There was no winner of last weeks Ballybay Pearse Brothers Blotto. Number drawn were as follows: 17, 21, 24 & 25. The following people won €20:

Ryhs Edwards, Ballybay

Jack Rutledge 21 Culbrennan Ballybay

Maureen Sherry, Monaghan

Philip Carroll

Alice Rayburn, Sragh, Ballybay

Next weeks jackpot is €1,600

Results: On Sunday afternoon in the Monaghan Credit Union senior football league, Ballybay held on to defeat Castleblayney on a score line of Ballybay 2-10 Castleblayney 1-10 in Pearse Park Ballybay. Ballybay started the brighter and soon reflected it on the score board with eary points from Paul Finlay. Indeed, the whole team seemed to settle well with some delightful free flowing attack play covering the length of the pitch resulting in some great scoring opportunities for the inside men, mainly created through the strong running of Thomas Kerr and Thomas O’Neil in the middle area. During the early period of dominance Eoin McKearney settled in well at corner back while the inform Brent Wylie put in a man of the match display in the number 3 position. On more than one occasion Thomas Kerr & Ryan Wylie played delightful foot passes into the dangerous McGuiness brothers, one of which resulted in Shane hitting the first major of the game to put some breathing space between the teams. After the bright start, the boys appeared to take their foot of the pedal as little and allowed the visitors the opportunity to work their back into the game. They started to win primary ball around the middle before delivering to the forwards. Our full back line stood up the challenge with Eoin, Brent & Ryan getting vital hands in to intercept their men with Mark McArdle & Shane McQuillan there to pick up the pieces, however Castleblaybey had closed the gap come half time. The second half started in a similar manner to the first half ended. Castleblayney won the majority of primary call from the restarts but from open play the Ballybay boys had the upper hand. Paul was a constant outlet for the defenders and with Paddy O’Neil introduced it brought a different element to the Ballybay attack. The McGuiness boys where causing trouble inside with both running off each other to great effect. But Ballybay weren’t getting it all their own way either and only for a wonderful stop by Brian McCabe in goals the game might have taken a totally different outlook. However, the the visitors did get the goal when they used their support to great effect unlocking the Ballybay defence before finishing to the net with great power. Ballybay soon responded when Shane McGuiness was quickest to react to a ball dropping short and was taken down by the Blayney keeper resulting a penalty. Shane dusted himself down and converted the effort low and hard giving Ballybay enough breathing space to close the game out. Ballybay team – Brain McCabe, Eoin McKearney, Brent Wylie, Ryan Wylie, Mark McArdle, Drew Wylie, Shane McQuillan, Thomas Kerr, Thomas O’Neil, Fergal McArdle, Aaron Toner, Ciaran Gallaghan, Shane McGuiness, Paul Finlay, Christopher McGuiness, Paddy O’Neil, James Kerr & Cillian McAviney.

At half time of the senior game on Sunday afternoon, the Ballybay U10’s entertained the large crowd with their arrange of footballing skills in an exhibition game among themselves.

Congratulations to all that took part & the from what we seen on display the future is bright for the Ballybay Pearse Brothers.

Fixtures: Last night the reserves travelled to Castleblayney for the latest league fixture. Match report to follow. This evening Thursday the 21st the St Patricks U16 team are away to Magheracloone, throw in at 7pm. On Saturday the 23rd the U14’s takes on Rockcorry in Ballybay Pearse Park, throw in at 2pm. That evening the senior team travel to Truagh for a 7.00pm throw in. On Tuesday the 26th of April the St Patrick Minor team play Corduff in Ballybay. Throw up at 7pm.

Dessie Ward continued to do the club proud on Saturday evening when he lined out for the county U21’s. Unfortunately, the result didn’t go Monaghan’s way but many believe that is was a contender for game of the year so far. Dessie played his heart out as always and involved in a lot of the good things that Monaghan created. Congratulations on getting that far in the competition and we can’t wait to see you out in the Maroon & White of Ballybay in the near future.

Golf Classic: All roads lead to Clones Golf course for the Ballybay Pearse Brother Golf Classic on May 21st. Tee times are available for the entire day costing €140 for a fourball. This is a major fund raiser for the club so all support will be greatly appreciated, while the event itself is kindly sponsored by Kepak Ballybay. For more information, please contact either Niall Duffy or Barry Lennon.

Ballybay Pearse Brothers Club membership for the 2016 season is now available. There are three options available this year.

Gold Membership – which consists of free entry into all senior & reserve home league fixtures, entry into the clubs Blotto each week, entry into the draw for tickets to this year All Ireland Final & general club membership for a fee of €240. (Payment via direct debit is available over a 12-month period)

Silver Membership – which consists of free entry into all senior & reserve home league fixtures, entry into the draw for tickets to this year All Ireland Final & general club membership for a fee of €100.

Bronze membership – which consists of free entry into the draw for tickets to this year All Ireland Final & general club membership for a fee of €30.

Cul Camps – The Monaghan Kelloggs Summer Cul Camps will be run throughout the month of July & the Monaghan County Board are looking for coaches and assistant coaches for each venue. Anyone that interested must be available to complete a practical assessment and attend a two day in-service training programme. If you are interested and would like to submit an application form, please contact Niall on pro.ballybaypearsebrothers.monaghan@gaa.ie

Bingo: Just a quick note to remind everyone that the club’s weekly Bingo takes place every Tuesday night at 9pm in the clubhouse. The bingo is a great opportunity for the community to come together midweek and have a good night while maybe even winning a few bob. This is a fundamental part of the club’s fund raising for day-to-day costs and we would all really appreciate if you, your friends or your family could support this if you can at all. And, don’t forget, there is transport available to the centre. Every week, our volunteers go to great efforts to keep this going so that all of the other voluntary members of the club have a good starting platform. Hope to see some new faces tomorrow night and over the coming weeks!