BALTINGLASS

Lotto - There was no match four winner of last week’s lotto which was for €6,800. The numbers drawn were 4, 18, 22, and 24. There were however six match three winners, each of whom win €50.

The jackpot for the draw to be held on September 12 will be for €7000 and will be held in Horan’s Pub on Main Street.

We would like to thank all of you who continue to support our lotto, as well as those who sell tickets, check tickets, collect and deliver etc. Remember, you can also play our lotto on line. Please check out www.locallotto.ie. Perhaps you might pass this website on to those who are away but would like to support the club and be in with a chance to win the ever increasing jackpot.

Launch of Baltinglass Broadway Challenge - A large crowd gathered in Horan’s on Friday night for the Launch of Baltinglass GAA Club’s 2016 Broadway Challenge.

The event will take place in Mount Wolesley on the Sunday of the October Bank Holiday weekend and will see up to 10 teams of local singers and chancers (I mean dancers) performing Broadway classics such as Let it be, Les Misarables, Grease, Motown and Queen, to name but a few.

The teams will commence training or rehearsing as we now like to call it on September 25, and will be ready to give you a great night out in six weeks time.

We can’t guarantee you that the next Susan Boyle or Mary Byrne will be discovered. Nor can you guarantee that the dancing will be of a standard that would turn Michael Flatley green with envy. What we can guarantee is that everyone taking part will do their very best to be the best they can be on the night. We can also guarantee that this will be a night to remember or possibly a night you will never forget, depending on your level of expectation.

One thing is for sure, it is about time that we, as a club, gave our wonderful supporters a great night out and that’s what it will be. Keep the date in mind. Get your tickets sorted early – book a room if you need to and let’s have a party on Sunday, October 30.

Senior Men - The Senior men took on Coolkenno in quarter-final of the championship on Sunday and entered the fray with a clear understanding that Coolkennos physicality and ability was something to be reckoned with.

To make that understanding even clearer, Coolkenno rattled the back of the Baltinglass net with just 15 seconds on the clock.

In a goal worthy of Croke park, the kick was sent from 21 yards out to the roof of Mark Jackson’s net, leaving him without a chance of saving it.

To be fair to the lads, they responded well and replied shortly after with a goal of their own as the ever-present Joey Kelly slotted the ball to the back of the net. Baltinglass continued to own the ball for the rest of the half, but kicked eight wides leaving just two points between the sides at half-time.

Baltinglass came out strong again in the second half but despite our dominance, we didn’t seem to be able to find that clinical edge which was present in our previous two games.

We did extend the lead out to five points at one stage, at it was clear that Coolkenno were resorting to route 1 and lobbing high balls in on top of Don Jackman at the edge of the square.

For the most part, the lads defended this threat sufficiently.

However with 10 minutest to go, one such ball found the net directly as the flight seemed to deceive everyone.

This coincided with Baltinglass going down to 14 men. Frees started to seem to go against us and memories of past championship losses loomed large.

However this time, it was not to be. To say the lads dug deep is an understatement. The introduction of Declan Jones and Brian Nolan, and some quality moves, ably finished by Sean O’Brien saw the lads hold on to a threepoint advantage in the end on a score line of Baltinglass 1-09, Coolkenno 2-06.

They now face Bray in the semi-final, where they will need a serious improvement if they are to reach a county final.

Juvenile - This was a very good week for the Baltinglass Juvenile section. As it now stands, our Seniors, Minors, U16s and U14s are in county semi-finals. Our U12s are in the Group 1 ‘A’ final and the U8s and U10s are making huge progress.

This progress can not be made without the coaches, parents, and players all working together with the aim of improving the young players skills, whilst they continue to enjoy their participation.

We would like to thank the parents in particular for their loyalty to our club. We hope that the children are continuing to enjoy themselves and should anyone wish to volunteer to help out with the coaching or administration in any way, it would be greatly appreciated.

The Minors had a very impressive win in Roundwood on Wednesday night where they overcame Pearse Gaels which is a combination of An Tochar, and surrounding clubs.

The score at half-time in the match was Baltinglass 0-05, Pearse Gaels 0-02 Goals by Jack Timmins and Jordan Deans, and a penalty save by William Rogers say Baltinglass run out winners on a score line of Baltinglass 2-10, Pearse Gaels 0-08. This is a very young Minor team but their skill and teamwork of the lads have now seen them progress to the Minor Semi Final

The U16 girls had a comprehensive win against Valleymount, also on Wednesday night and are progressing nicely.

The U14 ‘A’ boys had a very good win over St. Nicholas by a point and are now through to the county semi-final, whilst our U14 B team had a comprehensive win over Kilbride.

The U12s are in the Group 1 ‘ A’ final in Ballinakill on Saturday next, September 17. Times have yet to be confirmed as all of the U12 finals take place that day. However, we suspect it will be at 12.30pm or thereabouts.

We will let you know on our Facebook page as soon as this is confirmed, but we would love if you could come to support this young team. They have managed to stay unbeaten in the league to date and have worked very hard to get this far. It would be great to see them with good support on the day.

U10 boys traveled to Newbridge on Sunday to play in a tournament to which they had been invited to participate by the Sarsfields Club.

They had a great morning despite blustery weather conditions.

Baltinglass managed to enter two teams of on the day, which meant that everyone got to play 3 full matches.

It was a magnificent experience, especially for the younger lads who joined the panel this ear. The opposition on the day was Sarsfields, Eire Og Carlow, Emo and Kilmacud Crokes.

The coaches would like to express their gratitude for all the players and parents who travelled on the day, for the respect they have shown and their continued loyalty.

Finally, we would like to express our thanks Sarsfields GAA Club for their hospitality. We have been travelling over for the past few years and it has always been an enjoyable day out.

U8 boys were invited to Clonmore on Saturday, to play in a tournament, which they had won last year and were looking to retain their title.

They played Rathvilly in the Semi final and managed overcome our near neighbours by a few scores.

They would then play the hosts in the final, Clonmore having beaten Knockananna in their semi-final. The coaches on the day were Michael Campion and Ken Riordan who amongst others have been working with the lads all year to see them develop their skills.

Having issued their instructions before the final, Michael and Ken could not have been prouder as the lads played some brilliant football to retain the trophy. The captain on the day was Brian O’Neill who gave a rousing speech as he accepted the trophy on behalf of Baltinglass GAA Club. Well done to all the players and Mentors.

Huge thanks also to all of the parents. We have no doubt that the lads made you feel very proud on Saturday morning and hope that they will continue to make us all so, over the coming years.