By Darragh Stirrat
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December 4, 2024
An Bhoth GAA Club Notes 03/12/2024 Ulster Minor Championship – Scotstown v Four Masters in Quarter Final this Sunday Scotstown play Four Masters in the quarter final of the Ulster Minor championship on Sunday 8th December in St. Paul’s GAC Belfast at 1:00pm. The nine county minor champions contest the St Pauls Tournament Ulster Minor Club Championship. Full draw; Preliminary: Mayobridge GAC (Down) (2-10) v (1-10) Kingscourt Stars (Cavan); Quarter Final 1: St. Brigid’s (Antrim) (2-10) v (1-16) O’Donovan Rossa (Derry); Quarter Final 2: Irvinestown (Fermanagh) (3-11) v (5-12) Clann Eireann (Armagh); Quarter Final 3: Scotstown GAA v Four Masters; Quarter Final 4: Cookstown Rocks (Tyrone) v Mayobridge. We wish our Minor Blues and Management the very best. Our Blues Upcoming Competitive Fixtures On Sunday 8th December our minor boys play Four Masters in the quarter final of the St. Pauls tournament Ulster Minor Championship at 1:00pm in St. Pauls Belfast. Scotstown GAA Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting of Scotstown GAA took place on Friday last, November 29th in the Scotstown complex. Our Youth Officer, Tiarnan McGonnell gave an extensive report where he reflected on the continuous improvement of our underage and juvenile teams and players. This included increasing participation in the future blues and underage teams and training sessions with more blitzes and challenge matches with other clubs around the country. Tiarnan praised the boys and girls for their behaviour, work ethic and respect, with tremendous enthusiasm and appetite for future development and progression. Tiarnan thanked all those involved in another successful year from the coaches to parents to sponsors and everyone else. This year was another bumper year for trophies with league and championship cup wins across the U12s, U14s and U16s levels and we have a considerable number of players with bright futures ahead in minor and senior level. Next our Cultural Officer, Paddy Sherlock, reflected over another busy and successful year for the club in Cultural activities. Paddy praised and thanked the newly formed Cultural sub-committee and paid tribute to the late and great Bernie Sherry for all her outstanding work and contribution to cultural events in the past. The Scór Sinsir competitions were held in March and our club was well represented and performed brilliantly in various events narrowly missing first places. Paddy Sherlock secured the County win in recitation and narrowly missed out in qualifying for the Ulster Final. In June, Scotstown had excellent participation in the County finals of Scór na bPaisti (spraoi scor), with the Recitation and the dancers both claiming gold with several others a close 2nd and 3rd in their respective acts. Scotstown had further success in November with the Scór nan Óg County Finals with the quiz team winning the Monaghan final and securing a place in the All Ireland Final with a good run in Ulster. Paddy congratulated everyone involved. Paddy also thanked Pauline Rooney for her weekly Irish classes in the complex. Paddy thanked other club officials and everyone else in the club for their assistance including the communications and promotion of cultural events. Our Secretary, Gary McQuaid, detailed an extensive outline of the football review so far of 2024, with the adult and minor teams. This has been another successful and busy year for the adult teams. The Senior men won the Monaghan Senior Championship for the 23rd time after qualifying for 12 finals in a row, winning 9 of those. The senior men also won the Senior League Owen ward Cup, which was the 12th county double Scotstown have achieved. The Senior men reached the Ulster Semi final last weekend but unfortunately lost. Gary praised and thanked the team and management and thanked everyone involved in the backroom team. The Senior reserves made the O’Duffy cup championship and Division 1A League cup finals and won the league cup but lost the championship final narrowly. The Junior men made further progress this year qualifying for the Championship and league cup quarter finals recording impressive wins and narrow losses in their campaigns. This was the second year of having 2 junior reserve teams which worked well giving everyone competitive football. The Division 3B team won the Division 3B League Cup and all 3 of the reserve teams finished top of their respective groups. The minor boys had another successful year. With both the A and B team reaching the league cup and championship finals. The Scotstown A team won the County Division 1 Championship in Clones on the same day as the Seniors won the County final and this was the first double in 43 years. The Minors now play in Ulster and face Four Masters of Donegal in the Quarter final of the St Paul’s tournament in Belfast this Sunday at 1pm in St. Paul’s GAC. Gary thanked all the management team members and the players for a successful year and wished the minor team and management all the best in Ulster. The Senior Ladies advanced with their progression and continuous improvement this year. There are 230 girls now involved in playing for Scotstown GAA. The Senior ladies made steady progress in the Reserve League Division 1 and in the Senior League Division 1 the Ladies qualified for their first ever Senior county final, but lost to a strong Emyvale side. The Ladies have secured their senior status in the championship for next year. The minor girls had a successful year with winning the Division 1 league cup and narrowly losing the Division 1 Championship semi final. Gary congratulated the teams and managements on their continuous improvement and success during the year. Gary next focused on the facilities and the maintenance of our grounds. He thanked all the coaches and managers and the groundkeeping of Frank McKenna and the field committee for all working well together in the smooth running of 140 competitive games during the year, and to Sean McGovern for planning the schedule of training and home games on all the pitches. Gary thanked the PRO, Communications team and the live streaming team for keeping everyone informed of the games and general club and community related items. This included tweeting 140 games and 40 live streaming 40 games in 2024. Gary thanked the Health and Safety committee for all their work including the safeguarding courses. Gary paid tribute to the late and great Bernie Sherry and outlined some of the many outstanding achievements during the year including the progression of the Healthy Club where Scotstown is now aiming for the gold status. This was another busy year of community engagement and Healthy Club initiatives. This included the RTE Transformation walks which coincided with an invaluable Blood Pressure monitoring health check available for participants. Make a Ceili will be launched again this winter and Card playing has commenced in the Scotstown Complex. GAA for all initiative has continued this year as well. Earlier in the year women’s health, and alcohol and drugs awareness talks took place along with How are you? Metal health awareness in May. Cardiac screening happened and the ladies recently planted the daffodils in Kilmore for next year’s March Daffodil day. GAA 4 Mothers and Others is going strong and the club achieved the Silver Healthy Club status during the year. Gary thanked the development committee in all the progress and positive outcomes during the year including the official opening of the Kilmore hub and the installation of the new excellent floodlights at Kilmore. Gary also referred to various initiatives and fundraisers during the year such as the Cul Camps, table quizzes, medal presentations, clothes collections, Big Breakfast, Scór activities and many other initiatives and events. Gary thanked all the volunteers, stewards, shop and all those activities that are smoothly run all year, and our referees. Next, our Treasurer, Aine McKenna discussed the Financial Statements and a review of the 2023 / 2024 financial year. This year was another busy year for the club as the Kilmore development continued with significant completions, and there has been a considerable level of funding required for the entire project. The day to day running of the club has been continually supported by the Ciste, Lotto, match receipts and our sponsors, while the capital investment for the year and future is supported by the Cairde na Botha and grant income, and the recent Leave your Mark fundraiser. Aine praised all those involved in raising the funds for the club as this is crucial in continuing the success of the club for future generations. Next was our Chairman Cyril McCrudden’s address. Cyril praised all our club members, players and volunteers for their hard work during the past year and congratulated them all on their successes so far. Cyril thanked all the new 2024 sub-committees, and the stewards, ground staff, Ciste, Leave your Mark and lotto groups, Cairde and the fundraising committees, the bar and social club staff, hospitality and food providers, the club shop and tuck shop, the cleaners, those who put up the bunting, the coaches, team managers, referees, and everyone else behind the scenes that make the club work so well and efficiently. Cyril thanked and praised all the teams and managements and all those involved in the parish and community that make the club work so well both on and off the field. Echoing the previous speakers Cyril praised and thanked the coaching team and officer Marc Mullen for all the successes and progression this year, and thanked families and parents of players. Cyril also thanked the cultural officer, PRO and communications committee, Field committee, development committee, Finance and fundraising committee and treasurer, secretary, cultural officer and committee, referees, development officer and committee, green committee, social club and all the events, the Kilmore hub and the work of Gareth Sherry there, and many more involved including members and supporters. Cyril paid tribute to the late and great Bernie Sherry and all the health and well being work and thanked our Main Sponsors, McMahons Centra Scotstown and other sponsors including Maguire Transport and Greenfield Foods, and all those who support the various fundraisers. Cyril outlined the future developments in Kilmore including the car park and the Astro pitch and looked forward to another successful year in 2025 both on and off the pitch. Next was the election of officers. There are no changes for 2025. The officers of Scotstown GAA for the coming year are: Chairperson: Cyril McCrudden; Secretary: Gary McQuaid; Vice-Chairperson: Pauline Keenan; Assistant Secretary; Brenda McCarey; Treasurer: Aine McKenna; Assistant Treasurer: Martin Connolly; Public Relations Officer: Padraig Columb; Youth Officer: Tiarnan McGonnell; Coaching Officer: Marc Mullen; Cultural Officer: Paddy Sherlock; Development Officer: Stephen McKenna; Registrar: Damian Mohan; County Board Delegate: Sean Murphy; Health & Wellbeing Officer: Bernie Sherry; Children’s officer: Emma McKenna; Players’ Representatives: Michéal McCarville and Megan Boylan; Groundsman: Frank McKenna. Scotstown GAA Online Club Lotto – Jackpot €7,200 Thanks to everyone involved in our online lotto draw for a €7,000 jackpot on Wednesday 4th December. Please see our Social Media platforms for more details of the results. In the November 27th draw, there was NO Jackpot winner. Numbers drawn on the night were 9, 20, 24, 25. There were NO match 3 w1nners. We had 5 Lucky-Dip winners, Paul Hand, Brian McCarville, Macartan McKenna, Grainne McKenna, and Noel Carbin who win €20 each. Congratulations to all our winners! The Scotstown GAA online Lotto Draw takes place every Wednesday at 8:30pm with last entries at 8pm. The draw is conducted on-line and is fully automated using secure facilities. There are 4 numbers to choose from a range of 1 to 31. Match the 4 numbers to win the Jackpot of €7,000. If no jackpot winner €200 is rolled over to the following week. Also if there is no jackpot winner there will be lucky dips. Next draw is Wednesday December 4th at 8:30pm. Ciste Draw Congratulations to Katie & Sarah O'Donnell, Ballybay our €1,000 November Ciste Winner! Also congratulations to our 5 x €100 winners, Declan McKenna, Anne Brennan, Kevin Caulfield, Eilish McEntee, Ann McQuaid. Sellers prize: Tommy McMahon & JP McMahon. Thanks to Cormac Sherry for Facebook live this evening.You can purchase your Ciste tickets in our local shops. There are tickets, envelopes and collection boxes in each of these shops; McMahon Centra, Scotstown; XL Ballinode & Killylough, and in Knockatallon. You can also purchase your Ciste tickets using the Scotstown Clubforce website and clicking on ‘buy event tickets’ link. First prize €1,000 and 5 prizes of €100 must be won. In total €18,000 in prize money is won every year! “Leave your Mark” Big Cash Prize Fundraiser We launched our Club Development fundraiser “Leave your mark”, with 1st prize of €15,000 plus several more large cash prizes to be won including a special €5,000 winning prize for any nominated club. Please see our social media platforms for more details. Cairde na Botha – 4th Year Registration due Many thanks to all those involved in the Cairde na Botha initiative. For those who subscribed last year and are on the 4 year subscription plan, the 4th year subscription is now due. New members are more than welcome to sign up to Cairde. Thanks! Scotstown Cairde Na Botha wish to thank all those who have supported this historical fundraising project so far. We thank you for your continued support. Anyone wishing to join in this initiative and be part of it, please contact any of our Cairde na Botha committee members; Shane Stirrat; Austin Corrigan; Aine McKenna; Michael Owen McMahon; Aidan McCarra; Stephen McKenna; Cyril Mc Crudden. The aim of Cairde Na Botha is to improve and develop our Kilmore training facilities to help achieve our vision of continuously improving our success on-field for our teams and off-field for our community. Cairde Na Botha is one of the biggest projects ever undertaken by our club. Be part of it! Scotstown GAA’s success has always been built on the considerable support we receive from home and abroad. We fondly remember fundraising projects in the past, such as the Scotstown Carnival in the 1960s to the purchase of our main field at Urbleshanny,The Lord Mayor Campaign in the 1980s to fund the building of Sportlann Mhuire (the complex) and development of St. Marys Park and indeed, the ambitious purchase Of Kilmore in 1995 which has contributed to the outstanding success we achieve today. Cairde na Botha is your opportunity to help your club continue this successful development for this generation and the next into the future. Fully paid up Members of Cairde Na Botha will have the benefit of their name engraved on the supporters’ wall at the Kilmore training grounds. Please see our Clubspot app for more details and how to register or subscribe to year 4. We welcome all Scotstown GAA supporters at home and abroad to join in this progressive and exciting initiative!! Adult Badminton in Scotstown Complex Adult Badminton season kicking off this Wednesday 4th December in the Scotstown Complex at 8pm. Suitable for Intermediate to Advanced. Club Shop The Club Shop is next open this Friday 6th December from 7pm to 8pm. Social Club open The Social Club is open this Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9pm. Bar Rota: Abbie McCarey and Cormac Sherry. Scotstown GAA Social Club Little Christmas Get-together. Just to say Thank You to all our Patrons, Volunteers, Coaches and Helpers - we are having a little bit of a get together in the Scotstown GAA Social Club on Saturday 28th December and would love for you all to join us! Just a few drinks, a few nibbles and a bit of craic to say "Thanks for a job well done"! Save the Date – St. Patrick’s Weekend! Date for your diary. Highstool Prophets playing St. Patrick’s weekend 2025 in Scotstown! Appeal for members to volunteer in Fundraising activities We would be grateful if members could become involved in fundraising activities, such as selling tickets. Please contact Shane on 086 836 7997. Thank you. Interested in Volunteering? Anyone interested in helping out in one of our many new committees, we are looking for volunteers. Please contact Cyril at 087 9628521. Scotstown Player Pathway Our Coaching Committee is inviting new, current, and former players from U16 level to adult level to join us in forming a second women's adult team in 2025. This new team will help to provide more playing opportunities for all and will strengthen our Player Pathway. If you are interested in signing up, fill in the form below today https://tinyurl.com/scotstownplyrpthwy Health and Wellbeing Scotstown GAA will continue this year with its Healthy Club project which aims to help GAA clubs explore how they support the holistic health of their members and the communities they serve. Early in the year we continued the Make a Ceili initiative which was launched before Christmas. In January / February saw the start of the Operation Transformation walk, the Scotstown Ladies hosted a Women’s Health talk, a drugs and Alcohol awareness workshop with our coaches, and we had several card nights during the first quarter. During May we had the Hello How are you? Campaign and in August, a community event after the Blessing of the Graves. In November we had daffodil planting in Kilmore and last weekend we had the return of the card nights for the winter. Card Playing night this Friday Scotstown GAA are inviting everyone to come along and play Cards in the Scotstown complex this Friday 6th December at 8 O’ Clock especially young people who want to learn the game of 45, there will be card players there on the night to guide and help, fun night ahead don’t let our traditional card games become a thing of the past. Make a Ceili Launch night The 2024 / 2025 Make a Ceili will be launched on 18th December. Scór agus Cultúr Our County champions quiz team took part in the Scor na nOg Ulster final. A massive congratulations to the team who have qualified for the All Ireland Final which will take place in the Hillgrove hotel on January 25th 2025! Tá an Ciorcal sa Spórtlann gach Oíche Mháirt ag a 8 a chlog! Fáilte roimh gach duine! Free Morning exercise classes Monaghans U3A and Border Bounce Gym Club are running a free morning exercise class on Zoom at 8.30am for over 55’s on Monday to Thursday. Meeting ID 85016592808 Passcode 366229