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LOCAL NEWS ARCHIVE - AUGUST 2003
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Local News Page]
The annual
Cornafean Vintage Ploughing and Field Day will be held on Saturday next, 30th
August on the lands of Tom McSeain at Drumcoghill, Cornafean. A tremendous
variety of attractions will be on display for the day and many of the
attractions this year will appeal specially to children. This is the seventh
year in succession that the event has been organised by the local Vintage
Ploughing Association since it was first run in August 1997 and, over the years,
the local Vintage Day has been a huge crowd puller, on each occasion attracting
attendances of several hundred people.
Once
again, the 2003 Vintage Day promises to be one of the highlights of the year in
the locality, and the local Vintage Association have been busy in recent weeks
putting the finishing touches to the preparations for the event. The
day's proceedings will start at 1pm and a great variety of attractions have been
organised to suit all age groups.
As
in previous years, there will be keen interest in the various ploughing
exhibitions, including Horse Ploughing, Vintage Tractor Ploughing and scoring,
and demonstrations of mule and jennet ploughing.
There will also be exhibitions of many other agricultural activities of a bygone
era, including threshing, vintage baling, loy digging, horse shoeing, thatching,
cross-cut sawing, and stone-building.
There
will also be demonstrations of many traditional household tasks, such as baking,
churning, and butter making, as well as flower arranging. There will also be
displays of vintage cars, trucks, engines and miniature farm tools and
implements. A number of trade stands will be in place for the day, as well as
Blood Pressure and Diabetic testing services, and several food stands will
provide refreshments.
The event promises to be a wonderful day out for children and families and this
year’s event will boast the largest and most impressive variety yet of
children’s attractions and events. As was the case in earlier years, children
of all ages will enjoy numerous special attractions such as children’s races,
bouncing castles, children’s races, a Dog Show, the ever-popular Mini Quads,
Bouncing Castle, amusements, Balloon modelling and face painting. This year the
local children will enjoy seeing many of their favourite cartoon characters such
as Barney, Bob the Builder and Winnie the Pooh at the Cornafean venue, with
popcorn and candy floss stands nearby. Among the other new attractions will be a
6ft high unicycle act, foot juggling, Juggle Mania (featuring juggling fire
torches and clubs) and a giant Coca Cola can, Magic and fire eating, Acrobats
and many more..
All
proceeds from the event are in aid of "Self Help", the Third World
Development Charity. This charity was set up in response to the Ethiopian famine
in the mid-1980's and since then has been doing great work in the in the third
world, concentrating on long-term famine prevention through training and
education.
The day's proceedings will conclude with the ever-popular Annual Vintage Dance
in McSeain's on Saturday night with dancing to Brian & Geraldine.
The
Cornafean junior footballers made their exit from the Division 3 Junior B
Championship last Sunday evening when they lost narrowly to Shercock in the
Quarter Final. Playing with home advantage, Shercock took a commanding lead in
the early stages but Cornafean battled hard to bring themselves back into
contention. After a nail-biting second-half finale, the sides finished level and
the game went into extra-time. The home side enjoyed a slight edge in the
extra-time period and had two points to spare at the final whistle - enough to
earn them a place in the semi-finals.
There
is strong local interest in next month’s 2-day trip to the Ridgepool Hotel,
Ballina, Co. Mayo,.organised by the Cornafean Active Age Club. The tour will
take place on Wednesday and Thursday 24th and 25th
September, and not on the dates mentioned in these columns last week. Apologies
for any confusion caused by this misunderstanding. The organisers are
encouraging as many people as possible to take part in the trip. The tour will
involve coach travel to the well-known Co. Mayo hotel, with a stop en route at
the famous Strokestown House and Gardens. On arrival at the hotel, the group
will have dinner and overnight bed and breakfast. The next morning, the group
will be taken on a tour of sightseeing attractions in the North Co. Mayo area.
The total cost of the tour is a very reasonable 99 euro per person. A deposit of
€20 is required as soon as possible to secure a place on the trip and
immediate booking is essential in order to avoid disappointment
To
book, please contact Maura Sheridan (049 4337469) Tommy O’Rourke (049 4337205)
or Catriona Laheen at 087 7763857. The Club are still accepting applications for
membership from new members, at a cost of 5 euro per member.
There
was widespread shock and grief in the local community last weekend on the tragic
and untimely death of Mr. Joe Duffy, Donnybrook, Dublin, husband of Mary
Fitzpatrick, formerly of Annagh. Joe died on Wednesday 13th August
after a short illness. He was well known as a very pleasant, popular and affable
man and his many friends in the Cornafean area will deeply mourn his passing. A
native of Deanscurragh, Longford, Joe held a senior management position with the
Brennans Bread bakery group in Dublin. He was a brother of the well known
Northern Sound broadcaster Fintan Duffy.
We
extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Mary, sons Conor and Gavin, parents,
sister, brothers and other relatives.
A
week after the Cornafean senior footballers made a disappointing exit from the
2003 Intermediate Championship, the club’s reserve side finally gave the local
footballers cause to cheer on Friday evening last when they recorded a
hard-fought victory over opponents Munterconnaght in the Junior B Football
Championship.
Cornafean
fielded a strong team for this game including a number of first-team regulars
who had missed out on the earlier rounds of the Intermediate Championship due to
injury and other factors. They made most of the running in the first half but
had to withstand a strong Munterconnacht rally just before half-time and the
teams were level at the break. The pattern of play in the second half was quite
similar to that of the first. Cornafean built up a strong lead and seemed to be
in complete control heading into the closing stages but had to fight hard in the
last minutes of the game to see off a resurgent Munterconnacht. The final score,
Cornafean 2-10 Munterconnacht 1-11 gives some indication of the competitive
nature of the exchanges.
The
local football enthusiasts are hoping that this win will mark a turning-point
for the Cornafean footballers who have so far experienced a luckless season in
2003. After narrowly losing to Kill in their opening Championship game, it was
no surprise that the understrength senior team would struggle to make an impact
against such strong teams as Denn and Laragh in their remaining first round
games. However at this point in the season, there is still much optimism in the
club and indeed much to play for, not least the forthcoming relegation playoffs,
where Cornafean have still a fighting chance of retaining their Intermediate
status.
Contrary
to some recent ill-informed media reports, the local players have not by any
means “thrown in the towel” and resigned themselves to the prospect of
demotion to junior ranks next year. With a resurgence of their trademark spirit
and determination, Cornafean can and will bounce back and maybe, once again,
prove their critics wrong!
The
recently-launched double CD -“The Cornafean Ceili Group - 25 Years On"
continues to be a very popular favourite among music enthusiasts over a wide
area. Strong sales of the CD have been recorded in local outlets in recent weeks
due to keen interest from tourists and visitors to the locality. The group
recently played at a very enjoyable social gathering in Mitchell’s Lounge
Carrigallen, in recognition of the contribution to the Morrow family to the CD,
and they have also appeared in several other leading venues in local towns and
villages in recent weeks - each time enjoying a tremendous response from the
locals.
A
limited number of copies are still available in many local outlets. The
double-CD containing almost 150 minutes of traditional music, song and
recitation, would make an ideal holiday gift for our many visitors in the
remainder of the holiday season.
Preparations
are continuing for this year’s Cornafean Vintage Ploughing and Field Day,
which will take place on Saturday August 30th. The local Vintage
Ploughing Association committee are busy putting together and attractive
programme for the day, and it promises to be a very special occasion.
Congratulations
to the Shamrock Inn, Killeshandra team of Sean McManus, Eamonn McKiernan,
Nicholas Keogh, Pauric Rudden, Thomas Brady and Michael O'Reilly who retained
their All Ireland Skittles title recently at the finals in Cornafean. The
winners overcame a strong challenge from Woodford Stars to hold on to the title
they won at the same venue last year. Cornafean was a hive of activity for the
entire weekend and there was great praise for the professional manner in which
the event was organised and run.
A group from Rehab Summer Respite Holidays recently enjoyed a very enjoyable visit to the locality. The group’s first stop was at St. Feithlimidh’s, Kilmore where they enjoyed lunch provided by the ladies of Crossdoney ICA and Kilmore Mothers Union, followed by a tour of the Cathedral and an organ recital of their favourite music given by Elizabeth Hislop.
To finish their holiday in Cavan, they enjoyed what can only be described as a memorable night in McSeain’s Cornafea, where supper was kindly provided by Damien O’Reilly assisted by the members of the Coronea and Crossdoney ICA guilds. The group were entertained by Mary Harwood, Sean Masterson, Dominic King, Mick Masterson, Francis and Anna Rose McCormack, Eamon Maguire and members of their own group. All the visitors were loud in their praise for the welcome they received from one and all in the locality, and for the hospitality and entertainment provided for them during their stay.
The Crosskeys Pony Trotting Club are holding a drive on next Sunday, 17th August, leaving from McSeain’s Cornafean at 2.30pm approx, via Corlismore, Leggaginny, Ballinagh, Crossdoney and returning via Arva Road to Cornafean. In the interests of safety, all motorists in the area are kindly asked to exercise extreme caution for the duration of the afternoon.
There is already a keen sense of anticipation amongst young and old in the area in advance of this year’s Vintage Ploughing and Field Day, which is scheduled for Cornafean on Saturday August 30th. The organising committee in the local Vintage Ploughing Association are busy assembling a varied programme of attractions for the day, which will include a range of new attractions for children.
The Cornafean Active Age Club are encouraging as many people as possible to take part in an exciting 2-day trip to the Ridgepool Hotel, Ballina, Co. Mayo, next month. On Sunday 28th September, the group will travel by coach to the Co. Mayo hotel, with a stop en route at the famous Strokestown House and Gardens. On arrival at the hotel, they will have dinner and overnight bed and breakfast. The next morning, the group will be taken on a tour of sightseeing attractions in the North Co. Mayo area. The total cost of the tour is a very reasonable 99 euro per person. A deposit of €20 is required before 15th September to secure a place on the trip and early bookings are advised in order to avoid disappointment
To book, please contact Maura Sheridan (049 4337469) Tommy O’Rourke (049 4337205) or Catriona Laheen at 087 7763857. The Club are still accepting applications for membership from new members, at a cost of 5 euro per member.
end
Congratulations to Aisling Corcoran, Corrdownan who won the Ulster title for Solo Singing in the Under-12 category at the Ulster Fleadh Cheoil in Warrenpoint, Co. Down . There was great excitement among her family and supporters at the provincial final last Saturday week when Aisling, who is a daughter of Anna and Austin Corcoran, produced a wonderful singing performance to overcome strong competition from all over Ulster. Aisling will now represent Ulster in the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil which will be held this year in the historic Co. Tipperary town of Clonmel on Saturday 23rd August.
This weekend, McSeains, Cornafean is the venue for the 2003 All Ireland Skittle Championships hosted by the Cavan Skittles Association. This is the second year in succession for Cornafean to host this event and, after the great success of last year’s competition, which attracted huge crowds to Cornafean, hopes are high that this year’s finals will be even more successful.
The event is set to attract to Cornafean skittle enthusiasts and teams from all over Ireland, bringing a welcome boost to tourism in the locality. In last year’s competiton the Shamrock Inn, Killeshandra team captured the honours in the main team competition by Ballycullane, Co. Wexford in the final of the team competition and Michael McKiernan, Farnham who took All Ireland honours in the Individual competition. We wish all the local participants every success on this occasion.
Last Saturday, quite a number of locals were among the hundreds of participants who took part in the 20km run organised by Arva GAA club to raise funds for St. Luke’s Hospital for Cancer Care, Cure and Control. A great day was had by all and once again the tireless Arva committee have recorded a spectacular success in raising substantial funds for a most deserving and worthwhile cause.
Last Saturday, a large number of local golfers and GAA supporters took part in the Annual Cornafean GAA Golf Classic which was held in Cornafean Golf Course. The ideal weather conditions on the day, with plenty of warm, summer sunshine, added greatly to everyone’s enjoyment of this event.
The winning teams were as follows:
1st Prize Barry Sheridan's Team (Colin Sheridan, Barry Sheridan, Daniel Barr, Sean O’Dwyer)
2nd Prize Donal Shanaghy’s Team (Donal Shanaghy, Donal Shanaghy Junior and Michéal Shanaghy)
Nearest the Pin - Joe McKiernan
Other winners were:
Ciaran O'Reilly's Team (Ciaran O'Reilly, Danny Gormley, Graham McCreery, David Rudden)
Michael Goldrick’s Team (Michael Goldrick, Martin Cullen, Kevin Goldrick and Raymond Gould)
Val Sheridan’s Team (Val Sheridan, Emer Reilly, Donal McKeon, Fergus Reilly)
Pauric Cosgrove’s Team (Pauric Cosgrove, Paddy McDermott, Dominic King)
Special thanks to Tom McSeain for the use of the golf course for the day; to Art McSeain for hosting the Irish Night & Presentation on the night of the event; to Damien O'Reilly who prepared the food for the participants and to everyone else who helped to make the day such a success.
The recent GAA Summer Camp in Cornafean was a great success with a total of 200 boys and girls enjoying the a week of exciting activities in Cornafean Park, and also learning and improving their skills in football, hurling and camogie. The local Summer Camp is one of a series of extremely popular camps organised in various venues throughout the county over the summer months by the Cavan GAA County Board and sponsored by J&M Opel Cars and Harry’s Stop Shop. Great credit is due to all concerned.
On next Sunday evening, 10th August, all roads lead to Ballinagh for the meeting of Cornafean and Denn in the Cavan Intermediate Football Championship. After their team’s recent disappointing championship display against Laragh, the Cornafean supporters will be hoping for an improved performance from the “Reds” on this occasion but they will have their hands full against a strong Denn team that came within a whisker last year of winning the Intermediate Championship. The throw-in is at 7.30pm and the man in the middle will be Jimmy Galligan, Lacken.
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