Championship opening weekend

 

The smell of fresh cut grass, flags and paint brushes at the ready, frantic last minute preparations and of course the championship haircut. All part of the pinnacle of the club season as the championship opening weekend approaches. First up, following tradition, the senior and intermediate competitors take to the fields on Saturday evening as last years title holders attempt to defend their crowns while aiming to put titles back to back. Everyone else has their eye on re-homing the holy grails on county finals weekend which is scheduled for 25-26th September, one week after the All Ireland final.

This Saturday evening at 6:00 pm Mohill and neighbours Annaduff take to the field in Páirc Seán in the Senior championship opener while at the same time in Ballinamore the Intermediate games commence as Fenagh St Caillins face Aughawillan. Both of these are group 3 games in their respective grades.

At 7:30pm in both venues Melvin Gaels meet Allen Gaels in Carrick while in Ballinamore Kiltubrid play Drumreilly both Senior championship games inÓgroups 1 and 2.
The Intermediates continue on Sunday at 2pm in Ballinamore as group 2s Allen Gaels meet Cloone followed by the last of the Senior clashes as Aughnasheelin take on Carrigallen at 3:30pm in the Group 4 tie.

In Ballinaglera its the Intermediate Group 4 decider between Drumkeerin and Glenfarne/Kiltyclogher.

Junior A will commence on the following weekend on Sunday Aug 2nd.

 

 

Follow your team………Leitrim Club Championships

 

 

 

 

 

23-Jul-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

Coaching News

Under 14 School of excellence

Our under 14 School of excellence will resume next weekend with a session in Ballinaglera GAA park, commencing at 10.30am. All players please attend.

Under 15 School of excellence

The under 15 school of excellence played Cavan on Saturday last in St. Marys GAA grounds Ck – on – Shannon. All players got game time with management using two different teams over the course of the session. Players have a break next week but full details of all upcoming sessions will be published in next weeks news.

Under 16 Development squad

Our under 16 development squad put in an excellent afternoons work in a challenge game against Cavan on Saturday last, winning by a point at the final whistle. Management gave all players game time in preparations for round one of this years Ted Webb blitz which will take place in Pairc Sean and St. Marys GAA grounds Ck – on – Shannon on Saturday next July 25th commencing at 2 o clock. Leitrim welcome Sligo, Galway City & West and Mayo South & West to Ck – on – Shannon and we would appeal to any Leitrim supporters free on Saturday afternoon to come along and support the Leitrim team and the overall blitz. Bus routes and times as follows.

Ballinamore 12.05, Carrigallen 12.25, Aughavas 12.35, Cloone 12.45, Mohill 12.55, Masonite 1.05, Ck – on – Shannon 1.15.

Kinlough 11.55, Manorhamilton 12.15, Factory Turn 12.25, Drumkeerin 12.35, Drumshanbo 12.55, Leitrim Village 1.05, Ck – on – Shannon 1.15.

Vhi GAA Cul camps 2009

Thanks to all the children who turned out in large numbers at last weeks Vhi GAA cul camps in Kinlough, Mohill & Drumshanbo. Special word of thanks to the Annaduff GAA club for making their grounds available to us on Wednesday morning as the pitch in Mohill was unplayable following Tuesday evenings downpour. Leitrim County star Dermot Reynolds, this years Vhi GAA cul camp ambassador, has been calling to all camps, giving advise and answering all sorts of questions, so kids have your question ready for Dermot when he calls into your camp. Next week is the last week of our camps so children dont miss out on a great week of activities in Leitrim, Drumkeerin & Fenagh (Sean O Heslins).

Fenagh Vhi GAA cul camp

Parents and children who have registered or are planning to attend the Fenagh camp, please note that this camp will now take place in Sean O Heslins GAA grounds Ballinamore. The change of venue is due to onÓgoing works on the pitch in Fenagh.

Registration

Places are still available on next weeks three camps Drumkeerin, Fenagh ( Ballinamore Sean OHeslins) & Leitrim Gaels. Registration can be by application form or by means of the new on line system.

This new system can be accessed from the GAA website, www.gaa.ie or from the Leitrim GAA website simply by clicking on the VHI logo. If however parents do not wish to use the new online system they can still fill out the paper application form and forward it direct to Thomas Keenan, Pairc Sean, Ck-on-Shannon.

 

 

22-Jul-09 by Thomas Keenan

Management Ratified for 2010

In the run up to the Club Championship it is desired to have the forthcoming years county management team in place and available to attend as many games as possible where they can observe club players playing at their peak.  This will be the case for this years championship starting on Saturday as Mickey Moran and John Morrison have been ratified as the team Managers at last nights county board meeting held in Páirc Seán.  The clubs of the county reflected on the new managements first year which didn’t live up to earlier expectations but none the less voted in favour of returning the outgoing Managers and selector Martin McGowan to the helm for 2010.

 

 

22-Jul-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

Coaching News

Under 14 School of excellence

Our under 14 School of excellence will take a break next weekend and will resume on Saturday 25th July. Full details in next weeks news.

Under 15 School of excellence

The under 15 school of excellence will play Cavan on Saturday next July 18th in St. Marys GAA grounds Ck – on – Shannon commencing at 12 o clock. Bus routes and times as per under 16 squad.

Under 16 Development squad

The under 16 development squad will continue preparations for up coming Ted Webb blitz with a game against Cavan on Saturday next July 18th in Pairc Sean commencing at 12 o clock. Bus routes and times as follows.

Ballinamore 10.15, Carrigallen 10.35, Aughavas 10.45, Cloone 10.50, Mohill 11.00, Masonite 11.10, Ck – on – Shannon 11.20.

Kinlough 10.00, Manorhamilton 10.20, Factory Turn 10.30, Drumkeerin 10.40, Drumshanbo 11.00, Leitrim Village 11.10, Ck – on – Shannon 11.20.

Vhi GAA Cul camps 2009

Fenagh Vhi GAA cul camp

Parents and children who have registered or are planning to attend the Fenagh camp, please note that this camp will now take place in Sean O Heslins GAA grounds Ballinamore. The change of venue is due to onÓgoing works on the pitch in Fenagh.

Registration

Places are still available on all our remaining camps and registration can be by application form or by means of the new on line system.

This new system can be accessed from the GAA website, www.gaa.ie or from the Leitrim GAA website simply by clicking on the VHI logo. To date the site is proving very popular with many parents opting for this method of registration. If however parents do not wish to use the new online system they can still fill out the paper application form and forward it direct to Thomas Keenan, Pairc Sean, Ck-on-Shannon. Which ever way you decide to book, can you please do so as early as possible as this will assist greatly with camp organisation.

Camps taking place over the next two weeks are as follows.

 

20/07/09 – Aughavas, Dromahair, Gortletteragh.

27/07/07 – Drumkeerin, Fenagh, Leitrim.

 

 

17-Jul-09 by Thomas Keenan

League finals & Championship news – update

 

League Finals:

The first of this years league finals was played on Sunday afternoon whenÓglencar/Manor claimed the first cup of the year with their 2 point win over Ballinaglera in the Division 3 decider.

The second league final of the year will be played on Wednesday night at 8pm in Páirc Seán and its the Division 2 header between Carrigallen and Dromahair.

A third league final will be played before the championship season commences in 2 weeks.  This time round its the Division 5 Final between Aughnasheelin & Carrigalln and its scheduled for Saturday at 6:30pm in Páirc Seán.  

 

Championship News:

Also note that Fixtures for SFC/IFC Rd 1 25-26/07-2009 will be issued following CCC Meeting of Thursday night next 16 Iuil. There is a possibility that Fixtures for 01-03/08-2009 may be confirmed following this meeting also.

 

 

 

 

 

14-Jul-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

Coaching News

Coiste Chontae Liatroma

Coaching news

Under 14 School of excellence

Our under 14 School of excellence will continue on Saturday next, July11th with the session taking place in Drumshanbo GAA grounds, commencing at 12.30pm. Players please note venue and time change All clubs are asked to make sure their players are present for this session. Only players born in 1995 are eligible.

Under 15 School of excellence

The next session for our under 15 school of excellence will be on Saturday July 18th. Players are asked to check next weeks notes for more info.

Under 16 Development squad

The under 16 development squad will continue preparations for up coming games with a session in Ballinaglera on Saturday next commencing at 10.30am. Bus routes and times as follows.

Ballinamore 8.30, Carrigallen 8.50, Aughavas 9.00, Cloone 9.05, Mohill 9.15, Masonite 9.25, Ck – on – Shannon 9.35, Leitrim 9.45, Ballinaglera 10.15.

Kinlough 9.00, Manorhamilton 9.20, Factory Turn 9.30, Drumkeerin 9.40, Drumshanbo 10.00, Ballinaglera 10.15.

Vhi GAA Cul camps 2009

Free place competition

The winner of the last free place on our VHI GAA cul camps is Jenevieve Brennan, Drumshanbo North, Cloone, Co. Leitrim. Congrats Jenevieve.

Leitrim GAA would like to thank Vhi for sponsoring the free places, John Connolly & the Leitrim Observer for running the competition and every body who entered the competitions over the last four week.

VHI GAA Cul camp registeration

Our first three camps started on Monday with big turnouts in Aughawillan, Ck – on – Shannon and Manorhamilton.

Places are still available on all our remaining camps but some camps are filling fast so please register a.s.a.p. Registration can be by application form or by means of the new on line system.

This new system can be accessed from the GAA website, www.gaa.ie or from the Leitrim GAA website simply by clicking on the VHI logo. To date the site is proving very popular with many parents opting for this method of registration. If however parents do not wish to use the new online system they can still fill out the paper application form and forward it direct to Thomas Keenan, Pairc Sean, Ck-on-Shannon. Which ever way you decide to book, can you please do so as early as possible as this will assist greatly with camp organisation. This years camps will commence on Monday 6th July and will follow the same format as last year.

06/07/09 – Aughawillan, Manorhamilton, Ck-on-Shannon.

13/07/09 – Kinlough, Drumshanbo, Mohill.

20/07/09 – Aughavas, Dromahair, Gortletteragh.

27/07/07 – Drumkeerin, Fenagh, Leitrim.

 

 

08-Jul-09 by Thomas Keenan

2 League Finals before the Championship

With the Championship just around the corner and on track for 3 weekends time the next two weekends are going to be taken up with league fixtures including 2 league finals.

Division 1 – Kiltubrid lead the way with Glencar/Manor and St Marys in close pursuit. Kiltubrid have led for some months now but they and Glencar/Manor have 8 played while 5 teams directly below have games in hand so it will be a very tight and interesting finish to the league which will not be completed this side of the club championship. Gortletteragh look to be in trouble at the bottom and Aughawillan, Melvin Gaels and Ballinamore/SOH will all be trying to avoid the other relegation place.

Division 2 – We have a Final here and it is scheduled for Wednesday week at 8pm in Páirc Seán. Carrigallen and Dromahair have been head to head all season and have been clear leaders for some time. 3 other fixtures will be played this weekend and Round 9 is the full round that remains to finish up the season and decise the relegation placings. Annaduff, St Marys, Cloone Drumkeerin and Glenfarne/Kilty are in the danger area.

Division 3 – Ballinaglera and Glencar/Manor are in the Final which will be played on Sunday in Páirc Seán at 2pm. Only one other fixture remains which is not needed to calculate relegation places and with that Drumkeerin and Annaduff will move down a division for the 2010 season.

Division 4 – Kiltubrid lead the way here with Leitrim Gaels first team close by. There was the distinct possibility of a final this weekend had Leitrim Gaels overcome Allen Gaels to remain in the top berths but that loss may be costly as the door is now open for Ballinamore to cause an upset and create a playoff situation should they win their remaining 2 fixtures. St Marys and Glencar/Manor are sweating at the other end.

Division 5 – There is only one direction to go in this division and thats up as the bottom teams dont have relegation to worry about. At the business end of this mammoth 14 team division Carrigallen and Aughnasheelin are flying and with 15 fixtures in total left to play they are almost safe. Friday nights game between Aughnasheelin and Allen Gaels will determine when the final will be played.  The boots will definitely be well worn after this division is played out as it contained 91 fixtures in total.

So two finals to look forward to before the Club Championship which is on schedule for the July 25th throw-in. The league situation never looked better for the time of year and the early start to the year looks to have paid off handsomely.

 

 

07-Jul-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

Ready for some League finals

Ready for some League finals…..

 

 

06-Jul-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

Al Qualifier – Leitrim v Longford

Leitrim 0-10 Longford 0-13

Leitrims brave bid to win their first ever SFC qualifier faded at Pairc Sean MacDiarmada tonight.  Spurred on by man-of-the-match Padraig Berry, Longford booked a prized place in the second round draw.

Both sides enjoyed spells of dominance in the first half. Michael Foley and Gary Reynolds starred as Leitrim pegged it back to 0-07 apiece at half-time.

But Longford, despite losing Kevin Smith to a red card, edged it in the second half with Berry, Paul and David Barden and Brian KavanÓgh leading them home.

In dry and near-perfect conditions, the games throw-in was delayed by 10 minutes due to crowd conjestion and when this novel clash got started, Leitrim grasped early control of the scoreboard.

Ger DennÓgan kicked Longfords first point, but the hosts cantered ahead thanks to scores from Michael Foley, Gary Reynolds and Philip McGuinness.

Reynolds kicked clear of the crossbar after Longford goalkeeper Damien Sheridan had managed to keep out a goal-bound shot from Philip McGovern.

Longford ended their barren spell in front of goal with points from Damien Masterson and Francis McGee and a subsequent white flag from full-forward Cian MimnÓgh sent them back in front at 0-06 to 0-05.

The ever-impressive Berry sandwiched a point in before the half-time whistle, replying to another Foley score and an entertaining half was brought to a close by a well-taken point by Carrigallen ace Reynolds.

The second half was just as competitive as the first but Longford, searching for their first Championship win under Manager Glenn Ryan, gradually stretched ahead.

DennÓgan and Foley both had wides before McGee also forced a free wide of the target, following a yellow card for Leitrim corner back Dermot Reynolds.

Reynolds full-back colleague Pat Gilmartin had an excellent game and was a rock for Leitrim on occasions, but he could do little as points from DennÓgan, McGee and Berry saw Longford push ahead.

Berrys score, coming off a brilliant solo run, was quickly followed by Paul Bardens first point of the evening and a superb point from Brian KavanÓgh, wide out on the left. Suddenly there were five points between the sides (0-12 to 0-07).

Foley reduced the arrears, dusting himself off to pop over a free, and the Leitrim management introduced Darren Duignan and James Holohan for the closing stages.

Ray Cox was also brought on and two successful frees from McGuinness, in between Kevin Smiths sending-off for a high challenge on Cox, set up an edge-of-the-seat finale.

Yet Leitrim could not muster another score. The scenario of being two points down with three minutes remaining will be played over in their players minds for the rest of the summer.

David Barden had the final say, Scóring a relieving point for Longford which proved to be the match-winner.

 

 

05-Jul-09 by SBPost.ie

Cannot make it to Carrick ?

If your unable to make it to Carrick on Sunday for the big game you can always follow the action with the various Media companies who will be broadcasting in various formats live from the grounds.

On Radio worldwide you can listen to local stations Shannonside FM and Ocean FM.  RTE Radio 1 are also covering the game.

You can also follow a text version thanks to Longford Leader by clicking here

 

 

04-Jul-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

Clarification regarding Qualifier Round 2 draw procedures

 

Earlier today a news item was released entitled "Novel ticket deals to entice fans ".  This item included news regarding the 2nd round Qualifier draw and the method of tossing a coin to decide home advantage which was to be perfomed at Mondays CCCC meeting.

The tossing of a coin method mentioned in the article is no longer valid following the notification sent out by Croke Park this afternoon regarding the use of 4 bowls and the NEW method to decide home and away status:

 

 

"Just to clarify the draw will take the following structure:

Bowl 1 – Provincial Semi-Final Losers.

Bowl 2 – 1 st Round Qualifier Winners.

Bowl 3 – Home or Away

Bowl 4 – Dump bowl for County Slips.

A capsule will be drawn from Bowl 1, it shall remain closed and be placed in Bowl 3.

A Capsule will be drawn from Bowl 2, it shall remain closed and be placed in Bowl 3.

The capsules in Bowl 3 are stirred well, one is drawn and opened. This is the home team of tie 1.
The remaining capsule is drawn and opened and this becomes the away team in Tie 1.

The opened capsules and slips are placed in the Dump bowl and this procedure continues until all ties are decided."

 

 

03-Jul-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

Novel ticket deals to entice fans

HOME ADVANTAGE for the second round of the All-Ireland football qualifiers will be decided by the toss of a coin, following Sunday evenings draw in Croke Park. While home advantage for this Saturdays first round of matches was based on the first team drawn from the bowl, the second round draw will consist of two bowls – the eight first round winners in one bowl and the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists in the other.

Therefore, the GAAs Central Competition Control Committee (CCCC) will toss a coin to determine which of those teams gets home advantage when they meet on Monday to confirm the throw-in times and venues for the eight second round games, which are all due to be played on Saturday week, July 11th.

Whichever team does win the toss is automatically entitled to home advantage, provided the CCCC deem their home ground is suitable for the fixture.

All eight first round games go ahead this Saturday: Donegal against Carlow, Monaghan against Armagh, Meath against Waterford, Wicklow against Fermanagh, Wexford against Offaly, Louth against Tipperary, Down against London, and Leitrim against Longford.

The usual period of extra-time will also be played if necessary, and provided replays are avoided, these eight first-round winners will then face off against one of the eight teams beaten in the provincial semi-finals: Kerry and Clare, from Munster; Roscommon and Sligo, from Connacht; Derry and Cavan, from Ulster; and Laois and Westmeath, from Leinster.

The draw itself will take place on TV3 shortly after 6pm on Sunday, following their live coverage of the Leinster senior hurling final between Dublin and Kilkenny.

If a first replay is required the draw will go ahead as scheduled, but with the second round game affected postponed until the following Saturday.

The GAA has also finalised admission prices for all of this weekends first round qualifiers, with entry to the stands, like last year, costing €20, while admission to terraces has been reduced by €5 to €10.

A further effort to maintain the positive attendance figures for the remainder of the championship saw the GAA yesterday launch a new range of ticket packages to cover the closing stages of both the football and hurling championship.

Six deals – five of which are new – are being offered which are aimed at allowing followers of football and hurling to combine quarter-final and semi-final games. The Hurling Heaven, package priced at €90, includes tickets for one hurling quarter- final and two semi-finals. The Football Feast offers fans tickets for two football quarter-final days and both semi-finals, and costs €99. That works out at less than €25 per match and, on last years ticket prices, offers savings of €35 and €60 respectively.

Other offers include a quarter and semi-final package covering one quarter-final and a semi-final, costing €65, and a Dual Deal for the quarter-final and semi-final stages of both the football and hurling championships priced at €175.There are also Club Pass and Group Pass offers.

The packages were announced by GAA president Christy Cooney at the opening of the new Ticket Shop on Lower Dorset St in Dublin, close to Croke Park.

"We have been very happy with attendances at our games to date this year," said Cooney, "but we have said all along that in these challenging times we would continue to review our ticketing arrangements in an effort to offer our members and followers value for money . . .

"We have attempted to cater for different types of GAA supporters by offering combined football and hurling deals and a variety of options and we are confident followers of our games will take up deals that will provide excellent live entertainment at an affordable price."

 

 

03-Jul-09 by IrishTimes.ie – Ian O Riordan