Fixtures: Sunday, September 13: U-17 FC Division One Shield Final v Carrickmacross in Blackhill at 11am; U-13 FC Division Five Shield Final v Carrickmacross in Blackhill at 1pm; JHC Final v Clontibret in Clones at 1.30pm

 

Monaghan Harps Lotto: Congratulations to Helen Scott, who recently became a very popular first Harps Lotto jackpot winner since its return and our inaugural lotto jackpot winner via ClubZap. The numbers for last Sunday’s draw were 5, 14, 16 and 20. The four €40 lucky-dip prize winners were Chris O’Connell c/o Paddy Donnelly; Bernie Ward c/o Jimmy Croarkin; Eddie Coyle c/o Dermot Coyle; and Matt McCaughey c/o himself. The sellers’ prize of €20 was won by John Hahessy. Jackpot for Sunday, September 13 is €1,100. The club is asking members willing and financially able to contribute through our lotto towards club maintenance and running expenses. This can be done by two options: set up a standing order to our club lotto via quarterly or annual payments or using our new club app by downloading ‘ClubZap’ on your phone, registering as a Monaghan Harps GAA Club member and buying club lotto in bulk or on a weekly basis. Anyone interested can contact either Rose Donnelly (086 0825782); Maria McKenna (086 1057725) or Adrian Dalton (087 7859582). Thanks to everyone for their continued support for our lotto, which plays an integral part for the club, particularly this year. Please note that the cut-off point for ClubZap each week is 6pm on Sunday, while physical tickets should be with the lotto committee by 9pm.

 

Seniors: We booked our place in the McElvaney Recycling Intermediate Football Championship Final with another hard-earned win over Emyvale in Scotstown last Saturday. A brace of points by Éimhín Morahan had us level at the first water break and with Conor Galligan adding one and Éimhín sending a deft lob into the net for the only goal, we led by 1-3 to 0-4 at half-time. The scores remained tight throughout the second half, with Éimhín, Conor and Gary White kicking points to keep us narrowly ahead, while our defence held firm to keep a valuable clean sheet. A second consecutive one-point win (1-9 to 0-11) has set up a clash with Cremartin in the final, which is set for  Saturday, September 19 at 5pm in Clones.

Team and scorers: Dylan McAree; Aodhán Óg McAnespie (Capt.), Nicholas Scott, Thomas Croarkin; Conn O’Hanlon, Brendan Óg Ó Dufaigh, Kevin Loughran; Stephen Driver, Neil McAdam; Michael Galligan, Conor Galligan (0-2), Shane McMahon; Conor McCrystal, Gary White (0-3, 2f), Éimhín Morahan (1-4, 0-2f).

Subs: Lochlainn Power for O’Hanlon (34 mins), Dónal Hahessy for M Galligan (49), Shane Smyth for McCrystal (55).

We wish the senior hurlers the best of luck in their final this Sunday.

 

Reserves: We will be entering reserve teams in the O’Duffy Cup and McKeown Cup in the coming weeks. First up is an O’Duffy Cup opener at home to Latton this Saturday at 5.30pm. Castleblayney, Donaghmoyne, Killanny and Scotstown are the other four teams in Group One.

 

Golf Classic: Plans are well underway for the 2020 Monaghan Harps Golf Classic on Friday week, September 18 at Rossmore Golf Club. To enter a team of 4 costs €160. Tee times are filling up quick, so please contact Kevin Treanor on 087 1497159 to get involved. Amid the ongoing restrictions, this is a particularly important fundraiser for the club this year, so all support is greatly appreciated.

 

Minors: Our U-17s travelled to Castleblayney last Tuesday for a play-off to qualify for the Maguire International Division One Championship semi-finals. The scores remained tight throughout the first half, with points from Liam Conway, Shea Swift, Luke McManus and Shay Cooney and some good saves by Daragh Croarkin keeping us on level terms until Blayney hit 1-1 in added time to lead by 1-8 to 0-7. We managed to find the net three times in the second half through Nathan Lavery, Luke and Shay, but a very lively Blayney attack proved too much to handle at the other end, as they ran out deserving winners in the end on a scoreline of 4-17 to 3-10.

Team and scorers: Daragh Croarkin; Jordan Crampton, Nathan Lavery (1-0), James Curley; Mark McManus, Kevin Moran, Jake McConnon; Tiarnán O’Rourke (Capt.), Liam Conway (0-1); Shea Swift (0-1), Gary Devlin, Jamie Coyle; Luke McManus (1-2), Shay Cooney (1-4, 1-0 pen, 0-1f), Jake Power (0-2).

Subs used: Michael McMorrow, Karol Parszywka.

That result means we head for the Shield Final, where we take on Carrickmacross in Blackhill this Sunday at 11am. Good luck to all involved.

 

U-15: Our U-15 Division One team also lost out to a strong performance by Castleblayney last Thursday. Our Division Five team then held off a late comeback from Scotstown to secure an exciting win on Friday.

Our U-15 panel features: Max Aughey, Cian Bradley, Seán Callan, Mark Clerkin, Dáire Conlon, Kyle Cooney, Julian Coyle, Morgan Coyle, Senan Cudden, Fionán Ó Gallchóir, Ali Galligan, James Gunn, Shay Kelly, Jack Kierans, Jack Lynch, Fergal Magee, Max Mallen, Ethan McCaffrey, Rohann McKenna-Malocca, John McCrystal, Oisín McGeown, Diarmuid McGinnity, Michael Mloza, Dónal Moran, Shane Moran, Dara Mullin, Eoin O’Hanlon, Oisín Reilly, Kevin Sweeney, Oisín Treanor.

Please see ClubZap/social media for confirmed details of the knock-out stages.

 

U-13: Our U-13 teams both secured their places in finals with good wins. First up, the Division One lads edged out Castleblayney in their Cup semi-final at Gavan Duffy Park on Saturday. Blayney raced into a two-goal lead early on, but a Shay Lambe goal and points from Shea Corrigan, Eoin Sheridan and Orrin Doherty levelled it up at 1-4 to 2-1 by half-time. A third major regained the lead for Blayney after the restart, but our lads kept going and points by Shay, Eoin, Mark Lynch and Oisín Brannigan kept it tight, before Orrin found the net to edge us ahead for the first time. A series of near-misses meant the scores remained tight all the way, but our U-13s held on to win by 2-9 to 3-5.

Team and scorers: John Paul Ginley; Dáire McKenna, John Sherry; Rhys McCaffrey, Daniel Alexis, Josh Cassidy; Mark Lynch (0-1f), Eoin Sheridan (0-2, 1f); Shane McGarry, Joe Gunn, Shay Lambe (1-1, 0-1f); Orrin Doherty (1-2, 0-2f), Shea Corrigan (0-2, 1f).

Subs used: Oisín Brannigan (0-1f).

Monday evening saw our Division Five side contest their Shield semi-final away to Truagh. A strong start set the tone as our lads claimed a 4-10 to 2-1 win that has them through to a decider against Carrickmacross, which will be played in Blackhill this Sunday at 1pm.

This young Harps panel includes: Jack McMahon, John Paul Brannigan, Denas Nagulevicius, Seán Lambe, Kyle Lavery, Robert Uskans, Ruairí Smyth, Joseph O’Neill, Charlie O’Brien, Rhys Coyle, Lewis Duffy, Ethan Grant, Ryan Grant, Alex Flynn, Calum McCaffrey, Daithí Devlin, Daniel Aughey, Daniel Jansons, Caolán Conlon.

Both U-13 finals are due to be played this Saturday, with Tyholland the venue for the Division One game against Clontibret at 11am. No details were available of the Division Five fixture at the time of writing. Please check ClubZap/social media. Good luck to all involved.

 

GAA return: We are grateful to our ever-willing volunteers and our Covid supervisors for their efforts throughout the return to play. Dressing rooms will remain closed until further notice, while we remain hopeful that supporters will be permitted to attend games before too long.

 

Club app: As well as offering an option to support our lotto, our new club app also has a function to pay your annual membership, make financial donations to the club, as well as a communication suite for all that goes on at the club. You can get involved by downloading ‘ClubZap’ on your phone and registering as a Monaghan Harps GAA Club member.

 

Membership: Please note that any outstanding membership fees for this year should be paid as soon as possible. Registration can be paid to club registrar Kevin Treanor or using ClubZap. Fees are as follows: U-11s €20; juveniles/seniors €30; family membership €60.

 

Hurling:

Junior Championship Final: Our senior team face Clontibret in the AM Hurleys Junior Championship Final this Sunday. Throw-in is at 1.30pm in St. Tiarnach’s Park. Please keep an eye on our social media channels for further updates on a live stream for the match.

 

Juvenile Training: Training continues this Sunday at 11.30am. Training will conclude for the year after our session on Sunday week, September 20.

 

Ladies:

Seniors: Our Intermediate squad lost to Scotstown last Wednesday in their final group game of the championship on a final score of 4-11 to 2-11. They are now finished for the year, but have shown good progress in the short time frame. Big thanks to Gerard, Adam and Catherine for all their work.

 

Minors: Our minors won their final-round championship game v Seán McDermotts last Saturday week on a scoreline of 2-16 to 1-5. Despite winning three games out of four, they failed to qualify for the final, just missing out on score difference. Thanks to Niamh and co for the progress made.

 

U-16s: Our U-16s are our last chance of silverware this season. They were looking to keep their unbeaten run going on Tuesday evening last at home to Inniskeen. Please check social media sites for result.

 

U-12s: Our U-12s won away against Emyvale last Saturday and played their final challenge last night (Wednesday) v Tyholland.