Lotto:
There was no winner of last week’s jackpot of €12,300. The numbers drawn were 11, 13, 14 & 22. The five €30 consolation prizes went to Noreen Cronin, Killarney, C Regan, Keel; Bryan Quilter, Curragraigue; Johnathon Regan, Keel & Pa Casey c/o Tony Casey.
This week’s jackpot will be €12,400 and the draw will take place at the later day of Monday night September 22nd at 10pm in Keane’s Bar. This is due to the All Ireland final this Sunday Lotto tickets available from the usual outlets or any club officer.
Juvenile Academy:
Last Sunday, St Pats U-8’s played away to Ballymac in the beautiful September sunshine. All St Pats players played full games . Our defence lead by the wholehearted Thomas Sheehy performed brilliantly and with some good tackling and close marking from Diarmuid Waugh , Orlaith Murphy and Caoimhe Dairo we made our opponents work hard for every score they got. Joseph Laucher and Samuel Barrero got on a world ball around the middle and as usual Joseph tucked away some great goals especially a great effort from the ground which lobbed the keeper from distance. In the forwards Daniel Sheehy, Rory Kelleher and Gráinne Breen fought hard for every ball that came their way but a special mention this week must go to Fionn Dairo with his determination and direct running at our opponents he scored some nice goals and points.
The management team were delighted with the effort and the skills shown by all the players especially the use of the pick up, hand passing and our tackling. So again its important that all players continue to attend every training session and practise their skills at home. PS thanks to Danny Greaney and Martin Laucher for giving us a hand. Thanks to Ballymac who hosted our u 6 & u 8 teams. Well done to our future stars , many of whom were representing our club for the first time and certainly distinguished themselves. Thanks to our friends in Ballymac who provided refreshments afterwards.
Our U10’s had a very productive training session last Sunday in Blennerville with County Development Coach Linda Gleeson. Ably assisted by our U10 coach Kieran O’Shea, the players were put through their paces and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Thanks again to Linda for coming out.
Next Sunday sees the biggest day in the country’s sporting calendar as the All Ireland takes centre stage. To accommodate members going to the matches, the academy will be brought forward to this Friday night between 6:30pm and 7:30pm.
St Pats Family Fun Day:
Last Sunday saw our annual Family Fun Day take place in glorious sunshine and we had a huge turnout. The day began with a walk from Blennerville, up Curragraigue, across Ballydunlea & Clahane, down Ballyard, back across Kearney’s Road, up through the village and back to the club grounds. It was in memory of our late friend Tony O’Donoghue and many members kindly made donation in aid of the Palliative Care Unit of Kerry General Hospital. After some refreshments and an excellent puppet show by Dermot Waugh, the fun and games commenced with both young and old participating.
The final of the internal league took centre stage and surrounding that, many of the other games went ahead such as the novelty races, the hurling penalty shots; the Sumo Wrestling, the football shot competition; the golf putt, welly and horse shoe throwing and many more. Afterwards, the winners of all the events were presented with their prizes by our Coiste na nOg Chairman Seamus Murphy and the day was finished off by some Ice Water Bucket Challenges by some of our Juvenile Coaches and players! It was without doubt the most successful family fun day we have had in years.
This was simply down to the colossal effort by the Coiste na nOg committee, members of the executive, and most importantly the parents and children of the locality. Many parents produced beautiful treats for everyone on the day as well as organising the tea’s & coffee’s and juices. It really was a community effort and that is what makes our club so special. Mol an Oige agus Tiocfaidh si.
Seniors:
St Brendan’s Senior League Final:
St Pats 1-13 John Mitchels 2-8
Na Gaeil hosted this year’s St Brendan’s League Final last Saturday evening in glorious sunshine, where both John Mitchels & St Pats produced a fantastic game of football for the sparse crowd that attended. Mitchels have two vital county league games coming up to ensure they maintain their Division 2 status for 2015. St Pats on the other hand are already relegated to Division 3. However, both teams gave of their all in an intriguing contest. Mitchels got the dream start as they attacked down the left flank from the throw-in. An incisive run by Alan O’Donoghue saw his initial shot saved by Paudi Bailey. The ball rebounded off an inrushing Shane O’Connor and it was adjudged to have crossed the whitewash by the umpire.
Not the start the defending champions wanted but this acted as the wake up call they needed and St Pats settled into the game from thereon and kicked some great scores. Willie Hurley chased a lost cause of a ball over near the corner flag and his endeavor was rewarded as he cut inside his marker and shot over the bar to give Pats their opening score. David Kerins who was very lively throughout, added a further point to put the minimum between the teams after ten minutes.
Both teams were evenly matched as they traded points but St Pats nudged ahead in the 22nd minute with a well worked goal by Willie Hurley. The St Pats rearguard were dominant in this half with the full back line of Luke Mulligan, Eric Teahan and Paul McMahon well on top and their forwards were moving well and working hard, in particular Brendain Savage, Andy Byrne & Brendan Poff. Kieran Hurley added a fantastic score with the left foot out far in the 27th minute to give St Pats a 3 point lead at the short whistle.
Mitchels came out in the second half and ran at the St Pats rearguard with much more conviction than the first half. They kept the scoreboard ticking mainly through frees from O’Donoghue but St Pats kept the 3 point gap through replies from Kieran Hurley, Brendan Poff and an inspirational score from captain Liam O’Sullivan. Given the warm temperature, the subs bench for both teams was always going to have an impact. St Pats lost Sean Dowling to a back injury in the 45th minute and he was replaced by Tommy O’Connor. They also brought on Gary Savage for his brother Brendain who had worked his socks off up to then.
From a St Pats kickout, John Mitchels received possession and they caught the St Pats defence off guard. The ball was fed to the in rushing Kerry Junior Sean Moloney and he blasted past Paudi Bailey to tie the game. The same player was unlucky not to score another goal immediately after but his shot just went over the crossbar. This put Mitchels a point up with ten minutes to go and it looked like the pendulum was swinging in their favour going into the final few minutes of the game. St Pats had been in this position on many occasions throughout the year and failed to close these games out.
However they refused to fade on this occasions and the Poff’s and Liam O’Sullivan won some vital possessions during this period and drove the team forward. St Pats introduced Jordan Conway in the 53rd minute for David Kerins and he had an immediate impact and scored a lovely point from close range to level matters. Kieran Hurley scored a free in the 57th minute to put St Pats in front. Mitchels attempted a short kickout but quick thinking by Andy Byrne saw his gain possession and he tapped over the bar to increase the lead to two points.
Mitchels tried in vain in the closing minutes to score what would be the winning goal but lady luck was on the side of Blennerville as St Pats held on for victory. After the game, Derek Daly, Chairman of the St Brendan’s Board presented the cup to the winning captain, Liam O’Sullivan. Referee Mike Hennessy did an excellent job officiating and both Mike & the St Brendan’s Board deserve credit for having a full set of umpires for the match.
Overall, St Pats deserved their victory and were make work hard for it by a gallant Mitchels team. It was a much improved performance from those we had seen in the last few county league games so hopefully the team have turned the corner and can build for next season. However, there is still plenty to play for with two remaining county league games plus an opportunity to do the double with the St Brendan’s Championship.
One of the biggest positives was the introduction of so many younger players to the squad in recent weeks like Eric Teahan, Jordan Conway, Killian Quirke, Sean Dowling and Jack Quilter. Well done to all involved. Team: P Bailey, Jake Foley, P McMahon, E Teahan, L Mulligan, Jeff Foley, S Dowling, L Poff, L O’Sullivan (c), B Poff, K Hurley, D Kerins, W Hurley, A Byrne & B Savage: Subs: T O’Connor, G Savage, J Conway, A O’Callaghan, J Fitzgerald, K Quirke, B Boyle.
Round 10 of the Credit Union County Senior Football League has bee re-scheduled for the weekend of September 27/28th where we travel to Kenmare. Exact day and time of throw-in to be confirmed in next week’s notes.
Under 21’s:
The St Pats/Na Gaeil Under 21’s game vs Rathmore in the U21 Club Championship scheduled for last Friday night was conceded by St Pats/Na Gaeil. This was extremely disappointing as both clubs had agreed to re-fix the original fixture after a request from Rathmore. A throw-in time of 6:15pm on a Friday was too tight a dead-line considering the majority of the St Pats/Na Gaeil team were in college inCork and Limerick.
Sponsors:
The Club are delighted to announce that we have recently finalized new deals with the sponsors of all our teams. Fitzgibbon Interiors have come on board as the sponsor of our Academy and we are delighted to have them. Poff Motors have renewed their sponsorship of our Juvenile teams and O’Shea’s Gala have also renewed their sponsorship of the senior teams. We would like to thank all three for supporting our club and we look forward to working with them.
New jersies arrived last weekend so we will be launching the sponsorship deals in the coming weeks. Jersies will be available for purchase at a later date so keep an eye on the club notes and Facebook page for updates.
Derryquay School:
Camp Drama Group are kindly staging their very popular play A Wake in the West on Mon 29th Sept in the old school Camp, as a fund raiser for Derryquay School. This is a last chance to see this riotous comedy before their performance in the UK. Admission E10 adults E5 children. Tickets available from O’Dwyers, Camp, Derryquay school and any Derryquay parent. Limited number of tickets available on door on night of performance.
Congratulations:
Congratulations’ to two ladies from the community who tied the knot last weekend. Carol O’Connor from Clahane married Padraig Connaughton in Puckane, Co. Tipperary last Friday and Grace O’Shea from Blennerville married Tim Cronin in Curraheen Church last Saturday with the reception in the Killarney Oaks. We wish both couples a happy and healthy life together.
Kerry Legends Lovely Legs:
Our own Andrea O’Donoghue has a fantastic fundraising event taking place on Saturday night September 27th in the Fels Point Hotel at8pm. She has lined up some Kerry Football Legend to wax their legs with the event being hosted by RTE’s Miriam O’Callaghan.
All proceeds go to the Palliative Care Unit of Kerry General Hospital. It promises to be a great night with music after by Alan & the Accident and DJ Dermot O’Brien. Tickets are only €10 and are available through Andrea 0876413449 or at O’Shea’s shop.
After-School Care:
An after school Childcare service will resume in September. Supervised homework. Large play area inside & out. Limited numbers available. All queries please contact Ann-Marie on 086-8602116.
Sympathy:
The club would like to extend its sympathy to the families and friend of Pat O’Sullivan, Gortatlea & Margaret Howard, Tursilleagh who passed away recently. May They Rest In Peace.
