Photo of the Week

Minor & U21 Selectors at Club Social, 2004

L to R: Seamie Murray, Jim O'Mahony, Paudie Donnelly, Padjoe Lanigan, Bernard Gorman, Tony Mansfield.

This week's photo comes from the club social of 2004 and features the selectors who masterminded championship victories in the Minor and U21 grades in 2003. Honours secured by the team included the Western & County Minor 'A' Hurling, Western & County Minor 'A' Football and Western & County U21 'A' Football. 

Happy Christmas

CLG Dún na Mainistreach / Baile na Cúirte would like to wish all its members and supporters a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.

Christmas Raffle Results

Listed below are the prizewinners in our Christmas Raffle which took place on Monday, 23rd December in Minnies Bar. We would like to thank everyone who sold and purchased tickets for the draw. Your support is greatly appreciated.

1st Prize: €200 - Michael Hanrahan

2nd Prize: Christmas Hamper - Katie O'Regan

3rd Prize: Turkey & Ham - Vera Collins

4th Prize: Cheese & Wine Basket - Patrick Crowther

5th Prize: Bottle of Brandy - Michael Chester

6th Prize: Bottle of Whiskey - Terin Egan Walsh

Photo of the Week

1954 County Senior Hurling Semi Final v Mount Sion

Back Row (L to R): Paddy Whelan, M. McGovern (background), J. Clancy, L. Whelan, A. Flynn, G. Flynn, M. O'Connor, P. O'Connor, T. Collender.

Front Row (L to R): P. Browne, A. Foley, J. O'Connor, Patcheen Whelan, N. McGovern, J. Hogan, D. Whelan.

This week's photo comes from 1954 and the County Senior Hurling Championship Semi Final between Abbeyside and Mount Sion at Fraher Field. The Village men qualified for this stage of the competition following tight victories over Dunhill and Cappoquin. However, they were well beaten (7-4 to 3-2) in the penultimate round by the great Monastery team of that era.

Club Notes - 18th December

Jack The Joker

No. Drawn - 51

Our popular Jack the Joker Fundraiser will continue this Sunday night in Kennedy’s Live where the Jackpot will be €7,250 as on Sunday night Barbara Clancy was drawn out of the drum and picked card 51 but did not find the Joker, yet she did win €50. Helen Rossiter and The Morning Club won € 25 each.

Christmas Number One

Every year there is always considerable interest in what song is at number one in the charts for Christmas but this year we would appeal to all our supporters to help make a very special song number one. The song “My Hero” was written by students of Presentation Secondary School, Clonmel is a tribute to their teacher Alice Strain who was tragically killed during the year. Alice was of course a sister of Vera Collins and it would be great to see this wonderful tribute to Alice beat off stiff competition from X Factor etc to claim the number one spot. The song can be downloaded from itunes and all profits from the single go to the St. Vincent de Paul Charity. If possible please download the song by midnight on Thursday night.

Club Christmas Draw

Tickets are currently on sale from any Club Committee member for our Annual Christmas Raffle which will take place in Minnies Bar on Monday night, December 23^rd at 9pm. Tickets are priced at €2 each or three for €5 and we ask all our supporters to please support the draw.

Best Wishes

Last week our own Gary Hurney announced his retirement from the Inter County Football team and all of us in the club would like to congratulate Gary on his distinguished career with the County. Over the course of his career Gary represented his County in both codes at Minor, Under 21 and Senior, as well as playing Inter Provincial Football for Munster on a number of occasions. Throughout this time Gary remained totally committed to his club and despite suffering a number of very serious injuries the number of games that he missed could nearly be counted on one hand. Once again we congratulate Gary, not on his retirement, but on what he achieved during his playing days with the county and we hope to continue to see him lining out for us for many years to come, whilst he enjoys a little bit more time with Tammy, Lochlain and Jarlath.

Club Bingo

This Sunday our Club Bingo continues in the CBS Hall where the jackpot is €700.

Team Managers

Anybody who is interested in managing any of our adult teams next year is asked to inform Jonathan O’Donovan by January 8^th.

Club Social

Our Club Social has been fixed for Saturday February 15^th in the Park Hotel, and we will have more details on this in the coming weeks. It promises to be a great night where we will be presenting medals to our victorious Senior and Under 21 Football teams and our Junior Hurling Team.

Seasons Greetings

On behalf of all in the club we would like to wish all our members a Happy and Peaceful Christmas. We would also like to welcome home any members who have traveled home for Christmas, and it is great to see Daryl Ryan and Eoin Brackett home from Australia for the Christmas period. Finally we would like to thank the editor and staff of the Dungarvan Leader and Dungarvan Observer for all their help and assistance throughout the year and wish them a Merry Christmas. Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi Mhaise daoibh go léir.

Juvenile Notes - 18th December

Under 15 and Under 16 Australian Visit

Everyone involved with the club would like to send out a big thank you to anyone who helped in any way to making the trip of the Australian touring side so successful last Monday night week last. From the parents who took in children to Babs Kiely and her staff at the Friary College for providing the food after the game a big thank you to everyone. Without everybody’s help the staging of this very successful compromise rules game would not have been possible. The games themselves were interesting to say the least. Each game consisted of the normal football in the first half and the oval-ball in the second half. In the under 15 game we were up against very strong opponents and despite trying very hard on the night the Aussies were physically too strong for us and we got beaten in this game. However the under 16 squad all put their shoulder to the wheel to make sure we weren’t going to lose both games and matched their opponents in the physical stakes and came away in the end with a hard fought win. Thank you to all the players who played on the night. I think it’s fair to say they all enjoyed the experience and will remember it for a long time to come. Thank you to our field committee for having the grounds looking so great for this time of the year. It was a credit to everyone involved. Thank you to the parents who brought desserts and cakes with them to the Friary after the game to help feed our local players and parents as well as our touring visitors. After the game our chairman Michael Ferncombe made a presentation to all the touring Australian players as well as thanking them for visiting as well as the Man of the Match awards. Overall a very successful night was had by all and we would most like to thank the touring side for giving us the opportunity to host them and to their referee who helped our lads beforehand with the rules. Well done to all.

Happy Christmas

Everyone on the juvenile committee would like to wish all our supporters players and parents well over the Christmas. Happy Christmas and New Year to one and all and hopefully we will see ye all again soon in the New Year.

Photo of the Week

2011 County Board Convention

L to R: Neil Moore, Tony Mansfield, Jonathan O'Donovan

This year's Waterford County Board Convention will take place on Monday, 16th December in Lawlor's Hotel.  This week's photo brings us back two years to the Convention of 2011 and shows club officers, Neil Moore, Tony Mansfield and Jonathan O'Donovan prior to the meeting.

Photos of Visit by Australian Rules Panel

Last Monday, 9th December, players and mentors from Australia visited our club grounds to play our U15 and U16 panels in two Gaelic Football / Australian Rules matches. Click here to see pictures of what was a wonderful evening. Many thanks to Mary Gorman for providing us with the photos.

Club Notes - 11th December

Jack The Joker

No. Drawn - 44

Our popular Jack the Joker Fundraiser will continue this Sunday night in Kennedy’s Live where the Jackpot will be €7,010 as on Sunday night Ger Darcy was drawn out of the drum and picked card 44 but did not find the Joker, yet he did win €50. Laurance Power and Kay O’Connor won €25 each.

Club Christmas Draw

Tickets are currently on sale from any Club Committee member for our Annual Christmas Raffle which will take place in Minnies Bar on Friday night, December 20^th at 9pm. Tickets are priced at €2 each or three for €5 and we ask all our supporters to please support the draw.

AGM

On Friday night last there was a very large crowd present at our AGM in St.Laurance’s Hall, Ballinroad. The meeting began with a moments silence for those members who passed away during 2013. Club Treasurer Packie Hurney then presented what can only be described as a fantastic set of accounts to the meeting. The amount of work that Packie puts into keeping our Club accounts healthy could clearly be seen in his report, which showed that despite the huge amount of development work carried out this year our Club Finances are on a very sound footing. Secretary Jonathan O’Donovan’s Secretary’s Report gave a very detailed and informative account of the year both on and off the playing fields and again we should all be most appreciative to Jonathan for the work he carried out on our behalf this year. Bernard O’Gorman gave a report on the extensive development work carried out at the Club Grounds this year, and all those who worked with Bernard on these projects are to be thanked for providing us with such fantastic facilities. Frank Sweeney then delivered his Chairman’s Address where he refered to the huge loss the club suffered this year with the passing of men like Tony Mansfield, Seamus O’Brien, Felix Shields and Richie Duggan. He then praised all those who were involved in our successes on the playing fields especially our Senior and Under 21 Footballers and Junior Hurlers. Frank thanked all those who had worked for the club in the past year and hoped that 2014 will be equally as successful for the club. The election of officers then took place and the following were elected:

Presidents: Fr. Michael Enright, Ned Keane, Austin Flynn, Joseph Organ, Jimmy O’Leary, Liam Enright

Vice Presidents: Fr. Brunnock, Fr. Fives

Chairman: Bernard Shields.

Vice Chairman: Frank Sweeney

Secretary: Jonathan O’Donovan

Assistant Secretary: Éamonn Cashin

Treasurer: Packie Hurney

PRO: Neil Moore

Membership Officer: Kevin Tobin

Cultural Officer: Tomás Ó Faoláin

Child Welfare Officer: Eddie O’Halloran

Committee: Michael Ferncombe, Niamh Enright, Brendan Mansfield, Seamie Murray, Bernard O’Gorman, Ian Kiely, Jim O’Mahoney, Sean McGrath, Gavin Breen

Club Bingo

This Sunday our Club Bingo continues in the CBS Hall where the jackpot is €650.

Congratulations

On behalf of all in the club we would like to congratulate all in Ballysaggart on their fantastic victory in the Munster Junior Hurling Final on Sunday last and wish them the very best in their All Ireland Semi Final in the New Year.

Club Committee Meeting

There will be a meeting of the club committee on Thursday, December 19^th at 8pm in the Clubhouse.

Team Managers

Anybody who is interested in managing any of our adult teams next year is asked to inform Jonathan O’Donovan by January 8^th.

Club Social

Our Club Social has been fixed for February 15^th in the Park Hotel, and we will have more details on this in the coming weeks. It promises to be a great night where we will be presenting medals to our victorious Senior and Under 21 Football teams and our Junior Hurling Team.

Juvenile Notes - 11th December

Indoor Hurling

Our indoor hurling sessions have begun again in the Friary College every Friday night. Our under 5 and 6 teams have their session between 6 and 6:45 and our under 7 team session runs from 6:45 till 7:30. New members are always welcome. Meanwhile our under 8, 9 and 10 groups have opted for outdoor hurling at the ball wall every Friday night. Again all are welcome. Times for the ball wall sessions will be given by text to those involved.

Managers and Selectors

Managers and mentors are now being sought for all underage grades. If you feel you would be interested in a post applications can be sent to the juvenile secretary Niamh Enright by email at niamhpe@hotmail.com or by phone at (087) 9705005 before the 14^th December.

Photo of the Week

1979 County Senior Football Presentation

This week's photo brings us back to 1979 and the presentation of the Conway Cup to Joe Power by County Board Chairman, Ciarán Ó Riain following Ballinacourty's narrow one point, 1-12 to 1-11, victory over Ferrybank at Fraher Field. Delighted supporters join in the celebrations.

Club Notes - 4th December

Jack The Joker

No. Drawn - 16

Our popular Jack the Joker Fundraiser will continue this Sunday night in Kennedy’s Live where the Jackpot will be €6,776 as on Sunday night Pat McCarthy was drawn out of the drum and picked card 16 but did not find the Joker, yet he did win €50.  Edel Wilson and Maurice Whelan won €25 each.

Intermediate Hurling

On Friday night last we secured our Intermediate status for 2014 thanks to a very good win over Fourmilewater in our own club grounds.

TEAM: L. POWER, J. RYAN, J. MOORE, S. O’CONNOR, R. SHEEHAN, P. LYNCH, L. BERESFORD, J. O’MAHONY, E. BERGIN, R. RYAN, L. HURNEY, N. DEE, T. MURRAY, C. KINDREGAN, S. CLIFFE.

SUBS: J. DUGGAN, D. HICKEY, P. COLLINS.

County Awards Night

On behalf of all in the club we would like to congratulate Gray Hurney on being named as County Footballer of the year on Saturday night last. This is a great honour for Gary, his family and indeed all in our club. Also on the night the families of the late Tony Mansfield and Seamus O’Brien were presented with awards in recognition for all the work both men did in promoting the GAA through their weekly columns in the local papers. This was a very fitting tribute to the many decades of tireless work both men gave to the GAA here in Waterford.

Congratulations

We would like to congratulate Stephen O’Connor and Brian Looby on winning All Ireland Freshers Hurling League medals with UCC last week. It is great to see both lads continuing to play hurling in university whilst Brian is also the only non Cork or Kerry player currently on the UCC Freshers Football team, something that he should be equally proud of.

Club Bingo

This Sunday our Club Bingo continues in the CBS Hall where the jackpot is €600.

AGM

The club's AGM will take place on Friday, 6th December at 8:00pm in Ballinroad Hall.

Best Wishes

On behalf of all in the club we would like to wish Ballysaggart the very best of luck ahead of their Munster Club Hurling Final this Sunday in Mallow.

Hurling Wall

This Sunday at 1:30 pm Paudie Butler will hold a hurling wall coaching session in the club and all are welcome to come along and view what should be an excellent coaching session by one of the best hurling coaches in the country. 

Juvenile Notes - 4th December

Indoor Hurling

Our indoor hurling sessions have begun again in the Friary College every Friday night. Our under 5 and 6 team has their session between 6 and 6:45 and our under 7 teams session runs from 6:45 till half past 7. New members are always welcome. Meanwhile out under 8, 9 and ten groups have opted for outdoor hurling at the ball wall every Friday night. Again all are welcome. Times for the ball wall sessions will be given by text to those involved.

Under 16

Pride of place this week goes to our under 16 football team who won the county championship on Saturday morning last. Played at the Fraher Field against Gaultir this was really a game that had everything. We played some excellent football on the day and in a match which could have gone either way at the finish a last minute Eoin Kiely goal gave us victory and it was wonderful to see this group of players celebrating their first county championship as a group. After the game we were treated to a meal at the Gold Coast and we would like to thank the Gold Coast for organising the meal in such a short period of time. Everyone in the club would like to congratulate all the players and mentors involved and hopefully this is the first of many county titles for this group of players. It was a fantastic way to finish off the year for the club.

Australian Visit

Next Monday night should be an interesting night at the Burgery for our under 15 and under 16 football teams. On the night we take on an Australian selection of players who visit our parish as part of a nationwide tour. This should be a fantastic night for all players involved to get to play against sportspeople of a different code. The under 15 games throws in at 6 followed by an under 16 match at 7. Everyone is more than welcome to attend which should be a great night for everyone involved in the club.

Team Managers

Anyone who is interested in managing any of our juvenile teams in 2014 is asked to submit their name to Niamh Enright by December 14^th.

Camogie Notes - 4th December

Camogie

On Friday evening, 6th December there will be an end of year presentation for all players in the Causeway Tennis Club from 6.30 to 8.00pm. We hope everybody can join us. We ask that parents who are dropping off their girls will return for them at 8.00pm sharp.

Waterford GAA Awards

Congratulations to Gary Hurney on being named Adult Footballer of the Year for 2013 at last night's Waterford GAA Awards in Lawlor's Hotel. This is a hat-trick for Gary having previously won the award in 2007 and 2008. Also, the Mansfield and O'Brien families received the Special Merit Award in recognition of the decades of Gaelic Games coverage that Tony and Séamus provided in the local press. A well deserved honour for both families. St. Augustine's College received the Special Achievement Award for winning the All-Ireland 'C' Senior Football Championship, the first national football title won by a Waterford school. Finally, the club was a nominee for the Club of the Year. The award was won by Passage.

Club of the Year Nominee 2013