AGM 2007

Chairman's Address

I would like to extend thanks to the mentors, trainers, players and supporters of the various teams from senior level right down to under 8 level. While we had no major title wins in 2007 I would like to use my address to review an active year for the club.

At senior level a great effort was put in at the start of the year, there was excellent commitment to training. Results did not go our way in the championship campaign and probably the dropped point in the opening match put us under pressure from the outset. I would like to thank the players for their efforts during the year, also thanks to the mentors Mattie Kenny, Dermot Fahy and Joe Callanan. Mattie Kenny leaves us after two years and I would like to thank him for his commitment to the club in the two years. I would also like to also welcome the incoming manager Fergal O Loughlin the very best of luck in the year ahead.

At Junior and Under 21 level, it was a case of what might have been. The juniors got their campaign off to a great start but failed to build on that momentum. Thanks to the players, manager Michael Brennan and mentors Charlie Niland, Gabriel Gardiner and Michael Howley. The Under 21’s beat Athenry in their opening game but subsequently bowed out to the same opposition in the preliminary quarter final, thanks to manager Dermot Fahy and mentors Vincent Mullins and Joe O Leary.

The Juvenile officers will present their report later but I would like to congratulate the under 14s for their excellent performances this year. They lifted the hearts of the parish with their tremendous displays in the feile competition and achieved some reward in winning the league title. Congratulations to all involved. To those who looked after the other juvenile teams well done on your efforts during the year. A lot of people give freely of their time and should be applauded for this.

I would like to thank our sponsor Declan Gardiner for his generous sponsorship over the next three years and to thank sincerely our out going sponsors Charlie Niland and Gerry Hennelly.

Thanks to Adrian Quinn for his sponsorship of our Golf Classic and to Pat Quinn for his continued sponsorship of lotto printing. Also thanks to all our other sponsors during the year.

Thanks to those who work hard on the weekly lotto under the baton of Treasurer Gabriel Gardiner who diligently looks after our financial affairs. We are lucky to have a Pat Geoghegan looking after our facilities and I would like to thank him for his work in maintaining our playing grounds during the year.

I would like to thank our officers at senior and juvenile level for their efforts during 2007. I would also like to thank juvenile chairman Gerry Glynn a speedy recovery, his efforts in running the juvenile club are to be warmly applauded. He left no stone unturned during the year.

I would like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a happy and peaceful Christmas and to wish the club all the best in the year ahead.

Secretary’s Report

The 2007 campaign saw no major honours coming to the club but reaching the feile final, winning the under 14 league, reaching the under 16 semi final and good work being done at juvenile level bodes well for the future.

My report will go through the various team outcomes for the year as well as congratulating various people for achievements during the year and thanking various parties for their support during the year.

Seniors

Training commenced in January under manager / trainer Mattie Kenny and selectors Joe Callanan and Dermot Fahy. The first game of the year was played on February 18th a challenge game victory over Turloughmore.

League action commenced on March 3rd with a work man like two goal victory over Beagh. Numerous challenge games against teams in Galway, Clare and Offaly were played before the next league outing against Kinvara played on April 18th which saw the seniors clock up their second league victory with a four point win over the eventual county finalists. Two days later in a bad tempered affair we lost our first league game of the campaign to eventual county champions Portumna.

Championship action commenced on the 5th May with a disappointing draw with Liam Mellows. It is a game we never really took control of and with a late penalty goal putting us ahead, we looked as if we could have snatched the two points on offer. However some late dubious refereeing decisions rescued a point for Mellows. In reality however we should have Mellows put away before that. The next group game ended in a two goal defeat to Clarinbridge on May 27th. One point after two games put pressure on the senior panel and to their credit they responded with a hard fought win over Ballindereen on the 3rd June in a game which had a lot riding on it. Winning meant we were very much back in the championship hunt, loosing would have left us staring at the relegation battle. The last group game against Loughrea on the 17th June ended with a heart breaking three point defeat, with the result in question right up to the final whistle and in my opinion the better team on the day lost. Mellows shock win over Clarinbridge meant that the seniors were left in fourth position in the group and finished with championship hurling for 2007.

Due to a large number of teams forfeiting points, the seniors have qualified for a league semi final meeting with Athenry in a game yet to be played.

From the outside looking in it is very easy to be critical. However I have to stand behind the effort put in by the senior panel and management team during the campaign. Their dedication to training and their willingness to travel all over the county and beyond to play challenge games and to travel back from college mid week for training is to be applauded.

This group is so very close to a major breakthrough and the work which they have already commenced for 2008 hopefully will see this breakthrough materialise in the very near future. The players are to be applauded for their initiative in training away on Friday nights over the last number of weeks and their pro active approach in setting the wheels in motion for 2008. Looking at what Kinvara achieved in 2007, there is no doubt we have the potential to match and surpass their achievements in the year ahead.

Thanks to the panel of players, captain Damian O Shaughnessy and management team of Mattie Kenny, Dermot Fahy and Joe Callanan for their efforts during 2007.

Mattie Kenny leaves us after a two year stint and I would like to convey the clubs best wishes to him in the future.

Juniors

In 2007 the club entered junior teams at B and for the first time at junior C level.

Junior B action commenced on the 10th March with a win over St Columbas in a league outing. Further league wins over Barna Furbo on the 19th March, Sarsfields on the 15th April, St Thomas’s on the 28th April and Killimordaly on the 11th May. Saw the Junior B’s top their league group and qualify for the quarter final stage.

Championship action commenced on 4th June when the juniors ground out a hard fought win over Padriag Pearses, this was followed by a two goal win over Killimordaly on the 28th June. A comprehensive win over Ahascragh Fohenagh on the 8th July left the juniors in a comfortable position at the top of their group with three wins from three. However a week later the junior campaign was rocked with a heavy loss to Rahoon Newcastle in a game played in Clarinbridge on 15th July. The juniors still qualified for the knockout stages of the championship which was not played until the 26th August when they suffered a defeat to eventual county finalists Abbeyknockmoy.

Subsequently the juniors were also beaten in the quarter final of the league, loosing to Moycullen on the 30th September.

It is a case of yet again the junior B’s failed to deliver on their undoubted potential. During 2007 progress was made and in 2008 this group of players need to make a commitment to make a serious bid for championship honours.

The junior C’s played their first game on the 13th May in a challenge game played in a bitterly cold Gort. Entering the championship only, games were played against Menlo Emmets and Athenry. Games were arranged against Liam Mellows and Spiddal but both teams cried off at last minute due to being unable to field a team. This year was a case of testing the water and in my opinion it is worth persisting with in the year ahead. It gives an outlet for people who either can not make a junior B team but also gives a “social” outlet for those not interested in competitive hurling. It gives more people an opportunity to play a game of hurling in a not so seriously taken environment.

Thanks to both panels of players, Manager Mick Brennan, his trusty lieutenants Charlie Niland, Michael Howley and Gabriel Gardiner and respective captains Rory Burke and Declan Maloney.

Under 21

The 2007 campaign got under way with a challenge victory over Sarsfields on March 11th before the first championship outing of the year against Athenry played in Ballinasloe on the 25th March which resulted in a narrow one point victory over Athenry. The second round game against Liam Mellows was played in Athenry on 14th April. Unfortunately, Ardrahan ended on the wrong side of a ten point margin. However with the back door system in place for the under 21 championship this result meant that instead of qualifying for the quarter final we qualified for a preliminary quarter final and as fate would have it Athenry were to be the opposition yet again.. In the weeks leading up to the Preliminary quarter final challenge games were played against Kilnadeema Leitrim and Mullagh. The Athenry game itself was played on October 29th and resulted in a heavy defeat on a score line of 0.05 to 0.15. It was a game where we never got off the ground and the loss of injured players like John Greene and Richard Mullins also helped to compound matters.

Thanks goes to the panel of players, ably led by captain David Kennedy and to manager Dermot Fahy and selectors Vincent Mullins and Joseph O Leary for their hard work on the training ground during the year.

Juvenile

Juvenile secretary Joseph O Leary will report later but I would like to say a few words about the juvenile club in 2007.

Pride of place has to go to the achievements of the Under 14’s in 2007. They gave everyone involved in the club and indeed parish wide a great lift with their performances in Feile and in going on to win the league title in October. Well done to this panel of players and their team of mentors under the management of Eamonn Diviney. They can count themselves extremely unlucky not to win the Feile final, loosing a replay by a point is heart breaking but it does give the club great hope for the future. We must be weary though going forward. Hard work lies ahead to build this team into a successful team. Success at under 14 level does not guarantee success at under 16 and minor level.

Elsewhere at juvenile level, the minors struggled all year and bowed out tamely to Carnmore at the preliminary quarter final stage. The under 16’s did well getting to the semi final stage of the champions before loosing out to eventual winners Liam Mellows. The under 12 hurler’s performed gallantly and were unlucky not to proceed to the knock out stages. For me one of the highlights of the juvenile year was the amount of training sessions the under 12’s put in, especially after their campaign when it would have been the easy option to quit after being knocked out of the championship. The under 12 footballers also made great strides during the year and gave an outlet to new people in the parish who are not from a hurling background. At under 10 and 8 level the Friday night training sessions were very enjoyable and they participated well in all the many local tournaments and blitzes.

To the respective managers, trainers and mentors of the various juvenile teams thanks for your efforts during 2007 and keep up the good work in 2008.

To conclude my look at the juvenile club for 2007, I have to pay tribute to the trojon work done behind the scenes by juvenile chairman Gerry Glynn, ably assisted by secretary Jospeh O Leary. The juvenile teams were well looked after during the year and both Gerry and Joseph are to be commended for this.

Congratulations

I would like to congratulate the players and mentors from the parish who went on to represent the club with the county during the year.

Pride of place goes to Vincent Mullins, David Kennedy and John Greene, for their All Ireland under 21 final success. Vincent continues his considerable success as manager and we wish him every success in 2008. During the year Vincent also was awarded with the Galway Bay FM coach of the year award and the Josie Gallagher cup by Galway Hurling Board for his contribution to Galway hurling, as well as being feted by the Galwaymans association in London in recent weeks.

Iarla Tannian made his long awaited breakthrough to the Galway senior set up with fine displays in league, championship and railway cup teams. Iarla also tasted success on the college front, winning the Fitzgibbon cup with L.I.T., winning a Datapac Hotshot award to round off his successful Fitzgibbon cup career. On route to winning the Fitzgibbon cup, Iarla’s LIT team defeated U.L. in the semi final that had John Greene and Pat Holland as part of their set up.

Sean Connolly, Gerry Hennelly and Gerard Bond, were part of the Galway minor set up who were unlucky to come up again a seasoned Cork outfit that had come out of a tough Munster championship campaign with plenty of match practice.

Cormac Diviney and Jonathon Glynn had fine displays during the Tony Forrestal under 14 tournament in Waterford. They were unlucky to loose out at the semi final stage.

Congratulation to club members involved with success at school level during the year. Gort Community School had a good year winning senior, juvenile, second and first year provincial championships, with plenty of Ardrahan representation on those teams. We are also represented on school teams in both Athenry and Loughrea. St Brigids, Loughrea won the Ryan cup and All Ireland vocational schools title. Athenry VS had success at junior level nationally. We wish all the schools and their teachers the best of luck in the year ahead. Congratulations also to Sean Connolly on his appointment as principal of Loughrea VS taking over the “Ard Rathain” mantle in St Brigids. I also take the opportunity in wishing Michael Bond every enjoyment in his retirement and would like to express the clubs gratitude and admiration for all he did to promote hurling while involved in education. I also want to acknowledge the hard work being done by Mary Forde in Athenry to develop and promote the GAA ethos.

At national school level our teachers and coaches through Connacht council are making great strides in promoting the game. As the parish expands and new families enter the parish, the role of the national school can not be under estimated. Many families are now moving into the parish and in some cases the border line of the parish. I would encourage people to keep an eye out for new families moved into the parish and where possible promote our club and make them known to club officers and team mentors at the earliest possible stage. Congratulations to Ballyglass NS who in 2007 won county titles at hurling and football.

Special word of congratulations to the parents, teachers, students, boards of managements and all associated with the development work in both Labane and Kilteirnan N.S.’s the end products are a credit to your efforts.

The camogie club continues to make progress at underage level. Reaching finals at under 14 (feile and league) and under 12 is no mean feat and the future bodes well for the camogie club. Well done to all involved. Also congratulations to the numerous girls who represented Galway from under 14 up to senior level.

Well done to those involved in the SCOR competitions to those who took part in last year’s county, provincial and national finals. Winning a county final is a great achievement but to go on and win provincial final and come so close to winning a national final is a fabulous achievement. Indeed the whole Scor initiative deserves great credit for what it does in promoting our culture.

During the summer Brian Murtagh, Jason Kennedy and Brendan Forde took part in the making of a TG 4 programme called Scil. It involved competing with other counties in a range of games. They did fantastically well to qualify for the final. This programme has been airing over the last couple of months on TG 4. It can also be viewed on www.tg4.tv/

Enda Holland was part of the St Gabriel’s team unlucky to loose out the London county final. Well done to Enda. It is over 30 years since the club had a very successful trip to Londan. Maybe Enda might invite us out in the near future.

Patrick Brennan is carving out quite a name for himself as a jump jockey in The UK. Patrick is currently leading stable jockey at the Nigel Twiston Davies yard in Gloucestershire where he has already amassed in excess of 50 winners, despite having spent a month sidelined with a collarbone fractured just days into his new job with Twiston-Davies. Since winning the Conditional Jockey title in 2004 / 2005 season, Patrick’s career has really taken off with successful spells attached to the Philips Hobbs and Howard Johnson stables. Last season was his best return to date clocking up 80 winners, undoubtedly the highlight being his win in the World Hurdle at Cheltenham on board Inglis Drever. On behalf of everyone at Ardrahan GAA club I wish Patrick continued success.

Congratulations to our South Galway friends Kinvara on their fantastic achievement in reaching the county final. We also acknowledge the success of St Coleman’s football club in Gort in winning the Connacht junior football championship.

Thanks

On behalf of the club I would like to thank our sponsors.

To Declan Gardiner who this year undertook to sponsor the club for a three year term. We are delighted to welcome Declan on board and hope in the next few years’ success on the playing fields will be reward to Declan for his generosity.

Declan takes over from Charlie Niland and Gerry Hennelly and on behalf of the club I would also like to extend thanks to them for their contributions to the club over the years.

Also thanks to Pat Quinn of Ardrahan Plant Sales and Stonework for his continued sponsorship of the printing for the lotto tickets. During the year Pat also sponsored a defibrillator for the club.

Adrian Quinn also came on board to sponsor our Golf Classic and to John Deane who continues to make a substantial donation to the club yearly. The club is indeed appreciative of your financial support.

There are numerous other people who sponsored various events during the year, too many to mention individually, but on behalf of the club I would like to thank them for their support and hope that they will continue to support us in the future.

When we got to the Feile final, Treasurer Gabriel Gardiner immediately put the wheels in motion to raise funds to get gear for the panel for the final. Local businesses did not let us down and we are appreciative of their financial support.

I would like to recognise the work being done by our Lotto team, who without fail turn up every Monday night to run the lotto draw. The lotto draw was managed in two monthly rotas by Fergal Bermingham, Gerry Linnane and Tom Greene and they did a great job. To our ticket sellers both inside and outside the parish I thank you for your support. Thanks also to the local publicans who let us run the draw weekly on their premises. Lotto sales are falling though and this needs our urgent attention in the new year.

During the year the club ran a golf classic at Gort Golf club. The club are very thankful to the teams that participated over the two day event and to the many local businesses that sponsored tees and green’s for the event. As already mentioned the event itself was kindly sponsored by Adrian Quinn. Special thanks to the main organisers of the event Gerry Bond, Vincent Mullins and Fr Richard Higgins.

Before the Galway Clare senior championship game the juvenile club under the organising baton of Gerry Glynn organised a very successful “guess the score” fundraiser. Thanks to all the families who sold cards for the event and to those who travelled down to Ennis to sell on the day.

Thanks also to the various people who helped out during the year with matches played in Ardrahan. Thanks to Bunny Kennedy and Mick Brennan for various repair jobs done during the year. This works goes unnoticed but when ever they are asked it is always no problem.

Thanks also to Pat Geoghegan, who looks after the clubhouse and facilities on a daily basis.

Thanks to the organisers of the summer camp, particularly Gerry Glynn, and the under 14 boys who looked after the shop. Thanks also to those who organised and supervised the trip for the younger players to Croke Park for the Galway match during the summer. Thanks also to the ladies who organised receptions at various stages during the year, after the feile finals, when we had visiting teams and after senior training sessions.

Thanks to Fr Higgins for your support of the club and for allowing us to put announcements in the newsletter during the year, this is much appreciated. Thanks also to the local businesses for allowing me to put up match notices during the year. I would like to thank John O Neill for continuing to maintain the Ardrahan GAA website. It is worth logging on to the website on, www.ardrahangaa.com and anybody who wishes to contribute to the site would be very much encouraged to do so, by either contacting John or myself.

During the year various pictures were sourced and framed and put into the clubhouse meeting room. I would like to thank the people who donated the pictures and to John and Sean McGann who took the time to hang them in the clubhouse. Thanks also to Pat McKeown for his work in painting the clubhouse at various stages during the year.

To the doctors and physio's who treated players and attended various matches during the year. Thank you. Particular thanks to Liam Cannon who was brilliant, any time he was asked he made himself available, on many occasions after coming off night duty.

I would like to thank the many club supporters who acted as referee, linesman or umpire at various matches during the year. Not an easy task, but to those who did so when asked we are very appreciative. Well done also to Fergal Bermingham who continues to progress up the ladder in refereeing circles. It is very important to have a club referee and is something we need to try and work on in the future to train up new referees. In particular senior championship matches are refereed from a very small pool of referees and we should actively encourage people to get involved and anyone interested should make themselves known.

I would like also to take this opportunity to thank my fellow officers for their work and support during the past year. I would especially like to thank those on the Executive for their attendance at meetings and contribution to the running of the club during 2007. It was a privilege to work with Chairman John McGann and Treasurer Gabriel Gardiner during the year. I would also like to thank Delegate Bernard Callanan for attending and representing the club well at hurling board meetings and Tom Greene as delegate to the juvenile board. At county level I would like to acknowledge and thank the officers of Galway Hurling and County boards for their support during the year.

At the end of the booklet I have attached a list of all matches played during the year at various levels. It would be remiss of me to take all the credit, I would like to thank Josephine Callanan, Mary Kennedy, Joanne Thompson, Bernard Forde, Joseph O Leary, Fergal Bermingam, John McGann, Gabriel Gardiner, Tom Forde and Padraig Gardiner who kept scores for me at various matches I could not attend during the year.

Finally

On behalf of the club I would like to congratulate club members who got married during the year, and also to those who had new arrivals. I would also like to sympathise with those who suffered bereavements.

To all club members lets hope 2008 will be a successful one on and off the field of play.

Adrian O Soilbheir
Runai CLG Ard Rathain

Juvenile Chairman’s Address

As Chairman of the Juvenile Club I would like to welcome you to tonight to this year’s AGM. Our Secretary Joe O’Leary will report on our year’s activities and events.

Our club had a positive year with a number of highs and lows. Pride of place goes to our U14 hurlers who really did the club proud. Winning a Feile title has proved beyond our club, but how close did this excellent group come to achieving this - losing as they did by a solitary score in the replay to an excellent Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry side. Well done to this excellent group of players who signed off on an excellent season by winning the U14 Co. League at the end of the year. A special thanks to team manager Eamonn Diviney and his group of mentors Martin Glynn, Tom Gardiner, Michael Whelan, Frank Skehill and Gabriel Gardner for your trojan efforts.

While our U14’S efforts were positive the opposite was very much the case for our Minors who were such a huge disappointment. The old saying “you reap what you sow” is very apt. Poor preparation and response to training ensured that they just limped to the Preliminary Quarter Final where they were well beaten by Carnmore. As this group won a County championship (U14B), their fall in standings and standards has to be a source of worry for the club. I would like to thank Bernard Forde, Tom Fitzgibbon and James Kennedy for doing their utmost to get things going.

Our 16’s had a great year. Between challenge, tournament and championship they lost one game. That game was the Co. Semi Final to eventual champions Liam Mellows. The one disappointment was that this team did not do itself justice on the day. However as a group who had been so used to defeat in the past these players were an inspiration. Their application to training and discipline were exemplary. I would like to thank John Joe Brennan and Padraig Gardner and John Kennedy for their efforts.

Our U.12’s under Fergal Birmingham, Gerry Broderick and Pakie Whelan put in a great effort just coming up short of reaching a Quarter Final.

At U.11 we reached the final of 2 tournaments – Oranmore and Kilnadeema.

Great work continues to be done by our coaches at U.10 and U.8 I would like to thank Tom Forde, Michael Buckley, Barry Finnegan and Gerry Howley for their work with the U10’s and Dermot Fahey, Michael Lawless, Declan Gardner, Michael Lynskey and Peter Cosgrove.

Football continues to flourish under the stewardship of Fergal Birmingham, Michael Carr and Peter Cosgrove.

I would like to congratulate Gerard Bond and Gerry Hennelly for representing our club on the Galway Minor team and Cormac Diviney and Jonathan Glynn for their participation with the Galway U.14 team.

Congratulations to David Kennedy and John Greene with manager Vincent Mullins on their great win in the All-Ireland U.21 Final Well done to our Scor na nOG whose musical group won the Connacht Championship only to lose in the All-Ireland final.

I would like to recognise the work being done to promote our games and culture in all our schools. This work is of great assistance to our club and I would like to assure the schools that anything the club can do to be help, we will only be delighted to be asked. We had the privilege during the year to host a Half day coaching session with a number of Senior Inter County Hurling stars including Iarla Tannion, Gerard Mahon, David Collins, Eugene Cloonan, Liam Donoghue, Joe Canning, Kenneth Burke Richie Murray and Clare legend Davy Fitzgerald.

Organised in conjunction with Liam Donoghue , over 90 South Galway children attended with all funds going to Alan Kerins Zambia Charity Fund. This was a huge success and it is my hope that we could organise a similar event next year.

To those who did various jobs during the year from washing jerseys for the various teams to bringing players to games, thank you. A special thank you to everyone who maintained our pitches in brilliant order.

Thanks also to everyone who helped organise our Summer Camp.

I would like to thank our club’s main sponsor Declan Gardner for his support. I would also like to thank Gerry Hennelly, Goode Concrete, Brendan Higgins, Paul Stankard, Frank Higgins, Gary Higgins and Joe Brady for their sponsorship of our U. 14 team.

Our Juvenile club ran two fundraisers during the year. I would like to thank everyone who supported us. In particular I would like to thank Cormac Diviney, Kevin Murphy, Alan Bond, Gordon Glynn, Eanna Gardiner and Peter Forde who sold “Mulligan’s” at the Golf Classic, and Gerard Forde, Gordon Glynn Oisin Fahey, Alan Bond, John Holland, Shane Callanan, Peter Forde, Kevin Murphy and David Callanan for their outstanding efforts when selling tickets at the Galway V Clare game.

I would like to thank the “Ladies Committee” for your help catering for our teams and supporters during the year. Your efforts are really appreciated and it is an area of our clubs activities we could really work on.

Thanks to Fr Richie for his help in the promotion of our games through the Parish Newsletter.

Finally on my own behalf I would like to thank everyone for their courtesy to me during the years . Thanks to my family for allowing me to indulge in my passion. Thanks in particular to Gordon for his help with me in recent years. I would like to wish the Club the best of luck in 2008.

Is mise le meas

Gearoid Mac Ghloinn
Cathaoirleach Cumann na nOg

Juvenile Secretary Report

My report will detail a very busy year’s activity for our juvenile club. The highlight of the year was the great achievement of our under 14’s in reaching the feile final, only to loose out by a very narrow margin after a replay. They did the club proud and they have given great hope for the future. Winning the league title in October was a deserving reward at the end of the year.

The club competed well at all age grades and I will in report give a brief review of the achievements of the various teams.

Minor

The minors eventually were beaten in a preliminary quarterfinal by Carnmore. The campaign itself began on 25th March. Championship action began on the 9th May with a 3.14 to 2.12 win over Ballygar. The next match was against Kilnadeema Leitrim where they lost by 3.11 to 4.14. A break then ensued till after the leaving cert and the last two group games saw victory over Moycullen on a 0.15 to 0.08 scoreline on the 23rd June and a hard fought win over Kilbeacanty on 27th June on 5.11 to 3.12 scoreline. The preliminary quarter final against Carnmore resulted in a loss by 2.09 to 4.06, in a game that could have been snatched. Thanks to manager Bernard Forde and selectors Tom Fitzgibbon and James Kennedy for their hard work during the year.

Well done to Gerry Hennelly and Gerard Bond on making the Galway minor panel.

Under 16

The under 16’s had a very good campaign before bowing out at the semi final stage to eventual winners Liam Mellows. The Under 16’s campaign began with a challenge win over Mellows on the 20th June. Championship action commenced with a win over Cappataggle by 4.09 to 1.08 played on 2nd July. This was followed up a week later with a comprehensive 4.10 to 0.03 win over Portumna. On the 16th July they beat Barna Furbo by 2.14 to 0.09. On 23rd July they beat Padraig Pearses by 3.11 to 2.07. At quarterfinal stage they had a very good win over Salthill Knocknacarra by 6.10 to 1.11. In the semi final they came up against a very good Liam Mellows side and lost out by 1.06 to 1.15.

The year also resulted in some silverware for the under 16s when they won the Hanrahan cup in a Beagh tournament with wins over Kilbeacanty and Ballindereen.

A very good campaign bodes well for the future and I would like to pay tribute to the work done by manager Gerry Glynn and selectors Padraig Gardiner, John Joe Brennan and John Kennedy.

Under 14

The under 14’s enjoyed a memorable year in 2007 culminating in the winning of the league title, defeating Athenry in the final played in Kenny Park, Athenry on 26th October.

The championship began with a hard fought 1.05 to 1.05 draw with Castlegar in the opening group match on 2nd April when a late goal leveled matters. A win over Ahasgragh Fohenagh by 1.04 to 0.06 on the 9th April was followed by defeats to Tynagh Abbey Duniry (1.04 to 0.13) and Athenry (0.02 to 2.04). However three points was good enough to qualify for the quarter final where on the 7th May they had a fine win against Clarinbridge on a 2.04 to 0.02 scoreline. This was followed up by a win over Ahasgragh Fohenagh by 1.05 to 0.03 in the semi final to set up a final show down with Tynagh Abbey Duniry which was played in Kenny Park Athenry on 14th May.

The game proved to be one of the matches of the year where both teams had spells of domination and in the end the teams could not be separated even after extra time. The match finishing on a 3.03 to 0.12 scoreline. The replay played in Loughrea on 21st May was equally as exciting as the drawn game with the result in question right up to the final whistle, however Ardrahan were unlucky to loose out in the end by the narrowest of margins, going down 1.05 to 1.06.

League wins over Ahasgragh Fohenagh (1.07 to 1.01), Athenry (2.03 to 0.04) and Loughrea (2.11 to 1.06) with one loss to Craughwell (1.04 to 3.00) set up a semi final with Tynagh Abbey Duniry where after another fine game of hurling Ardrahan ground out a narrow one point win on a scoreline of 1.02 to 0.04 to qualify for a final meeting with Athenry where Ardrahan won on a scoreline of 2.03 to 0.08 in a game played in Kenny Park on 26th October.

Thanks to manager Eamonn Diviney and selectors Martin Glynn, Michael Whelan, Tom Gardiner, Frank Skehill and Gabriel Gardiner for their efforts during the year.

Reaching the feile final gave the club a great lift and whilst disappointing to loose out it gives us great hope for the future and if this panel of lads sticks together success will come their way.

For the feile final a number of local businesses were very generous in their sponsorship and we are very thankful to them.

Well done to Cormac Diviney and Jonathon Glynn who were part of the County Under 14 team who lost out at the semi final stage in the Tony Forrestal tournament.

Towards the end of the year the parish league was played, weather conditions did not help and maybe going forward it should be played early in the year.

Under 12 Hurling

The Under 12’s competed well in their championship group and were very unlucky not to qualify for the knockout stages. Championship action began on 21st May with a win over Moycullen on a 4.03 to 2.05 scoreline. A week later they were beaten by Killimor on a 0.03 to 3.02 scoreline. On 4th June lost to Carnmore 1.02 to 5.03. A week later they beat Rahoon Newcastle 3.03 to 2.02. On the 14th June they lost to Liam Mellows 1.00 to 3.06. In the last game against Kinvara they were very unlucky to loose out by 2 points on a 1.02 to 0.07 scoreline.

During the year the Under 12’s also reached the semi final of the Joe Gillane tournament beating Sarsfields, Kilconiron along the way before loosing out to Loughrea in the semi final.

Thanks to the manager Fergal Bermingham and selectors Gerry Broderick, Packie Whelan and John Kennedy.

Under 12 Football

The under 12 footballers had a very enjoyable year. They participated well in their championship with wins over Clarinbridge and Clonbur twice. Thanks to manager Fergal Bermingham and selectors Mike Carr and Pete Cosgrove.

Under 11 / 10 / 8

The under 11, 10 and 8’s had a good years activity. They trained away on Friday evenings and competed in various tournaments, blitzes and challenges.

Thanks to the many trainers and coaches who gave their time to this bunch of players. Tom Forde, Michael Buckley, Gerry Howley and Barry Finnegan worked a way with the under 10’s, while Mike Lawless, Dermot Fahy, Michael Lynskey, Declan Gardiner and Mike Carr worked hard with the under 8’s.

A coaching course was ran at the beginning of the year for new coaches. Well done to all involved.

Schools

At secondary level, Gort Community school had a good year winning titles at various levels including the connacht senior title. St Brigids won the Ryan cup and All Ireland vocational schools title. Athenry VS had a good win in the Junior All Ireland VS and Presentation college Athenry are making good progress.

At national school level a lot of hard work is being put in by the teachers and coaches who come to the school weekly. Well done to Ballyglass NS on winning hurling and football titles.

Thanks and Congratulations

I would like to thank Chairman Gerry Glynn for his assistance during the year. Also to delegate Tom Greene who represented the club at juvenile meetings during the year. Thanks also to the senior club officers for their assistance during the year.

Thanks to Declan Gardiner for his generous sponsorship. Thanks also to Pat Quinn for his donation of a defibrillator to the club.

A big crowd attended both the summer camp and the Alan Kerins charity-coaching day. Thanks to all who helped to organise the camp and coaching days.

Well done and thanks to all who supported the “Guess the score” fundraiser during the year.

Congratulations to Brian Murtagh, Jason Kennedy and Brendan Forde who represented the club and county in the TG4 Scil competition.

Thanks to those who supervised and organised the trip to Croke park for the Galway v Kilkenny match.

Congratulations to the camogie club on reaching finals at under 12 and under 14 level.

Thanks to grounds man Pat Geoghegan for his work in maintaining the facilities during the year. Also to Fr Higgins for making announcements in the newsletter during the year. Also to the people who refereed various games and acted as umpire and linesman at games. Well done to Fergal Bermingham who represented the club well as referee at juvenile and adult level.

At the start of the year coaching sessions were ran in the hall for under age teams, this gave a good platform for the year. Well done to all involved.

Congratulations to Vincent Mullins, David Kennedy and John Greene on their All Ireland Under 21 success and thanks to them for taking the time to visit the local schools.

Thanks to the ladies who looked after jerseys during the year and the people who organised the receptions after the feile matches.

Well done to those involved in Scor na nOg, the music team did particularly well in winning at county and provincial level before loosing out narrowly in the national finals.

Finally thanks to all the parents who transported players to the matches during the year.

Joseph O Leary
Secretary.