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Club Notes Archive - 2008

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Box. DECEMBER
1 December

~ BINGO ~
There is a pre-Christmas Special Bingo in the Abbey Centre Ballyshannon this Friday 5th December at 9pm sharp. A prize fund of €2,500 must go on the night. House in the final game of the night will see you going home with a cool €700, which would sort out a few presents! There are 11 games in all and prices for books are as follows: A double book is €15, a double double book is €25 and a single book is €8.

~ DINNER DANCE ~
The club dinner dance took place last Saturday, 29th November, in Dorrian's Hotel. There was a good crowd in attendance and a very convivial atmosphere prevailed. After a fine meal promptly served by the staff in Dorrian's the awards ceremony got under way. The recipients were: PJ Buggy, who was inaugurated into the Aodh Ruadh Hall of Fame; Club person of the year, Hurling stalwart John Rooney; Senior player of the year, Stephen Ward; Reserve team player of the year, Barry Travers; Third team player of the year, Brian Dorrian, with the third team were also receiving their medals for winning the Division Four title on the night. There was a Special hurling award for Billy Finn who continues to recuperate at St John's hospital in Sligo, all visitors welcome; Ladies player of the year, Sarah Patton; Special Appreciation Award, out-going Bord na nÓg chairman, Jim Kane; and finally Young footballer of the year, Barry Leonard; Young hurler of the year, Stephen Ryan. There were also presentations made to managers of the senior team, Sylvester Maguire and Benjy Drummond, reserve team, Paul Kane and the Ladies team, Teddy Kane and PJ Patton. With the gongs handed out the night was topped off with music by John Meehan followed by DJ Mojo. An extended report and pictures from the night should be available on aodhruadh.org shortly.

~ HURLERS ~
The hurlers held their AGM last Tuesday with a good attendance. The following positions were filled: Chairman John Rooney; Assistant Chairman, Mark Sheerin; Secretary, Emma Gaughan; Assistant Secretary, Stephen Sheerin. The following managers were appointed: under 8, Eddie Lynch and Dennis Daly; under 10, Michael Ayres and Kevin McDermott; under 12, John Rooney; under 14, Peter Horan; under 16, Kevin Loughlin. The position of senior manager wasn't filled on the night. If anyone is interested please contact any committee member.

There is an underage hurling presentation on this Saturday. Notes will be distributed during the week and it is hoped that all parents will attend this event and meet our very special guest any enquiries to John Rooney.

~ BORD NA NÓG ~
A useful resource for anyone looking to attend coaching development courses in locations throughout Ireland is www.education.gaa.ie. The site is also an invaluable tool for coaches, parents and players looking for ideas. Access is free following a brief registration.

Under 12 training continues this Friday night from 7pm to 8pm in the hall. Well done to all those who took part and remember to keep practicing your kick pass and core strength work. A special word of thanks to all the coaches who took part in helping the players. We all hope that this great work continues on throughout the year.

Training for under 8s continues this Friday from 6-7pm. Well done to all who participated in last week's training, in particular congratulations to our players of the week: Cian for the under 5s; Donagh for the under 7s and Tiernan who scooped the award for the second week in a row for the under 8's. It was great to see so many new boys turn up and hopefully we can encourage even more young players to come up and train on a Friday night. Remember to practice kick passing this week! Once again many thanks to all the young coaches who turned up on the night and gave a hand with coaching young players. Anyone interested in coaching fundamental stage sport, not just football, is invited to attend and give a hand. Also remember this Friday is 'Bring a Friend' night, so if you have any friends who would like to start playing football get them up and spread the word!

~ LADIES ~
Congratulations to Sarah Patton who received Ladies Player of the Year at the annual club dinner dance last Saturday. She made an outstanding contribution to the team this year and the award was truly deserved.

Under 10 girls continue training in the Mercy Hall on Wednesday nights. The session runs from 6-7pm and the cost is €2 per child. All are welcome.

The new series of Underdogs continues on TG4 with our own Niamh Gallagher getting all the best lines. Catch all the drama and highlights on Thursdays at 9.30pm.

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8 December

~AGM ~
The Aodh Ruadh AGM takes place this Sunday, 14th December at 5pm in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh. This meeting is a review of 2008 in the club and looks forward to our centenary year in 2009. Anyone with an interest in the development of Gaelic games in Ballyshannon is welcome to attend.

~ HURLERS ~
Saturday, 6th December 2008 was an historic day for hurling in the Aodh Ruadh Club. Vodafone young player of the year 2008, current Vodafone All-star and Galway hurler, Joe Canning, visited the club.
Bulletpoint. See the full report and pictures

~ BORD NA NÓG ~
Under 8 training continues this Friday from 6-7pm. Congratulations to all those who took part and especially to our players of the week Ben, Matthew and Jack. Special word of thanks to all the coaches who participated. A reminder to all players to practice at home what you were training on Friday; so that's kicking for under 5s, pick-ups for under 7s and soloing for under 8s. Remember to practice even harder with your weaker foot as well! A reminder that anyone interested in coaching is welcome to come along and join in.

Under 12 training continues this Friday night from 7-8pm. Well done to all those who attended last week and in particular those players who helped out with the coaching of under 8s. Keep up the core strength work and kick passing. Many thanks to those coaches also who helped out with the coaching of under 12s and once again a reminder that anyone who is interested in coaching and helping out with under 12s is more than welcome to attend.

A useful resource for anyone looking to attend coaching development courses in locations throughout Ireland is www.education.gaa.ie. The site is also an invaluable tool for coaches, parents and players looking for ideas. Access is free following a brief registration.

~ LADIES ~ Under 10 girls continue training in the Mercy Hall on Wednesday nights. The session runs from 6-7pm and the cost is €2 per child. All are welcome.

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15 December

~ CLUB AGM ~
The Aodh Ruadh AGM took place last Sunday, 14th December in Aras Aoidh Ruaidh with a healthy attendance of over 40. Outgoing officers read their reports and there was plenty of debate on the night. The secretary's report is now available to read in the administration section of the site, for those unable to attend on the night. Appointments made on the night were as follows: Patrons, Fr. Cathal O'Fearrai (Kilbarron) and Fr. Frank McManus (The Rock); President, Sean Slevin; Vice President, Peter Conlon; Chairman, Terence McShea; Vice Chairman, Mick McGrath; Secretary, John Magee; Assistant Secretary, TBC; Treasurer, Mary Grimes; Assistant Treasurer, Jimmy Gallagher; P.R.O., John Hughes; Oifigeach na Gaeilge/Scor, Eoin O'Moore; County Board Delegate, Terence McShea; Substitute Delegate, Mick McGrath; Alcohol and Substance Abuse Officer, TBC; Child Protection Officer, John Travers; and Director of Coaching, Simon Gillespie.

~ SCOR ~
Congratulations to Fionnuala McCosker who made it through to the Ulster final of Scor na nÓg after winning through the Ulster semi-final in Aghyaran last Saturday

~ DINNER DANCE ~
Some mightn't have been able to attend, while others will have hazy memories of the night! No matter you can relive the Aodh Ruadh Dinner Dance, complete with Sean Perry witticisms.
Bulletpoint. Read More

~ BORD NA NÓG ~
Under 8 training has concluded for the year and will resume again in mid-January consult the club notes for details. Many thanks to all those players, parents and coaches who participated in the activities and supervised children. Anyone wishing to become involved in coaching this age group or is interested in giving a hand in any way should contact Simon Gillespie. An special congratulations to the players of the week for the final week Dermot, Neil and Stephen and to all the players who took part in our final session of the year. Next year we hope even more under 8s attend our training so get out and spread the word about training times. A reminder to all players to keep practicing what they have learned in the last weeks session so that's the pick-up for 5s soloing for 6s and 7s and the roll for 8s and all that they have learned in the last number of weeks. Once again special thanks to all the young coaches who helped out on Friday night without their help training certainly could not go ahead.

Well done also to all under 12s who participated in last Friday's training, our last of the year. Training will resume again in mid January. Remember it is very important that you practice your core strength exercises and kick passing over the next month on your own or all our hard work over the last number of weeks will be gone! Many thanks to all the players who trained and played over the past year they have been a privilege to work with and we all hope they continue to represent our club with pride in our centenary year next year.

~ COACHING CORNER ~
A reminder to all coaches who have attained or are seeking to attain their own coaching awards within the GAA. The old grading system of Foundation, Level one and Level two has been replaced by a new system designed to develop coaches at three levels: juvenile, youth and adult at five levels each. So that's juvenile (under 6 to under 10) stages 1 - 5, youth (under 12 to minor) stages 1-5 and adult (under 21 - senior) stages 1-5. Information about when and where these programmes are being offered is available online at www.education.gaa.ie. Any person who has an interest in becoming a coach should complete their child protection course and attain a certificate in one of the stages prior to taking a team. Excellent courses are also being offered at county level which tend to be more specific and with further information available online at www.donegalgaa.ie, www.derrygaa.ie and www.sligogaa.ie, while John Morrison is currently writing a series of excellent coaching articles which are available at the Leitrim GAA website.

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22 December

~ SEASON'S GREETINGS ~
Aodh Ruadh wishes all associated with the club and everyone in the wider Ballyshannon community a happy, peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

~ COACHING CORNER ~
There is a workshop on coaching the goalkeeper in Cloone, county Leitrim on 28th December at 11.30pm. Anyone interested in attending this event should contact Simon on 086-1082554.

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28 December

~ GREAT LOSS ~
It was with great sorrow and sadness that we learned that Sean Slevin, President of Aodh Ruadh, passed away on Monday. Sean was a true pillar of the club. He wore the Aodh Ruadh colours with distinction throughout the 1930s, '40s and '50s, winning county championship medals in 1939, 1942, 1943 and 1951. He served the club as secretary between 1944 and 1950 and as Chairman in 1954 and 1969. A indefatigable worker for Aodh Ruadh, he seldom missed a match, until illness finally curtailed his attendance. Remains repose at the family home from 7pm, Monday with removal on Tuesday evening at 6.45pm to St Patrick's Church, Ballyshannon. Funeral mass on Wednesday at 11am followed by interment in St Patrick's Cemetery, Belleek. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.

~ LADIES ~
A brief players meeting was held on Saturday 27th for the Ladies team in Aras Aodh Ruadh where plans for the forthcoming year were discussed among players and coaches. We are delighted to have Terence McShea on board this year along with our coaches from last year, Teddy Kane and PJ Patton. We have no doubt that his great experience will stand us in good stead for 2009. Fundraisers and plans for training were discussed so watch this space for further news and updates.

Finally, a massive congratulations to Niamh Gallagher who took part in this year's series of Underdogs on TG4. The team travelled to London for their final and toughest challenge to date. Unfortunately, they were defeated, but Niamh put in a great effort throughout. Her gaeilge liofa meant that she got her fair share of time on camera too! It was a great achievement not only for Niamh herself but the ladies team and the club as a whole.

~ GET WELL SOON ~
Best wishes to our committee member 'the Blue Rooster' Sean O'Mahoney who is currently in hospital. Get well soon, Sean

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