Longford GAA Club News & Golf News

Dromard 

Sympathy: Dromard GAA and the extended parish community was saddened to learn of the death last Wednesday of Fr. Eamonn Corkery, P.P. Emeritus of Dromard. Fr. Corkery served as P.P. for 27 years. He was a much respected figure in the community and was held in high esteem for his quiet decency, dedication to the parish and faithful application of his duties in Dromard Parish. Fr Corkery was an accomplished sportsman, winning senior championship medals with his native Longford Slashers and playing senior football for Longford. He became a great and loyal supporter of his adopted club and was an astute judge of football. The Club and Parish mourns Fr. Corkery’s passing and recall the fond memories of the time he spent with us in Dromard. Members of the Club formed a guard of honour as Fr Corkery’s remains were brought back to Legga for his Removal on Thursday evening.

The Club offers its condolences to Fr. Corkery’s sisters Philomena (Gerety) and Angela (Shanley), brothers Nelius and Oliver, Bishop Paul and Fr. Corkery’s fellow clergy. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.  

Thank you: Dromard GAA thanks Padraig O’Brien and the staff of the Longford Leader for their help and professionalism in publishing our club notes every week. 

Happy Christmas: Dromard GAA wishes all our players, members and supporters a happy Christmas. 

Dromard GAA Presentation Night and Social: A Christmas presentation night and social will take place in the Breffni Arms Hotel, Arva, on the 28th of December. The evening will include a presentation to our 1999 Senior Championship winning squad to mark the 25th anniversary of their success. Please join us for this event and the chance to catch up with friends and acquaintances! All are welcome.

 Monthly Draw 2025: Our Monthly Draw for 2025 is now open for subscribers. The Draw is the Club’s main source of income and the funds raised are essential for meeting our day-to-day running costs and for maintaining the facilities at Páirc na nGael. Your contributions from this year’s draw will also be used to fund the extensive drainage and resurfacing work completed on our two playing pitches which we hope to reopen in mid 2025. As a result, your support for the Monthly Draw is more important than ever. 

Next year we will be giving away €900 cash every month from January to December with a first prize of €500, second prize of €200 and two €100 prizes. We will also hold early bird draws in the coming weeks so please consider buying your ticket soon to be in with a chance to win an early bird prize – the sooner you sign up the more chances you have to win! New and existing subscribers can sign up online (https://member.clubspot.app/club/dromard-gaa/fundraiser/tickets) or by contacting any member of the Club Executive. Details are also available on the Dromard GAA Facebook page and on the Dromard GAA app. Thank you for your support.

Weekly Lotto – Jackpot €13,700: There was no winner of our weekly lotto draw last week. The jackpot now stands at €13,700. Congratulations to the lucky dip winners of €25 each: Michael O’Reilly and Nan Masterson. The next draw is Thursday 26th of December. A reminder that you can play our lotto online by visiting https://member.clubspot.app/club/dromard-gaa/fundraisers 

Ardagh Moydow 

Happy Christmas: We wish all our players, volunteers, members and supporters a very Happy Christmas and thank you for all the commitment to the club in 2024.

Ardagh Classes with Tess & Enda Gillen (Keenan Park): MONDAY: 6-6.30PM SPIN; 6.30PM SPIN & TONE. TUESDAY: 6.15AM BOOTCAMP. WEDNESDAY: 6-6.30pm SPIN 6.30-7.30 SPIN & TONE. THURSDAY: 6.15AM BOOTCAMP. FRIDAY: 6pm SPIN & ABS. SATURDAY: 9.30-10am SPIN & TONE. Cost: 30 min class- club members €5; non club members €6. 60min class-club members €8; non club members €10. Bootcamp 6 weeks-club members €60; non club members €75. For bookings text Tess (0851249361) or Enda (0869270658). Tess and Enda would like to thank the local community for their continued support.

Lotto Results: Numbers Drawn were 2, 5, 20 & 25. There were no jackpot winners. Lucky Dip Winners were Raymond Shaw, Rosemarie Halligan, Seamus Finnan, Charlotte McGuire and Emer Moran.  Congratulations to all winners and thank you to everyone for supporting our draw this week. Next week’s jackpot is €10,000. Tickets are available at www.ardaghmoydowgaa.com and in Lyons, Kearneys and Clarkes Public Houses and in XL Vaughans Shop. Our next draw takes place in Lyons on Monday 23rd December.

St Brigid’s Killashee 

Lotto Draw: Our lotto draw took place on Sunday 22nd December in McPartlands, Clondra, for a jackpot of €3,180. Numbers drawn were 3, 5, 17, 21. As there was no outright jackpot winner the following four cash prizes were drawn: €40 Mary McGarry, €20 Conor Burke, €20 Lee Kelly, €20     Daniel Gallagher. Congratulations to the  winners. Our next lotto draw will take place in The Chestnut Tree, Killashee on Sunday 5th January for a jackpot €3,240.

You can play online by visiting play.clubforce.com and choose Killashee St. Brigid's. €44.00 for 26 draws, €25.00 for 12 draws, €10.00 for 6 draws or €5.00 will get you 3 lines. 

Tickets can also be purchased in McPartlands Clondra, The Chestnut Tree Killashee, LF Engineering Clondra or from any committee member. Thanks to each and everyone for your continuous support over the last year and we look forward to your support for the coming year. STAY IN TO WIN. 

50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS: On Saturday night last 21st December the club held a presentation night to honour the St. Brigid's team who won the 1974 Intermediate Championship. It was great to see so many of the original team who travelled from near and far and those who travelled from overseas. Due to circumstances some of the players could not attend on the night but were represented by family members. 

Our chairman Owen Johnston presented a 50th anniversary plaque to each player or family representative. Captain of the 1974 team Mike Magan spoke eloquently of what the win meant to the players, club and parish back then and the friendships that were made and remain strong. 

Our club president Liam Gouldsbury, who was a member of that winning team, also spoke and called for a minute's silence as a mark of respect and to remember players from the team who have gone to their eternal rest. 

A plaque was presented to Teresa Dooner to remember her late brother Fr. George Balfe who was manager/trainer with the '74 team. 

Declan Shanley and Anthony Dooner were presented with their overdue Hall of Fame Awards on the night.

The club would like to thank Teresa & Gerry Dooner and family for their hospitality, music and refreshments on the night. 

Thanks to all those who came along to remember and reminisce and catch up on old friendships. 

A good night was had by all. 

Registration/Membership: Registration and membership is now due for 2025 for all players and members. Registration can be paid to our Registrar Liam Farrell or online by visiting Clubforce.  Registration Fees are as follows: Adult Player Membership €50.Student Player Membership €30.Adult Non Playing Membership €30. A registration evening will take place in our clubhouse on Friday 10th January from 7-8pm.

Happy Christmas: The club would like to wish all members and people of the parish a very happy, healthy and holy Christmas and hope Santa Claus is good to all the children of the parish. 

Drumraney Camogie Club

Condolences: The club offers its sympathies to the Maxwell family on the death of William (Willie) Maxwell of Streamstown. Two of Willie's grand-daughters, Amy and Emma, have played all the way from nursery up to and including current adult teams. And hopefully will do so for many more years to come.

The greening of Lapland: In the run up to Christmas there has been an unprecedented demand for the green, with white trimmings, sportswear of Drumraney camogie club. Santa Claus has been undated with requests for various items, and not just from south Westmeath but all corners of the world,  where even the scent of a Drumraney person or camogie player, past or present is found. Never underestimate the loyalty of the Drumraney supporter and/or player. Because of the huge demand for Drumraney camogie gear the Clause factory and adjacent assembly plant have cancelled all holiday and special  leave in the run up to Christmas. Three eight-hour shifts per day have been put in place when trained staff can be sourced to operate these around the clock  seven days a week shifts.

The temporary closing of Fishguard Port has not helped matters, neither has recent storms where some flights in and out of Lapland were cancelled. Extra charted goods planes have been commandeered to make up for the backlog of deliveries, a spokesperson for Santa Claus informed Noeleen Cuffe, after she made some recent inquiries about the availability of gear. But the spokesperson added, if a little tentatively, that Santa hopes he will be in a position to deliver the much-wanted and vaunted Drumraney gear to each girl who requested it. So fingers crossed for Santa deliveries on Christmas Eve Night. And if the gear fails to be delivered there will always be a birthday present-receiving day around the corner. The club wishes all Drumraney green wearers,  at home and abroad, a very happy Christmas. Let’s make it a green Christmas to remember and an unforgettable green New Year.

County Longford Golf Club News

Presentation Night

The final presentation night of 2024 took place on Saturday night last and a nice crowd of members attended. Thanks to our sponsors for continuing to support the club and we ask our members to support them in return. Thanks to Ciaran for providing lovely refreshments on the night. 

Monaghan Butchers Turkey Competition 

 Week 11 to 20th December of the Monaghan Butchers Turkey Competition – 15 hole CompetitionWinner: Pat Masterson (17) 41ptsNumber of Entries: 40Upcoming competitions

Friday the 20th to Thursday the 26th of December 15 H Scramble Team of 4, semi open, 3 drives, 10% of combined handicap maximum of 8. €20/teamFriday the 27th of December to Wednesday the 1st of Jan 4 ball better ball, semi open,Entry: €5 PP €10 for visitors, re-entry €3

PV's Bar and Restaurant Winter League Round 2 of the knockout must be played by Sunday  December 22nd. The matches for Round 3 are on the notice board in reception and must be played by Jan 5th. 

We had a great contest between PV Fallon & Andy Byrne and Colm Hughes & Mickey Nevin and even after completing two extra holes the pairs could not be separated. PV was the star of the show with consistent play throughout although Mickey and Colm let victory slip on the 18th where they both 3 putted when a two putt would have given them victory. Andy declared full confidence in them finishing the job the next day. 

Midland Intermediate Alliance

2024/25 Schedule

Mullingar Golf Club January 12th

Moyvalley Golf Club February 9th

Mount Temple Golf Club March 9th

Glasson Golf Club March 30th

Festive Season Greetings

Happy Christmas and a peaceful new New Year to all our members and their families.

All the above notes for the sport section were late for the deadline for this week’s print edition with the Christmas week paper on sale in the shops this Monday morning, December 23rd