Ulster GAA Newsletter

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Celebrating 125 Years of the GAA

To Mark the 125th Anniversary of the GAA the Ulster Council have organised a series of events which will commence on GAA Foundation Day on Sunday November 1st and continue right up the Ulster GAA Irish News Club and Volunteer Conference on Saturday November 14th.

This is a special time to celebrate the successes of our Association as well as remembering all of those volunteer members who worked tirelessly to build Ireland's largest sporting, cultural and community movement.

GAA Clubs across Ulster are asked to fly their 125 flag from 1st November-14th November to mark the GAA's 125th Anniversary, and we are also encouraging clubs to hold a special meeting on Sunday 1st November to mark Foundation day which may be followed by a religious service or social event.

Congratulations to all GAA members across Ulster; it is you that make the GAA both strong and successful, we appreciate your continued efforts and we are proud to be alongside you and all the members of Cumann Lúthchleas Gael throughout the world as we celebrate this part of the GAA's journey.

Tom Daly
President, Ulster GAA

Danny Murphy
Director, Ulster GAA

125 Balloon Launch

Friday 30th October:
@ Market Square, Armagh City - 11.00am

At 11am Tom Daly (Uachtarán,Ulster GAA) and Children representing each of Ulster's nine Counties will release 125 balloons in Market Square Armagh; home of Ceannaras Uladh, headquarters of Ulster GAA to mark GAA foundation weekend.

This will be followed by a ceremonial reading of Bishop Crokes letter.

Unveiling of GAA 125 Plaques

Saturday 31st October:
@ Various Club Grounds

To mark GAA 125, the officers of Comhairle Uladh will unveil 30 plaques at 30 GAA Club ground across Ulster to commemorate all deceased past President's and Secretaries of Ulster GAA.

Ulster Club Football Championship Quarter-Finals

Sunday 1st November:

Sunday 1st November will be the busiest weekend to date of Ulster Club Football Championship action, with 12 games taking place throughout the province.

(All games at 2.30pm unless otherwise stated)

Ulster Senior Football Club Championship Quarter Finals
Loup v Derrygonnelly at Celtic Park, Derry
Kilcoo v St Eunans at Pairc Esler, Newry
Clontibret v Dromore at St Tiernachs Park, Clones
St Galls v Pearse Og at Casement Park, Belfast

Ulster Intermediate Football Club Championship Quarter Finals
St Michael's v Fanad Gaels at Athletic Grounds, Armagh
Kinawley v Lavey at Brewster Park, Enniskillen
Ahoghill v Monaghan Harps at Loughgiel, Co Antrim
Ballymartin v Cookstown at Pairc Esler, Newry (12.45pm)

Ulster Junior Football Club Championship Quarter Finals
Shane O'Neills v Sean Dolans at Athletic Grounds, Armagh (12.45pm)
Newtownstewart v Emyvale at Healy Park, Omagh
St Teresa's v Butlersbridge at Casement Park, Belfast (12.45pm)
Belnaleck v Moville at Brewster Park, Enniskillen (12.45pm)

GAA 125 Lecture: GAA Founders with Ulster Families

Sunday 1st November:
@ Cardinal O'Fiaich Library and Archive, Armagh - 7.30pm

The strong family ties of two GAA founders with Ulster will provide the focus for the province's celebrations of the association's 125th birthday, in an event in the Cardinal Ó Fiaich Library and Archive, Armagh, on the evening of Sunday 1st November.

Exactly 125 years on from the inaugural meeting of the GAA in Thurles, the event in Armagh, run in conjunction with the Ulster Council, will outline recent discoveries about the Co. Down backgrounds of the wife of founder member Michael Cusack, Margaret (née Woods), and John McKay, who also attended that fateful meeting. Michael Anderson will deliver the first of two lectures, ‘The Cusack Connection: The founder of the GAA and his links to the Woods family of Dromore, Co. Down'. This talk will outline Michael Cusack's early career in Co. Down and the subsequent family tree of the Cusack and Woods families to the present day.

Kieran McConville will follow this with ‘The Search for John McKay', an account of several recent important findings about a largely forgotten GAA founder and secretary. It will reveal how McKay's unmarked grave was located in London in 2009 after many years of mystery, and how it emerged that he was actually a Co. Down native who worked as a journalist in four cities. The evening will also feature a special reading of GAA patron Dr. Croke's famous letter to Michael Cusack in 1884, which is often regarded as the founding charter of the association.

The evening, which is part of the ongoing Heritage Lottery Funded Outreach programme at the Ó Fiaich Library, begins at 7.30pm, and refreshments will be served afterwards. Admission is free and further details may be obtained by contacting Roddy or Dónal at the Cardinal Ó Fiaich Library on (028) 3752 2981 or at eolas@ofiaich.ie.

GAA 125 Book Launch

Wednesday 4th November:
@ St Colmans College, Newry - 7.00pm

With the assistance of launch partners ESB, ‘The GAA; A Peoples History' will be launched in Ulster at St. Colman's College Newry where GAA founding father Michael Cuasck once taught.

Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Críostóir Ó Cuana and Uachtarán Comhairle Uladh Tom Daly will be in attendance. The book is part of the Oral History Project commissioned by the Association as part of the 125 Celebrations and the project was undertaken by Boston College. The Social History, authored by Mike Cronin, Mark Duncan and Paul Rouse, includes a vast array of photographs and copies of official documentation and correspondence spanning the century and a quarter that the Association has been in existence. Priced at €30 and published by Collins Press, the book is now available in all reputable book stores across the country and can be purchased at the launch night.

Launch of the GAA People's Forest Project

Thursday 12th November:
Venue and Time TBC

Earlier this year Ulster Camogie and Ulster Ladies football, with the support of Ulster GAA have launched a conservation initiative which, with the help of a local Company (Back to Eden Ireland) aims to create a Peoples Forest by planting 10,000 ash saplings in various Ulster sites.

The significance of this project is that the Irish Ash tree has traditionally been used in the manufacture of hurling/camogie sticks. The planting of 10,000 saplings equates to one year's supply of the ash needed to sustain our games and meet the demand for 250,000 hurls per year.

As part of this initiative, we are delighted to invite all our clubs to participate in a unique and historic event. We will also have the opportunity to plant a further 1,000 ash saplings in a woodland area of the estate and these will also be clearly signed to acknowledge the contribution of the GAA and the celebration of its 125 years.

We are encouraging every Ulster GAA club to buy 5 saplings at a cost of £25/€30 each - a total of £125/€130. Each tree produces enough ash to manufacture 25 hurls meaning that when your trees reach maturity in 25 years they will represent 125 hurling/camogie sticks. Your Club will receive a specially designed certificate to acknowledge your contribution to the creation of a Peoples Forest to celebrate 125 years of the GAA. You may wish to dedicate your trees to individuals /events that have special significance in your club and the certificates will be produced accordingly. A percentage of the money raised will be used to develop Camogie and Ladies Gaelic football in Ulster. For more information Contact Mary Keegan on ulster@ladiesgaelic.ie.

Scór Concert

Saturday 14th November:
@ Saval GAA, Co Down - 7.30pm

As part of the 125 GAA anniversary events and in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Scór, Comhairle Uladh CLG will be hosting a Scór Concert, on Saturday 14th November 2009 at 7:30pm sharp, in Saval GAA complex.

It is expected to be an enjoyable evening full of music, song, dance and entertainment.

Admission will be by TICKET ONLY.

For further information, contact your County Scór committee.

Irish News Ulster GAA Club & Volunteer Conference

Saturday 14th November:
@ Armagh City Hotel - 9.00am

The third Irish News Ulster GAA Club and Volunteer conference will take place on Saturday 14th November in the Armagh City Hotel. The Irish News will once again act as Conference Partner in Ulster GAA's flagship non-games event which is focused at supporting club, volunteer and community development right across Ulster's nine Counties. The Ulster Council now supports over 250,000 volunteers working in 580 constituent GAA clubs and approximately 600 constituent educational units across the Province. The theme of this year's conference is
"Stronger Clubs, Better Communities; the legacy of the GAA's 125th Anniversary Year"

The event is the third of its kind following the outstanding success of the 2007 and 2008 Conferences. The conference will include a range of workshops, keynotes and discussion forums facilitated by leading GAA officials. Keynote speakers attending will be GAA President, Christy Cooney, Ulster GAA President Tom Daly and former GAA President and Community Leader Peter Quinn. This year the master of ceremonies is BBC Championship presenter Austin O'Callaghan.

There will be seven conference workshops this year, they include:

Physical Development in the GAA Club
Structured Giving - Self Fundraising in the Club
Child Protection in the GAA
Insurance in the Club
Enhancing Scor and Club Cultural Activities
ICT in the GAA Club
The GAA Development Plan
Communicating the GAA message at Club level
Lobbying Local Government for GAA Provision

The Conference will also see the launch of a new Confederation of Ulster Council's which will formally link the Ulster GAA with Ulster Councils for Ladies Gaelic Football, Camogie, Handball and Rounders in order to promote a holistic approach the development of Gaelic Games Community.

Ulster GAA President Tom Daly highlighted the significance of the conference:
"The success of our last two conferences highlighted the need for this event on annual basis as the Ulster Council is committed to supporting clubs in all areas of their development, the Community Development Staff support both the Clubs, Counties and Ulster Council in doing that. I am looking forward to seeing many of our club officials present at the conference and I confident that all present will benefit from the day. I would also highlight the important role of our conference partner the Irish News, I am grateful for their ongoing support in a range of matters and I am grateful for their continued outstanding coverage of Gaelic Games."

Irish News editor Noel Doran said:
"This is a significant initiative at a number of levels, and the agenda strongly reflects the progressive nature of the GAA in Ulster. The level of support which the last two conferences received was truly impressive, as was the commitment and enthusiasm of all the participants. The Irish News is delighted to endorse the event, and we look forward to another successful day on November 14."

There are still places available to register, please contact Maura Kelly on 028 (048) 3751 7180 or e-mail: maura.kelly.ulster@gaa.ie

You can also download the Conference Brochure and Booking Form.