GRASSROOTS

U17 hurlers achieve first win in Celtic

SLIGO’S under 17 hurlers got their first win in the Celtic Challenge on Wednesday last over Kildare Cadets on a terrific scoreline of 7- 16 to 2- 8. This was a real team effort with a huge improvement in performance by all.

Daithí Hand’s team were first off the mark with a point from Andrew Kilcullen. This was the start of a scoring spree for Andrew as he finished the game with an incredible tally of 5- 10. Thomas Cawley made his debut in goals for the team and carefully directed puck outs meant that midfield and half forwards could supply ball to Andrew for quick scores.

Sligo had stars all over the field and will be happy with this team effort. Kevin O’Kennedy was nominated for the “Best and Fairest Award”, a well deserved reward for playing a captain’s role.

The team will play Donegal on Wednesday next in Ballyshannon. The Sligo panel of players were: T. Cawley ( E), C. O’Rourke ( NE), G. Connolly ( E), N. Campbell ( NE), O. Brady( B), N. Kilcullen ( E), C. Hallinan ( E), J. Cosgrove( C)( 1- 1), K. of Kennedy( T)( 0- 1), R. Conneely( NE) ( 1- 2), A. Kilcullen ( E)( 5- 10), D. Hanley ( E), S. Molloy( E), F. Moylan ( E)( 0- 2), F. O’Kelly Lynch( NE), P. O’Connor( B), S. Ballantyne( B),E R Mc Gowan ( E), M. Munnelly ( NE), A. Foster ( T), D. Keaveney( NE) ( 1- 0), B. Smith( NE). E- EASKEY / St. Farnan’s, B- Ben Bulben Gaels, C- Coolera/ Strandhill, NE- Naomh Eoin, T- Tubbercurry.

ST FARNAN’S

THE under 16 St. Farnan’s / St. Pat’s team defeated Coolaney/ Mullinabreena on Monday last on a score of 1- 20 to 2- 12. This win was hard earned as the team trailed Coolaney by ten points just before half time. There was no luck for our under 12 team on Tuesday as they were defeated 24 to 7 by Eastern Harps. On Wednesday the under 8/ 10’ s participated in a blitz in St. Pat’s. On Thursday the minor team had a very comfortable win over Geevagh/ St. Michael’s by 11- 14 to 0- 10. The team have a well earned break now until after the Leaving Cert. The junior team did not get the start to the league they wished as they were defeated by Drumcliffe/ Rosses Point by 4- 9 to 0- 9. The team play away to Coolera/ Strandhill on Saturday at 7 30 pm. Easkey / St. Farnan’s u 16 hurlers play the cup final of the league on Thursday in Markievicz Park. The under 14 football team are at home on Friday against St. Mary’s and away to Geevagh the following Monday. Both games are at 7 pm. Well done to Amber and Abbie Sweeney who won € 105 in the 50/ 50 draw. The next draw is on Sunday, May 21st. Please support. Good luck to Patrick O’Connor and Sligo senior team against Mayo on Sunday and to Shane O’Brien and the under 17 team also playing Mayo on the same day. Well done to Eamonn Kilgannon and Sligo hurlers on their win against Fermanagh on Saturday and good luck to them against Leitrim on Saturday next in the Lory Meagher competition. Well done to Cahan Hallinan, Gavin Connolly, Shane Molloy, Thomas Cawley, Donall Hanley and Sligo under 17 hurlers on their defeat of Kildare Cadets in the Celtic Challenge. The team play Donegal on Wednesday in Ballyshannon. Good wishes to James O’Connell and Sligo/ Leitrim u 13’ s in the All Ireland final on Sunday next.

COOLERA/ STRANDHILL

THE lotto numbers drawn on Monday May 8th were 13, 22, 23 and 25. There was no jackpot winner, nor were there any Match Three winners. The jackpot is now € 1700. Our annual Musical Treat takes place on Sunday May 21st at 7.30pm in Star of the Sea church, Ransboro. This year we are delighted to have Eurovision winner Charlie McGettigan, Eleanor Shanley, Kieran Quinn and Sandy Kelly providing the entertainment, as well as some exciting young local talent. Tickets are just € 15.00 and are available from Joe Gildea ( 0879558530), Frank O’ Sullivan ( 0879133800) or any committee member. The under 12 girls progressed to the semi- final stage of the A League with a hard fought victory over a very strong Eastern Harps team last Thursday. The girls now play Cloonacool- Tubbercurry Gaels in the semi final on Thursday. U10 and u12 hurling training continues in Ransboro pitch on Saturday mornings. U12s meet at 10.45, with u10s meeting at 11.00am. Training finishes at 12.00. The u12s played against Castleconnor on Wednesday night and after a difficult first half, the team steadied the ship and put in a fighting performance in a much tighter second half. There was a successful trip to Castleconnor on Wednesday night for Under 8s, U9s and U10s. Great numbers travelled with all teams so a big Thank You goes out to the parents. We had two under 8 teams playing with approx. 28 children in action. The Under 10 boys beat Rosses Point in the Community Games last Monday and now go on to play St Mary’s. No date has been set yet. Training continues for under 6- 8 every Friday in Scarden. Our Under 14 Boys suffered a disappointing defeat to Enniscrone in their 4th round match of the league. There were just three scores in it at the end, and plenty of positives to be taken from the second half performance. The under 16 girls brought their league campaign to an end with a defeat to Geevagh last Tuesday ( 9th) in Scarden, losing out on a score of 4- 13 to 2- 10. The under 11 and under 12 boys played host to Owenmore Gaels on Tuesday last. We came away with one win and one loss. The under 11s put in a great performance to win 2310. The visitors’ under 12 team proved very strong and ran out 26- 9 winners. The minor boys continued their recent good run of form with two wins in the last week. On Friday 5th we hosted Geevagh/ St. Michael’s in Scarden. Our boys were too strong for the amalgamated visitors and were comfortable winners 6- 10 to 1- 04. The boys followed this with an away fixture to Calry/ St. Joseph’s on Thursday 11th and, despite missing some players, dominat- ed from start to finish and were convincing winners.

COOLANEY/ MULLINABREENA

WITH the Sligo GAA coaches we will run our own GAA Kellogg’s Cul Camp this year from 31st July to 4th August. Places can now be booked on this camp at www. kelloggsculcamp. gaa. ie. The Club’s annual 8km road race will take place this year on 5th July in Coolaney. Coaching for U. 6, U. 8 and U. 10 takes place in the Community Park, Coolaney every Saturday morning between 10am and 11am. Our Minor team were defeated by Calry / St. Joseph’s last week, the game ended on a score of 0- 11 to 0- 18. The U. 14 team play Easkey on Friday 19th at 7pm, in Cloonacool. Our Division 4 team play Calry / St. Joseph’s on Saturday 20th at 7.30pm, in Hazelwood. Lotto Results- January draw Jackpot 4,600 euro, numbers 9, 10, 27, 30 no winner, no match 3 , match 2, John McCarrick and Michael Hosey. February Draw – jackpot 4,700 euro, numbers 5,17, 20, 29. no winner Match 3 winnerAngela & Frank Gilmartin. Thanks to everyone who purchases tickets and continues to support our Club lotto. The next Coaching meeting will take place on Wednesday 31st May at 9pm, in Coolaney, Community Centre. A Finance Meeting will take place on Wednesday 17th May at 9pm, in St. Nathy’s Hall. Anyone interested in joining this committee should come along. The best of luck to the Sligo team who play Mayo in Castlebar on Sunday next.

TUBBERCURRY

RESULTS: Hurling. U14 Tubbercurry/ Cloonacool 8- 2 Naomh Eoin 9- 7. Football U12 Tubbercurry/ Cloonacool 25- 9 Ballymote/ Bunninadden. 2nd team Tubbercurry/ Cloonacool 29- 4 Ballymote/ Bunninadden. Seniors. Tubbercurry 1- 12 Shamrock Gaels 0- 10. Coaching for u6/ 8/ 10 boys and girls continue on Friday evenings from 7- 8 under the watchful eyes of Tom Brouder, Sean Davey,John Brennan, Ger Roache, Paul O Donnell and Hugh O Boyle. Our u12s continue to make steady progress under coaches Michael Kelly and Brian Henry( Tubber) and Dessie Haran and Martin Skeffington( Cloonacool). With two teams everyone is getting plenty of game time. Coaching continues for them on Thursday nights. Now that our u14s have got their first win of the season with a very good performance against Shamrock Gaels away let’s hope they can keep the run going with two fixtures in quick succession against Enniscrone( home) and Calry( away). With a decent size panel it is vital that all players make every effort to be at training. Training under Pat Gilmartin and Kieran Clarke takes place this week on Monday eve at 7 in Tubbercurry. Our u16s have got back on track after losing to Molaise Gaels a few weeks back. Coaches David Curran( Tubber) and Bill Carty, Kieran McIntyre and Shane Gallagher( Cloonacool) inform us that training is going very well at the moment. Their next fixture is away to Geevagh/ St. Michaels. Our minors are working very hard under coaches Ray Kilcoyne( Tubber) and Fergus Leonard and Sean O Dowd( Cloonacool). While results haven’t being going their way so far we hope that their luck will change and they start to show their true potential. They are away to Molaise Gaels this Monday. Our seniors continued their run of good form with a victory over Shamrock Gaels in the Kiernan Cup. While missing a number of players they put in a very good first half of football leading 1- 10 to 5 at half. They struggled somewhat in the second half only registering 2 points but finally ran out winners on a scoreline of 1- 12 to 0- 10. Congratulations: Everyone in the club would like to extend congratulations to our midfield maestro Steven Gilmartin who got engaged to Aine Waters. Best of luck to the happy couple. Good luck to Sligo seniors and u17s who take on Mayo next weekend in their respective Connacht championships and also Sligo hurlers who take on Leitrim in the Lord Meagher championship. Tubbercurry club extends its sympathy to Christina Murphy and family on the passing of Christina’s sister Kathleen O Flaherty( nee Brennan late of Sandymount Dublin and Cloonacool. May she rest in peace. FIXTURES: 15th May @ 7 minors are away to Molaise Gaels. 17th May @ 7 u16s are away to Geevagh/ St. Michaels. 19th May @ 7 u14s are home to Enniscrone/ Kilglass. 20th May @ 3 county hurlers away to Leitrim. 21st May @ 11: 45 county u17s play Mayo followed by seniors v Mayo @ 2. Best of luck to all.

ST MOLAISE GAELS

BEST of luck to Sligo senior squad and man of the match in the New York game Eoin McHugh for Sunday’s Connacht championship clash against Mayo in Castlebar. In last Friday night’s junior championship clash between the same sides Cathal Burns, Alan McLoughlin and Keelan Waters all featured as Sligo went down to a 1- 15 to 0- 012 defeat, Our U12 Girls take on Str Farnan’s in the semi final of the B League at home this Thursday evening at 7,. 00pm. In a playoff fixture last week Gaels went down 13 scores to 11 against Drumcliffe/ Rosses Point in a thrilling game. We hope to see good support for the Girls this Thursday evening. Our U16 Boys made it five wins from their opening five fixtures in this years A League competition by beating Ballymote/ Bunninadden at home on Monday last on a scoreline of 6- 07 to 3- 07. Tuesday evening saw our two U12 Boys squads defeat Eastern Harps which leaves the Division I side in 3rd place in their competition while our Division III squad top their standings at this stage. Wednesday night and our U8 and U10 Boys squads made the trip to Coola and produced excellent displays at all age groups from U7 to U10. On Friday night last our junior side went down to a 2- 13 to 0- 10 defeat at home to a very strong Curry outfit in the first round of fixtures in the Division IV League while our senior mean continue to set the pace at the top of Group II in the Kiernan Cup following a fine second half display at home to St Mary’s on Sunday last resulting in a 1- 17 to 1- 05 win. The game also featured the welcome return to competitive action of Johnny Kelly after a long injury absence and his return is a huge boost to our entire senior squad. Fixtures this week see our U14 Boys at home to League leaders St Mary’s in the A League on Friday night at 7.00pm while on Saturday evening our junior men are away to Owenmore Gaels in the 2nd round of fixtures in the Division IV League at 7.30pm. Underage coaching continues this Saturday morning. Registration must close next week so any Players still to complete this please arrange to do so at the Club Building this Saturday morning. Our next Club Lotto Draw takes place on Monday next May 22nd at 8.30pm. Thank you to everyone for their continued support for this important fundraiser. Our annual “Cash for Clobber” fundraiser coincides with the return of underage coaching. If anyone has old clothes and footwear that they don’t need the Club would be delighted to take these. Goods can be left at the Club rooms on any Saturday morning. Thanks to everyone who volunteered to help out at last weekend’s successful Bag pack in Dunnes Sligo in aid of Bord na nOg. Sincere thanks to Paul Healy for arranging this fundraiser and event and for managing the arrangements over the three days.

The Club extends sincere sympathies to the Herity family Carns on the passing of Mrs Annie Herity.

EASTERN HARPS

CONGRATULATIONS to Lisa Casey who was part of the Sligo team that beat Leitrim in the Connacht Intermediate Championship. Next up is Roscommon. An understrength but resolute U16 team had to concede home advantage due to other underage matches in Keash/ Gurteen but still beat Shamrock Gael’s in Riverstown Park last Wednesday. For the first time in our history we are able to field 3 teams at U12 grade and all teams are performing exceptionally well. Our U8 and U10 teams hosted St. John’s in a highly entertaining fixture last Wednesday while on Thursday the unbeaten run of the minor boys came to an end when they were comprehensively beaten by Owenmore Gael’s in Connolly Park. The club’s grand draw takes place on this Saturday night May 20th at 10pm in The Travellers Rest. There is € 22,000 in prize money to be given out. Last year’s winner was Joe and Marguerite Drury from Monasteraden. We congratulate all involved in the official opening of the centre of excellence in Scarden on Sunday by Aogán O Fearghaíl. It has been an ongoing project for many years and several club members gave of their time and their finances to bring it to a successful conclusion. We are lucky to have several players involved in development squads and they now have the best facilities available to any team. We have started development on our new clubhouse. Our buy a block fundraiser is in full swing and we thank all the people who have purchased tickets. Anyone who would like to financially support our project are asked to contact any executive member. For more information please find us on Facebook or on www. easternharps. com. Best of luck to Ross and Keith and the Sligo team who take on Mayo this Sunday in Castlebar in the Connacht Championship quarter final. Sympathy is extended to the Fox Family on the death of Jim. Bingo continues every Friday night in Gurteen Hall at 8.30pm. The jackpot is € 1,700 in 46 calls or less. The in house lotto is € 300.

ST NATHY’S

CONGRATULATIONS to our Senior team who won the ACL Cup on Sunday against Eoghan Rua. The team made a fantastic effort and hopefully it is the beginning of more wins for the club this year. Thank you to Tubbercurry for allowing us their facilities and to Dermot Walsh for refereeing the game. We also want to say well done to all who took part in our Gaelic 4 Girls programme especially to our members Louise O’Donnell and Noelle Gormley who coordinated the sessions each week. It was a great success and each player showed brilliant interest and enthusiasm. We look forward to seeing these players play for the club in the years to come. Well done to Sligo Ladies on their win against Leitrim in Drumshanbo.

TOURLESTRANE

THIS week saw our teams on a winning streak with a few exciting close encounters with huge differences in the weather from the start of the week in the blazing sunshine to torrential downpours of Bunninadden. Monday kicked off the week with the u16 boys playing St Mary’s at home and made a triumphant comeback in the last quarter of the game to overcome a strong opposition. Tuesday evening at the pitch saw our u12 boys beat St Michaels but the u16 girls team were unlucky to be beaten by 3 points. Friday our u14 hurlers travelled to Castleconnor and came home victorious. On Saturday evening Curry were the hosts for a Kiernan cup game v our Senior team and we came out on top with a comfortable win. Sunday morning the Intermediate ladies under the guidance of David Bailey, Enda Kelly, Austin Walsh and Jenny Lundy headed out as the Heavens opened to face CT Gaels in the final of the ACL league. As both teams battled it out in the first half to gain scores there was just 2 points in it at half time. The second half showed both teams take the lead at different stages it looked like CT Gaels who had gained a lead that we couldn’t come back from the girls dug deep and with some excellent fielding and a huge team effort the final whistle blew with the teams at CT Gaels 3/ 8 Tourlestrane 2/ 11, with extra time the only option to claim the trophy. This was when the team fully kicked into action and showed they wanted this win and with some mighty scores taken when opportunity arose we snatched the win from CT Gaels grasp and finished 4/ 16 to 3/ 10. The chase was on then to make it across the parishes to see our Junior Men face Cloonacool away. The lads were brushed with the girls luck of the morning and the final result was Tourlestrane 18 points to Cloonacools 1/ 6. Congratulations to Clubman Adrian McIntyre who won man of the match in New York in the Sligo v New York game in New York last Sunday.

OWENMORE GAELS

MINOR League Result: Owenmore Gaels 2- 14 Eastern Harps 1- 5. The minor boys got their playoff chances back on track this evening as they welcomed league leaders Eastern Harps to Connolly Park. The visitors matched the Gaels point for point in the second half, before Kevin Quigley wrapped up the game with a well taken goal with ten minutes to go. After a couple of disappointing results over the last two weeks, this was a welcomed team performance and result. The lads worked tirelessly in defence and their discipline showed, keeping the visitors to six scores. Patient, yet ruthless in attack and increased physicality in midfield were welcomed traits to this always improving squad. The boys have one game left in the league which will be decisive in deciding how their league campaign finishes. They are away to