* It is a true when the saying is used that behind every man is a great woman. This is not the exact phrase used by Meryll Frost a Canadian who played American Football. He quoted this when voted the Most Courageous Athlete of 1945. I assume the tribute was to his wife. The sentiment is nonetheless true. Many a summer evening coming home from work, it was hard to get past the gate of the house when entering Wood Grove. The Late Great Pat Rice would be home from work around the same time. My wife would walk on, I would stop. Dinners are made around the same time every evening in almost every house. “Pat you will see him and all the rest at the football later on!” Pat’s wife Rosaleen was right of course. She was always right when she said this but as usual both of us said “we know, we know, we know!” and talked on about whatever game (usually a Town one!) was on our minds! Sadly Rosaleen passed away last week. To us Pat was one of our great Club men, so, behind this man was a great woman and that was Rosaleen. The Executive Committee and members wish to extend our sympathy to Patricia on the loss of her mother, and to Martin, Christine, Niall, Gareth, Cormac, Ryan, Kayleigh and Caoimhe on the loss of their grandmother/great grandmother, We also extend our sympathy to the wide Rice/McAleenan/McKibben family circle on this sad loss. Mary Queen of the Gael pray for her. Ar dheis de go raibh a anam dilis.
* Thank you to Northern Switchgear for their sponsorship of the jerseys for our Under 14 Footballers. We really appreciate the sponsorship they have given and in deed all our sponsors’ generosity.
* Last Tuesday saw the reverse fixture with An Riocht Under 16 Camogs. This time in the Championship and in Castlewellan. After a disappointing result only a few days before the Town girls were determined not to repeat the same result. On what was a beautiful Tuesday evening in the Meadow, the Town girls started impressively with score after score. Although, this was not the start of it, this was nearly the entire game. It was to be a high scoring game – but only for the Town! Each player worked tirelessly in the blistering June heat to ensure that this time the score line reflected the performance and effort put in. The final score was 8-16 to 2-4. Well done girls – definitely deserved! If you are able to watch this side play, you should make a point of coming along to see them play, they are simply superb.
* The Under 14 and Under 16 Ladies Footballers were put through their paces this week by Adam Mitten from Go Figure. The girls enjoyed a high intensity workout in the Bann Road in the sunshine, accompanied by some tunes! The craic was great but by goodness the legs were sore the next day!!! Hopefully, this is something to continue with in the future as fitness is a big part of every sport. Many Thanks to Adam for taking the time out to work with the girls and Mark and Suzanne who was sorest of them all! Yes if you all see Suzanne walking funny – no John Wayne jokes (not fair on John Wayne!). That’ll also teach Mark to refuse to wear his pink top!
* The ‘You & Me Play Camogie’ Initiative continues at the Bann Road this Wednesday evening. As part of the programme a nutritionist will be in attendance to share their experience and advice for players and coaches alike. We ask as many of you involved in coaching to attend. Nutrition and diet now play a key factor in preparation for playing Camogie and indeed all Gaelic Games
* The next match in the Under 12 Summer Hurling league is at home on Thursday against Newry Shamrocks at 7.30pm.
* The Fundamentals Coaching for nursery P1 and P2 boys and girls continues this week on Tuesday nights 6.15pm to 7.15pm Bann Road. All new members welcome. The Juvenile coaching programme will continue in St Malachy’s Park every Saturday. Please bring both indoor and outdoor shoes as coaching will be inside if it rains.
* There will be another order for club gear which will be sent to O’Neill’s in September 2014. There is a stock of club socks and shorts held in the club at present. Please contact Brian O’Neill if you wish to make an order for gear other that what is held in The Club.
* Tickets are on sale for the final chapter in the Trilogy Mrs Brown Boys in the Social Club. They are also on sale in Walkers Newsagents. Rehearsals for the highly anticipated final instalment of the Ciaran Milligan trilogy Madame Brun’s Garcon’s III have been taking place over the past two months in Castlewellan’s Grand Opera House. This chilling period drama caught the public imagination last year and Milligan is keen to keep the suspense going right until the final curtain. In a rare interview he outlined his vision for the final chapter of his acclaimed work and gave an insight of what to expect “There will be a little bit for everyone in the final episode. Drama, suspense, tragedy, forbidden love, and regicide, to name but a few of the themes.” When pressed whether he had difficulty retaining the services of all the actors from the first two shows he retorted “This has been my life’s work. How could I have ended it all without the facets that the original cast bring to the table? Cillian Keaveney’s patience, Harry Toner’s wonderful attention span, Moira Hawkins’ bashful approach, and Declan Fitzpatrick’s ability to have everyone running for the door are all things we couldn’t have done without this time around.” Over the coming weeks we at Castlewellan GAC will try to give a sense of the build up to the star studded finale by taking you behind the scenes and doing all the celebrity interviews that everyone else wanted, but only we could get. There will also be free tickets and show memorabilia to be won & much much more. Get your tickets early and avoid disappointment for what will be the last outing for this particular show!
