Éire Óg Greystones
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Weekly Notes - 19th December 2007

Beannachtaí

The committee of Éire Óg Greystones wishes all supporters, mentors, players and readers of this column a sincere Nollaig Shona agus Bliain Nua fé shéan agus fé mhaise. We extend these sentiments to former affiliates of the club who now reside elsewhere and especially to Paddy Delaney in London whom we know is a faithful fan of www.greystonesgaa.ie.

Last Call

Last reminder for the Christmas draw which takes place this Wednesday (19th) evening. Hurry and fill those last orders for tickets before the shutters come down. I’m persuaded (historical argument) that the occasion, combining as it does the exciting anticipation associated with the drawing of the tickets and the exhilaration of good company, is one of the(e) social events of the Greystones Christmas calendar. Places are much sought after so to be sure of getting one of the better seats you should be heading for the Carrig Orchard circa 8.30pm.

St. Stephen’s Day

A great tradition has grown up about the St. Stephen’s Day football. No gender or age limits apply. The rules are fashioned to take account of the diversity in the physical condition of the participants so, no matter how brittle you are feeling on the morning you can be sure that joining in the action will not bring you to shatter point. One hopes that you older hands are encouraging our younger members (minors and u-16s) to join in the fun – starting time 11am. Laura Mitchell, now flying the flag for ladies football in Chicago (of which more later), who before her departure was an enthusiastic member of the St. Stephen’s Day squad sends us all the best wishes of the season.

AGM Chairman’s Address

Cathaoirleach Gerry Walsh was quite upbeat in his address and, on the evidence of 2007, he had many reasons for being so. We may not have garnered many trophies, he said, but disappointments in this area, particularly in the Intermediate Championship were for him, at least, mollified by the air of vitality and enthusiasm which pervaded the club during the year. He hoped that such spirit would carry forward into 2008.

He alluded to the great progress which was made in the ongoing development of the club’s facilities and thanked Oliver Leonard for his role in this. The old pitch, henceforth to be known as the north pitch, has been revamped to a standard which rivals the main (south) pitch and the infrastructure has been put in place for floodlighting the south pitch to match standard. National Lottery funds have been allotted for this but the fly in the ointment is again the CSSO.

Membership was up (thanks in no small away to our indefatigable Registrar, Felicity Keane), a number of new mentors came on board and a few more people became actively involved, he said. But then Gerry pointed out that a growing club has an insatiable demand for such people and that the limiting factor in the services that it can provide is the number of capable and enthusiastic workers at its disposal.

He enumerated the high points in the on-field achievements of the club during the year. The Junior Bs reached the quarter finals of their championship and the Intermediates reached the semi-finals (disappointing results as both teams had the potential to go much further). The minors in hurling and football gave a great account of themselves in their respective finals and our ladies reached the Junior final for the 2nd year in succession. Then there was our u-14s fantastic win in the Féile in July.

Gerry congratulated the mentors (Paul Hayden, Fergus O’Brien, Séamus Ahern – a member of the management team which guided Wicklow minor ladies to B-Leinster glory) and players Billy Norman (senior football), Stephen “Chester” Kelly (senior hurling), Craig Smullen, Darren Hayden, Seán Horan and Oran Bambrick (u-21 and minor) who were involved at county level. He also complimented the ladies from the club who featured at county senior and minor level – Lorna Fusciardi, Caoilfhionn Deeney, Laurie Ahern, Tracey O’Halloran, Emily Hanney, Ruth McElroy, Niamh Kelly and Kelly Ryder.

He thanked the current President, Patsy Vickers, for his efforts in the care and maintenance of our facilities and was full of praise for the Club Development Plan drawn by Eoin O’Neill. Finally he expressed his appreciation of the work being done by the Juvenile Coiste and mentors and by the Lotto committee, and thanked the other coiste members for their help and co-operation during the year.

Wicklow Year Book

The Wicklow Year Book is now available (at 10euro). A very interesting production, it provides an excellent insight into the contribution the 37 clubs within the county are making to their communities.