Football
A huge crowd made their way to Convoy on Saturday evening for the Senior Football Championship meeting between Aodh Ruadh and Saint Eunan’s. It proved another marker of the Ernesiders progress over the past few years, but once again Aodh Ruadh were unable to surmount the quarter-final hurdle. Down as 5-1 outsiders, the underdogs couldn’t have got off to a better start with Eunan’s caught badly exposed and David Dolan through one on one with Shaun Patton. Dolan was never going to miss from there. Three minutes later Diarmaid McInerney stretched the advantage with a deftly taken point, however that was to be his last scoring contribution to the game as he exited with injury in the tenth minute – a serious blow to Ballyshannon’s cause. The Letterkenny men opened their account shortly after, but it took another 18 minutes before the next score arrived, this one coming off the boot of Cian Rooney after a series of heavy challenges. The 2022 county finalists registered the last score of the half with a free in first half added time, but Aodh Ruadh went in the break with the lead and in a good position to push on.
The opening stages of the second half were tit for tat. First Cian Dolan screwed over a great shot 25 seconds in before Saint Eunan’s came back with two points in reply. Philip Patton then tapped over a 20-metre free in the 39th minute to keep Aodh Ruadh in the driver’s seat at 1-4 to 0-4. Saint Eunan’s then registered a point before one of the game’s turning points arrived. A long ball was floated in on top of David Dolan in the area, but the big man was kept physically rooted to the turf by being unceremoniously held down and then grounded by his marker. However, Robbie O’Donnell’s attention must have been on the flight of the ball, as he missed what was a clear penalty. Saint Eunan’s then went up the pitch and picked off a point as Aodh Ruadh were committed to the attack. The Letterkenny men started to reel off the points now with half-time sub Niall O’Donnell making his influence felt. They took the lead in the 46th minute and added a further five points over the next 12 minutes to move into a 0-13 to 1-4 lead. Aodh Ruadh didn’t lie down though and in the 58th minute there was no holding Cian Dolan down as he made a huge fetch from a long ball into the area before slipping the ball under Shaun Patton. Mark McGlynn then popped over a point to make it a two point game. Aodh Ruadh were chasing the game hard now, but this left gaps in the Erne rearguard and Eunan’s used to this opportunity to net a goal with the last kick of the game and put a gloss on the final scoreline which didn’t really reflect the balance of proceedings.
A disappointing way for the championship campaign to have ended. There was no reward for winning all the games in the group stages of the competition, and we are now in the odd position where a team which played in the preliminary quarter-finals is now guaranteed a place in the county final. Meanwhile Aodh Ruadh have lost one game and their championship is over. Aodh Ruadh have been one of the most consistent teams in the county over the past few years, finishing third in the league in successive years and making the quarter-final on three occasions now. That’s a tribute to the work and effort the lads have put in, and we hope they can lift their spirits once again for 2024, because we know there are big days in this team yet. The Aodh Ruadh team and scorers were as follows: Peter Boyle; Kyle Murray, Conor Patton, Colm Kelly; Michael McKenna, Eamonn McGrath, Niall Murray; Shane McGrath, Cian Dolan (1-1); Diarmaid McInerney (0-1), Cian Rooney (0-1), Philip Patton (0-1f); Eddie Lynch, David Dolan (1-0), Eoghan Kelly. Subs: Mark McGlynn (0-1) for Diarmaid McInerney 12 minutes, Darren Drummond for David Dolan 49 minutes, Nathan Boyle for Cian Rooney 51 minutes, Jack Gallagher for Eoghan Kelly 60 minutes. We have a gallery of pictures with a lot of crowd shots up on aodhruadh.org. With the senior season now over, we thank the players and management for the huge amount of time, effort and passion they have invested over the course of the season.
The high point of the weekend was undoubtedly the reserves clinical disposal of Saint Eunan’s in their quarter-final curtain raiser on Saturday evening. The sides both felt their way into the game in opening period, and were deadlocked at three points apiece going into the second quarter, Sticky Ward, Damian Weber and Odhran McGarrigle raising the white flags for Ballyshannon. Letterkenny registered a free in the 18th minute, but from there to the break it was all Aodh Ruadh, with Damian Weber playing a starring role, clipping two points from play and an exquisite free off the deck on the stroke of half-time to send his side in leading by 0-6 to 0-4.
The Ernesiders laid down an early marker seconds into the new half with the Saint Eunan’s keeper having to be at his best to deny a David McGurrin shot at the expense of a point. Eunan’s did come back with two points, but the imperious Darragh Flood Dolan kept two in it with a superb score. Then in the 37th minute Dolan got through for a shot at goal only to be denied by a brilliant save by the keeper. The ball came back out to Dolan though and he made no mistake at the second time of asking. That was followed two minutes later by as good a goal as would have been scored anywhere in the country last weekend. A clairvoyant pass from Sticky Ward found Darragh Flood Dolan in the area. He calmly assessed his options before coolly laying off to his brother Tiernan Flood Dolan who stepped his man and smashed to the net. That made it 2-8 to 0-6 and Aodh Ruadh now had one foot in the semi-finals. Damian Weber added a free before Eunan’s registered their first score in ten minutes. The Letterkenny men kept up the fight over the closing quarter, knocking over a point from play and free before netting a penalty to make it 2-10 to 1-9. However the last action of the match saw Aodh Ruadh romping up the field on the counter and it was Darragh Flood Dolan who set up David McGurrin to palm to the net for the coup de grace as it finished Aodh Ruadh 3-10 Saint Eunan’s 1-9. A magnificent performance from the Ballyshannon men, especially in the second half where they really cut loose. It was built on a strong and disciplined defensive display with Johnny Gallagher calling the shots. In midfield Odhran McGarrigle and Colm McGloin gave their side a great platform to transition into an attack where every member had brought their A game.
The Aodh Ruadh team and scorers were as follows: Aaron Cullen; Gary Carty, Michael Ward, Ryan Keenaghan; Colm McGloin, Johnny Gallagher, Aidan Sweeny; Odhran McGarrigle (0-1), Colm McGloin; Darragh Flood Dolan (1-1), David McGurrin (1-2), Tiernan Flood Dolan (1-0); Damian Weber (0-5, 3f), Sticky Ward (0-1), Cathal Kelly. Subs: Aonghus Sweeny for Luke Carr, JJ Cassidy for Sticky Ward. We have a gallery of shots from the game, along with plenty of spectator shots, live now on aodhruadh. org.
The reserves are in last four final action this weekend with Kilcar standing between them and a county final appearance. The semi-final takes place in MacCumhaill Park this Sunday at 2pm and serves as the curtain raiser to the county semi-final between Naomh Conaill and Saint Eunan’s. It goes without saying that we would love to see a big Ballyshannon backing down there to get behind this team, they really deserve your support.
We wish our minors the very best of luck in the Division 2 Championship Shield Final against Malin this Friday. The game takes place at the Centre of Excellence in Convoy at 7pm and we urge a big Ballyshannon crowd to make a trip to get behind the boys for this one.
On Friday the under 13 Division 1 team travelled to Buncrana to play in the shield semi-final. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be on the evening with Buncrana running out winners. The Aodh Ruadh lads got off to a good start, but couldn’t convert some early chances. The young Aodh Ruadh lads fought to the end, and if we played the game as well as we did the last 15 minutes the result could have been very different. Good performances from Jack Hassett, Alex Kerrigan and Iarla Hartin were very encouraging. This brought down the curtain on the division 1 team’s competitive football for 2023. There will be brighter days ahead for these young Aodh Ruadh players as they showed real sparks during the season.
The Division 3 team made the trip to Na Rossa on Sunday in their shield semi-final, the boys put in their best performance of the season and came away with an emphatic win. There were plenty of scores from Louis Hassett, Ciarán McGuinness and Donnacha Conlon, and solid performances from Harry McGowan and John McHugh in the back line. Although Phelim Barron didn’t have his busiest evening, he did everything required from him really well, Senan Ward, Aiden McGurrin and Peter Mulligan worked up and down the field from the half back line. Dara McGuinness and Daniel McLoone saw loads of ball all over the pitch, Diarmuid Fox and Joseph Devanney chipped in with a few scores between them while Pauric McGrath saw loads of action in the second half. Now the team have a shield final to look forward too with training continuing for the full squad on Friday from 6pm to 7pm.
The under 11 internal league continued on Saturday morning with wins for Tom and Donnacha, and our third game ending in a draw between Louis and Dara. The final round of games will take place this weekend. Time and date will be confirmed on the team WhatsApp group.
The Aodh Ruadh under 7 boys were in Kinlough on Saturday for a blitz hosted by the Melvin Gaels club. It was a superbly organised competition and the lads all really enjoyed their day out.
Ward appointed county minor manager
Congratulations to our own Barry Ward who was ratified as Donegal minor football manager for 2024 at Monday evening’s county board meeting. We wish Barry and the team all the very best for the coming season.
Ladies
The Aodh Ruadh adult ladies season wrapped up in disappointing fashion in the Centre of Excellence on Saturday afternoon. The Junior ladies faced Saint Michael’s in the Junior Championship B Shield final. The Dunfanaghy girls dominated the first half which was played in awful conditions, but Aodh Ruadh kept plugging away and were well in touch at half-time. The Reds got a goal after 20 seconds to give them the perfect start and followed that up with a free three minutes in. Mary Flora Scott opened Aodh Ruadh’s account a minute later with a lovely effort from a narrow angle. Over the quarter hour mark Saint Michael’s and Donna Martin swapped points before four further points for the Bridge side sent them seven points ahead. Just before the break though Donna Martin picked her spot for a crucial goal to leave just four between the sides. That was followed by an incident which had no place on a football field, or anywhere else for that matter. Roisin McGloin was on the ball near the sideline and was fouled. The Saint Michael’s player then struck McGloin to the head with a blow which left her head ringing for hours after. The referee decided a yellow card was sufficient sanction in this incident. The second half proved a low scoring affair for much of its duration, with three Saint Michael’s points answered by a Gráinne Maguire free and a second Mary Flora Scott point which came with just three minutes remaining. But with two minutes of time remaining Aodh Ruadh put together a good move and Donna Martin got on the end of it to palm to the net and make it 2-4 to 1-9, and game on. Seconds after that it looked like Aodh Ruadh were sensationally going to take the lead, but Aoife Bromley’s precise shot amazingly hit off one upright, rolled across the goal line, hit off the other upright and bounced back out into play. Saint Michael’s reacted strongly and hit five unanswered points to secure the Junior B Championship Shield on a scoreline of 1-13 to 2-4. Absolute heartbreak for a squad who have worked so hard over the years since reserve ladies football first came to the club. The game marked Donna Martin’s last competitive game for Aodh Ruadh. She left the pitch battered and bruised, but unbowed and having given her absolute all to get her team over the line. The defence were very strong in the face of a robust and very physical Saint Michael’s side, with Roisin McGloin deserving particular praise for continuing to play on under the circumstances. Up front Mary Flora Scott and Katie McGowan tried their hardest, but openings were hard bought. The Aodh Ruadh team and scorers were as follows. Roisin Maguire; Shauna Dolan, Megan McGee, Lauren Moore; Niamh McGloin, Shelly Loughlin, Roisin McGloin; Fiona McGonigle, Dáirín Sweeny; Katie McGowan, Mary Flora Scott (0-2), Amanda Mahon, Niamh Hoey, Grainne Maguire (0-1), Donna Martin (2-1). Subs : Aoife Bromley, Ciarde Sheerin, Hannah McGuinness, Emily McNamee, Megan Murphy, Andrea Moore. We have a gallery of pictures from the game up on aodhruadh.org. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who lined out for the adults Aodh Ruadh ladies teams this year, as well as the management team and everyone who helped out across the course of the year.
The under 23 championship commences this weekend with Glenfin the guests in Father Tierney Park for the opening game of the round robin section. Throw-in will be at 10.30am on Sunday morning.
The under 13 girls were on their travels again last Saturday, heading to Glenties this time for their latest outing in the league. The Ballyshannon girls had a good start to the game, but after that the homesters began to get on top of things and ran out deserved winners in the end. Once again Erin Gallagher did really well in goals while Jenna Britton and Kate McGrath covered every blade of grass in the defence. Elsewhere, Emma Travers put in serious shift in the half forwards line. Training continues on Thursday as usual with the girls preparing for a home match this Saturday against Saint Naul’s. Throw-in for that one is 11.00am.
Training continues for under 8 and under 6 girls from 5pm to 6pm on the Coláiste Cholmcille pitch on Tuesday evenings. Our under 10s continue training on Monday evenings.
Hurling
Aodh Ruadh will be taking part in the under 21 hurling championship this season. We would like to invite anyone interested in joining the squad to contact Daithi Breen on 087-9287965.
Our under 15 squad were left disappointed in Convoy yesterday after losing out in the league title decider to MacCumhaill’s by three points. The game started off on the right foot with our lads quickly collecting two points early on in the game and continuing to lead throughout the first half. On the wrong side of some very dubious refereeing decisions, it wasn’t long before the lads felt very aggrieved and unfortunately this boiled over into tensions on the pitch. Things only got worse after Shay Winters received a red card and found himself relegated to the bench and the team down a man. Nevertheless, the boys went into the half-time break ahead by five points on a scoreline of Aodh Ruadh 0-6 MacCumhaill’s 0-1.
MacCumhaill’s, as they have a tendency to do so, came out blazing in the second half with a few early scores. Our boys battled hard in what was a seriously tough and physical game, but the heads went down after MacCumhaill’s found the back of the net and went ahead. MacCumhaill’s then had a man sent off, but the Ernesiders didn’t capitalise on this as the opposition sent another two shots over the bar. Our boys continued to push hard and even had a goal chance hit off the woodwork but it wasn’t to be. After only their second defeat of the season, the boys limped off the pitch battered, bruised and downhearted. They will have a well deserved break this week as they await word of their Championship semi-final opposition, which could quite possibly be MacCumhaill’s again. That game is scheduled for Thursday, October 12th.
Our younger age groups had a very enjoyable trip to the cinema on Sunday evening. Players from the under 7, under 9 and under 11 squads were all invited. The movie of choice was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and we hope the boys weren’t too enthusiastic showing off the moves they seen at school on Monday! Thanks to Bernie, Emma and Susan for keeping order on the night.
Scór Sinsear
The very best of luck to our Ceol Urlise group of Sean O’Brien, Cíarde Sheerin, Lorraine O’Brien, Michael McGrath and Rionach Sheerin who will be contesting the Ulster Scór Sinsear semi-finals this Sunday at the Dun Uladh complex in Killyclogher, Tyrone.
Camogie
Our underage girls continue training again this Sunday at 11.45am with the seniors training on Wednesday at 7.15pm.
Clothes collection
The Juvenile hurlers have extended the deadline for their annual clothes collection. Bags can continue to be dropped to North West Floors and Doors during the month of October. Call Orla on 086-8035316 if you need to arrange a collection.
AGM season
The club AGM is set to take place on Sunday, 26th November. The deadline for sub-committee AGMs is Sunday, 5th November. Following that sub-committee and officer reports should be submitted to Secretary, Lisa McTernan, by Friday 17th November. Further information on nomination and motion forms will follow in due course. The Ladies Football AGM is scheduled for Thursday, 12th October, while the Bord na nÓg AGM will take place on Wednesday, 25th October, and the Juvenile Hurling AGM is down for Sunday 22nd October.
Ballyshannon Bingo
Our Jackpot of €250 was won at Tuesday’s Ballyshannon Bingo on September 26th with Michael Keating taking the spoils. The House winners were Irene Anderson, Breege Kelly, Sarah Brady, Mollie Ferguson, Teresa Hannon, Kathleen Foley, Mary Faith and Celene McGrath. Sarah Brady also won on the €100 house. The Line winners were Kay Kilvarry, Agnes Ryder and Kathleen Keown (Shared), Amy Dunneral, Kathleen Gurn, Kathleen Fallon, Majella Gethins, Mary McGonigle and Marion O’Connell (shared), Majella Gethins, Anne Lowther, Joseph Darcy and Sarah Brady. Susan Cassidy took the Stand-Up game prize of €140. The €1,000 Autumn Snowball escaped another week so is in play on 48 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
There was no winner of the Aodh Ruadh Lotto jackpot of €4,100. The winning numbers drawn were 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 12. In the lucky dip prizes of €20 were won by William Gallagher, Mary Duggan, Dolores Kelly, Brian Gethins, and Siobhan, Vincent and Hugh Patton. The next draw is for a jackpot of €4,200 on Sunday in the Bridgend 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: JUVENILE HURLERS.