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St John's Notes 6th
Feb 2006
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St John’s Notes 6th
February
We had
a very enjoyable presentation night in
the clubrooms on Saturday. Guest of
honour was PJ McAlinden, chairman of the
East Down Board. He is no stranger to
the club having acted as manager in the
early eighties, and was able to draw on
his recollections of this period to
amuse, delight (and embarrass some of)
the audience!
One of
the leading players at that time was
Kevin Savage. Kevin has stuck around for
a few seasons since then and has played
for Down Masters (over 40s) last year.
More recently he has been called up to
the
Ireland
Masters squad to travel to Australia for
an International Rules Series this
April. He was the recipient of a special
award on Saturday to mark his new status
as St John’s first international
footballer. [There will be a
fund-raising evening for Kevin’s trip on
Saturday 25th February.]
Another
special award went to last year’s
under-12 management team of Mickey
Burns, Bernard Rice and Martin Flanagan
who guided that team to our first All
County Championship success.
Our
Scor na nÓg set dancers were also
recognised for their achievements in
winning three County titles on the trot
and reaching the Ulster finals. They
then gave a demonstration of how they
achieved these heights – this was the
highlight of an excellent evening.
Mrs
Marie Kelly was inducted into the Hall
of Fame who, as Gerry Burns pointed out,
had been a stalwart supporter of the
club since its inception. On many
occasions, over more years that she
might care to remember, it was she who
provided sustenance and support to those
working to make our club what it is now.
Other
award winners were Camogie Player of the
year – Ann Cunningham and sportswoman –
Caroline Ward.
Senior
Footballer of the year – Donal Burns
(who gets the Rory Savage Memorial
trophy); Sportsman – Declan Brennan and
most improved player – Darren “Disco”
McMullan
Reserve
Footballer of the year – Darren McMullan
and reserve sportsman – Christopher
Malone.
Minor
Footballer of the year – Conor McCombe;
Sportsman of the year – Chris Malone and
Jonathan Addis.
Clubperson of the Year was shared by PJ
McGrady and Kevin McGlynn. Next year we
will be recognising our Ladies football
team as well.
St
John’s competed in the Scor Sinsear in
Kilcoo on Friday evening – and again
proved that our club’s strength is in
its Youth. The set dancers progressed to
the final on Sunday 19th
February with Eoin Walsh playing the
“Peter Canavan” role as inspiration to
his younger fellows. Ann Cunningham sang
well too but the question time team wish
to remain anonymous.
The
minor league started on Sunday but our
game with Loughinisland was postponed.
The team are away to Teconnaught this
Sunday and are scheduled to be at home
to Bredagh on Sunday week.
Most
teams are back in training now. The
Senior team, under the new management of
Paul “Shorty” Kelly, started on Monday
evening and training will continue on
Mondays and Thursdays from now on. The
ladies football squad start next
Wednesday (11th) at 7.15pm.
New members are welcome. They also hope
to do some fitness work at Castlewellan
Lake at the weekends; everyone is
welcome to come along for some exercise,
on Saturday at 4.00pm and Sunday at
11.00am. The idea of having two sessions
is that one or other should suit most
people.
Under-14 football training is on
Saturdays at 11.00am. Under-16 and minor
training is at 11.30am on Sunday
morning. Under-12 football squad is on
Sunday afternoon at 3.00pm. The
under-10s and under-8s will resume on
Saturday 25th March – but
players can practice at home.
We
welcome the introduction of “Go Games”
for under-12 and younger players. A lot
of the features of this initiative, such
as developing everyone’s skills, team
play, two-footedness and full
participation are things that we have
been working towards in training and
invitational games over the last couple
of years.
We’re
still on the lookout for a photographer
or photographers for the year. We like a
record of every team that takes to the
field for St John’s this year. If you
can help, please contact Kevin McGlynn
(4481 1876).
Membership for 2006 is now due – the
fees have been set at £35 for playing
members, £15 for non-playing members,
£10 for minors, £5 for juveniles, £40
for families, and free for OAPs – please
see Registrar Bernard Rice (4377 1207).
The fees are the same for male and
female members.
The
lottery numbers for 2nd
February were 2, 6, 8 and 25. There were
3 £10 winners and the jackpot now stands
at £1,400.
The
club will be holding a fund-raising Race
Day at Downpatrick Racecourse on Sunday
19th March so keep that date
free in your diaries. The Chevy’s will
be playing in the marquee after the
races so it promises to be an excellent
day out.
There
is a Poker Night in the clubrooms on
Friday and a large turnout is expected
with lots of prizes available in
addition to the £1,000 jackpot.
We
extend our sympathies to the families
and friends of Annie Kelly and Ray
Coppard who passed away recently – may
they Rest In Peace.
