Local Notes: Charlestown Sarsfields U14 team completed the double by winning the Division 1 league and championship.
Charlestown Sarsfields U14 team, panel and management who completed the double by winning the Division 1 league and championship.
Well done to the Charlestown Sarsfields U14 girls team who captured the division one league title with a splendid victory over Westport with the Sarsfields girls prevailing on a score line of 2-10 to 0-9 played at the Connacht Centre of Excellence, Bekan recently.
The Sarsfields have been the stand out team in this grade all year and completed the league and championship double for the second year in succession which is some achievement for a terrific and dedicated group who continue to set the standards and get the best out of themselves.
Westport were worthy opponents and never went away but Charlestown have some terrific and special talents in this team and always managed to keep light blues at arms length with their forward line in particular moving with real menace and threat throughout.
The Sarsfields seized control of the game in the third quarter with a flurry of scores putting real daylight between the teams and once the green and white girls hit they never looked back with the back six defending their goal with determination and intelligence as they thwarted all that Westport threw at them in the closing stages.
A wonderful victory for the Charlestown girls and one which owed much to their resilience, spirit and tenacity as it did to their obvious skill levels which they exhibited in full in what was a very complete and mature performance from all involved with the green and white. It was a marvellous team performance but special mention to the likes of Mikayla McLoughlin, Seraya Murphy, Kayleigh Casey, Shauna O’Grady, Emily Higgins, Roisin Gately, Phoebe Tiernan and Leah McDonagh who were particularly outstanding and led the way all through.
Well done to Gemma Higgins and her management team on a job well done as they got the best out of the girls and had them in terrific shape with their mastery of all the skills a sight to behold.
There was no winner of the Charlestown Sarsfields GAA lotto jackpot of €12,500 in the weekly draw held on Sunday night, July 21, and the following were the four numbers drawn; 23, 25, 31 and 36. The winners of the €50 weekly prizes were Lisa McConnell and John Brennan. The latest jackpot increased to €12,600 and the draw was held on Sunday night, July 28.
Sarsfields Shamrocks travel to James Stephens Park, Ballina, to take on the Stephenites in division 2 of the county minor championship on Tuesday (this evening), July 30, with the throw-in timed for 7pm.
Classes continue in the Town Hall Arts Centre, Barrack Street, Charlestown, on Friday, August 16 and 23 respectively at 12 noon. There is lift access available.
Charlestown Sarsfields came out on the wrong side of a 1-13 to 2-9 scoreline at the hands of Ballyhaunis in the final round of fixtures in division 1A of the county senior league played at the Ballyhaunis GAA grounds recently.
The Sarsfields were severely depleted and had to dig deep into their panel to get fifteen players on the pitch such was the level of absenteeism they had to contend with. The early exchanges went very much the way of the home side as they led 0-3 to 0-1 with Ruairi Cullen raising the white flag for the Sarsfields.
The Sarsfields got a break ten minutes in when Niall Murphy placed Ciaran Honeyman with a neat pass which he blasted to the net to give the Sarsfields just the tonic needed to haul themselves into the contest.
Ballyhaunis hit back with the next three points to put the Sarsfields on the back foot once again as the black and red moved with menace from back to front.
The Sarsfields were reeling but they managed to cut the home defence open with some slick passing minutes later with Niall Murphy steaming forward from his wing back station to slip the ball to the net to edge the Sarsfields back in front as they led 2-2 to 0-6 and very much against the run of play it must be said as Ballyhaunis were dominating in most of the key statistics. The concession of that second goal irked the home side somewhat and they finished the half on a high bagging 1-1 in the final frantic few minutes to leave them 1-7 to 2-2 in front and good value for this lead it must be said.
Ballyhaunis picked up where they left off at the start of the second half kicking over the first two points to widen their lead to four as the Sarsfields struggled to contain the black and red runners from deep. The next ten minutes didn’t bring any upturn in the Sarsfields fortunes either as the home side continued to chip away at the scoreboard with two further points leaving the Sarsfields in dire straits as they trailed 1-11 to 2-3 with a Paddy Goldrick point from a free the only bright spark in an otherwise dark sky.
The Sarsfields hadn’t many options on their bench to change it up as Ballyhaunis continued to keep their attacking efforts at bay with relative ease. Another Aidan Sloyan point from play hinted at an easy victory for the Haunis men as the Sarsfields continued to give the ball away and snatch at chances in front of the posts with frustrating regularity.
Gradually, however the last ten minutes saw a shift in the dynamic with points from Ruairi Cullen, Matt Lenehan and Niall Fleming providing a glimmer of hope for the Sarsfields as the home side started to cough the ball up and misfire in front of goal. They did manage to quell the late Sarsfields revival somewhat with their thirteenth point of the night to push it back to a two score game but the Sarsfields had the bit between their teeth at this stage and continued to fire shots albeit they blew a golden goal chance with five minutes remaining which would really have thrown the cat among the pigeons.
Late scores from Goldrick with two and Niall Fleming reduced the gap to one but the clock wasn’t their friend as they were thwarted in their efforts to force an equalising score when referee Enda Nolan sounded the final whistle to cut short the Sarsfields revival and leave them with much to reflect on as this defeat consigned them to a relegation play-off with Kiltane to save their division one league status.
On reflection this game followed the very same pattern as all their other narrow defeats with their inability to guide the ball between the posts proving their undoing as chances were once again spurned in this as in all the other games they have lost to date. That said Ballyhaunis were probably deserving winners as they had that better balance throughout the field and could and should have won by more as they too were profligate in front of goal and kept the Sarsfields in contention with some poor shooting.
The Sarsfields have plenty to occupy their minds in the weeks ahead not least of which is the game against Kiltane and their ability to get some players back on the pitch for a key game in their season. They had good performances from Thomas Goldrick, Fergal Quinn, Tadhg Horkan, Ruairi Cullen, Niall Murphy, Jack Corley, Patrick Walsh and Paddy Joe Dunleavy with Horkan and Dunleavy making their senior league debuts which hints at a long career ahead for both in the green and white jersey.
Charlestown Library – Summer Stars Reading Programme is running through the summer. For all football fans out there, there are lots of books to learn more about your favourite players. They have lots and lots of books for all age groups. The library has a photocopying and printing service available. Pop into Elizabeth and enjoy what the library has to offer.
The Sarsfields host Claremorris in Fr O'Hara Park in the U12 Summer league on Wednesday, July 31, with the throw-in timed for 7pm.
The garden is looking splendid at the moment thanks to the great work of a very dedicated and hard working volunteer crew. The committee meet every Wednesday and Saturday at 3pm and all are welcome with several new members having joined recently to continue the good work been done by a tremendous group of people who have made that corner their own in recent year.
Giggles Drama School Summer Workshops take place from August 6-9 (inclusive) in Charlestown Arts Centre. Junior class for children aged between 9-12 will take place from 10am-12 noon and costs €60. Senior class for 13-18 year olds will be held from 1-3pm and costs €70. The workshop will focus on movement, vocal work, script work, character development, improvisation, working with puppets and costumes and lots of drama games. This is a great way to develop confidence, creativity, well being, etc be active and have so much fun. For more details and bookings contact Mary Ellen on 087 7929158.
The tenth (10th) Annual Eugene McLoughlin Memorial Run takes place on Sunday, August 11. This is always one of the biggest and best supported events in the community and attracts huge crowds to the town with this year’s staging promising to be the biggest and best yet.
Charlestown Swimming Pool have launched their new Summer Raffle draw to raise funds for the pool. A big thank you to Delaney’s Mace who have come on board as chief sponsor with Conor of Delaney’s kindly sponsoring all the wonderful prizes which include the following; a four seater patio set with BBQ, an inflatable pool and 2 water blasters, 55 inch TV, pool party at Charlestown Swimming Pool followed by party food for up to 20 people at Delaney’s Mace, Charlestown, personal training for 2 people at HQ Gym, day pass for 4 people to Westport House Adventure Park, Baysports voucher worth €100 plus a selection of hampers which makes for a brilliant array of prizes with something for everybody in that list. Buy raffle tickets in store or online €5 for 1 or €10 for 3 . You can also donate to the raffle by clicking on the following link https://www.idonate.ie/raffle.CharlestownPool. Please try and support this splendid Summer Raffle draw and hats of the Delaney’s Mace for stepping forward to provide a terrific prize fund.
Charlestown Sarsfields put their division one status on the line when they entertain Kiltane in a relegation play off in Fr O’Hara Park on Saturday, August 3, with the throw-in provisionally fixed for 6pm. The Sarsfields will be going all out to secure their top division status against the men from Bangor who are sure to provide formidable opposition in a game that has a lot hinging on the outcome. The Sarsfields will be hoping to have some of their trusted soldiers back and available for selection having been severely hampered by injuries and unavailability throughout the league campaign which saw them lose tight matches thus ending up where they are looking to hold onto their place in the top division.
Charlestown, Bellaghy and Districts Development Association will host their monthly Coffee Morning on Friday, August 2, in the Town Hall Arts Centre from 11am -1pm. The community coffee morning is an enjoyable way to pass a few hours in the day. Come along for a cup of tea/coffee and a chat.
Over the coming weeks the Tidy Towns adjudicators will pay an unannounced visit to Charlestown. Areas of interest will include the town centre, public facilities, e.g. walkway, playground, church, graveyard swimming pool, sports facilities, Arts Centre, recycling centre, housing estates, community garden, public car parks, so basically the entire town and its environs. The committee are asking everyone to be extra vigilant in their own areas by removing any weeds, rubbish or litter. It would be enormously appreciative if businesses and homes would make an extra effort to have their facades clean and add flower boxes if/where possible. Contact the Charlestown Facebook page or www.charlestown.ie if you see an area of particular concern. Charlestown is an amazing town and community so let’s showcase this in the best possible light and give the adjudicators something to think about and leave them with a positive endorsement of the town and environs. A special word of thanks to the wonderful CE (Community Employment) Scheme for their ongoing work in this area.
Charlestown Sarsfields U16s suffered a 3-10 to 1-10 defeat to St Jarlath’s in the East Mayo A U16 final played at the Connacht Centre of Excellence, Bekan recently. The Sarsfields suffered a body blow before the throw-in with their ace forward Danny Breheny unavailable due to suspension and this robbed them of much of their forward threat and added another layer of difficult to an already tough assignment.
St Jarlath’s have proved to be something of a bogey team for the Sarsfields in recent seasons and it must be said they were worthy winners on the night and had some real quality in their ranks which came very much to the fore in the key moments in both halves of an intriguing encounter.
The Sarsfields never backed away at any stage but Breheny’s loss up front cut them deep as he’s very much been the talisman with a lot of their forward attacking threat built around his considerable talents.
Jarlath’s nudged ahead in the early stages of the opening half and never looked like giving it up despite the best efforts of the Sarsfields who continued to push and probe without ever really looking like overhauling a well drilled and talented St Jarlath’s fifteen, The Sarsfields stomach for the battle couldn’t be faulted or questioned at any stage as they played with admirable spirit and intensity throughout and made the victors earn their spoils so to speak in a game that provided plenty of thrills and spills which captivated the large crowd and gave them much to enthuse over.
The Sarsfields threat remained viable right to the final whistle but St Jarlath’s had accumulated enough of a cushion on the scoreboard to withstand to see off any notion of a Sarsfields revival with the best team getting their due reward on the night.
The Sarsfields had good displays from the likes of Sean Breheny, Shea Haran, Matthew Horkan who notched the goal, Mason McCudden, Ryan McDonagh and Cian Towey. All eyes now turn to the county U16A championship with the Sarsfields pitched in at the deep end as they compete against the top teams in the county with the games coming thick in the fast in the next month or so.
Are you interested in spending time with the residents in a nursing home? Maybe you enjoy playing cards, knitting, bingo or music and would like to offer your skills? If yes contact St Attracta’s Residence, Hagfield, Charlestown, on 094 9254307 or by email to info@stattractas.com.
Mayo Fire Service are looking to recruit retained fire-fighters to serve the local community around Charlestown and recruitment is now open on www.mayo.ie.careers/current-vacancies.
Bushfield Cemetery Mass takes place on Sunday, August 11, at 9am and Caracastle Cemetery Mass will take place on Sunday, August 4, at 10.30am. Please tell your relatives and friends who are living outside of the community or elsewhere.
Urlaur Annual Pattern takes place on Sunday, August 4, with a great day’s entertainment for all the family. Mass takes place in the Abbey at 1pm; traditional music by the lake followed by Tempo; free activities for the children – compliments of the committee; soccer for the Dominic Henry Cup; sports with age grouped kids races; Michael McDermott Cup for solo or group musicians and singers; face painting, fancy dress, free arts activities; magician plus many other activities; book launch of ‘A Divided Paradise’; fast food, ice cream, Urlaur Tea Shop; and a social in the community centre at 10pm with music by Mary Kathleen. For more information contact www.urlaurcommunitypattern.ie or phone 086 8129082.
There was a good turnout at the weekly summer bridge game held in Walsh’s Bar, Main Street, Charlestown, on Wednesday last, July 17, at 8pm, and the following were the prize winners; 1st Mary Lynskey and Tom Dunne, 2nd Frances and Robert Healy, 3rd Michael Brennan and Maureen Walsh, 4th Robert and Maria Wallace.
There was a good turnout at the weekly 25 Card Drive held in the Yeats County Inn, Curry, on Tuesday, July 23, at 8.30pm, and the following were the prize winners; 1st Seamus Durcan; 2nd James Reidy and Darby Leonard. Raffle winners were Joe Mahon, Breege Leonard and Pearse Henry.
Adult swimming lessons take place every Thursday evening while open swims run every day from 2-5pm. Lane swims every weekday from 7-7.50pm. Morning lanes are also available on Tuesday-Friday from 7.10am-8am. All swims can be booked via the Swimming Pool Facebook page or visit www.charlestownaquacentre.com for the latest updates.
The death took place recently of Geraldine Birrane, Bushfield, Charlestown, and formerly of Aras Attracta, Swinford and Knockananny, Moygownagh, Ballina, Co. Mayo. Deepest sympathies are tendered to the bereaved.
There was no winner of the Curry GAA lotto jackpot of €2200 in the weekly draw held on Monday night, July 22, and the four numbers drawn were as follows; 11, 14, 15 and 18. The following were the winners of the 3 x €20 weekly prizes; Susan Feeney, Ann Durkin, Ruadhain Marren and Niadh Kivlehan. The latest jackpot increased to €2,300 and the draw took place on Monday night, July 29. Tickets can be bought in a number of outlets or via the online platform and also by logging onto the club’s facebook and twitter pages.
The Legion of Mary meeting takes place every Tuesday evening in the Charlestown Pastoral Centre at 8pm.
Senior Line is Ireland’s national telephone service for older people open every day of the year 10am-10pm. Freephone 1800 80 45 91. Callers may feel isolated, alone and may wish to discuss a problem in confidence, or for company during the day. Senior Line’s older volunteers are trained to listen, to support, to discuss options and to refer callers to other helpful services if necessary. Senior Line 1800 80 45 91 is open every day of the year at the above times.
There was a good turnout at the weekly darts competition held in Walsh’s Bar, Main Street, Charlestown, on Sunday night, July 21, as The Duke and The Magician squared off in another interesting instalment of the weekly classic. Governor Gus was imperious as always in his role as match referee and more than contributed to the enjoyment both men served up. The Duke was rock solid at the ochie early doors and grabbed the first set with some clinical pegging. He took the second set as well as he continued to exude terrific accuracy when in among the doubles. The Magician found some form in set three and took it with a nice 68 finish in the third leg maintaining his interest in the contest. The fourth set was a real cliff hanger with the Magician shading it courtesy of a treble fifteen, double sixteen in the deciding leg forcing the game to a fifth and deciding set. The Duke bore the look of an angry men ahead of the start of the fifth and he vented his anger on the board as he blasted his way into a two leg lead with some inspirational firing.
The game looked up for the Magician but he battled back to win the third leg to heap more pressure on the number two seed as he opened the fourth leg with the advantage of the darts. The Duke was in no mood to offer up any gifts and took control of the leg and the match with three 140s getting him to the double far ahead of a Magician who looked to have nothing more to give as his accuracy deserted him at the most inopportune of moments. The Duke came to the ochie with 48 on his radar and set about his work in ruthless fashion with single sixteen followed by double sixteen sealing victory thus setting in train wild celebrations among his huge and loyal support base which continues to grow in number.
The Magician was gracious as always in defeat offering the hand of friendship which the Duke was only too willing to accept as he stepped forward to claim his fifth victory of the season and one which owed much to his resilience and cussedness as it did to his skill and undoubted class.
