Ulster Council GAA

The Ulster Council is saddened to hear of the death of Mick Higgins today. Mick was a member of the Cavan All Ireland winning teams of 1947, 48 and 1952 in which he was the team Captain. He was the last surviving Cavan player from the famous All Ireland final played at the Polo Ground in New York.

Mick was born in New York and became the only player to be born outside of Ireland to win an All Ireland Senior Championship medal outside of Ireland.

As part of the 125 Anniversary celebrations, Mick attended the seminar at the Cardinal Ó Fiaich Library on the 13th March and only 6 months ago, the 86-year-old took his place on the pitch on Ulster Final day alongside all of Ulster’s All Ireland winning captains or a representative.

President of Ulster GAA, Tom Daly stated the following:

“It is with great sadness that the GAA in Ulster learns of the death of Mick Higgins R.I. P.. He was a true gentleman, a great sportsman, an outstanding player and a lifetime committed member of the GAA. He will be long remembered for his playing ability and his successes as player for Cavan and Ulster but abiding memory is of a quiet and forthright man that was committed to his wife Margaret, son John, daughters Terry, Jean and Brenda, his Clubs Mountnugent and Kilnaleck, Cavan, Ulster and the Gaelic Athletic Association. We were privileged to have known him and are the richer for it.”

Mick, who lived in Virginia, was the oldest surviving captain from Ulster to have lifted the Sam Maguire cup. The Cavan great won three All Ireland medals, including one from the famous Polo Grounds final in 1947 when the Breffni Blues beat Kerry in New York.

In fact, Cavan played in nine All Ireland Finals between 1933-52, with Higgins sealing victory in the ‘52 decider after an exhibition of free-taking in a replay against Meath. He scored seven of Cavan’s nine points in the 0-9 to 0-5 triumph.

“It was a wet day but I kicked a long point after four minutes and I knew it was my lucky day”, recalls Mick in an interview specially prepared for the Ulster Council video website.

Mick Higgins also revealed that he had been suffering from flu in the lead-up to the game but recovered to lead Cavan to glory. Modest Mick maintained that being the All Ireland winning captain did not ‘excite’ him as Cavan had plenty of successful captains before him and he was the captain because the honour always fell to the oldest player on the team.

When asked what he would like to be remembered for, Higgins replied:
“That I never hit any one, I played the game clean and I never was put off”.

Video:

Jerome Quinn interviews Mick Higgins ahead of the 2009 Ulster SFC Final:

Mick Higgins goal for Cavan against Kerry in the 1947 All-Ireland football final:

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 3:13 pm and is filed under Exclusive Video, 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.

Barrett Sports Lighting Dr McKenna Cup Semi Final:
Tyrone 1-20  Fermanagh 1-08

Tommy McGuigan was the star of the show in Healy Park, Omagh, as his personal tally of 1-06 saw Tyrone ease to a comfortable victory over Fermanagh.

The Erne men had taken the lead early on, but McGuigan responded with 6 points to give Tyrone a 0-13 to 0-05 lead at half time, the highlight being two excellent long range points, one from either boot.

In the second period McGuigan converted a penalty after he was fouled inside the large rectangle to put the game beyond doubt.

Fermanagh did score a goal in the dying stages through Damien Kelly but it was all too little too late.

Tyrone: J Curran; C McGurk, Justin McMahon, M Swift; Joe McMahon 0-1 (’45), C Gormley, D Carlin; A Cassidy 0-1, E McGinley; K Coney 0-2, T McGuigan 1-6 (1-0 pen, 0-3 f), P Harte 0-2; S O’Neill 0-5 (0-3f), M Penrose 0-3 (0-1f), G Devlin. Subs: N McKenna for O’Neill (52), G Teague for McGurk (60), M O’Neill for Curran (62), Mattie Donnelly for Cassidy (64), Mark Donnelly for Devlin (66).

Fermanagh: J McGrath; M Jones, S Burns, M O’Brien; P Sherry, B Mulrone, T McElroy; P Cosgrove, R Jones 0-3 (0-3f); D Kelly 1-0, M Keenan 0-4 (0-1f), C Flaherty 0-1; D Keenan, R Foy, A McCarron. Subs: S Lyons for Burns (h-t), C McElroy for Foy (h-t), J Conolly for McCarron (52), S Goan for Flaherty (52), S Goan for M Jones (62).

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Barrett Sports Lighting Dr McKenna Cup Semi Final:
Donegal 1-13  Down 1-12

Reigning Dr McKenna Cup champions Donegal secured themselves a final spot once again following a thrilling 1 point victory over Down at Brewster Park, Enniskillen.

Down got off to a dream start as Paul McComiskey netted following a mistake by Donegal goalkeeper Lee McFadden, however a slip in the Down defence allowed Donegal to cancel this out via Edward Kelly.

On the stroke of half time, Paul McComiskey sent over his third pointed free to give the Mourne men a 1-05 to 1-04 lead at the break.

Donegal stormed out of the blocks in the second half and 5 point in succession took them 4 points clear.  Down called in the services of Martin Clarke and Benny Coulter but Donegal held on for the narrowest of wins.

Donegal will now meet Tyrone in the final this Saturday 30^th January at 7.00pm in Brewster Park, Enniskillen.

Donegal: L McFadden; J Keaney, N McGee, P McDaid; E Waide, F McGlynn, K Cassidy 0-1; F McNulty, N Gallagher; E Kelly 1-0, D Walsh, L McLoone 0-1; A Hanlon 0-4, C McFadden 0-5 (0-3f), G Concarr 0-2 (0-2f). Subs: P Durcan for McFadden; C Dunne for N Gallagher; R Wherity for Concarr.

Down: B McVeigh; S Toner, C Garvey, M Cole; S Parr, B McArdle, K Duffin; P Fitzpatrick, C King; D Gordon 0-1, M Poland, R Murtagh 0-1; P McComiskey 1-5 (0-4f), J Clarke 0-3, R Sexton. Subs: A Rogers for Fitzpatrick; S Kearney for Toner; D Hughes for Parr; M Clarke 0-2 (0-1f) for Poland; B Coulter for Sexton

—

Video:

Tyrone v Fermanagh Goals:

Tyrone captain Stephen O’Neill looks ahead to the Dr McKenna Cup Final:

Fantastic Tyrone move finishing with Tommy McGuigan point:

Fermanagh’s Best Bits:

Donegal v Down Goals:

Donegal v Down First Half Action:

Down Comeback:

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 10:20 am and is filed under Exclusive Video, 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.

Brewster Park in Enniskillen and Healy Park in Omagh will stage the Semi-finals of the 2010 Barrett Sports Lighting Dr McKenna Cup on Wednesday evening.

Down have been the most impressive side in the competition so far, with the Mourne men resurgent under new manager James McCartan and the returning Marty Clarke. They come up against a Donegal team which drew with Tyrone in a thriller in Ballybofey a week ago.

Tyrone have given youth its chance and have run up some big tallies, while Fermanagh are fresh from a defeat over Armagh on Sunday.

It all points to two terrific games which will feature on the Ulster Council’s new video service. This is available directly after games and even during them.

For example, when Marty Clarke made a ‘mark’ in the opening ten minutes of Down’s game against Queens, the footage was posted on the internet at half-time. The short snipet has since been watched four thousand times.

You can watch reports and interviews from half a dozen games in the competition so far, while videos will be posted from the Semi-finals and Final on the Ulster Council YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Barrett Sports Lighting Dr McKenna Cup Semi Finals Preview:

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 3:35 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: Pearse Og Park, Ballycrummy Road, Armagh
Tutor: John Kane
Info: This Workshop looks at the importance of mental preparation for Gaelic Games.

Please note the above course is open to everyone and are free of charge.

Contact: Should you have any queries please contact Kevin Kelly 07920 528794.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 12:25 pm 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.

Venue: Owenbeg Centre of Excellence, Dungiven, Co. Derry
Info: This outdoor practical session will incorporate Strength & Conditioning training along with the Football/ Sliotar. The Workshop teaches Technique, Form and Structure.
This Course is targeted for Coaches from U16-Senior and in Football and Hurling.
Tutor: Kevin Kelly, Paul Rouse & Gary Mallon

Please note the above course is open to everyone and are free of charge.

Contact: Should you have any queries please contact Kevin Kelly 07920 528794.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 12:23 pm 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.

Venue: Mac Cumhaill Park, Ballybofey, Kingspan Breffni Park, Cavan & Ballycastle GAC Antrim
Info: This is a Coach Observation Session, which will allow coaches to see Hurling Players developing skills and team work through a number of Conditioned Games (Small & Full Sided). This is open to all coaches (Please note there will be a FREE DVD of the Course to clubs who have 5 or more coaches in attendance).
Tutors: John Crossey, Michael Glover & Kieran Megraw

Please note the above course is open to everyone and are free of charge.

Contact: Should you have any queries please contact Kevin Kelly 07920 528794.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 12:21 pm 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.

AIB GAA Football All Ireland Intermediate Club Championship Semi Final:
Naomh Anna (Galway)  1-9  Cookstown Fr. Rocks (Tyrone)  2-11

Tyrone kingpins Cookstown moved into the final of the AIB GAA All-Ireland Intermediate Championship after a 2-11 to 1-10 defeat of Naomh Anna (Galway) at Pearse Park, Longford.

Having led by double scores, 0-8 to 0-4, at half-time, Cookstown sealed the win with a Barry Mulligan goal and a late John Gilmore three-pointer.

Cookstown will now face Spa (Kerry) in the All-Ireland Final on Sunday 14^th February in Croke Park.

—

AIB GAA Football All Ireland Junior Club Championship Quarter Final:
Dunedin Connolly’s  0-7  Emyvale (Monaghan)  3-7

Goals at vital stages proved decisive for Monaghan champions Emyvale as they booked their place in the semi final of the AIB GAA Football All Ireland Junior Club Championship at the expense of Edinburgh side Dunedin Connolly’s .

Emyvale got off to a dream start as Gavin McKernan netted in the opening minute.  Brendan McKenna added another after 19 minutes to give his side a lead of 2-4 to 0-3 at half time.

Dunedin showed renewed purpose in the second half but a Brendan O’Brien goal 9 minutes from time effectively finished the game as a contest.

Emyvale will now face Kiltimagh (Mayo) in the All-Ireland semi final on Sunday 31^st January at Pearse Park, Longford at 2.30pm.

—

AIB GAA Hurling All Ireland Intermediate Club Championship Semi Final:
Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry (Galway)  0-10 St Gall’s (Antrim)  0-12

St Gall’s (Antrim) became the first Ulster team to qualify for the AIB GAA Hurling All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship final with a 0-12 to 0-10 semi-final win over Tynagh/Abbey Duniry (Galway) at Parnell Park on Saturday.

Gall’s, who had many of the football side that will feature in the All-Ireland senior club semi-final next amongst their ranks, led by 0-9 to 0-4 at the break thanks to CJ McGourty’s accuracy from placed balls and Sean McAreavey’s opening point inside the first minute.

The Galway champions, aided by the experience of former county starts Kevin Broderick and Liam Hodgins, fought back after the break, but McGourty, who finished with 0-8, was on top of his game and his two late points helped Gall’s to a famous win.

St Gall’s will now face St Lactain’s (Kilkenny) in the All-Ireland Final on Saturday 13^th February at Croke Park.

—

AIB GAA Hurling All Ireland Junior Club Championship Semi Final:
Calry/St Joseph’s  0-10  Naomh Colum Cille (Tyrone)  2-7

Two goals in a 4 minute spell midway through the second half proved pivotal as Tyrone champions Naomh Colum Cille booked their place in the final of the AIB GAA Hurling All Ireland Junior Club Championship.

The game was an even fought contest throughout and when full forward Paul O’Neill was dismissed for a second yellow in the 24^th minute it looked as though the Ulster men may be in trouble – the scoreboard at half time saw them trailing 0-6 to 0-4.

However, the turning point of the game came in the 46^th minute when Niall O’Neill’s ’65 found its way to the Calry/St Joseph’s net.  Just 4 minutes later, Rory O’Neill raised another green flag and Naomh Colum Cille never looked back.

Naomh Colum Cille will now face either Black and Whites (Kilkenny) or Blackrock (Cork) in the All-Ireland Final.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 4:16 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.

Down finished the group stages of the McKenna Cup with a third win in a row, beating Derry by 1-15 to 1-13 at Celtic Park to set up a semi-final meeting with Donegal.

Martin Clarke scored the second goal of his senior inter-county career to give the visitors a 1-11 to 0-5 second half lead having been 0-9 to 0-4 ahead at the break.

However, Derry kicked the next five points and Seamus Bradley added a goal to level the game going into the final minutes.

The in-form Paul McComiskey struck two points at the death to hand the spoils to James McCartan’s side, who will go into Wednesday’s clash with holders Donegal in confident mood.

The other game in Section C saw Antrim run out 0-15 to 0-14 winners over Queen’s.

In Section A, Ryan Jones hit 1-2 for Fermanagh as beat Armagh by 1-8 to 1-6 at the Athletic Grounds.

The win sees Malachy O’Rourke’s side move into the last four of the competition, with Ulster champions Tyrone waiting in next Wednesday night’s semi-final.

Jones’s goal after 22 minutes helped the Erne men to a 1-4 to 0-3 half-time lead.

Stevie McDonnell, who hit 1-4 in Wednesday’s win over Monaghan, was once again in fine form and his haul of 1-3 had Paddy O’Rourke’s men just a point in arrears going into the final minutes.

McDonnell was set up for his goal by his usual partner in crime, Ronan Clarke, and his contribution of 1-3 came in seven stunning minutes.

However, Ryan Carson had the final say, his injury time point giving Fermanagh a two-point win and a place in the last four.

The day’s final game saw Monaghan beat UUJ 4-16 to 2-13 at Inniskeen.

Tyrone moved into the semi-finals of the McKenna Cup with a comfortable 2-17 to 1-4 win over Cavan at freezing Healy Park on Saturday evening.

In a game that was delayed by more than 30 minutes due to heavy fog, Mark Donnelly impressed by firing 2-2 for Mickey Harte’s rampant side.

Donnelly’s first goal came after 33 minutes, with two further points from Niall McKenna helping Tyrone to a 1-8 to 0-3 half-time lead.

The Ulster champions were in cruise control after the break, as Donnelly grabbed his second goal of the game in the 55th minute before Alan Clarke pulled one back to put some respectability on the scoreline from a Cavan point of view.

Elsewhere, Donegal will join Tyrone in the semi-finals as best runner-up from the group stages after a straightforward 1-13 to 0-5 defeat of St Mary’s at Ballybofey.

Colm McFadden, who hit seven points, was the star of the show for John Joe Doherty’s side, while Adrian Hanlon found the back of the net in the second half.

Donegal led by 0-6 to 0-2 at half-time, but the students fought back off the break and got to within of their opponents.

However, Hanlon’s goal came at just the right time for Donegal, and when McFadden kicked four late points, the home side had secured their place in the last four of the competition.

Late Drama at Celtic Park:

Aidan Carr Interview:

Derry v Down Goals:

Derry v Down Goal Chances:

Tyrone v Cavan Report:

Joe McMahon Interview:

Mark Donnelly’s First Goal:

Mark Donnelly’s Second Goal:

The Scenes at Foggy Healp Park:

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at 6:22 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.

At half-time in the Monaghan v Armagh Barrett Sports Lighting Dr McKenna Cup tie, the Stand at Inniskeen was named after local gael Paddy O’Rourke who served club and county with distinction for more than half a century.

Paddy O’Rourke was the second born child into a large family home in the heart of Inniskeen village on the 25^th July 1923; the house being the one time manse of the local Protestant Minster. His first educational establishment was Inniskeen National School around the corner.

Probably his first introduction to kicking a ball was a sponge one, kicked on the road during the mid-day break when invariably the ball landed (uninvited) in Barney Duffy’s field or Quinn’s meadow or even the river. It was almost customary that the youngest was bullied to retrieve it and it was at this juncture that Paddy showed his metal and refused to be pushed around, strong willed determination that was to be his hallmark throughout his life.

To further promote his education he was established as a boarder in St. Macartan’s Seminary in Monaghan. Here he kicked a real ball with real players so his natural skill was tuned to a fine art. After a stint in Monaghan he transferred to the Christian Brothers School in Dundalk which promoted the Gaelic language and Gaelic football in particular.

Now that he was residing back in Inniskeen he was available to tog out in Parish Leagues and minor games. His ability came under notice and he was knocking on the door of Senior Football. At that point he was serving his time as a fitter in the Railway works in Dundalk, necessitating the long cycle to and from work which built up stamina. He was not alone for there were quite a few others similarly employed. It is not deemed appropriate to dwell on his record on the field of play wearing the Red and Green, suffice to say that he wore it with pride and distinction for twenty one years. In 1946 he was selected to play for the county, a place he held for eight years and if honours eluded him here, the blame could not be placed on the shoulders of the doughty man from Inniskeen.

Paddy and his peers at the time pioneered the transition from the boot’er up the middle tradition of the past to the more constructive team work of the present. He was also the precursor of the O’Rourke dynasty that power infused the football of that era. To his eternal credit it must be said that he never became big-headed or a prima donna but rather a modest man, proud to wear the Red and Green of his club. In January 1946 he was appointed secretary of the Inniskeen Grattans club, a position he held until shortly before his death, a staggering fifty six years, surely a record un-paralleled in any business or organisation.

When his father Packy relinquished his post of treasurer to the local club in 1958, Paddy was duly appointed. Later on he was given the post of Public Relations Officer. He was now the holder of a triple portfolio. When he took over the top posts, the club had literally nothing, no playing pitch and scarcely a decent set of jerseys. Indeed it was known that players fielded with odd boots.

With dances and carnivals and other fund-raising ventures, an amount of wherewithal was mustered to enable the acquisition of some land and eventually to develop a playing field to match any in the county. It is not claimed to be a one man job, but it goes without saying that Paddy was the main architect and a prime mover in the entire project. It now stands as a lasting monument to his honour.

At his last Club meeting on the 27th March 2003 Paddy expressed his view that the club should not move from its present home. Monaghan County Board recognised his administrative talent and appointed him Assistant Treasurer in 1961 and later in 1970 full treasurer position a role he held until a few weeks before his death. The County Board being cognisant of his efficiency awarded him numerous honours including the prestigious Co. Board Hall of Fame award. On many occasions he was made the subject of interviews from the media. The prestigous glossy magazine, Hogan Stand, did an elaborate feature on him.

Paddy took to the whistle around two years before he ceased playing football and he refereed an Ulster Semi Final between Tyrone and Down in 1960 and many National League games including a famous National League game in Dundalk between Galway, the All Ireland Champions and Louth plus a County Senior Final in 1960 between Scotstown and Castleblayney. Being an officer of the County Board he had to relinquish his post as a club official, so he returned to football or rather the root and branch activities of the club and concentrated on the youth of the parish.

Over the following years he promoted Gaelic Games at all levels from ten to minor. How does one attempt to do justice to any individual who undertakes to take charge of screaming youngsters, piling them into cars, mini buses or whatever, togging them out, controlling them, taking total responsibility and making certain sure they were left home safely.

That man was the redoubtable Paddy O’Rourke. At committee level it was mooted that hurling be introduced to the club at juvenile level. Initially Paddy did not embrace the idea, but later adopted it whole-heartedly and threw his weight behind it with the typical energy of a human dynamo.
He attended his beloved Grattan Park with the critical eye of dedicated green-keeper, cut the grass, fixed the mower when it occasionally broke down, marked the pitch before a match and then donned his P.R. hat and welcomed the visiting team.

Being the out and out GAA man by virtue of the number of hats he wore with the Association, he attended regular meetings, seminars, committee business and other functions. Yet throughout his life he remained a staunch teetotaller. This was proof, if proof was needed, of his resolute determination. This strength of character was particularly manifest during the onset of his illness when he stuck to his guns until he eventually had to succumb to a greater force.

His death sent shock waves reverberating through-out the County. The funeral, speeches and Guards of Honour bore testimony to the respect and admiration the man was held in. The excellent and well chosen words of Fr. McGuiness at the Funeral Mass lauding the Christian and God-fearing path that Paddy trod during his entire life-time, the oration of the graveside by Garry Carville gave a resume of the life of an outstanding man and his dedication to all things that came under the auspices of the GAA.

Information courtesy of:  http://inniskeen.monaghan.gaa.ie/

The stand at Iniskeen is named after local Gael, ‘Mr Inniskeen’ Paddy O’Rourke:

This entry was posted on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 3:35 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.

Michael Murphy, the Young Footballer of the Year, kicked 2-9 as Donegal produced a stunning comeback to salvage a 2-17 to 4-11 draw against Tyrone in a thrilling Dr McKenna Cup encounter on Wednesday night.

Tyrone attacker Martin Penrose kicked three goals in the first half alone as he challenged Murphy for man-of-the-match honours.

Penrose found the net after four minutes before adding a real beauty on the 20 minute mark. He completed his hat-trick deep into first-half added time to give Tyrone a 3-8 to 1-9 half-time lead.

Donegal set about eating into Tyrone’s lead in the third quarter, with Murphy, Colm McFadden and David Walsh among the point scorers.

Just after Murphy had levelled the game for Donegal with 15 minutes remaining, Kyle Coney, fresh from his match-winning performance against St Mary’s on Sunday, came off the bench to rattle the back of the net.

However, Murphy was not to be outdone and he grabbed his second goal of the game with a low shot to snatch a draw for John Joe Doherty’s side.

Elsewhere, Armagh boss Paddy O’Rourke secured the first win of his reign with a 2-13 to 1-11 defeat of Monaghan at Inniskeen.

Aaron Kernan netted after 25 minutes to give the Orchard County a 1-5 to 0-6 half-time lead.

Monaghan hit back with a Dermot Malone goal after the break, but Steven McDonnell, who finished with a haul of 1-4, grabbed Armagh’s second goal to secure a five-point win.

Fermanagh, meanwhile, ran out 1-13 to 1-12 winners over UUJ at Brewster Park.

The Erne men led by 0-7 to 0-5 at half-time, but they struck for a goal seven minutes after the restart through Damien Kelly to extend their lead to five points.

However, Peter Hughes responded with a three-pointer for the students almost immediately, before Malachy O’Rourke’s side extended their lead once again in the final quarter.

Tyrone’s Jason McAnulla hit two late points to drag UUJ back into the game late on, but Fermanagh hung on for a narrow win.

Cavan lost for the second time in five days en they were beaten 1-12 to 1-8 by St Mary’s at Breffni Park.

Once again Gareth Smith was Cavan’s main scoring threat, the Dublin native bagging 1-4 before he was taken off at half-time.

Smith’s goal came from the penalty spot and helped Tommy Carr’s men to a 1-5 to 0-6 interval lead.

However, Cavan were poor in attack without Smith after the break, and four points from Kevin Niblock as well as a last minute Kevin McQuaid goal gave the students the scalp they were looking for.

Once again, Martin Clarke underlined what a plus he is likely to be for Down football this year as he scored 0-4 for James McCartan’s side in Wednesday night’s 0-19 to 1-11 win over Antrim.

The former AFL star’s four first-half points, along with three from Conor Laverty, helped Down to a 0-13 to 0-4 lead at the break.

The Saffrons fought back admirably in the second half, scoring six points without reply at one point, and added a late goal from the boot of Neil O’Connell.

However, Down, thanks to three points from corner forward Paul McComiskey, were always in control and collected their second win from as many games in the competition with little trouble.

Finally, Derry racked up a huge 4-16 to 1-7 win over Queen’s at Celtic Park.

Kevin O’Neill netted for Derry in response to an early three-pointer for the students from the boot of Brian Cox, as Damian Cassidy’s side led by 1-6 to 1-5 at the break.

However, Derry completely dominated the second half and goals from Seamus Bradley, Joe Diver and Raymond Wilkinson goal secured an emphatic win.

Wednesday’s Dr McKenna Cup Results:

Group A
Monaghan 1-11 Armagh 2-13
Fermanagh 1-13 UUJ 1-12

Group B
Cavan 1-8 St Mary’s 1-12
Donegal 2-17 Tyrone 4-11

Group C
Down 0-19 Antrim 1-11
Derry 4-16 Queen’s 1-7

Armagh’s new manager Paddy O’Rourke gets his first victory over Monaghan in front of a 2,000 crowd at Iniskeen in the Barrett Sports Lighting Dr McKenna Cup and is full of praise for the double act of Ronan Clarke and Stevie McDonnell:

Stevie McDonnell strikes for goal in the Barrett Sports Lighting Dr McKenna Cup tie against Monaghan at Iniskeen on Wednesday January 20:

Some more scores from Monaghan v Armagh:

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 12:42 pm and is filed under 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.

The 6th Ulster GAA Coaching and Games Development Conference will take place on Saturday 30th January 2010 in the Glenavon House Hotel in Cookstown.

This year’s conference targets coaches who are working with youth players from 13-18 years. It builds on a successful Conference in 2009 where we targeted children’s coaches.

The Conference consolidates the coach education work that is ongoing within the County programmes and the Provincial Coach Development Programme.

Ulster coaches are constantly refocusing and challenging their coaching practices and the speakers this year will again challenge the coaches to raise the bar.

Places are open to all coaches at a cost of £20 / €25.

Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

For further information or to register, please contact
Bernie Fox on 028 (048) 3752 1900 or Email: conference.ulster@gaa.ie

Deadline for Registration is Monday 25th January 2010.

Related:

- O’Neills Ulster GAA Coaching & Games Development Conference Booking Form

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 3:45 pm 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.

The 6th Ulster GAA Coaching and Games Development Conference will take place on Saturday 30th January 2010 in the Glenavon House Hotel in Cookstown.

This year’s conference targets coaches who are working with youth players from 13-18 years. It builds on a successful Conference in 2009 where we targeted children’s coaches.

The Conference consolidates the coach education work that is ongoing within the County programmes and the Provincial Coach Development Programme.

Ulster coaches are constantly refocusing and challenging their coaching practices and the speakers this year will again challenge the coaches to raise the bar.

Places are open to all coaches at a cost of £20 / €25.

Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

For further information or to register, please contact
Bernie Fox on 028 (048) 3752 1900 or Email: conference.ulster@gaa.ie

Deadline for Registration is Monday 25th January 2010.

Related:

- O’Neills Ulster GAA Coaching & Games Development Conference Booking Form

Dr Eugene Young, Director of Coaching & Games Ulster GAA, explains why the O’Neills Ulster GAAs 6th Annual Coaching Conference on January 30th in Cookstown is a must for coaches of children aged 13-18:

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 12:00 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.

The Ulster Ladies Football Convention was held on Sunday 17^th January at Kelly’s Inn, Ballygawley.

Donegal’s Hugh Devenney is the new Ulster Ladies President. The Laghey man beat Derry’s John Groogan for the post and now takes over from Gerry Doherty who had served his three year term.

A packed meeting in Kelly’s Inn also seen Eileen Jones (Tyrone), Lucy Groom (Armagh) and Mickey West (Monaghan) elected to the executive committee for 2010.

A number of fine reports were delivered. Registrar John Joe Brady revealed that membership numbers were up by 350 on the previous year with 13,147 members registered in 217 clubs. Once again it is Tyrone who led the way with 2591 registered. Six counties have over a thousand members. John Joe also pointed to the fact that seven counties had managed to increase the numbers playing however in Tyrone and Down membership was down 311 and 81 respectively. Eleven new clubs were also formed in 2009.

Fixtures Secretary Paddy Donnelly delivered his eleventh consecutive report. A total of seventy six games were played in the various Ulster championships. Paddy used a total of 27 different referees for the games.

Gerry Doherty then delivered his third and final presidential address and was touched when Ulster President Tom Daly appeared and made a presentation to him on behalf of Ulster Council GAA.

The election of officers ran very smoothly. There were just two contests on the day. Hugh Devenney beat John Groogan for the Presidential race while Development Officer Philip O Hare survived a tight vote against Martina Dillon (Tyrone).

The Ulster Ladies Executive 2010
President – Hugh Devenney (Donegal)
Vice President – Joe Lagan (Derry)
Secretary – Mary Keegan (Armagh)
Assistant Secretaries – Lucy Groom (Armagh) and Eileen Jones (Tyrone)
Registrar – John Joe Brady (Cavan)
Treasurer – Seamus Fleming (Derry)
Assistant Treasurers – Johnny Kelly (Monaghan) and Annette Boyle (Armagh)
Development Officer – Philip O Hare (Down)
Culture and Language Officer – Mickey West (Monaghan)
Fixtures Secretary – Paddy Donnelly (Tyrone)
PRO – Paul Swift (Monaghan)
Delegate to Central Council – Pat Chapman (Fermanagh)

Central Council Committees:

Fixtures
John Joe Brady – Cavan
Jim Shannon – Monaghan

Appeals
Fr. Peter Clarke – Armagh
Geraldine Mc Govern – Fermanagh

Disciplinary
Paul Swift – Monaghan
Pat Chapman – Fermanagh

This entry was posted on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 3:34 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: Magherafelt GAC, Co Derry
Info: This workshop deals with preventing injuries to GAA players, injury prevention methods and suggestions on how players can keep themselves injury free.
Tutor: Chris McNicholl

Please note the above course is open to everyone and are free of charge.

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

This entry was posted on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 3:15 pm 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.

Venue: St John’s GAC, Co Antrim
Info: This workshop is an introduction for coaches working with teenagers (12-16) and young adults who have little or no experience in Strength and Conditioning.
This workshop will look at improving technique, form and structure.
Tutor: Kevin Kelly, Paul Rouse & Gary Mallon

Please note the above course is open to everyone and are free of charge.

Contact: Should you have any queries please contact Kevin Kelly 07920528794.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 3:14 pm 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.