AN CHÁISC: Happy Easter to all. 
Beannachtaí na Cásca ar gach duine agus go speisialta ar an Athair Mícheál, ár n-uachtarán uasal.
CAMPA PEILE: Our annual Easter Camp will be held from next Tuesday, 14ú Aibreán, to Friday, 17ú Aibreán, for all boys and for all girls Under 8 and Under 10. A good meitheal of youngsters is expected by Tim and co. This Easter Camp will be held at The Green C.B.S. and will be enjoyed by everybody.
PEIL FAOI 6/8/10: Training for all Under 6, Under 8 and Under 10 boys will be held again this Sunday at 11am in Caherslee. Please, go easy on the Easter Eggs before training!
CALL IN: County PRO Páidí de Faoite wishes to inform the GAA public that his website is up and running and that all and sundry are invited to see the latest news and updates at www.kerrycoistenanog.com.
PEIL FAOI 15: Under 15 Players Blossom on Blackwater Banks.
UNDER 15: Though they did us proud, our under 15 footballers had, once again, to suffer the heartache of receiving runner-up medals in a GAA competition when they went under to Douglas of Cork in the Fermoy Under 15 football tournament played last Saturday. “This was a great effort from a team that’s maturing nicely and will surely taste success in the near future,” proclaimed a leading club mentor ag deireadh an lae. Praise, indeed! We were grouped with St Finbarrs, John Mitchels, Mallow and Cóbh in the first round of games. With an early departure time of 8am it was very encouraging to see 18 youngsters rearing for action and we arrived in Fermoy at 10am ready for our first round game against St Finbarrs of Cork. In a tight affair we showed good skill and teamwork as we edged home by 4pts to 2pts and the wheels were in motion. Next up were old rivals Tralee Mitchels and despite two beautiful goals, one from Greg Horan and a second from captain Shane Crowley, we once again came unstuck, losing by a single point; our side was guilty of missing a host of chances. However, we responded with two easy victories over two Cork teams, Mallow and Cobh, and with St Finbarrs defeating Mitchels three teams were tied on 6pts. A 45yard free-taking competition failed to end the stalemate before Greg Horan pointed a free from 30 yards to put us through. Local rivals Kerins-O’Rahillys were our opposition in the semi-final and although, as usual, they almost put us to the sword we emerged victorious. Exhausted at this stage, following five matches, we faced a renowned Douglas side and were well defeated. The side, however, can be delighted with the day’s work and can look forward to the Under 15 Coiste Thrá Lí tournament which takes place late in the year. Squad: Shane Begley, Tommy Nicholson, Barry Walsh, Paul Galvin, Luke Donnelly, Tommy McLoughlin, Ciarán O’Connell, Alan Duggan, Tomás Ziga, Shane Walsh, Patrick Fitzgibbon, Shane Crowley(Captain), Greg Horan, Conor Jordan, Danny Carroll, Kyle Fitzgibbon, Brendan Duffin, Ryan Downey.
HURLING UNDER 16/17/18: Hurling training will take place at 5.30pm in Connolly Park on Friday next, 17ú Aibreán. Remember: Fridays will be official HURLING days and, so, commitments to other codes won’t hinder our commitment to the “skilful game”. Ar aghaidh linn! And bring along a friend! VOLUNTEERS/HELPERS REQUIRED TO HELP WITH YOUNGER AGE-GROUPS.
UNDER 12:, Éamonn O’Reilly, Nick McEllistrim, Eddie Scanlon, Colm Mangan, Gareth Moore, John Murray and co. are keeping an eye on the Under 12-ers as they prepare for the county league which will commence on 14th April…Dé Máirt. Training continues for this group at 6pm on Mondays….attendance is vital this Monday… and on Thursdays at 6pm in Caherslee. Cleachtadh a chuireann neart sna matáin (muscles), fad agus cruinneas (accuracy) sna ciceanna agus scóranna ar an gclár!
COACHING: It’s good to note that Kerry hurler John Griffin is visiting Tralee schools with the intention of improving the standard of hurling in our area and getting more people involved in the “skilful game.” Tá tosnú déanta aige i nGaelscoil Mhic Easmainn agus i Scoil Phádraig, Cathair Laithín. John is one of the most consistent players on the Kerry hurling team that was a little unlucky against foireann na hIarmhí on Sunday!
ACADAMH NA gCAILÍNÍ: (i) Another dry day was enjoyed by all the girls in Caherslee last Sunday. Once again the Academy was well supported by its members with almost seachtó cailíní at training; we were pleased to see several new girls arriving to check us out at all age levels. Also, as always, it is fantastic to see girls who have been missing for a while turning up again. Considering that quite a few of our girls are on their Easter breaks and that several were at the complex for the community games swimming races this was a very good turnout. Well done to all the girls who competed in the swimming, it was great to see the girls leaving the complex with so many medals…hope they remember to take them off before they go swimming again as there was a lot of weight there…buoyancy, a chailíní! As happens most weeks, several new drills were brought into action again this week, with some new props also making an appearance. As is always the case, the hour never seems long enough to complete all the drills, games, etc. We are looking forward to the warmer weather when we will be having a midweek training session. Training continues this Sunday with a throw in time of 11am for all girls.
(ii) FAOI 12: Our Under 12 girls are at present having a few friendly matches to help prepare for the season. They had a game against Na Gaeil last Friday in pretty rotten conditions. There was a very good turnout by the girls for the game which was played in Connolly Park. The girls took a while to settle down but by half time they were starting to show some of the skill and determination that we know they have. The Under 12 girls will travel to Castlegregory this Saturday, leaving from Connolly Park at 10.15am. It would be great to see all our Under 12 girls there for this game. If you can offer lifts or need a lift please contact Úna at 087-6470343.
(iii) REGISTRATION: Please ensure that registration fees have been paid and that all the girls’ details are correct. Registration forms are available from the mentors.
(iv) GUM SHIELDS: Please encourage your girls to wear gum shields; they are obviously much cheaper than dentist and surgery charges; if advice is needed please ask the mentors at training.
(v) MUMS GET ACTIVE: Austin Stacks’ Ladies’ club has received grant aid from Kerry Local Sports’ Partnership to develop a mum’s active programme. It is proposed to run the programme on Sunday mornings from 11-12 in Connolly Park. Six sessions will run between April 19th and May 24th. Each session will cost just €3. This group is for women who want to get active and participate in a variety of fun and fitness activities. Classes may include yoga, fun games, circuits, gym work, aerobics… indeed, anything that gets group members physically active. Go on! Be a role model for your daughters! And enjoy yourself into the bargain! Anyone interested in joining the group should make contact with Niamh Collins at 087-9029584 or niamhcollins@eircom.net.
FAOI 14 A: (i) Under 14 training (unless we’ve a league game) will take place on Wednesdays and on Fridays and on Sundays at 5.30pm.
(ii) Round 2~ In our second outing in Division 1 of this year’s League, we played away against Ardfert. Short a few regulars and with key players carrying injuries into the match; our boys struggled from the start and found it very difficult to get into the game against a powerful and well-drilled Ardfert fifteen. The game was effectively over as a contest at half-time when the locals were ahead by 2-07 to 0-01. Ardfert’s domination continued in the second half and they ran out winners on a score of 3-14 to 1-04.
Team and scorers: Cillian Comerford, Graham Riordan, Barry Walsh, Tommy Nicholson, Shane Greensmith, James O’Connor, Adam Barrett, Greg Horan (1-02), Michael O’Donnell, EoghanMac Iomhargáin, Brian Horgan, James Galvin, Conor Jordan (Captain), Kyle Fitzgibbon (0-02) and Breandán Caball. Subs: Darragh O’Carroll, Brendan Duffin and Graham O’Mahony.
(iii) Round 3~ On Friday last our A boys travelled to An Daingean and, in terrible weather, had a fine victory in Páirc an Ághasaigh. Bhuamar le 9 bpointe.
(iv) Round 4~ County League Division 1…Austin Stacks A: 6-07; Dr. Crokes A: 5-01
The Under 14 A team made it 3 wins from 4 matches in the County League when they defeated Dr. Crokes at Connolly Park on Wednesday last, 8th. April. Stacks started brightly and went into an early lead. However, the Killarney side took advantage of some slack play by The Rock and went ahead against the run of play with 3 goals which were scored in about 5 minutes. The home side regained their composure before half-time and led at the break on a scoreline of 3-04 to 3-01.
In the second half, with the weather deteriorating, Stacks took control of the match and ran out comfortable winners in the end. In addition to the valuable league points, the major bonus for Stacks in this match was the highly impressive debut at mid-field by Eoin O’Carroll. Better known for his exploits on the athletic tracks, Eoin capped an eye-catching performance with a well-taken goal in the first half.
Team and scorers for Austin Stacks: Brian Horgan, Graham Riordan, Barry Walsh, Tommy Nicholson, Shane Greensmith, James O’Connor, Adam Barrett, Eoin O’Carroll (1-00), Tomas Ziga (2-00), James Galvin (0-01), Michael O’Donnell, Brendan Duffin, Conor Jordan (Captain), Kyle Fitzgibbon (2-05) and Eoghan McKivergan (1-01). Subs: Darragh O’Carroll, Niall Carroll-Cane agus Breandán Caball.
(v) Babhta 5~ Next match for Stacks is away to Legion on Wednesday next, 15th. April. (vi) And on next Saturday, 18th April, at Fossa, Austin Stacks play Kerins~O’Rahillys in the Quarter-Final of Féile…a very important game indeed! Féile na nGael…here we come!
FAOI 14 B: (i) Under 14 training (unless we’ve a league game) will take place on Wednesdays and on Fridays and on Sundays at 5.30pm.
(ii) Last week we played at home to Spá B. This was a most successful second outing against a valiant Spá team…in the Lee Strand Under 14 County Football League. Although Spá was first to score from a free, we soon settled and opened our account from the bróg of Brian Hill who scored an excellent goal. This was followed by a point from Timmy Murphy and then a hat-trick of points from Kieran Flanagan before Brian Hill pounced for another goal. Despite this Spa had netted twice and also added another point to see the teams go in at half-time on a score line of 2-4 to 2-2 in our favour. We started the second half much brighter and it was Richard Hurley who scored a hat-trick of points before the outstanding Brian Hill scored another fantastic goal. Kieran Flanagan added another point before Brian Hill scored another two goals and a point bringing his tally to 5 goals and a point….imirt iontach ó Bhrian. Ach ní raibh deireadh leis an Spá and, for their part, they battled bravely until the end and scored twice more to see a final score of 5-10 to 3-3 in favour of the black’n’amber brigade. This was a good team effort from Stacks with great performances from Ciarán Flanagan, Enda Jordan, Seán Ryan, Gavin Breen and all the other players especially Brian Hill. However, it was also evident that a lot more work needs to be done to progress further in this competition. There is no point in having the will to win if you don’t have the will to prepare and as a result we look forward to better attendance at training each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday evenings from 5pm to 6.30pm. The team: Craig Corcoran (Captain), Seán Hurley, Seán Ryan, Enda Jordan, Gavin Breen, Sam Nealon, Dylan Hartnett, Ciarán Flanagan, Brian Hill, Timmy Murphy, David O’Brien, Richard Hurley, Jack O’Donnell, Michael Lynch, Cian Casey, Ryan Keely, Dominic Horgan, Jason Carroll and Anthony Moynihan.
(iii) Austin Stacks Under 14 B team had an unsuccessful outing Wednesday last, 8ú Aibreán, in the third round of the Lee Strand County Football League. Although scoring first through the boot of the captain Timmy Murphy, Stacks were under severe pressure for the half…nor did a strong wind help our cause…and went in at half-time on the wrong side of a 3-5 to 0-3 score line. The other Stacks’ scores sa chéad leath coming from Breandán Caball. The second half was a better display from Stacks with scores coming from Timmy Murphy, Sam Nealon, Seán Ryan, Dylan Hartnett and Breandán Caball. However, despite a valiant effort on the part of all players, Crokes ran out winners on a scoreline of 1-7 to 3-8. The team was Craig Corcoran, Seán Hurley, Seán Ryan, Enda Jordan, Gavin Breen, Sam Nealon, Dylan Hartnett, Brian Hill, Niall Carroll Cane, Timmy Murphy (Captain), Anthony Moynihan, Richard Hurley, Cian Casey, Breandán Caball, Cillian O’Brien, Dominic Horgan, Jason Carroll, John Nolan, Claudio Dema and Graham O’Mahony. See you all, boys, at training on Friday and Sunday and Wednesday at 5.30pm in Connolly Park.
(iv) On Wednesday 15th April our busy black’n’amber Bs will travel to Cill Airne to challenge Legion Bs…let’s hope we don’t get stung…roll on, Legion!
UNDER 16: (i) We commenced our Coiste Thrá Lí campaign with a home game against the John Mitchel Club on Thursday and lost on a scoreline of 9-8 to 4-5. Is binn béal ina thost!
(ii) We now face the might of Ard Fhearta Bhréanainn.
(iii) Blitz (7 a-side): May bank holiday (Monday).
(iii) County league (roinn 1): round 1 ~ Wednesday 22nd June.
(iv) County championship: Wednesday 19th August.
MEMBERSHIP: Have you signed up as a member of the club? Beidh Tadhg Mac Mathúna ag an gClubhouse on Mondays from 8.30pm to 9.30pm?
PROGRAMMES: Proceeds from the sale of programmes for Easter Sunday’s game v Galway will go to the county committee of Scór. Helpers/sellers welcome…be at the main gate by 1.15pm…….mórbhuíochas.
SCÓR ALL-IRELAND: Good luck to the Glenflesk musicians and dancers (set and figure dancers) who will be in action in the All-Ireland (Scór na Sinsear) Finals which will be held in the “Gleneagle” on Saturday next, 18th April…ag tosú ag 3pm. Booking advisable, if interested, with Anita at o87 68 22223.
A THOUGHT: A passing thought as one surfs our website, especially the “About the GAA” link: What other sporting organization…worldwide…has, as part of its manifesto/ethos/constitution, the promotion of such diverse things as QUESTION TIME, DANCE, DRAMA, MUSIC, A LANGUAGE, SONG…and all Irish??? Even organises national competitions in music, song and dance! Gives financial support to youngsters to go on a language-learning holiday! Just a thought!
125 BLIAIN de ChLG (1884~1984~2009): May 10th = Lá na gClubanna. See the senior club notes. Perhaps all boys and girls could attend school dressed in their club colours on 10th May….wouldn’t all múinteoirí be delighted to see a host of black’n’amber “uniforms” sa rang?? Why not attend Church dressed in black’n’amber? How about a handball tournament between the Tralee town clubs?
QUIZ Qs: “All to one side like the town of Fermoy”….. “Beef to the heel like a Mullingar heifer”….. “Abbeyfeale for flour and meal; Cahermee (Buttevant)for horses”…. “That “bate” Banagher and Banagher “bate” the devil!”…..Ní mise a chum ná a cheap!
HURLING CUP: How did Liam Mac/McCarthy write his name? With a “Mac”! That’s a fact, according to Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin’s new book on the Corkman after whom the All-Ireland senior hurling trophy is named!
CALL AGAIN: You’re always welcome at www.austinstacks.ie...night or day!