Football
Seniors and reserves were left kicking their heels last week and as at the time of mailing there were no fixtures for this weekend.
Aodh Ruadh get their bid for under 21s B Championship honours underway with a trip to Carndonagh this Tuesday, 27th August.
Throw in is at 7pm down in Inishowen with Paul Clifford down to ref.
Ballyshannon’s hunt for a first minor county title since 1992 ended at the semi-final stage with a 1-10 to 1-8 loss against Buncrana.
It was a gut-wrenching loss for this Aodh Ruadh team and management who had put in so much work to get to this point.
Buncrana brought appetite, application and desire to the game and it was those qualities which saw them across the line against arguably a more talented Aodh Ruadh side.
For Aodh Ruadh David McGurrin, Eamonn McGrath, Colm Kelly and Jamie McDonald fought hardest.
We have a full match report on aodhruadh.org while Ronan Matthews has a gallery of pictures on the Aodh Ruadh CLG Facebook page.
A Donegal under 17 side with a strong Aodh Ruadh contingent scored a notable success last Saturday when they claimed the Jim McGuigan cup in Maghera last Saturday.
The Tir Chonaill men beat Monaghan in the semi-final before accounting for Tyrone in the decider on a scoreline of 2-10 to 1-6.
Niall Harley captained Donegal on in the day from midfield and received the Jim McGuigan cup while Colm Kelly was deployed at corner back.
We have some pictures from the celebrations up on aodhruadh.org.
The under 16s league programme concludes with a game against Naomh Mhuire this Wednesday, 28th August.
That match will serve as a championship warm-up with Aodh Ruadh hosting Naomh Columba at Father Tierney Park in the preliminary round first leg on Wednesday, 4th September.
The under 13s enjoyed a comprehensive 8-18 to 2-6 victory over Bundoran in the opening game of their league campaign.
A lot of the heavy lifting was done in a dominant first 30 and Aodh Ruadh were leading by 5-16 to 0-2 shortly after the half time break.
It was one of those games where everyone in white and green had a good outing.
The defence were excellent with Odhran Kennedy really coming into his own at full back and Matthew McDonald outstanding at corner back.
John Patton got himself a great goal while there were also impressive performances from the likes of Shane Brady, Mark Gettins, Mark McGlynn with Cian Barden doing well coming off the bench.
We have some pictures from the game up on aodhruadh.org.
Training continues on Wednesdays at 4.30pm. The next fixture is away to Killybegs on Saturday, 7th September, throw in at noon.
Under 10 training continues this Friday as usual in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh from 6pm to 7pm. There will be a blitz on Wednesday, 4th September in Donegal town.
Games throw in at 6.30pm and we are leaving from Father Tierney Park at 6pm and we are asking parents/guardians to provide transport directly to the game.
Any volunteers on the day to take players will be most welcome.
The under 8s had an excellent outing in Bundoran last Saturday. Seniors and juniors played Naomh Bríd, Killybegs and Bundoran.
Three wins for the seniors and two for the juniors. Some really lovely football played by the Ballyshannon lads.
The panel was: Conor Barron, Ronan Barron, Killian Bradshaw, Michael Clancy, Finn Coady, Ryan Daly, Ronan Delahunty, Shane Delahunty, Eoin Doogan, Liam Doogan, Michael Doogan, Eoghan Kelly, Jack Gallagher, James Gallagher, Jack Lyons, James McGinley, Cian McKenna, Garvey Meade, James Monaghan, Tom Murphy, Drew Ryan, Cillian Slevin, Aidan Sweeny, Aonghus Sweeny and Tommy Winters.
Many thanks to Bundoran for a well organised blitz and to everyone who helped with transport to the blitz. Under 8 training continues this Friday in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh at 6.30pm.
The final blitz of the year will take place in Father Tierney Park on Saturday 7th September.
Hurling
Aodh Ruadh’s senior hurlers concluded their season with a 2-14 to 1-8 defeat against Saint Eunan’s in Father Tierney Park last Wednesday.
Ballyshannon were poor in the first half missing a few goal chances, while Saint Eunan’s dispatched two of their own.
However the injury hit side were much improved in the second period. Over the course of the championship Aodh Ruadh left it behind them in a number of games and the squad now have an idea of what kind of effort it will take to push for a title.
We have pictures from the game and the league trophy presentation up on aodhruadh.org. The talent is there, as proved by the league success, the trophy for which was presented after last Wednesday’s game.
What is needed now is a greater commitment and drive from every member of the squad. The management thank everyone who helped with the team this year and the club executive for their whole-hearted backing.
Thanks also to Dermot Whoriskey of Rathmore Mechanical Services for his constant support.
Aodh Ruadh take on Burt in the under 21 championship quarter-final in Father Tierney Park this Wednesday, 28th August.
Throw in is at 7pm and we would call for a good showing of local support at this first championship outing at this grade for the club in many years.
The under 16s suffered a disappointing defeat at home to Saint Eunan’s in the league semi-final. They failed to take a number of scoring opportunities in the opening half and both teams went in level at half time.
Saint Eunan’s were the far hungrier team in the second half and ran out convincing winners 5-9 to 4-6.
The manner of this defeat and the lack of fight in the majority of the team was very disappointing.
It is hoped that the lads will learn from this defeat and will come back stronger for the championship semi-final against Burt on the 12th September.
We have pictures from the game up on aodhruadh.org.
On Saturday last Donegal played Sligo in an under 16 challenge game in Father Tierney Park.
After a closely contested battle it was Donegal who ran out winners by two points. Eugene Drummond, Oisín Rooney, Brendan Gillespie, Shane McGrath and Cian Duffy are part of the Donegal panel and all performed well on their home pitch.
The game was well reffed by Peter Horan. We have pictures from that game up on aodhruadh.org.
The All-Ireland under 14 and under 16 B blitzes take place in Newry this Saturday and Aodh Ruadh will be well represented on both panels and we wish the lads well in these tournaments.
The under 12s continued their winning ways with a hard fought win away to Gaoth Dobhair on Thursday last on a 3-5 to 3-4 score line.
They have three league games left and are a strong position to qualify for the A final.
They play Four Masters this Thursday in Father Tierney Park.
Training as normal at 12 noon this Sunday.
Ladies
The Aodh Ruadh Ladies had a busy weekend this weekend, as they took to their bikes bright and early Saturday morning to commence the annual Cyclothon.
A huge thank you goes out to all who turned out on the day to pedal on the day and all the people who supported the Aodh Ruadh Ladies club on the day in their quest to raise funds. We have some pictures from the event up on aodhruadh.org.
The minors have no fixtures for this week, but are due to play Naomh Columba away next Tuesday and Four Masters at home the following week.
Training continues Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7pm along with the senior ladies who are looking forward to taking on Milford in the intermediate county final on Sunday, 1st September.
Time and venue are yet to be confirmed. A large local support would be greatly appreciated. Good luck girls.
The under 14s were defeated on Thursday by Carndonagh which leaves them out of the running for the semi-finals as only the top two teams qualify.
Overall the girls put in a great season by making it into the A championship and being able to hold their own against some very tough competition.
Well done to all the players.
Under 12 training resumes on Tuesday 3rd September at 6pm in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh at 6pm.
Bingo
This Friday 30th August the Abbey Centre plays host to a monster bingo with a jackpot prize of €1,000 in last game on 50 numbers or less and six games with house prize of €100 and four games with house of €150.
All lines are €40. Bring a friend for a great night of craic and prizes.
The roster for Bingo callers to the end of September is displayed in Áras Aoidh Ruaidh and at the Abbey Centre.
We would now like to recruit a few new helpers to share the workload.
You can approach the rostered bingo caller if you are willing to assist them on their night on.
Fantasy race for Sam
After a two week break in the fantasy race for Sam, it remains unchanged in the top three places this week, after Mayo’s fine win over Tyrone at the weekend.
The top three all had Mayo. So its Sean McKenna (Mc Kenna’s Machine) who still leads on 283 points.
In second is still Mick Melly (King of the Hill) on 260, while Joe Gillespie (M Team) are on 248 in third place. Niall Clancy (Run Forest Run) has leap-frogged into fourth place on 240, with Tommy McCafferty (Foaling Around) in fifth place on 238 points.
With one more semi-final this weekend and the final where there are 50 bonus points available for the winning team, it’s still all to play for.
The scenario at the bottom is more straight forward as it’s a straight two way battle for last place, which is currently occupied by Shauna O’Mahoney (Girls Rule) on 35 points. Bobby Murphy (Chunky Chips) are on 36 points with all his selections finished scoring. Shauna has Bernard Brogan left, so if he scores more than 2 points in his remaining games, Bobby will be the last place winner, however if Brogan fails to add to his scoring tally, then Shauna will be the last place winner.
The others who have the distinction of being in the bottom five are John Patton (The Bookie Men) on 62, Philip Mulrone (Undertakers are go) on 63 with Kevin McGrath (Motor Men) on 67 points.
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.
Fun Run and Walk
Cards have gone out for the Aodh Ruadh 4K 10K fun run and walk on Sunday 15th September.
Runners and walkers go under starter’s orders at 12 noon at Father Tierney Park. Registration for the event takes place on Saturday 14th September between 6pm and 7pm and again on Sunday from 10am to 11.30am.
Please support this fund raiser generously. Sponsorship is €2 per line, or more if you’d like.
Caps for gear
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.
Restricted access
There may be restricted or no access to the car park at Father Tierney Park over the next ten days as work has to be undertaken to deal with surface water there.
Vehicles can be parked across the road on the entrance area to Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh.
Trophies and heritage
We wish to use the display cabinet in the hallway of Áras Aoidh Ruaidh to put on display old cups and trophies which have had an association with the club over the years.
The Gold Flake Cup (Senior Football Tournament) has been located with the help of Gerry Ferguson. Other cups which we would like to get returned include the Frank O’Neill Cup (Town League), the AIB Cup (Junior Football Tournament); the Agnes O’Neill Cup (Camogie), the James Daly Memorial Cup (Hurling) and the Malachy Cullen Cup (North West Hurling League).
Please contact Tom Daly if you know the whereabouts of these trophies which are an important part of club history.
Recreational football
Recreational football at Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh continues to attract good numbers, and is back once again this Saturday at 7pm. For more information just text or call Peter (0879755466) or Alan (0868052816).
Lotto
There was no winner of the €5,200 Aodh Ruadh Lotto jackpot last Sunday. The numbers drawn were 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 16. In the lucky dip €20 each went to: Odhran O’Neill, Carrickboy; Tony Larkin c/o John Larkin, Assaroe View; Rita McGullion, Belleek; Ken Monaghan, East Port; and Marie Harte, Tonragee.
Next draw is in the Bridgend on Sunday at 8.30pm. The jackpot is €5,300 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.