Local Notes: All the latest news from Charlestown
Pictured at the opening of the new Wild Atlantic Suite at St Attracta’s Residence, Hagfield, Charlestown were, front row, from left: Emmanue Kenny, Vera Tiernan, Kathleen Tiernan. Back row: Phil Doyle and Marian Murphy. Picture: John O'Grady
Charlestown U14 development team continue to blaze their way through Division 6 of the U14 Development League with an impressive 5-13 to 2-3 victory over Aghamore in the latest round of fixtures played at the Aghamore GAA grounds recently.
The Sarsfields got off to the worst possible start, conceding a goal inside the first minute, but steadied the ship with a couple of quickfire points with Luke McDermott firing over a brace to restore their confidence levels following the concession of the early goal.
The Sarsfields, playing with the wind at their backs, dominated the remainder of the first half, limiting their opponents to just one further score while they tagged on an impressive 4-7 to leave them in a strong position at half-time.
The lead could and should have been more but for some wayward shooting on the part of an errant Sarsfields attack who ran rings round a porous Aghamore defence but left a host of gilt-edged chances behind them. That said goals from McDermott, Luke Murphy and the elusive Frank Muldoon left the Sarsfields in a strong position as they prepared to face a strong wind in the second half.
The expected Aghamore revival never materialised in the second half as the Sarsfields managed anything they had to throw at them comfortably.
The game petered out as a contest as the Sarsfields continued to exert a real modicum of control throughout every area of the pitch.
A couple of points from Luke McDermott, Frank Muldoon, Caelan Egan and Senan Tiernan extended the Sarsfields advantage with the home side offering only token resistance with 1-2 all they could muster in the second half as their challenge ran aground long before the final whistle sounded.
A fifth goal from Anthony Byrne was the icing on the cake for the Sarsfields as they coasted to the finishing line and capped a good day with this latest victory maintaining their unbeaten run in the division and assuring them of a play-off place with just one outing left against Ballinrobe.
The team as a whole played very well with Luke McDermott, Frank Muldoon, Ben McDonnell, Conor Breheny, Callum Kenny, Senan Tiernan, Caelan Egan, Tadhg Drury, Conor Vesey, Rian O'Grady and Ted Munnelly all excellent in everything they did while Kalem Higgins, Anthony Byrne, Luke Murphy and Joe Irwin all contributed handsomely to a good overall team performance.
Charlestown Sarsfields B team travel to Ardagh to take on the locals in round 4 of Division 6 of the Mayo Junior League on Friday, June 12, with the throw-in confirmed for 7pm.
The Sarsfields travel to Foxford to take on Moy Davitts in round 7 of Division 2 of the Mayo Senior League on Saturday, June 13, with the throw-in confirmed for 7pm.
The death took place in Bray, Co Wicklow recently of Una McEvoy (nee Foley) formerly of Carracastle.
Deepest sympathies are tendered to the bereaved.
The Charlestown Swimming Pool has opened its doors for Summer 2026 with full details regarding opening hours/times, swimming lessons, etc, all available on the facility's splendid Facebook page.
The pool is a tremendous facility and fills a big gap in the social and recreational lives of people from all ages and cohorts and will be hive of activity for the next three months and more. All it needs is a modicum of good weather with the sun shining high in the sky which would be the icing on the cake.
The pool is 68 years old and has created some memories in that time period for many of the town's residents and will continue to take centre stage for many more years to come with the current committee in charge doing trojan work to upgrade and continue its development.
There was no winner of the Charlestown Sarsfields GAA Lotto jackpot of €22,200 in the weekly draw held on Sunday night, May 31, when the numbers drawn were 6, 9, 10 and 29.
The three winners of €50 were Niamh Fleming (Online winner), Nuala O'Donnell (Annual Ticket - Lucky Dip) and Michael Hanley (Lucky Dip).
Next week's jackpot will rise to €22,300 and the draw will be held on Sunday night, June 7th. Tickets on sale at a number of outlets in the community, price €2 or three for €5, and the club would like to thank everybody who supported their weekly draw.
Dance classes with Gina have re-started in Carracastle Community Centre on Wednesday evenings for a four week period from 8pm to 9.30pm. Learn to jive, waltz, foxtrot, quickstep and waltz. The cost is €10 per person and all are welcome.
The 4th Annual Carracastle Vintage Run takes place on Sunday, June 28, at 1pm sharp. Registration from 11am.
All bikes, cars, lorries and tractors are welcome. A fun-filled day of activity for all the family with face painting, an ice-cream van, and music with food being provided by the Pig and Heifer. It promises to be a big day for the community of Carracastle with all proceeds from the event going towards Croí and Scoil Iosa National School.
Charlestown Sarsfields U16 girls handed out a lesson to Swinford/Killasser in Division 1 of the Mayo U-16 League played at Fr O'Hara Park recently.
The Sarsfields were on it from the throw-in and scuppered the visiting challenge early doors with a flurry of goals doing the damage as they went for the jugular in spectacular style. The game was over as a contest at half-time with the Sarsfields in total charge.
Credit to the visitors they did show plenty of pride and spirit in the second half and got the scoreboard moving in their direction but a comeback was never on the cards as the Sarsfields continued to exert real control when they were threatened or pushed in any way. The final score of 9-12 to 3-6 tells its own story as this very talented Sarsfields squad continue to move through the gears and hint at real promise of landing silverware later in the campaign.
Birthday greetings are extended to Mark Lowther, son of Joe and Helena Lowther, Lavey Manor, Charlestown who celebrated his coming of age with a party for family and friends in Murray's Bar, The Square, Charlestown recently.
A meeting of the Charlestown Cemetery Committee will take place on Tuesday, June 16, at 7.30pm in the Pastoral Centre, Lowpark, Charlestown.
Bushfield Cemetery Mass will take place on Friday, July 24, at 7.30pm.
Legion of Mary meeting takes place every Wednesday evening at 7pm in St James`Church, Charlestown . All are welcome and for more information contact Phil om 086-3946233.
There was no winner of the Curry GAA Lotto Jackpot of €4,000 in the weekly draw held on Monday night, June 1st, when the numbers drawn were 4, 11, 14 and 16.
The winners of the three €20 prizes were Fiadh Marren, Ray McDonagh and Marian Callaghan.
The latest draw took place last night for a jackpot of €4,100. Tickets on sale in a number of outlets in the community, price €2, and the draw can also be played online via the club's Facebook page.
Concern Church Gate Collection will take place in the Charlestown parish on Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14. Please support the work of Concern in the developing world.
Charlestown Sarsfields U14 team ensured their qualification for the Division 1 League semi-final following their emphatic 8-9 to 2-9 victory over Ballina Stephenites in the final round of games played at Fr O'Hara Park recently.
The Sarsfields went into the contest knowing that victory would be enough to secure their semi-final passage and they duly went about their task very impressively with a blistering second-half performance blowing the Stephenites challenge away in some style.
The Sarsfields were tentative in the opening exchanges and played second fiddle to the Stephenites in the first quarter as the visitors led 1-3 to 0-1 and were taking the game to the hosts in admirable fashion.
The Sarsfields were struggling to get anything going in attack with wides and shots dropping short only adding to their nervousness and anxiety levels.
They finally warmed to the task however with Daithi Gethins leading the way from midfield as he drove his team forward at every opportunity and got a couple of morale boosting scores to calm the home side's nerves.
These scores ignited the Sarsfields challenge in no uncertain manner as they outscored the Stephenites 2-4 to 0-1 in the closing ten minutes with goals from Freddie Doherty and Alex Pugaciov giving the Sarsfields a real foothold in the game as they led 3-5 to 1-4 at the break and retreated to the dressing rooms in much better fettle than they started as they played some quality stuff in the latter stages of the half.
The Stephenittes were in no mood to surrender however and threw everything at the Sarsfields in the opening gambit. They were rewarded with a 1-2 blast which brought them firmly back into the game with just one score between the teams with the Sarsfields hanging on grimly to a 3-6 to 2-6 lead.
Points from Freddie Doherty, Daithi Gethins and Tom Naugthon gave the Sarsfields some breathing space but Ballina continued to remain a live threat as they landed two further points to keep very much in touch with the Sarsfields as the game entered a crucial phase.
It was the Sarsfields who stepped up however with Gethins, Michael Haran, Rian O'Connor, Mikey Larkin, Tom Naughton and Alex Pugaciov taking the lead with the last named banging in two superb goals to complete his hat-trick with each and every finish to be greatly admired.
Those strikes were enough to break the Stephenites challenge with the Sarsfields tagging on further points care of Daithi Gethins, Freddie Doherty and Alax Pugaciov which put real daylight between the teams as the Sarsfields started to exude real control in the key middle third battleground.
The Sarsfields were playing with real confidence at this stage with goals from Tom Naughton and Rian O'Grady due reward for some excellent approach play as the green and white lads thundered towards the finish line.
An eighth goal from the ever-willing and game MJ Donohue was just reward for a fine performance from the towering full forward as he linked up play impressively and always picked out the right pass when in possession.
The goals allowed the Sarsfields to coast home as they got their reward for a storming final quarter performance which had their supporters purring as they took the game away from the Stephenites in ruthless fashion.
There were impressive performances from every line of the field with Jack Brennan outstanding in goals and getting great support from a tigerish full back line with Mikey Larkin, Ross Duffy and Conor Davern neat and tidy in all they did.
The half-back line was equally as impressive as Rian O'Connor led by example at centre-back and got good support from Dylan Healy and Callum Kenny in the wing back positions.
The midfield duo of Daithi Gethins and Michael Haran were outstanding throughout with Gethins propelling the team forward at every opportunity. He was terrific from start to finish with Haran quietly effective all through too, it must be said. In attack Alex Pugaciov was the scoring hero as he bagged the considerable haul of 3-2 and was a real menace to the Stephenites throughout with his pace, movement and eye for goal coming to the fore at precisely the right time for the Sarsfields in both halves.
Freddie Doherty, Anthony Byrne and Reece Hopper all made useful contributions with Tom Naugthon and MJ Donohue excellent from start to finish as they won any amount of ball and used it wisely at all times and chipped in with some big scores when the need was greatest.
Rian O'Grady made a big impact when introduced and slotted a lovely goal near the end with both Caelan Egan and Luke Murphy also showing some nice, deft touches when introduced.
A good performance from the Sarsfields and one which provides them with a real fillip ahead of their semi-final clash with Ardnaree who will provide the Sarsfields with a stern test of their mettle and credentials in an eagerly awaited clash.
The 2026 Eugene McLoughlin Memorial Run will take place on Sunday, August 16th.
The event remains the highlight of the town's social summer calendar and attracts huge crowds from far and wide as people come from all corners to witness the spectacular display of machinery on show. The event is open to tractors, cars and motorbikes with registration taking place between 11am and 12.30pm at McLoughlin's Bar, Barrack Street. All proceeds from the event go towards Croí.
Music from 3pm till late with Pat's Country Roadshow, Stuart Moyles and Mad for Ceol. There will also be a Kiddies Fun Run on the day so please bring your pedal bikes, Go-Karts and Tractors.
More news in the weeks ahead as the committee put the finishing touches to what promises to be another blockbuster event.
Adult Arts and Crafts Group meet every Wednesday in the Arts Centre, Barrack Street from 11am to 1pm and all are welcome.
Kilmovee Shamrocks defeated Charlestown Sarsfields in Division 2 of the Mayo U14 girls league in a decent encounter played at the Kilmovee GAA grounds recently.
The final score read 4-6 to 2-7 in favour of the hosts with the Sarsfields not going down without a fight but Kilmovee had that little bit of extra class and finishing ability in their forward line which made all the difference in what was a tight match overall.
There was a good turnout at the weekly 25 Card game held in the the Yeats County Inn, Curry on Tuesday, June 2nd, and the following were the prize winners: 1st, Joe Mahon and Kevin Maloney; 2nd, James Cafferty and Mary Costello; Raffle - Breege Leonard, Mary O'Hara and Vera Scally.
The game takes place every Tuesday evening at 9pm and all are welcome.
There was a good turnout at the weekly darts competition held in Walsh's Public House, Main Street, Charlestown on Sunday night, May 31st, as Boom Boom and the Pillock took centre stage in another intriguing episode of the weekly classic.
Governor Gus was busy in his role as match referee and had plenty to occupy his time as both men pushed the boundaries to the very limit.
There was a fair bit of needle in the contest from the off as both tried to put the other off with some gamesmanship of the highest order.
The Pillock blazed a trail early doors and raced into a two-set lead with some stellar throwing. Boom Boom had no answers to the blitz from his opponent but gradually found his niche in set three and halted the momentum of the Pillock by snatching the set with a tremendous finish of 161 all but scuppering the Pillock's hopes of doing a whitewash as he had three darts ready to aim at double eighteen.
Boom Boom's clinching of the third set in such dramatic fashion altered the complexion of the match completely as the Pillock's form deserted him for the next set and a half, thus allowing Boom Boom to level the match as he took the fourth set with ease. That set up a fifth and deciding set with the crowd very much invested in what was playing out in front of them.
Boom Boom swept into a two-leg lead and looked all over the winner as Kenny continued to misfire in front of the board. Boom Boom raced into a big lead in the third leg but was pegged back as the Pillock finally re-discovered his form of the first set and took out 136 with his final dart landing plum in the middle of the bullseye bed.
The fourth leg was a torrid affair with both men blowing chance after chance when amongst the doubles. The standard of darts plummeted considerably so much so that both men ended up on double one simultaneously with the groans and moans in the crowd capturing the mood perfectly. Finally, after some glaring misses on either side, Boom Boom rose above the mediocrity to plant his final dart into the heart of the double one bed to capture the spoils and claim the title much to his relief as he shook his head in frustration that it took him so long to close out a match he looked to have complete control of at the start of the fifth set. He cut a relieved figure when he stepped on the winner's podium for the fifth time this season as he reminded everyone of his enduring consistency and class in the process.
Charlestown Athletic FC qualified for the final of the McDonnell Cup by virtue of their thrilling 3-2 victory over Crossmolina B in an exciting semi-final played at the Crossmolina soccer grounds recently.
This was a cracking encounter between two very evenly matched teams with little or nothing between them throughout the duration of the 90 minutes.
Charlestown Athletic stayed the distance that bit better however with two strikes from Damien Ward, one of which arrived right on the stroke of full-time, thus resulting in extra-time where Kacper Gwalkiewizc netted the winner to secure their final berth where they will play Ballinrobe Town. A terrific victory for Athletic and one which is all the more laudable considering they have just reformed at senior level after a lapse of ten years.
The hard-working committee of the Charlestown Organic Community Garden, which comprises of Paddy Casey, Breda and Willie Doyle, Mary and Kay McIntyre, Nikiita, Ian Isherwood, Sr Elsie Gilmartin, Caroline Friel and Dave, Amanda and Sam Culpan have vegetables planted in their splendid new raised beds, which include four beds of potatoes, a bed of onions, with cabbage taking pride of place in another bed. They also have tomatoes, kale, broccoli, peas, garlic and beetroot growing and on display which all makes for a fine summer harvest.
Anyone is welcome to pop in and take a bag of vegetables with them. The garden continues to draw admiration from across all cohorts in the community and online and is truly a little piece of heaven on earth which deserves as much support as it can get from the community and beyond. More updates in the coming weeks and months as the committee brace themselves for a busy summer if only we could get some weather to help them in their endeavours!
Pure Mule Productions is coming to St Brigid's Hall in Tubbercurry with an evening to remember with the powerful Irish drama 'The Kings of the Kilburn High Road' on Friday, June 19, at 8pm.
Five friends who came to London as young men to make their fortune, now in their 40s, are gathered at an informal wake of one of their mates. The strong cast in this drama of laughter and sadness are Peadar Conway, Gerry Farrell, Michael McLoughlin, Niall Brewster and Brian Gallagher. Their great acting does justice to Jimmy Murphy's superb play. So be there at St Brigid's Hall at 8pm on Friday, June 19.
