Castlewellan GAC

Down Under 14 Camogie Player for 2010 at last Friday night’s County Camogie Awards in the Club writes Martin MaClean. This will sit along with her Down Under 14 Footballer of the Year for 2010 award which she collected last November. Congratulations to Aoife along with Ciara Gibson and Amy McAleenan who were part of the Assumption Grammar Ballynahinch Team who won the Ulster Title against Our Lady’s of Newry last week. Unfortunately they were unsuccessful in their All-Ireland Semi Final against Trim from Meath who defeated them by 5 points. Good luck to Michael Cunningham and his St Colman’s colleagues who will go head to head with St Jarlath’s Tuam in the Hogan Cup Final at Croke Park this Saturday. [caption id="attachment_22237" align="alignleft" width="292" caption="Mark Stratton in action. "][/caption] Commiserations to Paddy Boyle and his team mates who were finally defeated by Tyrone in last Wednesday’s second replay in the Ulster U-21 Championships. Paddy put in three great shifts at full back in all the games but in the end Tyrone were victorious The Under-8 hurlers made the journey over the water to Portaferry on Saturday to play in the first go-games blitz of the year and performed really well with some great scores, strikes and blocks. Both teams competed strongly in all games. The standard of Hurling was a joy to watch with one team defeating Carryduff, Portaferry and Ballycran while the other town team drew with Portaferry and Ballygalget losing narrowly to Ballycran. Thanks to all the parents who provided transport and gave great encouragement to the boys. Indoor training will go ahead for the last time this Thursday at 6.15pm in St. Malachy’s Primary. Outdoor Hurling training for all Under 6 to Under 12 boys continues on Saturday morning at 10.00. Sticks and sliotars will be available for purchase. Any parent looking to purchase a Hurling helmet for their children should contact Aidan Rodgers as he will be able to provide this important piece of gear at a competitive price. Castlewellan will host an Under-10 Hurling blitz in St Malachy’s Park at 1.00pm. All players are asked to be there for 12.30pm. The Under-16 Hurlers fell short this week against a strong Newry Shamrocks who beat them comprehensively. The Under -12 footballers enjoyed a great day out on Saturday when they were guests of The Fingalians Club in Swords. Games [caption id="attachment_22238" align="alignright" width="232" caption="Colm Crilly playing fro the Town. "][/caption] were arranged in conjunction with the NFL match with Dublin.. The lads and their mentors were well received by the hosts. The hospitality provided was second to none. They enjoyed a great game with their hosts who came out on top then afterwards on to Croke Park for the big game. Thank you to all who helped out on the day to make it a memorable occasion for the team. Our Senior Hurling Team had a busy weekend. On Saturday they made the long journey to Killyclogher in Tyrone and came away with the points winning 3-10 to 4-4 in the Ulster league against Cappagh Gaels. Ahead 3-3 to 3 points at half time the town conceded two quick goals after the break as Cappagh fought back. The greens steadied the ship against the breeze as the home team pressed for a late equalising score. On Sunday they played in the inaugural Paddy McCartan Memorial Cup Competition hosted by the Liatriom Fontenoys in memory of their vice chairman and loyal club man who passed away suddenly last year. The Town beat Ballela in the semi-final but fell short against a more experienced Liatriom team in the final. Thank you to Liatriom for the invite to this tournament. The Town Seconds Team hosted Loughinisland at the Bann Road on Sunday past, and came out winners with the score line 1-16 to 2-10.  Best for the town were Mark Stratton, Colm Crilly & Sean Russell.  Brendan Bannon’s showed all his scoring prowess with a long range point which was the pick of the scores. The Minors footballers had another useful workout on Monday last in a challenge match against Killeavy from Armagh. A good all round performance was rewarded with Kevin Sweeney’s Stew after the game. Thankfully everyone was able to attend training by last weekend! Can we remind all members of the clothes collection in aid of club funds which will take place on 26th April. All clean clothes, belts, shoes, coats or anything which can be worn please contact Noreen Keown and she will arrange for collection.  The Doc will clean out his wardrobe for this. The Coaches night which was arranged for 9th April 2011 has now been put back until Saturday 30th April with Tom McCann providing the entertainment. Last week we inadvertently give the wrong telephone number for Miceal Crilly in relation to our heart screening programme for our younger players. The telephone number is 07920875642. The deadline for submitted applications is 7th April 2011. All applications must be accompanied by the £35.00 fee. This is a very worthwhile programme which will be provided in the Club later on in April. The coaching schedule for all our underage teams will remain the same as in previous weeks. Wednesday Night will see a return to Camogie for The Castlewellan Ladies for the first time in many years. They will play their first match in Ballela. If you are not doing too much please go along and support them. A rumour was going around that Gavin would be in action this weekend in Croke Park. Sadly this won’t be the case. Some Town men are very disappointed as they thought their names would be up there with other Town men who have graced the hallowed turf. Maybe they will by next 1^st April next year. In 1978 one of the best musical films of all time was released. Grease starring Olivia Newton John and John Travolta had the Hit “You’re the one that I want”. This was rein-acted in last weekend’s C-Factor run by the Down Camogie Board in the Club. The culprits Betty & Noreen along with the T Birds and Pink Ladies rolled out their best singing voices in taking on the might of the County’s vocal and acting talent. They belted and screeched out the lyrics as best they could taking the Town into third place in the competition which was won by Ben Dearg with the runner’s up being Clonduff. Well done to our girls for a real good effort. That said they definitely won’t be taking any bookings! The tote numbers for the 03/04/11 were 10, 16, 17 & 23 There were two £20 winners – Molly McAlinden and Miceal Crilly – Jackpot next week £5900.]]>