GRASSROOTS

Great work continues at Nace’O’Dowd Park with the new sand training area nearing completion

Medal Presentation for Last Year’s Minor Championship and U-16 League winners on Friday night at 8’o’clock in St.Nathy’s Hall

The Sligo Leader partnership currently have a vacancy for a a position based in Nace’O’Dowd Park for the maintenance and caretaking of the grounds. Anybody interested should contact Sligo Leader at 0719141138 for further information. any club member. The Senior team got the league off to a great start with a narrow one point win over St Maloise Gaels. The team was: Mark Tuohy, Keith McMorrow, Paul Higgins, Declan WIllis, Gavin McMorrow, Karl McKenna, Evan Lyons, Liam O’Connell (0-1), Joe Henry, Daire Kearns, (0-2), Michael Kilkenny, James Carroll (0-2), Darragh Hailstones (1-8), Seamus Hailstones (0-1), CIaran O’Connor (0-1). Subs: Brian Boyd for M Kilkenny, Ben Tuohy for D Kearns (BC). They now play St Mary’s away next Saturday at 6.30PM.

The Junior team lost 2-06 to 2-12 against Eastern Harps in the league last Sunday. The team was: Rickie Johnston, Robbie Johnston, Ben Tuohy, Emmett Dodd, Alan Kelly, Conor Merrick, Niall Whelan, Eoin Carroll, Enda O’Connell, Marc Keegan (1-0), Cian McDermott (0-1), Mark Kearns (0-1), Steven Willis (0-2), Daniel Willis, Brian Boyd (1-2). Subs: Paul Brennan for R Johnston, Karl McKenna for B Tuohy, Michael Kilkenny for E Carroll, Daire Kearns for S Willis, Gavin McMorrow for N Whelan, Patrick Benson for M Kearns. They now play Owenmore Gaels away next Sunday at 2PM.

The Ladies Junior team had an impressive 6-13 to 3-3 win over St Molaise Gaels in the warm up league. The team was:- Meabh McDermott, Catherine Tuohy, Aoife Morrisroe, Ellis O’Connor, Roisin Durey, Aisling Boyd, Lisa Callaghan, Jade Lyons (1-0), Siobhan Brennan, Erin Mullaney (0-3), Mairead Tuohy, Roisin Kearns (2-2), Rachel Boyd (2-2), Sonia McDermott (1-1), Simone Kelly (05), Subs: Aoife O’Connor, Isobel Clarek. They now play St Michaels in the warm up league plate final.

The Minor boys continued their good run with 1-16 to 0-8 win over Tourlestrane last Thursday. The team was: Daniel Lyons, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Evan Lyons, Eoin Dwyer, Sean Carroll, Seamus Hailstones, Dillon McDermot, James Carroll, Michael Barry, Patrick Benson, Dylan Willis, Lee Deignan, Dylan Mullen. They now play Curry away this Friday at 6.30PM.

The U16 boys lost their opening league game 2-8 to 4-10 to Easkey/Enniscrone. The team was: Jack Duignan, Aodhan Eivers, Adam Kearns, Andrew McGreevy, Aaron McKenna, Conor Sheridan, Eoin Dwyer, Jason Kilkenny, Conor Kearns (1-1), Lee Deignan (1-5), Patrick Barrett (0-1), Conor McMorrow (0-1), Daniel Murphy Sub used: Shane Dwyer. They now play Calry away on Monday at 6.30PM.

The U16 girls lost by two points to Tourlestrane last Tuesday. The team was: Kate Brehony, Kate Brady, Laoise King, Danielle McGovern, Isobel Clarke, Andie Brady, Jade Lyons (3-2), Eala McDermott (3-0), Grace O’Carroll, Amy Willis, Ceili Faughnan, Ana McCann, Meave Lyons. Sub used: Emma O’Carroll .Their next game is at home to Drumcliffe on Tuesday 10th April.

The U12 boys start their league this Tuesday at home to Coolaney/ Mullinabreena at 6.30PM while our U12 girls play St Farnans at home on Thursday at 6.30PM.

The Gaelic 4 Mothers & Others commences training on Monday 9th April in Riverstown Park at 8pm. This is a fun non competitive way to learn the game, get some exercise, meet new people and have fun. No prior experience of football required just need to be over 21 - any enquiries to Michelle on 0876157455 - all new and past members welcome.

Congratulations and good luck to Coola U15 Soccer team who play in the All Ireland final on Tuesday 10th April in particular all the Gaels players involved Captain Johnny Kenny, Adam Kearns, Jason Kilkenny, Sam Tuohy, Ciaran Kenny, Conor McMorrow, Dylan Mc Kenna and James Foley.

The lotto jackpot stands a €3,400 with the next draw this Saturday 7th April in Des McDonagh’s.

The club wish to express sympathy with the family and relatives of Christopher John Gallagher formerly of Drumnacool who died in England.

BALLYMOTE

BALLYMOTE got Division 3 league off to a winning start by beating Owenmore Gaels last Sunday. A very tough game was exactly what Ballymote needed to get their league campaign off to a winning start. Team M Flannery, K Meehan, S Stagg, C McCann, O Conlon, R Flannery, M Healy, A Caffrey, M Rafferty, M Underwood (D Tighe 1-0), D Clarke, S Ross, C Byrne (N Colsh 0-4), M Irwin ( J Hever), P Lyons 0-6. Final score Ballymote 1-10 Owenmore Gaels 0-9. Next game is against St Marys 8th April at 2pm in Kent Pk. MINOR team continue their unbeaten run by beating Owenmore Gaels last Wednesday, final score Ballymote/Bunninadden 4-13 Owenmore Gaels 0-11. Their next game is against Tourlestrane 6th April at 6.30pm in Tourlestrane. U 16 game against Curry is rearranged to 9th April at 6.3opm. U 14 lost their opening game against Castleconnor, final score Castleconnor 8-11 Ballymote/ Bunninadden 5-10.

U 12 and U 11 start their competition on Tuesday against Tubbercurry/Cloonacool in Ballymote at 6.30pm.

U 8/10 have no training over the Easter Break and Go Games will start 18th April.

ST MICHAEL’S

THE Intermediate team had their first game in the Intermediate League against Bunninadden . Bunninadden ran out strong winners on the day. The team on duty was F McLoughlin. G Walsh .G McGowan. D Harte. P Kelly. C McTiernan. J Mackey P McTiernan. J Haran(0-1)K Carty. B Taaffe (0-5). P Flanagan. D O’Brien. P Murray. S Clerkin. Subs C Harte. N Mullen. P Clarke Training continues Tuesday and Thursday night and everyone is asked to attend also players to have all outstanding membership and insurance paid in the next week.

ST Michaels U-6 nursery coaching will resume on Friday April 6th at the usual time of 7pm in Ballintogher community centre. ST Michaels have been accepted into Sligo GAA’s Club Coaching Support Programme. It involves assessing the clubs strengths and weaknesses and assistance/ ideas being provided. We have a meeting with Ross Donovan next Wednesday April 4th at 8pm in units before our club monthly meeting. We are asking all coaches to attend as it important for the clubs future see you then thanks. THE club monthly meeting will take place on Wednesday night at 9.15pm sharp. All managers for each age group in both Ladies and Men’s are asked to attend. LOTTO numbers for this week are 8 11 28 30. There was No jackpot winner. There was 1 match 3. Anthony Kilcolm Killery Ballintogher . Next weeks draw will take place in Kellys Ballygawley. Jackpot now stands at €6700.

GEEVAGH

THE Intermediate footballers got their league campaign off to a ‘flyer’ when they collected both points from their clash with St John’s in Stenson Park on Saturday evening. We now face St Michael’s at home in round two this Saturday evening.

OUR senior ladies have qualified for the ACL Cup final by overcoming Tourlestrane in Pairc Ailbhe on Saturday morning. We now face St Nathy’s in the decider on Saturday May 12th.

THE U-16 Girls team defeated St Farnans in the opening round of the league on Tuesday last. Next up is a home fixture with Curry on Tuesday, April 10th at 7pm. OUR U-12 girls begin their league campaign in Ballisodare this Thursday at 6.30 while the U-12 boy’s league gets underway against Calry /St Josephs in Ballinode.

GEEVAGH /St Michael’s U-18’s lost away to Coolera / Strandhill on Thursday last and now face Calry in Geevagh on Monday April 9th with the Geevagh / St Michaels U-16’s lost away to Curry and face Tourlestrane in Geevagh on Monday , April 2nd at 6.30pm. OUR Annual Dinner Dance takes place in Killronan Castle on Friday 20th April. Tickets available through any committee member.

ST MARY’S

SATURDAY morning coaching is now into its second week, and again it is proving extremely popular with well over 100 boys and girls in attendance and enjoying themselves. Last weekend the Easter Bunny proved to be a very important visitor in the beautiful sunshine. A big thank you to our senior players Stephen Coen, Paul Kilcoyne, Cian Breheny, Kyle Cawley, Nathan Rooney and Luke Nicholson who came along to help give out Easter Eggs to all those participating. Coaching continues every Saturday until the end of September and new children are always welcome. A mention for Mark Breheny, who hosted a 2 day Easter Camp that proved a tremendous initiative for our youngest members. THE playing season has commenced for most players and best of luck to all our teams, their management and supporters over the coming months. It is tremendous to commence a Season with success and congratulations to both our Boys and Girls U14 squads who will be in Meath this June for the Feile having won their respective County competitions. All these kids would have come through the Saturday morning coaching. The boys’ national draw has placed St Marys in a group with two Meath teams including our hosts Navan O’Mahonys and also the Carlow champions.

THE U14 boys have started League action and recorded a 3-08 to 3-02 win against Coolera on Friday evening last. Their next match will be against Tubbercurry on 12th April. Our Minors played the same opposition in their league last Thursday. Although it ended in defeat, it was a spirited display by a young side and we look forward to our next fixture away this Thursday to Collaney/Mullinabreena with a 6.30 throw-in at Nace O’Dowd Park. The U12 boys see their first action when travelling this Tuesday to Owenmore Gaels in Connolly Park, Collooney. (Throw-in 6pm). In the girls’ game, we had our first U12 game of the season against Shamrock Gaels on Saturday morning. This was a challenge match in preparation for our first league match which will take place this Thursday against Coolera/ Strandhill at 6.30pm in Kent Park. There was a fantastic turn-out of 19 girls. All played well, with an abundance of energy and determination. Special mention for Niamh Meehan and Penny Richardson who both wore the St Mary’s jersey for the first time. The U 16 girls play their first match of the season when they take on Eastern Harps in a challenge match in Keash on Monday @ 12 o’clock. Their league commences a week later against Tourlestrane. It was a mixed weekend’s football for our adult teams. A youthful junior side fielded against Cloonacool in round 1 of the Division 3 league. Despite a tremendous effort throughout the team, low numbers necessitated introducing a number of younger lads to the squad and we were always going to struggle against a tidy Cloonacool outfit. It’s going to be a tough year but it was encouraging to see Daire Muldowney and Cormac Murray fighting hard in defence. Cian Muldowney was particularly lively up front and even filled in the full back line. The experience will stand to the players and better days are ahead as the squad grows over the season. The Seniors had a much brighter start to their league when visiting Curry. The calculators were needed as we edged the encounter by 2-13 to 2-12. Next weekend we host Shamrock Gaels in Round 2 on Saturday at 6.30pm.

DRUMCLIFFE/ROSSES POINT

OUR senior men’s footballers opened their Division 1 league campaign last Saturday evening with a 1-12 to 0-15 draw at home to Coolaney/Mullinabreena. Despite missing several players because of injury, the team battled back from a 0-7 to 0-2 deficit at one stage to earn a share of the spoils with Paul Logan contributing 1-7. Next up: we travel to Ransboro on Saturday evening to play Coolera/ Strandhill at 6:30pm. Saturday’s team was: Justin Lyons, Tommy Finnegan, John McGowan, Aaron McCormack, John Harvey, Dara Long, Hugh Kisby, Stephen Regan, Brian Monaghan, Neil Ewing (Capt), Eoin Gaughan 0-4, Jamie Gillen, Niall Canning, Kevin Davey 0-1, Paul Logan 1-7.Manager: Fergal O’Flaherty. Our ladies footballers completed their Spring League campaign last Saturday in Scarden, going down to Eastern Harps in a rearranged fixture. Hard luck to the Sligo ladies footballers who were beaten by Cavan in Division 2 of the National League last Sunday. The U16 boys footballers backed up their win against Tourlestrane last weekend with a spirited 2-10 to 3-6 success over St Mary’s at Kent Park on Tuesday evening. They now host St Molaise Gaels in round 3 of the league this bank holiday Monday at 6:30pm. The girls U16 footballers begin their league campaign on Tuesday, April 9th away to Shamrock Gaels. THE boys U14 footballers made a winning start to their Division 1 league campaign with a compre- hensive victory over neighbours St Molaise Gaels in Oxfield last Friday evening. The Oxfield pitch committee is looking for volunteers to give a hand with the maintenance of the main football field over the next number of weeks. The committee is meeting every Monday evening at 6:30pm to do some work, starting this Monday, April 2nd. If you can spare one hour, your help would be greatly appreciated. Bring the wellies! WE are still taking registrations for playing and non-playing members in 2018. You can register online via the club’s website drp.gaa.ie. Alternatively, contact Club Registra Jimmy O’Brien on 0872848037. OUR senior footballers began their league campaign with a hard fought draw in Gurteen against Eastern Harps. Leading by a point heading into the last minute, they suddenly found themselves trailing and it took a last gasp point to salvage a share of the spoils. Next up is a home tie with Drumcliffe/ Rosses Pt. on Saturday evening at 6.30.Coolera-Strandhill 2-09, Eastern Harps 2-06. Our girls had a good win in the first round of the u16 league in Keash on Monday. A last gasp goal from Eastern Harps made the final score seem slightly closer that the actual contest. A dominant second half saw our girls extend what was a one point half time lead to nine points midway through the second half. Some excellent point taking from Ellen Prior, Amy Deering, Beibhinn Harte and Danika Kerrigan added to two first half goals from Keri Mitchell and Amy Deering, and despite the concession of two late goals and the loss of Eva Schoen through injury in the final minutes, the girls held on for a deserved win. Team; Amy Hampson, Ciara Lindsay, Grace Molloy, Holly Gilligan, Aislinn Doggett, Cliodhna O’ Sullivan, Cliodhna Davitt, Eva Schoen, Ellen Prior (0-03), Eimear Callaghan, Beibhinn Harte (0-02), Amy Deering (1-03), Ciara McDermott, Keri Mitchell (0-01), Danika Kerrigan (0-01).

OUR u14 boys got the 2018 season off the ground at Ransboro with a six point defeat to St Mary’s. The Ballydoogan outfit were much the sharper in the opening exchanges and it was the eighteenth minute before we pointed courtesy of Sam White. The second half saw a much improved performance with Owen Mc Kirdy,Jakob Krajewski and Cathal Morahan particularly effective. Donnacha Beirne and Ross Doherty ran tirelessly in midfield and Kevin Davitt acquitted himself well when coming off the bench. Goals from Sam White, Mark Mc Daniel and Jamie Walsh got us right back in the game but the final whistle was to put an end to our late momentum. Team on duty was..C.Morahan,K.Davitt,R. Doherty,J.Feeney J.Herbert, J.Krajewski, M McDaniel ,O Mc Kirdy, K Schoen, B.Cawley, T.Doggett, O,Hennessy, J.Kilfeather ,A.Lynch, A Mc Dermott and J.Walsh. THE Ladies Football teams held their Annual Cake Sale and Raffle on Easter Sunday and once again it proved to be a very successful event. We are extremely grateful to The Cake Lady (Sarah Healy) who once again sponsored a beautiful cake for the raffle, and also to Fiona Finn who donated an Easter Hamper. A special mention goes to Louise Scanlon who was extremely generous in providing eight fabulous cakes in addition to trays of goodies. A total of €1215 was raised.