Local Notes: Kiltimagh's Blake is enjoying life in Donegal
Goalkeeper Blake Forkan is settled into life in his adopted Letterkenny.
You’ll find Culchies anywhere you go, without looking too hard.
Last week, the caught up with Kiltimagh native, Blake Forkan, in Letterkenny. The occasion was the FAI National League fixture between Letterkenny Rovers and Mayo FC. Blake was listed amongst the substitutes for the locals, and would have started the match were it not for an injury.
“This is my home now,” the goalkeeper said. “I'm up here 13 years now. I came up just to go to college and ended up settling here. I was playing a bit of Gaelic out the road there with St Eunan's. And I suppose I fell into playing with Letterkenny towards the tail end of my Gaelic career.
"I'm here since. I’m playing with Rovers now, nearly nine years.”
Blake played with the Mayo Junior GAA side while in his native county, and was famously featured in the TG4 Underdogs team against Dublin in Parnell Park in 2018.
“I came up here and I suppose focused on the soccer more than the Gaelic after that. Letterkenny Rovers are going well. We were in the Ulster Senior League, but that finished a few years ago. It had been struggling for a while. That was intermediate level football. That league stopped and Letterkenny dropped down to junior in the Donegal League.
"We had to start in the second division and we worked our way up to the Premier Division, which we won two years in a row. But thankfully, this third tier has come in now.
"I suppose I'm one of the old-timers in the squad now. It probably will be my only season of this, so it's nice to get a bit of a taste of national football and senior football, but it'll probably be the only taste I get. It's great to see the club here and it's great to see Mayo up here, and I’m looking forward to seeing how good they are.”
As it turned out, Mayo weren’t good enough. Letterkenny won 3-0.
“It's great that they (Mayo) took the initiative to develop a county set up in the last few years,” Blake said. “They started with the underage academies, with the idea of getting into senior football. I know James Costello, one of the coaches. He put a lot of time into Mayo football. I know he has stepped away now, but he put a lot of time into it. And a lot of people have put time into it to get them up to senior football. It'd be great to see them do very well.”
Blake said his heart is very much in Mayo.
“I was in Croke Park last month, as everyone was, and down to Mayo after for the party afterwards. Sadly, I had to leave it a bit earlier than most people, but I go back often.”
Letterkenny Rovers have very impressive facilities. The club has an astro turf pitch, with the main grass pitch beside it. The club also has an electronic scoreboard and a seated stand. And it's situated in the middle of the town.
“We've a committee here that work relentlessly for the club,” Blake added. “They are great at fundraising and trying to get facilities up to national standard. That's their ambition. It has always been their ambition, even when we dropped down to the junior league, they were still battling away.
"The astro has been a fundraiser in itself with bookings. We were allowed to play on it, for competitive matches, but it is a bit small, and teams didn't like playing us on it because we have a long-throw specialist. It's like having a free-kick whenever we get a throw-in on the astro.
"We got new floodlights on the grass pitch last season. They're brilliant when they're in action on a Friday night here.”
Blake is attached to the staff of Bank of Ireland in the town and said Letterkenny is his base now.
“I'm up here 13 years now. My fiancée, Orla, is from out the road there, out the dual carriageway towards Derry, and we've a wee girl, Lottie, born last year, so the roots are firmly down. But I’m loving it up here and this is home now, and has been for a long time. And in fairness Letterkenny Rovers has been home for a long time too. They were very good when I came in, treating me as one of their own, and I'm still here and love it, and why not?”
Grainne Mulhern was the winner of Kiltimagh GAA Club’s weekly 50/50 draw last week, collecting €577.
Kiltimagh GAA congratulated Grainne and expressed its appreciation to all those who continue to take part each week. Tickets are available online and through local shops and pubs, with the draw providing ongoing financial support for the club.
Kiltimagh GAA Mothers and Others will unveil their new team jersey at a special launch night in the Park Hotel on Friday, September 18.
The event gets underway at 8pm and will give players, supporters and friends of the group an opportunity to come together for the official reveal of the new jersey. There will also be a live DJ on the night, with everyone invited to come along, support the ladies and join in the celebrations.
The launch marks another step in the development of the Mothers and Others team and promises to be an enjoyable social occasion for everyone involved with the group.
St Louis Community School in Kiltimagh hosted teams from all four provinces for Round 3 of the M. Donnelly GAA Wheelchair Hurling Camogie Interprovincial League. The event was hosted by Connacht GAA in association with Mayo GAA and Mayo Sports Partnership, bringing players and their families to Kiltimagh for a morning of interprovincial competition.
Kiltimagh GAA played an active role in the occasion, with members of the club’s Bord na nÓg acting as flag bearers and providing a guard of honour to welcome the four provincial teams. Senior ladies player Alanna Burke sang Amhrán na bhFiann, while Kiltimagh’s Eadhmonn MacSuibhne was appointed referee for the tournament. He was assisted by Seán O’Neill of Balla and Jamie Rooney of Ballina Stephenites.
There was further excitement with the Sam Maguire Cup making a special appearance, proving particularly popular with those attending. A number of Kiltimagh GAA members also volunteered as stewards and assisted players and their families throughout the event.
The morning provided an opportunity for Kiltimagh to welcome wheelchair hurling and camogie players from throughout the country, while showcasing the inclusive side of Gaelic games and bringing together sport, community and friendship.
Michael Sheridan continued his recent run of form with his sixth cash of the series, taking first place in Round 13 of the Summer Poker League at Teach O’Hora last week, when 24 players competed.
Andy Quinn finished runner-up, with Paul Walsh taking third place and Derry O’Sullivan fourth. The remaining finalists were Nigel Maughan (5th), Martin Regan (6th), Keith Lydon (7th), Pat Boyle (8th) and Annette Reynolds (9th).
Long-time leader Pat Boyle remains at the top of the league table on 230 points, but Michael Sheridan has closed the gap and is now just seven points behind on 223. John Borza is third on 219, followed by John Reynolds (216), Michael Higgins (203), Enda Ruane (184), Paul Walsh (180), Alan Sheridan (176), Majella Gilmartin (170), Andy Quinn (168), Gerry Groarke (165) and Martin Regan (164).
Just outside the top twelve, Keith Lydon remains in contention on 161 points, with Derry O’Sullivan on 157. Further back, Nigel Maughan (135), Tiernan Burke (125), Conor Byrne (122) and Kieran McGee (119) still have outside chances of securing a final place with strong finishes in the remaining two rounds.
The league runs for fifteen weeks, with a €50 entry fee each round which includes a rebuy or add-on. €5 from each entry and rebuy or add-on goes towards the league prize pool, with the remainder paid out on the night. At the end of the league, the top twelve players in the standings, together with two qualifiers, will contest the Grand Final for a prize pool of approximately €3,500.
Kiltimagh GAA has thanked Gary Smyth and Heneghan’s Pharmacy for their continued sponsorship of the club’s first aid equipment.
The equipment is used across all levels of the club, from junior boys and girls through to the senior ladies and men’s teams.
The club expressed its appreciation to Gary and his family for their ongoing support, which helps ensure teams throughout Kiltimagh GAA have the necessary first aid equipment available to them.
There aren’t many sports matches where the winners are knocked out and the losers go on to another round. But such is the case on Sunday next, when Cill Chomáin will play Kiltimagh in the County Intermediate Championship relegation play-off semi-final. The winners go home, with their intermediate status secured for another season, while the losers go into the relegation play-off final. Kiltimagh will be hoping to win, of course after promotion from the Junior Championship last season.
The match is on Sunday next, September 20, at 1pm in Knockmore. The Neale and Louisburgh meet in the other semi-final.
There was little between the leading pairs at the latest 25 Card Drive, with Mary and Liam Moran sharing first place with Michael Carney and Michael Costello. Third place was also divided, as Mary and Richard Carney finished level with Joe Boyle and Tom Conroy after another closely contested night at the tables.
Patsy Flatley and Jack Ryan picked up the Last 10 prize, while Geraldine Turbitt and Anne Rowley claimed the spot prize. Raffle winners were Tom Walsh, Richard Carney, Geraldine Turbitt and John Clancy.
The death has occurred of Margaret Carney (née Hennessy) of Coast Road, Oranmore, Co Galway, and formerly of Kiltimagh. Margaret died unexpectedly at University Hospital Galway on September 4, surrounded by her loving family.
Margaret was predeceased by her beloved son Brendan Jnr. and parents Annie and John. She will be deeply missed by her devoted husband Brendan, children Edel, Aisling, Adrian, Olivia and Aoibhinn, twin sisters Ann and Ethna, daughter-in-law Carmel, sons-in-law Gerry, Eoin and Noel, grandchildren Gavin, Andrea, Aoife, Shane, Adrian Jnr., Adam and Grace, step-grandchildren Gearóid, Saoirse and Katie, sister-in-law Helen (USA), brothers-in-law Paddy and Walter, nephews Karl, Joe, Brendan and John, nieces Teresa and Helen, extended family, friends and neighbours.
Funeral and burial took place in Oranmore.
May she rest in peace.
The death has occurred of Ambrose O’Connell of Ballyglass, Kiltimagh. Ambrose died unexpectedly at his home on September 7.
Predeceased by his parents Patrick (Paddy) and Kathleen, Ambrose will be sadly missed by his brother Chris, sister Rita, sister-in-law Kathleen, brother-in-law Jarlath, nieces Collette, Caroline and Deirdre, nephews Brian, David, Kenny and Adrian, extended family and wide circle of good friends.
Ambrose’s remains reposed at his home on Thursday evening last with his Funeral Mass taking place on Friday in the Church of the Holy Family, Kiltimagh, followed by burial afterwards in Kilkinure Cemetery.
May he rest in peace.
The death has occurred of Margaret (Madge) Deegan (née Mooney) of Deansgrange, Co. Dublin, and Kinaffe. Madge died peacefully at home, in her 90th year, on September 7, surrounded by her loving family.
Madge was predeceased by her beloved husband Danny and grandson Luke. She will be sadly missed by her children John, Michael, Joan, Pat, Damian and Donal, brother Bob McEvoy (New Zealand), sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren Cathal, Diarmuid, Sarah, Seán, Mary-Pat, Daniel, Brian, Caoimhe, Cillian, Ciarán and Síofra, sister-in-law Kahryn, relatives and friends.
Madge’s remains reposed at her home on Thursday, September 10th. Removal took place on Friday morning to St. Brigid’s Church, Cabinteely, for Requiem Mass, followed by burial afterwards in Deansgrange Cemetery.
May she rest in peace.
