Tuesday 11th Men’s Shed @ IMSA networking event @ Canal Court Hotel

Wednesday 12th 11am Specsavers @ Men’s Shed; 6.30pm Down GAA Convention; 8pm Cards – 45 – at Dunavil; 8.30pm boys indoor Gaelic born 2001 or 2002.

Thursday 13th Men’s Shed Christmas Dinner; 7.30pm Planning & Physical Development sub-committee meeting

Friday 14th 11am Men’s Shed; 2.15pm St Colmans After Schools Gaelic.

Saturday 15th 11am P1/P2 indoor Gaelic & 12pm P3/P4 indoor Gaelic last day of the season party; 6pm Presentation of Joe McDonagh Silver Award @ Croke Park.

Sunday 16th 10.30am Breakfast at Dunavil; 8pm Bingo.

Monday 17th 11am Men’s Shed; 9pm Lotto

 

Home Bingo Week 18 (orange) £200 Jackpot winners were Teresa White & Damian Sherry; Week 19 (red) Bingo on sale now.

Camogie Christmas Hamper Draw on sale now, please support.

Down GAA Draw tickets are on sale again, this is An Riocht’s main fundraiser so please support, its £2.50 a week. November Winners, £50 each Grange PS and Michelle Allen.

 

Kingdom YC

 

Tuesday 11th 6pm Irish Dancing; 6.30pm Dunnaman CA Child Protection training; 7pm to 9pm Boys (8 to 12 years) activity-based programme; 7.15pm Indoor Football; 8.15pm Indoor Football

Wednesday 12th 6.30pm Basketball; 7pm Ladies of Mourne (up-cycling); 7pm Youth Culture & Me for 1st Year+ will touch upon issues such as discrimination, bullying, identity and the LGBT community. The group will also complete an Open College Network qualification and a 2-night residential, come on out and see if it’s for you; 7.30pm Indoor Football

Thursday 13th 6pm Ladies Circuits; 6.30pm to 8.30pm aged 4 to 7 years boys/girls activity based; 7pm to 9pm Girls Night for aged 8 to11; 8.15pm Indoor Football

Friday 14th 6pm Hip Hop Dance with Tura; 7.30pm Lego Builders Christmas Wonderland

Saturday 15th 1pm Birthday Party; 5.30pm KYC Staff Christmas Dinner

Sunday 16th: 3pm Birthday Party

Monday 17th 5.30pm Indoor Football; 6.30pm Basketball; 7pm Me, Myself & I, a personal development project for 1st Year+ built around kick boxing classes and workshops tailored to build confidence and self-esteem, finishing with a trip of your choice, come on out and see if it’s for you.

Tuesday 18th 6pm Irish Dancing; 7pm to 9pm Primary School Age Christmas Party Night; 7.15pm Indoor Football; 8.15pm Indoor Football

 

On Thursday 20th December Kingdom Youth Club will have a Christmas Bag Pack at ASDA, all offers of help appreciated.

 

The Camogie ‘Christmas Jumper’ Children’s Disco is on Friday 21st December and the Hamper Raffle will also take place that evening, tickets on sale from

 

Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day at Dunavil, if interested in joining us please contact the club 028 4176 3681 or [email protected]

 

Gavin and Christopher attended the South Down GAA Convention in Mayobridge, congratulations to Michael on being returned as South Down GAA Secretary.

 

At the u12 & u14 Gaelic Presentations the following awards were made u14 Player of the Year Mark McVeigh, u14 Players Player of the Year Miceal Harper, u14 Most Dedicated Ben Matthews, u14 Players Most Dedicated Oran McAleenan

 

Chris and Joseph attended the Micro Grants workshop at Altnaveigh House on Wednesday.

 

Paula and Aine attended the reconvened Down Camogie Convention in Castlewellan on Wednesday

 

There was a big turnout for the coffee & football chat event on Thursday and an informative discussion on the way forward for football in An Riocht. A key decision was that no-one may coach an An Riocht football team without having a Level One Coaching Award and to that end a joint Youth/Adult Award course has been arranged for the weekend of Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd February at Dunavil. If anyone is interested, they need to see Coaching Officer Seamus Curran, Football Chair Declan Campbell or Football Secretary Gavin Finnegan asap as there are only a few places not already taken. Also, a Child Award is being run for those taking u6, u8 or u10 teams and that is filling up quickly, though the date is still to be finalised it will be in January; again, see Seamus, Declan or Gavin to book your place.

 

An Riocht Football tournaments regularly attract teams from many different counties and indeed provinces during the early summer and on occasion overseas; a vacancy has arisen for a Tournament Co-Ordinator to organize these events, if willing to give a hand see Declan or Gavin.

 

The Cumann Na mBunscoil Indoor Gaelic was postponed until 11th January

 

There is a Hurling Coaching course at Dunavil on Friday 25th & Saturday 26th January delivered by Ulster Regional Coach Conor CJ McGourty for everyone intending to coach Camogie in An Riocht in 2019. It is almost full but if someone thinks they may want to get involved in coaching camogie in the coming season then see Camogie Coaching Officer Rosanne Small asap as this qualification is necessary for all 2019 An Riocht Camogie coaches.

 

An Riocht Registration Day is on Saturday 19th January from 10am to 12pm. Membership subscriptions will remain at 2018 rates and there is an option of monthly payments for a combination of Down Draw, Membership & Insurance; card payments are now also possible. No one can train or play before making a payment. Full details available on request at the club.

 

An Riocht will hold a Planning Event on Saturday 12th January from 10am to 1pm including breakfast; all Executive members are expected to attend and all sub-committee officials are also invited. The get-together will use the current Club Development Plan 2015-19 as a starting point, assess the current position and begin the process of formulating the next 3 Year Plan. It will also address immediate needs such as gaps on the Executive and the sub-committees, social media policy, fund-raising, governance, other business arising from discussions. Its an opportunity to get the year off to a positive start, let’s not waste it.

 

An Riocht has 4 vacancies on the current Executive, if you think you may be able to help with one of these roles please contact the Chairperson Tara, Treasurer Michael or Secretary Joseph for further information.

The Volunteer Recruitment Officer’s main duties include audit and document existing volunteer roles; identify new roles that need to be created; recruit and induct new volunteers; be the main point of conduct for volunteers within the club; support volunteers in their role; organize training or workshops as required; promote, thank and reward volunteers for their work.

The key role of the Club Children’s Officer is to ensure the implementation and promotion of the relevant Child Welfare and Protection Codes and Guidelines for good practice in the Club so as to ensure that young people can participate, enjoy and benefit from participation in Gaelic Games in safe and enjoyable surroundings. It is the responsibility of the Children’s Officer to regularly report to the Club Executive on how Club policy and procedures and the participation of young people in the Club may be impacting on the welfare and safeguarding of underage players and their coaches.

The Assistant Treasurer will lead fundraising activities within the Club. To facilitate an effective fundraising program in the Club it is vital for a specialised fund-raising unit to be set up to recommend different projects under the leadership of the Assistant Treasurer, & when these projects are ratified by the Club Committee, they would then have the responsibility to organise & implement the activity. Explore all fund-raising options & determine what is best suited to the needs of the Club & what is feasible to achieve in the community in which the Club exists.  It may be that not all are Club members as the expertise of any individual on a specific project might be of great benefit to the unit.

The Assistant Secretary will become the next Club Secretary and will work closely with the current Secretary. He/she should be a good organiser, methodical & reliable. The main duties are summarised as

communication with Club members & officers, and with the County Committee and preparation for & follow up from Club meetings including accurate recording of minutes. Help to redefine these duties so that the role is not off putting to potential successors.

 

There is new Club Officer training on Saturday 5th January for Registrar, Children’s Officer, Coaching Officer, Development Officer, Cultural Officer and Volunteer Recruitment Officer. Its important that those who hold these positions are up to speed with best practice and we would encourage a full take up on such workshops across the Executive and various club sub-committees. To express an interest please contact the club secretary Joseph asap.

 

Maher lightweight Hurls are available from Dunavil priced at £15 from sizes 24 inch to 33 inch, ideal Christmas gifts. Here are a couple of tips for anyone that buys a new hurl, wants to get the most out of it and is putting it away for the winter, remember hurls are sensitive to atmospheric conditions.

1. Don't use a new hurl straight off the shelf in matches and training, try to break in a new hurl over a couple of weeks. To break it in gently, puck with the hurl for 15 minutes the first day you have it then build that up over a couple of weeks to where you are hitting the ball as hard and as far as you can.

2. Do not keep your hurl in the boot of a car, the hot press, beside a radiator in your house or any other place that will dry it out; a shed or garage with plenty of ventilation is perfect, keeping it in a warm place can actually weaken it. Put it in a plastic bag, this will keep the surrounding atmosphere constant for the winter period. A bin liner is ideal, it doesn’t look great, but it does the job. A smallish coat of linseed oil just before you put it away will keep the wood fibres moist enough and ensure the hurl is ready to use come the spring.

3. It is advised not to play with an untreated hurl in wet conditions, an untreated hurl draws in moisture and when this happens the hurl can become weakened and susceptible to splitting, especially around the toe where the hurl is narrower. Superficial cracks to the edges and toe are to be expected and can be treated at home by rubbing down with fine sandpaper and applying a light coat of linseed oil to the area. 
4. Always take an old hurl to training for any "blocking" or "clashing" exercises. In a game you might hook or block a handful of times but in training it's constant, so it is severe on hurls. 
5. If you find that your hurl has dried out, soak the bottom 8 inches in a bucket of water over night and let it dry naturally.  
6. Try not to over repair a hurl so if there are any small little cracks on the bas, repeat soaking the bottom 8 inches in a bucket and it should close up the cracks for a while at least.

If you do all these things, then you really give the hurl the best chance at lasting.

 

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