Football   

Pride of place this week goes to our senior footballers who returned to the top flight of Donegal football with a polished display in Glencolumcille's Páirc na nGael last Friday. It finished Aodh Ruadh 1-11 Naomh Columba 0-11, with the visitors getting their nose in front early on and managing to preserve that lead, weathering a late Glen surge to clinch the points and promotion. Scores from Philip Patton and Shane McGrath got Aodh Ruadh off the mark before the game's only goal arrived in the tenth minute. It came courtesy of one of Aodh Ruadh's most impressive creative talents this term, with Michael McKenna applying the finish from close range. A trio of points from the ever-reliable Philip Patton, made it 1-8 to 0-5 at the turnaround. The homesters had the breeze in the second half and put in a gritty effort to try and reel Ballyshannon back in. Two Naomh Columba points were answered by a fisted score from Colm Kelly, before another couple of Glen points cut the lead for Barry Ward's charges back to a goal. With time running out Aodh Ruadh added scores courtesy of Cian Rooney and Nathan Boyle to see out the game and seal the win. As well as securing promotion the result also saw Aodh Ruadh securing the Division 2 title with a game to spare. The team and scorers were: Karl O’Brien; Mark McGlynn, Conor Patton, Colm Kelly (0-1); Johnny Gethins, Eddie Lynch, Kyle Murray; Eamon McGrath, Nathan Boyle (0-3, 1f); Phillip Patton (0-5, 4f), Michael McKenna (1-0), Niall Murray, Cian Rooney (0-1), Shane McGrath (0-1), Oisin Rooney. Substitute: Jason Granaghan for Niall Murray. Returning to Division 1 is a massive lift for the club and it is great to see top flight football back in the town once again. Huge credit to Barry Ward, his management team and the whole squad on the achievement. The seniors have a fortnight to savour their victory before taking on Downing son Saturday 28th August in their final league game.

 

Our reserves' scheduled clash with Glen fell by the wayside, Covid issues once again forcing postponement. They are scheduled to take on Downings this coming weekend. 

 

Hard luck to Aaron Cullen, Eoghan Kelly and the Donegal minors on their defeat to Tyrone in Brewster Park last week. Donegal stayed with the hot favourites for much of the game, but a finishing flourish saw the Red Hands take the provincial title.

 

The minors return to action this Friday with a trip to Glenswilly, throw in at 7pm.

 

The under 13's league campaign culminated with a Shield final last Wednesday evening in Mountcharles. It was set up for an exciting clash following a rip-roaring encounter between the sides the week previous. However, Kilcar opted to go for a heavily defensive strategy this time out though, and reaped the dividends with a 4-14 to 3-5 victory. Once again the Aodh Ruadh lads gave it their all, but they found it difficult to make headway against the crowded Kilcar rearguard. Top scorer for Ballyshannon on the night was the ever-dependable Joseph Gibbions who hit 2-2, with Corey Sheridan netting the Ernesiders other goal. MJ Ward clipped two points with Sean O'Neill completing the Aodh Ruadh scoring.

 

Under 11 training continues this week on Monday from 6pm to 7pm in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh, and on Thursday in the Coláiste Cholmcille field from 6pm to 7pm.

 

The under 9s put in their best performance of the season on Saturday with four very competitive games against Four Masters. We have a great gallery of pictures from the blitz up at aodhruadh.org. The lads are on the road again this Saturday for the reverse fixture in Donegal Town. Throw in at 11.30am. Training continues as normal on Friday evening at 6.15pm.  

  

Hurling  

Aodh Ruadh played Saint Eunan's in the second round of the Junior Hurling Championship on Sunday in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh. The home side mixed the good and the bad in this game. They got off to a good start but failed to build on it for most of the first half. In the last 10 minutes of the half they played their best hurling scoring a brace of goals and some good long-range points. The second half again saw some sluggish hurling from the Ballyshannon lads. While the workrate was good the side were guilty of some poor finishing. The game was over as a contest long before the full-time whistle as the Ernesiders ran out convincing winners, Aodh Ruadh 3-17 Saint Eunan's 1-5 the final scoreline. Aodh Ruadh now have two wins from our first two outings, but the lads know there is much room for improvement and tougher challenges lie ahead. Head to aodhruadh.org for a gallery of pictures from the match.

 

Our under 17s play Buncrana this week in the Donegal league at the Donegal Centre of Excellence in Convoy. Their game against Carndonagh last week was postponed.

 

Our under 15s had a great win playing Ballina in the Táin Óg league at the Sligo Centre of Excellence in Scarden. With a number of under 13s having a busy few days ahead playing both codes, the decision was taken to field with only our under 15s. Ballina provided robust opposition, and in the early exchanges there was very little between the sides. A Jack McCadden goal just before the water break left Ballyshannon in a strong position, and as the first half wore on more goals in the second quarter extended the lead going into the break.  The second half saw Ballina rally strongly, coming back in to the game scoring some fine points from play, as they began to get a grip in the half back line and midfield. However, as we have seen from the team this year, they were able to compose themselves, and saw out the game after the water break, with Tommy Clyne putting the icing on the cake with a goal from 20 metres, after soling through the Ballina defence. We had some strong performances right through the team, with Killian Bradshaw and Lennon Canny playing well in defence, Caelum McNulty dominant in midfield and Jun Hui Lin excelling in the half forward line. The side have a break now, with our last Donegal league game on Thursday August 26th against MacCumhaill's. The side's Táin Óg finals weekend is clashing with confirmations, so we await for a date for the rescheduled fixture.

 

Last Thursday the under 13 Hurlers welcomed Setanta to Park Aodh Ruadh for their fifth game in the Donegal League. To date the boys have remained unbeaten in the league and on Thursday evening they continued in their winning ways. From the first whistle the lads displayed their now familiar composure on the ball and their confidence and style of their play put immediate pressure on the Setanta defence. Points and goals were rapidly accumulated, with scores of note from Shay Winters, Joe Gibbions, Daithi Sheerin and their marksman Corey Sheridan. The Ballyshannon mentors used the bench to great effect with every member of the squad contributing to another fantastic team display. Despite the dominance of Aodh Ruadh the Setanta team never gave up the fight and picked off several scores to the delight of the travelling supporters, but the Ballyshannon boys showed plenty of hard work and commitment and battled for every ball like their life depended on it with only the final whistle giving relief to the Setanta team. The final score was Aodh Ruadh 6-17 Setanta 3-5.

With the Donegal league game behind them the under 13 squad travelled to the Táin Óg finals in the Derry Centre of Excellence in Owenbeg on Saturday. The first semi-final saw Aodh Ruadh take the field against a fancied Saint Finbar's team from Derry. An early score from Corey Sheridan created by a clearance from Gareth Brennan at full back settled the Ballyshannon lads and the combined efforts of the six Aodh Ruadh forwards saw Sheridan accumulate a personal tally of 4-3 in the first half. Aodh Ruadh finished the half 6-6 to 0-0 to the good. The second half began with a fantastic team score finished off by Eoghan McCadden to the back of the net. Corey Sheridan popped over a point from distance to bring his semi-final to an end with a substitution early in the second half. Joe Gibbions and Shay Winters showed their power and accuracy from midfield scoring from play with two well taken points from distance. The strength in depth of the squad was demonstrated by all nine subs being used in this second half and still forging ahead on the score board and helping Jayden McGrath Clyne maintain a clean sheet between the large goals.

The Final was against Duiche Neill of Tyrone. Aodh Ruadh won the throw-in and again Joe Gibbions got the score board moving with an early point. Corey Sheridan picked up from where he left off in the semi-final with a catch from the opposition puck out and a simple tap-over point, quickly following up with two goals. The second goal roused the Tyrone club who pushed forward and looked to be through for a certain score, however Jaden McGrath Clyne pulled off the save of the match while delivering a rapid clearing puck beginning the next Aodh Ruadh attack and score. The first half ended with Aodh Ruadh leading 3-10 to no score. Corey Sheridan in an exhibition of point scoring knocked over another few at the start of the second half. Joe Gibbions and Anton O'Loughlin dominated the middle of the park, Gibbions stepping forward to score and support the attack, O'Loughlin supporting incursions into defence and countless tackles ending any Duiche Neill attack. Again the bench was emptied for the second half and the team pushed on. Shay Winters and Joe Gibbions got a couple each with the unstoppable McCadden boys Oisin and Eoghan getting a point apiece. Daithi Sheerin, after battling through two defenders, added to the scoreline with his second of the day. Fittingly the last score was dispatched over the bar by the player of the tournament Corey Sheridan.

Aodh Ruadh were deserved winners on a final score of 3-22 to 0-0. Impressively the 24 Ernesiders kept two table topping teams scoreless for 80 minutes. A complete team performance backed up by a fantastic group of supporters who have carried our lads all over the Northwest and supported the management throughout the year. Training continues this Tuesday from 6.15pm with details to be confirmed regarding an upcoming home game against MacCumhaill's.

 

Our younger hurlers are coming towards the end of their season, and will be training until the first week of September. Any parent that wants their child to try hurling for the last few weeks with a view to playing next year is more than welcome, just contact John Larkin on 086-1076883.

 

Ladies

Given the proliferation of Covid across the county, it was a minor triumph which saw Aodh Ruadh field two adult ladies teams to fulfil simultaneous fixtures. It's a tribute to all the ladies who togged out for both sides. The senior ladies clash with Downings was played in Father Tierney Park. The Aodh Ruadh ladies made the best of their chances in the opening half to go in at the interval with a nine point advantage. They pressed on in the second half against a young Downings side to run out 8-14 to 1-8 victors. It was a fine attacking return, but some of the best displays came in defence, where Saoirse McDevitt, Sara Gallagher and Caitlin McGarrigle let nothing past them. In the middle of the pitch Tanya McPartland, Erin O'Loughlin, Cara O'Loughlin, and Orla Keon gave Ballyshannon a great platform to build from, with McPartland also taking some lovely scores. Up front Cáit Gillespie finished with 3-4 to her credit, while the stylish Donna Martin also contributed handsomely to the final score. Ciara Gillespie bagged a brace with Katie O'Brien also on the mark for the homesters We have a gallery of pictures from the game up on aodhruadh.org.

 

Meanwhile, out in Bundoran's Gaelic Park, the reserve ladies took on the challenge of table toppers Naomh Columba with 13 players pulling on the white and green. The odds were always stacked against the Ernesiders, but they made light of them to produce some nice passages of football. Two early frees from Briana Maher had the sides level, before Meabh Rooney showed great reactions to palm a dropping ball into the net and send Aodh Ruadh into a 1-2 to 0-4 lead. That was as good as it was to get though as Naomh Columba produced a point taking exhibition to ease out into a comfortable lead. That's not to say the Shamettes didn't give as good as they got, with Briana Maher adding a point before showing her killer instinct to smash a 20-metre free to the back of the net. Sarah Daly added a well-constructed point just before the break to leave it 2-4 to 3-12 at half-time. In the second half Aodh Ruadh faced up the slope and into a freshening breeze. With tiring legs, it was a case of keeping the heads up and going to the end, and the girls did that with aplomb. Amanda Mahon took a lovely point, with Briana Maher also adding to her tally in a game where the final scoreline probably didn't do justice to the courage of the Aodh Ruadh performance.

 

The intermediate ladies are down to travel to face Carndonagh next Sunday morning, while the junior side are due to have their outstanding fixtures against MacCumhaill's at some point in the next week.

 

The under 16 final league game against Urris scheduled for Tuesday, 17th August has been postponed and instead the girls will welcome Manorhamilton under 16s for a challenge match in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh throwing in at 6pm. Tomorrow evening will also give the girls the opportunity to have the formal handover of the new under 16 jerseys thanks to the generosity of our sponsor Aaron Coughlin. We are looking forward to seeing a few supporters up at the match to cheer the girls on.

 

It wasn't the way that the under 14s wanted their season to end, but Dungloe couldn't be begrudged their comeback win in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh last week. With the title race effectively decided by the previous week's defeat to Ardara, the meaning was perhaps drained from this game. Nevertheless, Aodh Ruadh did well in the first half, easing into the lead in their accustomed free-scoring fashion. To Dungloe's credit they worked hard to stay with the Ernesiders, and by the break it was Aodh Ruadh 7-1 Dungloe 4-3. In the second half though, Aodh Ruadh lost their way and support runs stopped happening. Dungloe continued to pick off scores while the homesters increasingly struggled to trouble the opposition defence. In the end the visitors ran out handy winners. Cádhla Dolan top scored once again for Aodh Ruadh and can look back on her season with considerable satisfaction. Her partner in crime, Niamh Duffy also took a lovely goal. There were scores for the hard-working Orlaith Gallagher, while Lauren Foy bagged a great goal when shifted to full forward. Emily McNamee was unlucky not to finish with a score after a lot of good work. In the defence Megan Murphy has really established herself at number three and there can't be many better than her in that position in the county. Further out the pitch Andrea Moore, Jessica O'Mahoney and Ciara Larkin all worked hard and deserved more from the game. Perhaps it was fitting that the team's last score of the season was taken by Ellie Brennan, a great worker at training and great prospect for the future. We have a gallery of pictures from the game up on aodhruadh.org. The management would like to thank players for their efforts from we gathered before Christmas last year and also the parents and guardians for all their support through the year.

 

The under 12 girls were away to Saint Naul's last Wednesday evening for what was a very entertaining tie. The match ended in a draw after a game which ebbed and flowed. Aodh Ruadh had the better of the exchanges in first quarter with Saint Naul's stronger in second quarter. The Ballyshannon girls were ahead by a point after the second water break and pressed ahead only for Saint Naul's to finish strongly and claim a share of the spoils. The girls have no game this week with training on Wednesday from 6pm to 7pm.  

   

Under 10 training continues as usual on Tuesday at 6.15pm at Coláiste Cholmcille.

 

Work progressing in Father Tierney Park 

XXX.

 

Sponsor A Sod    

To fund the development at Father Tierney Park, Aodh Ruadh have launched one of their biggest fund-raising efforts in decades, asking the public to ‘Sponsor A Sod’ at €50 each to help meet the costs of this ambitious plan. A permanent display bearing the names of donors will be erected in a prominent position at the Park.

Our Working Group members are out and about promoting our Buy a Sod campaign Any club member who can help to promote this should contact any member of this Group or any of the Park / Development Committee Officers for brochures and vouchers. Likewise if you would like to become part of the Working Group to act as a key seller. There is a lot of interest locally and further afield in seeing the Father Tierney Park project succeed. Thanks to all who have supported the campaign so far.

More than 25 Aodh Ruadh club members have joined the working group to actively promote this fund-raising campaign and to sell sods. The working group is as follows: Sabrina Brosnan, Michael Daly, Sarah Daly, Tom Daly, William Doogan, Gerard Ferguson, Conal Gallagher, Johnny ‘Mannix’ Gallagher, Paul Gillespie, Jim Kane, Donagh Keon, Diarmaid Keon, Patsy Kilgannon, John Larkin Jr, Dinny Loughlin, Sylvester Maguire, Brian Murray, Val Murray, Mick McGrath, Packie McGrath, Pat McGrath, David McLoone, Philip McLoone, Pauric McShea, David O’Donnell, Sean O’Mahoney, Barry O’Neill, John Patton and Gregory Sweeney. Those promoting this fund-raiser can make any returns they have at Sunday's games in Páirc Aoidh Ruaidh. See David McLoone, Michael Daly or Tom Daly.  

Please contact any of the following if you wish to volunteer: Tom Daly (087-2390410), David McLoone (087-7760172), Philip McLoone (086-4053008), Conal Gallagher (086-2112812), Patsy Kilgannon (087-2372128), or Michael Daly (086-9171949).

Those living away from Ballyshannon, whether in Ireland or across the world, should note that they can purchase sods, and little bit of club immortality, on Klubfunder.com. Any questions or enquiries can be sent [email protected].

For further information on any aspect of the Sponsor A Sod please contact the Aodh Ruadh Park / Development Committee officers - Tom Daly (087-2390410), David McLoone (087-7760172), Philip McLoone (086-4053008), Conal Gallagher (086-2112812), Patsy Kilgannon (087-2372128), or Michael Daly (086-9171949).

  

Boot exchange

Our boot exchange programme is now up and running. Anybody who wants to exchange boots going forward, please text Packie McGrath on 087-9794696.

  

Old hurleys home

A number or parents have kindly donated hurleys and helmets that are no longer in use. If you have any hurls and helmets you would like to see used, please let us know and we will put them back into use.

 

Aodh Ruadh lotto

There was no winner of last week's Aodh Ruadh Lotto jackpot of €2,300. The winning numbers drawn were 1, 2, 8, 11, 12 and 18. In the lucky dip cash prizes of €25 went to Niall Murray and Eamonn and Ann Maguire.Thanks to Conor Kennedy and Brendan Gillespie for performing the draw, and thanks and to all who played the lotto last week. The next draw is for a jackpot of €2,400 on Sunday at 9pm. Tickets are available in Kernan's Spar and Pearse O'Neill's. You can play also play the lotto online. Log onto klubfunder.com and then search for and select Aodh Ruadh Ballyshannon. Users can now avail of the auto-renew option to play the same line every week until they decide to stop when they pay using Stripe. Give it a go, you never know!

    

The lotto team for McCosker’s Centra on Saturday is: RESERVE FOOTBALLERS.

 

 

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