GRASSROOTS

AN TOCHAR

Best wishes to all our players who are sitting Exams at the moment. Go n-eiri libh.

School Sports - please note the sports day scheduled for Friday 16th has been cancelled.

Alex Grey, PSquared Performance, is on hand to guide you through your fitness programme in the An Tóchar Fitness Centre. Call up or ring Alex to join any of the classes or to discuss personal training. https://www.facebook.com/psquaredperformance

GAA Cúl Camps - the An Tochar Cúl Camp will run from July 10 to 14. The camps fill up quickly so get your place/places booked. Further information/booking available on www. kelloggsculcamps.gaa.ie.

NEWTOWN

The seniors drew against Carnew in the league away last Sunday, which was a good result considering the number of players who were unavailable for the fixture. The first championship fixture is scheduled for July 2 against Avondale, so training will continue in earnest in the run up to the match.

Our popular junior magpie’s nursery resumes this coming Saturday and every Saturday at 10am on the pitch, an hour’s fun and excitement is guaranteed each week for 4-8 year olds. If you need more info please give Barry a buzz at 086 8390507.

The under-7 and under-9s had a blitz last Friday in Bray; their next blitz is a monster All County affair in Ballinakill on Saturday, June 24. Both these teams are training on Tuesdays at 6.30pm.

The under-13s unbeaten run was emphatically ended in Hollywood by a very strong home side.

Newtown were very slow getting going and playing against a strong wind however we found ourselves 4-9 to 0-4 down at half time.

Newtown started the second half much improved and dominated the first 15 minutes scoring 1-6 without reply but not near enough for all the possession they had and just couldn’t find the goals they really needed to get back into the game.

St Kevins then got back on top in the latter part of the half and ran out convincing winners in the end.

The under-8 and under-10 girls had a blitz in Ashford recently and are training on Wednesdays at 6.30pm.

The under-12 girls are doing well in the league and had a great win over St Nicks recently, their next match is at home to Coolkenno on Tuesday, June 27.

Well done to Grace Murphy, Alicia Farrell, Katelyn O’ Toole, Hannah Martin, Tia McDonald, Anastasia Razniak, Katie Smith and Emma Walsh who all made their county debut last Saturday in a Leinster blitz in Carlow.

The under-14 girls next game is against Bray Emmets and training is Mondays and Thursdays at 7pm.

The under-16 girls are taking a break from matches until after the junior cert but training continues every Wednesday and Friday at 7pm. Best of luck to all sitting exams over the coming weeks.

If you need more info about any of our juvenile teams please give Shay a ring on 087 2699620. All membership is now overdue and must be paid within the next two weeks when we will implement a strictly no pay no play policy.

The Kellogg’s Cúl Camps are returning to Newtown once again this year from July 24 to 28 and online registration is now open (www. kelloggsculcamps.gaa.ie)

There is a good stock of club gear now available to buy for any enquiries regarding club gear please contact Amy at 086 3332195.

Congratulations to all the boys are girls who made their confirmation last week, we hope you all had a great day.

Two lucky match three winners took home €100 last week. However, the jackpot rolled over to €3,600. Numbers drawn were 17, 19, 21, and 23.

TINAHELY

If anyone wants to be notified by text of Senior and Junior football matches to send their names to Deirdre on 087 2167504.

Lotto results from June 6, numbers drawn were 1, 12, 21, and 23. Bonus number was 17. There was no jackpot winner, no match threes. There were four lucky dips: Angela Tallon, Jack O’Dare, Michéal Dillon, Betty Hedderman. Next week’s jackpot: €6,300. TINAHELY LADIES - Well done to everyone who took part in the Ellen Kinch Memorial Cup last Saturday. A fantastic day was had by all.

Junior Football - The lads were away in the league last Thursday night to Annacurra. At halftime we held a four-point lead but the second half proved to be difficult as Annacurra ran out on a winning score line of 2-15 to 2-12. Team on the night was: Chubby, Timmy, Tonto, Joey, Willie, Quaile, Jamie, Ray, Kevin Doyle, Anto Phelan, Enda, Stewart, Eric, Wazza, David Dillon, Bill.

Senior Football - The lads are busy preparing for championship which is about two weeks away now.

They had a useful run out against St Andrews on Sunday evening last and last night they played Bunclody so the games are coming thick and fast.

ÉIRE ÓG GREYSTONES

IOMÁINT - The claims of its devotees that hurling is the aristocrat of field sports was shown to have some substance in the championship games between Cork and Tipperary (56 scores) and Wexford v Kilkenny (35 scores).

One might say that the Munster semi-final, while still maintaining the warrior ethos of the sport, was very much a game for the purist with the full panoply of hurling’s multitude of skills on display whereas the Leinster match, a contest no way short on skill, was more to the taste of “the clash of the ash’ aficionados.

When one considers the small population base of iomáint, it surely reflects well on it as a sport that it can produce contests of this calibre, contests that – there is no doubt – would not be out of place in any of the world’s sporting arenas.

As is evidenced on Saturday mornings when in excess of a hundred six to seven year-old boys and girls are regularly seen in the club’s grounds ag baint spraoi out of belting the sliotar about, Éire Óg is doing its bit to widen the base.

Hurling is a game that requires a hardiness that many other games do not – a swung camán can be a frightening sight for a young child new to the game – so it is important that children are introduced to the sport in an environment in which they do not encounter an off-putting physicality.

An Éire Óg parent who was acting as an umpire in a recent underage hurling game informed these notes that he had brought to the attention of the referee that one of the opposing players was using the hurl for purposes other than the striking of the sliotar but the referee totally ignored him.

Another parent corroborated his story. They both feared that this aggressive behaviour of pulling across players, if not stamped out at all levels but particularly at juvenile level, will cause players and their parents to walk away from the sport.

ARP Junior and under-11 hurlers visited Greystones recently to play the locals in their respective leagues and had mixed fortunes. The under-11s won a very exciting game 3-02 to 2-01 while the adults went away sorrowing. The junior game was a good open and honest contest in which the superior fitness of Éire Óg told in the last 10 minutes.

The senior camogie team played a practice game against Avoca in Avoca on Thursday night last. They were beaten but the improvement in the standard of their play was a source of great satisfaction to their mentors. The highlight of the game was the 1-1 score from play by underage mentor Suzanne.

PEIL NA MBAN U-12 - It was great to hear that eight of our under-12s were part of the county squad which took part in the recent Leinster Inter-County Blitz.

Three Cill Mantáin teams took part and there were two Éire Óg cailíní, Jane Merren and Aisling Roche, on the team which was beaten by one point by Laois in the final.

Jane, who is a key member of the u-14 and u-12 teams, has recently been plagued by a calf injury and has only been operating at half throttle in her last few games.

On Tuesday in Carnew in the penultimate round of the league she played most of the game in goal. For the last 10 minutes she was moved outfield and almost turned the game around – Éire Óg lost by four points. She was unable to play in the final of the blitz and her loss was severely felt.

The Éire Óg girls who travelled to Carlow were Ciara O’Neill (daughter of Féile mentor Peter), Aleesha Campbell, Sophia King, Jane Merren, Aisling Roche, Abbie Smullen, Ellen Phelan and Ellen Byrne.

Playing with the county squad was a great experience for these cailíní: it involved a number of collective training sessions which proved hugely beneficial to their football and the outing to Carlow was a very enjoyable occasion.

Our adults travel to Wicklow on Friday to take on St Pats.

BLESSINGTON

Division 4 Football League West away v Donard . Game was postponed due to water logged pitch in Donard. Next up is a home game v Kiltegan at 7.30pm.

Senior ladies – Our ladies are away v Portobello on Wednesday at 7.30pm. TBC Senior Ladies v Clare on Saturday, June 17, home.

Under-8 girls played Baltinglass on Saturday. All the girls played brilliantly and won both of their matches. Well done to all that took part.

Under-10 girls played Baltinglass in the Kildare league on Saturday morning. All girls put in a great performance resulting in a great win for Blesso. Special mention to Ava on her first game for Blesso, earning herself player of the match. Well done all.

Physio -Physio on Wednesday at 7pm in the clubhouse. €5 donation. Players training will have first preference.

G4M&O - Training Wednesdays from 7pm to 8pm. Anyone over 18 is welcome to come along and try it out for a few weeks no previous football experience is needed. We have had a few new people trying out the last couple of weeks great to have some new faces. Big thanks to Lorcan McMahon for taking training last week. For more information contact Michelle 086 3734748, Sinead 086 2446510 or Kevin on 087 6123202.

Juvenile – For upcoming fixtures, pictures and pitch rota please see our website and Facebook page.

Coach training - Foundation course – We are hopefully running the practical element of the foundation award course in Blessington GAA in the coming weeks over two two-hour sessions. The theory is separate to be completed online in your own time. If anyone is interested please contact Cormac on 087 9005577.

Under-8s – The Blesso under-8s put in another strong performance in the NKL with a good win at home to Leixlip on Friday night. Overall team performance was very good seeing them come away with a win on a scoreline of 8-8 to 3-1.

Under-10/Under-11 – Unfortunately our scheduled games against Rathnew and Avondale in under-11 league weren’t played due to the weather on Wednesday, June 7, so will be played at next opportunity in coming weeks.

Our under-11 NKL team hosted Leixlip on Saturday 10th in blustery conditions. Despite opening up a good lead in the first half we struggled against the wind in the second half and ended up second best.

Under-12/Under-13 – Training on Wednesday from 6.30 to 8pm, Friday from 6.30pm to 8pm.

Under-12s - Played at home against Leixlip on Saturday but were well beaten by a strong Leixlip team.Well done to Finn Behan and Dylan Freil who both came home medal winners from the community games on Saturday.

Under-13s - Well done to Sam Gough, James Dooley, Rory Cullen and Austin Brennan who played extremely well with the under-13 Wicklow Development Squad against Kildare on Saturday.

Hopefully a few more of the under-13 squad will join the Wicklow Dev. Squad in the coming weeks. Next Games: 19th June Away V St Pats. Re-fixture of U13 V Eire Og Wed 14 Jun away on Wed 14 Jun at 7pm.

Hurling - Western Gaels Féile 2017 – Best wishes to Western Gaels as they head off to Our Lady’s Island Wexford for the All-Ireland Féile this weekend on June 16.

Best wishes to our Blessington GAA lads and families who are taking part – Austin Brennan, Liam Phibbs, Patrick Doherty, Conor Gilligan, Conor Richardson, Adam Williamson and Sam Gough.

Go Games – Hurling under-7/under-9 in Kiltegan on Friday at 6.30pm.

Under-10 hurling – Away v Kill on Wednesday at 7pm.

Under-11 hurling – Away v Avondale on Wednesday at 7pm.

Hurl repairs - Hurley repairs - €5 a fix, €2/ hoop. Contact Ciarán 085 7145288

Lotto – Blessington GAA Lotto Jackpot was won on Tuesday, May 30. Thank you for your continued support. Remember you can also play online at www.blessingtongaa.ie.

Tree of Hope – The club will hold a Tree of Hope planting ceremony up at the pitch at 11.15am on Saturday, June 17. The Tree of Hope strives to provide a place of comfort where survivors can memorialise their loved ones lost to suicide or living with depression. Anyone attending is welcome to bring along a yellow balloon or a picture of their loved one.

Under-14 Girls Fundraiser - Our U14 Girls Team (helped by their parents) are having a car wash in Blessington GAA Pitch on Saturday from 9am to 4pm. A Car Wash will cost €7 and a vacuum will cost €5.

Remember to keep updated on what is happening in the club. Log on www.blessingtongaa.ie and Blessington GAA on Facebook and on Twitter @blessingtongaa. If you wish to be on the Blessington GAA Supporters text list, please text your name to 085 1607808.

ASHFORD

Ashford and Glenealy GAA Lotto results from Tuesday, June 2 for a jackpot: €3,200. Numbers drawn: 3, 12, 23, and 27. No jackpot winner. Match 3’s: Keith & Karen Doyle c/o V Doyle; Hilary Doyle c/o B Farrell; Mikey O’Neill c/o Sheila; Declan Doyle c/o Jenny Byrne.

Next draw takes place on Monday, June 12, at Chester Beatty’s for a jackpot of €3,500.

Intermediate team lost to Kilcoole in Ashford on a scoreline of 1-14 to 2-16.

Next up is Aughrim this Tuesday in Aughrim at 7.30 pm.

A comedy night, in aid of the GAA club, will be held in Chester Beatty’s on Saturday, July 1, commencing at 9.00 pm. Tickets are on sale now for €10.

A great turnout for the girl’s under-8s and under-10s blitzes in Ashford on the bank holiday weekend. Well done to all concerned.

This year’s Kellogs GAA Cúl Camp will be held in Ashford from Monday, July 31, to Friday, August 4. First child cost is €60, second child €50, third and subsequent child €40. Contact Stephen Behan for more information.

The second Ashford GAA Summer Camp will take place from Tuesday 15th. to Friday 18th. August. Cost is €45 for first child and €35 for any additional child from the same family.

Our Lotto will be going online soon. Further information to follow.

Further information on Ashford GAA activities can be found via Facebook and from our web page, www.ashfordgaa.com.

GLENEALY

Well done to the Glenealy Junior team who are top of the league. They gave everything against Kiltegan last week.

They play Arklow Rocks this Wednesday in the Park. All players be there for 6.30pm please.

Speedy recovery to Tony Conyard who is captain and who was badly missed and to Ronan Manley who picked up a bad hand injury while playing a match on Sunday evening.