Reeling in the year 2021
The ninth instalment of our Reeling In the Year feature brings us back to September 2021.
It was hectic on the playing fields in September with condensed schedules being completed at fierce speed. There was a mixed bag for the ‘hill in terms of results with a number of finals reached, but with no success unfortunately.
Our U-12 boys secured their place in the league final with a comprehensive win over St. Colmcille’s. They went on to lose out to Kiltha Óg in the Final after extratime. (4-6 v 2-6)
Terrific effort from the Hill lads and although naturally very disappointed, this group can be immensely proud of their performance in the final. They have shown great improvement all year and reaching a final for the first time was a great end to the year. Well done today lads and hard luck on this occasion. Ye’ll be back again competing for silverware no doubt!
A massive thanks to the coaches for the time and work put into this group all year.
U12 Team: Cormac McCarthy, Liam Sheehan, Lorcan O’Herlihy, Scott O’Mahony, Will Manley, Gearoid Fitzgerald, Diarmuid Connolly, James Buckley, Fergal Duffy, Darren Cahill, Matthew Counihan, Dylan Joyce, Billy Graham, Tadhg McCarthy, Cillian O’Connor, Sam O’Leary, Tom Fennell, Joe Beecher, Eoin O’Brien, Jake Loftus, Eamon O’Shea, Andrew O’Mahony, Josh Madden. Coaches: Brendan Duffy, Eamonn Fitzgerald, Willie John Manly, Shane McCarthy, Barry Joyce.
Our U15 boys also progressed to the East-Cork final with a victory over Erin’s Own but lost out to St. Coleman’s in the final after a titanic battle in Ballinacurra. Not to be outdone the U-13’s also enjoyed victory over Blackrock in the Premier 2 league. Go-games continues also with our U-10 team travelling to Carrig Na Bhfear and our U-11 team hosting Ballyhooly and Castlelyons in Watergrasshill. On the adult side our Intermediates lost out to Castlelyons (3-21 v 1-11) in their 1st round championship game and also went down in round 2 to Iniscarra (2-17 to 4-13) with the Junior A team also losing out to Cobh in the 1st round.
Off the field - there was a buzz of excitement around the village as a film crew from TG4 paid a visit to interview some past pupils and get some shots of Felix Sarsfield Memorial Park as part of the documentary which aired in December documenting the life and times of Eamonn Ryan. Club members shared their fond memories of Eamon and talked about the legacy he has left in our community.
The next phase of our program to improve the facilities and accessibility to same for our entire community also took shape in September with the completion of a dedicated foot and cycle path linking the village to our grounds. Since the opening of Felix Sarsfield Memorial Park in Condonstown in 1978, the fundamental benefit of having our GAA grounds at the heart of our community, safely and easily accessible for all was always hampered by the N8/R639.
Whilst the location made vehicular access relatively easy, pedestrian and cycle access has always been unattractive due to the lack of a proper footpath. However, thanks to the efforts of our club committee, a new cycle and foot path have now been completed which connects the village directly to our grounds. This is a great piece of infrastructure, which now means that one can walk from the centre of the village to the pitch and with the extension of the reduced 60Kph to a point North of our grounds, the stretch of road has now been transformed to an amenity where evening walks to the pitch are safe and enjoyable.
With upgraded junction signage, a staggered crossing point and new footpath and access works at the southern end of the grounds, the connection with the village has been much improved and will no doubt benefit the entire community for years to come. Watergrasshill GAA would like to thank Cllr. Sheila O’Callaghan and Cork County Council for their support in completing this invaluable project for our community.
LOTTO
There was no winner of the lotto jackpot this week. Numbers drawn were 2, 7, 20 and 32. Lucky dip winners are Pat O’Leary (The Pound), Charlie Walsh, Mickey Cronin (Lombardstown) and Ciara Cashman. Congrats to you all. Next week’s jackpot is a fantastic €11,900 and draw will take place Monday, 15th February. Tickets are on sale in some of the village businesses like The Hut Bar, The Fir Tree, Johnny’s Shop and our new lotto stand in Ross’s Centra. Tickets can also be purchased online via our club website (www. watergrasshillgaa.ie). The Club would like to take this opportunity to thank all our members and supporters of the Watergrasshill GAA Club Lotto. The club lotto is a vital source of income for the running of all our teams within the club and for future development of our facilities, so we ask you to please support it if you are in a position to do so. Remember, if you’re not in you can’t win.
PITCH SIGNAGE AND ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITY
As we enter a new decade, we do so with great optimism and excitement here at Watergrasshill GAA Club. Later this decade we will celebrate our centenary year, which will be a special milestone. While it’s important to celebrate the past and the history of the club, it’s also important we look forward to the future. With this in mind, the club will shortly be undertaking a development project, to prepare the club for the future and further position ourselves at the centre of our community.
Part of this project will be the development of our existing club grounds. To that end we will endeavour to raise a revenue stream from advertising, while giving businesses the opportunity to advertise their services and reach a wider audience within our community. With the playing numbers on the increase our facility will be a busy spot over the coming years, and we would love to have your name and business positioned in the hearts and minds of all those who visit on a weekly basis. We are offering advertising space via pitch signage, 3000mm wide x 750mm high. These are a 5-year gloss laminate, flash mounted to 0.2mm skin diabond sign. If you would be interested in this opportunity to advertise and support our club, please contact Claire O’Leary on 087-6239297 or any member of the club who can provide assistance.
REBELS BOUNTY DRAW
Support from across the parish and beyond has been fantastic and we’ve now surpassed our minimum target, meaning that proceeds from every ticket sold go directly back into our community. We’ve also now set up an internal monthly draw for a €50 prize for all Rebels Bounty ticket holders giving 31 chances to win per month, that’s 372 prizes over the 12 monthly draws.
The Rebels Bounty draw is an initiative of “One Cork” to give clubs a significant opportunity to raise funds. Proceeds from every ticket sold above minimum targets go directly to our clubs in Watergrasshill and Glenville. We had a fantastic response in 2021 and tickets are now up for renewal. We are asking all members and supporters to renew again this year and support this very important fundraised for both clubs. The 2022 prize fund is over €500,000 with 30 chances to win every month. Entries can be made on-line via www.gaacork.ie/ rebelsbounty or through any club member. If you need any assistance, feel free to contact Brian or Paud or please email rebelsbounty@gaa.ie or hillglenvillerebelsbounty@gmail.com. Your support is greatly appreciated with much needed funds going directly into supporting your club and your community, míle buiochas duitse go léir.