All-Ireland Sem-Final – Here We Come!

This Sunday 24th January is a BIG day in the history of our club when our senior footballers travel to Pairc Sean MacDiarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon to play Ardnaree Sarsfields (Mayo) in the AIB All-Ireland Junior Club Championship Semi-Final. There is a lot of excitement around the club, our village and indeed the wider community with both young and old extending their best wishes. It’s a brilliant feeling to get there and be competing on the big stage BUT we have to give a good account of ourselves over the sixty minutes because we know there’s nothing won yet. Ardnaree Sarsfields are a formidable outfit and will definitely provide a tough challenge for the team. However, the lads are well capable of doing it but the bottom line is they will have to perform and produce their best football if they are to get across the line. They have all performed well in the competition to date so let’s hope this Sunday they will stand up, give an honest performance, work hard for each other and play the type of football we all know they can produce. I would like to extend my best wishes Mickey, Jimmy & Pascal and all the players. Good luck lads, do the best you can and leave everything out on the pitch, empty the tank and as I have been saying all along leave the field with ‘no regrets’. If you do that then hopefully that will be good enough come Sunday evening. Good Luck Lads you have the ability now go out and do yourselves, your family, your club, your county and your province proud. Come on ROCK.

Your Support Counts

Okay folks, it’s that time again and if your flags or bunting has been blown away with all the recent bad weather it’s time to show your colours again. Let’s all do our bit to get support and get behind the team next Sunday 24th January when they travel to Pairc Sean MacDiarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon to take on Ardnaree Sarsfields (Mayo) in the AIB All-Ireland Semi-Final. This eagerly awaited contest swings into action at 2.00pm and promises to deliver yet another thrilling encounter so come on everybody, let’s totally paint Carrick-on Shannon ‘Green & White’ and show your colours with pride and cheer on the lads to achieve something really special for our small community.

Supporters Bus

Foxhound Travel will be running a supporters bus to Carrick-on-Shannon this Sunday 24th January for the All-Ireland semi-final clash between Rockcorry v Ardnaree Sarsfields. To book a seat on the bus or get additional information please contact Sharon Fox on 086-6022919. Seats will fill up fast so get on the phone and text your details as soon as possible so not to be disappointed. You all had a nice quiet & relaxing Christmas to recharge the batteries so lets’ get out and support the lads and roar them on across the line.

Gaelic Life All Stars

I want to offer my heartiest congratulations to all our players who were shortlisted as part of the Gaelic Life All-Stars, namely Jamie Smith, Niall McKeown, Keith Daly, Mark Daly and Mark McGuirk. The lads really earned the nomination on the back of some sublime performances during the Ulster Championship campaign and they can be very proud of their individual performances. It has been an exceptional year for our club and at a ceremony held in the Hillgrove Hotel, last Friday 15th January, Jamie Smith (Goal-keeper) and Niall McKeown (Full-Back) collected an All-Star Award and I want to sincerely congratulate them on a fantastic achievement which was richly deserved. Well done lads, it was a proud achievement for you all to be shortlisted in the first place and hopefully it will inspire you to bigger and better things in the coming weeks. Good luck to you all.

Gaelic Life Hall of Fame

I have to say last Friday night’s All-Star Awards in the Hillgrove Hotel was very enjoyable and certainly a night to remember. GAA clubs from across Ulster gathered, in large numbers, to acknowledge the efforts and commitment from managers, hurlers, footballers, camogie players and ladies footballers. There was also a magical moment at the end when Sean McCague was honoured into the Gaelic Life Hall of Fame, a fitting finale. On behalf of the Rockcorry GAA club I would like to extend my best wishes and heartiest congratulations to Sean who has been there and done that for the Association and is just reward.

Monaghan GAA Awards Night

The Monaghan GAA Awards night takes place on Friday 22nd January in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan. This will be a proud and great night for the club after a very successful and historic year with Niall McKeown receiving 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.

Juvenile Meeting

We are actively looking for new people to sit on a juvenile committee for the Club and if you feel you could dedicate some time to help out then please do not hesitate to get in touch. Even if it’s only an hour a week it’s all we need, all those hours add up! A meeting will take place on WEDNESDAY 27th JANUARY in the dressing-rooms at 7.30pm to set-up and create a sub-committee that will look after the juvenile affairs of the club. It takes a wide range of people and skillsets to make a club a success and currently we have a small team of fantastic coaches & mentors who are already in place and provide wonderful experience & knowledge about the game to our young players, but as they say there is always room for expansion. We are delighted to have teams ranging from under 12’s, 14’s and 16’s and we have a large number of kids (Under 8’s and 10’s) attending our nursery coaching sessions every Saturday morning. More kids means we need more coaches; so if you feel you are in a position to help coach our future stars then please get in touch with our youth officer Sharon Fox 086-6022919 or pop in to the meeting next Wednesday night. Don’t be afraid, no experience is necessary, just bring loads of enthusiasm and lots of fun, it’s that simple. We will provide training and even if you feel you can’t sign up to coaching a team every week we would still appreciate your assistance on any days that you can help. Many hands make light work!!!

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.

Championship Draw

The championship draws were made this evening and we have been pitted against Emyvale in the First Round of the Intermediate Football Championship. The remaining fixtures as follows:- Corduff v Donaghmoyne (Preliminary Round), Killanny v Inniskeen (Preliminary Round), Currin v Cremartin (First Round), Aughnamullen v Tyholland (First Round).

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.

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.

Top 4 Lotto Results

The numbers drawn on Monday 18th January 2016 were 15, 17, 18 and 27. There was no jackpot winner of €5,600.00. The following won €15 each :- Bridie McGill, Rockcorry, Connolly Family, Aghabog, Mairead Cleary, Rockcorry, Cait O’Hart, Rockcorry, Shane Wynne, Rockcorry, Rena & Paddy McKenna, Newbliss, Liz Carroll, Rockcorry, Peter McKenna, Scotstown. Next week the jackpot will be €5,700.00 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