Na Fianna Nuacht Chairman’s New Year’s Greetings It's that time of year again when hopefully we are all well rested after a peaceful Christmas and New Year. The batteries have been re-charged and thoughts inevitably drift forward. Several teams have already come out of hibernation and are making plans for the playing season ahead. A lot of work has gone into next weekend's Coaching Forum which will take place on Saturday afternoon January 17th at 1pm in the Mobhi Suite. Please ensure that you can attend as it is the perfect way to throw in the ball for the new season. 2015 promises to be an eventful year in the life of our club. It marks the 60th anniversary of the club's foundation so we will be celebrating a diamond anniversary. Plans are afoot to celebrate this landmark date appropriately. On the pitch the club will be fielding a record number of teams across our four unrivalled sports of hurling, football, camogie and ladies' football. Our handballers will continue to hold court and are growing in numbers. Our musicians, dancers and players are making their presence felt in Scór at county, provincial and national level. The club's Nursery continues to be the 'jewel in the crown' and is a wonderful testament to the commitment and dedication of our club volunteers. Recent club success at senior, minor and Under 21 level can be traced back directly to the wonderful work done in the club Nursery by so many around the turn of the century. Having had cause recently to interact with many of the current mentors in the Nursery, I am absolutely delighted to know that this generation of nursery mentors is every bit as good as what went before. The recent Club Pantomime and Christmas Village were a great success not only from a financial point of view but more importantly from a club community point of view. They generated a feelgood factor which carried us through Christmas and continues into the New Year. I want to personally thank all those, too numerous to mention individually, who did such great work and put in so many hours to ensure the success of both events. Mar focal scor, guím Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh go léir. Go néirí linn le chéile i 2015. Colum Cronin Cathaoirleach CLG Na Fianna Na Fianna Nuacht 9ú Eanair 2015 1 Na Fianna Nuacht Club Lotto This week’s Na Fianna Club Lotto winning numbers were; 7 10 13 27 No jackpot winner but congrats to three Match 3 winners each winning €45, Caoimhin O Coigligh Joan Mangan and Vinny Roe c/o Vinny. Congrats also to our five Lucky Pick winners who won €15 each, Catherine & Peter Clarke, Oliver Casserly, Angus c/o Vinny, Paul Courtney, Tom Gilligan. See Club website www.clgnafianna.ie for application forms and direct debit mandates. Next week’s Club Lotto Jackpot will be €5,000 please support. Last Call For Christmas Trees This is your last chance to get rid of your Christmas tree and help a Club fundraiser at the same time. From early tomorrow morning Club volunteers will begin collecting trees from those households that have registered their details. Time is running out and if you haven’t yet registered your details you are advised to do so as soon as possible. Maybe you like finding pine needles in your car right through until September, maybe you get a kick out of stuffing the decaying remnants of your tree into your car in this wet January weather or perhaps you enjoy the spectacle of several year’s Christmas trees rotting together at the bottom of your garden….if that’s the case this initiative clearly isn’t for you. For the rest of us, hoping to start the new year afresh, this worthy Club fundraiser will bring 2014 to a conclusion and round things off nicely….and all for just €5. That’s right, for only €5 we will collect your old Christmas tree and bring it to the recycling centre. To avail of this service please text your address and phone number to the Na Fianna Christmas Tree number 086-4039035 before 9am tomorrow (Sat 10th Jan). Orders received after that cannot be guaranteed. Trees will be collected between 9am and 6pm. Please have the tree outside your house/apartment block by 9am tomorrow. Tell your friends & neighbours! Also, the organisers are making an appeal for volunteers to help out tomorrow. If you can spare an hour or two at any stage during the day, please text the same number 086-4039035. Na Fianna Nuacht 9ú Eanair 2015 2 Na Fianna Nuacht Annual Juvenile Coaching Forum Our Coaching Development Group have been busy planning this year’s Juvenile Coaching Forum and to get the new year kicked off in style this year’s forum will take place in Na Fianna on Saturday 17th January. Running from 1.00pm until 3.45pm and definitely not to be missed, this year’s Forum will include sessions on: - planning and coaching - home practice ideas (interactive) - better conditioning for injury prevention and performance Niall Cooper will introduce the concept of Athletic Development and our plans to make an AD programme/resources available to coaches over the coming months. Johnny Cooper will also do a segment. Looking forward to seeing a good crowd on Saturday 17th. Club Shop The Club shop will not open this Saturday. Details of the shop’s reopening will be communicated as soon as they are available. Pitch Notice With the recent inclement weather we have had over the past couple of weeks, the Fixtures and Pitch Committee have decided that we are unable to cater for Challenge Games on Na Fianna grass pitches until the end of January. The only games fixed will be official games sanctioned by the County Board. Thanks to all for your cooperation. Na Fianna Nuacht 9ú Eanair 2015 3 Na Fianna Nuacht St Stephens Day 7’s Champions Congrats to 'Team handsome' on winning their third Na Fianna Stephen's Day 7’s title. Thanks to all who took part and to those who organised another great event. Despite the dreadful condition it was a great turnout. Clothes Recycling Here’s a novel way of clearing your wardrobe of those clothes that either you have tired of or else are surplus to requirement since their replacement by newer models at Christmas. Similarly, those Club members who have resolved to change their ways this January may also be currently assessing their wardrobes. Either way, Na Fianna will run a clothing recycling fundraising campaign to facilitate all Club members, regardless of their motivation. Running until 24th January, all donations should be left into dressing room number 4. Na Fianna Nuacht 9ú Eanair 2015 4 Na Fianna Nuacht Our Rising Stars Congratulations to our very own impressive Na Fianna Dublin Stars, pictured below, who played against their respective Dublin senior panels in the annual camogie & football double bill that took place between Christmas and New Year in Parnells GAA Club, with all proceeds on the day going to the very worthwhile charity Climb4Clare. Climb® helps children that have a close family relative who has been diagnosed with cancer. On a crisp frosty day in Parnells both the Dublin selections and the Dub Stars’ teams served up very entertaining and competitive games to the large crowd in attendance. On left, Dublin Camogie Stars: Muireann O'Gorman and Cliona McCollough who played against our Dublin senior member Elaine O'Meara. On right, Dublin Football Stars: Orlagh Egan, Lucy Collins, Leah Caffrey ,Aoife Nolan and Ciara Purdy Na Fianna Nuacht 9ú Eanair 2015 5 Na Fianna Nuacht Senior Camogie Team Need Your Help Dedicated, skilful and unique panel of players seek management team to achieve great things in 2015. In 2014 we reached the final four in the Championship and are seeking the right people to help us go all the way! If you are interested in a big role or a smaller one please contact Tom Ryan (087) 2857669 or Sandra Tarr (086) 2417211 [email protected] It takes a whole village to raise a camogie team but with the right blend of townies we can conquer all before us! 2015 Sports Prediction Quiz Following on from the success of last year’s Sports Prediction Quiz and the great sense of fun and craic it created, the organisers have got together to agree the format for the 2015 version which will include an even bigger and better range of prizes. Huge thanks are again due to Dalcon Print Ltd who will again print the forms and have kindly agreed to do so free of charge. Aiming to launch the initiative at the end of January, the organisers are currently looking to welcome other sponsors on board. The organisers are confident that this year’s initiative will be even more successful than last year’s and that early indications around the Club are very positive. More details will be announced again shortly but in the meantime Donal Ring [email protected] will answer any questions regarding sponsorship opportunities. Scór Na nÓg Leinster Final Best of luck to our young Rince Foirne team in Saturday’s Scór Na nÓg Leinster Final. Taking place in St Brigids GAA Club Castleknock at 3pm the Na Fianna team are looking for supporters to make the short trip to cheer them on. Go n-eirí libh. Annual Na Fianna Mass The Annual Na Fianna Club Mass will take place at 4pm on this Sunday, 11th January, in the Club.