The Community Games Motto is Mens Sana in Corpore Sano - A Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body
COMMUNITY Games was introduced to Riverstown in 1972 by Paddy Kelly, ably supported by Dympna McKeon, Pat McDonagh, Breege McKeon, Fry Hannon, Beatrice Kenny, Ann Kelly, Marilyn Tuohy, and Zita Deignan. There was great support from the teachers in all the National Schools in the parish, and that continues to this day. Anyone with knowledge of any event was drafted in. The late Sean McGoldrick once expressed an interest in Chess, unfortunately he got no takers. Handball was another event that was tried out with little success. Grandparents were roped in to show their skill in coaching Draughts.
At Paddy’s untimely death in 1981 the games were firmly established with teams competing in Gaelic Football, Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, Badminton, Table Tennis, Draughts and Variety with Athletics, Art, Model Making, Swimming and Cycling. Girls Soccer was always a favourite and still is with the U15 Girls winning County Finals and going on to represent Riverstown in the national Finals.
Riverstown has excelled in Art and Model Making over the years. Rounders became very popular in the nineties with Riverstown being the pilot area for it. We introduced other areas to the game, many of them coming back to beat us. Lots of County Finals were won, the highlight being when the U13 Boys won bronze medals at the National Finals.
The highlight of the Sporting Calendar each year is the Athletics Finals in the park. It starts off with the Fancy Dress which always brings out the little ones decked out in their costumes. They are hoping for a prize in the funniest, prettiest, topical, and most original, depicting the events of the time. We have included some photos which we were able to resurrect from the past, hope you can remember the topic of the day and year. The novelty races also are very popular especially the Tiny Tots and the Mums and Dads races which are hotly contested and have had to be abandoned due to some over zealous fathers. Many of our athletes have gone on to win County and National Medals.
Our Gaelic Football teams have always featured strongly in the County winning many County Finals in Markievicz Park.
Over the years new disciplines and cultural events were added to the programme like the Choir, Projects, Culture Corner and Quiz. In recent years we have introduced Olympic Handball, Tag Rugby and Skittles.
The Culture Corner allows children to display their talents of music, song dance, and storytelling through the stories and folklore of Ireland. It is no surprise that with the wealth of talent in the area that they have taken home County and National Medals.
The Project Competition encourages children to research topics like the Environment, Nature, Community, Tourism and the role of sport in education. Again they have excelled in winning at County and National.
2017 has been a most successful year. Riverstown have competed in Gaelic, Soccer, Rounders, Draughts, Table Tennis, Futsal, Indoor Soccer, Skittles, Art, Swimming and Athletics. The best of luck to the Indoor Soccer U13 Boys, Skittles U12 and Skittles U14 teams who are competing in Connacht in July. This would not be possible without the support of parents, team managers, coaches, committee members and the gaelic and soccer clubs in the area.
Community Games has helped to build team spirit and pride in our Community.