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LOCAL NEWS ARCHIVE - APRIL 2003
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Local News Page]
The
Annual General Meeting of Cornafean Community Development Association will
be held on next Thursday night, 1st May, in McSeains, starting at 9.00pm.
The Community Development Association, under the leadership of Dessie
Harrington, Jim Hannon and others, has done some great work on behalf of the
local community in recent years and the Association plays a very important
role in representing the interests of the locality and also where necessary
in co-ordinating and helping out the many voluntary, social and sporting
groups in the area. As such, it is worthy of the support of everyone in the
area. New members are heartily welcome to attend the AGM, and all existing
members are also requested to attend.
There
was widespread sadness in the local community last week on the death of
Larry Galligan, Bruse who died on Friday April 25th in Cavan General
Hospital. Larry spent most of his life working with his brother Paddy on the
family farm in Ballynamoney, Kilnaleck. Following Paddy’s death in 1999,
Larry moved to Bruse to live with his sister Rose Masterson and although in
deteriorating health, he quickly endeared himself to the local community. He
will be remembered especially for his great wit and sense of humour. Larry
was a man with many interests in life, but nothing gave him more pleasure
than the occasional game of cards. A very friendly and engaging man, he
loved meeting people and he knew almost every family in the Ballymachugh
area and its surrounds. He had a great memory and could recall a tremendous
range of events and happenings in the locality for the better part of sixty
years.
He will
be sadly missed by his sisters Rose Masterson, Bruse and Kathleen Madden,
Dring, Co. Longford, nephew Johnny Masterson, niece Mrs Kathleen
O’Donnell, and other relatives.
There
were large attendances at the Removal of his Remains to St Mary’s Church,
Ballynarry on last Saturday evening and at the Funeral Mass on Sunday with
burial in the local cemetery.
Last
Saturday, a number of local supporters made the long trip to Castlebar for
the All Ireland Finals of 2003. A capacity attendance packed into the
Travellers Friend Theatre in the Co. Mayo town for a magnificent evening’s
entertainment. Cavan were represented by the Killeshandra Instrumental Music
team, who performed superbly but unfortunately the honours went elsewhere on
this occasion. Indeed there was some disappointment among the Breffni
following on the failure of any of the eight Ulster representatives to win
national honours, for the seconyear in succession – a sure sign of the
high standards at national level in Scór.
The
local Vintage Tractor Club are holding a meeting in McSeains next Friday
night at 9.30pm. All members are asked to attend. Among the items to be
discussed is the planned Tractor Run at the forthcoming County Ploughing
Championships in Ballyhaise.
The 57th
Annual Cornafean Drag Hunt will take place next Monday (Bank Holiday) in
Cornafean, starting at 2.00pm Further information can be obtained from
Peadar McSeain.
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| The Cornafean Ceili Group 1989: Back Row Siobhan Masterson, Kathleen Masterson, Deirdre Martin, Lily Gaffney, Patricia Martin Front Row: Robert Morrow, Siobhan McManus, John Morrow, Gemma McDermott, Breda McManus, Karen McDermott |
This
year is the 25th anniversary of the founding of the famed Cornafean
Ceili Group and as part of the jubilee celebrations this Summer, the Group are
planning to release a CD of both old and new material.
It is
hoped that the CD will be released on the weekend of 20th to 22nd
June, when the Group are planning a major reunion celebration in Cornafean. In
recent weeks there has been mounting interest in this forthcoming reunion and
the idea of releasing a CD was mooted as in ideal way to mark this special
occasion.
Local music enthusiasts will recall that the Group, under the leadership of Paddy McDermott, released three highly acclaimed and successful cassette tapes during the 1980’s. 'Traditional Music and Song Cornafean Style' , 'The Mountain Road' and "Breffni to Bavaria". All of these recordings sold out completely within a short time of their original release and with the great renaissance in the popularity of traditional music in the meantime, there are high hopes that this CD will be in popular demand.
It is understood that the Ceili Group members will be meeting to record some new tracks in the near future and this new material will appear alongside some previous recordings on the specially commissioned double-CD. It is hoped also to include some popular local songs and recitations on the CD.
In order to raise funds towards the cost of producing the CD, the Ceili Group will be playing at an Irish Night in McSeains on Thursday night, 17th April. This promises to be a very enjoyable occasion and all are welcome.
Last Friday night, the Cornafean Active Age Club held their first meeting since the club’s formation and a committee was elected. Among the officers are Chairman Tommy O’Rourke, Secretary Julie Laheen and Treasurer Robert Armstrong. This meeting attracted a good attendance and everyone found it very worthwhile. The club are now busy organising another night of entertainment for local people, which is provisionally scheduled for Friday night, 25th April. After the success of the club’s most recent Social Evening a few weeks ago, many local people will be keenly looking forward to this event.
The local Vintage Tractor Club will be holding their next meeting in McSeains on this Friday night, 11th April at 9.30pm sharp. All members are asked to attend.
A large number of local people made the trip to Silverbridge, Co. Armagh last Saturday week to cheer on Cornafean’s Michael McGibney in the Recitation competition at the Ulster Scór Finals. Michael put up a great performance of the Brendan Kennelly poem “Maloney and the Dust”, and drew an enthusiastic reaction from the capacity audience but at the end of the night he was pipped for provincial honours by his Co. Tyrone counterpart.
Congratulations to the Killeshandra Instrumental Music Group who took home an Ulster title to Cavan and who now go forward to the All Ireland Finals later this month in Castlebar Co. Mayo. This was the third time in succession for Cavan to win this title as Templeport were Ulster winners in this competition for the past two years and we wish the Killeshandra group every success in their quest for national honours.
We wish
our local Recitation representative Michael McGibney the very best of luck in
the Ulster Scor final, in Silverbridge Co. Armagh, this Saturday night.
On last Saturday week, Michael qualified by the final in some style with a fine rendition of “Maloney and the Dust” at the semi-finals in Scotstown, Co. Monaghan. The same night, the local Question Time team of Michael Dinneny Annette Geoghegan and Tommy McGibney came close to taking a second Ulster final place for Cornafean but the home side Scotstown won out in a tight contest.
Hopefully, there will be a large turnout of Cornafean people in the superb Silverbridge venue on next Saturday night. We also extend best wishes to the Killeshandra Ceili Dancers, Set Dancers and Instrumental Groups who are also taking part on Saturday night and it should be a rare occasion for the local parish to be represented by no less than four acts in a provincial Scor Final.
Deepest sympathy is extended to Frank McNamee, Clonkeen Crescent, Dun Laoghaire and formerly of Marahill, on the untimely death of his wife Maureen, who died recently at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin after a short illness. Maureen was a native of Corrabrack, Belturbet and she, along with her family, was a frequent visitor to the locality. There were large attendances at the Removal of her Remains to St. Patrick’s Church, Drumcor on Tuesday 11th March and at the Funeral Mass on Wednesday. We extend sympathy to her husband Frank, sons Darragh, Peter and Padraig, daughters Sinead and Siobhan, grandchild Baby David, son-in-law Bernard, daughter-in-law Deirdre, mother Mrs Jane Reynolds, brothers sisters and other relatives.
Last Friday night, the Cornafean Active Age Club was launched at a very enjoyable Social Evening in McSeain’s Lounge, which drew a large attendance. Great credit is due to the organising committee who put in a Trojan effort in recent weeks to ensure that this occasion was a success. The assembled gathering enjoyed a varied programme of entertainment, including music by Mary Harwood, the Arva Scor Ballad Group and local artistes. On behalf of the organising committee, Michael McGibney welcomed everyone to the event and outlined the Active Age Club is intended to be run, and the many benefits it can bring to the local community.
The first meeting of the new club will be held in McSeains Lounge on Friday 4th April at 8.30pm. All are welcome, and indeed encouraged to attend.
A Special Charity Whist Drive will be held in McSeains Lounge Cornafean on next Monday night, 31st March. The proceeds are in aid of the Lourdes Invalid Fund and all support will be greatly appreciated.
Congratulations to local man Brian Doyle and Patricia O’Connor, Drumcondra, Dublin who were married in St Michael’s Church, Potahee on Friday 14th March. A reception was held afterwards at the Hotel Kilmore, Cavan and the happy couple are currently enjoying their honeymoon in the sunny climes of South Africa.
The Cornafean senior footballers kicked off their 2002 season last Sunday week with a closely fought Intermediate League tie against Drumalee. At the end of the game the visitors enjoyed a four-point win, with the final scoreline reading Drumalee 0-13 Cornafean 0-9. An unusually warm and sunny day attracted a fair sized attendance to Pairc Naoimh Fionnain and both teams played their part in producing an enjoyable game. Although Cornafean were short some key players for this game, they still had plenty of chances to win this game and they will need to improve their performances in the coming league games in order to make an impact in the league in the run-up to the Championship.
Next Sunday, Cornafean travel to Cootehill for senior and reserve league games against the locals. The senior game will be a tough assignment for Cornafean against a Cootehill team that almost went the full distance in last year’s Intermediate Championship. The sides met three times in last year’s Championship campaign, with Cootehill winning twice and the third game, a playoff fixture, ending in a draw.
The Reserve team were in action against neighbours Killeshandra on last Sunday morning but the Killeshandra team recorded a deserved home win on a scoreline of 0-10 to 0-5 in their favour.
Later on Sunday, large numbers from the locality enjoyed the rollercoaster Allianz Football League game in Kingspan Breffni Park between Cavan and Laois. The Breffni supporters had mixed feelings as the teams finished level after a dramatic and wonderfully enjoyable game. With manager Mattie Kerrigan banished to the front of the stand by dint of a recent GAC ban, Cavan were under pressure in the opening quarter and were soon 0-5 to 0-0 down but the inventive Breffni forwardline brought their team soon back into contention. Cavan were back on level terms when Larry Reilly scored a brilliant goal on 21 minutes and Breffni hearts were jumping when the magical Jason Reilly followed this up with a second goal just before the break. Laois bounced back with a penalty goal on the stroke of half time and seemed set for victory when old stager Hughie Emerson scored their second goal with a quarter of an hour left. Still there was life left in Cavan and late goals from Jason Reilly and a penalty strike from Peter Reilly secured a draw at the end of a memorable contest.
This result was a superb achievement for a Cavan panel depleted by injury and other enforced absences, with no less than nine members of the regular panel out of action for the moment. Next up is an attractive tie against Sligo in Kingspan Breffni Park on next Sunday week, and victory for Cavan would earn them a place in the League semi-finals. Certainly any Cavan supporter who was present in Markievicz Park, Sligo for the corresponding game last Spring will be keenly looking forward to this game.
