Granagh/Ballingarry GAA Club Notes:
2023 Con and Annie Kirby Memorial Stake:
The Con and Amie Kirby memorial stake returns to Limerick Greyhound Stadium this March and April and with it the chance for Granagh/Ballingarry GAA Club to share in a €20,000 prize fund. The 10th annual Con and Annie Memorial Stake is once more kindly sponsored by JP and Noreen McManus which starts on Saturday 25th March running each Saturday night through to the semi finals on Saturday 15th April. Following the success of the Friday night final in 2022 this year’s final will be held on Friday 21st April.
The event is one of the highlights of the greyhound racing year and with a total racing prize fund of €160,000 this is one of the richest races in the world plus it also offers Limerick GAA clubs the opportunity to share a €20,000 nominator’s prize fund. On Friday April 21st, six greyhounds and their nominated Limerick GAA Clubs will contest the final with a €20,000 prize fund for club as follows:
1st place, €10,000 and an opportunity to host a fundraising benefit night at Limerick Greyhound Stadium, 2nd place will receive €5,000,
3rd place €2,000 and 4th, 5th and 6th placed finalists of €1,000 each. 72 greyhounds (numbers subject to filling) will run on the opening night of the Con and Annie Memorial Stake on Saturday 25th March. Each of these greyhounds will be assigned to a Limerick GAA Club at the first round trap draw on Monday 20th March. As the competition continues over the five weeks to the final on Friday 21st April and greyhounds progress through the rounds, so too do their nominated clubs.
Details of the draw will be released over the coming weeks on social media. GAA clubs/nominations will be made available on www.limerickgreyhoundstadium.ie and Limerick Greyhound Stadium social media channels on Monday night 20th March.
What does the Granagh/Ballingarry GAA Club need to do to take part?
Keep an eye on Monday 20th March to find out what greyhound has been assigned to the Granagh/Ballingarry GAA Club. The draw and club nominations will be posted on the Limerick Greyhound Stadium social media channels and the Limerick Stadium website.
Each club must have a club representative register at the turnstiles at the Stadium on Saturday 25th March and each Saturday night up and including the semi finals on Saturday 15th April Granagh Ballingarry GAA Club will receive complimentary admission passes to all rounds up to and including the semi-final. First round: Saturday 25th March. Round 2: Saturday 1st April. Quarter finals: Saturday 8th April. Semi finals Saturday 15th April. Final: Friday 21st April, gates open at 6.30pm and complimentary admission passes are now available from Club secretary John Lynch on 087-2912356. Your support for this great event would be greatly appreciated. For more information on the Con and Annie Kirby Memorial Stake, Limerick Greyhound Restaurant visit www.limerickgreyhoundstadium.ie.
Dinner Dance Tickets Now on Sale:
Granagh/Ballingarry GAA Club will hold a combined dinner dance on Saturday 25th March in the Longcourt Hotel, Newcastle West for the presentation of 2022 West and County Junior A Football Championship medals and the silver jubilee of Granagh/Ballingarry winning the West and County Junior A Hurling Championship defeating Newcastle West in both finals. Doors open at 6.30pm, dinner at 7pm sharp. Music by Overdrive and DJ till late. There will be special guest speakers. Tickets cost €50 and will be on sale in the clubhouse, Ballingarry and the Rock Bar, Granagh on this Friday 10th March from 7pm until 8pm and are also available from David Clancy (087) 6982747, Seamus Twomey (087) 1201571, Stephen Stapleton (086) 1960301, Shane O’Grady (087) 3138528, Damien O’Donovan (087) 6279934 and Shane Mulqueen (087) 6795320. Your support for this social event is greatly appreciated.
Limerick GAA Referee Recruitment:
Are you interested in becoming a referee? Think you can do better? Then put your whistle where your mouth is and become a GAA referee! Why become a GAA referee? Stay involved with the game as an alternative to playing. Fitness: it’s a great to kee3p fit. Ambition: could you referee a county final or All-Ireland! Learn more about the game. Give something back, offers players at the end of their playing days, the opportunity to continue in the sport. Personal development skills that are of value in all walks of life. What qualities are required to become a GAA Referee? Good knowledge of the playing rules. Be physically and mentally fit. Have the ability to remain calm, have the moral courage to make decisions which are correct.
If interested please forward your details ASAP to Patsy Coffey, Cappamore 087-9160344 or Donnacha O’Callaghan Feohonagh Castlemahon 087-06747984.
Team Limerick Clean-Up:
Registration is now open for the 8th edition of the largest one-day clean up in Ireland, Team Limerick Clean-Up (TLC). Set to take place on Good Friday 7th April across Limerick City and County. Founders of the team Limerick Clean-up initiative JP McManus, Paul O’Connell and Helen O’Donnell are urging volunteers to sign-up early on www.teamlimerickcleanup.ie and help make this the best TLC yet! This year participants in TLC 8 are encouraged to bring a friend and involve any new neighbours in the community to come along and join in, in making limerick a cleaner and more environmentally friendly county. The popular tea and coffee gatherings after the clean-up will also be held at locations throughout the city and county last year TLC 7 marked the longest participation numbers. So far, with over 21,000 volunteers were from all walks of life ranging from schools, colleges, GAA clubs and Munster Rugby to businesses, charities, nursing homes well-known faces to locally sponsored by JP McManus, Benevolent Fund and supported by Limerick City and County Council. TLC has seen over 400 tonnes of litter gathered from the streets by volunteers and event partner Mr. Binman since inception in 2015- equating to over 14,500 household wheelie bins.
West Junior B Hurling League 2023:
Friday 31st March or Sunday 2nd April Round 1 Feenagh-Kilmeedy v Granagh Ballingarry in Páirc Caoimh Uí Luing, Feenagh at 6.30pm.
Friday 7th or Sunday 9th April Granagh Ballingarry v Knockaderry in Knockaderry at 6.30pm.
Saturday 29th April Round 3 Granagh Ballingarry v Newcastle West in Newcastle West at 3pm or 6.30pm.
Friday 5th or Sunday 7th May Round 4 Tournafulla v Granagh Ballingarry in Tournafulla at 7pm or 7.30pm.
Friday 26th or Sunday 28th May Round 5 Granagh Ballingarry v Monagea in Monagea at 7pm or 7.30pm.
Note: Top four teams qualify for West Senior Hurling Championship semi-finals, 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd. If teams finish level on points scoring differential will apply
Limerick GAA Club Tickets:
Limerick County GAA Board launched their 2023 club season tickets recently. The tickets will entitle the bearer entry to all Limerick County Board fames from minor to senior levels. The cost is 50 plus postage. Order your tickets now at limerick.ie/step/limerick ga-season-tickets-2023/
Draw Promoters Hit the Streets:
Granagh/Ballingarry GAA Club draw promoters are taking to the streets of the parish to canvass members to join the 10 month draw, March to December. By joining you automatically become a member of the club for 2023 and you will be included in the weekly club lottery if you pay your 100 membership in full by May 1st. See draw brochure for details or contact any member of the finance committee.
County GAA Club Draw:
Granagh/Ballingarry GAA Club are once more promoting the Limerick County Club Draw for 2023. There will be monthly draws from March to December with a top prize of €10,000. There are a host of other prizes to be won, 2nd €3,000, 3rd €2,000, 4th €1,000, 5th exclusive star prize, 6th to 9th €500, 10th to 13th €250, 14th to 30th €100. There will again be exclusive monthly prizes to be won. Entry to the draw is just €10 per monthly or €100 for the ten draws with the option to join our own ten monthly draw and County Club Draw for €150. If you would like to renew your membership for 2023 please follow the link limerickgaa.ie/clublimerick-draw-signup and select Granagh/Ballingarry GAA club and the number of draws you wish to sign up for. You may also contact the Granagh/Ballingarry GAA club draw co-ordinator Stephen Stapleton on 086-1960301. Note: the deadline for accepting membership is now extended to Friday 3rd April at 4pm as the first draw will now take place on Saturday 29th April.
Players please figure (c1940s):
As an item of widespread everyday consumption in the 20th century, tobacco was enjoyed at all levels of society which made it an important element in the economy and an essential source of state revenue. Similarly, the GAA’s relationship with the tobacco trade centred on the need to protect the revenue it raised from advertising. A hand-painted figure made of plaster was used to advertise John Player’s No. 6 cigarettes at points of sales in shops and pubs. There are several versions of this statue with footballs and hurlers in different team colours. Reproductions have appeared but these original figures from the 1940s are now collectors’ items. Player’s No. 6 was a particular brand of cigarette which sponsored a number of sports competitions in the 1970s including darts and angling in Co. Sligo, pitch and putt in Co. Cork and crickets and ladies golf in Co. Dublin. Tobacco advertisements were common in match programmes and newspapers, one of many of the GAA’s alliance with tobacco, companies PJ Carroll, sponsored the All-Star awards and overseas trips until 1978 when Limerick’s Mick Mackey was inducted into the Texaco Hall of Fame in 1961, his prize was a silver cigarette case.
At the GAA Congress in 1977, a motion to abolish advertising of alcohol and tobacco at GAA grounds was heavily defeated indicating the reliance upon income from such sponsorships. The GAA has since reappraised its attitude to sponsorship and cut all ties with tobacco companies in favour of encouraging the creation of tobacco-free GAA grounds to positively impact upon smoking behaviour.
Hair Hurling Ball (Early 15th Century):
Hurling descended from ancient stick-and-ball games played in early medieval Ireland but traces of the game prior to the formal establishment of the GAA are limited. A rare example of an early hurling ball has been radiocarbon dated to the time interval between 1402 and 1435. It was found by Hugh Lyons in 1975 while hand-cutting turf in a bog in Lavally, Co Sligo. The ball is made from matted cow hair with a plaited horse hair covering which was used as many folklore objects where durability was required. The cord was wound around the ball in an interlaced way, fully protecting the ball withing. Hair hurling balls form part of a long-standing tradition associated with the festival of Bealtaine (1st May). It was the custom during Bealtaine for a newly married couple to decorate a hurling ball with silver or gold lace and tassels. The ball was then hung on the community May bush or given as a gift to an unmarried man.
Bealtaine also marked the start of summer hurling and in Kilkenny women gifted men with new hurling balls on this day. This hurling ball is one of fourteen in a collection at the National Museum of Ireland, some of which date back to the 12th century. The first one was discovered in Kerry in 1910 with the most recent find in Mayo in 2010. All of the balls were found in areas of cut blanket bog which ensured the preservation of this valuable evidence of hurling as an ancient phenomenon. These hurling balls are of enormous historical and archaeological. Significance and illustrate the patterns of evolution in the game of hurling and its equipment.
Limerick GAA 2022 Yearbook:
A full review of all Granagh/Ballingarry GAA Club activities both on and off the field plus photos in 2022 will be included in the Limerick County GAA Yearbook due to be launched shortly. The book cost €20 and would make an ideal present for a family member or friend.
Thrilling Draw Earn Limerick First League Point
National Football League Division 4 Round 5:
Limerick…….0-17
Meath…….2-11
Congratulations to the Limerick senior footballers who earned their first point in Division 4 of the National Football League with a deserved 0-17 to 2-11 draw with Meath at Pairc na nGael on Sunday. The Shannonsiders led by four, 0-10 to 0-6 at the interval but two second half goals looked to have turned the game in the Meath’s boys favour. However, a Brian Donovan point from play in added time saw Limerick draw level before Jack Flynn had a 45 for Meath deep into added time but it sailed wide and the game finished in a draw. The Limerick boys’ next league outing is against Kildare on Sunday 19th March in Pairc na nGael at 1.45p, where a victory is a must to avoid the drop to Division 3 for 2024.
Limerick Book Final Spot:
U2- Football Liam O’Connor Cup Round 3
Limerick…….0-7
Offaly…….0-6
Congratulations to the Limerick U-20 footballers who recorded their second win in the Liam O’Connor Cup competition with a hard fought one point 0-7 to 0-6 victory over Offaly at Mick Neville Park, Rathkeale on Saturday to qualify for a final meeting with neighbours Clare.
Coláiste na Trócaire Ease into All Ireland Final:
Maista Post Priary Schools (Senior B Hurling Semi-final)
Coláiste na Trócaire Rathkeale…3-22
Mercy College Woodford…….1-8
Massive congratulations to Coláiste na Trócaire, Rathkeale on their impressive 3-22 to 1-8 victory over gallant Mercy College, Woodford, Galway, in the Maista All Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior B Hurling semi-final at Clarecastle GAA grounds on Saturday. The Rathkeale boys with our town Sean O’Gorman wearing the No. 5 and Mark O’Shea the No. 6 jersey play Gaelcholaiste Dhoire or Coláiste Phadraig CBS, Lucan, the final date and venue to be confirmed.
National Hurling League Division 1 Group A Round 4:
The best of luck to the Limerick senior hurlers and their management team who bid for a hat-trick of wins in Division 1 of Group A in the National Hurling League, when they travel to Cusack Park, Mullingar to play Westmeath at 2pm. Please support.
Results:
U-20 Football Liam O’Connor Cup Round 3
Kerry 0-7, Limerick 0-6, Clare 1-10, Tipperary 1-5.
Munster Junior B Club Football Championship Final
Kilgarvan, Kerry 3-7, Diarmuid O’Mathuna Cork 1-12.
Maista All Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior Semi-final
Coláiste na Trócaire, Rathkeale 3-22, Mercy College, Woodford, Galway 1-8.
National Camogie League Division 1B????? Round 3
Waterford 3-24, Limerick 2-4.
National Ladies Football League Division 4 Round 4
Limerick 2-7, Derry 0-4.
National Football League Division 1 Round 5
Armagh 0-13, Donegal 0-10. Mayo 1-16, Roscommon 2-11. Galway 1-13, Monaghan 0-10. Tyrone 1-15, Kerry 2-9.
National Football League Division 2 Round 5
Derry 1-11, Dublin 0-13. Limerick 0-17, Meath 2-11. Lough 2-11, Kildare 0-12. Cork 3-10, Clare 1-8.
National Football League Division 3 Round 5: Fermanagh 2-11, Tipperary 0-8. Offaly 2-14, Longford 1-16. Westmeath 4-27, Antrim 0-8. Cavan 2-14, Down 1-10.
National Football League Division 4 Round 5
Laois 2-13, Waterford 1-5. Carlow 0-13, London 0-9. Wicklow 0-15, Leitrim 1-9. Sligo 1-20, Wexford 3-8.
Quiz Night:
Granagh/Ballingarry GAA Club fundraiser quiz night takes place in Condron’s Bar, Ballingarry on Saturday 8th April at 9.30pm. Your support for this fundraiser would be greatly appreciated.
Club Gear:
Granagh/Ballingarry GAA Club’s tops, hoodies, tracksuits, jackets, shorts and socks can now be ordered online at www.laroachasports.ieproduct-category/clubs/granagh/ballingarry
Club Website:
Check out our website at www.granaghballingarry.ie for all the latest club news. Our club website is updated regularly and is well worth a visit. You can also follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/granaghballingarrygaa and twitter at www.twitter.com/granaghballingarrygaa
€8,900 Jackpot on Sunday:
There was no winner of the €8,800 jackpot in the Granagh/Ballingarry GAA Club lottery on Saturday 4th March in the Rock Bar, Granagh. The lucky dips of €20 each went to Donal O’Brien, promoter online, Louise O’Kelly, promoter Donal O’Grady, Eddie Houlihan, promoter Pat Cagney, Jim O’Shea, promoter The Rock Bar, Granagh.
The next draw for a jackpot of €8,900 will be held on Saturday 11th March. Tickets are €2 each or three for €5 and are on sale in local shops, bars and from promoters. You can now also play the weekly draw online and the link to play is available on the club’s Facebook or Twitter, which finishes at 6pm every Saturday. Thank you for your continued support.
Club Diary:
Wednesday 8th March:
Limerick County GAA Club Draw 2023 brochure launch in Rathkeale House Hotel at 8pm.
Saturday 11th March:
National Hurling League Division 1 Group B Round 4
Tipperary v Waterford in Semple Stadium, Thurles at 7.15pm.
National Hurling League Division 2A Round 4:
Offaly v Carlow in O’Connor Park, Tullamore at 2pm.
Kildare v Kerry in Newbridge at 2pm.
National Hurling League Division 2B Round 4:
London v Sligo in McGovern Park, Ruislip at 1pm.
Tyrone v Meath in O’Neills Healy Park, Omagh at 2pm.
National Hurling League Division 3B Round 4:
Longford v Lancashire in Pearse Park at 2pm.
Cavan v Leitrim in Breffni Park at 2pm.
Sunday12th March:
National Hurling League Division 1 Group A Round 4:
Limerick v Westmeath in Cusack Park, Mullingar at 2pm.
Clare v Galway in Cusack Park, Ennis at 1.45pm.
Wexford v Cork in Pairc Ui Chaoimh at 3.45pm.
National Hurling League Division 1 Group B Round 4:
Kilkenny v Dublin in Nowlan Park, Kilkenny at 1.45pm.
Antrim v Laois in Corrigan Park, Belfast at 1pm.
National Hurling League Division 2A Round 4:
Down v Derry in Ballycran at 1pm.
National Hurling League Division 2B Round 4:
Donegal v Wicklow in Letterkenny at 1pm.
National Hurling League Division 3A Round 4:
Roscommon v Armagh in Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon at 2pm.
Mayo v Monaghan in MacHale Park, Castlebar at 2pm.
Louth v Fermanagh in Louth GAA training centre at 2pm.