St John’s Notes 8th
Nov
The clubrooms were crowded on Friday for
our annual juvenile presentation
evening. This was a perfect occasion to
celebrate the many achievements of our
young members over the past year. Of the
many achievements none shone brighter
than the six All-Ireland medals won by
club members this year. There are not
too many clubs in the country that can
claim to have six All Irelands in a
season – but our juvenile division did
just that.
Sileen McDonald won two Ulster titles
with Down young footballers (U-14 and
U-16) as well as an All Ireland with the
older group. She was also Down
under-14s’ player of the year, and also
won a county medal a few weeks ago with
our senior camogie team.
The other five All Ireland medals were
returned by Gerard McAnulty, Ryan and
Conor Flanagan, David Milling and Conor
Braniff playing for St Malachy’s High
School. It was fitting that our guest of
honour was the manager of that team – PJ
Magee. The main point of his speech was
the need for players to practice,
practice and practice. The foundations
for any success are laid in part on the
training field but also in the many
hours top players spend practicing in
their own backyard.
We embraced Go Games this year, and in
the spirit of non-competitiveness it was
decided not to give awards for “player
of the year” and so on as all the
players are still learning the game. All
the under-10s who took part in the East
Down Go Games blitzes received a medal
to mark their participation while at
under-12 level Conor Savage and Conor
Gilmore were recognised as having
contributed most to the Go Games ethos
of participation, learning and
developing their skills. A number of
“older” players who had contributed to
these age groups as mentors or, most
importantly, as referees were recognised
in the hope that this will encourage
others to follow in those vital
footsteps.
At under-14 level Anthony Doran was
“Most Improved Player”, Neil Magorrian
was the Managers “Player of the Year”,
while Conor Morgan was selected as the
players’ “Player of the Year”.
Cormac McMullan was the “Most Improved
Player” in the under-16 squad while
Declan Gilmore was “Sportsperson of the
Year” for this group. Nobody was
surprised when Gerard McAnulty picked up
the “Player of the Year” title, and
received the Frankie Rooney Perpetual
Cup.
The minors were also recognised on
Friday with Conor and Ryan Flanagan
sharing the “Sportsperson of the Year”
title. The “Most Improved Player” award
was also shared – between Joe Savage and
Ciaran McCann. Captain of the minor
team, Matthew McMullan won the “Player
of the Year” title.
The main award of the evening was for
the “Juvenile Clubperson of the Year”.
This was also the first year when the
“Gus McElroy Memorial Cup” was presented
to this award winner, in memory our
first entrant into the St John’s Hall of
Fame. This accolade went to Gerard
McAnulty – in addition to his All
Ireland medal he had put in outstanding
performances for both under-16s and
minors all season. On top of that he
contributed as a mentor for the
under-10s and under-12s and contributed
greatly to the Special Needs Camp Week
in August. And he is a member of the
Ulster under-16 team.
As usual there was a charity collection
at the door with our juvenile members
collecting a three figure sum for the
Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.
If you would like to get involved in any
way with the juvenile set-up, perhaps as
a coach or helper, please contact Rory
McMullan (4377 1216) or Shan Brennan
(4481 1684).
Pep Keenan (4377 8712) will be running a
Christmas club between now and the end
of the year.
There will be a Poker Night in the
clubrooms on Friday 10th.
Our Annual General Meeting will be held
on Sunday 26th November.
