Local notes: Landmark days for sporting clubs
Some of the young boxers from Knockmore-Foxford BC pictured with their coaches ahead of next Sunday’s tournament at Foxford Sports and Leisure Centre. From, from left: Benjamin Garvin, Paul Hannon, Warren Ryder, Cayden Murray, Finn Judge, Axel Doherty, Eddie Doran, Bernie Lackey and Micky Lackey. Middle row, from left: Joshua Garvin, Lorcan Ryder, Jonah Gallagher, Kyle Reape, Jason Maughan, Martin Lackey, Adam McHale, Hunter Byrne, John Lackey and Shay Judge. Back row, from left: Brendan Walsh and Joe Hannon (coaches), Michael Howley, Cian Hannigan, Sam Reddington, Pearse Lawless, and Alan Foley and Billy Rice (coaches).
A full day of activity is planned for next Sunday, March 23 by Knockmore-Foxford Boxing Club who will officially turn the sod on their new gym which is to be built in Foxford on the Swinford Road. The sod-turning will go ahead at 12pm and to mark the occasion, the club will host a tournament in Foxford Sports and Leisure Centre, getting underway at 1pm.
KFBC have already held its annual Kelly Cup tournament last November and the annual Vincy James tournament in January but this third club tournament of the season promises to be the biggest and most significant yet.
The establishment of a permanent home for Knockmore-Foxford Boxing Club will be the fruition of many years of hard work. The club, which was formed in 2008 by Michael Langan, Brendan Walsh, Ollie Armstrong and Billy Rice, first trained for two years in a small room on the top floor of Knockmore Resource Centre before moving to Knockmore Community Hall for five years.
In 2015, KFBC moved to the former Hennigan’s Pub in Foxford after obtaining Sports Capital funding to refurbish the premises. The club had a successful five years training in the premises before the lease expired and the club moved to Foxford Sports and Leisure Centre where it has trained for two evenings per week since 2020.
To assist with the fundraising for their new build project on the Swinford Road, Knockmore-Foxford Boxing Club are to hold a scrap metal collection week in April and would appreciate all donations of scrap metal. You can WhatsApp details to 086-8363646.
There were great celebrations last Thursday night, March 13 as Moy Davitts GAA was honoured at the Mayo County Council Cathaoirleach Awards. The 50th Anniversary book that the club published and released in late 2024 was deemed ‘Best publication by a community group’ at the awards banquet which was held in Breaffy House Hotel.
The club was represented on the night by Bernie Ryder (secretary), Willie Byrne (chairperson), John Gilmore (50th Anniversary committee member) and editor James Laffey, who oversaw so much of the research, wrote numerous articles and edited the entire publication.
The award was presented to them by Cllr John O'Hara, Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council. Foxford’s Cllr Neil Cruise was also in attendance.
Another winner of local interest was Curradrish native Noel Howley, a long time servant of the Mayo Association Dublin, who received the Cathaoirleach’s Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Mayo Diaspora Engagement’.
Well done also to Frances Casey-Maloney, a founder and voluntary board member of the Foxford and District Alzheimer Trust, who was shortlisted at the Cathaoirleach Awards for the Community Social Inclusion Project Award, for her contribution to community life.
The funeral took place in St Michael’s Church, Foxford last Saturday, March 15 of Mary Boyle (née Mayock), Cashel, Foxford and formerly of Bofeenaun, and Leeds, England. Mary, who was predeceased by her husband Kevin, her parents Mary and John Mayock and her brothers Martin, Thomas, John and Tony, passed peacefully last week in the gentle care of the staff of St Joseph’s Hospital, Ballina.
She will be dearly and lovingly missed by her brother Paddy and her sister Bernadette, her nieces, nephews, sisters in-law, brothers in-law, relatives, neighbours and many friends.
Mary lay in repose at Clarke’s Funeral Home on Friday evening and following her funeral Mass on Saturday, burial was in Toomore Cemetery.
May she rest in peace.
The death occurred last week, peacefully in the care of the nurses and staff in The Shannon Ward, UCH Galway, of Mary (also known as Maureen) Ruane (née McAndrew) from Rooskey, Foxford.
Mary was predeceased by her husband Paul and her parents John and Julia McAndrew. She will be dearly missed by the Prendergast family, her dear neighbours, relatives and many friends.
Mary reposed in her residence in Rooskey last Friday and Saturday evenings, and her funeral Mass was celebrated at St Michael’s Church in Foxford on Sunday. Her burial was in Bonnifinglas Cemetery.
May she rest in peace.
Beginners are welcome to join set dancing classes that are taking place on Sunday nights at 7pm in the Brown Memorial Hall, Foxford.
The minor footballers of Moy Davitts LGFA made a flying start to the new season when recording an emphatic 4-16 to 2-03 victory over Belmullet who made the long journey to Srath Garbh in Round 1 of the County League.
The Moy Davitts GAA 50-50 draw was won by Theresa Fleming, Foxford who collected a jackpot prize of €305. Tickets are available for purchase online at the club app, at one for €2 or three for €5.
Work is to take place on resurfacing the carpark beside St Michael’s Church and Foxford National School and to reinstate white lines, clearway marking and yellow clear areas, after the allocation of €46,999.82 in funding. In confirming the news, Cllr Neil Cruise said he would be supplementing the grant with a “significant allocation” from his Notice of Motion funding stream, to ensure the works are completed to the highest standard.
This coming Sunday, March 23, at the Fr Peyton Centre in Attymass, a short retreat is to be held from 3 to 5pm for Ministers of Holy Communion. The retreat will be led by Fr Tom Taaffe, who is working at Knock Shrine.
There was a pleasant surprise for Shona Doherty, Foxford when discovering she was the March 10 winner of the S&F United 50-50 lotto draw. She collected a jackpot prize of €100.
What was, in all effect, a title decider against Partry Athletic in Division 2 of the Portwest Mayo Masters League last Wednesday night, March 12, turned against the over-35s of S&F United when they suffered a 4-2 defeat.
The teams were deadlocked at a goal apiece at half-time, with Paul Moran equalising off the back of an Andy Moran delivery. And it was a reversal of roles when Moran set-up Neary to give United the lead early in the second-half. However, that was as good as it got for S&F who shipped three goals to see Partry leapfrog them at the top of the table, in what was their first loss of the season.
Both teams have one game left to play but Partry’s final match is against Ballyglass who have lost all seven of their games to date while S&F are set to play Bangor Hibs this Wednesday, March 19 in a game to decide who earns promotion to Division 1. S&F are currently one point ahead of Hibs in the table.
There was tremendous excitement at the 123.ie All-Ireland Schools Cross Country Championships which took place at Galway Racecourse on Saturday, March 8 as Rory Gruddy, a student at St Joseph’s Secondary School, finished sixth in the 3,500m junior boys race. His exceptionally gutsy run has earned him selection on the Irish schools’ team for the prestigious SIABs Cross Country, which takes place in Glasgow next weekend where he’ll be up against the cream of cross country runners from England, Scotland and Wales, as well as Ireland.
Rory was not the only St Joseph’s participant in the national finals as Ella Ginty featured in the minor girls race over 2,000 metres and out of a field of 98 runners she ran strongly to cross the line in a very respectable 37th place, which was fifth best of the Connacht finishers.
The pair are members of Swinford AC.
Well done to both.
Scoil an Chroí Naofa – or Foxford National School – had two representatives in the Mayo Scór na bPáistí Finals which were held in Tooreen Hall on Saturday, March 8. Both Ida Hennigan and Liam Jones had qualified from the East Mayo division and performed brilliantly again at the county finals, with Liam Jones delivering an excellent version of Brian O’Lynn in the singing competition and Ida Hennigan winning the Sean-nós dancing title for 2025. Congratulations to both.
Minister for Rural and Community Development Dara Calleary is to launch the Killasser-Callow Community Futures Plan 2025, this coming Sunday, March 23 at 1pm in Killasser Community Centre. The plan has been developed by the completion of household surveys and local interviews.
Everyone is invited to attend and have a look at what is planned for the parish.
Foxford native Dylan Coleman was quite literally the star of the show for University of Limerick last Monday, March 10 when he was named as man-of-the-match in the All-Ireland Freshers ‘B’ football final. The Knockmore attacker scored 1-7 from full-forward in a 2-13 to 3-07 victory over Queens University.
Moy Davitts played out an entertaining East Mayo Centenary Cup quarter-final with Ballaghaderreen in Srath Garbh on Sunday, March 9, coming out on top by a single point, 1-17 to 2-13. This was the first game either side had played under the new football rules and it certainly made for an entertaining start to the season. The general consensus was that the rules made the game much more entertaining as it was end to end with no major defensive systems in place and an opportunity for forwards to thrive.
It was also new manager Paul McGarry’s first game in charge of Moy Davitts and he’ll have been glad at how the team came back from six points down with nine minutes left to play to emerge with the one point victory thanks to a late, late score from Brian Reape.
The two teams exchanged points for much of the first-half but a run of three unanswered before the break put Moy Davitts into a one point lead.
Two second-half goals put Ballaghaderreen six ahead with time almost up, but Ronan Clarke’s late goal gave the home side a chance before Reape won the match in stoppage-time for the hosts.
Moy Davitts: Chris McGlynn, Ryan Binley, Jack Dunleavy, John Gilmore, Cathal Clarke, Oisin McHugh (0-0-1), Jamie Clarke, Padraig Ruane, Ryan Kenny (0-0-1), Conor Ryder, Ronan Clarke (1-0-4, 0-1f), Stephen Clarke (0-0-1), Liam Byrne (0-0-3, 1f), Brian Reape (0-0-3), Brian Heneghan (0-0-4). Subs: Ajay McGrath, Mathieu Gril, Sean Reid.
Best wishes are extended to Niamh Doherty, Currinara who is a member of Seodá, an eight-piece group of Mayo and Sligo musicians who under the tutelage of Niamh’s uncle Stephen Doherty, also of Currinara, are competing in this weekend’s final of Siansa Gael Linn at the National Concert Hall, Dublin. The competition is one of the country's most prestigious for young traditional Irish music and singing groups and is ran and broadcast by RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.
The final takes place next Sunday, March 23.
