CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND
This weekend the Connacht Gold Senior Football Championship and GWP Intermediate Football Championship kicks off. A feast of football will be on offer with eight intriguing encounters set to take place in three venues over Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. Club players have trained hard over the last number of months and finally start on their road to win the most coveted medals in Leitrim GAA – Senior and Intermediate Championship medals. A lot of twists and turns are expected along the roads to our Championship Finals.
CONNACHT GOLD SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
The big questions in the Senior Championship is canÓglencar Manorhamilton be dethroned or can they achieve an extraordinary four in a row last accomplished by Gorvagh from 1924 to 1927 and more recently by Melvin Gaels from 1959 to 1962? The other teams in the Senior Championship will feel they can be dethroned and like Glencar Manorhamilton each and every team start the Championship in the belief they are going to win it. If Manor have the hunger they still seem the team to beat. Some indicators however suggest a change of guard might be on the cards:-
* A number of teams have shownÓgood form in the league
* In last years championship their margin of victory in the knock out stages was minimum.
GWP INTERMEDIATE CHAMPIONSHIP
In the GWP Intermediate Championship a hotly tipped Melvin Gaels appear to be the team to beat. Whether they prevail will very much depend on how they cope with the huge expectation and favouritism surrounding them. With a number of seasoned first and second string teams in this championship we can be assured the Gaels will need to be firing on all cylinders if their plans of returning to senior status are to be immediate.
Below we preview all the first round games scheduled for this weekend.
Connacht Gold Senior Football Championship
St Marys v Kiltubrid
Saturday at 6pm in Pairc Sean
Last years beaten finalists St Marys, are strengthened by the influx of players from their 2010 minor championship winning side. Kiltubrid are playing Division 2 league but St Marys who operate in Division 1 should be mindful that their neighbours are always huge championship performers. Local derbies are always hard fought and therefore hard to call!
Carrigallen v Bornacoola
Saturday at 7.30 in Pairc Sean
Both teams will be more than anxious to record a first round victory with the County Champions waiting in the long grass! A lot of similarities exist between the two teams – both have mixed the good with the bad in the league and shield competitions this year and both have had the heartache of loosing county finals in the last 3 years. Dont be surprised if they cant be separated at the final whistle!
Ballinamore SOH v Drumreilly
Saturday at 6pm in Cloone
Nothing gets the heart racing quite like a local derby and they dont come much bigger than this! Players on both teams know each other inside out and beating your neighbours will be motivation enough. A titanic battle is on the cards as well as tail backs due to the mass exodus from both clubs to the Cloone venue on Saturday evening!
Aughawillan v Mohill
Saturday at 7.30 in Cloone
This is the game of the weekend with both teams playing extremely well at the minute. Aughawillan come into the game high in confidence after winning the Intermediate Championship last year and on the back of impressive league performances. Mohill have only suffered one league defeat and defeated the County champions last weekend. A free flowing game is in store at the Cloone venue!
GWP Intermediate Football Championship
Drumkeerin v St Marys
Sunday at 2pm in Ballinamore
Drumkeerin are a formidable championship outfit but face a stiff challenge from a strong second string St Marys outfit on Sunday. The north Leitrim men suffered the heartache of defeat in last years Intermediate Final and will be focussing all their attentions on making amends this year. St Marys are sure to cause them a lot of trouble – this game could go either way!
Eslin v Aughnasheelin
Sunday at 3.30 in Ballinamore
Eslin will be boosted by a victory over Aughnasheelin in the league recently but as we all know league form goes out the window come championship. Eslin won the Junior A Championship last year and will be anxious to make their mark in the Intermediate grade this year while Aughnasheelin have the experience of winning the Intermediate title back in 2008 and reached the semi finals last year. A huge game is in store!
Ballinaglera v Melvin Gaels
Sunday at 2pm in Pairc Sean
This game sees the Division 1 league leaders versus Ballinaglera who operate in Division 3. As already mentioned, most pundits have predicted Melvin Gaels to win the Intermediate Championship this year. If Melvin Gaels are complacent and Ballinaglera display all the qualities they did in last years championship this encounter could be closer than expected!
Dromahair v Aughavas
Sunday at 3.30 in Pairc Sean
Another game that sees a Division 1 team paired against a Division 3 team. Dromahair have the benefit of Division 1 football and are always in the shake up come the business end of the championship. They have had their fair share of hard luck stories in recent championship campaigns and will be hoping that 2011 is their year. A proud Aughavas team stand in their way on Sunday and as we all know they are not there to make up the numbers!
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR YOUR CLUB TEAM THIS WEEKEND
LET THE CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGIN!
21-Jul-11 by Colette Fox – PRO
First Leitrim 10K Dawn RunWalk
LadiesFirst Leitrim 10k Dawn Run/Walk
Saturday 6th August
Start time 6.00am.
Meeting venue, St Marys G A A Club house Carrick on Shannon with registration from 5.30am.
€15 to enter, including breakfast & showers. Prizes also.
Enter in advance on line runireland.com or on the morning.
You don’€’t have to be a footballer, as long as you can run, jog or walk come along for a great morning.
Proceeds go towards funding the Leitrim Ladies TG4 Intermediate Championship game V London in Ruislip on August 7th.
For any further information please contact:
Contact Edel 0877516448, Bernadette 0868115271
21-Jul-11 by Colette Fox – PRO
Championship Preview
Club FootballCHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND
This weekend the Connacht Gold Senior Football Championship and GWP Intermediate Football Championship kicks off. A feast of football will be on offer with eight intriguing encounters set to take place in three venues over Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. Club players have trained hard over the last number of months and finally start on their road to win the most coveted medals in Leitrim GAA – Senior and Intermediate Championship medals. A lot of twists and turns are expected along the roads to our Championship Finals.
CONNACHT GOLD SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
The big questions in the Senior Championship is canÓglencar Manorhamilton be dethroned or can they achieve an extraordinary four in a row last accomplished by Gorvagh from 1924 to 1927 and more recently by Melvin Gaels from 1959 to 1962? The other teams in the Senior Championship will feel they can be dethroned and like Glencar Manorhamilton each and every team start the Championship in the belief they are going to win it. If Manor have the hunger they still seem the team to beat. Some indicators however suggest a change of guard might be on the cards:-
* A number of teams have shownÓgood form in the league
* In last years championship their margin of victory in the knock out stages was minimum.
GWP INTERMEDIATE CHAMPIONSHIP
In the GWP Intermediate Championship a hotly tipped Melvin Gaels appear to be the team to beat. Whether they prevail will very much depend on how they cope with the huge expectation and favouritism surrounding them. With a number of seasoned first and second string teams in this championship we can be assured the Gaels will need to be firing on all cylinders if their plans of returning to senior status are to be immediate.
Below we preview all the first round games scheduled for this weekend.
Connacht Gold Senior Football Championship
St Marys v Kiltubrid
Saturday at 6pm in Pairc Sean
Last years beaten finalists St Marys, are strengthened by the influx of players from their 2010 minor championship winning side. Kiltubrid are playing Division 2 league but St Marys who operate in Division 1 should be mindful that their neighbours are always huge championship performers. Local derbies are always hard fought and therefore hard to call!
Carrigallen v Bornacoola
Saturday at 7.30 in Pairc Sean
Both teams will be more than anxious to record a first round victory with the County Champions waiting in the long grass! A lot of similarities exist between the two teams – both have mixed the good with the bad in the league and shield competitions this year and both have had the heartache of loosing county finals in the last 3 years. Dont be surprised if they cant be separated at the final whistle!
Ballinamore SOH v Drumreilly
Saturday at 6pm in Cloone
Nothing gets the heart racing quite like a local derby and they dont come much bigger than this! Players on both teams know each other inside out and beating your neighbours will be motivation enough. A titanic battle is on the cards as well as tail backs due to the mass exodus from both clubs to the Cloone venue on Saturday evening!
Aughawillan v Mohill
Saturday at 7.30 in Cloone
This is the game of the weekend with both teams playing extremely well at the minute. Aughawillan come into the game high in confidence after winning the Intermediate Championship last year and on the back of impressive league performances. Mohill have only suffered one league defeat and defeated the County champions last weekend. A free flowing game is in store at the Cloone venue!
GWP Intermediate Football Championship
Drumkeerin v St Marys
Sunday at 2pm in Ballinamore
Drumkeerin are a formidable championship outfit but face a stiff challenge from a strong second string St Marys outfit on Sunday. The north Leitrim men suffered the heartache of defeat in last years Intermediate Final and will be focussing all their attentions on making amends this year. St Marys are sure to cause them a lot of trouble – this game could go either way!
Eslin v Aughnasheelin
Sunday at 3.30 in Ballinamore
Eslin will be boosted by a victory over Aughnasheelin in the league recently but as we all know league form goes out the window come championship. Eslin won the Junior A Championship last year and will be anxious to make their mark in the Intermediate grade this year while Aughnasheelin have the experience of winning the Intermediate title back in 2008 and reached the semi finals last year. A huge game is in store!
Ballinaglera v Melvin Gaels
Sunday at 2pm in Pairc Sean
This game sees the Division 1 league leaders versus Ballinaglera who operate in Division 3. As already mentioned, most pundits have predicted Melvin Gaels to win the Intermediate Championship this year. If Melvin Gaels are complacent and Ballinaglera display all the qualities they did in last years championship this encounter could be closer than expected!
Dromahair v Aughavas
Sunday at 3.30 in Pairc Sean
Another game that sees a Division 1 team paired against a Division 3 team. Dromahair have the benefit of Division 1 football and are always in the shake up come the business end of the championship. They have had their fair share of hard luck stories in recent championship campaigns and will be hoping that 2011 is their year. A proud Aughavas team stand in their way on Sunday and as we all know they are not there to make up the numbers!
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR YOUR CLUB TEAM THIS WEEKEND
LET THE CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGIN!
21-Jul-11 by Colette Fox – PRO
Messages from Coaching Officer
DevelopmentAs was outlined at the start of 2011 referee education now falls under the remit of the County Coaching Committee.
It is important that we continue to recruit new referees so that the fixtures programme can be delivered in a timely manner every year.
It is proposed to hold a Foundation Level Referees course for new referees in the Autumn.
Can each club please forward the names of suitable people who are interested in becoming referees to me as soon as possible so we the course can be scheduled?
—
Mise le fíor mheas,
Padraig MacDhorcai
Oifigeach Oiliuna
Coiste Chontae Liatroma CLG
email: coachingofficer.leitrim@gaa.ie
Mobile Phone: 086-8106431
Home Phone: 071-9133829
19-Jul-11 by Colette Fox – PRO
New RTE Sports Quiz Looking for audience
GeneralA brand new sports quiz show, Put ‘Em Under Pressure, will air on Sunday evenings in September on RTE 1.
The show itself sees two teams of famous sports stars and pundits go head-to-head in this entertaining sports quiz. Consisting 8 episodes, the quiz show will be filmed in studio in RTE in Donnybrook from the 8th to the 11th of August in front of an audience, with an afternoon episode and evening episode each day.
For this, they are looking to get sports teams, clubs and supporters groups on board from right around the country to join the audience in each episode.
The clubs can give their own representation through this, by wearing their club or team colours, crests, sporting attire etc.
The show is going to be entertaining and fun and will be a great day out for clubs interested. They also want a good mix of sports involved, so whether your team or group consists 5 or 50 – from football to fencing and darts to draughts – they want to hear from them all!
As the show is being filmed in early August and places are limited, they would like to hear from teams as soon as possible who may be interested and would like more information.
They can contact our audience researcher at any time on sharon.newman@shinawil.com or 01 2084646.
18-Jul-11 by Colette Fox – PRO
Leitrim Minor Championships 2011 kick off on Wednesday 20th July
Coiste na nÓg2011 Minor Football Championsip is listed below. Competitions commence on Wednesday July 20th and will run on consecutive Wednesdays from that date forward.
17-Jul-11 by Colette Fox – PRO
McVities Cookies That Care
GeneralMcVities Cookies That Care
Nearly two months into the campaign, McVitie’s Cookies That Care is proving to be a summer success but we still need your help to reach our goal of 100 sign ups before the end of the summer! We are only 30 sign ups away so if you haven’t signed up, do it now and grab some friends, get baking, get dunking and get fundraising for MS Ireland! Your cookie event can be anything at all from a traditional cookie-coffee morning to a not so traditional sky-dive with cookies when you land (it’s happening!). So far participants have organised countless cookie-coffee mornings in workplaces, sports clubs and homes, an inter-office bake-off and a cookie-eating contest in a university so if you’re looking for ideas, look no further than our website. Here’s a small pick of our faves so far: Cupan Tae Tea Rooms in Kenmare, Co Kerry very kindly donated €100 to the fund. We’ll be stopping by next time we’re in the area!Nuala Boushel held a cookie-coffee morning at work and thanks to the support of her generous colleagues, raised over €700!Dundalk IT Students held a cookie-eating contest on their campus. They were joined by a few special guests including the Louth and Meath Roses. So whether you want to make a Monday in the office a bit more bearable by having a sponsored five-a-side at lunch or you just want to relax with some friends at a cookie-coffee morning, rest assured you are supporting a good cause and the money you raise will be helping to fund essential local support services for people with MS all across Ireland. We would love you to get involved in whatever way you can, so please log onto www.ms-society.ie or email cookies@ms-society.ie and sign up today. Alternatively, please contact me with any questions you might have.
Miriam Taber, Multiple Sclerosis Ireland
80 Northumberland Road
Dublin 4
Ireland
Tel: 01 678 1600Fax: 01 678 1601
Email: miriamt@ms-society.ie
PS: There’s a lot of McVitie’s Cookies That Care events happening all over Ireland so keep an eye out in your town and get involved!
17-Jul-11 by Colette Fox – PRO
A thank you message for our County Footballers
County FootballThe senior county footballers season came to an end last Saturday in Newry when Down defeated our young Leitrim team by 1-16 to 1-8. The scoreline doesnt do justice to a skillful and heartening display by our fully committed Leitrim team. In the first half they certainly held their own against last years beaten All Ireland finalists. The individual brillance of Benny Coulter and the Down teams experience and strenght in debth were crucial to their victory on the day. We wish them the very best of luck in their quest for All Ireland glory.
The Leitrim supporters who made the journey were fully appreciative of our teams performance on the day and we thank them for supporting the team so well in Newry and throughout the season. The Newry venue was fabulous as were the Down supporters who really made the travelling support very welcome.
Our players have now returned to their clubs and turn their attention to the upcoming club championships. We take this opportunity to thank the Leitrim players and management for all their efforts in the 2011 season. The defeat of Sligo in Markievicz Park was a special day for players and supporters alike and we CAN look forward to many more special days from this fine crop of players in the coming seasons.
THANKS LADS
16-Jul-11 by Colette Fox – PRO
Upcoming GAA on TG4
GeneralUPCOMING GAA ON TG4 Live coverage of Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling U-21 Championship begins on TG4
GAA BEO – Wednesday 13th July TG4’s live coverage of the Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling U-21 Championship begins on GAA BEO tomorrow evening with action from theLeinster Under-21 Hurling Championship Final between Wexford and Dublin. GAA fans will also have the opportunity to see the Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship Semi-final on Friday evening when All-Ireland champions Tipperary face Cork in Semple Stadium. GAA Beo will be presented by Micheál Ó Domhnaill with commentary and analysis by Pat Fleury, John Allen, Cathal Moore and Mac Dara Mac Donncha. TG4 will also be broadcasting highlights of the U-21 Hurling Championship on GAA 2011 every Monday evening at 8:30pm. WEDNESDAY 13th JULY7:15pm GAA Beo coverage begins on TG4Bord Gais Energy Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship FinalWexford v Dublin Live from Wexford Park (throw-in at 7.30pm)
Presented by Micheál Ó Domhnaill with commentary and analysis by Pat Fleury, Cathal Moore and Mac Dara Mac Donncha. FRIDAY 15th JULY7:15pm GAA Beo coverage begins on TG4Bord Gais Energy Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship Semi-finalTipperary v CorkLive from Semple Stadium, Thurles (throw-in at 7.30pm)Presented by Micheál Ó Domhnaill with commentary and analysis by John Allen, Pat Fleury and Mac Dara Mac Donncha. WEDNESDAY 3rd AUGUSTBord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling U-21 Munster Championship FinalLive on GAA Beo, TG4 SATURDAY 20th AUGUSTBord Gáis Energy GAA All-Ireland U-21 Hurling Semi FinalsLive on GAA Beo, TG4(with player cam action and full player cam streaming on TG4.tv) SATURDAY 10th SEPTEMBERBord Gáis Energy GAA All-Ireland U-21 Hurling FinalsLive on GAA Beo, TG4(with player cam action and full player cam streaming on TG4.tv) More information:www.gaa.iewww.breakingthrough.iewww.tg4.tv
16-Jul-11 by Colette Fox – PRO
Countdown to Leitrim Football Championships 2011
Club Football16-Jul-11 by Colette Fox – PRO