Ballyshannon 400 evening
We will have an evening of activities in Father Tierney Park for the Ballyshannon 400 celebrations this Friday, 9th August.
Commencing from 6pm there will be an exhibition of club history upstairs in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh, with photography – recent and vintage, old newspaper reports and archive video footage playing on our video screens.
The under 12 Willie Rogers tournament will also be in progress across the evening so there will be a great buzz around the club. Come on up, it will be well worth the visit.
Football
Aodh Ruadh seniors and reserves will be in intermediate championship quarter-final second leg action this Saturday, 10th August.
Throw in times await confirmation.
A strong second half display saw Aodh Ruadh overturn a six point half time deficit and claim the Southern Regional Board minor title in a sodden Gaelic Park last Wednesday night.
Aodh Ruadh ran out winners over Four Masters on a final scoreline of 1-10 to 2-5. It was a game where Aodh Ruadh played in fits and starts, a hungry Four Masters side determined not to let them find their rhythm.
Daniel Kelly pulled off two great saves to keep Aodh Ruadh in the tie early on, while Matthew Maguire didn’t put a foot wrong all day in what were dicey conditions for defenders to deal with.
Darren Gethins and Eamonn McGrath had a good battle with Jason Carr and Kevin Breslin in midfield, with the Aodh Ruadh getting the better of it the longer the game went on.
With Four Masters hitting 11 wides to Aodh Ruadh’s six the importance of David McGurrin’s economy with shooting opportunities could not be over-stated. Pauric Patton also made a marked impact on his introduction, helping swing the midfield exchanges in Ballyshannon’s favour and giving them greater penetration up front.
We have a full match report on aodhruadh.org, while Ronan Matthews has a great gallery of pictures from the game up on the Aodh Ruadh CLG Facebook page.
Congratulations to the team and their management, Shane Ward and Gregory Sweeney on a great result.
The county semi-finals will take place on Friday 16th August, with the pairings awaiting the outcome of the Northern Board final on Wednesday 14th August.
The under 10s will have Go Games blitz on Wednesday 14th August in Glenties. We will be contesting this blitz against Four Masters and Naomh Conaill.
Games throw in at 6.30pm and we are looking for parents/guardians to assist with transport to the game.
That blitz if rapidly followed by another one on Saturday 17th August when we are down to travel to Ardara.
Once again we will be looking for help transporting players to the game. Under 10 training continues this Friday as usual in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh from 6pm to 7pm.
With the various activities being staged at the Park in association with the Ballyshannon 400 festivities there will be no under 8 training this week.
However there is an under 10 blitz in Mountcharles on Saturday 10th August.
The games throw in at 11am and we are asking parents/guardians to provide transport directly to the game.
Anyone who is unable to travel to the game but who has a player who needs a lift is asked to contact John Hughes on 0876431805.
Players are asked to be at the grounds in Mountcharles for 10.30pm at the latest in order to allow us to determine numbers and get the lads warmed up.
The under 13 team have commenced training and anyone born in the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 interested in playing is invited to contact Peter McKenna 087-9755466 or Alan Sweeney 086-8052816.
The Annual Willie Rogers takes place this Friday, 9th August starting at 5.30pm with teams from Derrygonnelly, Bundoran, Manorhamilton, Mountcharles, Belleek and Donegal attending.
Parents are asked to bring up refreshments for the teams.
This is happening as part of the Ballyshannon 400 celebrations and we look forward to a big crowd up to support our U12s.
Play your part
Bord na nÓg continue to look for volunteers to help out with various jobs in particular with shifts on lotto duty.
Anyone willing to volunteer two hours of their time to help sell lotto is asked to please contact Tracey Flood on 0861764998 to add your name to the contact list.
As lotto is now being sold in two venues we do need more people to help out with this at intervals – don’t worry volunteering won’t have you selling every week!
Bord na nÓg have registered for the Lucozade Sports caps for gear promotion. We ask all club members to collect their Lucozade sports caps.
We can then exchange these bottle caps for gear or equipment.
The promotion runs till 31st October and we will arrange collection venues and dates over the coming weeks.
Hurling
The senior hurlers third championship outing is away to Burt on Wednesday 7th August. This a critical fixture as the loser will go out of the championship reckoning.
Throw-in for the game is 7.30pm and a good show of support is urged for this game.
The under 16s had a very tough game with Saint Eunan’s in the league last Thursday. The game was played in horrendous conditions in Father Tierney Park.
It really was a game of two halves. Aodh Ruadh with the wind advantage built up a big lead at half time and they were lucky to have it as they failed to score in the second half.
Despite having a number of lads playing well below par, they battled hard throughout the second half and held out for a valuable win on a 4-3 to 2-7 score line.
They are away to Letterkenny Gaels this Thursday.
The under 12s are at home to Setanta this Thursday.
Aodh Ruadh were well represented at the Ulster Blitz held in Tyrone’s Centre of Excellence at Garvaghey.
Donegal had three teams taking part in the blitz: Under 13s, Under 14s and Under 16s. Pauric Keenaghan, Aaron Peach, Liam O’Sullivan, Seosiamh McGee, Cathal Canavan, Cathal Feeney and Phillip Myers played for the Under 13s who lost both their games to Derry and Wicklow.
Conall Sweeney and Ryan Ayres played for the under 14s who lost to Antrim, Derry and Down, Michael Ayres was involved in the management of this team.
The under 16s beat Antrim, lost narrowly to Down and suffered a heavy defeat to Derry, Oisín Rooney, Brendan Gillespie, Shane McGrath and Cian Duffy represented the club on this team.
All four of the lads are underage again next year.
It was a big step up in class for all our lads to play the top teams in Ulster and hopefully the experience will bring them on.
Seats are going fast on the bus for our annual trip to Croke Park for the All-Ireland semi-final, this year’s game promises to be a cracker between Clare and Limerick.
For any information on the trip please contact John Rooney 086-2587793.
Training as normal at 12 noon on Sunday we would particularly like to see an increase in our numbers at under 10.
Ladies
The senior girls continue their championship preparation and played Manorhamilton on Friday evening last winning well with a good performance.
This Sunday we host Cloughaneely in the first round of Intermediate Championship. Best of luck to everyone involved.
The minor season kicks off next Tuesday with an away game to Glenties. Training on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7pm.
The under 14 girls start their second round of games this Thursday with a home fixture against Glenfin at 7pm.
After some good results in the first round of games, the girls have qualified to play in the A competition, so some tough games are promised over the next few weeks and lots of support would be appreciated.
The under 12 girls take a break for two weeks. Training will resume in September.
Fantasy race for Sam 2013
Sean McKenna (McKenna’s Machine) continues at the top on 273 points. He has opened a sizeable lead to Mick Melly (King of the Hill) in second on 250.
Joe Gillespie (M team) remains in third place on 238. There is quite a queue building up in fourth with Caoimhin MacAoidh (An Giotoz), Niall Clancy (Run Forest Run), and Noel McGrath (Carpenter Rovers) all still in contention on 230 points.
At the bottom its very simple. Shauna O’Mahoney (Girls Rule) are in last place on 35 points.
She will remain there unless Bernard Brogan scores another point this year. If he scores two, then Bobby Murphy (Chunky Chips) who is on 36 points will be the last place winner.
Others to join the last five this week were John Patton (The Bookie Men) on 62 along with Philip Mulrone (Undertakers are go) on 63 with Ciaran McLoone (Buckfast Athletic GFC) on 67.
The leader board is be available every Tuesday in the Bridgend Bar, Owen Roes and Ballybookies, of course we also publish the leader board weekly on aodhruadh.org.
Recreational football
Recreational continues this Saturday with a later throw-in of 7pm. There is some serious skill on show here folks, real outside of the boot stuff, so if you’re interested in getting out for a bit ball and a bit of craic head along to the Park for a game.
For more information just text or call Peter (0879755466) or Alan (0868052816).
Stags and hens
Don’t miss the hilarious comedy Stags And Hens by Willy Russell in the Abbey Centre on Saturday 10th August at 8.30pm. This production is presented by Yellow Moon Theatre Company from Wexford and stars our own Aisling Finn and Paddy Campbell.
Anniversary mass
Colman Kerr’s anniversary mass will take place on Thursday August 8th at 7.30pm in Saint Patrick’s church, Ballyshannon.
Guess the Score
There was no winner in guess the score. Jack McCadden won the seller’s prize for all who returned completed cards and gets a football.
Well done and thanks to everyone who sold and bought lines.
On their bikes
Aodh Ruadh will be hosting cyclists from Errigal Ciaran and Saint Mary’s, Sligo over the course of Saturday 17th August as they stop for refreshments in Father Tierney Park during fund-raising cycles for their clubs.
The Saint Mary’s cyclists are traveling a loop from Sligo, Blacklion, Ballyshannon and back to Sligo and have invited any Ballyshannon cyclist who might be interested in joining them for the spin to come along.
They are rolling out at 9am from the Saint Mary’s grounds in Sligo. Anyone interested can contact Brian Kelly for more information on 0872861914.
Lotto
There was no winner of the €4,900 Aodh Ruadh Lotto jackpot last Sunday. The numbers drawn were 1, 2, 10, 14, 15 and 18.
In the lucky dip €20 each went to: Deirdre McIntyre, The Mall; Seamus O’Neill; Dympna Cronin, Lawne Park; Bríd Campbell, Corker; and Pat Gruddy Assaroe View.
Next draw is in Owen Roe’s Bar on Sunday at 8.30pm. The jackpot is €5,000 so get out there and buy your ticket; if you’re not in, you can’t win!
The lotto team for McCosker’s Centra this Saturday is: JUVENILE HURLERS.
The lotto team for Kernan’s Spar this Saturday is: SENIOR HURLERS.