DENI Key Stage 1 coach Owen Mooney recently organised a FUN day through the theme of Halloween in St Patricks Derrygonnelly. The theme was on Handling and involved activities related to bouncing, catching, throwing & hand passing as well as activities on what Halloween is about and why is is a good time of year to dress up and look scary.

The children had a great day in their spooky costumes and really enjoyed the activities.

Owen is pictured with P1 in St Patricks Derrygonnelly as well as his new puppet friend Genie, who was kindly given to him by the Principal Mrs Eileen Glynn.

Health Speak

DENI Key Stage 1 coach Owen Mooney organised Several Health Speak days during Halloween week. On Monday 24th Oct, Owen, as well as DENI Key Stage 1 coach Teresa McNabb and Ulster Games Manager Terence McWillams were in the Moat Controlled P.S. and Thursday 27th was spent in Aughdrumsee Controlled P.S. This is the 3rd year that these days have been available for schools to take advantage of and they are proving a huge success due to their interactive health activities, health games, team games and poster sessions.

Pictured are Primary 1 and 2 children from St Nailes Kinawley who had their Health Speak day on Tuesday 25th Oct. Primary 2 teacher Colleen Melanophy “The Health day was a great way of getting the children aware of how their bodies work and what is important to keep you healthy. All the children as well as the staff thoroughly enjoyed the day.”

Fermanagh Secondary school day

Over 80 eager boys and girls turned up in Lissan, Co. Fermanagh last Thursday the 20th of October 2011 for Hurling and Camogie’s first joint secondary school blitz.

Following on from schools receiving some expert coaching from Fermanagh’s newly appointed Hurling Development Officer Paul Divilly the day was devised to give as many boys and girls in Fermanagh the chance to try out Hurling and Camogie and enjoy playing the game.

After evaluating the success of this Come and Try it Day and the interest and skill level shown by participants this is just the first of many new exciting initiatives in store for the young Hurling and Camogie players of Fermanagh.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 6:07 pm and is filed under Blog.

Over 200 children aged between 6 and 8 years old from the North Derry primary schools enjoyed a full day of GAA fun at Roe Valley Leisure Centre, Limavady provided by the Ulster GAA KS1 coaches. Across three indoor halls the future GAA stars took part in small sided games and FUNdamental skill stations based on handling skills they have been developing during their PE lessons with their coach. Similar events will be staged in South Derry and in the city later in the school year focussing on kicking and striking skills.

Hurling Blitz

On Tuesday 22nd November, the Derry Coaching staff organised a very successful Hurling Blitz for Key Stage 1 children in Lavey GAC. The event was attended by 5 schools, each with an “A” team and a “B” team. The event was aimed at increasing the boys’ ground striking ability, with each school playing a total of 8 games each. It was a very worthwhile day with a total of 68 boys participating and everyone having a fun filled time.

A special thanks must go to Derry Key Stage one coaches Fionntan O Dowd and Ruairi Convery who helped co-ordinate and organise the day. The County hopes to follow up on this successful days hurling with an outdoor key stage blitz in the Spring.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 6:05 pm and is filed under Blog.

On Saturday the 12th of November 2011 Donegal Camogie County Board held its first Camogie Referee Course for its clubs.

Six clubs were represented with 15 participants taking part. Top Camogie Referee and Tutor Una Kearney delivered the course. With the high standard of tutoring and of the participants attending the course, refereeing standards in Donegal are set to hit new heights.

It is an exciting time for Camogie in Donegal with the increase in the number of new clubs. With the county’s fixtures expanding every year these newly qualified referees are set for a busy 2012.

A huge thank you to Una Kearney for delivering the course and sharing her expert knowledge and experience. Thank you also to the Donegal Camogie county board, the Donegal clubs for their participation and the St Eunans club for the use of their facilities and their hospitality on the day.

All Referees are now available to referee in the 2012 season. To book any of these Referees please contact your local club or if you are outside the county contact can be made with Camogie county secretary Mary McWilliams who has contact details for all these newly qualified referees.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 6:04 pm and is filed under Blog.

This week past hurlers from 4 schools in West Tyrone ventured into the unknown and participated as an amalgamated team in the Casement Cup, an u18 Ulster Colleges hurling competition for the first time ever.

This team is made up of players from Holy Cross College, Strabane, Sacred Heart College, Omagh, St Ciaran’s College, Ballygawley and Omagh CBS.

The players have been training together once a week in Omagh CBS from the start of September to take part in this initiative backed by the Schools, Tyrone County Board and Ulster Colleges.

On Tuesday 4^th October the 4 weeks training was put to the test against St Colman’s from Co Down in a fiercely contested first game played in good conditions at Sherry Field in Armagh.  A good start to the competition and first win under the new teams belt. West Tyrone 3-7 to St Colman’s 0-11.

West Tyrone ventured south to Clonmore GAC in Armagh for the second of their round games in the Casement Cup. They faced La Salle from Belfast in this tie and it was sure to be a tough encounter.

The weather did not lend itself to hurling as the winds blew strong from one end of the pitch.  The game finished West Tyrone 3-6 La Salle 4-12.

West Tyrone, due to the win in game 1 progressed to the Quarter Final stage of the competition the week of 10^th October were they faced Antrim side St Louis of Ballymena.

On Friday 14 October, West Tyrone entered the Quarter final stages of the Casement Cup and faced St Louis’ School, Ballymena.

In a tough encounter at Swatragh GAC in South Derry the Tyrone outfit put the first point on the board.

St Louis’ responded well and very quickly to notch notch up 1-2 before West Tyrone got another 2 point on the scoreboard.

The Antrim side took control of the game after 25 minutes and really put it up to the Tyrone lads for the remainder of the half.  The Loughgiel youngster Dan McCloskey lead the way for the Antrim outfit.

However, for the amount of possession the score board only read St Louis’ 2-7, West Tyrone 1-4 going in at the break.

The second half got underway with a goal chance for St Louis only for the Tyrone keeper, Tiernan Cox to save well and push out for a 65 which was duly converted.

Gerard Gilmore got to grips with McCloskey and held him from doing anymore damage. However the Louis’ side stepped it up for the 10minutes at the start of the half and converted 4 points and hit the net twice in that time with only a 1-3 return from the Tyrone side.

Heading into the last 10 minutes the lads from Tyrone took the game to the Antrim side and hit the net again and piled on the pressure in the closing minutes but the St Louis’ outfit had done enough and the game finished on a scoreline of St Louis’s 5-12 to 3-7.

A great effort was given by the lads who deserve credit for committing themselves to this competition and maybe next year we can go one better.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 6:02 pm and is filed under News.

The Olympics came to Antrim on Monday 21st November in an Olympic Funday organised by the IFA and GAA. The event was aimed at raising awareness of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and also to raise awreness of the IFA/GAA Primary School Programme. Over 100 children from Parkgate PS, Rathenraw Integrated PS and St Comgall’s PS took part in the event which was aimed at P3/4 children of all abilities. The event gave children the opprtunity to take part in different Olympic and Paralympic sports such as seated volleyball and the javelin. The event was organised by IFA coach Colin Roden and Ulster GAA coach Eoghan Gribbin.

The Olympic Fun Day gave children the opportunity to practice skills such as throwing and catching which they learn with their IFA/GAA coach on a weekly basis.

Colin Roden IFA Primary School Coach Antrim commented, “The day was a huge success and with less than 250 days until the opening ceremony of London 2012, the day gave the children a chance to participate in Olympic sports they may never have tried or even heard of before. A huge thanks goes out to all teachers, children and IFA/GAA coaches involved in the successful event.”

Children were split into different Olympic countries and they designed a poster to represent their country. All children also received an Olympic Gold medal for taking part in the event. The profile of the event was further raised by guest appearances from IFA President Jim Shaw, IFA Chief Executive Patrick Nelson, Antrim Lord Mayor Paul Michael and Ulster GAA’s Secretary Danny Murphy, Games Development Manager Terence Mc Williams and Regional Development Officer Diarmaid Marsden.

Ulster GAA Primary School Coach Eoghan Gribbin added “Todays event showcased partnership working between sporting organisations and the impact sport can have on a community. It not only allowed for children to participate in a variety of Olympic and Paralympic games but also provided a platform for friendships to be developed. I would like to echo Colin’s sentiments in expressing my thanks to the Antrim Forum, Coaches from GAA/IFA, Schools, Children and Special Guests in attendance.”

Antrim After Schools Programme

St Brigid’s Primary School and St Patrick’s High School Ballymena have shown how both schools can work in partnership to develop the learning of their students through an after schools initiative set up by DENI Primary Schools Coach Eoghan Gribbin. The students of St Patrick’s High School give their time to gain experience in coaching the children of St Brigid’s Primary School during their after school Gaelic Club. It provided an opportunity for the students to attain a foundation award coaching certificate and for the children to receive coaching from enthusiastic young coaches.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 6:01 pm and is filed under Blog.

The finals of the Scullion Hurls 7 a sides were played on Friday 4th November at Casement Park

In the B semi finals , Lamh Dhearg defeated Gort na Mona and Kickhams Creggan defeated Tir na nOg . In the A semi finals , Cuchullains defeated Glenshesk , with Mc Quillans coming out on top over St Endas by a point

The B final was then played with Creggan Kickhams emerging winnners over Lamh Dhearg and in the A final Mc Quillans overcame Cuchullains

After both finals , Michael Scullion presented the 10 players from Kickhams and 10 from Mc Quillans with their specially made trophies. He also presented the wining clubs with a Hurley marking their wins in the blitzes.

Thanks to Michael Scullion for his sponsorship of the prizes. Thanks to the players and their coaches. Referee on the night was Pat Mc Caffrey St Galls.

Hurling Nursery Workshop

Thanks to all coaches, children and parents who attended workshop at Halla Mor , 174 Trust , Antrim Road Belfast for Antrim’s Hurling nursery workshop.

Patrick Pearses Gac arranged for the hall and for their younger members to come along to assist the coaches. It was great to see some many of the parents staying , hopefully they will become involved in the club.

Coaches also attended from Naomh Eanna, Eire Og and Ard Eoin , there was 19 in total. Areas covered : warm up/ fun games / equipment/ skills and Road to Croker

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 5:42 pm and is filed under Blog.

BT MacNamee Cup Final:
St Mary’s Belfast 2-7 St Killian’s Garron Tower 2-3

A goal 7 minutes from time looked as if it was going to change this enthralling BT MacNamee Cup in Ballymena recently.

A handling mistake in defence from a long Daniel Black delivery left an easy chance for St Killian’s corner-forward Ronan McCambridge to slot home their second goal. It put them a point up with the wind at their backs.

However St Mary’s rose to the challenge and hit an unanswered 1-2 in the last 5 minutes to snatch a victory their overall contribution to the game probably deserved.

Firstly Shea Shannon levelled the match 1-6 to 2-3 with his third point from a free, and then with 3 minutes to go, Dominic McElhill’s free was grabbed by Conor J McKenna. McKenna fired in a shot from 30 metres that sub Oisin McVicker deflected past St Killian’s goalie Paul McMullan. McElhill popped over a late insurance point.

McMullan was brilliant in goals for the Tower, particularly during the first half, as was Shane O’Connor at midfield, while Conall McAteer, Scott Walsh and Liam Gillan, closed out many St Mary’s attacks.

However the Belfast boys carried the game to them into the wind, with the McKenna twins, Nathan Gibson, Barry O’Neill and Colm McLarnon particularly effective, while Tiernan Murphy and Shea Shannon were very quick on to ball in space.

Murphy took advantage after 13 minutes to open the scoring by stroking home after Devine’s centre was not properly dealt with by the Garron Tower defence.

However after 20 minutes St Mary’s were only 1-2 up with the strong breeze on their backs and St Killian’s were growing in confidence.

Magee pointed a free and then, in the 24th minute, O’Connor and Black were involved before Leo Morgan picked up the centre and slotted home a goal.

David Kilgore added a point but Tiernan Murphy responded with a similar score – the difference between the teams at the break.

St Mary’s continued to dominate general play, but could only add points from a Shannon free and an excellent solo effort from Colm McKenna.

However the goal from St Killian’s proved to be the spur St Mary’s needed and they finished strongest to win back the Cup.

St Mary’s Belfast : Eoghan McCabe, Manus Smith, Barry O’Neill, Niall McCann, Aodhan O’Brien, Nathan Gibson, Dominic McEnhill 0-1 free, Colm McLarnon 0-1, Odhran McKenna, Shea Shannon 0-3 frees, Conor J McKenna, Mark Cunningham, Conell Devine 0-1, Martin McPoilin, Tiarnan Murphy 1-1.
Subs : Oisin McVicker 1-0 for M McPolin (50).

St Killian’s : Paul McMullan, Sean Murphy, Liam Gillan, Edward McQuillan, Scott Walsh, Conal McAteer, Shane Magill, Shane O’Connor, Francis McCurry, Murray Emerson, Eoin Magee (captain), Leo Morgan, David Kilgore, Daniel Black, Ronan McCambridge.
Subs : Oliver McLarnon for M Emerson (57).

Referee : Cathair Cunning (Dunloy).

Pic: John McIlwaine

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 5:32 pm and is filed under Blog.

A touring party of young people from South Africa spent a day at St Mary’s University College, Belfast on Thursday 13th October. During the day the girls were coached Gaelic Games by GAA Development Officer Ryan Mellon and Year 3 PE Students.

The Group are part of the Out of Africa Christian Organisation, who, provide extra schooling and sports for young people from townships in George, Western Cape in South Africa.

The aim of the Sports Academy is to transform and develop the next generation of young people through sports, whereby, they teach students the value and responsibly of being part of a team, being accountable to themselves and the rest of their teammates.

It is anticipated that those on the program will set an example to their peers and become catalysts for change in their school, sports team and community.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 5:27 pm and is filed under Blog.

The Live to Play Roadshow was on the move again this month with 3 events taking place in Derry and Antrim. Coleraine Eoghan Rua, An Lúb and Glenravel were the host Clubs, with other GAA clubs in the areas attending on the night.

Live to Play is the Ulster GAA’s Road Safety Awareness programme and is delivered to Clubs in conjunction with the County boards. Paul Gaile (Derry) and Tony McCollum (Antrim) co-ordinated events for their respective Counties and deserve great credit for their efforts in making them a success. The host Clubs themselves are also to be commended for endorsing the importance of safety on the roads by promoting the Campaign.

Further events are planned for 2012 and it is hoped that during the winter period that GAA members are mindful of the Live to Play messages and stay safe on the roads.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 5:20 pm and is filed under Blog.

Forty eight young men from Hydebank took part in a Game of Three Halves event on Sunday 30th October. Ulster GAA, Ulster Rugby, the I.F.A coaches delivered coaching of the basic skills from each of the sports, drawing the day to a close with an opportunity to play a game of each sport. Peaceplayers International were on-hand to deliver some thought-provoking discussions to correspond with the positive impact on the young men trying new sports in a team environment.

Ulster GAA’s involvement came about as a result of their partnership in the Game of Three Halves initiative, in conjunction with the I.F.A and Ulster Rugby. Ulster GAA’s Diarmaid Marsden and Tony Scullion were very impressed with the positive response, and enthusiasm from the participants. Hydebank management were grateful of the professionalism of all coaches involved and welcomed plans to extend the programme to other sections of their operations.

For more information on the Game of Three Halves contact Maura Kelly on maura.kelly.ulster@gaa.ie

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 5:18 pm and is filed under Blog.

World Handball Ladies champion, Belfast’s Fiona Shannon joined the pupils of Holy Cross Boys’ Primary School this week to help launch their new One-Wall Handball facility recently installed at the school. The school has competed successfully for the past decade in the 4-Wall version of Handball, but the latest craze of the One-Wall code has been welcomed.

GAA Handball Ireland Chief Executive Officer, Chris Curran, made the boys aware of the possibility of One-Wall Handball being an Olympic sport in the not too distant future, and that he hoped to see some of the boys at the World Handball Championships 2012, scheduled for the City West hotel in Dublin, next October.

World champ, Shannon, GAA Handball Development Officer, Darragh Daly and former pupil and current under 21 Ulster singles winner, Sean Clarke were on hand to pass on some advice for the pupils to improve on their technique and skills.

“It’s a great day for the school and we know the boys will benefit greatly from this new facility in the school hall,” said Handball Coordinator, Ciaran Curran.

“The local GAA club, Ardoyne Kickhams has always helped and supported the school in all GAA activities over the years and that has been the key reason as to why the boys have been able to get introduced to the game.”

“Now with two one wall courts in our own school hall, we can really push forward in developing the game. Handball has so many benefits for the children as it enhances their hand and eye coordination and there are obvious health benefits.”

The visit to the school can be viewed on TG4 in the New Year as part of the GAA Handball programme.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 4:47 pm and is filed under Blog.

The Ulster Council Coach Education Programme continues to evolve as we move into autumn/spring 2011/12.

Ulster GAA has just completed an Award 2 Football Youth & Adult Course in St Patrick’s College, Armagh. This course was run over 2 consecutive weekends from Friday to Sunday. The quality of the coaches and the course content was excellent and the coaches were challenged throughout.

The course was attended by 30 coaches from Armagh, Cavan, Monaghan, Tyrone, Down, Antrim and Derry.

See table below for course content:

Award 2 Spring 2012
Ulster Coaching and Games will be rolling out an Award 2 Adult Football/Hurling Course on the weekends of the 10, 11, & 12th and 17, 18, & 19th February. If you currently hold a Level 1 Certificate in youth or adult coaching you can apply to do this course. All expressions of interest need to be e-mailed to Roger Keenan at roger.keenan.ulster@gaa.ie prior to 16th December.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 4:40 pm and is filed under Blog.

Following on from the success of two successful years of the Club Officer Training Programme Ulster GAA has announced details for the third annual Club Officer Training Programme.

The Club Officer Training Programme is a half-day county event for all club officers.  It aims to support club officers in their roles as GAA Officials in 2012 while also providing a networking opportunity for club officers to meet people from other clubs in similar positions.

The 2012 Programme will run every Saturday from January to April 2012 and will include two key events:

Club Officer Training for NEW Officers: This training is for people new to their officer role across all clubs in Ulster.  It will provide role specific training for Chairpersons, Secretaries, Treasurers, PROs, Children’s Officers, Coaching Officers, Cultural and Community Officers and Club Development Officers.  This training is free to access and will take place on Saturday 14^th January from 10am to 1pm in Holy Trinity School, Cookstown.  Lunch will be provided by Ulster GAA and registration is vital.

Club Officer Development Course: This course is to develop the skills and knowledge base of all club officers in Ulster.  A Club Officer Development Course will be held in every county in Ulster and all clubs are required under Club Maith to have representatives at this course.  The Development Course will explore the key issues facing GAA Club official including: Integration – the One Club Model, Developing a Club Plan, Applying for Club Maith, Club Finance Toolkit, Healthy Clubs and Respect & Discipline.

The dates and venues of this training in each county are as follows:

January

• Saturday 14th January – Training for NEW Club Officers, Holy Trinity School, Cookstown
• Saturday 21st January – Armagh Club Officer Training, Morgan Athletic Grounds

February

• Saturday 4th February – Derry Club Officer Training, St Patrick’s School Dungiven
• Saturday 11th February – Antrim Club Office Training, TBC
• Saturday 18th February – Tyrone Club Officer Training, Loreto Grammar School, Omagh

March

• Saturday 3rd March – Down Club Officer Training, St Malachy’s School Castlewellan
• Saturday 10th March – Monaghan Club Officer Training, St Macartan’s College Monaghan
• Saturday 24th March – Cavan Club Officer Training, Kingspan Breffini Park
• Saturday 31st March – Fermanagh Club Officer Training, St Michael’s School Enniskillen

April

• Saturday 21st April – Donegal Club Officer Training, Deele College Raphoe

Anyone wishing to registration for these events should email sharon.haughey.ulster@gaa.ie

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 4:36 pm and is filed under Blog.

Ulster GAA has entered into an exciting new partnership with the Department of Health which will see Defibrillator training offered to Clubs. Many Clubs in Ulster have sourced Defibrillators but the cost of having members trained and this training refreshed can prove costly. It is hoped that this initiative will make training more affordable for Clubs and result in the GAA offering defibrillator training in house.

As per arrangement with the Department, the initiative is at pilot phase and a select number of Clubs have been offered training on an initial basis. A review will follow and the likely outcome is that the Initiative will allow for expansion with Clubs throughout Ulster benefiting from the scheme.
In the interim Clubs who’s members training has expired are asked to seek refresher training from a reputable source and continue to check their equipment on a daily or weekly basis.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 4:34 pm and is filed under Blog.

The Ulster GAA in partnership with Open College Network is currently running a fully accredited course in Performance Sports Coaching which will be followed up in early spring with a similar course in Performance Sports Management. These courses are pitched at the same difficulty and complexity as A-Level or Leaving Cert. The objective is to reward the hard work undertaken by many volunteers in clubs and schools and provide them with the opportunity to bring this into a formal qualification. In times of economic hardship and unemployment, the GAA Club environment can help people develop new skills and competencies that they can use when seeking employment.

Our long term vision is to have a number of mandatory units / modules that we Ulster GAA offer our volunteers. These will build into certificates in respective areas. If the volunteer over time takes a number of these they can begin to build a qualification at level 3 / 4 by taking these mandatory modules and then by accessing further optional modules that exist within the Qualifications Credit Framework. This we envisage would potentially build into a “Degree in GAA Related Studies”.

Ulster GAA Level 3 Diploma in Performance Team Management Programme.

This programme is being delivered at the request of coaches who have made the transition from coach to manager. It recognises that coaching and managing have significant similarities but it also recognises that they are different. The series of workshops will take the coach/manager through a programme that will help explore the critical managerial areas to help develop understanding, competencies and abilities to apply critical thinking, problem solving and decision making skills.

This interactive programme is being delivered by GAA and Coaching Ireland Qualified Tutors and practicing managers and the subject areas will evolve around the following topics. This programme provides the basis to build further qualifications that are currently being delivered to volunteers. See table below:

It is envisaged that candidates applying for these two courses will need to have a minimum of Award 1 and be actively involved with their adult club, college or county team. See application form attached.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 4:31 pm and is filed under Blog.