HURLING/IOMÁNAÍOCHT: Hurling continues as usual next Sunday, 15ú Feabhra, in The Green School Gym. Times: at 4.30pm for all interested boys. Last week’s INDOOR session was enjoyed by all and we had a good turn out.
IOMÁNAÍOCHT FAOI 8, 10 & 12: Coaching for these groups will take off in the next few weeks when hurleys, times, manpower, venue, srl., are fully sorted out. Watch this space! Beginners, helpers, etc., are encouraged to come along.
COACHING COURSE: On Saturday 28th February a HURLING COACHING course will take place in the Mercy MountHawk School, Tralee. All Tralee clubs are invited. In charge will be none other than the National Director of Hurling, Tipp’s Paudie Butler. Also in attendance will be George O’Connor, the Wexford star of former years, as well as Donie Buckley, Pat Flanagan and Maurice Leahy. As all clubs are invited (and it’s necessary to book a place) and as this is another big effort to promote “the skilful game” it would be important that The Rock Club would be well represented on the day! One needs to book in before next Friday.
PEIL FAOI 6: INDOOR action will take place for our Under 6 boys on Sunday next @ 10am in the Mounthawk School Gym.
PEIL FAOI 8: Our INDOOR activity will take place for our Under 8 lads on Sunday next @ 11am, 22ú Feabhra, in the Mercy School Gym in Mounthawk.
PEIL FAOI 10: The Under 10 lads (born 1999 & 2000) will continue their INDOOR activity on Sunday next as usual in the Green School Gym. Time: 12.00. Registration Day for all Under 10 boys will be 22ú Márta…next Sunday.
PEIL FAOI 12: All boys born in 1997 & 1998 will begin their ’09 football programme @ 12.00 on Sunday week, 22nd February in Cathair Sailí. Registration for Under 12s is being looked after by Éamonn O’Reilly. PEIL FAOI 14: (i) Our Under 14 footballers (born 1995 & 1996) will have their usual indoor session on Sunday next at 5.30pm in the Green Gym. We hope that our early preparations will ensure that we can make a good start to our forthcoming ’09 campaign. Tús maith ~ leath na hoibre! Chun na hoibre linn! And why not come earlier and get warmed up with the hurlers? Registration is being handled by Michael Lynch. (ii) Our Under 14 stalwarts will travel to the Nemo Rangers’ Tournament in Cork on 28th February…usually a great outing…tá an t-aicsean ag tosú i gceart! PEIL FAOI 16: Our Under 16 boys/men (born 1993 & 1994) travelled to the Dr. Croke Club and took on on the Killarney ”black’n’amber” boys in our first challenge of ’09. This game was played under lights…a fine start to our season. An-mhaith, a leaideanna! An painéal: Shane Begley, Shane Crowley, Tomás Ziga, Lúcás Ó Donnaile, Danny Carroll, Ciarán O’Connell, Shane Walsh, Greg Switzer, David O’Sullivan, Stephen O’Connor, Mícheál Ó Gallchóir, Alan Crean, Mike Godley, Dean Bastible, Patrick Fitzgibbon, Danny de Róiste, Ian “Pecker” Doyle
RULE 3: “The Association shall promote and control the national games of HURLING, GAELIC FOOTBALL, HANDBALL and ROUNDERS and such other games as may be sanctioned and approved by Annual Congress”.
AN IDIRLÍON: Fáilte romhat go www.austinstacks.ie
TO BE A MEMBER: All players of all ages need to be registered to play with The Rock club. One can register by paying €30 for the year (less than 59c a week!!) or by joining the CLUB ROCKIES (family membership + weekly lotto + All-Ireland Final ticket draw + games/training for player = less than €5 per week).
CORN UÍ MHUIRÍ: Well done to The Green Boys who gave a good performance in the replay of the quarter final of the Munster Colleges’ Championship…Corn Uí Mhuirí…against Scoil de le Salle, Macroon…and emerged with a 4 point victory. Well done. Good luck to Shane & co. in the semi-final..
SCÓR NA bPÁISTÍ: The county final of Scór na bPáistí (for Primary School Pupils) will take place at 2pm on 29th March, probably in Gleann Beithe. The North Kerry semi-final will take place in Mainistir Ó dTórna at 7.30pm on 13th March and the other semi-final will be on 14th March. Tralee Board and St. Brendan’s Board will run a first round on Tuesday 10th March in the Kerins~O’Rahilly Club @ 7pm. We have an amhránaí aonair, Shelley Ní Eidhin, and a scéalaí, Megan Nic Ionnrachtaigh, agus tá siad ag cleachtadh ar a seacht ndícheall….but we need dancers, quiz experts and musicians! SCÓR NA SINSEAR: The county final of Senior Scór will be held at 7pm on 28th February. To reach that final individuals and groups must qualify from the Tralee/St. Brendan’s Board area competitions which will be held on the 26th February (Déardaoin) in the Kerins~O’Rahilly Clubhouse in Strand Road. We expect to enter teams for solo singing, aithriseoireacht, ceisteanna and bailéadghrúpa. Any takers for sketch, set dancing, music, figure dancing? All 4 Tralee clubs as well as Churchhill, St. Pats, Ballymac and Ardfert are eligible to participate and we hope that all clubs will be represented. And a bonus for the winning item in each competition…he/she/they will go straight to the county final.
GAA QUIZ: We hope to have a club quiz team (of 4) in the GAA/Seachtain na Gaeilge Tráth na gCeist competition. Format: all team questions, general knowledge and as Gaeilge.
GAA 125: Don’t forget to watch “An GAA” on TG4 at 9.15pm on Friday….programme 6….and after “GAA Beo” on Sunday afternoon around 5.40pm ….programme 7. This is a 10 week series of interesting facts on our association. When did the Sam Maguire Cup first cross the Border? Who was captain? What team lost that final? 10th MAY: On Lá na gClubanna over 2,000 GAA clubs are expected to celebrate the 125th anniversary of our founding, a ceiliúradh that will be held on Sunday 10th May, a day on which games and commemorative events in local communities may take place. HURLING: The Kerry senior hurlers, though losing, showed good spirit against the might of Wexford on Sunday. A good first half performance showed that, with hard work, our county team could make a good challenge for the Christy Ring Cup! We are disappointed that they didn’t make it against Carlow. Let’s not give up hope at this early stage…they’re still building!
Girls’ Football Academy: Training went ahead as usual on Sunday at The Green School Gym with a turnout of around sixty girls. Some new drills, which are all set towards better and faster ball control, were brought into use today. We have been back in training for only a few weeks but the level of improvement by all the girls in those few weeks is thrilling to see! An offer of €5 was made by one of the mentors to any girl who could hit him on the nose while he was playing in goal! This offer was not taken up by any of the girls this week although there were some pretty close attempts! If this offer carries on I am sure that the mentor will soon lose his money nó, b’fhéidir, a shrón! After watching some of our youngest girls kicking at goal I don’t think that they’d get a fair chance anyway… because our mentors are just not rich enough…an ghéarchéim eacnamaíochta, a chailín! Some of these girls have been playing for such a long time that their skills and their strength seem far ahead of their age. We are very pleased with the great number of girls coming along every Sunday morning and we note, also, that they all arrive on time. This makes it easier for us, of course, as we only have the hour for each group. I am sure that, if they could, some of these girls would play football all day on Sunday. And all day Monday to Friday if they could! Tá cailíní iontacha againn! The older girls were using various shaped balls today and finished their training with a game of hurling which was played with the usual gritty determination we have come to expect from them. And there’s a thought…who’d like to take on the camogie? Training continues this Sunday with the Under 6 to Under 10 age groups having a throw-in time of 10am and the Under 12 girls once again get thrown in at 11am. The Academy would like to send birthday wishes to Sarah Hartnett…eleven years old on 12th., Clodagh Roche…twelve years of age on 17th. and Daralene Lacey…ten years old on 11th. Is déagóirí anois iad! And Megan O’Donnell… magic nine…also on 12th. Breithlaethanta sona, a chailíní! ‘Hope that all our cailíní had a good day on Lá ‘le Vailintín!