Ulster Council GAA

This year the Ulster GAA Coaching Conference is targeting coaches who workin the nursery and juvenile sections of our clubs. This is a very important area within our clubs. It is at this stage of the young player’s development that the right building blocks are set down for their future progress and development.

The title of the Conference “Physical Activity, Common Goals, Different Roles” was used at the National Coaching and Training Centres 8th National Forum in 2005. This has become very relevant in Ulster as we have moved forward in recent years. Clubs are now running nursery sessions with under 6′s and fundamentals up to Under 8 and 10 with more sports specific activity up to under 12 and 14. The Minister’s Sport in Schools programme is delivering physical literacy to Foundation and Key Stage 1 pupils (up to primary 4). Teachers in the Schools also have a responsibility for delivering the new curriculum and embedded in this is the Fundamental Movement Skills Programme (FMS) being delivered by the Education and Library Boards.

The Conference explores how all stakeholders have a common goal, the physical literacy and health of our young people and the development of better technical and tactically aware children and youth who feed into our Gaelic Games.

As we move forward the “what” we coach becomes increasingly important. Of equal importance is the “how” we coach – as the coach / player interaction often influences the young persons’ future involvement in our games. We are joined by some of Irelands leading coaches and educationalists who will share their expertise, knowledge, ideas and concerns as we “strive to meet the needs of the future generation of GAA players in Ulster”.

The conference attendance is limited to 350, and places will be distributed on a first come first served basis.

The cost of attending this one-day event is £20 / €25 per person, and you must pre-register, by contacting Bernie Mc Glinchey on 028 37 521900, or email at bmcglinchey@ulster.gaa.ie

The deadline for registration is: Monday 19th January at 4.00pm.

Related:

- 2009 Ulster GAA Coaching Conference Booking Form

This entry was posted on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 6:06 pm and is filed under Homepage News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Venue: Loughry College, Cookstown (Food Technology Room 5)
Tutor: Des Jennings
Info: This theory session will specifically look at the age group of 15 and older.  This course is open to everyone but is particularly aimed at Development Squad, Under 16, Under 18, Under 21 and Senior county and club coaches in both codes.

Please note change of course on this date.

Please note that this course is free of charge to everyone.

Contact: Should you have any queries please contact Tony Scullion 07795120438.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 10:30 am and is filed under Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Ulster Club SFC Final Replay:
Crossmaglen Rangers 0-12 Ballinderry Shamrocks 1-4

A determined fourth-quarter display sealed a seventh Ulster Club SFC success for Crossmaglen Rangers following a five-point replay victory over Ballinderry Shamrocks at Brewster Park, Enniskillen.

In a game played in dry conditions, a somewhat disappointing opening half was overshadowed by an excellent second half display from both teams who produced some excellent football, with Oisin McConville the top scorer, finishing this game with five points, the margin between the sides at the full-time whistle.

As they had done in the drawn encounter two weeks previously, Crossmaglen began this game in determined fashion and were fully deserving of their 0-4 to 0-1 interval lead, with McConville kicking two first-half points.

But it was a first half dominated by some indecisiveness by both teams in front of the posts, with defences standing firm and Ballinderry Shamrocks in particular failing to capitalise on scoring opportunities, as the Derry champions could only manage a Conleith Gilligan point after ten minutes for all of their first half efforts.

Colin Devlin, Gilligan and Darren Conway were among those who had scoring chances for Shamrocks, who finished the first half with three wides, but had numerous other chances cleared by the Crossmaglen defence, with Paul Kernan putting in a man-of-the match display from his full-back berth.

A powerful Michael McNamee effort propelled Crossmaglen into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead after eleven minutes, but amazingly just one further point was produced before the interval, with McConville slotting over his second pointed free in the 29th minute.

In a first half dominated by indiscipline and poor football, a flurry of yellow cards was issued by referee Brian Crowe in the 22nd minute as Crossmaglen brothers Aaron and Stephen Kernan and  Ballinderry’s Raymond Wilkinson were booked following an incident in the midfield sector.

Crossmaglen Rangers continued to show some of their outstanding football pedigree on the restart with a brace of points to open the second half on a positive note.

It was a combination of experience and youth which powered Crossmaglen to a five-point lead within two minutes of the restart as veteran McConville slotted over his third point, which was quickly followed with an excellent score from the youthful Paul McKeown.

But Ballinderry quickly kept tabs on Crossmaglen’s advances as scores from Gilligan and midfielder James Conway edged the Derry champions within a goal of their opponents.
That vital three-pointer quickly followed as James Bateson’s 36th minute goal levelled the contest for the first time.

But despite the strong efforts of the half-time substitute this was as close as his side would get to a first Ulster glory since 2001 with Crossmaglen exerting dominance once again in the final quarter.

Rangers outscored their opponents by 0-4 to 0-1 during the last 15 minutes, with a brace of those scores coming from McConville including a 60th minute penalty strike, which the 33-year-old opted to slot over the crossbar to secure a five-point win and a first three-in-a-row since the 1980′s.

Crossmaglen Rangers: P Hearty; P McKeown (0-1), P Kernan, B McKeown; A Kernan (0-1, 1f), F Bellew, J Donaldson; T McEntee, D McKenna; S Kernan, J McEntee, M McNamee (0-2); J Clarke (0-1), O McConville (0-5, 2f 1pen), J Murtagh (0-1). Subs: T Kernan for S Kernan (42); K Carragher (0-1) for Clarke (51); J Hanratty for Murtagh (55)

Ballinderry Shamrocks: M Conlon; D Bell, N McCusker, C Wilkinson; K McGuckin, R McGuckin, M Bell; J Conway (0-1), K M McGuckin; D Conway, C Gilligan (0-2, 1f), R Wilkinson; C Devlin, B McGuckin, M Harney (0-1). Subs: J Bateson (1-0) for B McGuckin (HT); S Rocks for K M McGuckin (Blood sub 45-48); P Wilson for D Bell (53); R Scott for Kevin M McGuckin (56)

Referee: Brian Crowe (Cavan)

This entry was posted on Monday, December 15th, 2008 at 11:11 am and is filed under Homepage News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Yesterday’s Ulster Club Senior Football Championship Final fell foul of the winter frost and had to be called off at around 12pm.  The refixed final replay will now take place on Sunday 14^th December at Brewster Park Enniskillen, with a 2.30pm throw in.

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Sunday’s game – like all replays, is set to be a serious tactical battle.  The past fourteen days will have been a time for reflection for both Donal Murtagh and Martin McKinless and their respective backroom teams.   From a Ballinderry perspective, they will realise that Ronan McGuckin made an impact in the physical stakes when introduced last week and subsequently, could be introduced from the offset.  Darren Conway was extremely busy in the first half where he was very mobile at centre half forward and also pulled Francie Bellew out from the heart of the Cross’ defence.  Niall McCusker could be deployed to the edge of the square from the start as Ballinderry are physically small in the inside line.  With Enda Muldoon rightfully deployed at midfield, Colin Devlin, Raymond Wilkinson and Brian McGuckin all contributed to last week’s epic, but they lack physical strength and can be swallowed up in the tackle.  These are just some of the ideas that McKinless and co will have discussed since last Sunday.

From Crossmaglen’s point of view, they will know that should they find themselves in a similar position to last week with ten minutes remaining, they will need to kill the game off like they have done so many times in the past, but for some reason not last week.  Paul Kernan’s deployment at full back worked well, with John Donaldson also having a strong game at wing half back.  In the air, Tony McEntee, David McKenna and John McEntee were at times sublime.  These three provided a strong platform for most of Crossmaglen’s attacks.  Michael McNamee looked extremely dangerous at times, but like Tony and Stephen Kernan, he wasn’t involved in the game enough.  John Murtagh looked lively when introduced and took a fine point off his left foot, so he could claim a starting berth.

Last weeks final was a far cry from the 2006 decider that was played in horrendous conditions at Casement Park, that ended in a Crossmaglen victory on a scoreline of 0-5 to 0-3.  Today, supporters are looking forward in anticipation to a game to match last week’s hugely entertaining tussle.  Will Crossmaglen secure their three in a row or will Ballinderry collect their second Ulster title?  Hopefully, by 4.00pm on Sunday we will have an answer to this conundrum.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 8th, 2008 at 10:48 am and is filed under Homepage News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

GAA President to attend special dinner to honour 1958 Sigerson champions

Event: Dinner to mark the 50^th Anniversary of Queen’s University’s victory in the 1958 Sigerson Cup
When: Saturday, 13^th December 2008 at 7.00pm
Where: Queen’s University, Belfast

GAA President Nickey Brennan will attend a special dinner in Belfast on Saturday, 13^th December to mark the 50^th anniversary of Queen’s University’s first Sigerson Cup success.  He will be joined by the surviving members of that team and a number of other guests, including some members of the losing UCD side of ’58.

The Sigerson Cup is the premier intervarsity sports competition in Ireland.

The Queen’s success of 50 years ago precipitated the eventual breakthrough of Down in 1960, and came only months after Derry had competed in the All-Ireland final.

Queen’s have since won the competition another seven times, most recently in 2007.

The 1958 team featured a number of intercounty stars of the time, including Seán O’Neill of Down who would later win three All-Irelands, two Allstars and a place on the GAA Team of the Millennium and is regarded as the greatest of Ulster’s Gaelic Footballers.

The late Paddy O’Hara (Antrim) who passed away in August, was manager of the successful team. O’Hara was a star of the Ulster championship winning Antrim sides of 1946 and 1951.

Other members of the team included Phil Stuart, Peter Smith, Leo O’Neill, Gerry O’Neill and Tom Scullion, all of whom had featured for Derry in the 1958 All-Ireland final.  Leo and Gerry O’Neill are brothers of Martin O’Neill (the current Aston Villa manager).

Two of the victorious side have passed on – Christy Mallon (Tyrone) and Mick Brewster of Fermanagh (whose sons Paul and Tom have starred for Fermanagh and both were Sigerson Cup winners with Queen’s – Paul as captain in 1993 and Tom in 2000).

Queen’s overcame an eleven-point half-time deficit in the 1958 Sigerson Cup final to draw level with UCD on the stroke of full-time, thanks to a last gasp Phil Stuart goal.  The replay took place in Ballybay, Co Monaghan in February 1959.  Once again, QUB trailed at the break, this time by six points.  But they eventually rallied with Tom Scullion scoring the winner in a 0-10 to 0-9 victory.

The Golden Jubilee dinner will be hosted by the Queen’s University GAA Past Members’ Union.

John Devaney, QUB GAA PMU Chairman, said that “it is a welcome opportunity to honour the team that pioneered Queens’ success in the Sigerson Cup.  The success in 1958 was a milestone achievement, not just for the GAA at the university, but also in terms of its impact across Ulster”.

Mr Devaney added that “Paddy O’Hara and the members of the ’58 side have been iconic figures for the hundreds who have represented Queen’s in the Sigerson Cup ever since.  The surviving members of the team, as well as representative of the Mallon and Brewster families, will be travelling to this event from across Ulster and Ireland so it should be a special occasion”.

Further details on the Golden Jubilee dinner are available from Karl Oakes, QUB GAA PMU Secretary at 02890387688 or k.oakes@qub.ac.uk.

PHOTOGRAPH ENCLOSED:

Back Row (l-r):             Seán O’Kane, Peter Smith, Christy Mallon (RIP), Phil Stuart, Seán O’Neill, Patsy McDonald, Seamus McMahon, Henry McRory

Middle Row (l-r):          John O’Neill, Tom Scullion, Barney McNally, Paddy McGuckian, Mick Brewster (RIP), Frank Higgins, Gerry O’Neill, Charlie Murphy, Leo O’Neill, Eamonn Flanigan

Front Row (l-r):            Dessie O’Rourke, Kevin Halpenny, Paddy O’Hara (RIP), Hugh O’Kane (Captain), Dr John Macaulay (RIP), Seamus Mallon, Brendan Donaghy

CONTACT:
Mr Karl Oakes
Secretary
Queen’s University GAA Past Members’ Union
Tel       + 44 (0)2890 387688
Mob     + 44 (0) 7841235877
Email    k.oakes@qub.ac.uk

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 10:52 am and is filed under Homepage News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Ulster Club Senior Football Championship Final:
Ballinderry (Derry) 1-10 Crossmaglen (Armagh) 1-10

In the Ulster Club Senior Football Championship Final, Ballinderry and Crossmaglen played out an entrawling draw at Brewster Park Enniskillen.

‘Cross’ looked to have secured their 7th Ulster title as Oisin McConville’s goal helped them to a 5 point lead, with as many minutes remaining. However, with time running out, full-back come full-forward Niall McCusker blasted home for the Derry champions to share the spoils.

The replay will now take place in Brewster Park Enniskillen on Sunday 7th December, with throw-in at 3.45pm (with extra time if necessary).

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Ulster Club Intermediate Football Championship Final:
Greenlough (Derry) 0-7 Trillick (Tyrone) 0-8

In Saturday night, under the floodlights of the newly redeveloped Athletic Grounds in Armagh, Trillick and Greenlough played out an absorbing Intermediate Club Final, where the Tyrone side emerged winners by the minimum of margins.

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Ulster Club Junior Football Championship Final:
Druhowan (Monaghan) 5-10 Lissan (Derry) 0-4

In the curtain raiser to the Senior Final on Sunday Drumhowan added the Ulster Club Junior Football Championship Cup to their trophy cabinet. In what was a one-sided affair, the Monaghan champions ran out easy winners in the end.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Homepage News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.