On Wednesday 28^th April, Ulster GAA held its second annual Cúchulainn Cup Hurling Tournament in the Mid Ulster Sports Arena in Cookstown, with Glengormley Cúchulainns crowned at 2010 champions after beating Omagh Cúchulainns in the epic final.  The Glengormley team was made up of players from three schools: Edmund Rice College, Glengormely High, and St Malachy’s College.

The event is part of Ulster GAA flagship cross community initiative which encourages young people from a variety of backgrounds to come together to participate in Gaelic Games.  All of the young people who participated had little or no previous experience playing hurling.

The aim of the project is to give those who come from non-GAA backgrounds the opportunity to play Gaelic Games.  The project also promotes good relations between schools, communities and the young people.  Now in its second year the Cúchulainn Cup initiative is developing into a key project for Ulster GAA.

Speaking at the event in Cookstown, Ulster GAA Treasurer Michael Hasson stated, “I am very proud to be part of this worthwhile initiative which brings together young people from different backgrounds in a positive and enjoyable way.  There is no doubt that all involved enjoyed their day, both participating on the field of play and also through the banter along the sideline.  Not only is this about young people in sport, but it’s also about building friendships and breaking down barriers.

“This is the second year of Ulster GAA’s Cúchulainn Cup initiative.  Last year we had four cross community schools teams participating, this year we had eight teams.  Also this year, we are running a Cúchulainn Cup Football Tournament, which is founded on the same vision, and is backed by the Unite Against Hate campaign.

“I hope that in the years ahead of us, that this important cross community and cross border initiative continues to grow and develop.  I commend all the schools who have participated in this project, the young players and their families.  I do not under-estimate the sizeable step some families from non-GAA backgrounds have taken to encourage their children to participate in Gaelic Games, and I hope that their experience has been positive and will encourage them to develop their interest in Gaelic Games.”

This entry was posted on Friday, April 30th, 2010 at 11:31 am and is filed under Homepage News.

Ulster Minor Football League Final:
Dublin 2-14  Tyrone 0-08

Dublin captured their first ever Ulster MFL title when a strong first half performance saw off Tyrone in the final at Breffni Park on Tuesday evening.

Two goals inside a minute by Fearghal Duffy early in the first half did the damage as the Dubs led 2-9 to 0-7 after playing against the wind in the opening half.

Duffy used his pace to carry him past the Tyrone defence in the ninth and again in the tenth minute and finished well on both occasions as the Dubs opened up a 2-3 to 0-1 lead.

Harry Dawson also brought his shooting boots and he finished the night with five points, including one free with his unfavoured right boot.

Centre-back Michael Gibbs caused problems for Tyrone with his forward forays which reaped two impressive points.

Tyrone put Dublin under considerable pressure on the restart but a succession of wides did not aid their cause.

They were awarded a penalty in the second minute of the second half but goalkeeper Colin Murphy parried the spot kick of Conan Gruggan and then reacted well to bat away the ball as Gruggan raced to the rebound. Dublin face Kildare in the Leinster MFC quarter-final while Tyrone take on Antrim in the Ulster MFC Quarter Final.

SCORERS

Dublin: F Duffy 2-1, H Dawson 0-5 (0-1f), A Caffrey 0-3 (0-1f), M Gibbs 0-2, J Russell OCarroll, A Fallon, D Mylod (0-1f) 0-1 each.

Tyrone: C Gruggan 0-3 (0-1f), J McCullagh 0-2, D Donnelly, C McCullagh, R ONeill 0-1 each.
DUBLIN – C Murphy; M Durkan, D Shatwell, J Small; P Maguire, M Gibbs, S Fitzsimons; P OCurry, JJ Martin; J Russell OCarroll, F Duffy, A Fallon; A Caffrey, H Dawson, D McCabe. Subs: D Mylod for Russell OCarroll (41), N McGovern for Small (48), N OFlynn for Fallon (52), G Heavey for Maguire (57), K Doyle for Dawson (59).

TYRONE – M McReynolds; S McGarrity, C Clarke, HP McGeary; N Studden, M Donaghy, C ONeill; C Gruggan, D Donnelly; M Carberry, D McCurry, C McCullagh; K Morgan, J McCullagh, R ONeill. Subs: E Deeney for McGeary (24), E McGahan for Donaghy (29), A McNulty for Donnelly (ht), S Tierney for Carberry (41), R Loughran for C ONeill (48)

Ulster Minor Football League (47)

Armagh (5)
Cavan (1)
Derry (5)
Donegal (6)
Down (14)
Dublin (1)
Meath (2)
Monaghan (1)
Tyrone (12)

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 29th, 2010 at 5:06 pm and is filed under Homepage News.

The Glasgow based Tir Conaill Harps Community Volunteers Dinner dance, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel had a particularly Donegal flavour to it this year, with all three of the award winners having a connection to the county.  In addition to the winners the overwhelming majority of those in attendance were either from Donegal or had a close family link to the area.

Despite the recession almost 450 people supported the event , which this year had a theme of “let’s get the harps back on the road” This was in reference to the ongoing appeal to replace the club bus which was burnt out earlier this year.

Guest of honour was Ulster Council secretary, Danny Murphy, who was fulsome in his praise of the work the club does at community level with young people in the city.  Also in attendance were local SNP MSP Bob Doris, fellow nationalist councillor, Allison Thewliss who represents the East End of the city and well respected Labour councillor, Archie Graham, who has family links with Donegal.

The two group photographs are Donegal people who attended the dinner.  For the latest information on the club appeal visit the club web appeal page at http://www.tirconaill.org/index.asp?pageid=218788

Joe McAleer who has family connections in Carrigart won the Volunteer of the Year Award named in memory of John Porter.  John was a native of Carndonagh who was a former chairman of the club.  The family was represented by his son Kevin. Also in that photo is Bob Doris MSP.

Grace McBride whose father is from Glen won the Coach of the year award in respect of the work she does with the young hurlers and camogs in the city’s east end.  Also in the picture is local councillor Allison Thewliss and Ulster secretary Danny Murphy

Thomas Friel, who is the son of club chairman, Maurice and a native of Oughterlin, Rathmullan is involved with the Harps Youth Group. He presented a gift to Danny Murphy.

Young Person of the year went to Jessica Doherty.  Jessica won her award mainly for all the volunteering work she does in the club from fund-rasing to coaching. She even dressed up as Cleopatra on the night to promote the club draw for a holiday for two to Sharm El Sheik, in Egypt. Jessica’s father hails from Inishowen.  In keeping with the Donegal link the winner of the holiday is a native of Letterkenny, Philip Doherty.

Pictured is Joe McAleer, centre, who received the Volunteer of the Year Award from Kevin Porter, left. Also in the picture is local MSP, Bob Doris.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 29th, 2010 at 11:55 am and is filed under Homepage News.

Ulster GAA’s pioneering cross-community hurling tournament – the Cúchulainn Cup – is set to take place tomorrow (Wednesday 28^th April 2010) in the Mid Ulster Sports Arena in Cookstown from 10:30am to 1.30pm.

Following on from the resounding success of last year’s Cúchulainn Cup, this cross community tournament is now set as a key date in Ulster GAA’s Calendar. For the first time this year the Unite Against Hate campaign (www.uniteagainsthate.org.uk) will be lending its support the event which takes place during Community Relations Week.

This year the competition has grown significantly with eight teams competing for the prestigious Cúchulainn Hurling Cup.  28 schools are participating from the controlled and maintained sectors and for the first time the tournament will have a cross border involvement with the new Cavan Cúchulainn Team participating.

The Cúchulainn Cup is Ulster GAA’s flagship cross community initiative to encourage young people who have no previous experience participating in Gaelic Games to get involved in the Games.  The project also helps to develop relations between schools and pupils from different backgrounds.

The teams participating this year are as follows:

Belfast – St Patricks College, Boys Model, Ashfield Boys & Corpus Christie College

Glengormley – Edmund Rice College, Glengormely High, St Malachy’s College

Derry City – St Columbs, Oakgrove Integrated, St Peter’s & St Patrick’s Claudy

Limavady – Limavady High School, Limavady Grammar, St Patrick’s Dungiven & St Mary’s Limavady

Cavan – Breffni College & Royal School Cavan

Omagh – Omagh CBS, Drumragh Integrated College & Sacred Heart College

Armagh – Royal School, City of Armagh High School, St Brigid’s High School & St Patricks College

Enniskillen – Portora Royal, Erne Integrated College, St Michael’s & St Joseph’s High School

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 at 2:36 pm and is filed under News.

Venue: Dernakesh National School, Drumgooon, Co.Cavan
Info: Club Maith is Ulster GAA’s accreditation scheme and club development tool for clubs. Clubs can come along to the Advice Nights to receive information on Club Maith and one-to-one guidance on how to complete a Club Maith application.

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

Contact: Should you have any queries please contact Maura Kelly on maura.kelly.ulster@gaa.ie

This entry was posted on Monday, April 26th, 2010 at 1:51 pm and is filed under Events.

Allianz GAA Football National League Division 2 Final:
Armagh 0-17  Down 1-12

Armagh produced a brilliant final ten minutes to claim the Allianz GAA Football National League Division 2 title with a 0-17 to 1-12 defeat of rivals Down at Croke Park on Sunday.

After a tame first half, the game burst into life in the final quarter and it was Armagh, managed by Down native Paddy O’Rourke, who produced a stunning finish to claim their first Allianz National League title since 2005.

Steven McDonnell, the man who captained the Orchard County five years ago, gave another example of his enduring talents to kick six vital points for the winners.

Armagh led by 0-8 to 0-7 at the break, before Down roared back into the game when Benny Coulter fisted Martin Clarke’s ’45 to the back of the net in the 45th minute to give his side the lead.

However, Armagh outscored their opponents by 0-5 to 0-2 in the final ten minutes, with substitute Malachy Mackin kicking two vital points in that period.

In a breathless finale, Down had a late chance to snatch the victory at the death, but Kalum King, the big midfielder, sliced his shot over the bar after Martin Clarke had presented him with a wonderful goal-scoring chance.

Armagh made the perfect start when their captain from that 2005 success, McDonnell, put them ahead after 12 seconds. Down, who had the meanest defence after the group stages of the league, leaked three successive points in the first five minutes, with Aaron Kernan adding a free and McDonnell stroking over his second point of the afternoon from a ’45.

Any thoughts that the Orchard County would have it all their own way were quickly dispelled when Down reacted by kicking the next two points. Coulter, the Mayobridge star, opened their account with a trademark strike after six minutes. Martin Clarke, who missed his first attempt on goal from a placed ball, made no mistake with his second effort to reduce the gap to the minimum.

Armagh were dealt a blow before kick off when Ronan Clarke was ruled out with the Achilles injury that has been troubling him in recent weeks. Ryan Henderson came in to start at full-forward and the late change did not appear to weaken Armagh in any way. Indeed, their attack most definitely had the upper hand in the opening quarter with Gareth Swift and wing-back Finnian Moriarty contributing further points.

Down were not without their own injury problems. Ambrose Rogers failed to start because of a foot problem and Aidan Brannigan started ahead of Damien Rafferty, who was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Armagh were hobbled somewhat by kicking four wides in the opening 20 minutes while McDonnell missed a great goal chance on the 25 -minute mark. The 2002 All-Ireland winner won a high ball into the full-forward line and escaped his marker, but he dragged his shot just wide with Brendan McVeigh, the Down goalkeeper, beaten.

Armagh had the bulk of the possession but they failed to convert that surfeit of good ball into points on the board. The Mourne men, despite playing on the back foot, remained in touch thanks to Martin Clarke’s accuracy from placed balls. The former Collingwood man kicked four first half frees, while a superb point from Daniel Hughes levelled the game at 0-6 apiece with two minutes left in the half. After a sedentary 33 minutes, the game burst into life and Down were ahead when Paul McComiskey ghosted in to slot over his first score of the game.

The scoreline failed to accurately reflect the story of the first half, but Armagh’s stand-out player, McDonnell, was on hand to address the imbalance by kicking two brilliant points just before the break. McDonnell levelled the game with a shot from way out on the Cusack Stand side before nudging his side ahead with a second on the stroke of half-time – this time off his left foot – to leave Armagh 0-8 to 0-7 ahead at the break.

James McCartan, the Down manager, was clearly unhappy with his players’ efforts in the first half as he made two changes during the break. Conor Maginn came in for Stephen Kearney, while Kevin Duffin replaced centre-back James Colgan, who was injured in the first half.

McComiskey missed an early chance to level the game from a free, but Peter Fitzpatrick was on hand to restore parity with a fine point from play. Fitzpatrick came into the Down midfield from the start after the Mourne captain, Rogers, was ruled out with a foot injury he picked up in a challenge game against Louth last Sunday.

Then, from nowhere, Down grabbed the lead. Martin Clarke sent in a ’45 from near the sideline on the Hogan Stand side, and when Armagh goalkeeper Paul Hearty came to collect the ball – which appeared to be dropping under the crossbar – Coulter ghosted in to fist the ball to the back of the net. Coulter then added another fine point from play to leave Down 1-9 to 0-10 ahead.

McCartan’s side were now starting to dominate, but Armagh responded with two successive points to level the game once again. James Lavery kicked the first before being taken off and McDonnell added his sixth and final point of the game.

After a tame first half, the intensity of the game upped in the final quarter, as Martin Clarke kicked yet another free to nudge the Mourne men ahead, 1-10 to 0-12.

However, Armagh finished the game superbly and kicked five of the next six points in the final ten minutes to take control of the game. Stefan Forker started Armagh’s late scoring burst while fellow substitute Mackin was equally effective, slotting over two points from play. The first of his brace gave Armagh the lead back in the 66th minute, while Aaron Kernan also struck two frees to leave his side three points clear going into injury time.

In the end, King had a great chance to level the game, but his shot went high and over the bar, before Down’s Daniel McCartan was shown a red card late in the game.

Armagh: P Hearty, A Mallon, B Donaghy, B Shannon, P Duffy (0-1), C McKeever, F Moriarity (0-1), J Lavery, K Toner, C Vernon, A Kernan (0-5, 0-5f), G Swift (0-2), B Mallon, S McDonnell (0-6, 0-1f, 0-1 ’45), R Henderson.

Subs: J Clarke for B Mallon, M Mackin (0-2) for Lavery, S Forker (0-1) for Henderson

Down: B McVeigh, D McCartan, B McArdle, A Brannigan, K McKernan, J Colgan, C Garvey (0-1), P Fitzpatrick (0-1), K King (0-1), S Kearney, M Clarke (0-5, 0-5f) D Hughes (0-1), P McComiskey (0-1), J Clarke, B Coulter (1-2).

Subs: C Maginn for Kearney, C Laverty for J Clarke, D Gordon for Fitzpatrick, R Murtagh for McComiskey, K Duffin for McKernan

Referee: G Ó Conamha (Galway).

This entry was posted on Monday, April 26th, 2010 at 8:35 am and is filed under Homepage News.

Allianz GAA Football National League Division 3 Final:
Sligo 0-19  Antrim 1-11

Sligo delivered a sublime attacking display to beat Antrim by 0-19 to 1-11 in an absorbing Allianz GAA Football National League Division 3 final at Croke Park on Saturday evening.

Kevin Walsh’s side served warning of the threat they will pose later in the summer with a performance to delight football purists and aesthetes all over the country.

Sligo had heroes all over the pitch, but Colm McGee (0-5) and midfielder Stephen Gilmartin (0-3) gave the stand-out performances in a thrilling game at Headquarters.

Sligo led by 0-9 to 0-5 at half-time and moved further ahead in the third quarter, but a Michael McCann goal for Antrim in the 59th minute set up a grandstand finish.

However, Sligo finished with a flourish with substitute Stephen Cohen scoring three late points as the Connacht side celebrated their second successive promotion with the added bonus of an Allianz GAA Football National League Division 3 title.

Mark Breheny, the Sligo danger man, opened the scoring before the Yeats men doubled their advantage after dominating the early stages.

It took Antrim ten minutes to get off the mark, and inevitably it was Paddy Cunningham who found the target. In fact, the Lámh Dearg man kicked three successive scores as the Ulster side too a 0-3 to 0-2 lead in the 16th minute.

The second score of that trio was a real beauty and served as a warning, if Sligo really needed it, of Cunningham’s immense talents.

Antrim’s plans were upset when midfielder Brendan Herron was forced off with a foot injury after 11 minutes, although his replacement, Aodhán Gallagher, was a more than able man to have on standby having won an AIB Club All-Ireland medal five weeks previously at the same venue with St Gall’s.

However, Antrim struggled in the midfield battle in the first half especially, with Tony Taylor and Gilmartin dominating the skies and winning plenty of possession from kick-outs.

Sligo looked sharp in attack and they had more than one man capable of doing damage up front. McGee twice beat Colin Brady to the ball and fired over a couple of impressive scores. Gilmartin chipped in with the first of his two points in the half as the Yeats men moved into a 0-5 to 0-3 lead.

Gallagher, the substitute midfielder, was only the second Antrim man to get his name on the scoresheet before Cunningham knocked over another free to level the game once again.

However, Sligo seemed to find another gear with ease and they kicked four points in a row to take control of the game going into the break. David Kelly created an opportunity for himself with a clever run and finished neatly, while Gilmartin added his second with the Antrim defence AWOL. McGee, a constant threat at corner forward, kicked his third point of the half.

Alan Costello’s score on the stroke of half-time gave Sligo a 0-9 to 0-5 lead at the break. That score illustrated the problems Antrim needed to sort out at the break, after the Sligo wing-forward soloed unchecked from the halfway line to pop the ball over the bar.

Antrim needed a bright start, but Liam Bradley’s side were further in arrears when McGee tapped over an early free.

But things looked decidedly less gloomy when Antrim’s attack finally started to click in the third quarter. Cunningham sent over his fifth point of the evening before Tomás McCann and CJ McGourty finally got off the mark.

The gap was down to two points, 0-10 to 0-8, prompting Sligo boss Kevin Walsh to call the messianic Eamon O’Hara off the bench.

Gerard O’Boyle reduced the gap to the minimum with a fine point after his introduction as a substitute, before Sligo hit another purple patch to wrestle back control of the game. Costello settled the Yeats men with a free, while Kelly gave his marker, Brady, the run around once again before Gilmartin kicked his third point from play to leave four points between the sides.

Sligo moved five points clear and appeared to be coasting to victory when the Glensmen hit back with the only goal of the game in the 59th minute. It was a trademark move, the ball moving through three sets of hands before midfielder Michael McCann slammed a low shot under the Sligo goalkeeper. The Ulster side trailed by 0-14 to 1-9 with ten minutes left.

But Sligo’s remarkable ability to find scores just when they needed them was in evidence again when substitute Cohen struck for the first of two delightful points and Breheny added another. In three minutes, Sligo had negated Antrim’s goal.

In a breathless final ten minutes, Ciaran Close responded with a point, but the Antrim substitute might have reaped a greater reward had he looked outside him and passed to an unmarked team mate. Cunningham reduced the gap to three with yet another free with two minutes left on the clock.

Crucially, McGee kicked the next score – his fifth of the evening – to leave four points between the sides, while Cohen added his third after coming on as a sub to round off a fine win.

Antrim: J Finucane, C Brady, A McLean, K O’Boyle, T Scullion,. J Crozier, S Kelly, M McCann (1-0), B Herron, T O’Neill, CJ McGourty (0-1), J Loughry, P Cunningham (0-6, 0-3f), M McGill, T McCann (0-1).

Subs: A Gallagher (0-1) for Herron, G O’Boyle (0-1) for McGill, C Close (0-1) for O’Neill, P Doherty for Kelly, A Douglas for McLean

Sligo: P Greene, C Harrison, N McGuire, R Donavan, K Cawley, M Quinn, J Davey, T Taylor, S Gilmartin (0-3), A Costello (0-1), M Breheny (0-4, 0-1f), F Quinn, C McGee (0-5, 0-1f), K Sweeney (0-1), D Kelly (0-2).

Subs: E O’Hara for Quinn, S Coen (0-3) for Sweeney

This entry was posted on Monday, April 26th, 2010 at 8:16 am and is filed under Homepage News.

Cavan’s Michael Finnegan and Paul Brady recorded a 21-11, 21-13 victory over 2009 champions, Dessie Keegan and Joe McCann (Mayo) in the GAA Handball Senior Doubles final at the St Coman’s, Roscommon yesterday (Saturday).

Brady and Finnegan produced some top handball in the closing stages of the second game to take their sixth title since 2003 and deny last year’s champions. Cavan controlled the opening game from start to finish, but it looked like the match might have gone to a third.

“We really had to dig deep for that win,” said Brady, who collected the All-Ireland Senior Singles title two weeks ago.

“In the second game, we were 11-7 down, and I suppose we were just concentrating on getting back level and then finishing it off; thankfully, we did.”

McCann and Keegan defeated the Breffni men in last year’s final and with a sell-out crowd for the game; the atmosphere at the Connacht venue was palpable.

“It’s a great venue and a fantastic club,” said the world number one, Brady.

“The atmosphere was something special and now the challenge to stay hungry for next year.”

In the Ladies Senior Singles final, Kerry’s Maria Daly defeated Antrim’s Aisling Reilly to take her third crown, while there was joy for Limerick’s Padraig O’Carroll and Eamon Davern in the Minor Doubes final, following their win over Galway’s Martin Mulkerrins and Seamus Ó Conghaile.

GAA HANDBALL RESULTS:

All-Ireland Finals, sponsored by O’Neills

Minor Doubles: Limerick (Padraig O Carroll/Eamon Davern) df Galway (Martin Mulkerrins/Seamus Ó Conghaile) 21-14, 21-18

Ladies Open Singles: Kerry (Maria Daly) df Antrim (Aisling Reilly) 21-17, 21-19

Men’s Open Doubles: Cavan (Paul Brady/Michael Finnegan) df Mayo (Dessie Keegan/Joe McCann) 21-11, 21-13

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 25th, 2010 at 9:18 am and is filed under Homepage News.

Venue: Lissan Training Grounds, Co Fermanagh
Tutors: Paul Callaghan
Info: This outdoor observation session will look at a number of games (Conditioned & Small Sided) to suit children aged between 7 and 12.

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 Paul Callaghan on 00353 868 066166.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 at 11:40 am and is filed under Events.

All Ireland Minor Champions Armagh are leading the way to encourage their peers to take care on the roads.

As part of Ulster GAA’s Live to Play Campaign, three clubs in County Armagh recently came together to promote road safety and at the same time raised all important funds for the Royal Victoria Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit in Belfast.

The initiative was led by St Mary’s GAA Club in Granemore and was supported by their two neighbouring clubs within the Cill Chluana Parish – namely Ballymacnab Round Towers and Clady Sean South Club.

Last year, Granemore Clubman and All Ireland winning Minor player Paudie Hollywood survived a horrific car accident.  Now well into his recovery, Paudie along with his club and family wanted to ensure that something positive came from his terrible ordeal.  So he got together, his friends on the Armagh Minor squad who won the All Ireland last year, for a showcase match against Cill Chluana Parish Select team.

The event was supported by a huge number of people and all donations were kindly received for the Royal Victoria Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit in Belfast.

Speaking after the event, Ulster GAA President Aogán Ó Fearghail stated, “This event highlights the positive power for good within the GAA.  An entire community have come together to support this worthy cause.   A young player who suffered a horrific road traffic accident has come through strongly and is determined to see something good emerge from his accident.

“I hope this message from the Armagh Minor Team will be heard loudly and clearly by young people across Ireland, to take care on the roads and make road safety a top priority.

“I commend the efforts of St Mary’s Granemore and their neighbouring GAA clubs in Ballymacnab and Clady for planning and organising this event, which has also raised much needed funds for the Royal Victoria Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit in Belfast.”

“This event compliments Ulster GAA’s Live to Play Campaign which is being rolled out across all counties in Ulster, with one strong message: for drivers to take more care on our roads.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 at 9:50 am and is filed under Homepage News.

Ulster GAA recently held a week of ‘fundays’ across County Armagh for Primary School children from across 17 different schools, to help develop children’s interest in participating in sport and to develop their skills and ability in a fun environment.

The ‘fundays’ were held across Silverbridge, St Paul’s Bessbrook and St Peter’s in Lurgan, with 130 children taking part in the activities

This initiative is part of Ulster GAA’s Schools Coaching Programme.  Speaking after the event, Ulster GAA President Aogán Ó Fearghail stated,

“These fundays are vital for encouraging young children to get involved in sport by learning skills in a fun and safe environment.  The efforts of Ulster GAA coaches across primary schools will help ensure that we have a new generation of young people who have a keen interest and love for the games.

“It is vitally important that young people are encouraged to participate in sport and to get active by taking part.

“There is no doubt, that the children from across County Armagh, who attended this fun-filled event, have found the experience enjoyable.

“It is also commendable that Ulster GAA coaches received support from Primary 7 pupils and GCSE PE pupils in the organising of this event and the on-day activities.  This shows there is a willingness of young people to mentor their younger peers and highlights the positive voluntary contribution many young people make to their communities.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 at 2:37 pm and is filed under Homepage News.

The resurfacing of the pitch at St Tiernach’s Park, Clones is almost complete, following a project carried  out by Prunty Contracts which commenced seven weeks ago and will, despite the recent inclement weather, be finished by today, Friday 16^th April.

There was 2,000 tonnes of sand, 2 km of drainage and 15,000 square metres of sod rolled out during this period and the pitch will be ready for Ulster Championship action in the near future.

Ulster GAA President, Aogan Ó Fearghail commented:

“This is a major upgrade to the playing surface of St Tiernach`s Park.  The work undertaken by Prunty and funded by Ulster Council GAA will ensure that the Clones pitch has a first class surface that will match the quality of players using it.  It is a significant investment that will further enhance this historic Ulster venue”.

The pitch that is being replaced now is the surface that was first used for the famous ‘Wet Sunday’ Ulster Final in 1993, between Donegal and Derry.  St Tiernach’s Park, Clones was opened in 1949 and current contractor Joe Pat Prunty actually worked on the initial draining of this surface in 1963.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 16th, 2010 at 1:09 pm and is filed under Homepage News.

An EXTRA week has been added on to the entry period of the Irish News Club & Volunteer Awards due to timing of the Easter holidays this year. The closing date for entries is now Friday 23rd April.

The are 3 specific award categories;

• Clubs
• Volunteers
• Schools – Primary schools & second level schools

There is a Special Recognition Urban Club award this year.
Full details available on www.irishnews.com/clubawards

This entry was posted on Friday, April 16th, 2010 at 12:14 pm and is filed under Homepage News.

Venue: Owenbeg, Co. Derry
Info: Club Maith is Ulster GAA’s accreditation scheme and club development tool for clubs. Clubs can come along to the Advice Nights to receive information on Club Maith and one-to-one guidance on how to complete a Club Maith application.

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

Contact: Should you have any queries please contact Maura Kelly on maura.kelly.ulster@gaa.ie

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 15th, 2010 at 1:08 pm and is filed under Events.

Venue: O’Donnells GAC, Whiterock Rd, Belfast
Info: Club Maith is Ulster GAA’s accreditation scheme and club development tool for clubs. Clubs can come along to the Advice Nights to receive information on Club Maith and one-to-one guidance on how to complete a Club Maith application.

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

Contact: Should you have any queries please contact Maura Kelly on maura.kelly.ulster@gaa.ie

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 15th, 2010 at 1:07 pm and is filed under Events.