Fixtures: Sunday, May 7: RFL Division 2B v Aghabog (Home) at 3pm; MHL v Carrickmacross (Away) at 12pm

Monday, May 8: U-14 FL Division One v Cremartin (Away) at 7pm; U-16 HL v Carrickmacross (Home) at 8pm; U-12 HL v Carrickmacross (Home) at 6.45pm

Tuesday, May 9: MFL Division Two v Latton (Home) at 7.30pm

Wednesday, May 10: RFL Division 1A v Truagh (Away) at 7.45pm

 

Monaghan Harps Lotto: Numbers 4, 6, 10 and 20. Jackpot of €1,400 not won. Residual prizes: €100 Majella McKenna c/o Monica Connolly; €40 Vincent McNally c/o Séamus Treanor; €40 Chris O’Connell c/o Paddy Donnelly; €40 Bernie Corrigan c/o Paddy Donnelly. Jackpot for Sunday, May 7 is €1,500 and Rose Hughes and Noel Hennessy are on duty. Lotto draw takes place in our clubhouse every Sunday night. All welcome. Thanks to everyone for their support for our Lotto, which plays a critical role in our club’s funding. We ask all club members to continue to promote our Lotto as much as possible.

 

Darkness into Light: Final preparations are underway for our fourth time to host Electric Ireland Darkness into Light Monaghan, which takes place at 4.15am this Saturday morning, May 6. Thanks to everyone who helped out at pre-registration and t-shirt collection. Please come along and be part of this special event, which is the main fundraiser for Pieta House, the centre for the prevention of self-harm/suicide. Keep an eye on social media for updates and information in the run-up to Saturday morning.

 

Bank Holiday weekend: Our annual fundraising Cake Sale was a great success last Saturday. Great credit is due to the juvenile committee and organisers for their hard work and also to everyone who contributed either by baking or by manning the stand in the Shopping Centre. Thanks also to everyone involved in Sunday night’s gathering in the clubhouse. Fr. Stephen Duffy said Mass in memory of deceased club members, including the recently deceased John Harden and Colin McElvaney, while Enda Galligan gave an engaging talk on the life of Charles Gavan Duffy. Thanks to John Hahessy, Séamus McManus, Enda and everyone involved.

 

Seniors: We had a 3-13 to 2-13 win at home to Donaghmoyne in the County Monaghan Credit Unions Senior Football League last Saturday. We fell 1-3 to 0-1 down early on, but points by Shane Smyth, Éimhín Morahan and Fearghal McMahon kept us in touch, before Liam Hahessy scored our first goal. Donaghmoyne hit back with another goal, but scores from Shane, Liam and Stephen Driver had us 2-7 to 2-5 up at half-time. Shane and Liam added further scores after the restart, before Fearghal converted a penalty to move us six points clear. Donaghmoyne cut their deficit to a point late on, but an added-time brace from Fearghal saw us claim a hard-earned win after an exciting game.

Team and scorers: Ashley White; Aodhán Óg McAnespie, Gareth Treanor, Niall Hahessy; Michael Galligan, Shane Coyle, Kevin Loughran; Nicholas Scott, Stephen Driver (Capt., 0-1); Éimhín Morahan (0-1), Fearghal McMahon (1-4, 1-0 pen, 0-2f), Gary White; Liam Hahessy (1-3, 0-2f), Shane Smyth (1-4), Shane McMahon.

Subs: Nicholas Treanor for S McMahon (inj., 18 mins), Niall Greenan for N Hahessy (black card, 53).

Temporary sub: Niall Greenan for F McMahon (28-HT).

 

Blitz: We hosted a double blitz for U-10s and U-8s last Saturday morning. Thanks to everyone who helped to organise this blitz.

 

Reserves: We are away to Truagh in the Reserve Football League Division 1A next Wednesday, May 10, before hosting the same opponents in the championship on Sunday week, May 14. Before that, we have a home game against Aghabog in the RFL Division 2B this Sunday at 3pm.

 

Minors: Our minors are at home to Latton on Tuesday with a 7.30pm throw-in.

 

U-14: Our Under-14 Division One team are away to Cremartin on Monday evening at 7pm. Please note fixture change.

 

U-12s: Well done to our two Under-12 teams who played their Spring League finals in Cloghan last Saturday. Our Zone C team finished their campaign with a win over Scotstown by 12 scores to six. After building up an early lead while playing into a stiff breeze, our lads held off a strong finish to the first half by Scotstown to take a narrow lead into the final period. Eoin O’Hanlon, Cian Bradley, Fionán Ó Gallchóir, Shay Kelly and Oisín Reilly were all among the scorers as our lads pulled away in the last 20 minutes.

The Harps panel was: Oisín Reilly, Dáire Conlon, Jack Lynch, Shane Moran, Mark Clerkin, Ethan Ballantine, Eoin O’Hanlon, Senan Cudden, John McCrystal, Cian Bradley, Fionán Ó Gallchóir, Shay Kelly, Morgan Coyle, Max Mallen.

Our Zone D team fell short despite an improved second-half performance against Carrickmacross. Carrick used the wind advantage to build up a healthy lead in the first half, despite the best efforts of our lads. The Harps fared better as the game went on, with Morgan Coyle, James Gunn, Charlie McCabe and Oisín Treanor getting good scores, but Carrick held firmly to their lead.

Our panel featured: Ethan McCaffrey, Oisín McGeown, Ethan McCarron, Dónal Moran, Fergal Magee, James Gunn, Kyle Cooney, Oisín Treanor, Morgan Coyle, Charlie McCabe, Dara Mullen, Mark Lynch, Rory Conway, Jack Garvey. 

Well done to both teams and their mentors on their efforts; they now all look forward to the start of the summer leagues.

 

Membership: Registration fees of €20 for 2017 are now overdue and must be paid to club registrar Kevin Treanor or in the clubhouse as soon as possible.

 

Dates to remember: We will be participating and hosting at Féile Peil na nÓg 2017 (June 23-25), a week after our juvenile street collection. Keep an eye on club notes for more details on these events.

 

Coaching: There are several upcoming coaching courses/workshops. Check the Monaghan GAA website and contact Pádraig Callan if you wish to attend any. Keep an eye out for details about an upcoming Child Protection course.

 

Pitch bookings: All pitch bookings for 2017 for training or matches must be made via 086 1957155. Training slots have been allocated and any changes must be notified in advance. All co-operation from team mentors in maintaining the pitches is appreciated.

 

Gavan Duffy Park: The refurbished Monaghan Harps clubhouse is available to book for functions. Contact Jimmy Croarkin on 087 1249635 or Pádraig Callan on 087 4515206 for more information. Anyone looking to book the clubhouse for meetings, functions, etc. is asked to please give a week’s notice for convenience.

 

Hurling notes:

Minor: We sit top of the table in the league on five points after three rounds. We are next away to Carrick this Sunday, May 7, at 12pm in a potential dress rehearsal of the league final.

 

Minor League Cup: If anyone can shed light on the whereabouts of the Minor Hurling League ‘Ultan Cup’, please contact Patrick on 087 2112629. The cup was reported to have been left in the clubhouse.

 

Senior: We travelled to Camlough last Thursday, where we were involved in another tight match, this time falling the wrong side of the result as we lost out by a goal. After starting brightly and controlling much of the first half, we held a narrow two-point lead at half-time. We were left to rue missed chances as Craobh Rua started the second half strongly by immediately registering 1-1. We found ourselves playing catch-up for the rest of the game and were never able to narrow the margin to less than one point, with the game finishing on a 2-13 to 1-13 scoreline. We are next at home to Castleblayney on Thursday, May 18, at 7.45pm in what is now a must-win game.

Team: Robbie Healy; Anthony Greenan, Dylan McAree, Éanna Finlay; Adrian Dalton, Patrick Meehan, Jack Lee; Brendan Naughton, Aodhán Óg McAnespie; Ray Lee, Conor Flynn, Ruairí Forde; Gabe McQuillan, Maurice McKenna, Frank Burke.

Subs: Reece Treanor for McQuillan, Luke Mulligan, Michael Gissane.