|
|
LOCAL NEWS ARCHIVE - January 2005
[Main
Local News Page]
Last Friday night was a very special one for the members and supporters of Cornafean and Killeshandra GAA clubs as a special Dinner Dance & Presentation was held in honour of the victorious Cornafean/ Killeshandra minor footballers who won the Division 3 league and Division 2 championship titles last year. Over two hundred and forty patrons packed in to the Piker’s Lodge, Loch Gowna for the occasion, the highlight of which was the presentation of medals to the winning team by Cavan goalpoacher and Rory O’Moores stalwart Jason Reilly. Among the speakers on the night were Cavan Youth Board Secretary John Duffy, County Board Chairman George Cartwright, joint team managers Junior McKiernan and Liam Young, and team captain Cormac Geoghegan. After the dinner and presentation formalities had concluded, the large attendance enjoyed a great night’s music from John Shannon. All in all, the night was a memorable one for all concerned and most particularly for the young footballers who brought such joy to the locality last year in their league and championship campaigns and who hopefully can build on these successes in the future.
The local Vintage Tractor Club in
Cornafean are hosting a meeting in Colette’s Lounge, Killeshandra on this
Friday night, 4th February starting at 9.30pm sharp. All members are
asked to attend and new members are welcome.
As the Cornafean Question Time team prepare for their All Ireland Scór na nOg final appearance on 19th February next, preparations are gathering pace for the forthcoming Cavan Senior Scór competitions. The opening night of this year’s county first round competitions promise to be extra-special from a Cornafean perspective as for the first time ever a Cornafean venue will host a Scór competiton. Among the clubs taking part in the local Sports Hall on Friday 25th February will be Drumalee, Laragh, Mountnugent, Belturbet and the home club.
Meanwhile on this Thursday night, 3rd February, Cornafean are expected to be represented by two teams in the Irish Table Quiz in the Hotel Kilmore, Cavan. This event is organised by Cavan GAA County Board, and this is the first time for such an event be held within the county. Following an initiative by GAA President Sean Kelly last Spring, this event was held on a Provincial and All Ireland levels with each county being represented by their respective reigning county Scór quiz title holders. Cornafean represented Cavan at the Ulster Finals in Monaghan, in which they took first place before going on to win the All Ireland title in a memorable All Ireland Final, which was held on the morning of the Leinster Hurling Final between Wexford and Offaly in Croke Park. No doubt a large number of clubs will be hopeful of dethroning Cornafean on Thursday night and an enjoyable night’s entertainment is in store.
On Sunday evening last, the Cornafean Badminton club held its first practice session in the new Sports Hall, attracting a sizeable number of participants. Another session will be held on next Sunday night, 6th February from 8.00pm onwards. All are welcome to attend.
The 2004 Annual General Meeting of Cornafean Community Development Association will be held in McSeains at 8.30 pm on Tuesday 22nd February.
On last Saturday night, a large group of locals made the long trip to the Rathmines Inn, Dublin for a special fundraising Irish Night in aid of the Ireland/Sri Lanka fund for tsunami relief. Among the various entertainment acts on the night were a large number of musicians and artistes from the Cornafean area as well as other famed musicians such as the McGovern family, Templeport and the Morrow family, Carrigallen. The event which was organised by Kevin McDermott, proved to be a massive success, raising several thousand euro for this deserving cause.
An Irish Night will be held in McSeain’s Cornafean on Friday 18th February to raise funds for the local Scór effort for 2005. The local Sunday Sessions music group and other entertainers will perform on the night. A special guest on the night will be Rev. Kajude Raj Fernando, a Sri Lanka-born priest who is currently ministering in St Brendan’s Cathedral, Loughrea. The Rev. Fernando is deeply involved in the Tsunami disaster relief effort in his native Sri Lanka and has been invited to Cornafean to collect a cheque for the proceeds of the recent fundraising initiative by Cornafean GAA club that has so far raised over €4,000. The fund will remain open for further donations until 18th February when the proceeds are to be handed over to Rev. Fernando and those who contribute can be assured that their donations will go directly towards those in Sri Lanka who have suffered such loss and devastation in the recent disaster.
End
Congratulations to the Cornafean quiz team of Cian Geoghegan, Seamus Cullen and Patrick King who achieved a remarkable victory for their club and county in the Ulster Scór na nOg finals in Scotstown Co. Monaghan on last Saturday night. Despite facing tough opposition with four other teams on the night, the Cornafean boys held their nerve in a nailbiting contest to emerge winners with six marks to spare over their nearest challengers, from Aghabog Co. Monaghan.
This is a fantastic achievement for this young team and their mentors led by Annette Geoghegan, and their victory on Saturday night ranks amongst the highlights of Cornafean’s Scór successes over the past three decades. Indeed, this is Cornafean’s first Scór na nOg Ulster title in the Question Time competition in all of fourteen years since Aonghus Hannon, Darina Sheridan and the late Anne McGibney took home provincial honours.
The Cornafean team will now compete in the All Ireland Final which takes place in Athlone on Saturday 19th February. No doubt the three team members will be training hard for this occasion over the next four weeks.
Congratulations also to the Belturbet Set Dancers who won an Ulster title in Scotstown on Saturday night and with two Cavan teams now taking part in this year’s All Ireland Final it promises to be an extra special occasion for the county’s loyal Scór followers
There has been widespread delight in the locality in recent days on the news that Cornafean’s renowned piper Sean Kelly has been elevated to the position of Pipe Major of the St Mary’s Pipe Band, Newtownbutler. This is the latest of many honours for Sean, whose piping skills have illuminated many a social event in his native Cornafean and indeed worldwide in recent years. It comes less than three years after Sean enjoyed the tremendous honour of leading thousands of heroic firefighters, representatives of the New York Police, and proud Irish men and women on the long march up Fifth Avenue in the 2002 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York, on a particularly emotional day for the Irish American community in New York given the terrible events in that city just six months earlier on September 11, 2001.
Sean’s talents as a piper continue to be in tremendous demand, not least on last weekend where he performed over the weekend in Glasgow before returning in triumph to Cornafean where he was received a great welcome at the Cornafean annual Senior Citizens Party.
A meeting was held last week to re-organise the Badminton club in Cornafean, and the new club’s first practice session will take place in the new Sports Hall from 8.00pm onwards. All are welcome to attend.
The 2004 Annual General Meeting of Cornafean Community Development Association will be held in McSeains at 8.30 pm on Tuesday 22nd February.
The annual Cornafean Senior Citizens Party was held in McSeains on last Sunday afternoon. This year’s event was a great success with a large number of senior citizens being treated to a fine meal and a varied programme of entertainment. One of the highlights of the evening was the guest appearance of the famed Sean Kelly who gave a masterful piping rendition to the large attendance present. Great credit is due to the organising committee and those who helped in any way.
On next Friday night, 28th January all roads lead to Piker’s Lodge, Loch Gowna where a special Dinner Dance & Presentation will be held in honour of the victorious Cornafean/ Killeshandra minor footballers who won the League and Championship double last year. This promises to be a unique occasion for members and followers of football in both Cornafean and Killeshandra and the many wonderful memories of the team’s exciting victories last Summer and Autumn will be reawakened once again on Friday night. A limited number of tickets are now on sale from Liam Young, Kevin Geoghegan or from other committee members.
On
next Saturday night, 22nd January, Cornafean’s quiz team of Cian
Geoghegan,
Seamus Cullen and Patrick King will take part in the Ulster Scór na nOg
Question Time final in Scotstown Co. Monaghan. Hopefully there will
be a
large turnout of local supporters at the Co. Monaghan venue on Saturday
evening
to cheer on the Cornafean team and we wish them every success and
good
luck on the night.
Well
done to Mel O'Hanlon, Drumora who organised a pony and horse trek over
a 15km
distance on Monday 27th December. The event raised a total of
€1,125.50
towards St Christopher's Hospice, Cavan and this sum was presented
to Mr
Paddy Grogan on behalf of the hospice at a function in the Shantully
Inn
recently. Congratulations to Mel and his helpers in raising this sum for
such a
worthwhile cause.
Anyone
living in the Killeshandra parish area who is interested in taking
part
in the forthcoming Community Games chess competitions for the
Cornafean/
Arva/ Killeshandra area is asked to contact Cora Ward at 086
1740000
as soon as possible.
Following
the recent opening of the new sports hall in Cornafean, it is
hoped
to re-establish a Badminton club in the locality. Many local people
will
recall that a very popular Badminton club existed for many years during
the
era of the old Cornafean Hall up to the mid-1980s and hopefully there
will
be keen local interest in this popular game now that we have a
state-of-the-art
recreational hall in the area.
A
meeting is being held in the new Sports Hall on this Thursday night, 20th
January
at 9.00 to help organise the new club. Anyone who is interested in
playing
badminton who cannot attend the meeting is asked to contact Mick
Masterson,
Bruse.
Tickets
are now on sale for a special Dinner Dance & Presentation to honour
the
victorious Cornafean/ Killeshandra minor footballers who won the League
and
Championship double last year. The event will be held in the Piker’s
Lodge,
Loch Gowna on Friday 28th January next.
This
should be a unique night for GAA followers in both Cornafean and
Killeshandra.
Tickets are limited and will be issued on a ‘first come first
served’
basis. They can be purchased from Liam Young at 049 4364959 or from
other
committee members.
Applications
for membership of Cornafean GAA club for 2005 are currently
being
accepted by club registrar Seamus Doyle. New members, and those
wishing
to renew membership for this year are asked to contact Seamus as
soon
as possible. The closing date for applications is 28th February next.
An Irish Night will take
place in McSeains, Cornafean on next Friday night, 7th January in
order to raise funds for the recent Asian Disaster Appeal. Due to the scale of
death and devastation in Asia following the recent tsunami disaster, the
organisers are hoping for a generous response from the public and would
appreciate donations large and small both from individuals, from local
businesses and from local organisations. A Collection bucket will be available
all day on Friday next in McSeains and those wishing to donate can call at any
time during the day to make a contribution or otherwise can do so on the night
itself.
The Irish Night will
feature a wide range of local musicians, singers dancers and storytelling acts,
including Scor sketches and other acts. It promises to be a feast of
entertainment not to be missed.
There was widespread
sadness in the locality on the death of Brother Seamus Kilkenny, Newry and
formerly of Coronea who died recently in Newry. Brother Seamus had been in
failing health for some time. Aged 71, he left his native Coronea at the age of
13 and spent his working life as a Christian Brother ministering and teaching in
various parts of the country. His funeral took place in Newry shortly before
Christmas. We extend our deepest sympathy to his brother PJ, his sisters and
other relatives.
The "Stars in Your
Eyes" Christmas Show attracted a capacity audience to McSeains,
Cornafean on Monday 27th
December. For the second year running the night was a resounding success with a
fabulous variety of entertainment from no less than seventeen acts, with
performers playing the roles of starts such as Declan Nerney, Tina Turner, Dolly
Parton, Dire Straits, Marilyn Monroe, the Proclaimers, Big Tom, Shania Twain,
Neil Diamond and many others . At the end of the night, the audience voted
Padraig Cosgrove (Christy Moore) as the winner, but it is true to say that all
of the participants were the real winners, having rehearsed and prepared for the
show ever since late September, often on several occasions each week.
The hard work and effort of
everyone involved was clearly reflected in the quality of the show. The
organisers extend sincere thanks and congratulations to all of the participants,
the backing singers and musicians, sound man Michael Callery, MC Paddy McDermott
and everyone else who helped to make the night such an outstanding success.
A video and DVD of the show
is now available for purchase. Further details from any of the performers or
from any Cornafean GAA committee member.
The
annual Cornafean GAA Club dance attracted a capacity attendance to McSeain’s
on New Year’s Eve. Many of those in attendance were home from Dublin or abroad
for the festive season. As in previous years, the function was enjoyed by one
and all.
On
St Stephen’s Day, the Cornafean footballers turned out in large numbers to
take part in the club’s annual charity football match in Pairc Naoimh
Fionnain. A large attendance turned out to support the event and a worthwhile
sum was raised in aid of Cavan Monaghan Spina Bifida Association.
