Gala Awards Night

I hope you all have dusted down your monkey suits and the ladies have their glad rags ready for this Friday nights Gaelic Life Gala Awards Night in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan? There is going to be plenty of style as top players from across the province will gather and step out in their finest black-tie suits and will certainly dress to impress! Amazingly, we have five nominees and it truly reflects the wonderful season we have enjoyed. I want to offer my congratulations to Jamie Smith (Goalkeeper), Niall McKeown (Full-Backs), Keith Daly (Half-Backs), Mark Daly (Midfield) and Mark McGuirk (Full-Forwards). It’s great to see the lads shortlisted as deserved recognition of the quality of football they displayed throughout the Ulster Championship Campaign. They are among the best and top-class players through-out Ulster which is a terrific achievement and a really lovely honour for them and I wish them the very best on Friday night.

Monaghan GAA Awards Night

The date for the Monaghan GAA Awards night is Friday 22nd January and it will take place in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan. This will be a proud and great night for the club after a very successful and historic year and Niall McKeown will receive his ‘Junior Football of the Year’ award and the club will also receive their ‘Club of the Year’ accolade. Also on the night the 2015 Monaghan Senior Panel will be presented with their Ulster Winning Medals.If you want to attend the Monaghan GAA Awards Night please send me a text message to 086-1041165 specifying your name and quantity of tickets required.

Annual Social & Presentation Night

One of the highlights of the year is always our annual social & presentation night and this year the management committee has decided to hold a dinner dance which will take place on Saturday 20th February in the Hillgrove Hotel. This is always a very enjoyable occasion and this year’s social night will once again be something special as it brings us all together to celebrate, once again, the historic achievement of our senior team that won the Packie Boylan Cup & the Paul Kerr Cup. The night will also include other presentations as we honour the latest inductee into our Hall of Fame and awards will also be presented to our senior, reserve and minor players of the year. So folks, make sure you don’t miss out and make a note in your dairy for an exquisite feast while dancing the night away to some very danceable music of the 60’s, 70’s and the 80’s! Tickets will be on sale shortly and we look forward to your support.

Hard Luck Monaghan

I want to say hard luck to the Monaghan senior team who unfortunately lost out to Armagh last Sunday 10th January in the Bank of Ireland Dr. McKenna Cup encounter. However, on a really positive note, it was fantastic to see our very own Jamie Smith, Niall McKeown, Mark Thornton and Fergal McGeough lining out wearing the Monaghan Jersey and I have to say the lads gave a great account of themselves.

All-Ireland Sem-Final

Our AIB All-Ireland Junior Club Championship Semi-Final against Ardnaree Sarsfields (Mayo) has been confirmed for Sunday 24th January at Pairc Sean MacDiarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon and the game has a throw-in time of 2pm.

Coach Education Courses

During February & March, Monaghan Coaching & Games will be once again running a range of Coach Education Courses at Foundation and Level One. The dates and venues for the courses that they are running are as follows:- A Foundation Award on Friday 26th & Saturday 27th February Venue: Magheracloone (Football). Friday 4th & Saturday 5th March Venue: Cloghan (Football & Hurling) & Friday 11th & Saturday 12th March Venue: Ballybay (Football). The cost for coaches attending a Foundation Award is €30 per coach but if a club can get four coaches attending a course, one will be for free. A Level One Course will be held on Friday 5th & Saturday 6th February Venue: Cloghan (Child), Tuesday 12th, Wednesday 13th & Thursday 14th February Venue: Cloghan (Youth/ Adult). If there is enough interest (minumum 16) to do a Level 1 Hurling Award it will also be accommodated, otherwise it will be run in conjunction with other counties and the Ulster Regional Hurling Officers. The cost for coaches attending a Level One Award is €55 per coach but if a club get 4 coaches attending course, one will be for free.The venues for the two Level One Awards is currently set for the Monaghan Training Grounds but if any club would be interested in hosting one of these courses please get in touch ASAP.

Coaching Workshops

Monaghan Coaching & Games in conjunction with Ulster GAA will be running three coaching workshops that will cater specifically for coaches working with U14 to Senior teams. They will also be running a number of other workshops for coaches working for the younger age groups. All of these workshops will be FREE OF CHARGE and the first one entitled ‘EQUIPMENT FOR FITNESS PROGRAMMES’ takes place on Monday 18th January between 7.30pm to 9pm at Cremartin GAA Club. The second workshop entitled ‘DEFENSIVE/ ATTACKING SYSTEMS AND STRATEGIES’ will be held on Monday 1st February between 7.30pm to 9pm and the venue is Cloghan. The final workshop is entitled ‘GOALKEEPING’ (Kickouts, Shot-stopping & positioning) and takes place on Monday 22nd February between 7.30pm to 9pm and the venue is Cloghan.

HELP WANTED

If anybody is interested in helping out or sitting on a juvenile sub-committee then can you please contact our youth officer Sharon Fox or get in contact with myself 086-1041165. Remember, you do not have to be an expert and you will be instructed by an experienced coach, but please come forward and volunteer. You may be able to spare one hour on a Saturday morning or one evening per week to supervise at training sessions, or maybe at a game. Whatever you can do please do come forward and offer your help as we need as many people as possible.

Referee Courses

Over the years the club has been at the forefront of providing good quality referees and we are on the lookout for more people to take up this very important role within the association. If you are interested or would like more information please contact myself Michael Carroll or club secretary Martina McKeown.

National Club Draw

The club are participating in the GAA National Club Draw which features some sensational prizes. The tickets cost €10 each and are printed in books of 5 and are NOW AVAILABLE from all committee members and senior players. I am sure you will agree that there are some fabulous prizes on offer with first prize a new Opel Corsa. You can support the club by buying and selling tickets. Those who buy tickets will be entered into a draw, with prizes provided by GAA Central Council. Each club will retain the proceeds of the tickets sold by their club. For full details please log on to www.gaa.ie/nationalclubdraw.

Committee Positions Vacant

The management committee is open to all who wish to sit on the committee or indeed any of our sub-committees. New faces, new opinions, new ideas are the lifeblood of any club and with your input the possibilities of today can be achieved tomorrow. At our annual general meeting held in December the following positions of Assistant Secretary, Assistant Treasurer & Cultural Officer were not filled. We are now looking to co-opt members to fill these important roles. If any club member is interested in taking up any of these roles or perhaps sitting on the management committee please get in touch. The bottom line folks, and its quit simple, the future of the club is in our own hands. Everything that we do today or indeed everything that we don’t do will have a serious impact on the performance of the club in the future. It’s you club, get involved.

Club Membership

Club membership is now due once again and can be paid to our club Registrar Pat Brannigan. The annual subscription for adults is €20 with all juveniles under the age of 18 costing €5 and any student that can provide a valid student card the membership fee is €5. It is important that ALL players pay their membership as soon as possible otherwise you will not be covered under the GAA insurance scheme. Please note that club membership will close on Wednesday 30th March 2016.

Table Quiz

Aghabog GAA are holding a table quiz in aid of the Irish Heart Foundation and will take place on Saturday 16th January in the Aghabog GAA Centre. The entry fee for a table of four will cost €40 and there will be quiz prizes and raffle prizes on the night. The club has already committed to putting in a team and if you would like to be a part of team then please get in touch with myself as soon as possible. This is a great cause so please feel free to share this Event & Invite as many of your buddies as possible as all support would be very much appreciated.

Top 4 Lotto Results

The numbers drawn on Monday 11th January 2016 were 2, 4, 19 and 23. There was no jackpot winner of €5,500.00. The following won €15 each :- Joey & Phyllis, Rockcorry, Frank Carney, Dartrey, Maggie Reilly, Rockcorry, Mary Reilly, Rockcorry, Felicity McFadden, Rockcorry, Lynch Family, c/o. McGinns, Breda McCaul, Drumcall, Carolan Family, Aghabog. Next week the jackpot will be €5,600.00 and the draw will take place in Fitzpatrick’s. Thank you supporting our Top 4 lotto draw.

News

If anyone would like to have some news, events or anything at all included in the club notes or advertised on our website then just get in touch on 086-1041165 or email pro.rockcorry.monaghan@gaa.ie