|
|
LOCAL NEWS ARCHIVE - DECEMBER 2001
[Main
Local News Page]
Cornafean Community Development Association have organised a unique programme of Christmas Family Walks in Cornafean on Sunday 30th December. Everyone is welcome ot take part in this special event, including individuals and families in the locality, visitors to the area and indeed anyone who wants to partake of some exercise and after the Christmas festivites.
There will be a choice of five walks organised on the day, all starting and finishing outside McSeain's in Cornafean with distances varying between 2.1 miles and 6.5 miles, on quiet, scenic country roads. The walks will commence at 1.00pm and the walkers will be led initally by pipe music. Afterwards, there will be refreshments for everyone as well as "ceol agus craic cois tine" in McSeains. This promises to be a very enjoyable and worthwhile day out for everyone and we hope that as many people as possible join in the fun.
There
has been great local interest in recent weeks in "Owen Roe O'Neill -
the Cavan Connection", an article written by local man Jim Hannon,
which has recently been published on the Cornafean community website
www.cornafean.com The article tells the story of the role of
the great Irish leader Owen Roe O'Neill in the various military conflicts
which followed the 1641 rebellion, and which culminated in the Battle of
Benburb in 1646 where O'Neill recorded a famous victory over the Puritan
forces commanded by General Monroe.
Following this famous battle, Owen Roe retired to Lismore Castle,
Crossdoney, the headquarters of the local chieftain Philip O'Reilly. While
in Lismore, Owen Roe was visited by Monsignor Massari, Dean of Fermo
(Italy), who kept a detailed diary of his visit, a copy of which still
survives to this day. The article documents Owen Roe's various
manoeuvres in the locality and nearby during that period, which sadly
ended with Owen Roe O'Neill's untimely death in Lough Oughter Castle on
November 6th (St Leonards Day) 1649.
The article can be now read on the internet at www.cornafean.com here.
On Saturday night last, the
county finals of Scor na nOg 2001 were held in Ballyconnell Community
Centre, in front of a capacity audience which included many local people.
The standard of entertainment was very high and the night's programme was
a great advertisement for Scor in the county. Cornafean were represented
in Recitation by Claire Barry and in the Question Time by Tomas McGlade,
Patrick King and Cormac Geoghegan. With a little more luck, both acts
might well have taken county honours but unfortunately victory went
elsewhere in both competitions.
In the early weeks of the New Year, preparations will be beginning in
Cornafean for the 2002 Scor Sinsir competitions which will be starting in
February.
The Cornafean GFC Lotto will continue as normal over the Christmas season with the usual draws taking place on Sunday next 23rd December in McSeains and again on Sunday 30th December at the same venue.
On St. Stephen's Day, Cornafean
GFC are hosting their annual charity football match in Pairc Naoimh
Fionnain. All players are asked to be at the park by 2pm on St. Stephen's
Day, and the game will commence at 2.30pm. This promises to be a very
enjoyable occasion, and all players and supporters are welcome.
Congratulations to our neighbour
Padraig Mahon, Garrymore, Ballinagh on his election as Vice-Chairman of
Cavan County Board during last Sunday's Annual GAA Convention in the Hotel
Kilmore, Cavan. Padraig has been for many years a hardworking and
highly-respected administrator both for his club Lacken Celtic and also on
the county scene. He narrowly defeated another highly-esteemed official,
Denn's Martin Cahill, in a very close contest for the position. His
election is a great honour for both himself, his family and his club, and
we wish him every success in his new position.
 |
Best wishes to the Cornafean Scor na nOg Question Time team of Tomas McGlade, Patrick King and Cormac Geoghegan, and also to Claire Barry (Recitiation) who will represent their local club at the county finals of the competiton, which will be held on next Saturday evening, 15th December, at Ballyconnell Community Centre. No doubt, there will be a large Cornafean support there to cheer them on.
The
Annual General Meeting of Cornafean G.F.C. was held last Saturday night in
the clubrooms and attracted a large attendance of members.
In
their annual reports, Club Chairman PJ McGlade and Secretary Karen
McDermott recalled a year which was largely disappointing for the club on
the field of play, but during which great advances were made in several
other areas, especially the ongoing construction of the new Sports
Hall. Karen McDermott stood down from the position of Secretary after
working hard in this role for the past three years. Rita Martin was
elected unanimously as her successor.
The
AGM was attended by County Board Chairman George Cartwright, and senior
team manager Phil Cullen, who will continue in that position in 2002.
The main officer positions for the coming year are as follows:
Chairman PJ McGlade,
Vice-Chairman Padraig Cosgrove,
Secretary Rita Martin,
Assistant Secretary Paddy McDermott,
Treasurer Padraig Gormley,
Assistant Treasurer Michael McGibney,
PRO
Tommy McGibney.
Santa Claus will make his annual visit to Crossdoney on next Saturday afternoon at 3.00pm where he will greet all the boys and girls of the area and distribute presents to them. Once again, the local Christmas Tree committee have done a great job in erecting the Christmas lights in the village in recent days and the seasonal cheer is already in abundance in the locality!
Liam
Crotty, Drumbess has recently opened for business after purchasing the
shop and filling station on the Cavan to Killeshandra road at Drumgoa,
previously owned by Christy and Mary Woods. We congratulate Liam, a member
of one of the area’s best-known families, on his new business venture
and wish him every success and prosperity iin the future.
On Sunday last, Pairc Naoimh Fionnain was a hive of activity as the venue for this year’s Division 3 League final between Kildallan and Castlerahan. A large number of local GAA club officials and stewards were on hand to ensure that everything went smoothly on the day. On the field, Castlerhan trailed their West Cavan opposition for long periods but produced a fine resurgence in the latter stages to finish on top on a scoreline of 1-13 to 0-10.
 |
| Jim Hannon |
Jim Hannon, Farranseer House, Cornafean has recently been awarded the Carew Award by the Irish Pony Club at their recent National AGM in Portlaoise. The Carew Award is a special honour awarded by the Pony Club in recognition of members who make a special contribution to the Club over the years. Jim has been active in the Pony Club for more than twenty years and was D.C. (District Commissioner) of the Co. Cavan Pony Club for over ten years.
Many local people will be familiar with the regular training rallies at the car park at McSeain’s in Cornafean where Jim built a special dressage and showjumping arena, along with a small cross-country course. Jim has also played a pivotal role in the local Community Development Association, where he holds the position of Treasurer.
We congratulate Jim on achieving this award, which is due recognition for his many years of Trojan work on behalf of the Pony Club.
The
Cornafean Community Development Association are holding their AGM in
McSeains on Tuesday next, 11th December at 8.30pm. The past year has been a very
successful one for the Association who have made considerable progress in
the past year on a number of important initiatives for the area, not least
the development and launch of the very successful www.cornafean.com local community website.
A number of very important topics will be open for discussion at Tuesday night’s AGM and everyone is cordially invited to attend.
There was a large turnout of local supporters in Ballyconnell Community Centre on Sunday afternoon last, when Cornafean took part in the first round of this year’s Scor na nOg competition, in front of a large attendance.
Cornafean were represented in all eight competitions, and all the young participants can be very proud of their performances, as indeed also can their parents and the adult helpers who assisted in training and preparing the various acts.
At the end of the show, the first round winners were announced and Cornafean qualified for the county final in two items- Question Time (Tomas McGlade, Patrick King and Cormac Geoghegan) and Recitation (Claire Barry). The county final will take place on Saturday evening, 15th December, again at the Ballyconnell venue.
The following were the winners of the Whist Drive in Cornafean on Monday night, 26th November. Top Score P Sloan, 1st Lady Geraldine Mulligan 2nd do. Ena Thompson 3rd do. Lily Byrd 4th do. Philomena McMahon 1st Gent Paddy McDermott 2nd do. David Pratt 3rd do. Seamus Keogan 4th do. Jack Smyth Other winners Josie O’Brien, Eileen Lynch, Josie Rudden, Pat Squires, Danny Fay, Una Doyle, James Weir and Kitty Smith. The next Whist in Cornafean will be the ever-popular Christmas Whist on next Monday night 10th December.
The Annual General Meeting of
Cornafean GFC will be held in the clubrooms on Saturday 8th December next, and
not 7th December as previously notified. The meeting starts at 8.30pm sharp on
Saturday night.
