Fixtures: Sunday, October 8: SFL v Truagh (Away) at 12.30pm

 

Monaghan Harps Lotto: Numbers 1, 2, 19 and 26. Jackpot of €2,300 not won. Residual prizes: €100 Patrick Quilligan (direct debit) c/o Noel Hennessy; €40 Paddy Flood c/o Barry Sullivan; €40 Edel Farrell c/o Marie Farrell; €40 Alan Hamilton c/o Dermot Coyle. Jackpot for Sunday, October 8 is €2,400 and Ann and Adrian Trappe 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.

 

Fun Day: The countdown is nearly over for our annual fun day and balloon race at Gavan Duffy Park this Saturday, October 7. The usual mix of fun and games for all ages will get underway at 10am, building up to the return of the popular ‘Great Harps Balloon Race’ at 12.30pm. Please return all balloon cards to Jimmy Croarkin or Úna Forde as soon as possible. The prizes are iPads for the owner of the balloon found furthest away and the seller of the most balloons, while juveniles with a full card will receive new Harps gear. Everyone is welcome to come along on Saturday and enjoy a great day.

 

U-12: Congratulations to our U-12 Division One team, who won the club’s first Coyle Cup since 2014 in a cracking final against Carrickmacross last Saturday in Clones. A nightmare start saw our lads fall 3-5 to 0-1 behind, but they showed great resilience to rally strongly. A brace of goals from Eoin O’Hanlon and points by Shay Kelly and Eoin closed the gap to six (3-6 to 2-3) by half-time, but our lads had to come back again after conceding another goal within a minute of the restart. Eoin completed his hat-trick, while Cian Bradley hit 1-1 and Fionán Ó Gallchóir added a point, before a brace from Seán Callan edged our lads ahead for the first time. The sides then swapped points, with Cian on target again for the Harps, before Carrick retook the lead with a goal. There was still time for more late drama, which saw Eoin find the net once more to win it for our lads on the scoreline of 5-9 to 5-8; sparking great celebrations on the St. Tiarnach’s Park pitch. Joint-captains Seán Callan and Eoin O’Hanlon were then presented with the Coyle Cup by Seán McKenna. This win was achieved by a very determined performance against a strong Carrick side, with Oisín Reilly solid in goals, behind a tigerish defence of Dáire Conlon, Shane Moran, Mark Clerkin and Seán, who got forward to good effect in the second half. Jack Lynch and Senan Cudden stuck determinedly to their task at midfield, while Fionán, Shay and Cian showed well throughout, with Eoin making a superb impact at full-forward for the second week in a row. Thanks to all the players on the panel for their efforts and to Martin Sheridan, Finbarr Conlon, Adrian Gunn, Jim McConnon, Gerry Lynch, James Corrigan, Mel McMorrow, Dermot Coyle and everyone who helped out with our two U-12 teams this year.

Team and scorers: Oisín Reilly; Dáire Conlon, Shane Moran; Mark Clerkin, Seán Callan (Joint-Capt., 0-2, 1f, 1 ’45); Jack Lynch, Senan Cudden; Fionán Ó Gallchóir (0-1), Shay Kelly (0-2); Cian Bradley (1-2), Eoin O’Hanlon (4-2, 0-2f).

Panel: John McCrystal, Morgan Coyle, James Gunn, Max Mallen, Ethan Ballantine, Oisín Treanor, Jack Corrigan.

 

U-16: Hard luck to our U-16s on their narrow defeat in another thrilling clash with Carrickmacross in the Mallon’s Foods Division One League Final last Saturday in Clones. Carrick hit two goals in the first ten minutes, but 1-1 from Brendan Óg Ó Dufaigh kept our lads in touch. Shay Cooney’s free-taking and a well-struck ’45 by Dylan Ballantine brought our first-half tally to 1-5, but Carrick’s 3-6 left them seven clear at the break. Our lads made a great start to the second half with a goal from Dylan and although Carrick hit back with another brace of majors, this spirited Harps team continued to battle through to the end. A string of points from Shay and a goal by Oisín Fagan kept our lads in the game, while Ógie found the net again in added time to close the gap to just three points at 5-10 to 4-10, before James McKenny was so unfortunate to see his punched effort at goal cleared off the line at the death. Well done to all our U-16 players for their efforts throughout the year, which saw them claim some notable wins on their way to reaching two finals. Thanks to Mel McMorrow, Val Forde, Chris Conway, Jimmy Croarkin, Damien Morgan and everyone who helped out with this team.

Team and scorers: Daragh Croarkin; Andrew Lyden, Anann Connor, Tiarnán O’Rourke; Conor Devlin, Killian Conlon, Stephen Ward; Lorcan O’Rourke, Lochlainn Power; Oisín Fagan (1-0), Dylan Ballantine (1-1, 0-1 ’45), Dean Doherty; Brendan Óg Ó Dufaigh (Capt., 2-1), Luke Coyle, Shay Cooney (0-8, 7f).

Subs used: James McKenny, Liam Conway.

Panel: Terence McDonald, Cathal Nally, Jamie McCarron, Adam McGarry, Mujtaba Gamal, Eoghan McGinnity, Deivydas Kaklauskas, Jake Power, James Curley.

 

Seniors: We are away to Truagh in the County Monaghan Credit Unions Senior Football League this Sunday at 12.30pm. All support welcome.

 

History night: The club hosted another club history night in the clubhouse last Friday. The large attendance enjoyed Enda Galligan’s trip down memory lane with Patsy Kearns and Tessie Connolly, before many more shared their stories on the night. Thanks to everyone who attended; please keep an eye on club notes for details of upcoming club history events.

 

AGM date: The club’s Annual General Meeting has been set for Thursday, November 23, with the juvenile AGM a week earlier.

 

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 2543511 for more information. Anyone looking to book the clubhouse for meetings, functions, etc. is asked to please give a week’s notice for convenience.