An Mhaigh Tír na nÓg G.A.C. Notes (Week commencing 07/05/12)

Men’s Senior Team An Mhaigh senior footballers made it two wins from two in division two of the All-County League, last Saturday evening, with a satisfactory display at home to previously unbeaten Strabane Sigersons. The Moy men conceded the first two scores of this game but controlled the remainder of the opening half to lead 0-5 to 0-3 at the break. A blistering start to the second period, in which An Mhaigh’s most experienced players came to the fore, saw the home side extend their advantage to six points. There was no way back for Strabane after that as the Tír na nÓgs closed the game out to win on a scoreline of 0-13 to 0-7. A solid defensive display, combined with a strong scoring return from the Cavanagh brothers, laid the foundation for this victory. Yet, despite the team’s winning start, the players and management will know there is still plenty of room for improvement. Team & Scorers: Barry Gribbin; Brendan Kelly, Tomás McNicholl, Tommy Conlon; Niall Conlon, (capt, 0-1), Adam Currie; and (0-3); Eunan Deeney (0-1), Peter Mallon (0-1), Hugo Mackle; Anthony Rafferty, Sean Cavanagh (0-6, 5 fk), Conall Duffy (0-1). Subs used: Kris Kavanagh (h-t) and Ryan O’Neill (h-t). League Position: Played 2, Won 2, Drawn 0, Lost 0, Points 4. An Mhaigh’s next league game is away to Killeeshil St Mary’s on Sunday 13th May at 3.45pm.

Men’s Reserve Team An Mhaigh reserve footballers were involved in a titanic tussle with Strabane in the opening All-County League game at Páirc Thír na nÓg, last Saturday evening. The homesters were slow out of the blocks and trailed by eight points at one stage in the first half. However, after reducing the deficit to five (1-3 to 1-8) at the interval, Turlough McKearney and Mickey Kavanagh’s men staged a powerful second half display. An Mhaigh held a narrow lead twice in the closing stages but two late Strabane scores earned the Sigersons a 2-13 to 2-12 victory. The Moy men were most unfortunate not to have earned at least a share of the spoils from this exhilarating contest and will look to the next game to try to secure their first win of the season. Best for the home side last weekend were Colm Jordan, Ryan O’Neill and man-of-the-match Brian Catterson. Team & Scorers: Stefan Rafferty; Peter McKearney, Mark Jordan, Philip McQuade; Adrian O’Neill, Donal Jordan, Daniel Beaddie; James Devlin and Colm Jordan; Paul McArdle, Mark Gribbin, Paddy McKeown; Conall Laverty (0-1, fk), Brian Catterson (1-6, 3fk), Ryan O’Neill (1-3). Subs used: Nathan Brady, Matt Dynes (0- 2), Conor Tennyson and Francie McQuade. League Position: Played 2, Won 0, Drawn 1, Lost 1, Points 1. An Mhaigh’s next league game is away to Killeeshil St Mary’s on Sunday 13th May at 2.15pm.

Under 18 Boys An Mhaigh minor lads bowed out of the grade two championship, on Wednesday 2nd May, when losing at home to Derrylaughan Kevin Barry’s in the opening round. The Moy boys trailed by just a point (1-9 to 2-7) at the end of a high- scoring first half, but their challenge crumbled after the break as the loughshore side dominated to emerge convincing victors on a scoreline of 3-18 to 1-12. Team & Scorers: Eoin Fearon; Paddy Mackle, Joe McMahon, James Cavanagh; Turlough Kelly, Sean Hanna, Jack Donaghy; Liam Kelly and Niall McConville (0-2); Declan Conroy (0-2), Jack McDonald (0-1), Ryan Coleman (0-2); Michael Cartmill (0-1), Mark McConville (1-2), Chris O’Neill (0-1). Subs: Daryl Mills and Oisin McKeown. The Moy players and management will now turn their attention back to the league and, with two games remaining, still stand a chance of making the knock-out stages of this competition. League Position: Played 5, Won 2, Drawn 0, Lost 3, Points 4. Remaining Fixtures: v Gael Naomh Padraig (away) on Wednesday 9th May at 7.15pm; v Eglish (home) on Friday 25th May at 7.30pm. For more information about training and forthcoming fixtures, contact team mentors Raymond Kelly or Sean Cartmill.

Under 18 Girls Having already qualified for this year’s league final, An Mhaigh minor girls can now also look forward to appearing in the 2012 championship decider thanks to an emphatic semi-final victory at home to Badoney on Monday 7th May. The Moy cailíní put on a wonderful exhibition of attacking play and score- taking against their spirited opponents. Not even an early Badoney goal could prevent the home side from storming into a big lead by half-time, and there was no let-up in An Mhaigh’s second half display either as they clocked up an impressive score. On a night when every member of the Moy team was a star, midfielder Katherine Hughes produced a player-of-the-match performance. Team & Scorers: Molly Kennedy; Lucy Donaghy, Ellen Mackle, Aine McElroy, Grace McCormack, Jill Sheridan (0-2); Katherine Hughes and Eimear McCormack (0-1); Aine Swail (0-1), Sara Loughran (1-4), Sophie Lavery (0-5), Niamh McVeigh (1-0), Maebh McGleenan (0-6). Subs: Ellen Donohue, Shannon Murray, Lauren McCaffery and Niamh Kelly. For more information about training and the forthcoming finals, contact team mentors Tommy Conlon, Paddy McKeown or Sinéad McNicholl.

Under 16 Boys An Mhaigh Under 16 lads took another big step towards qualifying for the knock-out stages of the league with victory over Donaghmore St Patrick’s at Páirc Thír na nÓg, last Saturday afternoon. The Tír na nÓgs won on a scoreline of 3-10 to 1-7 to consolidate their place in the top three of the section 2A table. League Position: Played 7, Won 4, Drawn 0, Lost 3, Points 8. Remaining fixtures: v Moortown (home) on Friday 11th May at 7pm; v Cookstown (away) on Saturday 2nd June at 4pm; v Dungannon (away) on Tuesday 19th June at 7.30pm. For more information about training and forthcoming games, contact team mentors Paul Kelly or Aidan Coleman.

Under 14 Boys An Mhaigh under 14 boys will begin their grade three league campaign with a home game against neighbours Eglish on Tuesday 8th May at 7.15pm. Moy’s other league fixtures are: v Eskra (away) on Monday 14th May at 7.30pm; v Fintona (away) on Thursday 17th May; v Brockagh (home) on Wednesday 23rd May; v Naomh Mhuire (home) on Saturday 26th May at 7.30pm; v Eglish (away) on Wednesday 30th May; v Eskra (home) on Tuesday 5th June at 7.30pm; v Fintona (home) on Friday 8th June at 7.30pm; v Brockagh (away) on Wednesday 13th June at 7.30pm; v Naomh Mhuire on Thursday 21st June at 7.30pm. For more information about training and forthcoming fixtures, please contact team mentors Mickey Kavanagh, Paud Loughran or Gerry Fearon.

Under 14 Girls An Mhaigh Under 14 girls welcomed Cappagh to Páirc Thír na nÓg, on Thursday 3rd May, in round four of the league. The home side played some good football in the opening half to lead 2-4 to 2-2 at the break, but it was the Cappagh cailíní who came out on top in the second period to clinch victory on a final scoreline of 3-8 to 3-6. Squad & Scorers: Alice Kelly, Caoimhe Magee, Seanin Doherty, Emma Lavery (1-0), Anna McDonald, Domilia Svickyte, Cara Corr, Emer Currie (1-3), Shauna McKee (0-1), Eden Lavery (0-1), Alana Murray, Siobhan Keppler (0-1), Ciara O’Hanlon, Shona Jordan (1-0), Gemma Cavanagh, Shauna Cavanagh, Catherine O’Hanlon, Caoliainn Doherty, Maianna Donohue, Aiste Balseviciute. League Position: Played 4, Won 1, Drawn 0, Lost 3, Points 3. Remaining fixtures: v Rock (away) on Thursday 10th May at 7pm; v Beragh (home) on Wednesday 16th May at 7pm; v Edendork (away) on Saturday 26th May at 11am. For more information about training and forthcoming games, contact team mentors Cathy O’Neill or Martin O’Hanlon.

Under 12 Tournament Plans are now at an advanced stage for what promises to be An Mhaigh G.A.C.’s biggest ever Under 12 football tournament at Páirc Thír na nÓg on Saturday 23rd June. The participation of twenty teams from all over Ulster has now been confirmed. They will be coming from counties Tyrone, Armagh, Down, Antrim, Fermanagh, Donegal and, for the first time ever, Cavan. This prestigious underage event requires a lot of organising and hard work, so we would call on all our members to get involved and help out in any way that they can. Anyone from the club who can volunteer his or her services in the form of stewarding, catering, shop assistance, refereeing, scorekeeping etc is asked to contact Martin Conroy or any member of the youth committee as soon as possible.

School Success for Ryan Congratulations to An Mhaigh underage player Ryan Coleman who starred for St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon in their replayed Brock Shield final victory over St Mary’s, Magherafelt last week. Ryan was in fine scoring form for his school throughout this competition, and we congratulate him and his team-mates on a great success.

Moy Host Dalton Final Páirc Thír na nÓg, Moy was the venue on Friday 4th May for the final of the Dalton Cup between CBS and St Colman’s College, Newry. There was a sizeable crowd present for this early evening fixture which saw the Newry school win on a final scoreline of 3-8 to 1-10.

Peile Fantaisíocht 2012 The closing date for our club’s exciting Ulster and All-Ireland GAA championship fantasy football competition is fast approaching. If you fancy testing your management credentials and pitting your wits against friends, family members, team-mates and celebrities this summer, get signed up now for Peile Fantaisíocht 2012. Entry fee is £10 for adults and £5 for youth, with some nice money prizes on offer for the winners. Entry forms are now available from all committee members and youth team mentors. You can also obtain full rules and enter online by logging onto our club website www.moygac.com and clicking on the Peile Fantaisíocht link. Closing date for entries is Wednesday 16th May, and everyone is invited to take part. Some well known GAA personalities who have already submitted their fantasy teams this year are Steven McDonnell (Armagh), (), Michael Murphy (Donegal), Stephen O’Neill (Tyrone), Caolan Mooney (Down and Collingwood), Colm Cavanagh (Tyrone), (Westmeath), (Tyrone), Darren Hughes (Monaghan) and Declan Bogue (sports journalist).

Last Man Standing Seven rounds have now been completed in the ‘Last Man Standing’ competition, organised by our senior and reserve footballers. For up-to-date information and to view the names of those still standing, log on to our club website www.moygac.com and click on the fundraising link for ‘Last Man Standing’.

Sympathy The committee, players and members of An Mhaigh Tír na nÓg G.A.C. deeply regret the death last week of Mrs Jane Casey, beloved mother of our esteemed club member Mary (Kelly) and devoted grandmother of club members Brendan, Martin and Anthony and former playing member Caroline. To them and the extended family circle, we offer our heartfelt condolences. Ar dheis lámh Dé go raibh a hanam uasal.

Noel Collins R.I.P. It was also with deep regret and much sadness that the committee, players and members of An Mhaigh G.A.C. learned of the recent death in London of our former playing member, Noel Collins. As well as having represented the Tír na nÓgs with distinction on the playing field, Noel is also fondly remembered for having organised a number of tug-o-war events at our club sports days down through the years. A member of the Omagh St Enda’s club also got in contact with us last week to say that Noel was a member of St Brendan’s GFC in London. He was a familiar face and friend to generations of St Brendan’s players and members over many years. He was ever present at many of the matches there, and most people came to regard the Ruislip GAA grounds as his true home. Noel was a true gentleman and would often tell the good people at St Brendan’s how he played for the Moy, despite being an Armagh man! He took great enjoyment from his playing days with the Tír na nÓgs and liked to recount tales of the physical encounters he had with the men from Omagh and Urney. His passing has left a massive void at the St Brendan’s club. We at An Mhaigh G.A.C. extend our sincerest sympathy to the Collins family at this time. Faoi chúram grámhar Dé go raibh sé.

Gaeltacht Grants Any fully paid-up member of An Mhaigh G.A.C. who will be attending the Gaeltacht this year and would like to be considered for a small grant should apply in writing to An Rúnaí Mary Daly as soon as possible.

Summer Camp Coaches If you have foundation level coaching and child protection, and are interested in some worthwhile and well organised summer work close to home, the Tyrone County Board would like to hear from you! They require large numbers of quality coaches, football and , for the Tyrone 2012 GAA Summer Camps. If you are interested, send your coaching cv and a copy of your foundation and child protection certificates via e-mail to [email protected] or post to: Tyrone Summer Camps, Tyrone GAA Office, 1a James Street, Omagh BT78 1DH

Irish Dancing Classes The Carroll School of Irish Dancing will be starting Irish dancing classes in St John’s Parochial Hall, Moy on Wednesday 16th May from 6pm to 7.30pm. These classes are for boys and girls aged four and up. For more information, please contact Gerard Carroll on 078 71600260 or [email protected]. You can also get webpage information by logging onto www.facebook.com/CarrollSID

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Colin Mackle (P.R.O.) An Mhaigh Tír na nÓg G.A.C. Mob: 077 52478618