21-12-20 Castleknock Club Notes

SIX OF THE BEST: Congratulations to Dublin on making it an extraordinary six-in-a-row of All-Ireland Football Championship successes in beating Mayo 2-14 0-15 on Saturday (December 19) with especial congratulations to our own Ciarán Kilkenny (0-3 on Saturday)(1-20 in total for the year) on winning an amazing 7th All-Ireland Senior Football medal.

The Club is immensely proud of Ciarán and his historic achievements as part of the greatest football team of all time. He remains an inspirational role model for every Castleknock player and our younger players in particular so it was brilliant to see him named RTE Sunday Game 2020 Player of the Year with hopefully more accolades of this type still to come. Thanks for the 2020 memories Ciarán. On now to The Magnificent Seven.

Ladies Football Success: Congratulations as well to the Dublin Ladies Footballers on a 4th successive All-Ireland Senior Football win, this time beating Cork 1-10 1-05 on Sunday (December 20) to bring down the curtain on an amazing year of football. Castleknock has no players in the Dublin panel at present but we are hopeful of that situation changing in the very near future.

U-20 Hurling and Football: The Dublin U-20 hurlers beat Wexford 1-19 1-10 in the Leinster Semi-Final on Friday night (December 18) and go on now to meet Galway in the Leinster Final on Sunday January 3, 2021. Good luck to Conor Murray and Luke Swan. Sadly however it was heartache for Luke Swan (0-1) and the five other Castleknock lads, Senan Forker, Darragh Warnock, Conor Chawke, Conor Kelly and Ciaran Murphy on Dublin’s U-20’s Football team who in spite of a tremendous comeback lost the All-Ireland U-20 Football Final to Galway by a point, 0-13 1-11, in Croke Park on Saturday before the Senior Final. Again it was a great honour for the Club to have so many talented young players involved at this level and we are all tremendously proud of your efforts.

Lotto Jackpot Winner (At Long Last): Heartfelt congratulations to Laura Banks one of our 2010 Girls’ mentors who on Thursday December 10, 2020 won the Jackpot of €10,000. Laura, enjoy what will surely be an unforgettable Christmas for you and your family.

Christmas Raffle Results: A particularly Happy Christmas is also on the way for everyone who won Hampers in our very first (and hopefully from now on Annual) Christmas Raffle which was held online on Friday night (December 18). A huge thankyou to the Committee (from the 2012 Boys mentors) who organised it all – Paul Fallon, David Downing, Mark Watters, Martin McGarry, Michael Sweeney, Stef Gadiot and Tomás McDonagh. The Committee would also like to thank everyone who helped make the Raffle such a great success including the Ticket Sellers, those who bought tickets and those who publicised it on social media. Everything was superbly well organised and the Club appreciates the enormous amount of time and effort involved.

In purchasing the Hamper ingredients the Committee decided to support the local businesses who have been so supportive of us over the years: The 12th Lock; Atomic Fitness; Camille; The Carpenter; Castleknock Golf (Vue); Castleknock Hotel; Centra; Clonsilla Pharmacy; College Hair; Dunnes; Edward McManus Pharmacy (Donated); Ethersons Butchers; Get Fresh; Gleesons Butchers; Hair Creations; Insomnia; Joes Barbers; Kavanaghs; Lloyds Pharmacy; Luttrellstown Golf Club; Molloys; ODC Chemists; Pita Pitt; Romayos Chipper; San Marino Chipper; Silver Spoon (Donation); Spar; SuperValu; Tesco; The Bell; The Fish Market and of course we ask you to support these businesses in return. Buy Local. Shop Local. Stay Local.

Castleknock Hurling and Football Club 2020 Christmas Draw

Hamper Prize Winners

• 1st – Garvan McSharry
• 2nd – Robert Campion
• 3rd – Linda Sheridan
• 4th – Katie Sherlock
• 5th – John Corr
• 6th – Eoghan Ryan
• 7th – The McCormack Family
• 8th – Isaac Clark
• 9th – Jim Dunne
• 10th – John McGrath
• 11th – Gerry McEntyre
• 12th – Rob Wylie
• 13th – Ciara Breen
• 14th – Stephen Mallaghan

MC on the night was Paul Fallon. The draws were made by Ger O’Reilly, Mags Heelan and Kevin Hogan and supervised by local solicitor Peter Boyle. Online videographer was Maria Bergin.

A HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS

FROM EVERYONE AT CASTLEKNOCK HURLING AND FOOTBALL CLUB

And Remember

Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

See You In 2021

14-12-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Dublin U-20 Hurlers: Congrats to Dublin’s U-20 hurlers on beating Offaly by 2-16 0-16 on Saturday in Birr. The Leinster U-20 Semi-Final against Wexford is on TG4 this Friday (December 18) at 8pm in Carlow. Good luck as always to Conor Murray and Luke Swan (who has another prior engagement this weekend).

Dublin Minor Hurlers: Great to see Neil Hogan wearing the No.8 jersey for Dublin’s Minor Hurlers in their televised Leinster Minor Hurling Quarter-Final match v Westmeath in Mullingar on Sunday (December 19). Unfortunately, it wasn’t Dublin’s day as they lost by 1-9 1-12 following a harsh red card during the first-half. Neil scored 0-3 and ended the game as Dublin’s joint top scorer.

Grand Christmas Raffle: The draw for the Club’s Christmas Hampers Raffle will be held online next Friday night (December 18) at 8.30pm. Watch out for specific details on our Club Social Media over the next few days. Tickets are €5 each or a book of 5 tickets for €20.

The First Prize Hamper is worth €1,000 in total and the good news is that another two hampers have been added to the mix so there are now a whopping 14 hampers to be won. A copy of the Club History will also be included in each Hamper.

You can still purchase tickets for the Raffle at any time, day or night, online at  https://www.idonate.ie/raffle/12338_castleknock-christmas-2020-raffle.html Full results in next week’s Club Notes along with details of the Committee and participating businesses.

Christmas Is Coming: Last Saturday was the last Nursery before Christmas so we want to say a huge thankyou to everyone involved, the girls and boys themselves, the coaches, the administrators, the backroom team who set up and tidy up Tír na nÓg and of course the parents who bring the children along as part of what is a huge logistical operation every Saturday morning. It’s been an anxious year for everyone and so the break is both welcome and well deserved.

Minor and most other training has also been suspended until after Christmas and again a big thank you to everyone for keeping things going in these difficult times. Don’t forget though that early in the New Year our Minor Hurlers have a 2020 Final still to win so go easy on the turkey lads.

2020 Memories: In what has been an extraordinary year the Club invites you to submit any memorable photographs you may have taken of games, fund-raisers etc. to our Social Media pages – facebook – twitter – instagram.

All-Ireland Football Finals: Next Saturday (December 19) will be an amazing day for Castleknock Hurling and Football Club. Ciarán Kilkenny represents the Club in the All-Ireland Senior Football Final on Saturday evening at 5pm against Mayo in Croke Park (RTE/Sky Sports). Ciarán is seeking his sixth All-Ireland success in-a-row (2015-2020) and, including 2013, his seventh in total. He is a tremendous role model for all our players and we wish him all the very best for Saturday. A word too for the many Mayo natives who work so hard to make Castleknock the great Club that it is – condolences.

As if the Senior Final wasn’t excitement enough, Dublin’s U-20 Footballers will be meeting Galway in the afternoon’s opening game, in Croke Park as well – that’s the 2020 All-Ireland U-20 Football Final. The game is at 2.15pm and is being shown on TG4.

Castleknock’s Luke Swan, Darragh Warnock, Senan Forker, Conor Chawke, Conor Kelly and the injured Ciaran Murphy are all members of the Dublin panel so it is going to be another hugely significant day for our Club.

So get the flags out because the time has come to dream of a sky and navy blue Christmas.

And Remember – Win – Lose – Or Draw

Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

07-12-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Dublin Through To The All-Ireland Football Final: In spite of a determined Cavan effort, Dublin marched on to a sixth successive All-Ireland Football Final with a 1-24 0-12 Semi-Final win in crowd-less Croke Park on Saturday evening (December 5). Maintaining his rich scoring vein Ciarán Kilkenny produced another terrific performance scoring four points and continuing to act as a real inspiration for all our young and indeed not so young Castleknock players.

The All-Ireland Football Final against great rivals Mayo is on Saturday, December 19 – Can’t wait.

U-20 All-Ireland Final Re-Fixed: The great news is that not only will Dublin’s Senior Footballers be in Croke Park on December 19 but, with the return to Level 3 Covid-19 restrictions, as part of a double-header so too will Dublin’s U-20 Footballers who meet Galway in that afternoon’s opening game, the 2020 All-Ireland U-20 Football Final. Castleknock’s Luke Swan, Darragh Warnock, Senan Forker, Conor Chawke, Conor Kelly and the injured Ciaran Murphy are all members of the Dublin squad so it is going to be another hugely significant day for our Club.

Leinster Minor/U-20 Hurling: Two 2020 underage hurling competitions in Leinster finally get underway next weekend. Two Castleknock players Conor Murray and Luke Swan are members of Dublin’s U-20 Hurling squad which plays Offaly in Birr in the Leinster Quarter-Final on Saturday (December 12). Good luck to both the lads. Neil Hogan is Castleknock’s only representative on the Dublin Minor Hurling squad and we wish him the very best for Dublin’s Leinster Minor Hurling Quarter-Final in Mullingar against Westmeath on Sunday (Dec.13) (Midlands Radio 3 should be providing radio coverage of both matches).

November Lottery Results: Under continuing Covid-19 Restrictions public Lotto sales remain suspended but of course our Members Draw sponsored by Rialto Ford continues each week.

November 05 – Numbers drawn – 18, 20, 25, 28 – No Jackpot Winner

November 12 – Numbers drawn – 13, 14, 15, 22 – No Jackpot Winner

November 19 – Numbers drawn – 10. 15, 25, 29 – No Jackpot Winner

November 26 – Numbers drawn – 09, 19, 20, 27 – No Jackpot Winner

Continuing an unprecedented run there was no again November Jackpot winner. Under Lotto Licence Limits the current Jackpot total stands at €10,000. Within the Club Lotto Rules, a second Jackpot is now running and at the beginning of December stood at €4,400 continuing to grow by €200 per week. Next Match 4 wins the €10,000 Jackpot.

Club Christmas Raffle:

Unfortunately, with the Nursery falling victim to the weather there was no opportunity last Saturday for members to purchase tickets for the Club’s Christmas Raffle on December 18 however weather permitting the organising team will be in Tír na nÓg again next Saturday (December 12) with plenty of tickets to sell.

However, should it prove more convenient, you can instead purchase tickets for the Raffle at any time, day or night, online at  https://www.idonate.ie/raffle/12338_castleknock-christmas-2020-raffle.html  Tickets €5 each or 5 tickets for €20.

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

30-11-20 Castleknock Club Notes 

Christmas 2020 Club Draw: Another great turn-out for last Saturday’s Nursery and a terrific response to ticket sales for our super 2020 Christmas Draw. Twelve great prizes are available to be won and tickets are on sale at Tír na nÓg each Saturday morning until December 12th. A huge number of local businesses support our Club year round so it is great to see that where possible, in this year of all years, the Organising Committee have sourced hamper ingredients locally and we ask you to support those same businesses especially in the run-in to Christmas.

Details of how to purchase tickets online will be included in next week’s Club Notes. The draw will be made online on at 8.30pm on Friday, December 18th, the eve of the All-Ireland Football Final. Tickets €5 each or a book of five for €20.  

Christmas Club Shop: With Christmas just around the corner Club members may be thinking about family Christmas presents or simply getting some gear for the 2021 season in hurling or football. If so remember that the Club’s new Click and Collect Shop is now online – https://www.castleknock.net/shop.4564.html

You can view the full range of what is available and then follow the three easy steps (1) fill in the online Order Form, (2) receive an Order Confirmation with location, date/time for collection and (3) collect your Order. Please note all orders must be paid for by card upon collection. It’s as simple as that. Any queries please email clubshop@castleknock.net

Local History: Castleknock College Leinster Colleges Senior Hurling Champions

It may come as a surprise to many Club members to learn that in 1918, St. Vincent’s Castleknock College won the very first Leinster Colleges Senior Hurling Championship.

The Final was played in Croke Park on May 4th, 1918 when Castleknock College beat the famous O’Connell Schools from Richmond Street by 5-1 0-0 (some reports suggest it was actually 0-1) and it wasn’t just at Senior Colleges level that Castleknock excelled at that time, as on the same afternoon their Juniors beat Terenure College by 6-0 2-0 in the Junior Championship. Unfortunately no Leinster Colleges Senior Hurling Championship was played the following year – 1919 and Castleknock College never again reached the Leinster Colleges Senior Hurling summit.

All-Ireland Football Semi-Final: In a year unlike any other we have an All-Ireland Football Semi-Final unlike any other with Dublin meeting Cavan next Saturday December 5th at 5.30pm. The game is being shown on both RTE and Sky Sports. Best wishes to both teams but particularly to Ciarán Kilkenny and the Dublin lads in their pursuit of an historic 6-in-a-row.

P.S. Don’t forget the Club AGM – Monday, November 30 on Zoom.  

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

23-11-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Congratulations to Ciarán Kilkenny (0-4 from play) and his Dublin colleagues on making it 10 in-a-row Leinster Football titles and 59 in total after another stunning performance in beating Meath 3-21 0-9 in the Leinster SFC Final in Croke Park on Saturday night.

As a result Dublin remain in the Mix for Six with an All-Ireland Semi-Final against Cavan fixed for Croke Park on Saturday, December 5 at 5.30pm. A huge congratulations too to all the Cavan natives in the Club on Cavan’s dramatic Ulster Final win and to our Tipperary members on their even longer wait for Provincial football success. An extraordinary weekend!

Should Dublin beat Cavan they will be playing in the All-Ireland Football Final on Saturday, December 19 at 5pm. 

It was an emotional night in Croke Park as Brendan Gleeson narrated the Bloody Sunday commemorative event before the game, in a stadium eerily empty due to Level 5 restrictions. The Dublin team led by Captain Stephen Cluxton laid a wreath after the game in memory of those who died no doubt an especially poignant moment for Dublin players John and Paddy Small who lost their own father Declan (RIP) during the past twelve months.

Annual General Meeting: The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Castleknock Hurling and Football Club will be held on Monday evening November 30, 2020 at 8pm on Zoom. Details on how to register and participate will be available soon.

The following business will be transacted at the meeting.

• Adoption of Standing Orders
• Minutes of previous Annual General Meeting
• Consideration of the Annual Report submitted by the Secretary
• Consideration of the Financial Statements including the Report of the Accountant(s) or Auditor(s)
• The Chairperson’s Address
• Election of Officers and Members of the Executive Committee
• Notices of Motion
• Any other business.

2020 Club Officials and Delegates:

• Chairperson: Kevin O’Shaughnessy
• Secretary: Sean McLaughlin
• Treasurer: Dessie Kearney
• Registrar: Lisa Kiernan
• Children’s Officer: Barbara O’Neill
• Grounds Chairperson: Brian Allen
• Clubhouse Management: Michael Wylie
• Public Relations: info@castleknock.net
• Men’s Chairperson: Philip Bohan
• Ladies Chairperson: Ollie Coffey
• Juvenile Ladies Chairman: Gerry O’Connor
• Juvenile Boys Chairperson: Jason Sweeney
• Juvenile Boys Secretary: Darren Martin
• County Board Delegate: Joe Murray
• LGFA Board Delegates: Brendan Griffin and Arthur Webb
• Camogie Board Delegate (Senior): Jim Mahony
• Camogie Board Delegate (Minor): Fergal Quinn
• CCC1 Delegates: Padraig Shaughnessy and Liam Costello
• CCC2 Delegates: Mick Nagle and Damien O’Brien
• Go Games Referee Co-ordinators: Mark Brady and Mark Doorman
• Games Promotion Officer: Maria Bergin

It takes an enormous number of people every year to run a club of our size and we would like to thank everyone, in official positions or not, for the huge amount of work put in by them over the last 12 months. GRMA.

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

16-11-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Results Update: Congratulations to Ciarán Kilkenny and his Dublin colleagues on another superb display in beating Laois by 2-23 0-07 in the Leinster Football Semi-Final. Ciarán scored 1-4 on his 44th championship appearance for Dublin. Dublin now meet old rivals Meath in next Saturday’s Leinster Football Final (Nov.21) at 7pm. The game will be televised by RTE Sport.

Ciarán has also recently teamed up with SPAR nationally as a Brand Ambassador (Mark Jones of SPAR Carpenterstown being one of our own Club Sponsors) to launch their new Better Choices campaign.

The campaign looks to support families in choosing healthy active lifestyles with Ciarán Kilkenny setting a fun challenge for children to undertake with their family members. Throughout the month of November, Ciarán is releasing three different skills videos, which will show children how to improve their parents’ or other family members’ sporting abilities much as he did with Castleknock during the first Lockdown.

As well as skills, Ciarán will be on the lookout for effort and enthusiasm from each family, with the winning child receiving a training session for their class with Ciarán himself, while runners up will receive sporting goods vouchers courtesy of SPAR.

Details of the challenges, which can be completed in a garden or any compact outdoor area with minimal equipment, along with how to enter the competition are available on SPAR’s social media pages and YouTube channel throughout November.

The 2021 Juvenile Season: The Dublin County Board’s Juvenile Committees are currently focused on producing a 2021 Juvenile Master Fixtures Calendar.

Castleknock Juvenile Mentors should be aware the Co. Board Committees are at present working on:

• an U-16 League and Championship model
• National Feile competitions which in 2021 will move to the U-15 age grades with a League and a Feile multi-weekend model
• a Double-Round U-14 League, gradings decided by a combination of self-grading and U-13 grades based on games in 2020
• an U-13 Grading League followed by a Single-Round League
• an U-12 Grading Blitz followed by a Single-Round League

Damian Murphy, on behalf of Bord na nÓg, CCC1 and CCC2, extends thanks to Club Officers, Mentors, Players, Members and their families for all their patience and help over the last few weeks.

Dublin County Board Webinar Series II In Conjunction With AIG: After the huge success of the first Dublin GAA Coaching and Games Development Coach Webinar Series, the County Board has announced a new Webinar Series with World Renowned Researchers/Coaches/Coach Developers.

Each session is online on Zoom. Full details on dublingaa.ie/coaching where you can watch Session 1 on Serial Winning Coaches given by Sergio Lara-Bercial which took place on November 11.

Bereavements: Sincerest condolences to the McDonagh family on the passing of Tomás’s father Thomas McDonagh. Tomás is a mentor with the 2012 boys and Ryan (2012 boys) and Olivia and Jack (Nursery) are involved with the club. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dilis.

The Club also offers its sincerest condolences to the Dempsey Family (Mary, Michael, Sean and Liam) on the passing of Mary’s father Louie McPeake. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dilis.

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

09-11-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Annual General Meeting: The Annual General Meeting of Castleknock Hurling and Football Club will take place on Monday, November 30, 2020 commencing at 8pm. Due to the Coronavirus Restrictions the meeting, for the first time in the Club’s History, will be held online, on Zoom.

Details on how to register and attend will be announced in coming weeks. All registered adult “Full Members” are eligible to participate and vote at the AGM.

October Lotto Results: Under continuing Covid-19 Restrictions public Lotto sales remain suspended but of course our Members Draw sponsored by Rialto Ford continues each week.

Draws this past month have been carried out by Club Chair, Kevin O’Shaughnessy, Club Secretary Sean McLaughlin and Lottery legend, Mick Lynch.

• October 1 – Numbers Drawn – 3, 12, 21, 28 – No Jackpot Winner
• October 8 – Numbers Drawn – 1, 2, 9, 28 – No Jackpot Winner
• October 15 – Numbers Drawn – 2, 17, 23. 27 – No Jackpot Winner
• October 22 – Numbers Drawn – 5, 11, 26, 30 – No Jackpot Winner
• October 29 – Numbers Drawn – 7, 11, 16, 19 – No Jackpot Winner

Under Lotto Licence Limits the current Jackpot total stands at €10,000. Within the Club Lotto Rules, a second Jackpot is now running and at the beginning of November it currently stands at €3,600 continuing to grow by €200 per week. Next Match 4 wins the €10,000 Jackpot.

Underage Season Over: While perfectly understandable, it is nonetheless extremely disappointing to hear that Bord na nÓg in conjunction with both CCC1 and CCC2 have decided they will issue no more underage Hurling or Football fixtures in 2020.

The following is the status of all outstanding 2020 Juvenile competitions:

U-12 Hurling and Football Grading games – season over
U-13 Hurling and Football Grading League games – season over
U-14 Hurling and Football Féile Competitions will not be completed
U-15 Hurling and Football Championships will not be completed
U-16 Hurling and Football Championships – the intention is to finish these competitions with games being scheduled from January 17, 2021 subject to Government and Croke Park guidelines in place at that time and also subject to Dublin’s Minor Hurling Inter-County commitments which may impact some Club U-16 teams – U-16 Hurling C and D Championships to be clarified
As already outlined no more U-8 to U-11 Go Games fixtures will be issued.

Level 5 Restrictions remain in place until December 1, 2020 and Juveniles can continue to train on a non-contact basis in pods or no more than 15. The Health Questionnaire must be filled out by those participating and of course our Nursery continues outdoors each Saturday morning.

Results Update: Congrats to Dublin footballers on a comprehensive 0-22 0-11 win over Westmeath in the Leinster SFC Quarter-Final on Saturday (Nov.7) and great to see another headline winning display by Ciarán Kilkenny who scored five points. Dublin now meet Laois in the Leinster Semi-Final in Croke Park next Sunday. You can watch the match on the RTE News Now – Channel 200. Unfortunately no such success for Limerick’s Seamus O’Carroll who took a brilliant forward mark in the dying seconds of extra-time of their Munster SFC Semi-Final against Tipperary but couldn’t convert the resultant kick to send the match to penalties and as a result Limerick lost by a mere point, 2-11 1-15.

Hollystown Golf Club Purchase: The good news for Clubs in the Dublin 15 area including Castleknock is that the Dublin County Board has completed the purchase of a 23-acre site at the former Hollystown Golf Course between Tyrrelstown and Kilbride, close to the Meath border.

It is the County Board’s intention to develop playing facilities for all Dublin teams on the lands which include a Clubhouse. The local Tyrrelstown Club in particular and of course the local schools will also benefit from the state-of-the-art facilities to be developed. The site was acquired from property developer Glenveagh Homes.

Bereavement Notice: The club extends its sincere sympathies to Barbara O’Neill, Children’s Officer and member of the Executive on the passing of her sister-in-law Betty Joyce. Our thoughts are with Barbara, her husband, Chris and all the extended Joyce family at this time. Ar Dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

02-11-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Halloween Nursery: A phenomenal 550+ girls and boys have now registered for our Saturday morning Nursery and in spite of the gale force winds there was another huge turnout on Halloween morning for coaching in Tír na nÓg and Somerton.

Not for the first time our dedicated Nursery team in Tír na nÓg, led by Chief Administrator Lisa Kiernan, GPO/Birthday girl Maria Bergin, our Super Coaches and our Grounds Staff including Joe Murray and Johnny Corcoran, did great work in difficult conditions to provide healthy, pod-based, outdoor activities for everyone and the fact that most of the girls and boys (and Coaches) wore Fancy Dress made it a morning to remember.

The excitement was equally intense in Somerton where the 2012 and 2013 Boys Mentors put on a really special Halloween performance involving the Riot Squad, a Prison Van and some Gardaí – don’t ask. But well done everyone.

Results Update: Sadly Aoife Whelan’s Dublin Senior Camogie side went down by 1-7 1-18 to Clare in what was effectively an All-Ireland Preliminary Quarter-Final on Saturday (Oct.31) in Ennis but better news that same evening for Seamus O’Carroll’s Limerick who beat Waterford, 2-14 0-9 in the Munster SFC Quarter-Final. Limerick play Tipperary in next Saturday’s Munster Semi-Final.

Statement From Dublin CCC: Another hugely disappointing decision by the CCC in relation to outstanding Dublin Club games/competitions.

All Cup Competitions have been discontinued and outstanding games will not be played which means that our adult hurling and football teams will not now have the opportunity to win those competitions they were still left in.

Three Adult teams are negatively affected by this decision – our Junior ‘B’ Hurlers who had already qualified for the Junior ‘B’ Hurling Cup Final against Naomh Fionnbarra miss out and the two matches scheduled to take place on Sunday (Oct.11), Castleknock against Whitehall Colmcille in the Junior 1 All-County Football Cup Semi-Final, and Castleknock against St. Sylvester’s in the Junior 5 All-County Football Cup Semi-Final, have now been permanently cancelled as well.

The Dublin CCC has also decided to abandoned plans to play both the 2020 Dublin U-21 Football and Hurling Championships. It’s a shame for everyone involved and we can only thank all those players and management teams who put in so much effort during such a difficult year. Hope to see you all again in 2021.

The one chink of light is however is that while the outstanding Dublin Minor Hurling and Football Competitions won’t be played off in 2020, the remaining games, including our Minor ‘C’ Hurling Championship Final against Kilmacud Crokes (remember that terrific Semi-Final victory over St. Vincent’s) have only been deferred until after January 17th, 2021, subject to Government restrictions and Dublin Inter-County Minor Hurling Championship Commitments.

Management of Castleknock Teams 2021: The Club Executive has decided that all Club teams will be managed on a voluntary basis for the 2021 season and that all Management teams will be appointed by the Club Executive on the recommendations of two Sub-Committees, one each for the Adult Female and Adult Male sections of the Club. 

During the first phase of the process which concludes next Saturday November 7, the sub-committees have been engaging with players, outgoing management teams and other members who have expressed a desire to be involved in team management in 2021. 

After November 7 the two Sub-Committees will meet with prospective Management Teams to discuss their proposals for the coming year. Following this process the Sub-Committees will forward their recommendations to the Executive for ratification.

It is expected the final phase of the process will be completed by Saturday, November 21. 

2020 Leinster Senior Football Championship: Dublin’s delayed Leinster SFC Quarter-Final against Westmeath is being played next Saturday November 7 in Portlaoise at 6.15pm. The game is on SkySportsMix (Channel 409). Good luck to Ciarán Kilkenny and the lads and of course if you want to add your support don’t forget the new Dublin jersey is now available even if it mightn’t look as good on any of us as it does on Ciarán. And finally congrats to the large Cavan contingent in the Club on Cavan’s unbelievable win at the weekend – commiserations to Monaghan.

And Remember – Wash Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

26-10-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Aoife Whelan Goes Senior: Aoife Whelan’s inclusion on Sunday (Oct.25) in the Dublin Senior Camogie panel for the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship marked another historic day for Castleknock Hurling and Football as Aoife becomes the first Castleknock player to feature at this level. Sadly, Dublin lost to Tipperary by 0-11 1-13 in Coolock. Dublin now meet Clare next weekend.

U-20 Hurling Success: Congratulations to Conor Murray who was a member of the Dublin U-20 Hurling squad who defeated Antrim by 2-22 1-8 in the opening Round of the Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship in the Louth Centre of Excellence in Darver on Wednesday evening (Oct.21).

Conor’s involvement meant that Castleknock had representatives on six Dublin inter-county squads in the space of just five days, Senior, U-20 and Minor Football, Minor and U-16 Camogie and U-20 Hurling, a tribute to the individuals concerned but also to their parents and coaches at all levels in the Club.

Unfortunately due to the latest Covid-19 Level 5 Restrictions, which came into effect at midnight on Wednesday, Conor will have to wait for another six weeks at least before the Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship resumes.

Massive disappointment on Saturday last (Oct.24) that the All-Ireland U-20 Football Final, Dublin v Galway did not go ahead, again due to the new restrictions so it means another agonising wait (and yet more training) for Luke Swan, Darragh Warnock, Senan Forker, Conor Chawke and Conor Kelly. Who knows at this rate Ciaran Murphy might even be fit again by the time the match is played.

Congratulations too to our Senior Footballer/Hurler Seamus O’Carroll who was part of Limerick’s Div.4 National Football League title win plus promotion, also on Saturday last, to add to Limerick’s McGrath Cup success earlier in the year and congrats too to Ciaran Kilkenny on another all-action performance for Dublin footballers in their NFL League win by 2-15 0-15 over Galway.

Nursery Washed Out: Unfortunately the Nursery had to be cancelled at the last minute due to the heavy overnight rain making Tír na nÓg unplayable. Normally at this time of the year the Nursery moves indoors but, never fear, as that isn’t currently possible, the Nursery will continue for the rest of the year outdoors in Tír na nÓg – so wrap them up well and keep them coming.

A few weeks ago we made reference to the fact that former Mayo midfield star David Brady had been helping out at the Nursery, well you may have seen David on Claire Byrne Live on RTE last Monday night discussing how the greater GAA family has responded to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

On a personal level. throughout the Pandemic, David has been lifting the spirits of some elderly GAA enthusiasts by phoning them for a chat and he is offering to do the same for anyone who is elderly/isolated and might find the next few weeks particularly hard. If they fancy talking GAA or just life in general on any Friday during the current restrictions Direct Message (DM) David on twitter @D9BMayo. He has recruited volunteers with All-Ireland medals to help out so it’s a great opportunity for someone to give a parent or a grandparent a huge boost in their lives. #ItsGoodToTalkGAA

Underage Training: Level 5 Restrictions mean that no Adult Club games can take place until at least December 1 however training is still permitted at Minor Level and below, as long as it is on a non-contact basis in pods of no more than 15. Revised Winter Training slots for Somerton, Porterstown and St. Catherines take effect from October 24.

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

19-10-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Results Up-Date: Another historic day for the Club on Saturday last (Oct.17) when Castleknock was one of only two Dublin clubs, Na Fianna the other, to have at least one player on all three Dublin football team selections, at Minor, U-20 and Senior levels.

Pride of place goes to Luke Swan and the Dublin U-20 side on beating Tyrone 1-14 1-12 in the All-Ireland U-20 Football Semi-Final in Cavan. Luke’s superb pass set up Brian O’Leary for the Dublin goal which was the difference between the sides in the end. On the bench were Darragh Warnock and Senan Forker while Conor Chawke and Conor Kelly were also in the Dublin panel – the unfortunate Ciaran Murphy would also have been involved had it not been for an ACL injury. Everyone in the Club wishes Ciaran a speedy recovery. The All-Ireland U-20 Football Final will be played next Saturday (Oct.24) against Galway (Behind Closed Doors) to be shown on TG4 with a 4pm throw-in.

On Saturday evening Dublin Senior Footballers first National League game in Parnell Park since 2010 saw Dublin beat Meath 1-20 0-19 and once again Ciarán Kilkenny scored some vital points, four in total, including two of the last three Dublin points at a time when Meath were pushing hard to save the game. Dublin meet Galway in the final round of the 2020 NFL in Salthill next Sunday (Oct.25) at 2pm again (Behind Closed Doors) but ahead of that on Saturday (Oct.24) Dublin’s Senior Hurlers meet Laois in the Leinster SHC Quarter-Final in Croke Park at 6pm also (Behind Closed Doors) but (Live on Sky Sports).

Unfortunately there was no such luck for Rob O’Shea and the Dublin Minor Footballers in Navan where they went out of the Leinster Minor Football Championship fading in the last twenty minutes before losing by 0-7 1-15. Still great to have Rob and the injured Gavin Murphy O’Kane involved at this level.

Not to be outdone it was also a huge inter-county weekend for some of our Camogie players. On Sunday (Oct.18) Caitlin Coffey (0-1) and Aisling O’Neill (0-1) started Dublin’s Leinster Minor ‘A’ Camogie Championship Round 1 match against Kilkenny and there were another three Castleknock players, Cara Feeney, Lucy Quinn and Molly Turner on the bench and while Dublin lost by 0-11 6-13 it was a proud day for the Club to see so many of our players involved at this level.

Castleknock also had an involvement with the Dublin U-16 Camogie team as Cliona Hewson was part of the Dublin panel which lost out to Kilkenny by 0-8 1-17 in Thomastown in the All-Ireland U-16 ‘A’ Camogie Championship. Sadly though still no club games to look forward to.

But Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

12-10-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Inter-County Action Returns: Castleknock has a super six players, Darragh Warnock, Ciaran Murphy, Senan Forker, Conor Chawke, Luke Swan and Conor Kelly who are all members of the Dublin squad for this Saturday’s (Oct.17) All-Ireland U-20 Football Championship Semi-Final between Dublin and Tyrone. The game will be played at 2.30pm in Kingspan Breffni Park, Cavan and will be shown live on TG4.

It’s just over seven months since Dublin beat Laois in the Leinster Final (March 6) so these players have been waiting a long time for this game. It’s wonderful to have so many Castleknock players involved at national level and we send our best wishes to everyone concerned.

A little earlier on Saturday, at 2pm, it’s the turn of the Dublin Minor Footballers who make the short journey to Navan to take on Meath in the opening round of this year’s Leinster Minor Football Championship. Again Castleknock is well represented. We are delighted to have Rob O’Shea and Gavin Murphy O’Kane (who unfortunately is injured) in the Dublin squad. The game has a 2pm throw-in and while there is no word as yet of any arrangements to stream the match live, there will be radio coverage on the Meath local station, LMFM 95.5FM. Wishing Rob all the best.   

On Saturday night then it’s the return of the National Football League with Dublin playing Meath in Parnell Park in Round 6 under lights. Throw-in time is 7pm and is being shown live on Eir Sports. Great to hear that another two Castleknock players, Shane Boland and Rob Shaw, have been training with the Dublin squad in recent weeks – long may it continue. Good luck too, to our senior, senior player Ciarán Kilkenny for what is bound to be an extraordinary inter-county year ahead (In the Mix for Six).

Nursery – 2014 Girls Outnumber Boys: In spite of the Level 3 Restrictions the Nursery continues on its remarkably successful way due to the enormous efforts of an army of volunteers to whom we are as always hugely thankful to.

An interesting feature of last Saturday’s turnout was that the numbers of girls who turned up in the 2014 group actually outnumbered the boys in that same group, a tribute to the success of the Dublin Ladies footballers in recent years and of course to the great work being done in our local schools at present. Great to see Maria back working in the National Schools and to see former Mayo star David Brady helping out at the Nursery.

The current Nursery times are –

• 10am-11: 2013 girls; 2015 boys and girls; 2016 boys and girls.
•  1.30am-12.30: 2014 girls and boys.

Pass Them On: Do you have any small helmets and/or hurls lying around the house or garage that are just taking up space? If you have why not bring them down to the Nursery on any Saturday morning. We promise we’ll find a good home for them.

Next Up: Who knows? A number of our teams are still involved in the hurling, football and Ladies Football Championships or Cups and hopefully we will receive more clarity over the next two weeks. It’s a tough time for players and management to prepare for club games when they have no idea of what lies ahead so all we can ask you to do is hang in there and remain focused on the prizes ahead.

Fake News: It wasn’t a great year for our Senior footballers but it wasn’t quite as bad as the result which appeared on the Dublin County Board website after we lost Round 3 of the SFC to Kilmacud – it was galling enough to lose never mind seeing the scoreline Kilmacud Crokes 1-111 Castleknock 0-12. The error was later rectified, the actual score being 1-11 0-12. Little comfort.

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

05-10-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Senior Hurlers Save Best Wine Until Final: An amazing six goal blitz in the first half of the Senior ‘B’ Hurling Cup Final propelled Castleknock to an impressive 7-11 0-14 victory over Naomh Barróg in Pairc Barróg on Saturday evening (Oct.3).

A Cian Boyle goal, with a small touch of good fortunate about it, and a point from the same player got Castleknock off to a flying start. Another 1-1 this time from Eoin Sawyer put Castleknock into an even better position ahead by 2-2 0-3 at the first Water-Break. Conal Purcell followed that with a third goal before Eoin Sawyer grabbed his second goal of the evening.

Luke Whelan landed a point and then Eoin Sawyer made it a Final to remember for him as he soloed through to crash home his third goal and complete an historic hat-trick. Luke Whelan’s goal rounded off a perfect first-half at the end of which Castleknock led by 6-6 0-6. It was 6-8 0-12 at the second Water-Break and Luke Whelan’s second goal was the icing on the cake with Castleknock already well on the way to winning the very first Senior ‘B’ Hurling Cup. Congrats to everyone concerned. Unfortunately, due to new Covid-19 Restrictions we don’t have a photograph of the winning team.

Junior Hurlers Lose By Narrowest Of Margins: Sadly on Sunday (Oct.4), in terrible conditions, in O’Toole Park the Junior ‘F’ Hurlers couldn’t make it a super weekend double as they lost out by a point, 0-8 1-6, to Fingallians in the Junior ‘F’ Championship Final. This one went right down to the wire but Castleknock couldn’t capitalise on a few late chances to send the match into Extra-Time. Still it was a great year for the players and management and we look forward to seeing them all again in 2021.

Castleknock: Eoin McCambridge; Niall Walsh; Barry Brennan; Aonghus Murray; Tiago Mantero Belard; Paul Hammel; Mark Connellan; Ruairí Deehan; Joe Kelly; Shaun Mealia; Matthew Lynam (0-7); Hugh Hogan; Gerry Mulryan; Hugh Feeney; Sean Kennedy. Subs used: Rian Buckley (0-1); Ciarán O’Flannagáin; David Mullen; James Doherty. Panel: Paddy McKiernan; Colly Kenny; Jamie Bradshaw; Jack Molloy; Aaron Kavanagh; Sean Nagle; James Finan; Vinny Needham; Steve Callinan; Alan Kelly; Tom Gubbins. Management: Patsy Hough; John Kilkenny.

Next Up: On Wednesday (Oct.7) the Ladies Football Div.1 League Cup team play Clontarf in Somerton at 7.30pm. On Sunday (Oct.11) Castleknock play Whitehall Colmcille in the Junior 1 All-County Football Cup Semi-Final In Somerton at 11am while at 3pm also in Somerton Castleknock meet St. Sylvester’s in the Junior 5 All-County Football Cup Semi-Final. Assuming the current Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted Sunday will be a huge day too for our Minor ‘C’ Hurlers who meet Kilmacud Crokes in the Minor ‘C’ Hurling Championship Final in O’Toole Park at 3.30pm – lads everyone in the Club wishes you all well on what will undoubtedly be a great occasion.

Many Thanks To Lisa Heavey: The Club wishes to acknowledge the very generous donation to the Club of an SLR Canon Camera and Lens by Ladies Footballer Lisa Heavey of Heavey Developments.

Lisa set up the business in 2015 and currently holds the position of Managing Director. It’s a young and expanding property development business, currently working to deliver high quality and profitable residential projects in Dublin city. The business focuses on adding considerable value to each acquisition and specializes in project management and construction.

Residential Services Include:

• Renovation & Refurbishment
• Architectural Service
• House Design
• Kitchen Design
• Attic Conversions
• Planning Permission
  
  

GAA For All: Castleknock Hurling and Football Club regrets not being able to fully celebrate National Inclusion Fitness day because unfortunately due to the Covid-19 restrictions our plans to make the Club even more Accessible and Inclusive were derailed. However, we have big plans for the future so keep an eye out for those.

Bereavement Notice: The Club extends its sincerest sympathies to Paul Prior, our Minor ‘C’ Hurling Championship team mentor, on the passing of his father Nicholas. Our thoughts are with Paul and his family at this time. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

28-09-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Club Shop Goes Online: Getting your Club gear couldn’t be easier now following the introduction of our new Click and Collect Club Shop. You can now go online, browse through a huge selection of jerseys, socks, shorts, gloves, helmets, jackets, tops etc. etc. and in your own time make your selections. Then you follow three simple steps.

• Step 1. Fill in the Order Form
• Step 2. Receive your Order Confirmation by email (date, location, time for collection)
• Step 3. Collect Order

It’s as simple as that but if you have any queries, email: clubshop@castleknock.net

Club Shop Acknowledgement: Kevin Hogan has responded on behalf of the team (Kevin, Mags Heelan and Ger O’Reilly) who previously ran the mobile shop for upwards of 22 years.

‘On behalf of Geraldine, Mags and myself we would like to say a big thank you to everyone for all your good wishes on our retirement, and for all your support down through the years at the Club shop. Sorry we couldn’t reply to everyone individually.’   

September Lotto Results: Under continuing Covid-19 Restrictions public Lotto sales remain suspended but of course our Members Draw sponsored by Rialto Ford continues each week.

• September 03 – Numbers drawn – 4, 11, 15, 26 – No Jackpot Winner
• September 10 – Numbers drawn – 4, 8, 23, 29 – No Jackpot Winner
• September 17 – Numbers drawn – 6, 17, 18, 28 – No Jackpot Winner
• September 24 – Numbers drawn – 1, 24, 25, 30 – No Jackpot Winner

Under Lotto Licence Limits the current Jackpot total stands at €10,000. Within the Club Lotto Rules, a second Jackpot is now running and it currently stands at €2,600 continuing to grow by €200 per week. Next Match 4 wins the €10,000 Jackpot.

Nursery Returns (Again): Given the new Level 3, Covid-19 Restrictions for Dublin it took a while to work out the logistics of operating the Nursery under the latest guidelines so it was great to see it back up and running on Saturday last (September 26). Well done to everyone involved. Three venues were in use, Tir na nÓg, Somerton and Porterstown for the 2013 Girls 10am-11am and the 2014 Boys and Girls 11.30am-12.30. Expect an announcement during the week with regard to the 2015 and 2016 Girls and Boys groups.

Former Castleknock Player’s Success: Congrats to former Castleknock Senior Football team member Mattie Walsh on winning the Tyrone SFC with his native club Dungannon Thomas Clarkes.

All four of Dungannon’s SFC matches this year went to extra-time, the Final against Trillick being won 8-7 on penalties, to give Dungannon a first Tyrone title for 64 years (1956). A massive achievement for Mattie and his team-mates.

Results Up-Date: With no juvenile or U-18 fixtures permitted at present the first match this past week was on Thursday (Sept.24) when our Junior ‘B’ Hurlers put in an amazing second-half display to come from three points down to beat Kilmacud by 2-20 2-8 in the Junior ‘B’ Hurling Cup to qualify for the Final.

On Sunday morning (Sept.27) the Minor ‘C’ Footballers received a second walk-over in the Cup to top Group 1, unbeaten on six points. In the early afternoon the Ladies Football Div.5 team had a huge win over Kilmacud 4-18 2-1 in the Adult League to move equal top of the Group while later on Sunday afternoon our Junior 5 Footballers had a terrific win over Naomh Barrog in the Cup to win Group 2 with three wins from three.   

Next Week’s Highlight: After their thrilling Semi-Final victory over Erin’s Isle, the Castleknock Junior ‘F’ Hurlers, our last remaining Adult Championship side, meet Fingallians in the Championship Final in O’Toole Park at 1.30pm on Sunday next (Oct.4) behind closed doors. Good luck to Patsy Hough, John Kilkenny and all the players.

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

21-09-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Covid-19 Strikes Again: Just when we thought things were slowly returning to normal Dublin has been placed on Level 3 of the Government’s Framework for Restrictive Measures which means that we will all remain at Level 3 + for a period of 3 weeks from midnight on Friday September 18 until midnight on Friday October 9.

The Saturday morning Nursery has been cancelled until further notice and all Juvenile and Minor fixtures have been postponed until the Restrictions have been lifted. All Adult games, hurling and football, remain ON but behind Closed Doors. Underage training must be on a non-contact basis in pods of up to 15 only. Adult teams continue to train as normal.

All Ladies Football, U-8 to U-18 fixtures, have been postponed. Adult fixtures continue but again No spectators. Adult Ladies Football training as normal. Juvenile training permitted but non-contact only in pods of 15.

Dublin Camogie has advised that all Juvenile club games have been postponed, to be rescheduled when permitted. All Adult Camogie games remain ON but behind Closed Doors until we return to Level 2 or lower.

Impressive Summer Camp Figures: Given the Covid-19 restrictions, the numbers involved in Summer Camps across Dublin were quite phenomenal. Over five weeks, 92 clubs hosted 125 Camps involving 13,306 children, 7,514 boys and 5,792 girls, all of which was orchestrated by 1,906 coaches. A huge achievement for everyone who participated, especially in this most extraordinary of years. Congrats to all concerned.

Lisa Heavey Donation: Adult footballer Lisa Heavey of Heavey Developments has given back to the Club in the most picture-perfect way possible with the presentation of a super Canon Camera to the Club to record for posterity all those significant moments in our day to day Club activities. Lisa who has already contributed so much to the Club on the field of play, presented the Camera to GPO Maria Bergin in Somerton on Monday last (Sept.14).

Results Round-Up: On Monday evening (Sept.14) in spite of a tremendous last quarter comeback Castleknock’s U-18 Ladies Footballers lost out to Na Fianna by 0-15 3-9 in an exciting contest in Somerton. The good news however is that in spite of losing, Castleknock still qualify for a first ever U-18 Championship Semi-Final against Clontarf on a date now to be decided. Better news for the Div.7 team who recorded a terrific 5-5 1-10 win over St. Vincent’s to maintain their Championship challenge.

Wednesday (Sept.16) saw an evening of double disappointment in the Ladies Football League Cup. Our Div.1 side, despite two first-half Aisling O’Donnell goals, lost to St. Brigid’s 3-3 4-19 in Russell Park and the Div.5 team had a similar experience losing by 1-7 3-13 away to Ballyboden St. Endas.

On Saturday (Sept.19) the Senior Hurlers repeated their Championship win over Crumlin in the Senior ‘B’ Cup winning by 0-17 2-8 in Somerton in a game notable for the introduction of some of our great Minor prospects.

On Sunday morning (Sept.20) the Junior ‘B’ Hurlers received a walk-over from St. Jude’s in the Cup which means that their final group game against Kilmacud Crokes next Thursday (Sept.24) in Somerton is effectively a Cup Semi-Final.

On Sunday afternoon we witnessed one of the game’s of the year as Castleknock’s Junior Hurlers beat Erin’s Isle in a thrilling Junior ‘F’ Hurling Championship Semi-Final by 3-15 3-11. The perfect blend of youth and experience did it for Castleknock who now meet Fingallians in the Final.

The Week Ahead: On Thursday (Sept.24) our Junior ‘B’ Hurlers play Kilmacud in the Cup in Somerton at 8pm. On Saturday (Sept.26) the Senior Footballers meet Lucan at 5.30pm in the Cup in Lucan and on Sunday (Sept.27) both in the Cup the Junior 1 Footballers play Na Fianna in Somerton (11am) and the Junior 5 Footballers play Naomh Barróg also in Somerton (3pm). All Behind Closed Doors.

Bon Voyage: Conor Corcoran

Founding Member Profile: Johnny Corcoran Stars In Wembley Stadium

It seems appropriate given that English soccer had its showpiece FA Cup Final in Wembley over the weekend to remind our members of another big match in Wembley with a Castleknock connection.

On October 17, 1976 in Wembley Stadium, the home of English soccer, as part of the annual fundraiser for the London GAA, All-Ireland Champions Dublin recorded a three-point win over beaten All-Ireland Finalists Kerry. Johnny Corcoran, one of Castleknock’s founding members was hailed as among the heroes of the hour. He also got on the scoresheet and one of his enduring memories is of the Dublin team being escorted to the dressing room before the match by a man in a ‘top hat and tails’. Mick Lynch might consider doing the same in Somerton.

Highlights courtesy of traleetoday.ie (Ctrl + Click)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeJg_e6cjkI&t=90s

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

14-09-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Results Round-Up: A huge win on Monday (Sept.7) for our U-18 Ladies footballers who beat Kilmacud Crokes by 3-17 2-6 in the Div.1 Championship in Somerton. Aisling O’Neill scored 0-10, the goals coming from Emma Diamond, Erika Moore and Aoife Coppinger. Meanwhile the U-18 Div.7 North side went down by a single score away to Clontarf 3-6 2-12.

On Tuesday (Sept.8) Castleknock’s Junior Camogie team produced what by all reports was a great team display to beat Good Counsel 1-9 0-9 in the Junior 2 Championship Final under lights in Abbotstown. Congratulations to everyone concerned.

Castleknock: Eabha Mooney; Amy Carroll; Hannah Bourke; Caoimhe Kavanagh; Caoimhe Sawyer; Sophie Brown (0-1)(Capt.); Ciara Moynihan; Eva Coughlan; Sinead Feeley; Mollie Turner (0-2); Siobhan Roche; Emma Diamond (0-3); Eva Mulholland (0-1); Eimear Stynes (1-0); Alana Prior (0-1). Subs: Niamh Maher; Caoimhe Harrington. Player of the Match: Mollie Turner. Manager: Philip Bourke.

No celebrations on Wednesday night (Sept.9) however as in spite of having enough possession and scoring opportunities to win two matches Castleknock lost to Whitehall Colmcille by 2-8 2-12 in the Ladies Football Junior ‘C’ Shield Final. Best wishes to inspirational midfielder Lauren Manning who picked up a knee injury in the final minutes.

Castleknock: Sophie Brown; Sarah Byrne; Aisling Rafferty; Siobhan Roche; Zoe Fitzmaurice; Suzanne McCarthy; Molly Hong Ming; Niamh Kiernan; Lauren Manning; Aoife Delaney (0-1); Orla Kindlon (0-4); Niamh Mulroney (0-1); Cliona Killilea (1-1); Bronagh Quinn (1-1); Aisling Kenny. Subs used: Amadine Hong Ming; Rioghain Ni Lorcain; Lisa Heavey; Rachel Slater. Panel: Niamh Rafferty; Lauren O’Hara; Orla Boyle; Niamh Hartnett; Emma Slater. Manager: Ray Rafferty.

On Friday (Sept.11) in Div.2 of the Feile, the Ladies Footballers recorded a terrific win beating St. Vincent’s 4-6 1-3 while the long journey out to Man O War proved unsuccessful for the Div.6 side who lost by 2-2 5-9.

On Saturday (Sept.12) it was three wins out of three for the Boys Footballers in the Dublin Feile Peile na nÓg. Our Div.1 team had a superb away win beating St. Sylvester’s 5-17 3-6 to stay top of the group on score difference from Clontarf, our final group opponents. The Div.7 Feile side beat St. Agnes Crumlin Robert Emmets (the longest club name in Dublin?) by 2-12 2-5 to top their group with one game to go and Castleknock’s Div.10 Feile footballers had a surprisingly easy 8-10 0-0 win over Thomas Davis which should be enough to finish second in the group. Congrats all round.

Saturday also saw a hard-fought U-14 Camogie Championship win for Castleknock in Somerton beating Ballinteer 2-1 1-3 although no luck for our Senior Footballers who lost to Clontarf on Saturday evening in Round 2 of the Football Cup.

Sunday (Sept.13) began with a great win for Castleknock in the Minor ‘C’ Hurling Championship Semi-Final beating St. Vincent’s 1-18 1-6. A superb performance all round with midfielder Eoin Walsh in a class of his own.

At the same time out in Donabate there was an agonising one-point defeat for Paul ‘Nudie’ Hughes and Mick Lynch’s Junior 3 Footballers 1-8 0-12 against St. Pat’s in the Semi-Final of the Junior 3 Championship. This team came on in leaps and bounds this year and provided great entertainment along the way. Commiserations to everyone involved.

On Sunday afternoon after a mighty battle Castleknock were finally overcome by 1-13 1-17 by Oliver Plunketts in a game in O’Toole Park that could have gone either way. Castleknock trailed 0-6 0-8 at half-time and in spite of a late goal just couldn’t catch an excellent Plunkett’s side. This is another of Castleknock’s teams that has given everything and it certainly wasn’t lack of effort that made the difference on the day. Liam O’Flannagain provided expert commentary on the game on Oliver Plunketts streaming platforms.

Castleknock: Jack Lynch; Mark Connellan; Senan Forker; Dan Murphy; Alex Watson; Evan McSherry; Davey Mullen; Conor Murray; Rian Buckley; Luke Swan; Ben Harding; Ruairi Deehan; Darragh O’Connell; Matthew Lynam; Oisin O’Flannagain. Subs: Neil Hogan; Mikey Bohan; Michael Ryan; Reuben Cahill.

What To Watch Out For This Week:

On Monday (Sept.14) Castleknock’s U=18 Div.1 Ladies Footballers will be trying to make in three wins on the trot in the Championship when they meet Na Fianna in Somerton at 6.30pm. Also in Somerton at the same time the Div.7 North team play St. Vincent’s.

On Wednesday (Sept.16) our Intermediate Ladies Footballers go to Russell park to play St. Brigid’s in the Adult League Cup Div.1 at 6.30pm. Castleknock had a great win over Parnells in their first match in this competition while also in the Adult League Cup Div.5 this time, on Wednesday Castleknock Juniors, unbeaten after three games, travel to play Ballyboden, unbeaten after two games, at 6.30pm in Cherryfield.

On Saturday (Sept.19) Castleknock U-15 Ladies Footballers have a Shield Semi-Final against Craobh Chiaran in Clonshaugh at 1.30pm and the Feile Hurling competitions continue later on Saturday afternoon.

At 6pm on Saturday Castleknock’s Senior Hurlers play Crumlin in Somerton in the deciding match in their Senior ‘B’ Hurling Cup group – remember these teams played out a thrilling game in the First Round of the Senior ‘B’ Championship in Pearse Park.

On Sunday morning (Sept.20) at 11am our Junior ‘B’ hurlers renew rivalries with St. Jude’s in Round 2 of the Cup in Tymon North and then at 3pm it’s the Junior ‘F’ Hurling Championship Semi-Final – Castleknock v Erin’s Isle in Finglas. Good luck to everyone involved.

Another busy week ahead.

 And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

07-09-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Fabulous Féile Friday: It was the turn of the Ladies Football Féile competitions in Somerton on Friday evening (Sept.4) when both Castleknock teams recorded great victories.

The Div.2 side held a healthy 4-6 0-5 lead at the interval against Garda/Westmanstown Gaels before going on to win by 7-10 1-7, a handsome 21-point victory that could be all important if knock-out qualification from this group comes down to score difference. Westmanstown pushed hard in the second-half but Castleknock’s backs tackled and covered superbly. Castleknock: Ruth Gormley; Séana Byrne; Aoibheann O’Connor; Tara Norton; Loza El Musharaf; Lara Tate; Catriona Doherty; Orlaith Lally; Aisling O’Grady; Emily Webb; Saoirse Nic Sheoin; Niamh Andrews; Ali Diamond; Caoilinn Fallon; Ruby Gear; Emily Prior; Niamh Sadlier; Ella McGloin. Management: Ciarán Tate; Denis Lally: Colm O’Grady.

The Div.6 side received a walk-over in Round 1 so this result marked a great playing start to their campaign. Four first-half goals made all the difference as Castleknock, playing some great football, got the better of St. Mark’s by 5-3 2-5. Castleknock: Isabelle Gilmartin; Carla Ni Chifor; Caoimhe Brady; Sarah Martin; Maya McIlhenny; Ava Kinucane; Izzy Swan; Aimee Goodwin; Hannah Keenan; Ríona O’Brien; Emma Cryan; Aoibheann McGuinness; Becky Ennis; Niamh Doherty; Saoirse Dolan; Aoife O’Brien. Management: Arthur Webb; Cathal O’Brien; Judith Doherty.

An interesting feature of the evening was that there was one Doherty twin (Catriona or Niamh) on each team. Darren Martin also produced some terrific drone footage of the two teams and mentors. View it on the Club twitter.

Results Up-Date: A great start to the week when on Monday (Aug.31) our U-18 Ladies Footballers beat Clanna Gael/Fontenoy 4-12 4-9 in Ringsend in a fabulous Div.1 Championship contest. Castleknock trailed at H.T. by two points, 2-6 2-8 but, in a goal about second-half, Castleknock came strong in the final minutes to record a terrific win.

On Tuesday (Sept.1) Castleknock’s Junior 2 Camogie team gave a powerful display in Somerton to beat Whitehall Colmcille 1-18 1-5 in the Junior 2 Championship Semi-Final. Mollie Turner 0-8. The final against Good Counsel is in Abbotstown on Tuesday (Sept.8).

The torrential rain of Wednesday morning (Sept.2) finally gave way to sunshine and light that evening, as Castleknock’s Ladies Footballers produced an amazing comeback to beat Fingallians by 5-13 4-11 AET in the Junior ‘C’ Shield Semi-Final in Somerton. Seven points down at one stage Castleknock for whom substitute Cliona Killilea scored 3-1 won by five on an evening to remember. Castleknock now meet Whitehall Colmcille in Somerton in the Final on Wednesday (Sept.9).

Castleknock Senior Footballers conceded four goals in the first 16 minutes of the Senior Football Cup, Round 1 when going down by 0-14 4-15 to a much more hungry Thomas Davis side in Somerton on Thursday (Sept.4). New faces included Conor Kelly, Davy Bohan and Jordan Dargan Akiwumi.

Friday (Sept.4) was a fantastic evening for the Ladies Football Féile teams both scoring fine wins (see above) and on Saturday (Sept.5) the U-14 Camogie (Feile) Championship teams had mixed luck. The Div.2 side got the better of Fingallians by 2-6 2-3 in their first match in the competition while the Div.5 team, playing up a Division, found Stars of Erin much too hot to handle.

In the Boys Feile Hurling the Div.1 team had a great 4-19 2-16 win over Naomh Barrog and in Div.6 the news was equally good with a 3-8 3-3 victory over St. Vincent’s however the Div.7 team lost to a very strong Kilmacud Crokes side.

On Saturday evening the Senior Hurlers received a walk-over from O’Tooles in the Senior ‘B’ Cup and congrats to our former Senior Footballer Mattie Walsh who also on Saturday was a member of the Dungannon Tom Clarke’s team that surprised Errigal Ciaran in the Tyrone SFC S-F winning by 0-19 2-12, AET. The match was shown live on RTE. We wish Mattie well in the Final.

More heartache on Sunday (Sept.6), especially for our dual players, as the Senior Camogie team travelled over to Ballinteer St. John’s for the Senior 2 Shield Final and despite being level 0-7 1-4 at the interval and getting to within a point twice in the second-half ended up losing agonisingly by 0-14 2-11. On a happier note, congrats to Ciara Burgess who would have been playing had it not been for the birth of her beautiful new daughter, Fiadh, on Tuesday last. Ciara, everyone in the Club sends their best wishes and heartiest congratulations.

Also on Sunday the Junior ‘B’ Hurlers came good in the second-half to beat Civil Service by 1-16 1-14 in Round 1 of the Junior ‘B’ Hurling Cup and our Junior ‘F’ Hurlers had a comprehensive Championship win by 1-21 1-4 over St. Pat’s, Palmerstown to qualify for a Semi-Final meeting with Erin’s Isle. The Minor ‘A’ Footballers gave a walk-over to Clontarf in the Cup.

The Nursery Returns: The schools have re-opened and the Nursery is back with a bang. The long queue stretching out across Tír na nÓg on Saturday morning said it all. The huge numbers, 230 in Tir na nÓg and another 60+ in Somerton as confirmed by Lisa Kiernan were great to see and all being trained in pods as per the Covid-19 restrictions. Further information can be obtained from our Games Promotion Officer Maria Bergin 087-7563654.

August Lotto: The Members Lotto Draw Results in association with Rialto Ford.

• Aug.06 – Numbers Drawn – 4, 11, 14, 21 – No Jackpot Winner – New Jackpot Total €9,400
• Aug.13 – Numbers Drawn – 10, 22, 23, 26 – No Jackpot Winner – New Jackpot Total €9,600
• Aug.20 – Numbers Drawn – 1, 23, 29, 30 – No Jackpot Winner – New Jackpot Total €9,800
• Aug.27 – Numbers Drawn – 7, 9, 17, 24 – No Jackpot Winner – New Jackpot Total €10,000

Matches To Watch Out For: On Monday (Sept.7) our U-18 Ladies Footballers play Kilmacud Crokes in the Div.1 Championship in Somerton at 6.30pm. On Tuesday (Sept.8) it’s the Junior 2 Championship Final in Camogie for our Junior team who play Good Counsel in Abbotstown at 7.30pm and on then Wednesday (Sept.9) it’s another Final, this time in ladies Football when our Junior ‘C’ team meet Whitehall in the Shield Final in Somerton at 6.30pm. Keep an eye on twitter for time changes in the Ladies Football games.

Covid-19 Signage: Members may have noticed the new Covid-19 signage which recently made its appearance in Somerton. The design, print and installation were all provided compliments of Club member Conor Callinan and the Delta Group. Many thanks to Conor and his team.

So Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

31-08-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Great Sponsorship News:  The Club is delighted to announce details of its new Ladies Football and Camogie Sponsor – Pita Pit – based in Unit 452 of the Blanchardstown Town Centre (beside Krispy Kreme Doughnuts).

Whilst relatively new to Ireland the Pita Pit franchise has a proven track record with over 650 stores in 11 countries to date across North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific and we in Castleknock Hurling and Football Club look forward to a mutually successful partnership with this rapidly expanding food outlet possessing an ethos focused on making fast food healthy, casual and accessible to everyone. Pita Pit is currently inviting applications for the role of Marketing Co-Ordinator details of which can be viewed at www.castleknock.net

Club Shop – End Of An Era: Saturday, August 29th, 2020 marked the end of an era for the Club but especially for Kevin Hogan, Mags Heelan and Ger O’Reilly, the team that for the last 22 years has operated our hugely successful Club Shop. The ‘Shop’ began with the trio selling Club gear out of bags at Tir na nÓg followed by three mobile manifestations of the shop, one stolen, one collapsed and the current version which operates from CCC every Saturday morning.

The logistics of running the shop are truly staggering and the amount of work they have done in terms of finance, stock taking, ordering and providing expert guidance for parents every week deserves the heartfelt thanks of every Club member.

Kevin, Mags and Ger will be a very hard act to follow. We thank the three of you for all your efforts and everything you have done for the Club since it was founded and wish you all the best in the future.

Results Update: On Monday (Aug,24) the Ladies Footballers U-18 Div.1 team put in their best display so far this year before losing narrowly 3-8 3-12 to Clontarf and on Tuesday (Aug.25) Castleknock Camogie Junior ‘B’ team beat Na Fianna 2-7 1-4 to win their group and progress to the Championship Semi-Final. On Wednesday (Aug.26) Raheny beat Oliver Plunketts in the SFC to confirm Castleknock’s elimination from the competition.

The Ladies Football Féile began on Friday evening (Aug.28) Castleknock losing in Div.2 to Ballinteer 0-8 5-8.

The 2020 Dublin Féile Football competitions began on Saturday afternoon (Aug.29). Castleknock recorded a double over St. Judes in Somerton. In Div.1 Castleknock won by 3-11 to 3-2, Lenny Cahill scoring 1-7, Cillian Clark 2-1. In Div.7 Castleknock played some superb football to win by 2-7 0-2 and in Div.10 Castleknock couldn’t match the strength of Clontarf losing by 1-5 9-11.

On Saturday evening there was absolute heartache for our Ladies Footballers as they lost the Intermediate Final by a point, 2-8 2-9, to Cuala in Lawless Park in Swords. It was anyone’s game right to the end and it will be some time before the pain of defeat subsides. 

On Sunday morning (Aug.30) two of our three Minor Hurling teams claimed Championship wins and both by the narrowest of margins. The ‘A’ hurlers beat Naomh Barrog 1-13 1-12 in Kilbarrack in a Quarter-Final game streamed live on Facebook. The ‘C’ Hurlers had an equally narrow 2-9 1-11 Quarter-Final win over St. Peregrins in Blakesown while in Somerton our ‘D’ hurlers put up a good performance against a physically stronger Cuala team before losing out by 1-12 7-19.

Another great win over in Kilbarrack on Sunday morning as our Junior 3 Footballers came away with a terrific (and maybe even slightly unexpected) 1-16 2-5 victory over Naomh Barrog in the Championship Quarter-Final with Shane Carolan and Jamie Tunney giving just two among a number of outstanding displays. Our Junior 1 Footballers received a Walk-Over from Erin’s Isle in the J1 All-County Cup and the Junior 5 Footballers beat Ballinteer 4-10 3-10 in the J5 All-County Cup.

Congrats to our Senior Camogie team on beating Good Counsel 4-11 2-8 in the Senior 2 Shield Semi-Final on Sunday afternoon, one of the memorable moments being, Captain for the day, Aisling Andrews superb goal, scored on her 21st Birthday. Castleknock now meet Ballinteer in the Final, date and venue TBC – probably next weekend – watch the Club’s twitter for details.

Football Management Changes: The Club’s Senior Football team manager Declan O’Sullivan has stepped down. The Minor ‘A’ Footballers Management team of Declan Hannigan, Gerry Kindlon, Mick Marren and John Kilkenny have also stepped down after two years of enormous commitment and dedication to training and coaching the lads, leading of course to outright Minor Football Championship success in 2019, only the Club’s second Minor Football title. The Club is indebted to them for all their hard work and we wish them well for the future. The Junior 1 Football Management team of Emmet McGarvey and Eoghan and Ciaran Dennehy will be looking after the Minor ‘A’ Footballers during the newly inaugurated Football Cup competition.

What To See This Week: On Monday (Aug.31) the U-18 Ladies Footballers play Clanna Gael/Fontenoy in the Div.1 Championship in Ringsend at 6.30pm. On Tuesday (Sept.1) it’s a huge match for the Junior 2 Camogie team as they meet Whitehall Colmcille in the J2 Championship Semi-Final in Somerton at 7pm. Good luck to everyone involved. On Wednesday (Sept.2) it’s Ladies Football again as Castleknock host Fingallians in Somerton at 6.30pm in the Junior ‘C’ Shield Knock-Out stages and on Thursday (Sept.3) our Senior Footballers play Thomas Davis in the new Football Cup in Somerton at 7.30pm. The Feile Hurling Round 2 matches are on Saturday (Sept.5).

Plus dozens of underage matches.in all four codes.

Bereavement Notice: The Club extends its deepest sympathies to Mick Marren, our long serving Minor Football coach on the death of his sister Breda Nugent of Drogheda and formerly Sligo. We wish to express our condolences to the Nugent and Marren families at this sad time. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

24-08-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Hugh Summer Camps Success: Club GPO Maria Bergin who this week celebrates two years here in Castleknock, sums up the events of the last three weeks.

‘In what are uncertain times it was amazing to see all the future stars of Castleknock Hurling and Football Club able to come together and take part in Camps over the last three weeks. The improvements in all our players has been amazing to witness.

I am so proud of each and every one of our future stars and also our Coaches because without them the Camps wouldn’t have happened and the kids wouldn’t have enjoyed them as much as they did. Special thanks to Laura Carolan who was with here for all three weeks and the rest of the coaches including: Hannah Bourke; Mollie Turner; Eoin Sawyer; Matthew Lynam; Ruairi Deehen; Mairead Griffin; Senan Forker; Elliot O’Neill; Joshua McCann; Claire Nulty; Orlaith Higgins; Cian Boyle; Conor Murray; Aidan Kearney; Darragh Warnock; Tom Quinn; Eoin Walsh; Ivan Carroll; Daniel O’Leary; Josh Guinane; Alex Santamaria; Katie Prunty; Emma Strappe; Molly McCarthy; Cliona Hewson; David Powell; Denise Convery; Suzanne McCarthy; Emma Diamond and Ellen Baker.

We will get back to normal eventually. For now though, be patient and work together because remember – GAA is Family – so Stay Safe everyone and Castleknock Abú. Many thanks Maria.

Castleknock Golf Classic Deferred: The Club Golf Classic originally scheduled for Friday Aug.28 has been deferred until Friday October 9 in Westmanstown. Anyone can enter a team but the Karl Andrews Trophy will go to our own, highest placed Club team.

Anyone who wishes to enter a team or be part of a team can contact the Club Secretary, Sean McLaughlin at secretary@castleknock.net or on 087 121 6859; or Mick Lynch on 086 253 1600, or Charlie Spillane on 085 110 1008.

Nursery Return: Due to the current Covid-19 restrictions and the planning required as a result, the Nursery will not now resume until September 5. The times will be released over the next week so keep an eye on social media. Anyone interested in registering children contact Maria on 087-7563654.

Any incoming TY or Fifth Year students willing to help out can contact Maria on the above number as well. If you are under 18 your parents must make contact.

Results Up-Date: Mixed fortunes for our U-18 Ladies Footballers against Na Fianna on Monday (Aug.17). The Div.1 side lost by 1-11 7-8 while the Div.7 team won by 4-9 1-2.

On Tuesday (Aug.18) the Junior 2 Camogie team had a superb 3-15 1-7 win over Skerries to maintain their 100% Championship record. Mollie Turner 1-7, Emma Diamond 0-6.

Wednesday (Aug.19) saw a wonderful performance by the Ladies Football Intermediate team as they travelled over to Rush and defeated St. Maur’s by 0-16 1-5, a truly superb win against tough opposition. St. Maur’s scored an early goal but Castleknock calmly hit back to lead by 0-5 1-1 after 19 minutes. At HT Castleknock led by 0-9 1-2 and it was still anyone’s game. At the second Water-Break Castleknock led by 5 points and increased that to 8 by the final whistle 0-16 1-8. The Dublin Ladies Football Intermediate Final is a repeat of that recent super Group contest against Cuala this time in Lawless Memorial Park, Swords on Saturday next August 29 at 6pm.

Also on Wednesday the Ladies Football ‘C’ Championship side had a comfortable win by 5-8 1-0 against Ranelagh Gaels.

On Friday (Aug.21) in a rescheduled game the Minor ‘C’ Footballers had a fine 3-12 3-7 win over Clontarf in the new Minor ‘C’ Football Cup. Jack Lynch 1-3. Adam Pettit 0-4.

The long-awaited Dublin 2020 Feile Hurling Competitions began on Saturday (Aug.22) with three Castleknock teams involved in the first of three weeks of competition.

The Div.1 Feile Hurling side put up a tremendous battle against a physically stronger Lucan team before going down by 2-14 4-11. Castleknock Div.1 Feile: Max O’Neill; Charlie Canny; Cillian Beere; Conor O’Brien; Sean O’Brien; Cillian O’Sullivan; Michael McGrail; Stephen Kane; Joshua Young; Sam Moloney; Jamie Payne; Lenny Cahill; Matthew Mullen; Cillian Clark; Joe Barker; Jack Reid; Oran O’Connell; Tom Dempsey. Managers: Enda Mullen and Noel Young.

The Div.6 Feile Hurling team controlled their game throughout leading by 2-15 2-4 at HT before going on to win by 4-18 2-5 against O’Dwyers (Balbriggan). Castleknock Div.6 Feile: Luke Stack; Cormac Casserly; Conor Golden; Jack Dollard; Eoin Callaghan; Darragh Downes; Christopher O’Leary; Michael Padden; Joe Dooley; Shane Desmond; Ben Finney; Aaron Donnelly; Eoin O’Brien; David Kelly; Dara O’Connell; Darragh Murray; Fred Adeoye; Cathal Kelly; Tomás Kelly; Luke Mulgrew; David Sinnott; Lucas Ward; Jack Batt; Caolan O’Donnell. Managers: Niall O’Connell and Peter Kelly.

The Div.7 Feile Hurling team, our Third team came up against Lucan’s Second team and suffered a heavy 2-3 14-4 defeat as a result. The Football Feile begins next Saturday.

On Saturday evening Castleknock’s Senior Hurlers got back to winning ways with a 1-21 1-17 win over Ballyboden in Round 1 of the new Senior ‘B’ Hurling Cup in Somerton. Cian Boyle scored 14 points.

Sunday morning (Aug.23) brought no joy at all to our Club teams. In the Junior ‘B’ Hurling Quarter-Final, Castleknock in spite of a great last quarter comeback still lost by 0-15 2-12 to Commercials. Wishing Cian Kelly a speedy recovery from the knee injury he picked up during that game. Over in Ballyboden in the MFC ‘A’ Quarter Final Castleknock led 2-4 0-8 at HT into the wind but eventually went down by 2-5 1-12 while in Malahide in the MFC ‘E’ Quarter Final Castleknock lost to St. Sylvester’s by 2-5 5-8.

In a comment after the defeat in Ballyboden Philip Bohan summed up the feeling very well: ‘These minor footballers are a fine bunch of lads. The measure of any group of players is how they pick themselves up after losing. They still have a hurling Quarter Final coming up so they have to just dust themselves off and show us all the qualities that have given us parents so much pride watching them compete. Huge thanks to Gerry Kindlon, Declan Hannigan, Mick Marren and John Kilkenny for their excellent coaching over the last two years. It has made these lads better players as a result.’

The Senior Camogie side also faced disappointment on Sunday when needing a win against Skerries to go through to the knock-out stages of the Championship they were forced to settle for a draw 1-19 4-10 and as a result go out of the competition. So close and yet so far.

Finishing off the day, the Junior ‘F’ Hurlers travelled to St. Anne’s Park to play Clontarf and came away with a heart-warmed 3-13 2-4 victory to ease the pain of an otherwise unsuccessful day at adult level.

Hands Across The Border: Ireland’s newest GAA club, East Belfast GAA, has expressed its sincere thanks to Castleknock Hurling and Football Club for the recent presentation of O’Meara sliotars made to Club Secretary David McGreevy and  Club President Linda Ervine on our behalf by former Club PRO, Dave O’Brien.

The Belfast club recently received a bomb warning at its training grounds but thankfully has since received assurances that the Club will be safe to continue training and playing matches unmolested. We in Castleknock wish them every future success.

What To See Next:

On Monday (Aug.24) the Ladies Football U-18 League team play a Div.1 match against Clontarf in Somerton at 7pm and on Tuesday (Aug.25) in Camogie, in the Junior 2 Championship Castleknock meet Na Fianna in Somerton at 7pm. On Wednesday evening (Aug.26) Raheny and SOPER meet in their postponed Senior 1 Football clash. A win for Oliver Plunketts brings us back into contention.

On Friday (Aug.28) our Ladies Football Feile team play Ballinteer in Marlay Park at 6.45pm and then on Saturday (Aug.29) it’s that Ladies Football Intermediate Final (see above). Another huge Sunday (Aug.30). Our three Minor Hurling teams are in Championship action. (Are we the only club in Dublin with three Minor Hurling teams?) The ‘A’ team are away in a Q-F to Naomh Barrog. The ‘C’ team are away to Peregrines in another Q-F and the ‘D’ team go to Shankill to meet Cuala in a S-F. All 11am as is the Junior 3 Football Championship Q-F against Naomh Barrog which is an away game as well. The Junior 1 (morning) and Junior 5 Footballers (afternoon) also have Cup games on Sunday.

The excitement never ends – hopefully.

And Remember – Wash Your Hands Regularly – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

17-08-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Jim Boggan Skills Competition: In 2019 Adam Kelly won the inaugural Jim Boggan U-15 Skills Competition and last Sunday (Aug.9) in O’Toole Park the second annual Competition proved to be another great success for Castleknock.

This time congratulations are due to Dylan Clark who was second and Cillian Downey who came fourth, out of 30 of the most skillful young hurlers in Dublin. Hosted by Crumlin and supported by the Dublin County Board and Friends of Dublin Hurling, the competition requires players to perform a number of skills including side-line cuts, frees, long pucks as well as skills such as high catching, first touch and striking targets while on the move. Proud of you both lads.

Results Up-Date: On Monday (Aug.10) the U-18 Ladies Footballers lost out in Div.1 of the League Cup to a very strong Clanna Gael/Fontenoy by 0-2 6-5 in Somerton and while it was much closer in Div.7 of the U-18 League Cup, Castleknock still lost by two, 4-2 3-7 to Clontarf.

Tuesday (Aug.11) saw a tremendous away win for our Camogie ‘B’ team in the Junior 2 Championship when driven-on by three Eimear Stynes goals. Castleknock having led by 2-6 0-4 at the interval, went on to record a comprehensive 5-10 2-8 victory over St. Judes.

Wednesday (Aug.12) saw two great Ladies Football matches. In the Intermediate Championship, in spite of first-half goals by Jessica Comerford, Caitlin Coffey and Aoife Whelan to give Castleknock a 3-5 0-8 interval lead, the side were overhauled in the second-half to do down by 3-11 4-11 to Cuala but the good news is that Castleknock still go through to the Intermediate Championship Semi-Final although they do now lose home advantage. A similar story for the Ladies Junior ‘C’ Championship team as they lost by the same margin to Crumlin, 3-8 3-11.

Sunday (Aug.16) was a hugely decisive day for a lot of our teams. Unfortunately in spite of holding Kilmacud Crokes scoreless for the last 18 minutes our Senior Footballers couldn’t get the scores needed to win the TG4 televised Senior 1 Football Championship Round 3 game in Parnell Park (switched from O’Toole Park due to Covid-19) FT. 0-12 1-11. Knock-out qualification is now out of our hands.

A great morning however for our three Minor Hurling teams with all three qualifying for the Championship Knock-out stages. In the MHC ‘A’ Castleknock had a resounding 6-18 0-8 win over Clontarf. In the MHC ‘C’ Castleknock got a walk-over from Bray Emmets and both go through to the Quarter-Finals while in the MHC ‘D’ Castleknock beat Good Counsel/Liffey Gaels 3-10 1-8 to reach the Semi-Finals. A huge achievement. Congrats to everyone involved.

In the J1 Football Championship Castleknock recorded a fantastic 3-18 0-5 win over Fingallians but agonisingly lost out on a Quarter-Final spot on score difference. Better news for the J3 Footballers who go through to the Quarter-Finals after beating St. Peregrines 3-19 0-4 while the J5 Footballers ended their Championship by losing to a much stronger Clanna Gael/Fontenoy side 0-3 3-23.

A disappointing afternoon too for Castleknock’s Senior Camogie team who in spite of a comeback goal, lost out by four points to Naomh Mearnóg 1-11 2-12 in the Senior 2 Championship. 

What To See Next:

On Monday (Aug.17) two Castleknock U-18 Ladies teams travel to Glasnevin to play Na Fianna – the Div.1 team plays at 7.15pm and the Div.7 side plays at 7.30pm both in Mobhi Road. Tuesday (Aug.18) sees Castleknock Camogie ‘B’ team meet Skerries Harps in Somerton at 7pm in the Junior 2 Championship while on Wednesday (Aug.19) the Ladies Footballers ‘B’ team play Ranelagh Gaels in the Junior ‘B’ Championship at 7.15pm also in Somerton.

On Saturday (Aug.22) the Senior Hurlers play their first match in the Senior ‘B’ Hurling Cup – that’s against Ballyboden in Somerton at 6pm.

Another busy Sunday (Aug.23) with some huge games. The second team Hurlers play Commercials in the Junior ‘B’ Hurling Championship Quarter-Final in Somerton at 11am. Two of the minor football teams are also in Championship Quarter-Final action. The ‘A’ Championship team go to Ballyboden for a repeat of last year’s thrilling Semi-Final and the ‘E’ Championship side travel to Broomfield to meet St. Sylvester’s. Both are at 11am as is the Minor ‘C’s Football Cup match against Clontarf in Somerton.

The Senior Camogie team head out to Skerries for a Senior 2 Championship match at 1.30pm and then at 3pm Castleknock meet Clontarf in St. Annes Park in the Junior ‘F’ Hurling Championship.

West Active August For Temple Street:
West Pharmaceuticals, our Community Partner and Sponsor are currently engaged in raising funds for Temple Street Children’s Hospital. Over €13,000 has already been raised, €3,300 of that from CHFC members who purchased 190 limited edition, branded and extremely fashionable training tops (you’ve probably seem them around). If you still want to contribute you can get the full details at https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/westactiveaugust GRMA.

Bereavement: The Club extends its deepest sympathy to Mary McDonald Sivaljevic on the death of her brother Terry (Terence) of Glasnevin. Mary is a member of our Club Lotto team and her son Charles is a former player with the club. We would like to extend our sincere condolences to Mary and all her family and friends at this sad time. 

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

10-08-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Historic First Nursery Camp: One hundred and sixty-five boys and girls participated in the Club’s first Nursery Camp in Somerton from Tuesday to Friday last (Aug. 4-7). Sponsored by Mark Jones in Spar, Carpenterstown (beside Tír na nÓg), it was a huge success, especially the Fancy-Dress Day on Thursday and County Jersey Day on Friday when Get Fresh from Laurel Lodge came along to provide fresh fruit for all the boys, girls and coaches. Maria Bergin was Chief Coach, assisted by Laura Carolan who celebrated her birthday on Thursday, Amy Mahony and 22 Teenage Coaches: Aidan Duffy; Murrough McKinley; Neil Hogan; Daniel O’Leary; Cian Prior; Conor Cryan; David Powell; Alex Conroy; Ciara Andrews; Molly McCarthy; Ella Gear; Poppy Conroy; Michael Ryan; Maya Golden; Caoimhe Harrington; Caoimhe Ní Flannagain; Georgia O’Connell; Cliona Hewson; Eva Mulholland; Emma McMenamin; Sophie King and Sophie Brady. Well done and thanks to everyone concerned.

Two more busy weeks ahead as the Kelloggs Cúl Camps in which there will be 220 participants begin in Somerton on Monday August 10 so much more enjoyment ahead which means that until further notice will be no Nursery in Tir na nÓg.

Results Round-Up:
On Tuesday evening (Aug.4) Castleknock held on by the skin of their teeth to beat Clontarf 1-10 1-9 in Round 2 of the Junior 1 All-County Football Championship in windy Somerton while across town, also in Round 2, the Junior 3 Footballers recorded a superb 1-13 0-8 victory over Kilmacud Crokes to get their Championship aspirations back on track. Sean Kennedy and Gary O’Hara stood out in defence. The same evening the Camogie ‘B’ team went down by 1-7 1-11 to Good Counsel in the Junior 2 Challenge Cup and in the U-16 ‘A’ Hurling Championship, Castleknock went down to Naomh Barróg on a scoreline of 0-12 2-15.

On Wednesday (Aug.5) In the Senior 1 Football Championship Castleknock endured a frustrating evening in St. Annes Park when losing to Raheny by 1-10 0-16. Conor Chawke scored two goals but one was disallowed (hotly disputed) and that was the difference between the sides. The Ladies Intermediate Footballers had a successful journey out to Skerries however beating the home side by 6-17 1-12.

On Thursday (Aug.6) the Junior 5 Football Championship team got off to a flying start against Lucan with two early goals to lead 2-2 0-2 but unfortunately they couldn’t sustain it. At half-time the sides were level (2-2 1-5) and Castleknock eventually lost out in an eight-goal thriller, 4-4 4-7.

On Friday evening (Aug.7) the Camogie ‘B’ team recorded a very good win in the Junior 2 Challenge Cup when beating Oliver Plunketts by 3-8 0-5.

Saturday evening (Aug.8) was another disappointing one for our Senior Hurlers as they lost to Round Towers, Clondalkin by 1-15 4-17 in Round 3 of the Senior ‘B’ Hurling Championship in balmy Somerton ending their involvement in the 2020 Championship.

A busy Sunday morning opened with the Junior ‘B’ Championship Hurlers beating St. Jude’s by a late Joe Murray point, 1-12 0-14 to win their group and go through to the Quarter Finals.

While over on Senior Pitch 1 at the same time, our Senior Camogie side playing in the Senior Championship ranks for the first time had a particularly well organised 6-24 1-1 win over Raheny, an impressive opening day success in the Senior 2 Championship. The team led by 3-13 0-0 at Half-time.

Castleknock: Lauren Finney; Caoimhe Slevin; Niamh Mulrooney; Amy Mahoney; Lucy Quinn; Molly O’Neill; Ellen Baker; Chrissie Kenny; Caitlin Coffey; Aoife Whelan; Aisling Andrews; Cara Feeney; Bronagh Quinn; Louise Mahoney; Aisling O’Neill. Subs: Erin Bergin; Ciara Golden; Meadbh Stynes; Sarah Murphy; Ciara Murray; Aoife O’Sullivan; Karla Whelan. Manager: Kevin Broderick.

The Minor ‘A’ Footballers recorded a fine 5-10 1-5 Championship win over Skerries in Skerries to qualify for the Quarter Finals yet again. The Minor ‘C’ team lost a high scoring contest to Cuala, 2-12 7-9 and Minor ‘E’ side also scored 5-10 in their win over Na Fianna, 1-7.

On Sunday afternoon, in the Junior ‘F’ Hurling Championship in Somerton Castleknock battled hard but in spite of 2-4 for Gerry Mulryan, eventually lost 2-11 2-17 to Fingallians.

What To See This Week:

First up on Monday (Aug.10) it’s Ladies Football – the U-18’s ‘A’ play Clanna Gael/Fontenoy in Somerton at 7.30pm in Round 1 of the U-18 League Cup Division 1 while Castleknock U-18’s ‘B’ play Clontarf at 7.30pm also in Somerton in the U-18 League Cup Division 7.

Tuesday (Aug.11) sees the Junior Camogie team play Naomh Jude away at 7pm in the Junior 2 Challenge Cup.

On Wednesday (Aug.12) the Adult Ladies Footballers play the other table-toppers, Cuala, in a decisive Intermediate Championship match in Hyde Park, Dalkey at 7.30pm.

Sunday (Aug.16) will be another busy day. The Junior 1 Championship Footballers play Fingallians in Lawless Park at 11am and at the same time the Junior 3 Footballers play St. Peregrins in Blakestown. The Minor ‘A’ Championship Hurlers meet Clontarf in St. Annes Park. The Minor ‘C’ Championship side play Bray Emmets in Somerton and the Minor ‘D’ Championship meet Good Counsel/Liffey Gaels also in Somerton. All with 11am throw-ins. The Senior Camogie team are out in Round 2 of the Senior 2 Championship against Naomh Mearnóg in Portmarnock with an early afternoon throw-in, 1.30pm and later on Sunday afternoon it’s crunch time for our Senior Footballers as they meet Kilmacud Crokes in O’Toole Park at 2.30pm to stay in the Senior 1 Football Championship while half-an-hour later the Junior 5 Championship Footballers meet Clanna Gael/Fontenoy in Sean Moore Park. So there is a huge amount to get out and enjoy.

But Remember – Wash Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering   

03-08-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Results Round-Up:

On Tuesday (July 28) in Somerton in the Junior ‘B’ Hurling Championship, Andy Lonergan helped himself to 10 points as Castleknock pulled away in the second-half to record an 18-point victory over St. Finian’s, Swords to make it two wins from two.

A mixed Wednesday (July 29) saw a first Championship all-ticket double-header in Somerton. In the Senior ‘B’ Hurling Championship, Castleknock, having conceded two first-half goals, lost by 1-10 2-12 to Naomh Barróg on a damp, gloomy evening.

Also in Somerton in another historic first all-ticket game, the Ladies Footballers put an undistinguished first-half (0-7 2-3) behind them to record a superb 5-13 2-6 win over Man of War in the opening round of the Intermediate Championship.

However, in the Ladies Junior ‘C’ Championship there was no such turnaround as Castleknock lost to Ballyboden in Cherryfield by 2-11 5-9.

In the Minor ‘A’ Football Championship Castleknock were beaten by Ballinteer 1-10 2-12. The second team got a walk-over from St. Mary’s in the Minor ‘C’ Championship and in the Minor ‘E’ Football Championship Castleknock recorded a fine 4-15 1-8 win over Cuala.

On Thursday (July 30) in the Junior ‘F’ Hurling Championship, first time out Castleknock, having been dominated for much of the second-half pulled away with a late goal to beat Civil Service by 3-9 1-9. The combined ages of the game’s two goalkeepers was a staggering 93 years of age, Castleknock’s Eoin McCambridge was 20 and the Civil Service goalkeeper Liam Myles was 73, the oldest player in Ireland if not the world.

What To See In The Coming Week:

A huge week of action ahead with 17 games to choose from beginning on Tuesday (Aug.4) with the U-16 Hurling ‘A’ Championship, Castleknock against Naomh Barróg in St. Annes at 7pm. While in Camogie the ‘B’ team meet Good Counsel in Good Counsel in the Junior 2 Challenge Cup also at 7pm.

The Junior 1 Championship Footballers meet Clontarf in Somerton at 7.30pm and at the same time the Junior 3 Championship Footballers play Kilmacud in Silver Park.

Wednesday (Aug,5) sees the Senior Footballers travel to St. Annes Park to meet Raheny in the Senior 1 Football Championship (all-ticket) at 7.30pm. The Minor ‘A’ Hurlers are at home in Somerton to Faughs at 7.30pm and the Minor ‘D’ Hurlers play Oliver Plunketts on Martin Savage Park at 7.30pm.

On the same evening The Ladies Footballers ‘A’ team journey over to Skerries to play Skerries Harps in Round 2 of the Intermediate Championship at 7.30pm and the Ladies Football ‘B’ team take on Kilmacud Crokes in the Junior ‘C’ Championship in Somerton again at 7.30pm.

On Thursday (Aug.6) the Junior 5 Championship Footballers meet Lucan in Arthur Griffith Park at 7.30pm.

 On Saturday (Aug.8) there’s a huge game for the Senior Hurlers who meet Round Towers, Clondalkin in another all-ticket Senior ‘B’ Championship match in Somerton at 6.30pm and then there’s an even busier Sunday.

Four games on Sunday next (Aug.9) at 11am. In the Junior ‘B’ Hurling Championship Castleknock meet St. Judes in Somerton. In the MFC ‘A’ Castleknock play Skerries in Skerries, in the MFC ‘C’ Castleknock meet Cuala in Shanganagh Park and in the MFC ‘E’, Castleknock travel to Collinstown Lane to play Na Fianna. While at 3pm in Somerton Castleknock are up against Fingallians in the Junior ‘F’ Hurling Championship.

The Senior Camogie team will be in action in Somerton at 1.30pm on Sunday too, against Raheny in the Senior 2 Challenge Cup.  

The players and management teams have put in a huge effort since the restrictions were eased and ticket availability allowing it is great to see so many of you out supporting them. Keep it up.

July Lotto: The Lotto, that vital source of income for the Club, continues with the Members’ Draw.

The Results for July were:

• July 2nd – Numbers drawn 7, 16, 17, 18 – No Jackpot Winner – New Jackpot Total €8,400
• July 9th – Numbers Drawn 1, 11, 16, 20 – No Jackpot Winner – New Jackpot Total €8,600
• July 16th – Numbers Drawn 11, 22, 23, 24 – No Jackpot Winner – New Jackpot Total €8,800
• July 23rd – Numbers Drawn 13, 23, 28, 30 – No Jackpot Winner – New Jackpot Total €9,000
• July 30th – Numbers drawn 23, 27, 28, 30 – No Jackpot Winner – New Jackpot Total €9,200

So a big win can’t be too far away.

Nursery Camp: A big week ahead for those taking part in our Nursery Camp which begins on Tuesday (Aug.4) and our Club Promotions Officer Maria Bergin is ready with open arms (sorry extended elbow) to welcome you all.

The Camp runs from Tuesday, August 4th to Friday, August 7th (4 days). It takes place each day from 10am – 12.30pm in the Club grounds in Somerton. The price of €45 includes a bag, a jersey and a jumper.

Participants are required to bring rain gear, a packed lunch, helmet and hurl, boots, runners and a gum shield. No registrations will be accepted on the first morning of the Camp. Have a great week.

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear A Face Covering

27-07-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Results Round-Up: Terrific victory for Castleknock’s Ladies ‘A’ Footballers on Wednesday (July 22) in the Adult League Cup Division 1 in Chanel when coming out on top by 3-10 1-14 against Parnells, one of their most difficult opponents in recent years. Castleknock came from one point down at half-time 1-6 1-7 to win by two. On the same evening the Ladies ‘B’ Footballers made it two wins in 5 days as they beat Cuala by 5-14 1-10 in a really hard-fought match in the Adult League Cup Division 5 in St. Catherine’s Park.

A historic day on Saturday (July 25) as Somerton hosted a Dublin SFC match for the first time. Due to Covid-19 restrictions it was also the first all-ticket fixture in Somerton with a capacity 200 crowd. An excellent spell either side of half-time during which Castleknock scored 2-5 without reply helped the home team to a 2-15 1-11 victory over Oliver Plunketts in this First Round match. The full-forward line accounted for 2-8 of the total, Conor Chawke 1-1, Gerard McDermottroe 1-3 and Tommy McDaniel 0-4. Ciarán Kilkenny played at centre-back as shown in a quite brilliant Sunday Indo photo of Ciarán and Bernard Brogan in full flight.

Not a great Sunday (July 26) for the Club however. No joy for the Senior Camogie team on Sunday morning as they went down by 2-9 2-13 to Cuala having led at half-time by 2-6 1-6 in a closely fought Senior 2 Challenge Cup game.

The Junior 1 Football Championship side never really got going against Kilmacud, going down in the end by 0-9 2-12 in Silver Park. Meanwhile Jamie Tunney’s return to action wasn’t enough to give Castleknock a Junior 3 Football Championship victory either, with the team, in spite of a fine first-half display, losing to Clontarf by 0-8 1-8 in Somerton.

Sunday afternoon produced a near carbon copy of that game when in the Junior 5 Football Championship Castleknock played well in the first-half then faded and while a draw would have been a fairer result Geraldine P. Moran held on to win by a point, 1-7 0-9.  

Also on Sunday morning in the Minor ‘A’ Hurling Championship Castleknock lost to Oliver Plunketts 2-12 2-20 on the Navan Road and in the ‘C’ Hurling Championship Castleknock also suffered defeat losing by 2-9 5-18 to Kilmacud Crokes in Somerton. The one positive note came from the Minor ‘D’ Hurlers who had a terrific 2-16 2-6 win over Lucan in Lucan.

What You Can See This Week:

In Somerton on Tuesday (July 28) Castleknock’s Second Team hurlers hope to follow up on their tremendous opening day win over Kilmacud when meeting St. Finian’s Swords in Somerton at 7.30pm in the Junior ‘B’ Hurling Championship.

On Wednesday evening (July 29) there’s a Double-Header in Somerton. The Senior Hurlers play Naomh Barrog in Round 2 of the Senior ‘B’ Hurling Championship at 7.30pm on Senior Pitch 1 and the Ladies Footballers ‘A’ team play Man O War in the Intermediate Championship also at 7.30pm on Senior Pitch 2 while the Ladies Football ‘B’ team travel to play Ballyboden in the Junior ‘C’ Championship in Cherryfield also at 7.30pm. Wednesday also sees a round of Minor Football Championship matches for the ‘A’, ‘C’ and ‘E’ teams.

On Thursday (July 30) it’s the turn of the Third team Hurlers to make their 2020 Championship debut when they meet Civil Service in Islandbridge at 7.30pm in the Junior ‘F’ Hurling Championship.

There are no matches over the Holiday weekend.

Planning Further Ahead: Here as promised are the remaining Championship fixtures for Snr./Jun. Football, the Minor Hurling teams  and the Ladies Football teams.

Senior 1 Football Championship

R.2 – 05-08-20 (Wed) Castleknock v Raheny – St. Annes Park 7.30pm

R.3 – 15-08-20 (Sat) Castleknock v Kilmacud Crokes, TBC, TBC

Junior 1 All-County Football Championship

R.2 – 04-08-20 (Tues) Castleknock v Clontarf – Somerton 7.30pm

R.3 – 16-08-20 (Sun) Castleknock v Fingallians – Lawless Park 11am

Junior 3 All-County Football Championship

R.2 – 04-08-20 (Tues) Castleknock v Kilmacud Crokes – Silver Park 7.30pm

R.3 – 16-08-20 (Sun) Castleknock v St. Peregrines – Blakestown 11am

Junior 5 All-County Football Championship

R.2 – 06-08-20 (Thurs) Castleknock v Lucan Sarsfields – Arthur Griffith Park 7.30pm

 R.3 – 16-08-20 (Sun) Castleknock v Clanna Gael Fontenoy – Sean Moore Park 3pm

Minor ‘A’ Hurling Championship

R.2 – 05-08-20 (Wed) Castleknock v Faughs – Somerton 7.30pm

R.3 – 16-08-20 (Sun) Castleknock v Clontarf – St. Annes Park 11am

Minor ‘C’ Hurling Championship

R.2 – 05-08-20 (Wed) Castleknock v Kevins – Dolphin Park 7.30pm

R.3 – 16-08-20 (Sun) Castleknock v Bray Emmets – Somerton 11am

Minor ‘D’ Hurling Championship

R.2 – 05-08-20 (Wed) Castleknock v Oliver Plunketts/ER – Martin Savage Park 7.30pm

R.3 – 09-08-20 (Sun) Castleknock v Good Counsel Liffey Gaels – Somerton 11am

Ladies Intermediate Football Championship:

R.2 – 05-08-20 Castleknock v Skerries – Skerries 7.30pm

R.3 – 12-08-20 Castleknock v Cuala – Cuala Venue 7.30pm

Ladies Junior ‘C’ Football Championship

R.2 – 05-08-20 Castleknock v Kilmacud Crokes – Somerton 7.30pm

R.3 – 12-08-20 Castleknock v Crumlin – Pearse Park 7.30pm

R.4 – 19-08-20 Castleknock v Ranelagh Gaels – Somerton 7.30pm

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – Wear a Face Covering

20-07-20 Castleknock Club Notes

We’re Back: One hundred and thirty-one days after the Club’s last Adult fixture the Ladies ‘B’ Footballers were first to fly the flag again last Friday evening (July 17) when they travelled over to Bushy Park to record a terrific 1-17 3-7 win over Ranelagh Gaels in the Adult League Cup Division 5.

Saturday evening last was another historic occasion for the Club. Our Senior Hurlers played in front of an all-ticket crowd for the first time when beating Crumlin 2-22 3-13 in Pearse Park in the first Round of this year’s Senior ‘B’ Hurling championship. In spite of some close attention Cian Boyle starred in scoring 1-12 and the other main talking point was the fact that some of the opposition players were allowed to stand on the Castleknock goal line as frees-in were being taken??

On Sunday morning the second team hurlers recorded a superb win over Kilmacud Crokes 2-14 1-12 over in Glenalbyn in the First Round of the Junior ‘B’ Hurling Championship. In spite of trailling by 0-3 0-4 after 8 minutes Castleknock went in at the interval ahead by 1-8 0-5 and even though a late

Crokes goal caused some concern Castleknock went on to secure an excellent 5 point victory with two home games now to look forward to.

Mixed fortunes in the Minor football Championships also on Sunday morning. The ‘A’ team found it difficult in the first half to shake off Na Fianna but a terrific second half display which included 3-3 in 9 minutes saw them win by 4-12 1-7. The full-forward line of Reuben Cahill, Conor Murray and Daniel Murphy scored 4-11 between them.

The second team Minor footballers went down to Ballyboden St. Endas by 1-8 1-14 after a really hard-fought game and the third team lost to Templeogue Synge Street 2-9 5-10. Minor hurling next weekend.

Adult Competitions: Another busy week ahead.
On Wednesday July 22, the Ladies ‘A’ Footballers travel to Chanel to play great rivals Parnell at 7.30pm in the Adult League Cup Div.1 and the same evening the Ladies ‘B’ Footballers are at home in Somerton at 7.30pm against Cuala ‘B’ in the Adult League Cup Div.5.

On Saturday July 25 the Senior Footballers play Oliver Plunketts/ER. in Somerton at 6.30pm in Round 1 of the Senior1 Football Championship. The game was to be shown live on DubsTV but unfortunately a scheduling change means that the Judes/Na Fianna game (best of luck to our former manager Lar Norton until we meet in the County Final that is) is being broadcast instead.

On Sunday morning July 26 Castleknock play Kilmacud Crokes in Silver Park at 11am in the Junior 1 All-County Football Championship and in Somerton on Sunday afternoon July 26 at 3pm Castleknock meet Geraldine P. Moran in the Junior 5 All-County Football Championship.

Also on Sunday morning July 26 the Minor Hurling Championships throw-in with Castleknock playing Oliver Plunketts/ER in the Minor ‘A’ Championship in Martin Savage Park on the Navan Road at 11am. It’s a home match in Somerton at 11am for Castleknock in the Minor ‘C’ Hurling Championship against Kilmacud Crokes and in the Minor ‘D’ Hurling Championship Castleknock play Lucan Sarsfields also at 11am in Somerton.

Club Golf Classic: The Karl Andrews Perpetual Trophy Golf Classic will be played on Friday, August 28 in Westmanstown Golf Club. Participation is open to members, friends and non-members alike, the more the merrier in fact, however the Karl Andrews Perpetual Trophy can only be won by Castleknock Hurling and Football Club members with the highest placed Club team holding the trophy for 2020/2021.
Anyone who wants to enter a team or be part of a team can contact the Club Secretary, Sean McLaughlin at secretary@castleknock.net or on 087 121 6859; or Mick Lynch on 086 253 1600, or Charlie Spillane on 085 110 1008, by Wednesday July 21st.

Cash for Clobber: Now that Somerton is back in use, members can once again avail of the Cash for Clobber facility and leave bags in or at the container to the left as you enter Somerton. Cash For Clobber has been a significant fundraiser for the Club over the years and your continuing support is extremely welcome. 

Schedule For Camps: A reminder to everyone that the Nursery Camp takes place from August 4th-7th and the Cúl Camps begin on August 10 th and 17 th respectively. 

West Fundraiser: The Club’s main sponsor West Pharmaceutical recently launched a fundraiser for Temple Street Children’s University Hospital and we are encouraging everyone who can to support their fundraising efforts. There are a limited number of great looking tops available for purchase to support Temple Street – €10 for kids and €15 for adults. See the full details at

https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/west-pharmaceutical-dublin Every little helps.

And as always remember to: Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance & Wear A Face Covering Where Appropriate

13-07-20 Castleknock Club Notes

The Nursery Returns: The Club is delighted to announce the return of the Nursery from next Saturday July 18. In keeping with the new normal there will be three time slots:

• 9am-10am – 2015 Girls and Boys
• 10.15am-11.15am – 2013 Girls and Boys
• 11.30am-12-30am – 2014 Girls and Boys

This return to play will represent significant logistical challenges for Maria Bergin, Lisa Kiernan and their great team of helpers and it is vital that prior to attending everyone must contact Maria to fill out an Online Cert and a Health Questionnaire. Contact Maria on 087-7563654.

Castleknock Golf Classic: The Karl Andrews Perpetual Trophy Golf Classic will be played on Friday, August 28 in Westmanstown Golf Club.  Teams made up entirely of Castleknock Club members will compete for the Karl Andrews Perpetual Trophy with the highest placed club team holding the trophy for 2020/2021.

If any member is in a position to enter a team or be part of a team could they please contact the Club Secretary, Sean McLaughlin at secretary@castleknock.net or on 087 121 6859; or Mick Lynch on 086 253 1600, or Charlie Spillane on 085 110 1008, by Wednesday July 21st.

On The Road Again: Many thanks to Senechalstown (Meath) who hosted our Senior Footballers and to Blackwater (Wexford) who hosted our Senior Hurlers on Sunday, both matches being in preparation for the coming Dublin Championships.

Adult Competitions Throw-In: The Dublin Adult Championships begin next weekend July 17/18/19 for seven Castleknock teams, two Adult hurling, three Minor Football and two Ladies Football.

First up on Friday evening July 17 at 7.30pm are the Castleknock Ladies Footballers who play Clontarf in the Adult League Cup Division 1 in Somerton. At the same time, 7.30pm on Friday evening July 17 Castleknock ‘B’ Ladies Footballers travel to Bushy Park to play Ranelagh Gaels in the Adult League Cup Division 5.

Our Senior Hurlers are out on the following day. They play Crumlin in the Senior ‘B’ Hurling Championship on Saturday evening July 18 in Pearse Park, Crumlin at 6.30pm.

The second team hurlers are out on Sunday morning July 19. They meet Kilmacud in Silver Park (beside Leopardstown Racecourse) at 11am in the Junior ‘B’ Hurling Championship.

The third team hurlers have a bye in the Junior ‘F’ Hurling Championship.

The Minor ‘A’ Footballers begin the defence of their Minor Football crown with a Sunday morning July 19 match against Na Fianna in Somerton with an 11am throw-in. The Minor ‘C’ Footballers are away to Ballyboden also on Sunday July 19 in Ballycullen at 11am and the Minor ‘E’ footballers are also away on the same morning Sunday July 19 to Templeogue Synge Street in Dolphin Park at 11am. 

It’s what we’ve all been waiting for so get out and support them where you can. 

Planning Ahead: More of the Championship fixtures for the teams playing next weekend are –

Senior ‘B’ Hurling Championship

R.2 – 29-07-20 (Wed) Castleknock v Naomh Barrog – Somerton 7.30pm

R.3 – 08-08-20 (Sat) Castleknock v Round Towers, Clondalkin – Somerton 6.30pm

Junior ‘B’ Hurling Championship

R.2 – 28-07-20 (Tues) Castleknock v St. Finians, Swords – Somerton 7.30pm

R.3 – 09-08-20 (Sun) Castleknock v St. Judes – Somerton 11am

Junior ‘F’ Hurling Championship

R.2 – 30-07-20 (Thurs) Castleknock v Civil Service – Islandbridge 7.30pm

R.3 – 09-08-20 (Sun) Castleknock v Fingallians – Somerton 3pm

Minor ‘A’ Football Championship

R.2 – 29-07-20 (Wed) Castleknock v Ballinteer – Marley Park 7.30pm

R.3 – 09-08-20 (Sun) Castleknock v Skerries – Skerries 11am

Minor ‘C’ Football Championship

R.2 – 29-07-20 (Wed) Castleknock v St. Marys Saggart – Somerton 7.30pm

R.3 – 09-08-20 (Sun) Castleknock v Cuala – Shanganagh Park 11am

Minor ‘E’ Football Championship

R.2 – 29-07-20 (Wed) Castleknock v Cuala – Somerton 7.30pm

R.3 – 09-08-20 (Sun) Castleknock v Na Fianna – Collinstown Lane 11am

Cúl Camp TV: We are into the final week July 13-17 of Kelloggs Cúl Camp TV on TG4. The programme airs from 10.25 to 11am and is repeated at 5.15 Monday-Friday. It is also available on the TG4 Player, making the return to camp activity both live and on demand. Even better the Cul Camps begin on Monday July 20.

Money, Money, Money: Great news. The Club won a €500 Sports Voucher in the recent O’Neill’s Prize draw. We were among the Leinster winners and thanks to everyone who participated on the Club’s behalf.

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Keep Social Distancing and Stay Well 

06-07-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Adult Championship Dates for your Diary: The first competitive weekend back is hurling, the second is football.

Hurling:

• July 18 (Sat) R.1 Senior ‘B’ Hurling Championship – Castleknock v Crumlin 6.30pm Pearse Park
• July 19 (Sun) R.1 Junior ‘B’ Hurling Championship – Castleknock v Kilmacud 11am Silver Park
• July 19 (Sun) R.1 Junior ‘F’ Hurling Championship – Castleknock a bye

Football:

A feature of this year’s Senior Football Championship is the introduction of a new format in which each team plays one game at home, one away and one at a neutral venue which means that Somerton gets to host its first Dublin SFC match.

• July 25 (Sat) R.1 Senior Football Championship – Castleknock v Oliver Plunketts 6.30pm Somerton
• July 26 (Sun) R.1 Junior 1 Football Championship – Castleknock v Kilmacud 11am Silver Park
• July 26 (Sun) R.1 Junior 3 Football Championship – Castleknock v Clontarf 11am Somerton
• July 26 (Sun) R.1 Junior 5 Football Championship – Castleknock v Geraldine P. Morans 3pm Somerton

Lotto:

The Lotto Members Draws results for June were:

• June 4th – Numbers drawn 5, 10, 22, 27 – No Jackpot Winner – New Jackpot Total €7,600
• June 11th – Numbers drawn 1, 8, 22, 28 – No Jackpot Winner – New Jackpot Total €7,800
• June 18th – Numbers drawn 5, 11, 18, 21 – No jackpot Winner – New Jackpot Total €8,000
• June 25th – Numbers drawn 10, 20, 22, 29 – No Jackpot Winner – New Jackpot Total €8,200

On the law of averages someone is going to win ‘big’ in the near future.

Kelloggs Cúl Camps TV/Gear: In preparation for this year’s Cul Camps which begin on July 20 in Somerton participants and indeed non-participants can tune in to Cúl Camps TV every day, Monday to Friday, on TG4 until July 17.

The programme airs from 10.25 to 11am and is repeated at 5.15. It is also available on the TG4 Player, making the return to camp activity both live and on demand.

The series now in Week 2 includes skills, drills, games, nutrition, and wellness segments that will appeal to all the family, all provided by multiple All-Ireland winning Cork Camogie and Football star, Rena Buckley, Dublin hurler Liam Rushe and former Donegal football star Kevin Cassidy.

With Cúl Camp places restricted this year due to Covid-19 cancellations, many of the children who would normally take part have missed out on getting their much sought after Cúl Camp gear. Well the good news is that participating or not you can still get the gear which includes a zip-top, jersey and backpack for €35 plus €10 postage at www.kelloggsculcamps.gaa.ie/buy-gear/

Club Profile: Castleknock Hurling and Football Club is featuring in an episode of the Dublin County Boards ‘Dub Club Chronicles’. It runs for 4 minutes and 51 seconds including some great Club memories – so check it out – you never know you might even see yourself ? There have already been over 13,000 views, a sign of the interest in our Club. Watch it on @CastleknockGAA or @DubGAAOfficial.

Bereavement: The Club extends its heartfelt sympathies to the family and friends of Diarmuid (Dermo) Conlon on his sudden passing. ‘Dermo’ a native of Castleknock, living in Kilcock, County Kildare, has Castleknock Club links going back to our very first Junior Football team in 1999 and indeed he has a special place in our Club history as the player who scored that team’s first competitive League point. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dilís.

The next few weeks will be very exciting if somewhat different for everyone involved so to make sure you don’t miss a minute of it:

Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance and most of all Stay Well.

29-06-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Exciting Times Ahead: Dublin County Board Chairman Mick Seavers has announced that given an easing of Government Covid-19 restrictions, Dublin clubs can now expect to have a full season of Hurling and Football games all the way from U-8 to Senior.

The revised fixtures list will run until late October or on into November and will be comprised of Championships and Cup/League competitions. Given the current situation, health and safety is paramount and as a result there will be no promotion or relegation in the various competitions involved.

(Don’t forget prior to a return to action the Covid-19 eLearning Module https://courses.gaa.ie/Covid19ClubEd/ and the Covid-19 Health Questionnaire must be completed.)

So there are now numerous matches to look forward to in the near future. Our Senior Hurlers will be participating in a redrawn Senior ‘B’ Hurling Championship with groups now reduced to four teams each. As chance would have it Castleknock are in Group Two with Crumlin, Naomh Barrog and Round Towers Clondalkin, three of the teams who were in our original six team group. The First Round match is scheduled for the weekend of July 18-19.

The Junior ‘B’ Hurling Championship is now also three groups of four and Castleknock has been drawn in Group 1 with Kilmacud Crokes, St. Finians Swords and St. Judes.

There is no change in the Junior ‘F’ Hurling Championship and so Castleknock remain in Group 1 with Fingallians, Clontarf, Civil Service and St. Patrick’s Palmerstown.

The SFC1 remains unchanged which means that Castleknock are still in Group 4 along with Kilmacud Crokes, Raheny and St. Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh. That competition will begin on July 25-26.

The Minor Hurlers and Footballers are already in full swing in preparation for the championships. The Minor Football championship begins on the weekend of July 18-19 and the Minor Hurling Championship a week later July 25-26. Thereafter the Hurling and Football Championships will be played on alternate weekends leading up to the MFC Final, September 19-20 and the MHC Final, September 26-27.

Coiste na nÓg has also released the dates for a return to Juvenile (CCC1 and CCC2) activity. U-16 competitions will resume on August 5 – U-15’s on August 13 – U-12’s to U-14’s on August 22 and U-8’s to U-11’s (Go Games) on August 29.

Revised 2020 Dublin Club Championship Calendar courtesy of Hogan Stand.

• July 18/19 – Hurling round 1, minor football round 1
• July 25/26 – Football round 1, minor hurling round 1
• July 28/29/30 – Hurling round 2, minor football round 2
• August 1/2 – Free
• August 4/5/6 – Football round 2, minor hurling round 2
• August 8/9 – Hurling round 3, minor football round 3
• August 15/16 – Football round 3, minor hurling round 3
• August 22/23 – Hurling quarter-finals and cups, minor football quarter-finals and cups
• August 29/30 – Football quarter-finals and cups, minor hurling quarter-finals and cups
• September 5/6 – Hurling semi-finals and cups, minor football semi-finals and cups
• September 12/13 – Football semi-finals and cups, SHC A, SHC B, IHC final, minor hurling semi-finals and cups
• September 19/20 – SFC 1, SFC 2 finals, JHC finals and cups, minor football finals and cups
• September 26/27 – IFC, JFC finals and cups, minor hurling finals and cups
• October 3/4 – Hurling cups, minor football cups
• October 10/11 – Football cups, minor hurling cups
• October 17/18 – Hurling cups, minor football cups
• October 24/25 – Football cups, minor hurling cups

Inter-County Roadmap: Dublin footballers return to competitive action in October. Round 6 of the National Football League sees old rivals Meath visit Croke Park on October 17-18 while a week later Dublin travel to Galway to complete their 2020 Division 1 League season.

Dublin footballers begin their quest for 6-in-a-row against Westmeath in the Leinster SFC Quarter-Final on November 7-8 with the winners playing Louth, Longford or Laois in the Semi-Final. All matches must be finished on the day so there will be no replays. Extra-time and penalties will decide the issue if necessary. The All-Ireland Football Final is fixed for Saturday December 19.

Dublin hurlers will play Laois in the Leinster SHC Quarter-Final on October 24-25 with the winners going on to a Semi-Final meeting with Kilkenny and the losers going into the All-Ireland Hurling Qualifiers. The All-Ireland Final is scheduled for Sunday December 13.

Kelloggs Cúl Camps Fully Booked: Some 45,000+ children signed up to the Cul Camps nationwide as soon as registration opened earlier this week so it is no surprise that the Castleknock Camps are already fully booked.  Busy times ahead for Maria Bergin and her team as the Nursery Camp is also fully booked.

Kelloggs is this year giving clubs a chance to win three cash prizes of €25,000, €10,000 and €5,000. All you have to do to give Castleknock a chance of winning one of these three amounts is to go online to the Kelloggs Cúl Camp site and nominate Castleknock using the Code which you can find on Promotional packs of Kelloggs Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies or Bran Flakes. Entries close on August 28.

Bereavements: The Club offers its deepest sympathies to Richard Mahon, long-time supporter of the club and member of our Commercial Sponsorship team, on the recent passing of his father Jimmy of Blessington. Ar Dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

The Club also extends its sincerest sympathies to Rónán Duffy, a Mentor of our 2005 Girls and 2007 Boys teams, on the passing of his mother Margaret of Blanchardstown and formerly of Athlone, Co. Westmeath. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis.

And as always.

Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance and – Stay Well

22-06-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Second 2020 Throw-In: Great news. The day we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. As of this Wednesday June 24 our 11 adult teams (four football, three hurling, two Camogie and two Ladies Football) are permitted to train on a non-contact basis and will be allowed to resume full contact training and play challenge matches from next Monday June 29. More good news is that the schedule for a return to competitive club activity has also been brought forward by two weeks to July 17 so we could be seeing Championship action must sooner than expected. The Dublin County Board will be announcing their rescheduled Championships fixtures list in the very near future.

In addition to this all Minor and Underage teams will be allowed to return to action on Saturday June 26 on a non-contact basis with contact training resuming on June 29. However, the Club dressing-rooms in Somerton remain closed until July 20 and before teams can return to action the protocols put in place by the different Covid-19 Supervisors must be strictly adhered to, this includes completing a Health Questionnaire and a short e-learning module which can be viewed at https://courses.gaa.ie/Covid19ClubEd – it takes 20 minutes to complete.

Team managers and/or mentors will be in touch with all players/parents to update them on protocols and training schedules in preparation for the second 2020 Throw-In.

Kelloggs Cúl Camps: The Kelloggs Cúl Camps providing fun-filled activities for boys and girls aged 6-13 will definitely be going ahead this summer beginning on July 20 with the final details to be announced today June 22 at https://www.kelloggsculcamps.gaa.ie/. An additional feature this year is Cúl Camp TV which will air on TG4 every day from June 29 to July 17.

Anyone who had booked in for the original dates should have received a Priority Booking Code by now although such is the demand for places the Cúl Camps site has already crashed which means you will just have to be extra patient. Bookings will be open to the general public from 6pm Tuesday June 23.

Last year 156,000 children took part in the Kelloggs Cúl Camps and while not all can be accommodated this year due to Covid-19 restrictions the silver lining for those who don’t get a place is that the much sought after Cúl Camp gear which has become something of an fashion accessory may still be made available to purchase. Details to follow.

Nursery Camp Booked Out: The Club’s Games Promotion Officer Maria Bergin is currently organising a Nursery Cúl Camp for children born between 2014 and 2016. So great has been the demand for places that the Camp is already Booked Out, however if you want to have your child put on the Waiting List, Maria can be contacted at 087-7563654 or at maria.bergin.gpo.dublin@gaa.ie

The Camp will begin on Tuesday, August 4th and run to Friday, August 7th (4 days). It takes place each day from 10am – 12.30pm in the Club grounds in Somerton. The price of €45 includes a bag, a jersey and a jumper.

Participants are required to bring rain gear, a packed lunch, helmet and hurl, boots, runners and a gum shield. No registrations will be accepted on the first morning of the Camp.

SONAS Fundraiser: If you wish to donate to our SONAS Fundraiser which has already raised in excess of €28,500 for the women and children’s refuge you can still do so for a few more days as Donations don’t close until this Thursday June 25 at https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/11385521_castleknock-gaa-answerthecall.html

Bereavements: The Club wishes to extend its sympathies to the family and friends of Councillor Mags Murray on her recent passing. Born in Cork, Mags, the then Margaret Mary O’Keeffe, won an All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie title with the nearby Limerick club Ballyagran in 1978 and in her role as a local Councillor and Chair of Fingal County Council she was always a great friend of Castleknock Hurling and Football Club. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.

The Club also extends its sympathies to the family and friends of Garda Colm Horkan of Charlestown Co. Mayo on his tragic death in the line of duty. The Mayo GAA family has lost one of its most treasured members and we join with you in acknowledging Colm’s inspirational role as a player and role-model over the years. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

And remember.

Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance – And Stay Well  

15-06-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Wonderful news for 4-6 year olds (and more importantly perhaps for their parents)! The Club’s Games Promotion Officer Maria Bergin is currently organising a Nursery Cúl Camp for children born between 2014 and 2016.

The Camp will begin on Tuesday, August 4th and run to Friday, August 7th (4 days). The Camp takes place each day from 10am – 12.30pm in the Club grounds in Somerton. The price of €45 includes a bag, a jersey and a jumper.

Participants are required to bring rain gear, a packed lunch, helmet and hurl, boots, runners and a gum shield. No registrations will be accepted on the first morning of the Camp and as places are limited it is recommended to book as soon as possible.

Register at:  https://www.campa.ie/castleknock-gaa/nursery-cul-camp-19

Parents should indicate in the ‘Any Additional Comments’ section if they do not want their child included in photographs at the Camp. Photographs taken will be for Camp or Club use only. Maria can be contacted at 087-7563654 0r at maria.bergin.gpo.dublin@gaa.ie

Kelloggs Cúl Camps: The Kelloggs Cúl Camps will go ahead this summer and details of how they will be managed will be available in the coming days.

Return to Play: As part of the Club’s preparations for a return to activity, the Safe Return for Gaelic Games document is in the process of being provided to all members but you can also view it here https://www.castleknock.net/news/covid-19-update-%e2%80%93-safe-return-to-gaelic-games.4506.html.

No doubt you are all aware by now that the timelines for the Reopening of Society and Business are being brought forward, which is good news – but that also puts some logistical pressure on the club to have everything in place to comply with the requirements of the document. So be patient while preparations for a return to activity – safely and in accordance with the GAA guidelines – are being put in place.

Great too to hear that so many of our players have been engaged in their own individual training regimes and that a number of teams are already making – socially distant – contact to organise for the return to contact play at Club level on July 20. In the meantime Somerton remains closed and is being monitored daily to ensure compliance.

At Inter-County level the hope is that the hurling and football Leagues and Championships will be completed before the end of the year. The weekend before Christmas has been speculated on as a possibility for the All-Ireland Football Final. Wouldn’t that be something special particularly with Dublin still ‘In the mix for six’.

Covid-19 Supervisor: When training resumes, the Club will be required to have one Covid-19 Supervisor per team.

Covid-19 Supervisors will be appointed to each team and their job essentially, particularly at the beginning, will be to ensure that every player and every participant [including backroom members] who enter the Grounds will have completed the Health Questionnaire which can be viewed in the Safe Return for Gaelic Games Document already referred to. The Covid-19 Supervisor is not required to record temperatures.

The Health Questionnaire has only to be completed once and then at subsequent sessions players and the various backroom teams will have to confirm to Covid-19 Supervisors on entering the Grounds that their health circumstances have not changed.

Maintaining Somerton: In all the excitement of the imminent return to training and play it should be remembered that a number of members have been working away behind the scenes to ensure that the Club’s facilities are ready for a return to action. So many thanks to Harry Shannon for recently erecting extra storage shelves in the Clubhouse and thanks also to Mick Lynch and Patrick McKeon who have been keeping the pitches in perfect condition for the much-anticipated return to play.

Temple Street Acknowledgement:  In response to the support of many of our Club members Temple Street Children’s University Hospital has issued the following statement, ‘On behalf of the staff of Temple Street, Children’s University Hospital, we would like to acknowledge and thank Castleknock Hurling and Football Club for their support and generous donations of urgently needed Personal Protective Equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic. Your assistance and support was truly appreciated during a time of critical need for us.’

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance and most of all – Stay well.

08-06-20 Castleknock Club Notes

The Castleknock Hurling and Football Club #AnswerTheCall fundraiser has as of June 7 raised over €28,000 for SONAS, the refuge for women and children subject to Domestic Violence.

Over the Holiday weekend some 941 members and friends walked, jogged, ran, cycled and even rowed their way to a grand total of 17,236.89kms, that’s the same distance as from Dublin to Sydney, Australia.

The activities were focused mainly in and around the Phoenix Park but were also on a worldwide scale as Club members took to the roads of Galway, London, Arizona (USA), Canada, New South Wales (Australia) where Emmet Hogan could be seen wearing the colours, Doha (Qatar) where Michael Roche braved 36 degrees and Abu Dhabi where Rory Corcoran ran 10kms in a boiling 33 degrees.

Among the highlights of the weekend were the 400km cycles completed by Arva, Co. Cavan native Finbar Brady and Castleknock native, Ciarán Kilkenny with a similar distance covered by the club’s Senior Football manager Declan O’Sullivan with the grateful help of some of his Scoil Úi Chonaill comrades Conor Coady, Dave Cherry and Conor O’Donovan.

Ciarán also auctioned the two pairs of boots he wore during the 2015 All-Ireland Football Final. The boots raised €1,200 and the winning bidder Dominic Smith then generously donated the boots to the Castleknock Club.

Senior Footballer Shane Boland was organiser in chief of what turned out to be an extraordinary community spectacle as the roads around Castleknock were thronged for three glorious days by participants wearing the Castleknock colours.

The SONAS Fundraiser comes just a month after the Castleknock Ladies Footballers raised over €22,000 for St. Francis Hospice bringing Castleknock’s combined charity fundraising this summer to over €50,000. Everyone involved deserves to take a bow.

In addition to those mentioned in last week’s Club notes some others who #AnsweredTheCall were: Chloe Lynch  (an outstanding 12kms); Cian Spillane; the Yeates family (Chris, Cillian and Aimee); Leah O’Callaghan who ran 3kms; the Kane Clan, all six of them, led by Helena; Pat Comerford who in the process of walking 10kms recorded his first ever Hole-in-One; the O’Leary’s and dog (200kms); the O’Flannagains; Mick Lynch for a ‘mighty’ walk; the Farrell family; Colm Neville; Conor Ryan and the amazing 2012 Girls; Aaron Downey; Niall Shanley and the many, many more we didn’t hear about.   

Thanks too to Ross Munnelly of Laois for the online support and on the Corporate side many thanks to Bank of Ireland and Irish Distillers for their generous donations as well and don’t forget you can donate until June 25 https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/11385521_castleknock-gaa–answerthecall.html

Féile na nGael: Castleknock should have been acting as one of the hosts for the John West National Hurling Feile this weekend but of course sadly this year’s entire Féile competition was cancelled.

An enormous amount of work had already gone into preparations for Féile 2020 so it is opportune on this weekend of disappointment to thank all the 2006 Boys mentors, players and parents for the huge efforts they made. However a little of the gloom might be lifted if you go to our twitter pages @castleknockgaa where you can view Niall O’Connell’s two great and much appreciated videos showing the Castleknock team’s progression from Nursery to what should have been their Féile 2020.

Bereavement: The Club extends its deepest sympathies to the Hyland family on the death of Anne-Marie’s father J.J. McCormack of Four-Mile-House, County Roscommon. Anne-Marie is one of the 2012 Boys mentors while husband Joe and children Cameron, Brooklyn and Lennon are all involved in the Club. Ar dheis De go railh a anam dilís.

And Please Remember while the Lockdown is beginning to lift continue to: Wash Your Hands – Maintain Social Distance (2m) – And Stay Well

01-06-20 Castleknock Club Notes

#AnswerTheCall – Castleknock is quite literally buzzing this Holiday Weekend as hundreds of our members and friends are walking, running, cycling and even rowing to raise funds for SONAS the organisation which provides refuge for women and children subject to Domestic Violence in the Dublin 15 area. The original target of 3,000kms had already been smashed by Saturday evening when the total was 5,000kms+ with still two days to go.

We don’t know the names of everyone who has pushed himself or herself to the limit on a scorching hot weekend to support SONAS so with apologies to anyone we’ve missed here’s just a flavour of what people are doing.

Players/mentors/members have taken on some amazing challenges to #AnswerTheCall including Chief Organiser Shane Boland (running 30kms/cycling 50kms – with additional kms from Michael, Marian and Nicky); Finbar ‘The Beast’ Brady and Ciarán Kilkenny (cycling 400kms each); Cara ‘Go Cara’ Warnock (cycling 42kms); Shane Coffey (80kms); Darragh Warnock (42km run and 42 km cycle); Ted Leddy (walking 20kms); Susan Cryan (walking 20kms); Paul Hughes (Nudiefoods – 30kms); Luke Whelan (30kms); Jack Banks; Colm Deehan (30kms); Cian O’Dulaing (running 30kms); Ciarán Dennehy (30kms); Derek Kinnevey (45kms); Andrew Twinner Hughes (running 80kms – in London); Declan O’Sullivan (cycling 400kms+); John McMenamin (running 30kms/cycling 150kms); Cian Spillane (running 30kms/cycling 100kms); Gareth O’Hara (running 30kms/cycling 30kms); Niall Tutty (running 30kms); GerLad (running 20kms/cycling 30kms); Eoin Dennehy (cycling 100kms); Eoghan O’Callaghan (our first Footballer of the Year in 1999 (running 20kms+); Seamus O’Carroll (cycling 100kms); Eoghan Kearney (running 20kms/cycling 80kms); Liam Quinn and Paul Bourke (running 30kms/cycling 100kms); Stephen Byrne (walking 30kms); Joseph (Joe) Murray (running 20kms/cycling 100kms); Michael Wylie (walking 30kms); Andy Lonergan (cycling 100kms); Conor Murray (running 30kms); Paul Donnelly (cycling 20kms); Erick O’Neill (running 10kms/cycling 50kms); Shay Hogan (cycling 80kms); John Boyle (walking and running); Sean Andrews (cycling 150kms); Denis Lally (running 20kms/cycling 20kms); Eoin Brady (running 20kms/cycling 100kms; Ben Mulcahy (running 30kms/cycling 70kms); Brian Clark (cycling 100kms); 2012 Boys Mentors and Parents (walking, running/cycling 500kms between them); Rob Wylie (running 30kms – in Galway); ‘Twinner’ 1 or 2? (running 30kms/cycling 70kms); Cian Boyle (running 20kms/cycling 120kms); Senan Hackett (running 20kms/cycling 100kms); Morven Connolly (running 30kms); Aidan Kearney (running/cycling 50kms); Conor Chawke (running 30kms/cycling 100kms); Eoin Crossen (cycling 100kms); Andrew Griffith (Cycling); Mikey Galvin (running 30kms); Kevin Stephenson (running/cycling 100kms); Emma Doyle (walking/running 10kms); Tom Quinn (Snr) and Sean O’Neill (cycling 40kms); Miriam Ryan (walking/cycling 11kms); Linda Daly (walking/jogging/cycling); Jack Chambers T.D. (running 10kms); the 2013 Boys (Cian, James, Cathal, Cian, Odhran) not sure what they did; Damian Whelan (on his birthday) and Eddie Grange (walking 30kms) and Club Secretary Sean McLaughlin and James (cycling 160kms) and then the families, the Begleys (Eimear, Clodagh, Liam, Sadhbh) wearing the Castleknock colours in Ocotillo, Arizona, USA; the Doyles; the Manicles; the Carolans (Andy, Katie and Alannah); the Farrells (Brian, Amy, Liza); the Fallons (Liam. Eleanor and Diarmuid) on their rowing machine; the Shaughnessys (Padhraig and co.); the O’Connors (Gerry and Sophie); the Dillons (Edel, Rory, Lochlann, Senan); the Mullens (Matthew and co.) and on and on it goes ……..

Thanks to everyone for their support no matter how or where or what distance you covered. Every kilometre counts but in the end it’s the money we raise that matters most – donations accepted until June 25 at https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/11385521_castleknock-gaa–answerthecall.html

At 7pm on Sunday May 31 the total raised was an incredible €16,000 and there’s still a long way to go.  Another proud day for Castleknock.

It’s also great to see so much support online from our own Senior Hurling captain Cian O’Dulaing; Dublin Ladies Footballers, Lyndsey Davey, Noelle Healy and Lauren Magee, all our Ladies Footballers fresh from their own heroic €22,000 Fundraiser for St. Francis Hospice, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, RTE’s Damian Lawlor and Evanne Ní Chuilinn, Paul Donnelly T.D., Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan; singer/songwriter/rapper Iyaz; Dublin legend Jason Sherlock, boxing legend Bernard Dunne, our former Chairman John Hillery, Councillor Ted Leddy, Tipperary hurler Noel McGrath, Castleknock5km, Simon Edwards on TikTok, Darren Martin (Video), Denise McCormack (Video) and Dublin hurler Chris Crummey.

Ciarán Kilkenny Super Auction: A great opportunity as well to own a slice of All-Ireland Football Championship Gold when Ciarán Kilkenny puts up for auction the two pairs of boots (+ bootbag) he used, one mouldy (or should that be moulded) , one studs during the 2015 All-Ireland Final against Kerry all in support of SONAS. The Deadline for bids is Monday June 1 at 6pm with a reserve of €500. Ciarán has now added a 2016 All-Star jersey to the mix as well. So, go to the Club Instagram page to make a bid – Instagram.com/castleknockgaa.

In case you’re in any doubt as to what all this means to SONAS here’s a statement from CEO Fiona Ryan.

And remember it’s not over yet.

Club Lotto: While public Lotto sales remain suspended due to Covid-19, the Members Draws in association with Rialto Ford continue and the Jackpot continues to grow.

Results:

• May 7  – No Jackpot Winner – Numbers drawn – 2,8,16,25 – New Jackpot €6,800
• May 14 – No Jackpot Winner – Numbers drawn – 14,17,20,28 – New Jackpot €7,000
• May 21 – No Jackpot Winner – Numbers drawn – 2,4,15,28 – New Jackpot €7,200
• May 28 – No Jackpot Winner – Numbers drawn – 5,6,10,21 – New Jackpot €7,400

All prizes subject to verification. Lotto Committee decisions are final in all matters.

Bereavement: The Club extends its deepest sympathies to Club Member Rory Malloy and his wife Leona on the death of Leona’s father Joe Smith of Laurel Lodge, a native of Rathmoyle, Co. Roscommon. Joe lived for his family and community. He was a lifelong and ardent GAA supporter and good friend to many of our members. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

With such fine weather and the abandonment of the Leaving certificate Examinations, it’s understandable that many young people want to socialise with their friends locally but we remind you all that while some battles have been won, the war is far from over – so please remember to:

Keep Washing Your Hands – Keep to the Social Distancing Guidelines (2m) and as a result everyone can Stay Safe.  

25-05-20 Castleknock Club Notes

#AnswerTheCall – The June Holiday Weekend (May 29-June 1) sees yet another huge Club Charity Fundraising event. This time it’s the Adult Men’s teams who are raising funds for SONAS an organisation which provides services for victims of Domestic Violence in Dublin 15.

In marking the 10th Anniversary of SONAS the Club is showing its solidarity and support by walking, running or cycling 3,000 kms which is 10kms for each of those 300 women and children who were provided refuge by SONAS last year.

To participate all you have to do is don your Club colours and walk, run or cycle any distance you can. Then post the distance of your activity to any of the Club Social Media channels with the hashtag #AnswerTheCall and tag the Club. In the case of juveniles ask your parents to do it for you and contact your mentors. Photos are welcome but not essential.

Thanks to Dublin Senior Hurler Chris Crummey and to RTE’s Evanne Ní Chuilinn for voicing their support online for Castleknock GAA heading into yet another huge weekend for the Club.

You can make a donation at https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/11385521_castleknock-gaa–answerthecall.html

SONAS Emergency Help Number (01) 8662015

#AnswerTheCall

St. Francis Hospice: Still on fundraising the Ladies Footballers Solo Challenge raised over €22,000 in total and a cheque for that amount has since been presented to St. Francis Hospice. Again many thanks to everyone involved.

Skills Challenge: The results of GPO Maria Bergin’s latest Skills Challenges have been announced. Once again it was for the U-6 to U-12 age group but this time the concentration was on Camogie/Hurling. The U-6 Girls winner was Lauren Spencer; the U-6 Boys winner was Ruairi Finnerty; the U-8 Girls winner was Fiadh Hogan; the U-8 Boys winner was Ryan Freeman; the U-10 Girls winner was Stella McGrath; the U-10 Boys winner was Cormac Finnerty; the U-12 Girls winner was Clara McGrath and the U-12 Boys winner was Jack Manicle. Congrats to everyone who took part for displayed such high levels of skill and thanks too to Maria for judging the entries and @1884Sport for once again supplying the prizes.

Club Together: First up this past week was Senior Footballer and current member of the Dublin Senior Football Squad Eoin O’Brien who gave us an exhibition of the less glamourous side of football that is tackling and in particular the footwork required to do it successfully. Thanks to Eoin’s lovely ‘not so young assistant’ Sean for helping out. Next up it was one of our Senior Camogie stars Emma Strappe who showed our young players how to practice and improve their ‘First Touch’ and in keeping with all great GAA occasions there was even a ‘dog’ on the pitch while Emma gave her expert demonstrations. Thanks to both Eoin and Emma.

Coaching: The Dublin County Board is running a free Elearning Foundation Coach Education Course which is mandatory for those wishing to become involved in coaching Club teams. The Course is being conducted online and the entry requirements are (1) you must be 16 or over and (2) have completed Safeguarding 1.

The Course runs from Wednesday, May 27 to Wednesday, July 1. The Final Registration date is Monday, May 25th. For further information contact our Club GPO Maria at https://twitter.com/MariaBergin1 or go to the Dublin GAA website http://dublingaa.ie/coaching

Bereavement: The Club extends its deepest sympathies to Fergus, Lisa and Andrew Kiernan on the death of Fergus’s mother Anne. Both Fergus and Lisa have contributed enormously to the development of the Club over the years and our thoughts are with them and the entire Kiernan family at this particularly difficult time. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.

A Light at the End of the Tunnel: Slowly but surely we are getting through this Pandemic and it may not be long now before training and matches can resume so remember:

Keep washing your hands – Keep your distance and – Stay well

18-05-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Skills Challenge: Congrats to everyone who participated in GPO Maria Bergin’s Skills Challenges for our U-6 to U-12 Girls and Boys. Great to see so many taking part and of course that made Maria’s task all the harder in selecting the prize winners who after much consideration were announced as U-6 Girls Zoё McConville – U-6 Boys Jack Ellard – U-8 Girls Aria Keane – U-8 Boys Sean Rushe – U-10 Girls Elodie Farrell – U-10 Boys Liam McDermott – U-12 Girls Millie Byrne – U-12 Boys Cillian Dawson. Many thanks to everyone who entered and sent videos to our Instagram page – castleknockgaa. You can see videos of the winners and others on our Instagram and twitter pages. A huge thanks too to @1884Sport for providing the prizes. Watch out this coming week for a new hurling/camogie Skills Challenge.

Fundraiser: An incredible 14 Castleknock players were among the 250 players from Dublin Development, Minor, U-21 and Senior Hurling Squads involved in the ‘Hurl for Hope’ Fundraiser for Pieta. The individual player target was to strike 2,000 sliotars in an hour making a total of 500,000 sliotar strikes across all the squads. So far almost €22,000 has been raised and you can still contribute at  https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/hurlforhope Well done to all of our lads who were involved some of them Fundraising for the second week running.

Coaching: The amount of time and effort some of our members put into gaining Coaching Qualifications so as to benefit our own players often goes unnoticed so a special word of thanks to those of you who are embarking on the latest Dublin Coaching Course, GAA Award 1 Course, beginning on Monday May 18.

The Course is aimed at Coaches who have already progressed beyond the Foundation Award level and are currently coaching a club team at anything from U-13 to Adult level.  

The Webinar aspect of the Course extends over 4 weeks covering the fascinating OTú Model, the Role of Coaching and Communications in both football and hurling. The Practical aspect of the Course will be held as soon as activity resumes.

Club Together: The Club Together videos continue every Tuesday and Thursday on our Instagram and twitter pages. First up this past week was our Senior Hurling goalkeeper Jack Banks @jankszs who produced a video on the importance of good ‘footwork’ for hurling goalkeepers. That was followed on Thursday by two of our Ladies Footballers Sinead and Jessica Comerford who posted a very useful video showing the correct technique required to block an opponent attempting to kick pass the ball. And of course Ciarán Kilkenny’s hurling and football skills challenges which unfortunately are coming to an end can be viewed online at any time. 

Return to Play: While there are few signs of an organised return to training or play at either club or county level it is interesting to note the results of a Ladies Gaelic Football Survey which shows that the Ladies footballers in contrast to most of their male counterparts are quite happy to play championship football behind closed doors.

Leaving Certificate: It has been a stressful few months for those of our players involved in preparations for the 2020 Leaving Certificate but at least now there is more certainty and if any of our members want to see exactly what the department of Education’s plans for the new calculated/predicted process are you can view a Guide to them at this link (Ctrl + Click) courtesy of Castleknock Community College.

https://t.co/if96X8GJDq?amp=1 

Bereavement: The Club wishes to extend our heartfelt condolences to Andy Carolan, Áine and their family and friends on the death of Andy’s mother Rose. As well as a mentor to the 2010 Girls team Andy will be well known to many of our members in his work behind the bar in the Carpenter. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.

And as always Remember – Wash Your Hands – Maintain Social Distancing – Stay Well

11-05-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Skills Challenge Prizes: Hot off the presses. News of a fabulous new Skills Challenge for our Nursery to U-12’s Boys and Girls. Our Games Promotion Officer Maria Bergin has linked up with @1884Sport to provide prizes for the best Skills displays at U-6, U-8, U-10 and U-12 Boys and Girls levels.

There are different skills challenges for each age group. Maria will demonstrate each skill online (view them on Instagram and twitter). Then all you have to do to enter is send a video of your skill to our Club Instagram page – instagram.com/castleknockgaa – with your name and age group and Maria will decide who the prize winners are. There’s no time to waste. So get practising and send in those videos.

Employment Opportunities: Great news for Club members, their families and friends. WEST Pharma, the Club’s main sponsor, based in Damastown (behind the Mulhuddart Services) has a limited number of openings for Summer Hires/Short Term Contracts commencing in May and early June. These are Production Operator roles.

WEST Pharma (https://www.westpharma.com/) is a Medical Device Manufacturer which is deemed an essential industry during the Covid-19 crisis. Its Cleanrooms operate on a 24/7 basis to supply critical diabetes and advanced medical devices to customers Worldwide. All Social Distancing work protocols have been in place since the beginning of the pandemic.

Interested applicants should contact Club Member Liam O’Flannagain  (Liam.oflannagain@westpharma.com) on 087-9970031 with CV and contact numbers. Applicants must be over 18.

Fundraising/Volunteering: The Ladies Intermediate Footballers Solo Challenge has now passed the €22,000 mark and the total is still rising. A nice touch by the players is the posting of videos on the Club instagram – instagram.com/castleknockgaa – showing the various groups who supported the venture.

Congrats to Gerard McDermottroe who as part of the Mayo/Roscommon Hospice ‘Shave or Dye’ Campaign dyed his hair blond. The online Fundraiser has to date raised over €56,000.

Congrats also to Dylan Clarke et al who as part of the Dublin Development squads were involved in the Dean Rock driven Run Against the Sun Fundraiser for Stewarts Care. Coincidentally they have also raised €56,000 so far.

GAA members Worldwide, including our own, have being involved in some amazing Fundraising and Volunteering events. Over 19,000 GAA Club members have helped almost 35,000 people during the current health emergency.

Most, like our own Club members, are involved in the collection and delivery of essential goods and supplies for members of their communities unable to travel due to cocooning or other restrictions.

Additional areas of support recorded include sharing public health information, supporting members online, participation in the Club Together Initiative (in partnership with SuperValu and Centra) and meal delivery.

Colin Regan, the GAA Community and Health Manager sums it up perfectly.

“This is testament to the GAA’s values of community identity, teamwork, inclusiveness, and respect, and shows that such values are not bound by the white lines of a playing field.”

Holy Communion: Last Saturday May 9th should have been First Holy Communion Day for those of our younger players in St. Patrick’s National School. Sadly like many other of our younger players they missed out on their big day but it just means they’ll all have an even bigger celebration at some time in the future.

Club Together: An exciting new development as part of the Club Together initiative is that every Tuesday and Thursday skills videos provided by some of our Senior Teams’ players and designed especially for our Juvenile players will be posted on the Club’s social media platforms.

Emma Diamond of our Senior Camogie team was first up with three videos showing exactly how a sliotar should be handpassed. Gerard McDermottroe of our Senior Football team has also posted three videos on ball (not opponent) kicking and drills and there are many more videos to follow.

And don’t forget the Ciarán Kilkenny (how many different jerseys does that man have) daily coaching posts which you can catch up with on our Club twitter page – @CastleknockGAA.

Maria Bergin’s Saturday morning online Virtual Nursery sessions are proving a huge hit as well with our younger members. The participation levels have been great so far and fingers crossed the benefits of Maria’s coaching will be on view to all of us in the very near future.     

Lotto: While weekly Lotto sales have been suspended until further notice due to the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic, the weekly Member’s Draws continue as per usual.

Results:

April 2 – No Jackpot Winner – Numbers drawn – 11,12,21,28 – New Jackpot €5,800

April 9 – No Jackpot Winner – Numbers drawn – 3,5,7,23 – New Jackpot €6,000

April 16 – No Jackpot Winner – Numbers drawn – 7,9,12,14 – New Jackpot €6,200

April 23 – No Jackpot Winner – Numbers drawn – 2,6,9,24 – New Jackpot €6,400

April 30 – No Jackpot Winner – Numbers drawn – 15,19,23,30 – New Jackpot €6,600

The next member to strike it lucky will enjoy a significant windfall. The best of good luck to everyone.

Restriction Relaxed: Many in our community have not had the opportunity to visit open spaces in weeks. Under a relaxation of the Covid-19 cocooning restrictions, over 70’s and those in vulnerable groups are now permitted to access Parks on a daily basis. Parks such as Tir na nÓg are now exclusively Reserved for those groups between 1.30pm and 3.30pm every day. We ask our club members to observe the designated times in our many local Parks.

Bereavements: The Club extends its deepest sympathy to Mick Lynch, our former Chairman, his wife Marian and all the Lynch family on the death of Mick’s sister Marie. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.

Given the times we are living in at present it is entirely possible that we have missed out on bereavements connected to one or more of our Club members. If that is the case we would like to extend our sympathies to anyone who has suffered a family bereavement during these particularly difficult times. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha uaisle.

And as usual – Remember to Keep Washing Your Hands – Maintain Your Social Distance and most of all – Stay Well.

04-05-2020 Castleknock Club Notes

Castleknock Ladies Footballers ‘Humbled’ By Staggering €21,000+ Response to Solo Challenge Congrats to our Ladies Intermediate Football team and management on the success of their 24-Hour Solo Challenge which raised over €21,000 for St. Francis Hospice. In the end their original target of €1,000 was beaten by a multiple of more than twenty, a magnificent achievement for everyone concerned.

The €15,000 target was beaten at 12.45pm on Saturday, just over halfway through the Challenge and oddly enough it was passed when Aisling Mahony was engaged in the Challenge in the ‘beautiful wilds of Kerry’, home of the second-best football team in Ireland. In turn the magical €20,000 mark was passed just before midnight. Extraordinary stuff.

One of the most notable features of the Challenge was the number of people who watched live and posted their support on instagram. At a time when our Club members were never more apart we were ironically never more united.

The Club cannot adequately thank all those who donated to St. Francis Hospice over the past week and so it is left to Jenny Hickey on behalf of the Ladies Footballers themselves to best sum it up.

‘Thank you so much to everyone for supporting our fundraiser. We can’t quite believe the staggering amount we have raised. We are extremely humbled by it and more importantly WE ARE ALL giving something back to St. Francis Hospice. Again, thank you all for your generosity.’ 

A huge thanks is therefore extended to all those who completed the Challenge especially the ‘graveyard shift’ and of course a special thanks to all the support teams who provided encouragement, slagging, bunting and more practical help throughout.

The participants in the Solo Challenge, in order of appearance, were: Amy Mahony; Louise Mahony; Claire Nulty; Aisling O’Connor; Nicola Fagan; Lauren O’Neill; Laura O’Hare; Aoife Douglas; Emma Finney; Kevin Finney; Jenny Hickey; Caitlin Coffey; Laura Carolan; Tara King; Sophie King; Aisling Mahony; Denise Convery; Orlaith Higgins; Aisling O’Donnell; Sinead Cremin; Aoife Whelan; Mairead Griffin; Eimear Griffin; Lelia Ryan; Ciarán Barry; Ciara Murray; Hannah Hanlon; Jessica Comerford and Sinead Comerford (apologies if any one has been missed.)

It was a Solo Challenge but a team effort. Proud of you all.

Thanks also to our social media teams for keeping everyone up to date on what was happening during the 24-hours involved with Maria Bergin and Ger Doyle as always going the extra mile to keep our members informed. Thanks also to Hoganstand for featured the Challenge so prominently on its website.

Skills Challenges: In the good old days most footballers only had ‘one foot’ so it was great to see the ease with which the Solo Challenge participants could Solo with either foot. Similar Solo skills challenges have been taking place among some of our Minor footballers and it is worth while checking out on Instagram the efforts of Luke Swan and Conor Chawke.

Also on Instagram GPO Maria Bergin has been posting her own ‘skills’ programme direct from a secret location somewhere in deepest Kildare. There are numerous clips too on Instagram of our very youngest players supporting the Solo Challenge. Well worth a look.

And finally. It’s possible we’ll see hurling and football again before the end of the Summer – so.

Remember to Keep Washing Your Hands – Keep Your Physical Distance – and of course Stay Well.       

27-04-20 Castleknock Club Notes

St. Francis Hospice Fundraising: Next weekend is a huge one for Castleknock’s Ladies Intermediate Football team as the players and management engage in a marathon fundraiser for St. Francis Hospice. 

At midnight next Saturday May 2 the team will complete a 24-hour Solo Challenge. For a 24-hour period, beginning at midnight on Friday, our ladies will continuously solo the ball, passing between team members and management on the hour every hour.

Team Captain Jenny Hickey outlines why the team wants to help the Hospice.

‘We acknowledge the tremendous compassion and care that is provided to people at St Francis Hospice and we feel this is our opportunity to show them our support. We have members of our team who have experienced palliative care for their family members and friends and therefore recognise its incredible lasting power at an extremely difficult time in their lives. For everything they do for the people in our community we want to thank them and help them at a challenging time.

The response to our call for support has been staggering. We originally set a target of €1000 with 100% of the money donated going to St Francis Hospice but that target was quickly smashed and so we set a new target of €5,000. Again, that target was quickly met and we are already closing in on our latest target of €7,500.

Year after year we have people supporting us on the pitch and now we would like those same supporters to help us raise these vital funds for St Francis Hospice. So please get behind us and give what you can for this incredible organisation.’

You can hear and see Jenny and indeed many of the Ladies Intermediate team in person on twitter @CastleknockGAA.

Donations to  https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/castleknock-intermediate-ladies-football-24-hour-solo-challe

Follow the hashtag #24hrsolochallenge, the Castleknock GAA Instagram and Twitter page @Castleknock GAA for updates.

The 24-hour activity will be live streamed through our Instagram page @CKLadies24hrsolochallenge to keep the participants all accountable and to give you all some entertainment without even leaving your homes.

Thank you for your support – Ní neart go cur le chéile.

Gerald McDermottroe Fundraising: We are grateful to our senior footballer Gerard McDermottroe for providing us with a host of valuable online sites to help with Home-schooling (see April 20 Club Notes) and now he had turned his attention to his native county to fundraise for the Mayo/Roscommon Hospice.

Gerard is dying his hair (presumably in Roscommon’s primrose and blue) to raise funds for the Hospice and should you wish to support him you can do so at:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/helpforhospice

Community Support: Under the guiding hand of our Chairman Kevin O’Shaughnessy we as a Club have been working closely with Fingal County Council, Supervalu and other bodies in supporting households in our area who are in difficult circumstances due to the on-going Covid-19 Pandemic.

Over 60 Club members are engaged in this community initiative helping with everything from shopping to dog-walking. Our members have so far engaged with 33 households on a daily/weekly basis resulting in over 80 visits to date.

This resource is available to the entire community and not just our members alone. It is another great example of our members rolling up their sleeves and getting to work in the community when help is needed. We are especially proud of all those involved and we salute their efforts in making life that little bit more bearable for those who are struggling at present.

Maintaining Your Skill Levels: Ciarán Kilkenny continues to provide us with daily Skill Challenges all of which you can follow on @CastleknockGAA including his latest challenge featuring a ‘super-sub’ in the guise of Alan Brogan in a Meath jersey (sacrilege). The rumour that Coolmine Train Station Car Park, the venue for Ciarán’s Challenges, is to be turned into Tir na nÓg A Dó, is sadly just that – a rumour.

Maintaining Fitness Levels: Many thanks to our senior footballer James Sherry of Somerton Physio for his offer of free video/phone consultations for Club members who are (a) over 60 or (b) who are medically vulnerable and are cocooning due to Covid-19.

A video/phone consultation will consist of an assessment and prescription of a suitable Home Exercise Programme to help maintain physical activity levels in Club members who are currently cocooning or isolating.

If you, a family member or friend would like to avail of this free service please contact Somerton Physio on 0852455600 or info@somertonphysio.ie   

Memories: Great to see so many old photos appearing on the Club’s twitter, facebook and Instagram in particular. Keep them coming to GPO Maria Bergin.

And Remember no matter how frustrating it is – Keep Washing Your Hands – Keep Your Physical Distance (particularly difficult for well coached corner-backs) and most of all – Stay Well.

20-04-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Covid-19: Everyone at the Club spends our best wishes to those Club Members, in some cases entire families who are suffering for Covid-19 especially those of our younger members who have been hospitalised as a result. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you all.

Hurling and Football Archive: If like the rest of us you are suffering withdrawal symptoms due to the absence of hurling and football, the good news is that the GAA in conjunction with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland are providing free access to past GAA matches to internet users worldwide through the GAA Digital Archive.

One hundred and thirteen All-Ireland Finals (across both codes) since 1961 are included in the Archive and Provincial Finals from 1961 also feature as do All-Ireland Club Finals since 1989.

In all, over 500 hurling and football matches are available with additional information such as results, dates, venues, referees, scorers and teams plus subs included. A must watch at https://www.gaa-now/archive/

DubsTV: DubsTV is showing the best of recent Club activity in the Dublin Club Championships online including Highlights of the Classic Extra-Time Castleknock vs Plunketts SFC Round 2 match in Parnell Park in 2017. You can see the game on facebook.com/DubGAAOfficial/

Croke Park Art Competition: Huge Congratulations to Lauren (aged 5), one of our Nursery stars who recently won a Croke Park GAA Museum Kids Art Competition. Children were asked to draw their favourite GAA object and she drew a sliotar and Castleknock flags.

Home-schooling Aids: Trying to come up with new material to keep our younger players engaged in the home-schooling process can be difficult to say the least. Well help is at hand. One of our Senior Footballers and proud Roscommon man (aren’t they all) Ger McDermottroe who is a Primary School teacher has provided these helpful links for our future stars (well more for their parents really).

Online Resources for Primary School Children:
English/Literacy:
Online Books: https://www.scoilnet.ie/scoilnet-services/world-book/
Online Books and Challenges https://clubs-kids.setantabookclubs.ie/clubs_assets…
Children’s Podcast https://www.brainson.org/
Letters and Sounds https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-gam…/…/letters-and-sounds
Interactive Games and Activities http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/literacy/
Literacy Games https://www.education.com/games/early-literacy-concepts/
Oral Language/Current Affairs for Children https://trte.rte.ie/news2day/
Story Books https://www.vooks.com/
Gaeilge:
TG4 Children’s TV https://www.cula4.com/en/
Irish Resources and Games https://www.scoilnet.ie/primary/theme-pages/irish/
Resources and Ideas https://www.seomraranga.com/tag/gaeilge/
Maths:
Maths games https://www.mathplayground.com/
Maths Resources/Ideas https://nzmaths.co.nz/resource
Activities and Resources https://www.youcubed.org/
Activities https://nrich.maths.org/14536
PE:
Mindfulness/Yoga/Warm Ups https://app.gonoodle.com/
Short Fitness Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/thebodycoach1
Daily Exercises https://rtejr.rte.ie/10at10/
Yoga/Mindfulness https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga
SESE:
Interesting Videos and Facts https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
Interactive Resources https://www.scoilnet.ie/primary/theme-pages/geography/
Science Experiment Ideas https://www.sfi.ie/…/discover-…/activities-search/index.xml…
More Experiment Ideas https://www.kidsacademy.mobi/
Geology Resources http://www.geoschol.com/
Irish Wildlife and Heritage http://www.heritageinschools.ie/teachers-resources
History Activities https://www.scoilnet.ie/…/them…/history/work-as-a-historian/
Learning about Vikings and Medieval Ireland https://www.dublinia.ie/online-learning/primary/
Lessons/Ideas https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/
Music:
Music Lessons and Videos https://dabbledoomusic.com/
Making Music https://www.scoilnet.ie/…/the…/music/music-in-the-classroom/
Art:
Art Ideas https://www.scoilnet.ie/primary/theme-pages/art-craft/
Colouring Pages/ideas https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/
Art Lessons http://mrsbrownart.com/
Other:
Teaching Resources e.g. PowerPoints/Explanations/Print Outs https://www.twinkl.ie/ (use IRLTWINKLHELPS as a voucher code)
Classroom Daily Quizzes https://www.seomraranga.com/
Extra Fun Resources/Games https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/primary
Online Quizzes https://kahoot.it/
Fun ways to learn with the help of Dogs https://www.learnwithdogstrust.ie/resources/
For FREE Access to several primary school resources/eBooks https://www.edco.ie/
Educational Apps available for download:
Learning new words in Irish https://apps.apple.com/us/app/duolingo/id570060128
Puzzles https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flow-free/id526641427
Spellings https://apps.apple.com/us/app/spelling-stage/id1277968058
Fun Maths Game https://apps.apple.com/au/app/quick-maths/id1105735200

*Please make sure that all websites and apps are ALWAYS used with a parent present.
*These are ALL only recommendations and screen time for children should ALWAYS be limited.

Skills Videos: All club activity remains suspended until May 5 at least but don’t forget if you have any note-worthy skills video material you can send it to our twitter guru Ger Doyle – @CastleknockGAA or to our Games Promotion Officer Maria Bergin for facebook – @knockhfc or Instagram – castleknockgaa.

And Remember. Keep washing your hands. Maintain social distance (especially from me). And most of all – Stay Well.

13-04-2020 Castleknock Club Notes

What’s it like to have Covid-19? A Castleknock Club member who unfortunately had the Virus shares his experience with us.

‘It was coming up to the weekend before Saint Patrick’s Day. People were beginning to be aware and cautious of the fact that the Coronavirus had been confirmed as being well and truly established in Ireland.

It turned out to be an earlier than usual finish to work on that Friday, given that Monday was going to be a Holiday.

At home in Castleknock the talk was about what Social Distancing really meant and the eventual if somewhat reluctant agreement from four teenagers was that we would curtail our contact with friends.

Saturday was spent mostly at home and on Sunday we decided to go for a walk on the Knockbarron Eco Trail in the foothills of the Slieve Bloom Mountains in Co Offaly, just in case restrictions on movement would soon be imposed. On the day we met very few people and my only contact outside of the family group was a stop at a filling station to get diesel. On Monday, as it was a day off work we all stayed home and finished up making pizza around 5pm.

At around 7pm that evening it was as if someone had hit me with a sledgehammer. I developed a heavy tiredness, a chill and a severe pain in my head. I went straight to bed with an instruction to everyone else to stay well away and that’s where I stayed for the next 10 days.

The tiredness stayed with me for those 10 days, the blinding headaches lasted 2 days, waves of pain up and down the body also went on for 2-3 days as well as the chills. However, I didn’t develop a high temperature, if anything I was on the lower side of normal. I didn’t have much of a cough either but I did have a tightness of the chest for about 5 days which was very worrying.

The family were great in bringing me what was needed but always leaving it at the bedroom door. It was a struggle the first few days to even get out of bed to collect what was left at the door but it was the right thing to do in order to keep our distance.

Boredom or the like doesn’t really feature in the first few days as you are too sick to do anything other than lie in bed. As my strength came back the desire returned to get out of the room but that is when you have to stay-put for everyone else’s sake.

As the Tuesday was St Patricks Day it was not possible to contact my GP. I did so on Wednesday the 18th and he confirmed that the symptoms warranted a test. I eventually got notification to attend the Testing Centre in Croke Park on Tuesday 24/03/20 at 5pm.

That was well organised and went smoothly. Now the wait for the results. I was told it would take three to five days but due to the backlog that developed it was not until Monday April 6, 12 days later, that I received a call from my GP to say that the results had come back as positive.

It was a relief in a strange way, to know that I had been through it and for whatever reason was able to get through it without needing any medical intervention. I was contacted the following day by HSE to start the process of contact tracing. Thankfully the list was a short one.

No one else in the house has shown any signs similar to mine and only one of the kids had mild symptoms. I have also heard of other people who have tested positive but their symptoms are totally different to mine. So the answer to all this is simple.

If you do feel unwell at this time don’t take a chance. Isolate yourself and keep the virus to yourself.

Keep safe everyone.’

In light of the above story the club hopes everyone is keeping safe and well and complying with the requirements to stay home and to only take exercise within 2kms of the house. We are saving lives here; keep up the good work! The Government has announced that the current restrictions will remain in place until 5 May.

Some of our neighbours and friends are cocooning, on age grounds and perhaps based on under-lying health conditions. They will continue to need our support over the coming weeks.

The Club’s Community Response, which we launched a couple of weeks ago is making a difference. Requests for assistance are coming from three different sources – Fingal, SuperValu and directly to the Club Community Response team based on the flier that was distributed to local shops. We have had over 30 calls-out to date, some more than once to the same household.

The team are seeing an increase in demand and a number of our volunteers have left their numbers with households for call backs. We can be rightly proud of our volunteers for their commitment. Every request for support has been matched with a volunteer within three minutes.

On behalf of the Club, we would particularly like to express our gratitude to Barbara O’Neill, our Children’s Officer, who is central to the success of the initiative.

We waited a long time to have our own Clubhouse but unfortunately it remains off-limits until May 5 at the very least. So this is perhaps an opportune time to thank one of the many groups of volunteers who gave an enormous amount of time and effort to the project – the painters.

The building looks great inside and out as a result of the huge efforts made by Fergus Kiernan, Jason O’Neill, Mick Delahunty, Johnny Murphy, Alfie Sawyer and Ger O’Brien in particular. Apologies to anyone we have missed. The only good thing is that when the restrictions are lifted the Clubhouse will still be in pristine condition and a credit to all concerned.

The Closing date for our Club Survey has been extended to mid-April. All Club Members over 18 are asked to complete the attached survey. It will take less than 5 minutes. The replies to the survey will help inform the Club Executive. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FKV2CY2

All who complete the survey will be entered into a draw for a €100 voucher. If there are members over 18 who are part of your family membership and who will not receive this email, please forward the link to them and ask them to complete the survey.

Every question on the survey requires an answer. If you get to the end and have missed a question the survey will bring you back up before it allows you to press DONE.

If you have any queries about the nature of this survey please direct them to the Club Chairperson Kevin O’Shaughnessy, Chair@castleknock.net or the Club Secretary, Sean McLaughlin, Secretary@Castleknock.net  

Cash for Clobber is a very important fundraising stream for the Club and we know that many families are using this time to do a bit of a spring clean or clear out.Can we are asking members to store their Cash for Clobber bags in their sheds or under a bed until we are back up and running as given the Government guidelines we cannot allow access to our Cash for Clobber container in Somerton, nor are we able to collect from members’ homes.

And Remember – Keep Washing Your Hands – Keep Your Physical Distance – and – Keep Well.

06-04-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Community spirit is what it’s all about at the moment so many thanks to Castleknock club members Kevin Broderick and Liam O’Flannagain for leading the way in providing PPE supplies to Temple Street Children’s Hospital and to Michael Wylie for ensuring that our excess supplies of liquid soap went to Coolmine Therapeutic Community.  

Even without Tir na nÓg being available our GPO Maria Bergin has come up with a really innovative idea to keep the Nursery going. She has begun hosting virtual Nursery sessions so our younger players can watch her on Zoom to see how to maintain their fitness and suppleness without leaving their homes.

Our Senior Footballer James Sherry at Somerton Physiotherapy Clinic has come up with an equally novel idea. He is offering alternatives for teams who wish to do specially adapted Collective Training sessions online. Contact James info@somertonphysio.ie for details.

The Dublin Juvenile Committee has deferred all U-15 Football Championship matches until the Autumn. League activity for U-12 to U-16 will resume approximately a week after the shutdown ends with Go-Games schedules to follow.

While Weekly Lotto sales have been discontinued due to the Covid-19 outbreak the Members Lotto draws continue.

March 12 – 1/13/28/30 No Jackpot Winner – new Jackpot €5,200

March 19 – 3/8/20/29 No Jackpot Winner – new Jackpot €5,400

March 26 – 6/9/20/23 No Jackpot Winner – new Jackpot €5,600

Somerton remains closed indefinitely and in the interests of community solidarity the Club asks all members to respect that closure until restrictions are officially lifted.

Keep an eye on the Club’s twitter (@CastleknockGAA), facebook (@knockhfc) and instagram (castleknockgaa) for more details of Skills Challenges (such as T.J. Reid’s on facebook live and of course Ciaran Kilkenny’s on twitter) and have a look at the Down Memory Lane photos from Niall O’Connell and Maria Bergin.

Also be sure not to miss Mary Kilkenny demonstrating the new hurling Hand Pass Rule although it looks remarkably similar to the one John always used when he was playing. Keeping it in the family Ciarán has also been lending his voice to the #HomeTeam campaign organised by the GPA and WGPA and designed to encourage all of us to #StayAtHome.

So remember – Stay at home and keep your physical distance – that way we should all stay well.

30-03-20 Castleknock Club Notes

The Dublin County Board’s decision to suspend all club activity in April at Adult level means that the opening rounds of this year’s Dublin Club Championships have been postponed until later in the year.  Juvenile competitions have also been put on hold until May 1 at the very earliest.

Our Games Promotion Officer Maria Bergin has been continuing to do just that – promote our games by inviting our senior players across all four codes to provide members with skill challenges to ensure there is no diminution in skill levels while the Covid-19 shutdown continues. You can view them on the Club twitter, facebook or Instagram pages. Check out Aoife Whelan’s most recent Camogie challenge. Remember – Be Ready To Resume.

Somerton remains off-limits to all activity including training/exercising but for those of you who want to stay active and fit while adhering to the Government directives there is a very helpful new site https://2kmfromhome.com/ which once you allow your location information shows you a map of where you can go for a walk or run while staying within a 2km radius of your own home.

Former Meath great Colm O’Rourke also of RTE and the Sunday Independent and the man who launched our own Website has chosen what he considers to be the best Dublin fifteen of the last 50 years and we are delighted to note that Ciarán Kilkenny has been selected at left-half-forward. See Colm’s full Sunday Indo selection below and don’t forget to follow Ciaran’s Skill Challenges on our twitter feed as well.

Anyone interested in local history/sports history may be surprised to note that the 1893 All-Ireland Hurling and Football Finals were scheduled to be played along Castleknock Road where the Chesterfield estate is situated today (near the Castleknock Gate into the Phoenix Park). As you may have plenty of time on yours hands (and hopefully nothing else) you can read the full, bizarre story of what transpired on http://gaathenandnow.com/.

And remember wash your hands regularly, maintain your social distance and to do what you can for your older neighbours.

Stay safe – stay healthy.

23-03-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Reluctantly the Club had been left with no option but to close Somerton to all activity during the current restrictions. Our priority has to be a duty of care to our members and to the community at large and so we would ask everyone to adhere strictly to this closure.

With Somerton off-limits to training and skill challenges we invite all members to engage with our own Ciarán Kilkenny’s daily Skill Challenges online instead @CKKilkenny93 @CastleknockGAA @DubGAAOfficial and @gaelicplayers. Many thanks to Mary Kilkenny for showing the way. Other notable efforts are being posted on the Club facebook page @knockhfc.

Parents struggling to home educate or just entertain their children at home should refer to a post by Gerard McDermottroe, one of our senior footballers. Gerard, a Primary School teacher, has compiled an extensive list of what are invaluable sites, all of which will help parents to negotiate their way through these difficult times. Check it out on our facebook page @knockhfc.

The Club wants to play its part in supporting our elderly/vulnerable neighbours during this difficult period so we are looking for two groups of Volunteers, 1. to manage our Community Support Programme and 2. to deliver fliers around the community advertising our Community Support Programme. Contact 086-3782419/087-2456185 or community@castleknock.net if you can help.

With our actual Clubhouse out of bounds we are once again resorting to our Virtual Clubhouses to keep in touch on a daily basis so a huge thank you to Tony Nulty (Website); Ger Doyle (twitter) and Maria Bergin (facebook/Instagram) for all their work in this regard.

And remember lives are at stake so wash your hands and keep your social distance.

16-03-20 Castleknock Club Notes

The suspension of all Club activities due to Covid-19 until March 29, while deeply disappointing, is clearly the correct action to take and we urge everyone to do their bit to slow the spread of this disease. The advice on hand washing and social distance is still the best defence.

Tonight’s Adult Awards (March 16) have been postponed but will hopefully be rescheduled. Many thanks to Louise Mahony, Laura Carolan, Tom Quinn, Philip Bohan and Ollie Coffey for all their hard work to date on the event. 

The Lotto Sales Team has been stood down for the next two draws, March 19 th and 26 th however the draws go ahead as normal. 

In regard to the ongoing Coronavirus threat the Club asks members who have recently returned from high-risk areas to follow government guidance.  If a member is in any doubt or if a member has any concern or symptoms, we ask that they do not visit the Club for at least 14 days after the date of their return to Ireland. 

All members over 18 are asked to complete the Club Survey that was recently sent to them by email. If any member has not received a link to the survey can they contact Secretary@Castleknock.net and the link will be forwarded to them. All members who complete the survey will be entered into a draw for a €100 Voucher. 

Commiserations to everyone involved with Dublin Champions, Castleknock Community College as their great run of success comes to an end by losing the Leinster Senior Football ‘B’ Semi-Final 3-5 4-9 to Colaiste Choilm, Tullamore.

Week 1 of the Club Cúl Camps is already SOLD OUT. Week 2 (July 13-17) can still be booked while places remain by contacting Maria Bergin 087-7563654. 

The Club expresses its sincere condolences to Senior Football team statistician Barry Egan on the death of his brother Aidan following a short illness. Ar Dheis De go raibh a anam dilis.

09-03-20 – Castleknock Club Notes

Our Healthy Club Committee is looking for new members and new ideas to promote the mental and physical health of our members, young and old. Contact Barbara O’Neill at 0863782419 or childrensofficer@castleknock.net with your suggestions for activities or people/organisations we should contact.

Don’t forget to sign up for the GAA Healthy Club challenge through the My Life app. The club in each province that takes the most steps will win a €2500 O’Neill’s voucher Think what that could buy for your child’s team, and all you have to do is walk. Details on the website.

Mar.3 – Bookings open for this year’s Cúl Camps – there are two in both football and hurling. Cúl Camp 1 is from July 6-10 and Cúl Camp 2 in from July 13-17. You can book through http://kelloggsculcamps.gaa.ie – once you get into the site go to the Find A Camp box and select Dublin West. Then you can choose which of the two Castleknock Camps you wish to book. If you have any problems message our ever-helpful GPO Maria at 087-7563654.  

Mar.4 – While the Covid-19 threat exists mentors will not be supplying juvenile teams with water containers. Players should bring their own water bottles which should be clearly marked and used only by themselves. The County Board also recommends that players cease handshakes after games until further notice.

Mar.5 – No Lotto Jackpot winner. Next week’s Jackpot €5,000. Nine Match 3 Winners get €35 each – Kevin McCambridge, Karen Feeley, Ruth Dargan Akiwumi, Paul Cunningham, Niall O’Connell, Edwina Hogan, ‘Gerard’ Kindlon, Neal McDonald, Jackie. Lucky Dip €30 goes to Cindy.

Mar.6 – Congrats to Like Swan, Senan Forker (and the rest of the Castleknock lads in the extended panel) on Dublin’s 0-18 0-8 win over Laois in the Leinster U-20 Football Final in Carlow. At full-forward Luke acted as the perfect target man and his strength and unselfish distribution contributed hugely to Dublin’s victory. The All-Ireland Semi-Final against Ulster Champions Tyrone is part of a double header in Croke Park on St. Patrick’s Day, so no excuses. 

Mar.8 – Great AHL3 win for the Senior Hurlers beating Naomh Olaf 2-14 2-12 following a terrific second-half performance against the gale. A similar story for the AHL5 team which beat Lucan 2-7 0-12 with an injury time winning goal into the wind by Oisin Murphy O’Kane.  

Excellent 0-12 1-4 win over Cuala in the MFL Div.1 in difficult conditions. The MFL Div.4 side also had a good five point win over Cuala and the Div.6S team drew with Kilmacud. Good day.

Wishing Aoife Whelan a speedy recovery from injury after her Dublin team lose 0-10 1-10 to Limerick in the Senior Camogie League. However good news for Aisling Andrews on Dublin’s 4-08 0-7 win over Laois in the National Camogie League (Intermediate) and congrats to Mollie Turner, Caitlin Coffey and Cara Feeney on Dublin’s second Minor Camogie Championship win.

Great to see the huge turnout in Tir na nOg for the Girl’s 2011 Blitz. Many thanks to our organisers and to St. Brigid’s and St. Peregrine’s for participating. 

Upcoming: Club Ticket Orders for Dublin vs Meath in the NFL next Sunday March 15th at 2pm in Croke Park by text only to Lisa Kiernan at 086-1022296 by Monday, March 9th, 8pm.

The Senior Footballers AFL1 are at home in Somerton on Sunday morning (March 15) at 10.30am against Thomas Davis in a mouth-watering repeat of last year’s Senior 1 Championship Quarter-Final. The AFL4 side make the short journey to Westmanstown to play Garda again at 10.30am followed almost immediately afterwards also in Westmanstown by the AFL8 meeting of Castleknock and Garda. The AFL11N team are in Ballymun at 3pm to meet Kickhams. The Minor Hurling teams are also in League action on Sunday morning.

The annual Adult Awards Night is being held in Westmanstown Conference Centre on Monday March 16 at 8pm. Tickets are €20 and include Bus (home only), Finger Food, DJ and a drink. Unequalled value.

March 2 – Castleknock Club Notes

Feb.24 – The details of the Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship First Round matches are announced. Castleknock play Oliver Plunkett’s on Friday, April 17th in Parnell Park at 8.15pm.

Feb.25 – Congrats to everyone in Castleknock Community College and of course the many Castleknock players involved in CCC’s victory over Malahide Community School 4-11 1-4 in the Dublin Schools Senior ‘B’ Football Final. CCC now advance to the Leinster Semi-Final.

Feb.27 – No Lotto Jackpot winner. Next week’s Jackpot €4,800. Fifteen Match 3 Winners win €20 each – David Byrne, Cormac Dowling, Alan Geraghty, Emma Kirwan, Conor Tiernan, Maureen Conway, Ronan Duffy, Mark Keane, Irene O’Brien, Declan Tobin, Pearse Corcoran, Sandra Fetherston, Tadgh Kelleher, Padraig Purcell and Niall Tutty. Lucky Dip €30 winner – Damien Mahon.

Feb.28 – Congrats to Cliona Hewson on being included in the Dublin Camogie U-16 Panel for their opening Leinster Championship match against Wexford om March 22.

Feb.29 – All Juvenile games postponed due to Storm Jorge. Another historic evening for Castleknock with Eoin O’Brien’s first National Football League start for Dublin at full-back and the first time that two Castleknock players, the other one being Ciarán Kilkenny, have started for Dublin in the National League. Dublin lose to Tyrone but still a proud occasion for the Club.

Mar.01 – Castleknock Seniors return to AFL Div.1 results in defeat in Rush as the team go down by 0-12 1-12 to St. Maur’s.  In Div.4 Castleknock open the season with a hard-working win in Somerton over Man O War 0-12 0-8.

Upcoming: The Senior Hurlers look to make it two wins from two in AHL3 when they play Naomh Olaf in Somerton on Sunday morning (Mar.8) at 10.30am. That game is followed at 12 noon by the AHL5 meeting of Castleknock and Lucan also in Somerton and then at 3pm again in Somerton the AHL9N side meet O’Dwyers. Minor Football League games in Divs. 1,4 and 6S are also fixed for next Sunday morning.

A Foundation Level course for new or existing coaches who must be 16 or older takes place in the Clubhouse, Somerton on March 13th (Theory 7-9.30), March 20th (Practical 7-10) and March 27th (Child Safeguarding Course). All coaches who have applied for the Camps and have not completed the Course as yet must attend. 

The Adult Awards Night takes place on Monday March 16th in Westmanstown. Tickets only €20 which includes bus, finger food, DJ and a drink. What more could you ask for? Tickets available from Laura 087-9193483 or Louise 085-1534270.

24-02-20 Castleknock Club Notes

Feb.18 – The Championship draws see Castleknock’s Senior Footballers being drawn in SFC1 Group 4 with Kilmacud Crokes, Raheny and St. Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh. The First Round of games will take place over the period April 15th-18 th . The Senior Hurlers are in Group 1 of the Senior ‘B’ Hurling Championship with Naomh Barrog, Round Towers (Clondalkin), O’Tooles, Cuala and Crumlin. The

Hurling First Round takes place on the weekend of April 4 th -5 th.

Feb.20 – No Lotto Jackpot winner. Next week’s Jackpot €4,600. Only two Match 3 winners so €150 
each to Carol Brady and Norah O’Connell. Lucky Dip €30 goes to Ann and Noel Farrell.

Feb.22 – Congrats to Luke Swan (1-1) and Senan Forker on Dublin U-20 Footballers Leinster Championship Semi-Final win over Meath (2-14 0-7) in Parnell Park. The Leinster Final against Laois is fixed for Friday night March 6. Sadly no joy for Mollie Turner and her St. Dominic’s Cabra Camogie colleagues who lose by 0-7 1-10 to St. Pat’s Academy Dungannon in the All-Ireland Post-Primary ‘C’ Final. In the Dublin U-13 Football Grading League Div.1 Castleknock lose to Na Fianna (2-1 3-5) while in Div.13 St. Brendan’s edge Castleknock by a single point (2-4 2-5). Congrats again to Ciarán Kilkenny as another star performance helps Dublin to a 1-15 1-14 NFL Div.1 win over Donegal.

Feb.23 – In the AHL Div.3 our Senior Hurlers make a brilliant start to the league with a 3-24 1-9 win over St. Mark’s. The game marks Cian O’Dulaing’s first game as the team’s new Captain. The MFL Div.1 team lose to narrowly (0-13 0-15) to Na Fianna and it was a similar story in Div.4 with Castleknock losing to Na Fianna as well (4-3 3-7). In spite of losing to Tipperary (0-8 0-14) in the Senior Camogie League it’s great to see Aoife Whelan on the scoresheet for Dublin. The Club extends its deepest sympathies to former Treasurer Michael Roche and family on the death of his father, also Michael, of Doneraile, County Cork. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Upcoming: Castleknock Community College Senior Football team which includes a number of our players meets Malahide Community School in the Dublin SF ‘B’ Final on thisTuesday Feb.25 on the 3G pitch in Abbotstown at 1.30pm. All support welcome. Please support the U-14 Girls and Boys Féile 2020 Table Quiz in The Carpenter (Upstairs) on this Friday February 28 @8pm. Teams of 4 – €40. Don’t forget the Féile 2020 Cash4Clobber Fundraiser as well. The Senior Footballers play St. Maur’s in Rush in AFL1 on Sunday March 1 at 10.30am. The AFL4 team plays Man O War in Somerton also at 10.30am. The AFL8 side meets Raheny in St. Anne’s at noon and the AFL11N team plays Lusk in Somerton at 3pm. The Minor Hurlers are also in action on Sunday morning. 

A Foundation Level course for new or existing coaches who must be 16 or older takes place in the Clubhouse, Somerton on March 13 th (Theory 7-9.30), March 20 th (Practical 7-10) and March 27 th (Child Safeguarding Course). All coaches who have applied for the Camps and have not completed the Course as yet must attend.The annual Adult Awards Night for all Adult and Minor teams will be held in Westmanstown on Monday March 16 th , the Eve of St. Patrick’s Day.

17/02/20 Castleknock Club Notes

Great to see Darragh Warnock receiving his 2019 Dublin U-20 Leinster Football Championship and All-Ireland Runners-up medals. Yet another proud moment for the Club.  It’s been a great start to 2020 for Senior Footballer, Limerick native Seamus O’Carroll who has followed up Limerick’s McGrath Cup success with three straight NFL wins.

Feb.12 – Well done CCC students Callum Sheridan and Dylan Clarke on joining the Second Year North Dublin Colleges Squad and on playing for North Dublin in their 8-17 1-5 League win in Abbotstown.  

Feb.13 – No Lotto Jackpot Winner. Next week’s Jackpot €4,400. Six Match 3 winners get €50 each – Oonagh Boland, Joe Garry, Jenny Hickey, Aoife McLoughlin, John Hynes and Padraig O’Brien. Lucky Dip €30 winner – Willie Green.

Feb.14 – Congrats to Caitlin Coffey centre-half forward on the Dublin Ladies Minor Football team on beating Meath 2-11 2-10 in the First Round of the Leinster Championship in the Meath Centre of Excellence in Dunganny on St. Valentine’s Day.

Feb.15 – The 2012 Boys hold a special Tree Planting ceremony in Tir na nÓg in memory of Calum Farrell. Thanks to everyone who organised this wonderful tribute to Calum.

Congrats to Luke Swan and Senan Forker on Dublin U-20’s Leinster Football Quarter-Final win 3-10 0-9 over Longford in Parnell Park. Dublin now meet Meath in the Leinster Semi-Final next weekend.

Wonderful to see five Castleknock players, Aisling O’Neill, Cara Feeney, Lucy Quinn, Mollie Turner and Caitlin Coffey, in the Dublin Minor Camogie squad for the first match of this year’s All-Ireland Series. Dublin beat the 2019 All-Ireland Minor Champions Cork in Bray by 1-12 1-09 helped by four points from play from corner-forward Aisling O’Neill. Lucy Quinn started in the other corner and Cara Feeney at wing-back with Caitlin Coffey and Mollie Turner on the bench. Another great day for Castleknock.

Storm Dennis wipes out the entire weekend calendar of Club games at Juvenile and Adult levels.

Upcoming: Following the disappointment of last weekend’s postponements this weekend sees the beginning of the 2020 Adult Hurling Leagues. The Senior Hurlers travel to Tallaght to play St. Mark’s in AHL Div.3. on Sunday morning (Feb.23) at 10am. In Div.5 Castleknock play Realt Dearg in Drimnagh Castle at midday and the Div.9 North side meet Setanta in Ballymun at 3pm. The Minor Football Leagues begin on Sunday morning as well.

Castleknock Community College Senior Football team which includes a number of our players meets Malahide Community School in the Dublin SF ‘B’ Final on Tuesday Feb.25 on the 3G pitch in Abbotstown at 1.30pm. All support welcome.

Please support the U-14 Girls and Boys Féile 2020 Table Quiz in The Carpenter (Upstairs) on Friday February 28 @8pm. Teams of 4 – €40. Don’t forget the Féile 2020 Cash4Clobber Fundraiser as well.

03/02/20 Castleknock Club Notes

Exciting times for Camogie in the club, as first Aoife Whelan joined the Dublin Senior team and now the news that Aisling Andrews has joined the Dublin Intermediate team. Congrats to Mollie Turner on St. Dominic’s Cabra winning the Camogie Senior ‘C’ All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Semi-Final beating St. Annes, Killaloe 4-9 2-7. Congrats also to the Castleknock girls on the recently successful
CCC and Mount Sackville teams. 

Feb.4 – Thanks to senior footballer, James Sherry of Somerton Physiotherapy Clinic, for his very informative Clubhouse talk on Injury Prevention. Thanks also to the many parents and mentors who turned up and engaged in some great discussions afterwards.

Feb.8 – Congrats to Luke Swan (0-3), full-forward on the Dublin U-20 team which beat Wicklow 1-17 1-07 in the Leinster U-20 Championship First Round in Aughrim. Great to see Senan Forker named among the subs as well. Dublin now play Longford in the Quarter-Final next Saturday (Feb.15) in Parnell Park at 2pm. Hats off to Ciarán Kilkenny and his Dublin colleagues on a miraculous comeback against Monaghan to gain a thrilling NFL draw. Castleknock U-16 Footballers lose by 1-7 2-10 to Thomas Davis in the league but victories for
Castleknock’s ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams in the U-13 Grading Football Leagues beating Fingal Ravens and St. Sylvesters although the ‘C’ team loses out to Good Counsel Liffey Gaels. The U-15 Football League fixtures were called off due to the weather.

Feb.9 – The U-14 (2006) Boys enjoy their first visit to the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown led by Senior Footballer James Sherry.

Upcoming: The 2020 Adult Football Leagues begin next weekend. The Senior Footballers mark their return to Div.1 with a home match in Somerton against neighbours St. Brigid’s on Sunday morning (Feb.16) at 10.30am followed at midday in Somerton by a Div.8 AFL game against Kilmacud Crokes. The Div.4 AFL side play St. Sylvester’s away and the Div.11N team travel to St. Maur’s in the afternoon. The three Minor Hurling teams also begin their League campaigns on Sunday morning. The Club’s Easter Camp which will be held from April 6 th -9 th in Tir na nOg is now Sold Out. If you want to claim a place on the Waiting List contact our Games Promotion Officer Maria Bergin on 0877563654 or maria.bergin.gpo.dublin@gaa.ie.

Any coaches who are interested in coaching during any of this year’s camps i.e. Easter Camp April 6 th – 9 th, Cúl Camps June 29 th -July 3 rd and July 6 th -10 th or Club Camp August 17 th -21 st email Maria Bergin requesting an application form. In your email you should specify which camp/camps you are applying for. Applicants must be 16 years old by June 28 th 2020.

Castleknock Club Notes Feb 2nd 2020

Congrats to all the Castleknock players who recently represented Dublin. Eoin O’Brien and Graham Hannigan played for the Dublin Senior footballers against Longford in the O’Byrne Cup. Darragh Warnock, Ciaran Murphy, Senan Forker, Conor Chawke, Conor Kelly and Luke Swan played for Dublin U-20 footballers in the John Kerins League and Cian Boyle, Conor Murray, Matthew Lynam, Evan McSherry, Luke Swan and Conor Chawke on representing Dublin North in the Leinster Colleges Senior Hurling Championship. Proud of you all.

Jan.30 – Congrats to all our players on the Castleknock Community College team on winning the Dublin Senior ‘B’ Football Championship Semi-Final beating Lucan CBS 7-8 2-13. Wishing Ben Harding a speedy recovery.   

Jan.31 – No Lotto Jackpot winner. Next week’s Jackpot €4,000. Six Match 3 winners receive €50 each – Rita O’Gara, Paula Harper, Conor Horgan, Brian McCann, Kevin Moloney, Dermot Nolan. Lucky Dip €30 – Madeline-Anna-Noel.

Feb.1 – Great Man of the Match display from Ciaran Kilkenny in Dublin’s NFL Div.1 victory over Mayo in Castlebar.

Feb.2 – Congrats to Aoife Whelan on making her Dublin Senior Camogie competitive intercounty debut in the second-half of the National Camogie League defeat to Galway. Aoife becomes the first Castleknock player to represent Dublin at this level.

Good win in the Leinster Camogie Club League Div.2 with Castleknock edging out O’Moore’s of Laois by 4-7 3-8 while in Div.4 Castleknock ‘B’ lost by 3-12 3-04 to Athy of Kildare.

The U-15 Football Leagues begin with two wins. In Div.2 Castleknock ‘A’ record a 1-9 1-7 win away to Whitehal Colmcille and in Div.7 the ‘B’ team score an impressive 4-7 0-7 victory over St. Pat’s Donabate. 

Upcoming: Feile time again and everyone is asked to support our Cash 4 Clobber Fundraiser in aid of the U-14’s Boys and Girls 2020 Feile teams. Simply drop your unwanted clothes, shoes, linens and bags (no duvets, cushions or pillows please) into the container in Somerton or on Saturday mornings to the Sign-in-Desk in the Nursery or the Club Shop.