Action Cancer Big Bus returns

The Action Cancer Big Bus is coming back to Collegeland  GAA car park on 14th February. The Big Bus is owned and operated by Action Cancer, Northern Ireland’s leading local cancer charity and it’s coming to Collegeland for all the community.  The large car park is a perfect location for the Big Bus.   Services include Breast screening (Age 40-49 & 70+), MOT Health checks, Health Promotion and Training and Weight Management Assessment.  Appointments run from 10am-3.20pm, anyone wishing to book an appointment can do so by calling the Action Cancer Big Bus team on 028 9080 3344.

Club Membership Day 10 February

This is an open invitation to adults and youth members to our Club Membership Day on Sunday 10 February in the Clubrooms between 2.00 and 5.00pm.   A reminder that the Club provides for young people from under 8 right through to under 21 through Naomh Eoin and the Collegeland Camogie club. Youth membership is £5 and adults start at £30. More thirty-pound members are welcome but we also need another few more Gold members at £10 per month or £120 per year. You could win our Monthly Draw prize of £100.

See you on Sunday 10 Feb  or  you can  contact Brian McGeary, Registrar;  Frank Donnelly, Chair;  Tommy Mitchell, Secretary ; Kieran Hayes, Treasurer; or Sean Maguire, Assistant Treasurer;  or your usual Club contact.

We  thank those parents and family members who already support the underage activities in a number of different ways.  We would hope to see more families of our young Naomh Eoin and camogie players from the area as our Collegeland Club members.  Sometimes people are wary of joining a Club in case they are expected to do something extra but at the same time wanting the Club to provide their children with training and football/camogie.

Coaching Talk. Are you interested in hearing more about  coaching underage teams before you volunteer to help out.  We need   males and females  for either under age football or camogie. Come along to the Clubrooms for an introductory talk on Coaching,  led by Paddy Mohan,  telling you what is  involved.  So drop in on Saturday 2nd Feb  at 3.00pm or contact  John McGeary, Coaching officer on 079 1716 3022.

Senior Football

Congratulations to  Collegeland’s  Tom Murphy on making the Armagh under 21 panel.

At the January  Committee meeting the members unanimously  endorsed the recommendation of the Football Sub Committee, led by Pat Brannigan,  and appointed the  new senior football team Managers – Brian Morris and Seamus Murphy.

The football season is fast approaching and will see Collegeland O’Rahillys in the  2013 Armagh Junior Football Championship and Junior League. Interestingly there is now a proposal to split the third Division into two groupings which would leave Collegeland playing against  only the stronger Division 3 teams on a home and away basis.  This proposal will be decided on by the County Board in due course.

Football training continues in Armagh on Monday nights.

St Brigid’s Crosses.  St Brigid’s  crosses will be made  in St Peter’s Primary School on Friday morning 1^st Feb at 10 am, so why not come along, everyone welcome.   The St Brigid’s  Crosses will then  be available at  masses in Loughgall and  Collegeland  this weekend.

Irish Dancing. The McBride School of Irish Dancing continues in the  Collegeland Clubrooms on  Tuesdays  from 5.30 to 6.30 Beginners and 6.30 to 8.00 Advanced.

Publicity. The PR/ IT  Sub Committee is now  looking at all aspects of publicity so keep a watch on our website and Facebook as well as our next Newsletter.  The Club is grateful to the Armagh and Dungannon Observers for their continued coverage of Club notes.

The AGM of Collegeland O’Rahilly’s GAC was held in the Clubrooms last Sunday evening.

Elections were chaired by Brendan McGeary, Club President who stated afterwards that he was really encouraged by the willingness of the members to take roles and work for the Club. Peter Donnelly, Club President, was also present.

Silver Membership will continue at £30 and Gold Membership will remain at £120 per year or £10 per month Direct Debit. Watch out for Membership Day in February.

Members received comprehensive reports from the Secretary and Treasurer. In the Chairman’s report Frank Donnelly spoke of the great progress that had been made in recent years in following through on the Club Development Plan by widening the membership and opening up the Club facilities to the community. He praised those involved with ladies exercise, culture and local history nights, fund raising events, and the Olympic Marathon charity fundraiser.

The incoming Committee;- Chairman, Frank Donnelly; Vice Chair, Pat Brannigan; Secretary, Tommy Mitchell; Assistant Secretary, Sean McNicholl; Treasurer, Kieran Hayes; Assistant Treasurer, Sean Maguire;; Registrar, Brian McGeary; PRO, Tommy Mitchell; Coaching Officer, John McGeary; Children’s Officer (Child Protection), Simon McGeary; Players Rep Karol McGeary; Youth Officer, Paraic McGeary; County Board Rep (senior and minor boards), Mickey Mitchell; Camogie Chair, Stephen Clancy; Camogie County Board Rep, Paula Donnelly; Irish Language Officer, Kevin McNicholl; Referee nominee, Shane Murphy:

Five Sub Committee were established (and chairs selected) on senior Football (Pat Brannigan); Finance and fundraising (Kieran Hayes); Coaching (John McGeary); Camogie (Stephen Clancy); PR/IT (Tommy Mitchell). These Chairs will draw on the expertise and interest of Committee Members who include;- Tom Murphy, Mary McGeary, Colm Mitchell, Barry O’Neill, Peter Murphy, Merissa McGeary, Ryan McParland, Matthew Murphy, Paul Hudson, Paddy Mohan, Kathleen Bullock, Brendan McGeary, Shane McGeary, Mary Coleman, Alisha Coney, Michelle Clancy, Brian Mitchell, Mairead Mitchell, Matthew Murphy. A small number of positions are to be filled at the first Committee meeting.

Reverend Father Eugene Sweeney PP Loughgall is to be invited to the position of Honorary Vice President.

Frank Donnelly led the members in the Our Father ( as gaeilge ) as we remembered deceased Club members and friends and those recovering from illness.

Prior to the AGM there was a great turn out for the senior players meeting. Players accept that 2013 will be an important year and that there are clear opportunities in both League and Championship. Training is now underway as Ronan Clarke is delivering an initial six week training module in Armagh for our senior footballers.

Clubrooms well used.
Last Friday morning it was looking to the future with the start of the new computer class and then on Friday night it was looking to the past with the talk on Charlemont Fort. Both events were well attended. The Charlemont Fort talk by Jimmy Kane was very informative and will have many people searching the internet and the Library for more information on this once very important part of Ireland. Well done to John Mitchell for organising this event. See separate photo coverage.

If there are sufficient numbers the SRC in Armagh might run a second computer class on Monday nights but you must contact Kellie on 077 3633 6152 at SRC Southern Regional College, Armagh to register.

Naomh Eoin u-16 win Div 3 Shield
Naomh Eoin won the Division 3 u-16 Shield on Sat 20 October defeating Clady on a scoreline of 3-8 to 3-4 in Granemore. The game played in fine weather saw Naomh Eoin lead at the break by 2-7 to 1-1 thanks to the goals by C Cullen and C Donaghy. The second half saw Naomh Eoin only score another 1-1, the goal from C Robinson which was enough despite Clady scoring 2-3. This left Naomh Eoin worthy winners on 3-8 to 3-4.
The u-16 Shield was presented to the winning captain Sean McCann. Commiserations to Clady. Well done to all the Naomh players and panel for their workrate and commitment during the year which has now paid off with this trophy, not forgetting also winning the u-16 3B League Title.

The Naomh Eoin players were delighted to see our playing member Joe Kelly at the match and look forward to seeing him and all the boys and girls at the forthcoming Naomh Eoin presentation night later in November.

Diary Date
Club Presentation Night planned for Friday 30 November.

Races Friday Night
Plans are well underway for the Collegeland’s Nite at the Races in the Auction Rooms on this Fri 26 Oct. Not given your horse a name for a tenner yet or maybe you want to sponsor a Race? There might still be time but please hurry and contact Shane McGeary or any Committee Member or player. List of Race Sponsors will be displayed on the night and in the Races Programme.

Our MC this year is Martin McCarron and he promises a good nights craic. Everyone welcome so come along and bring some friends, you can bet with £1 or more. Horses are now being sold for the first eight races at £10 each so hurry before the programme is printed. The horses in the last Race are being sold on the night to the highest bidder. Hope you have a winner but remember the real winners will be Collegeland O’Rahillys GAC and you will be helping us provide activities and support in the local community.

Collegeland had Portadown Tir Na nÓg as visitors to the Fr McKnight Memorial Park on Saturday 13th of October for an Intermediate League game.
The rain that fell during the week made the playing surface difficult for the players and a heavy shower during the game made conditions even worse.
Tir Na nÓg had  two points on the score board after two minutes. Ryan Mc Parland then pointed for Collegeland after five minutes but the visitors went two up again after ten minutes. Midway through the half Collegeland drew level with points by Jack Mc Geary and Stephen Clancy. The Portadown men then had two quick scores to again  lead by two. A Jack McGeary point cut the deficit to one point on the 22nd minute. Tir Na nÓg rallied with 4 points to leave the score at the break   Collegeland 0-4 Tir Na nÓg 0-09.
Collegeland changes saw Gareth Mc Ardle move from goalkeeper to the forwards with Tommy McGeary replacing Gareth in nets. The Tir Na nÓg men  scored 4 points in the third Quarter to extend their lead by nine. Collegeland came back strongly with 3 points in a row on 16th, 17th, 18th minutes added by Gareth Mc Ardle free, Mickey Cullen, and Gareth Mc Ardle to narrow the gap to six. The Portadown men had points in the 19th and 21st minutes to edge further in front. Gareth Mc Ardle replied with a point for Collegeland in the 25th Minute. Back came the visitors with two late scores to leave the final score Collegeland 0-8 Tir Na nÓg 0-17.

Collegeland battled hard in the conditions and both teams must be applauded for their efforts over the hour. Tir Na nÓg with their two county men Brian Mallon and Paul Carville were always going to be hard to beat in the Portadown men’s last fixture. Our next match is away to Annaghmore on Sunday 21.

Despite having two re-fixtures left this result means we will be playing in the Junior League next season. Collegeland can take some comfort from the season as along the way we have defeated the Intermediate league winners Shane O’Neills in Camlough and also defeated St Peters who will also be playing in the senior league next season.

The Junior League will give us a opportunity to introduce young players and hopefully a few players will return to these shores and help us build for the future and return to Intermediate League. Maybe our motto for the incoming year could be  IS FEIDIR LINN  [Yes we can].

U16 DIV 3 SHIELD FINAL
Naomh Eoin v Clady in Abbey Park, Armagh at 3pm  on Saturday 20 Oct. We wish all the  Players and management good luck in the under 16 Div 3 Shield Final. We would ask  Club members to come out and support our Naomh Eoin team on Saturday.

Nite at the Races

A great nights craic is promised at our annual Nite at the Races by our MC Martin McCarron  on  Fri 26 October in the Auction Rooms, Moy. We are trying something different this year with a new approach to the night itself and a new approach to seeking sponsors and selling horses.  If you are a business or supplier  with customers in the wider Collegeland area then we ask for your support.

Computer Course

CCCDA Computer Course starting this Friday 19 Oct in Collegeland  if sufficient numbers   and possibly Mondays  BUT YOU MUST Contact Doreen Lappin 077 3633 6152 at SRC Southern Regional College to register.

REMINDER Charlemont Fort

A Talk by James Kane, on Charlemont Fort and the O’Neill connection will be held Friday 19 October in Collegeland Clubrooms at 8.00 pm. £3 for adults, £1 for children.  All welcome.