MITCHELSTOWN BADMINTON CLUB

- Plenty of potential in mixed team -

Recently the division 6 mixed team travelled to Cork for the semi-finals of the league. Their opposition on the day were a team from the Melbourne club.

This was a Melbourne team who were in top form and hadn’t been beaten all year so it was a big ask for the Mitchelstown team. Melbourne set the early pace taking both the ladies and men’s singles to race into a 2-0 lead.

Susan McCarthy (ladies singles) and Tom O’Mahony (men’s singles) put in brave performances but their more experienced opposition had just too much fire power on the day.

The ladies doubles pair of Chris Caplice and Ann Milward got our first points on the board as they won the ladies doubles in 2 sets. Up next it was the men’s doubles where Mitchelstown represented by Cyril Kelly and Mike Casey. Again it was a victory for Melbourne which gave them a 3-1 lead overall in the match.

Susan McCarthy and Tom O’Mahony were up next in the mixed. They played a great game and were very narrowly defeated (21-18, 27-25) to give Melbourne an unassailable lead and a victory overall in the match.

While the end result did not go our way, there’s plenty of potential in this team and reaching the semi-final in their first year playing together was a great achievement for both the team and the club.

The team will have a chance to earn some redemption as they face UCC in the first round of the handicap cup.

UPCOMING FIXTURES

Thurs., 2nd April, Div 5, Mixed v Ladysbridge, (away), Handicap Cup. Thurs., 7th April, Div 2, Men’s v Carrigaline, (Mahon), league final. TBC, Div 6, Ladies v Knockraha, (home), Handicap Cup. TBC, Div 2, Men’s v Clonakilty, (Mahon), Handicap Cup. TBC, Div 3, Mixed v Bandon, (away), Handicap Cup.

Due to the busy schedule of matches, the club tournament schedule for 31st March and 2nd April has been postponed by 1 week. The tournament will now take place on Tues. 7th and Thurs., 9th April. Names are being taken on club night and all members are eligible to play. Grouping and format will depend on the numbers playing.

After a number of years absence, the club made a welcome return to the St Patrick’s Day parade in Mitchelstown this year.

Our “float” was a badminton court where St Patrick took on “The Pregnant Nun” in an exhibition match, who were aided and abetted by a host of comical characters! All in All we had about 20 members marching (and firing shuttlecocks around the town!) and representing the club. A great time was had by all involved.

Due to the hectic sporting calendar last weekend with the rugby and boxing, the exhibition match with Scott Evans (Irish No. 1) which was due to be played in Thurles on Saturday evening had to be postponed. A new date is being arranged but it is likely to be at the beginning of next season. Watch this space for more details.

Club nights will continue throughout the months of April and May so why not come along and join in the fun, every Tuesday and Thursday in the CBS hall from 8 ‘til late! Free coaching is available on request from our qualified coaches.

On the board next week are Ann Milward and Susan McCarthy.

LISMORE HARRIERS

- Great day in the sun -

ST. PATRICK'S DAY FUNRIDE

We held our annual funride on St Patrick’s Day. A huge crowd attended from near and far. It was a great success and everyone enjoyed their day in the sunshine! Thanks to all who supported us and helped out with fences, money, food, crossings etc.

BALLYRAFTER FUN NIGHT

We held a fun night for our club in Ballyrafter recently. Everyone jumped two rounds and those lucky enough to get a double clear qualified for the jump off. A great night was had by all despite some falls and refusals!

It was a good opportunity to school the hunting horses and some were wondering where the banks, drains and streams were! Well done to all who competed.

Thanks to Ann Willoughby and to all who helped out on the night.

RESULTS

Under 20s: 1st Ali Flynn – Ballyhane Lucky, 2nd Margaret Ahern – Tilly, 3rd Josie Herring – Sweetie, 4th Emma Houlihan – Southern Breeze, 5th Aisling McCarthy – Black Jack, 6th Kate Houlihan – Strawberry Blaze, 7th Hannah Houlihan – Golden Ginger.
20s and over: 1st Pauline Dahill - Tilly Longsocks, 2nd Niall Hennessy – Bud, 3rd Liz Fleming - Boola Boy, 4th Ailin Walsh – Jackson, 5th Annette Heather – Bertie, 6th John Fenton – Roisin, 7th Jennifer Hannon – Gimley.

THANK YOU

As our hunting season has come to an end for this year we would like to sincerely thank all landowners who gave us permission to hunt over their land and also to everyone who supported the club throughout the season. It was all greatly appreciated.

FERMOY GAA PITCH & PUTT CLUB

- SuperValu weekend a good success despite inclement weather -

THE SUPERVALUE WEEKEND
We had a mixed bag of weather for this event, Saturday was dry but cold and then as Sunday progressed, we had light rain and drizzle.

However, a decent number of players took part and the scores were better than last week when summer conditions were re-introduced. We were glad to welcome Frances Doyle to the presentation on Sunday evening. Frances was representing SuperValu and assisted in giving out the prizes.

The overall prize went to the unflappable Dessie Quirke with a score of 48 points, of course Dessie knows where all the holes are, being assistant groundsman! 1st nett was won by Willie Burke on 45 points.

Willie beat Kevin Cronin on the back nine, Kevin took 2nd net and will now be known as master of the one card competition. The gross winner was Michael Cahill on 40 points. Quality always shines through. The ladies 1st nett went to Norma Buckley with 39 points.

This is Norma’s second week in-a-row in the winners enclosure, so she will have to watch her shots! Sharon Bowes took 2nd nett on 37 points. Sharon was also on hand to help Liz in the checking of cards so the win was a little reward for her work.

We are, as always very grateful to our sponsors, in this case, SuperValu and Michael Riordan in particular. Where would we be without generous people like him, sponsorship is the lifeblood of the club.

UPCOMING EVENTS

This weekend we have the O’Mahony Plumbing & Heating specialist competition. This will be stroke play in format, multi-card with a limit of three cards. Thanks to O’Mahonys for their support.

The Larry Condon Memorial will take place on the weekend of April 11 and 12. It will be a stroke play competition with a one-card limit; Larry was a great club member so let’s do him the honour of playing in his memory.

On Easter Monday, the Cope Foundation fundraiser will be held and it goes on right through to Friday. Play as many cards as you like and the game will be stroke play, this is a very worthy organisation and your support would be appreciated.

The P J Bell qualifiers will be held in Crosshaven in mid-May with the finals taking place on the home course in early June. The over 55s competition continues in Brinny on April 6 and in Douglas on April 20. Both games commence at 10.30am.

The very popular Sunday three-balls will start again on April 12, they will begin at 7am. The dates and times for the Cork County Board meetings are as follows: April 7 at Lakewood. June 2 at Rocklodge and July 7 at Kilmichael.

CHARITY SCRATCH CUP

The Cork County Board are holding the above event in aid of the Cork branch of the Irish Kidney Association. The competition will take pace at the Douglas club on Monday, April 13 and it begins at 8am.

Last cards will be given out at 3pm and the presentation of prizes takes place immediately after the games. This will also be the first trial for the ladies inter-county team.

More details are on the club notice board if you wish to play in this very worthy cause.

THE LADIES UPCOMING EVENTS.

The girls will revert to playing their games on Tuesday evenings from now on. The first competitions will be for huge Easter eggs and the club will not be responsible for any weight gain resulting from said competition! Game time is 7pm.

Another reminder, the ladies are holding a fundraising night on April 17. This will take the form of a fun bingo night beginning at 8.30pm. A raffle will also take place for numerous prizes and light refreshments will be available on the night.

A great time is assured, so come along and bring a friend.

GLANWORTH JUVENILE GAA

- U12 footballlers lose final in thriller -

Last Saturday evening our U12 footballers travelled to Killavullen to take on Tomas Russells in the league final. This was expected to be a close game and anyone who travelled were not disappointed as this was a cracking game.

Tomas Russells started the better and had 4 points on the board inside the first 7 mins. We won the kick out and a long ball from midfield was broken on the 14. Up stepped Brendan Sheehan who rattled the net with a blistering shot.

They went down field and notched up 2 points which we cancelled out with 2 of our own by Liam Foley. They went back up and added a goal and 3 points before the break and we added a point from DJ Flynn. This was by no means a good display from us as we were behind for balls that we should be winning and lacked drive and determination.

The mentors set out to rectify this with a couple of switches and words of advice which at the start of the second half did not seem to have been taken on board as they added a goal after 6 mins.

This left us 9 points adrift, some teams would throw in the towel but not our lads, this was the kick-start they needed and from this to the final whistle they played with such fire and determination.

After 10 mins Sean Gallagher who was introduced for the injured James Kiely kicked a point, then Liam Foley added a goal after 15 mins. They went up and added another point on 16 mins. We then dominated for the remainder of the half.

Jack Coughlan had a goal after 18 mins, Jerome Fitzgibbon added a point in the 20th min, Kieran Murphy had another point in the 22nd min to leave just a point in it. In the 25th min they added a point which we cancelled out from the boot of Liam Foley in the 26th min.

We were now in for a very tense finish which saw us hit the post twice and had a last min free just wide which would have given us a deserved draw but unfortunately it was not to be on the night.

This was an outstanding 2nd half performance and it just shows what might have been if we had played like that for the whole game.
Team: Eric O’Donoghue, Aidan Walsh, Mike Blackburn, Paul Kiely, Eric Hanrahan (capt), Jack Coughlan, David Desmond, John O’Sullivan, Jack Blackburn, Liam Foley, DJ Flynn, Stevie Condon, Brendan Sheehan, Jerome Fitzgibbon, James Kiely.
Subs used: Andy Shinnick, Kieran Murphy and Sean Gallagher. Also togged out Jack Roche, Colin Quinlan, Damian Curran, Haulie Irwin, Sean Burke, Kevin Lewis, Killian Hannon, Liam Fitzgerald and Fionn Desmond.

On Monday night our U14 footballers travelled to neighbours Kildorrery for the first game in the league. We knew this was going to be a tough encounter as they are a very well balanced side. At half time they led on a scoreline of 1-7 to 0-4.

We started the second half brightly and were unlucky not to have had a couple of early scores. Instead they came down and added 2 points then we added a point from Ian Murphy which was quickly followed by a goal by Padraig Hannon.

This put us back in the game but as quickly as we were back in we were out just as quick as they hit a purple patch and knocked up 3-4. We finished the scoring with another point from Ian Murphy.

This was a good game with some very good individual performances but we need a bit more work as a team, so heads up and we look forward to the next match. Team: Peter O’Sullivan, James Meaney, Brian Duffy, Thomas Joyce, Kieran Connolly, Darren O’Driscoll, Brendan Curran, Colin Hannon, Mike Gallagher, John Landers, Ian Murphy, Padraig Hannon, Dion Lyons, Ross O’Donoghue, Conor Quane. Subs: Colm O’Neill, John O’Sullivan, Eric O’Donoghue, Jerome Fitzgibbon, Scott Sheehan, Conor Peppard.

FERMOY ROWING CLUB

- Invitation to photographers for 125 years celebration exhibition -

As part of the club’s celebrations for its 125 years the club is organising a Gala Mystery Night on April 25th. The event will start with a cheese and wine reception in the club pavilion, to launch an exhibition of over one thousand photographs of Fermoy and our locality.

This is followed by a surprise movie in the theatre of Fermoy Community Centre (it’s a mystery) and then a night of musical entertainment and lights refreshments in The Grand Hotel.

The organising committee are inviting any local photographers who would wish to exhibit their work to contact Kenneth Barry on 086 1018424. There will be some large collections included in the exhibition and we are asking our local photographers to exhibit five of their collection.

Tickets for the nigh are available from club committee members and also from The Book Shop, Pearse Square. Fermoy Rowing Club invites all photographers, amateur or professional, to submit photos for an exhibition to be held as part of their 125th anniversary celebration, opening 25th April 2009.

Entrants are invited to submit up to 5 photos on photographic paper, unframed and un-mounted. Each photo should be clearly marked on the reverse with the entrant’s name and telephone number and the title of the piece (where applicable). Where possible please submit a copy rather than a master.

The photos should measure a maximum of 210 x 297 mm (A4) and can be in colour or black and white, and taken with film or digital cameras. They will be mounted on card for the exhibition. Photos will be exhibited under the themes of portrait (people or animals), landscape (rural, urban or sea), still life, architecture and sport. The club aim to exhibit all entries but space will be allocated according to the response and suitability.

Please send photographs to Fermoy Rowing Club Photographic Exhibition, c/o The Grand Hotel, Ashe Quay, Fermoy Co. Cork, complete with your name, telephone number and address, to arrive no later than 17th April 2009.

The club is also asking individuals and organisations to trawl their albums and archives for interesting old photos of Fermoy that could also be exhibited. If you have any questions please contact Kenneth Barry 086 1018424.

MITCHELSTOWN BOXING CLUB

-Mitchelstown boxers bring home Munster titles -

BOY 1 39KGS DANNY KEATING

Danny’s first fight was in the quarter finals against A White from the Rathkeale BC. Danny started the bout with some impressive counterpunching and didn’t give White a chance as Danny took an early lead which he built on right up to the end of the third round, in the end Danny was announced the winner beating his opponent by 18 points.

Danny then went through to the semi-finals where he came up against A O’Donnell from the St Francis BC, Limerick. O’Donnell had shown a great display of boxing in his previous fights beating his opponents S. McCarthy Sunnyside by 11-3 and M Winters St. Paul’s Waterford by 10-2, but this didn’t phase young Danny Keating.

Danny had to be at his best to go on to the finals and right from the first bell he was attacking and for three rounds he kept the pressure on the unfortunate Limerick man. At the end of the third round Danny won his bout 7-5 putting him into the final which due to the large number of boxers in the group will be held tonight in the Glen Boxing Club Cork. Here Danny will come up against E McDonagh from the Dungarvin BC.

Another impressive boxer who had excellent bouts in getting to the final. It’s sure to prove one terrific final with both boxers boxing their hearts out for the Munster title and a place in this year’s All-Irelands in the National Stadium Dublin.

BOY 1 48KGS ANTHONY O'DONNELL

Well known Anthony had some run to the Munsters being new to the scene he had a rush on in the two weeks coming up to the Munster’s to get enough fights in his book to be allowed compete.

But Anthony with only five fights in his book and who has great hearts did everything that was asked of him.

Anthony fought M Mongan from the West Clare BC in the semi-final in the toughest bout Anthony has had, after the first round Anthony was 2 points down, so he upped the tempo for the second round and went into the third round trailing by 1 point Anthony boxed like his life depended on it, it was a tremendous bout for his first time competing in the Munsters and he went on to win the fight 10-9 putting him in the final against the experienced J Joyce from the St Francis BC who received a bye to the final.

Anthony was up against it from the start as Joyce is on the scene quit awhile, the first round went Joyce’s way and Anthony was down by 2 points going into the second unfortunately Joyce’s experience proved too much for Anthony and at the end of round three Joyce was declared winner on a 12-9 margin, but this has only made Anthony more determined to train harder and he is certain that he is going to do it next year.

BOY 2 36KGS RYAN SEXTON

Ryans was in another big group. Ryan’s first fight was in the quarter-finals against P Flynn from the West Clare BC.

A low scoring bout which made each point all the more precious, 1-1 at the end of the first round and 2-2 at the end of the second Ryan upped his game in the third and won 3-2.

This put Ryan up against T Enright from the Rathkeale BC in the semi-finals. Both Enright and Ryan were well matched with the same style of boxing. So well matched in fact that at the end of the third round the scores were level and when it went to a count back the scores were still level and when it went to a double count back the scores were still level.

So the decision was left to the judges normally the boxer that goes forward is deemed the winner and even though Ryan was going forward throughout the whole fight we were stunned when the judges deemed Enright the winner.

Enright went on the final where he lost the title to Jack Pelan from the Glen BC on a score of 6-5.

BOY 2 42KGS PATRICK MCDONAGH

Patrick’s first fight was to be a semi-final against G Phelan from the Macroom BC Cork and what a semi-final it was Patrick took the lead from the start and kept Phealan on the back foot for the three rounds which led to Patrick building up an impressive lead in the first round of 5-0 in the second Patrick kept the pressure on winning 8-3, in the last round Patrick put in the extra effort that gave him a 13-6 win and a place in the final against N Noonan from St Francis BC Limerick.

The final proved to be a tougher job than Patrick had expected and after finishing the first round 6-6 he really needed to up the pace to pull away from Noonan and Patrick did not disappoint with excellent movement and 4 and 5 punch combinations Patrick went back to his corner 16-12 to the good.

Patrick kept the pressure on for the entire third round and in the end won the title comfortably at 22-14 in Patrick’s favour and at the end of the third round the place erupted with joy from the huge crowd of supporters and respect from others clubs for Patrick’s excellent display of boxing.

Patrick was named Munster champion winning the fight 22-14 what a show! Patrick will be fulfilling his dream of boxing in the National Stadium in Dublin for the All-Ireland championship in April.

Well done Patrick.

BOY 3 54KGS VLADIMIR BULUJSKY

This was also Vladimir’s first time competing in the Munster championships and his first fight was against M Dowrty from the Ennis BC.

Vladimir started this bout well keeping the more experienced Ennis man at a distance and scoring well with the jab and right cross and this was the way most of the bout went with Vladimir controlling the pace at the end of the third round Vladimir qualified for the final when he beat Dowrty 9-6. In the final Vladimir came up against V Medvesdiys from the Tramore BC Waterford.

Vladimir’s started very well in this bout scoring from the jab and right cross the Tramore man was having trouble getting through Vladimir’s defense and round one ended with a score line 7-6 in Vladimir favor Unfortunately Vladimir got caught early in the second round with a three punch combination and found it very hard to recover before the Tramore man scored some very important points and the round ended with Vladimir down 18-12.

The third round was more of the same , with Vladimir down he had to do all the work to even things up a bit but the more experienced Tramore man knew to stay away and that’s exactly what he did Vladimir won the round by 4-1 but unfortunately lost the final by one point on a score of 12-13.

But have no doubt we will see Vladimir again next season and he will be ready for his first Munster title.

All at the club would like to congratulate our three female boxers who are also Munster champions, on their selection for the Munster Boxing team two of which will represent Munster in the upcoming Munster v Connacht tournament, they will also represent Mitchelstown in the national championships in two weeks time and they are Maria Kirby, Clara Kirby and Iona Mera.

Well done to all the lads on their excellent display of boxing at the Munster Championships. We would also like to wish Paul Connelly-Murphy well tonight when both Danny Keating and Paul will be competing for the Munster Title in the Glen Boxing Club Cork.

And lastly but not least Mitchelstown Boxing Club will have a bag pack on Saturday 4th April SuperValu Mitchelstown.

Your support would be greatly appreciated towards the cost of taking these young boxers to the nationals in Dublin and as always any and all local sponsorship is valued and you can sponsor the club by contacting David Byrne at 086-0866782.