Dinner dance
The social night of the year takes place this Saturday as Aodh Ruadh host their annual dinner dance! As usual the action takes place in Dorrian’s Imperial Hotel, and we are all looking forward to what should be a big night of craic and celebration. Thankfully the club had a successful 2023 on a number of fronts, so we have quite a bit of achievement to mark. Attendees will be greeted with a complimentary glass of fizz on arrival from 6pm, before proceedings formally get under way with the banquet at 7pm sharp. After the fine dining, Master of Ceremonies Sean Perry will take to the rostrum to introduce the presentation of awards. As well as our usual individual presentations we will be saluting our senior reserve championship winning footballers, as well as the under 23 championship winning ladies. We will also be honouring our 1998 senior and reserve championship winning sides, as well as the intermediate camogie champions as they mark their jubilees. With the gongs given out, the fabulous Keltic Kaos will take to the stage to entertain the crowd into the small hours. Tickets priced €40 are available on klubfunder.com until this Wednesday at 5pm, or by contacting Lisa McTernan on 086-2338636. Don’t delay, get yours today!
Football
All boys underage teams are returning to training in the coming weeks. Outlined below are the arrangements for each team.
Boys under 5, Mercy hall, Coláiste Cholmcille, Fridays from 6pm to 6.45pm. Commenced Friday 9th February
Boys under 6, Mercy hall, Coláiste Cholmcille, Fridays from 7pm to 7.45pm. Commenced Friday 9th February.
Boys under 8, New hall, Coláiste Cholmcille, Fridays from 6pm to 7pm. Commenced Friday 2nd February.
Boys under 10, New hall, Coláiste Cholmcille, Fridays from 7.15pm to 8.15pm. Commenced Friday 9th February.
Boys under 12, Lakeside, Fridays 5.45pm from 7pm. Commenced Friday 9th February.
Boys under 14, Lakeside, Mondays and Wednesdays from 8.15pm to 9.15pm. Commenced Monday 5th February.
Boys under 16 and boys under 18, Lakeside Centre, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8.15pm to 9.45pm. Commenced Tuesday 6th February. Gym sessions on Fridays have also commenced.
Hurling
Congratulations to all our hurlers who lined out with the County Development teams yesterday. Cian McDonald and the under 20 team were not disappointed after travelling to Breffni Park. They came away winners on a scoreline of 3-12 to 2-5. There was extensive Aodh Ruadh representation on the county 17 team, with no less than ten players. Joe Gibbions, Daithi Sheerin, Lennon Canny, Rory Cullen, Antoin O’Loughlin, Shay Winters, Corey Sheridan, Jun Hui Lin and Liam Doogan all played their part, with an injured Sean Maguire cheering them on from the sideline. They were up against a strong Mayo side, fresh from a big win over Galway last week. They were unsuccessful on the day, but produced a much improved performance on their last outing. The score finished at Mayo 4-22 to Donegal 3-10 with two of the goals netted by Ballyshannon aces, Corey Sheridan and Jun Hui Lin.
Ladies
Well done also to Katie McGowan and Ciara Larkin who lined out for Donegal under 16s against Tyrone as they continued their pre-season build-up in Lifford over the weekend.
Scór Sinsir
We’re looking for people to represent Aodh Ruadh in Scór Sinsir this year. Scór aims to promote Irish culture and tradition in areas such as music and drama and we’re hoping the club will be represented in as many disciplines as possible. It’s open to any club member over the age of 17. The county final is scheduled for the 1st March in Ballybofey. We are looking for acts to represent the club in
• Céilí Dancing
• Set Dancing
• Recitation/Storytelling
• Ballad Group
• Solo Singing
• Historical Presentation
If you’re interested or have any queries, please contact Eamonn-Martin Maguire at eamonnmartinmaguire@gmail.com.
CPR / AED training
The club has organised a CPR / AED course on Thursday, 22nd February for all underage coaches involved in Aodh Ruadh. We are encouraging at least one coach from each age group to register. The course is €10 and should take about two hours 30 minutes. A small investment of time which could save a life. To register send Chris Kelly a text at 086-8813553 with your name , phone number, age group are involved with and whether you are you coaching football, hurling, ladies football or camogie.
Ref recruitment
Donegal GAA are carrying out a recruitment campaign for new referees in both hurling and football. No referees, no games. It’s that simple. Anyone interested in refereeing at senior or underage level is asked to contact refereesadministrator.donegal@gaa.ie.
Club membership
We ask all club members to start thinking about submitting their club registration for 2024. This year we are moving to Foireann for processing of club membership. This is the official GAA online platform, and many will have already used it during COVID. To obtain or renew membership online go to foireann.ie, and your membership status will be displayed on the dashboard after you login, with the option to register, if you have not yet paid your membership for 2024. Anyone running into problems with Foireann can contact Lisa McTernan or Louise Larkin for assistance. Alternatively, membership can also be paid to Gerry Ferguson at Ferguson’s Jewellers. All players, without exception, must be signed up club members. Non members are not covered by the GAA’s injury insurance scheme and cannot line out for the club. Adult members will receive first priority for the club’s allocation of All-Ireland final tickets in the event of Donegal contesting the decider. Only adult members registered by 31st March may vote at the club AGM.
Gaeilge do gach duine
We are back at it this Tuesday at 8.30pm in Dorrian’s Hotel, Ballyshannon. Fáilte roimh gach duine. Interested in using your own level of Irish in a relaxed, enjoyable conversation group? Join us every Tuesday from 8.30pm to 9.45pm. All levels of Irish are welcome to join in, speak, listen, or just do whatever you are comfortable with. This event is free of charge. Bain triail as, beidh fáilte romhat.
Ballyshannon Bingo
The Jackpot was won at last Tuesday’s Ballyshannon Bingo with Eileen Maguire taking the spoils. The House winners were Kathleen Keown, Kathleen McGroary, Anne Lowther, Margaret Gilmartin and James Gethins (shared), Anne Gallagher, Breda Gallagher, Anthony Reynolds and Marie Gormley (shared) and Maureen Coughlin and Rosaleen Greene (Shared). The Snowball rolls over for another week, with Teresa Campbell winning the €100 prize on that game. The Line winners were Edmund Brennan and Mary McGowan (shared), Brenda Carty, Teresa Hannon and Lesley McNeely (Shared), Mary Coughlin, Mary McCaughey, Brigid Quinn, Mary Donagher, Antoinette McKinney, and Marie Ward. Teresa Hannon took the €50 double line prize in game 10. Majella Gethins took the Stand-Up game prize of €140! The €1,000 Winter Snowball escaped another week so is in play on 43 numbers or less this week, all as part of a €2,800 prize fund including €500 50/50 Jackpot and €300 Lucky Numbers Game. Bingo at the usual time of 8.30pm Tuesday with doors open at 7.45pm. Books cost just €10! Come along a bring a friend for a great night of craic and prizes!
Aodh Ruadh lotto
Massive congratulations to William Gallagher who scooped the Aodh Ruadh lotto jackpot of €6,000! The winning numbers drawn were 1, 3, 9, 10, 16 and 17. The next draw is for a jackpot of €1,000 on Sunday in McGinley’s bar. Lotto tickets are available in Kernan’s Spar and Pearse O’Neill’s. You can play also play the lotto online. Log onto klubfunder.com and then search for and select Aodh Ruadh Ballyshannon. Users can now avail of the auto-renew option to play the same line every week until they decide to stop when they pay using Stripe. If you’re not in, you can’t win!
The lotto team for McCosker’s Centra on Saturday is: LADIES.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~