nGael tournament in Roscommon last Saturday, eventually being edged out by the host club. The U-11s are going to Emyvale for the BC Tournament this Saturday, while our Under-12 Street League is due to start next week.

 

All-Ireland Final: Our clubhouse is open this Sunday for the All-Ireland football final. Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy the football from 2pm on.

 

Championship: Thanks to everyone who helped us host a big crowd for the Intermediate Football Championship game between Emyvale and Tyholland last Sunday.

 

Harps hats: Hats with the club crest are for sale now at a cost of €8. They are available in the clubhouse and the shop at home matches, or by contacting Una Forde (087 6107329).

 

Tickets: The draw for the club’s All-Ireland football final tickets was won by Emer Conway, Emma Croarkin, Noreen McMorrow and Stephen Driver.

 

Scór: The Scór na nÓg (Under-17) competition will be held on October 30 & 31, with the County Final on November 7. Scór na bPáistí (for Primary School children) will be held in Ionad CLG Sheáin Mhic Dhiarmada, Threemilehouse on Saturday, October 10 at 7pm. Competitions in Rince Foirne, Rince Seit, Solo Singing, Ballad Singing, Recitation, Group Music, Drama and Quiz.

 

Vetting: Anyone who has received their Garda vetting clearance form is asked to provide a photocopy to Tommy McCabe.

 

Gavan Duffy Park: The Monaghan Harps clubhouse is available to book for functions. Contact Jimmy Croarkin on 087 1249635 or Pádraig Callan on 087 2139188 for more information. Anyone looking to book the clubhouse for meetings, functions, etc. is asked to please give a week’s notice for convenience. The clubhouse is open this Sunday for the All-Ireland football finals.

 

 

Hurling:

Wall Ball Competition: The Hurling wall ball competition will take place on Saturday mornings from September 26 to October 24 at Cloghan. The competition is aimed at all U-12, U-14 & U-16 players within all the hurling clubs in Monaghan. Players will practice the basic skills in hurling and then take part in wall-ball skill drills. Players will finish by playing each other in a one-wall hurling competition at the end of each session. The purpose of the session is to give players ideas on how they might practice using a wall and also to give them an opportunity to add a variety of new hurling skills to their game.