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Bray People - 20th April 2005The special fundraising draw for the juveniles took place in the Beach House on Friday night. It proved to be a very pleasant chin wagging occasion for the large number of club connections present, so pleasant in fact that the time of the draw drifted imperceptibly from its scheduled 9pm to 11pm. A sincere go raibh maith agaibh to all of you who supported what was quite a successful venture – one hesitates to use qualifiers such as “very” or “extremely” as this might give the impression that our financial troubles for 2005 have been solved. The monies garnered from this latest enterprise, while being more than welcome, are essentially in the nature of a floatation collar for juvenile treasurer struggling in a sea of financial demand; this is an appropriate juncture at which to thank the juveniles who have paid their memberships and to give a gentle reminder to those who have not (€35 juveniles and €70 for family). The winners of the main prizes were Janet Kelly Dunne (€1000) and the Deeney Family (1000 litres of oil presented by Glen Fuels) . We acknowledge with thanks the prizes donated by Toolan Bookmakers, The Wicklow Arms, Djouce Golf Club, Heatons, Elite, and Veronica O’Reilly . Thanks also to the local businesses who donated spot prizes for the free attendance draw. Buiochas also to the Beach House. While many people contributed to the success of the draw, the imputs of Felicity Keane, Fionualla Nolan, Liz Gaskin and Ronan Sweeney were particularly noteworthy. Music impressario Barry O’Reilly was unfortunately late for the proceedings – he was at the schools choral event in the National Basketball Arena looking after the interests of the Clubs Pavarotti’s, son Adam and the indefatigable Glen Hayden. There was no one happier at this inflow to the Club’s coffers than Colm Gaskin. For weeks he has been postponing the purchase of much needed hurling helmets for fear of being the cause of the receiver being called in! The above instance is a case in point of one of the difficulties which beset hurling viz expense. Hurling is a living part of Ireland’s heritage with a history reaching into the far reaches of time and, as such, is surely as worthy of support as Georgian Mansions and Norman ruins. Yet what is the attitude of An Rialtas? Let the game contend in the uneven playing field peopled with internationally hyped competitors. Gaelic cannot benefit from tax breaks on offer to professional players (treating all sportspeople equally?); a glance at the wages bill of a particular sport would show that tax concessions to its players amounted to a hidden Government subsidy of at least €3m. What the game of hurling could do with such a windfall. Friday night is U10 hurling night, last Friday seventy U10’s from Éire Óg and St. Feargal’s participated in a non -competitive identity-retaining night of hurling. In the prevailing environment of encouragement devoid of badgering the enjoyment of the players was palpable. Such circumstances are ideal for player development as children can experiment without fear of reprimand for failure. |
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