Rising to the Challenge: Saturday, May 9 saw all sections of Monaghan Harps GAA Club rise to the challenge in support of two worthy local charities, Crocus and SVP Monaghan. Having covered a combined distance of 1180 miles (the equivalent of Monaghan to Barcelona, or more than 45 marathons), our challenge received donations tallying to €10,020. Úna Forde, Nicola Shalvey, Martin Sheridan and Brenda McConnon presented cheques this week to Mary Callery of Crocus and Kathleen Whitney and Anthony Bannon of SVP. Thanks again to everyone involved in organising and everyone who took part or donated. Crocus are a voluntary, peer-support group for those living with a cancer diagnosis who are at different stages on their journey, who are solely dependent on donations and charity fundraising events. St. Vincent De Paul Monaghan work directly with people who have a variety of needs. Any assistance offered is given in a non-judgemental spirit of compassion, based on the need of the individual or family.

 

Cumann Cláirsigh Mhuineacháin – Here To Help: We are aware of the fear and disruption caused by Covid-19, particularly to the elderly and vulnerable members of our community. The health and wellbeing of all our community is extremely important to us in Monaghan Harps GAA‏. Should you or a person you know require prescriptions, groceries collected or a reassuring chat if you feel lonely/isolated, please phone or text the following: Úna Forde, Healthy Club Officer 0876107329; Nicola Shalvey, Secretary 0864040161; Jimmy Croarkin, Chairperson 0871249635. See our club’s social media accounts for many other useful contact numbers.

 

Congratulations: To St. Macartan’s College Corn na nÓg Player of the Year Seán Callan and to Handballer of the Year Eoghan McGinnity! Congrats also to former juvenile player Colin Peppard, whose ‘So say all of us’ won the ‘Short Film in Quarantine’ category at the Luz Del Desierto film festival.

 

Kerry Foods: Monaghan GAA, in conjunction with Kerry Foods, have donated some free frozen meals for members of our community. Deliveries take place on a weekly basis. If you or someone you know would like to avail of this, please contact our Healthy Club Officer Úna Forde, in strict confidence, on 0876107329. Thanks to everyone involved in this scheme.

 

Activity suspended: In keeping with the guidelines issued by the Government and the HSE and national advice from the GAA due to Covid-19, we have suspended all activity and our facilities remain strictly closed until further notice. While we are now in phase one of the roadmap to ease restrictions, all games, training and team gatherings for all ages and the use of our facilities for any recreational purposes are still not permitted. Thanks for your continued co-operation. Please follow the HSE and World Health Organisation guidelines and try to look out for people in our community who may need help at this time. We would like to thank the front-line staff in the health services during these times and remind people to find their news updates from trusted and verified sources. Monaghan Harps GAA Club is closed to all GAA activity and our pitches and gym are closed to all. We look forward to being able to welcome all our players and members back to our club in the not too distant future but in the meantime, we ask you to be responsible for yourself and the health of all our community, especially those most vulnerable. We encourage our members to remain active and to keep an eye on our club’s social media accounts for updates. Bígí sábháilte.

 

Stress Control: The Stress Control course that ran in our clubhouse in February is now available online at https://stresscontrol.org and may be useful for many during these extraordinary times. See our club’s social media accounts for details of free online classes by iRecovery College for positive mental health.

 

History: Thanks to various club members for sharing snippets of Harps history on our social media accounts. Thanks in particular to Enda Galligan for sharing some brilliant photos recently. If you have a club memory or photo you would like to share, please send to Pro.monaghanharps.monaghan@gaa.ie or 086 1957155.

 

Best wishes: To all our young students and well done to local schools for organising virtual graduation ceremonies. We wish you all the best for your future. Stay safe and continue to follow the guidelines and we look forward to seeing you all again.

 

Monaghan Coaching & Games: Monaghan Coaching and Games are running online courses and webinars. See social media for more details.

 

‘It’s Good To Talk’: Monaghan GAA recently launched a new ‘It’s Good To Talk’ initiative in conjunction with the Monaghan Age Friendly programme. If you would like to nominate someone to receive a call, you can contact Monaghan GAA Assistant PRO Mary McEneaney on 087 6887332 or pro.corduff.monaghan@gaa.ie.

 

Free fitness class: Monaghan U3A, in conjunction with Border Bounce Gym Club, are running a free fitness class on every weekday morning for May at 9.30am. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday are fitness, Wednesday is Pilates and Friday is Tai Chi. It is aimed at over-50s, but all are welcome to join.

 

GAA Digital Archive: The GAA, in conjunction with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, have launched the GAA Digital Archive at Croke Park providing free access to past GAA matches to internet users around the world. This might be useful to all GAA fans during this time of isolation! https://gaa.ie/gaa-now/archive/

 

Monaghan Harps Lotto: In keeping with the guidelines issued by the Government and the HSE regarding the Covid-19 outbreak, our Lotto is suspended until further notice.

 

Sympathy: The club would like to extend sincere sympathy to the Dalton family on the death of Mairéad’s sister, Vera Deery. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam.

 

Hurling Club:

We advise all club members to stay safe over the coming weeks and we hope to see everyone in full health in the near future. Please follow all guidelines and ensure that you look out for others during these troublesome times.

Social Media: On our social media channels you will be able to find a list of essential services and contact numbers if you find yourself or someone you know who may need assistance with any tasks such as groceries or collecting prescriptions. We will also be posting skills challenges and other activities for our younger members on our social media accounts.