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All Ireland Cultural Winners
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Scór Sinsear |
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1977 |
Novelty Act |
Mary McGinn, Ann Quinn, Eileen
Hamill |
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Scór
na nÓg |
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1991 |
Set Dance |
Lisa Parr, Andrea Gribben,
Elaine Hillen, Ursula Quinn, Jayme Farrell, Keith Farrell, Kevin og Fitzpatrick, Francis
Quinn |
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1993* |
Set Dance |
Lisa Parr, Andrea Gribben,
Elaine Hillen, Ursula Quinn, Jayme Farrell, Keith Farrell, Kevin og Fitzpatrick, Francis
Quinn |
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1993* |
Ceili Dance |
Lisa Parr, Andrea Gribben,
Elaine Hillen, Ursula Quinn, Caroline McShane, Jayme Farrell, Keith Farrell, Francis Quinn |
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Ceol Caint Agus Damhsa |
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1975 |
Recitation |
Mary McGinn |
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1989 |
Recitation |
Eileen McCusker |
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1992 |
Set Dance |
Elaine Hillen, Andrea Gribben,
Lisa Parr, Ursula Quinn, Jayme Farrell, Keith Farrell, Kevin og Fitzpatrick, Francis Quinn |
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1992 |
Ceili Dance |
Elaine Hillen, Andrea Gribben,
Lisa Parr, Ursula Quinn, Caroline McShane, Jayme Farrell, Keith Farrell, Francis Quinn |
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1993 |
Quiz |
Mary Morgan, Mary Kelly, Marie
Walls |
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1994 |
Set Dance |
Maureen Kearney, Wendy
Farrell, Oonagh Gribben, Sharleen McCaffrey, Seamus Parr, Wayne Farrell, John Cunningham,
Niall Quinn |
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1995 |
Céili Dance |
Eithne Harper, Liza Parr,
Jolene Parr, Laura McShane, Niamh Murphy, Naoimh OHare, Niamh Ptirchard, Ursula
Quinn |
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1996 |
Set Dance |
Liza Parr, Jolene Parr, Laura
McShane, Naoimh OHare, Ursula Quinn, Claire Cunningham, Jayne McPolin, Caroline
Brannigan |
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1997 |
Ceili Dance |
Eithne Harper, Liza Parr,
Jolene Parr, Laura McShane, Niamh Murphy, Naoimh OHare, Caroline Brannigan, Ursula
Quinn |
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1997 |
Quiz |
Mary Morgan, Anita Brannigan,
Marie Walls |
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1997 |
Solo
Singing |
Naimh
O'Hare |
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1998 |
Set Dance |
Wendy Farrell, Sharleen
McCaffrey, Oonagh Gribben, Janine Brannigan, Seamus Parr, Michael Walls, Wayne Farrell,
Niall Quinn |
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Hilltown 10K - Message from Patricia Brown
- one of theOrganisers
On behalf of Shereen,
Billy, Paul and myself, we wish to thank you for your
support in promoting, attending and use of car park and
club for Hilltown 10k and Fun Run on Sunday! As always
very much appreciated! hope you all enjoyed and be back
for more next year! Thank you |
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A great
crowd braved the chilly April day for the fourth
annual 10K and Fun Run. Top Left: Fun
Runners/Walkers get going on the 10K on the
orders of Matt McGinn and Patricia Brown. Top
right Jamie Curran is flanked by John and Connor
Brown. Below left the serious runners get under
way including Assistant Treasurer Paudie
Matthews (no 30) and Sean McGreevy (black top
behind Paudie) and on the bottom right Eileen
McCusker and Secretary Anita Brannigan
eventually make it home in last place along with
camera-shy Assistant Secretary Marie Milligan.
But it wasn't about the prizes they were going
to receive! (Photos Jimmie Cousins - see our Facebook page for originals) |
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Cultural/Historical
Visit to Dublin - Easter 2013

A group of 30, including 11
children left Clonduff Clubrooms on Wednesday 3rd April
for a visit to 'Our Spiritual Headquarters' Croke Park,
which was a first some some of the young people and a
first tour for some of the not so young! The guide, Cian
Keane entertained us for two hours with informative and
hilarious stories. The group is pictured above in the
VIP area of the Hogan Stand. This is a trip that
everyone of us should undertake sooner rather than
later! See our facebook page for an album of photos.
Following a light lunch the
group then proceeded to Glasnevin Cemetery and Museum.
The first port of call was Daniel O'Connell's crypt and
then on to O'Donovan Rossa's grave where an actor gave a
marvellous performance of Padraig Pearse's graveside
oration at O'Donovan Rossa's burial in 1915 ". . . but
the fools, the fools, the fools! — they have left us our
Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves,
Ireland unfree shall never be at peace". It was then on
to the most visited grave in the cemetery - Michael
Collins' before moving into the new museum to view the
interactive presentations and timelines as well as the
history of burials and the cemetery itself. This too, is
a landmark where one could spend many hours absorbing
the history of the country from its opening in 1832.
Following a welcome cuppa in the new cafe we embarked on
the return journey to Hilltown where the day was
completed with an evening meal in our own local
historical landmark - The Downshire Arms. |
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The Easter Bunny Has Been
Rescued

Despite the snow covering
the mountains in the background, the sky was blue, the
sun shone and there was a definite buzz in the air in
Clonduff Park at midday on Easter Tuesday (2nd April
2013) when around 120 youngsters and their adults turned
up to help free the Easter Bunny that had been kidnapped
some time in the week before Easter.
They followed the trail
picking up clues and Easter Eggs along the way, spotted
and captured the kidnapper and freed the bunny! Back in
the clubrooms again there was a welcome cup of
tea/coffee, face painting (Thanks Maureen, Karen, Ciara
and Lisa), colouring in, Easter Bonnet Parade and
distribution of prizes. Every child and adult received
an Easter Egg and by all accounts a magnificent time was
had by all! Hopefully this will be the first of many
such events!
A major Thank You to the
Cultural and Community sub committee of Clonduff GAA
Club who organised the event; to Maria, Plunkett,
Thomas, Charlie, Leo, Sean, Kathleen and other club
personnel (and their family members) who helped in any
way on Easter Monday or Tuesday - it wouldn't have
happened without this combined effort! |
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GAA NATIONAL
CONGRESS
Niamh Murray was
Down's Youth Representative at National Congress on w/e 22nd, 23rd March 2013 in
The Dome, Derry. Here are a couple of photos and her personal account of the
event - photo on left is the platform
party and the right is the Dessert served at Saturday night's Banquet |
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NM: "Last weekend I
was at GAA Congress in Derry, this was an
experience I enjoyed very much. On Friday
evening after workshops and reports, Joe Brolly
spoke to us, very movingly about organ donation
– it was felt that this is something the GAA are
going to support. The National Youth Committee
also spoke on Friday evening, it was good to see
that young people are being listened to. All the
motions were put through on Saturday, I thought
these would have caused more controversy
particularly surrounding the black card, but
this was not the case. On Saturday we were also
addressed by President Michael D Higgins as well
as Liam O’Neill. Congress concluded on Saturday
evening, followed by Mass then a banquet where
Phil Coulter entertained us. This was a great
experience and aside from the formalities of
Congress there was great craic as well and it
was brilliant to meet people from all over
Ireland and further a-field." |
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St Colman's U14 Athletic
Team are All Ireland Cross Country Champions!

Congratulations to St
Colman's College U14 Cross Country team, and in
particular our own Darren Quinn (with cup) who the All
Ireland Cross Country Team title held in UUJ on Saturday
8th March 2013. Darren, a member of our U14 Football
team is the son of Artie and Mary Lou. |
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Clonduff's Karaoke
'Treadathon'
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What a great event
the Karaoke Treadathon turned out to be! This novel
fundraising idea brought the young and not so young
members of Clonduff GAA Club together with the common
goal of raising funds for the newly refurbished
clubrooms. The younger members got proceedings under way
at 4pm on Friday 15th March 2013 and the not so young
brought it to a conclusion somewhere around 4am on
Saturday 16th March.
There were five
treadmills on the go (with one in reserve) and each
participant was allotted a 20 min slot - the treadmills
were all donated for the event and to those people who
did so we say a big 'thank you'. The Juvenile session
ended at 8pm when the Club Chairman, Brendan Murray got
things under way for the adults. The craic and banter
was mighty and those brave and/or fit enough gave some
'amazing' performances at the Karaoke whilst doing their
run, walk or crawl.
We owe a great
debt of gratitude to the Friends of Clonduff and
especially the organisers Orla, Carol and Martin and
also to the Bar and Social Club staff who kept the
refreshments, burgers and chips in constant supply.
A big ‘thank you’
to those who donated prizes for the raffle/auction –
Macs Bar (Wine), Spar Hilltown (Large Easter Egg), Edel Lennon (Beauty Voucher), Diamonds
Restaurant (Meal Voucher), Lorraine Bloomfield (His &
Hers Bathrobe set), Rory Maginn (Bottle Jameson), Orla
Maginn (St Patrick’s Day edition Down Jersey), Paul
McShane (Signed Down Jersey for auction [bought by
Miceál Crilly], and Best Dressed [118 118 – Orla
Gribben, Therese McStay, Jackie Gilmore])
A great
night/early morning was had by all, even the bank
manager!
Check out the many photos on the Clonduff FaceBook Page |
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Great night for Clonduff
in the South Down Scór Sinsir Finals - three acts
made it this far and all three collected the South Down
titles - Ceili Dance team (Janine
Branagan, Ellen Murphy, Niamh Canning, Lisa Gribben,
Caroline McGreevy, Joeleen Morgan, Ursula Quinn, Wendy Branagan),
Instrumental Music (Stephen and Sean Murray with Paul
Kelly) and the Set Dancing team (Ursula Quinn, Francis
Quinn, Joleen Morgan, Wayne Farrell,
Janine Branagan, Niall Quinn, Wendy Branagan,
Jayme Farrell). Well done everybody and
Good Luck in the County Final next Sunday in St
Malachy's High School, Castlewellan - commencing at 4pm. |
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South Down
Ceili Dance Champions 2013 |
South Down
Instrumental Mucic Champions 2013 |
South Down
Set Dance Champions 2013 |
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SCÓR SINSIR 2013
Almost flawless performances by
Clonduff Ceili and Set Dancers and the Murray
Boys in Instrumental Music saw them emerge
winners in their respective competitions in the
second South Down Scór Sinsir Semi Final on
Friday 8th February in Mayobridge. This was one
of the best and most keenly contested rounds in
Scór Sinsir for many years. These three acts
will represent Clonduff GAA Club in the South
Down Final on Sunday 17th February in Saval at
5pm. Clonduff Club also competed in Solo
Singing, Recitation and Quiz and to all who
represented Our Club in Mayobridge we say
'Thank You - you did us proud'!
On the right is Stephen and Sean Murray - Sean's
first Scór Sinsir
Below left Our Solo Singer Christina McConville
Below right Recitation Competitor Ciara Kelly |
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Below
(left) is
the Ceili Dance team: Janine Branagan, Ellen
Murphy (l), Niamh Canning (obscured), Lisa
Gribben (b), Caroline McGreevy (obscured), Joleen Morgan (r), Ursula Quinn, Wendy Branagan
(f) |
Below
(right) is The Set Dance team (l to r) Ursula Quinn,
Francis Quinn, Joleen Morgan, Wayne Farrell,
Janine Branagan, Niall Quinn, Wendy Branagan,
Jayme Farrell |
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Thanks also to our new Cultural and Community Officer,
Jimmie Cousins who organised the Clonduff competitors.
Jimmie hopes we will have a full complement of
competitors in both Scór na nÓg and Scór Sinsir next
year! Well done to all concerned! Jimmie took the above
photographs |
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Clonduff Club Pool Team
2013

L-R Shane Milligan, Patrick
Morgan, Conor Milligan, Conall Gribben, Caolan McPolin,
Sean Milligan, Janis Drikis |
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The photo above shows the finalist
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Niamh for National
Congress 2013

Congratulations to
Niamh Murray (above) who was elected at the Down County
Convention on Wednesday 12th December 2012 to attend
National Congress as Down U21 Delegate. Niamh is
chairman Brendan's daughter but in her own right she is
a member of Bord na nÓg. Well done Niamh!
Congress will he
held in Derry City in April 2013 in recognition of
Derry's selection as European City of Culture 2013.
Niamh is the
second young Clonduffian to be selected as Youth
Delegate to National Congress - Ciarán McGreevy was the
Down Delegate when National Congress was held in
Newcastle Co Down in 2010. |
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Clonduff
Development Draw Winners - Wednesday 12th December 2012
(12/12/12)
£12000 winner Peter Martin
Fitzpatrick. Seller Dalsey Mooney
£100 Jim Wright seller
Shannon O'Hagan
£100 Grace Lavelle seller
Oliver Morgan
£100 Kieran Morgan seller
Gerard Morgan
£100 Lucy Kearney seller
Carol Magee
£100 Sam & Louie Brannigan
seller Paudie Matthews
Left -
Young Evie Lyness-Feenan draws out Peter martin's
winning draw ticket.
Below The
Super 12 Winner Peter Martin Fitzpatrick (centre)
receiving his £12,000 cheque from draw co-ordinators
Mary McGreevy, Marie Walls, Niall Rafferty and Roisin
McConville.
Dalsey Mooney was the seller of the winning ticket. |
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South Down Awards 2012 -
The last photo of Jerry Quinn RIP

It was a great night for
the Gaels of Clonduff at the Annual South Down Awards on
Friday 30th November in Mayobridge Social Club when the
Guest of Honour was Tyrone Legend Mickey Harte. Some of
the Clonduff contingent and Award winners are pictured
above with the Man Himself.
The night began with a
traditional music group comprising the Murray Family
(Clonduff) - Sean, Mary Catherine and Eoin - and a group
from Mayobridge including their Uncle and cousins -
Peter, Eimear and Cathal.
The winners included:
Gerard (or as we know him Ben) Brennan (Juvenile
Referee); Arthur McConville (Player of the Year);
Clonduff GAA Club (Chairman's Award); Sara Louise Carr
(Recognition of her Soaring Star Award), Sean McNally
(Recognition of his All Ireland Handball Silver Masters
title) and the big one of the night - Hall of Fame to
Fintan Mussen.
In the traditional
'envelope collection' for Charity the proceeds were
divided between the Michaela Foundation and the Ryan
Doyle Repatriation Fund.
Full list of winners:
Adult Referee of the Year – Kieran Trainor (Longstone), Neil Cousins (An
Riocht), Ronan Barry (Tullylish)
Juvenile Referee of the Year – Paul Faloon (Saval), Kieran Mooney
(Rostrevor), Gerard Brennan (Clonduff)
Player of the Year – Ryan Kelly (Longstone), Arthur McConville
(Clonduff), Mark Poland (Longstone)
Club of the Year – Cumann Pheadar Naofa Warrenpoint
Chairman’s Awards – St John Bosco, Rostrevor, Clonduff
All Ireland Handball Winners – Sean McNally, Lorraine Havern, Stephen
Digney, Pat Havern, Brian Havern
Down Minor C All Ireland Camogie Winners – accepted by Niamh Mallon
(Capt), Paul Boyle (Manager)
Camogie Soaring Star Winners – Sara Louise Carr, Karen Tinnelly
Special Award for Services to Scór – Paula Magee
Hall of Fame – Fintan Mussen (Clonduff)
(Click
here for more Photos or check out our Facebook
page) |
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125 Presentation to Make
a Wish Foundation

On Tuesday afternoon 27th
November 2012 Gail McKee, Fundraising Manager, Make a
Wish Foundation visited Clonduff Clubrooms to collect a
cheque for £1,000 - a share of the proceeds from the
'Table Draw' at the 125 Banquet on Sunday 4th November.
Pictured at the presentation are:
(L to R) Noreen Tumilty,
Jerry Quinn, Gail McKee, Sheenagh McConville, Brendan Murray, Marie
Milligan, Connor Donnan
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South Down Scór na nÓg
2013 Finals
What a wonderful
South Down Scór na nÓg Final
in St Mark's High School on Sunday evening, 18th
November 2012! Whilst Clonduff didn't
win any titles - perhaps they should have but they got
three
runners up places and a further automatic place and will be in the County Final on
Sunday 25th November in Abbey CBS @ 4pm. On stage will
be our Instrumental
Music, Ballad Group, Set Dancers and Quiz team.
Well done
everybody and all the best in your respective County
Finals on Sunday! |
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Clonduff Ballad
Group - Back Row: Noel Mussen (Chair SD Scór),
Anne Kelly, Ciara Tumilty, Bernice McAleenan,
Ellen Kelly, Mary Catherine Murray; Front row:
The Downey Sisters - Mayobridge Ballad Group and
Anita Brannigan (Secretary SD Scór) |
Clonduff
Instrumental Music Group - Back row: Gerard
Keenan (SD Scór) Anne Kelly, Thomas Kelly,
Bernice McAleenan, Mary Catherine Murray, Kevin
McElroy; Front row: Michael McArdle (South Down
Chair), Ballyholland Musicians and Noel Mussen |
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Juvenile Set Dancing Team: -
Laura Mackin, Clare
McAlinden, Clare McGilligan, Emma McAlinden,
Jenna Boden, Nicola Ward, Katie McGilligan,
Meghan Kelly |
Clonduff Football
Quiz team with South Down members: Back row: Anita Brannigan, Conor
Milligan, Mark Devlin, Shane Milligan, Noel Mussen; Front row: Glenn Quiz team |
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Clonduff GAA Club's
Visit to Stormont

13 Clonduff
members took up the invite from local MLA Karen McKevitt
to visit Stormont in recognition of their achievements.
Back row: Fintan Mussen, Leo Lowry, Collie Rodgers,
Anita Brannigan, Noreen Tumilty, Brendan Murray. Front
row: Tommy Kelly, Jerry Quinn, Maura Quinn, Marie
Milligan, Mary Murray, Eileen McCusker, Connor Donnan -
a very enjoyable trip it was!
Click here to view some more photos! |
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125 Tree Planting -
Clonduff Park 2012

What a morning Saturday
10th November 2012 was! So many children and their
parents turned up at 10am for the opportunity to plant a
tree on the bank on the road side of the new pitch they
were all planted by 10.50am! This batch of trees came
courtesy of The Woodland Trust and whilst it was a
one-off the Club is hoping to purchase additional trees
and shrubs to cover the steep bank below the new field
in the very near future.
Following the planting the
children and their parent were treated to a welcome cup
of tea/coffee for adults and soft drink and crisps for
the children. Dermot O'Hagan, the organiser then
presented each child with a certificate and Children's
Officer Teresa Carr presented them with the special 125
Commemorative Medal.
Thanks to everyone who
turned up to make this a memorable morning for the
children! What a wonderful way to end a wonderful week
in the history of this illustrious club.
Click here to view a slideshow of Jerry Quinn's & Jimmie
Cousins' Photos
Click here to view a slideshow of Anita's Photos |
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Celebrating 125 Years of
the GAA in Clonduff
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Above - Proud Clonduffians
who participated in the special Celebratory Mass in St
John the Evangelist Church, Ballymaghery, to kick-start
what turned out to be a wondrous day of celebration.
Words are hard to find to describe it - but here goes!
At INF Hall the 400 guests
were greeted with a Mulled Wine/Soft Drinks reception
and a group of local musicians playing traditional
music. Formal proceedings got under way about 3.30pm in
the capable hand of Fear na Tí Francis Quinn and Fintan
Mussen. Each of the seven courses of the Banquet were
led out by one of 'our sporting greats' - local
men and women wearing appropriate face masks and stopped
along the way to shake the hand of the real man/woman
whose mask they were wearing. The courses were
interspersed with 15-20 min slots of facts and an awful
lot of humour, as well as video clips from our emigrants
in San Francisco, Chicago, Melbourne, Sydney and London
and live Skype link-ups to Paddy 'Badger' Brown and
Eugene 'Darner' O'Hagan in New York and Sean Spiers in
San Francisco. What a feat!By the end of the evening
over 1,700 people were following the live streaming via
www.panthersolutionstoday.com |
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Above - some of the Guests
on the day - the inspirational Joe McDonagh former
President of the GAA with Mary and Brendan Murray (Mr
and Mrs Chairman), County Chairperson Seamus Walsh and
Club President Dean Anthony Davies.
Other invited guests
included Mr and Mrs Paraíc Duffy (Director General Croke
Park), Mr and Mrs Aogán Ó Fearghaill (President Ulster Council), Paddy McFlynn (Iar-Uacharan,
CLG and Down President), Sean Óg McAteer (Secretary Down
Co Board), Deirdre McGrath and Francie (Chairperson Down
Camogie), Paul Kelly Chairperson Down Ladies Football),
Mr and Mrs Michael McArdle (Chairperson South Down
Board), Sean McNally (Chairperson Down Handball), Lord
Mayor John and Mrs McArdle (Newry and Mourne District
Council), O'Hagan Family and Guests Claregalway, Fr
Jarlath Cushenan (Clonduff PP), Fr Feidlimidh Magennis,
Fr P J Murray, Canon Francis Brown, Canon Frank Kearney,
Msgr Patsy McAleenan (unfortunately unable to attend
through illness - we wish him well), Kathleen
Cousins and Jimmie (Principal St Patrick's PS), Vincent
Devlin and Maura (Principal St Paul's PS), Gerard Devlin
and Gabrielle (Chief Ranger John O'Neill INF Hilltown)
Click here to view a slideshow of photos by
Jerry Quinn and Jimmie Cousins - more to come!
Click here for Jerry Quinn Vol 2 Photos.
Hundreds of photos and
comments on our Facebook Page - clonduffgac |
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Clonduff GAA Club's
Individual Award Winners 2012 - the 125 Year!
The Annual Awards were
presented during the 125 Banquet on Sunday 4th November
2012:
Senior Footballer of the
Year - Peter McGinn & Sons Trophy presented by Aogán Ó
Feargaill - recipient Paul Lively
Seconds Player of the Year
- Bradley Family Trophy presented by Aogán Ó Feargaill -
recipient Connor Grant
Thirds Player of the Year -
Horseshoe Bar Trophy presented by Aogán Ó Feargaill -
recipient Declan Gribben
Minor Footballer of the
Year - Brown Bros Trophy presented by Aogán Ó Feargaill
- recipient Connor Brown
Senior Hurler of the Year -
James Matthews Trophy presented by Seamus Walsh -
recipient Shane Murray
Minor Hurler of the Year -
presented by Seamus Walsh - recipient Rián Branagan
Senior Ladies Footballer of
the Year - INF Trophy presented by Seamus Walsh -
recipient Jackie Gilmore
Senior Camogie Player of
the Year - presented by Seamus Walsh - recipient Debra
Murray
Junior Camogie Player of
the Year - presented by Seamus Walsh - recipient Nicola
O'Hagan
Special Presentation to
Sara Louise Carr in recognition of her Camogie All Star
Award
Club Person of the Year -
Hugh McShane Trophy presented by Gerard McShane -
recipient Anita Brannigan
Hall of Fame - P J
McAlinden Trophy presented by Bronagh McAlinden -
recipient Fintan Mussen and Jerry Quinn (jointly) |
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Juvenile Set Dancing
Classes in Clonduff Clubrooms

There is a thriving
Juvenile Set Dancing Class (photos above and below)
running every Wednesday Night in Clonduff Clubrooms It
started out in September with the girls participating in
Scór na nÓg and has now mushroomed to three full sets
every week. Joe Farrell takes the class ably assisted by
Ursula Quinn, Wendy Branagan and Sean Hillen. Well done
to all concerned! |
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Getting Ready for 125
Day!

Club Chairman Brendan
Murray is getting a 'hand' with his 'Special Ediition
Clonduff Tie' from 125 committee member Orla
Maginn, meanwhile Connor Donnan and Sarah
Bloomfield fight over the
last
ticket available.
Tickets are all gone!
Clonduff Ties are on sale
in the shops, and each of the man attending the event is
encouraged to wear the club tie!
Why Not?
With only a few days left
until the 125 Banquet, final preparations are underway
to celebrate Clonduff's 125th Birthday! It all happens
on Sunday 4th November - the first recorded match
involving a Clonduff team took place on 5th November
1887! The day will begin with a
special MASS
at 1pm in St John the Evangelist Church, Ballymaghery
and everyone is welcome to come along.
This is followed IMMEDIATELY
by DRINKS RECEPTION
at 2.30 pm and THE BANQUET
beginning promptly at 3 pm.
Tickets for the Banquet
SOLD OUT a few weeks ago, so for those lucky enough to
get one of the 'GOLDEN' tickets for the event, a great
day's entertainment is guaranteed.
The Reception in the
INF Hall will begin at 2:30pm sharp, and we ask that
everyone go directly
from Mass to the INF Hall as the live streaming of the
event means we have a very tight schedule.
We are encouraging all
the gentlemen attending to wear the special edition
Clonduff Tie,
and you can buy the tie in local shops.
There will be a
photographer in the INF Hall to take
professional photos
of this spectacular one-off occasion, so if its a photo
of everyone at your table or a romantic snapshot - be
sure capture the moment.
Meanwhile get those
yellow flags up around the Parish"
Happy 125th
Birthday Clonduff - Its going to be a great party!! |
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Around
the World Programme in Clonduff Youth Club

Pictured above is
the group
of young Clonduffians who are taking part in our
Around the World Programme in Clonduff Youth
Club (Autumn 2012). Left to right: Charlie Carr,
Peter McAleavey, Niall O'Hagan, Charlie Carr,
Sinead Doyle, Elizabeth Wilson, Katie
McGilligan, Clare McGilligan and Chinese Culture
facilitator Paul Yam from the Wah Hep Chinese
Association. Youth Club Organiser Marian
Fitzpatrick is 'hiding' behind Katie. All of
these young people can be found on the playing
fields of Clonduff GAA Club at other times of
the Year. |
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Lorraine
and Leo are Silver Jublinarians!
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Heartiest congratulations to our Social
Club Officer, Lorraine Bloomfield and
hubby Leo who celebrated their Silver
Wedding Anniversary at the weekend
(Saturday 6th October) at a surprise
party in Clonduff GAA Clubrooms. The
party was organised by their children
Martin and Sarah, ably assisted from
Down Under by their younger son Paul.
Lorraine and Leo are on the right of the
photo on the left with other family
members.
The Clubrooms (above) were tastefully
decorated by Martin, Sarah and their
friend Oonagh Doyle - fit for a right
royal reception! |
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Match for
Michaela

Pictured in
Casement Park on Monday 1st October 2012 at the
Launch of 'Match for Michaela' (All
Ireland Champions Donegal to take on Joe
Kernan's Ulster Select) are (l to r): Clonduff's
Niohmi Murray (one of three inaugural winners of Michaela
Foundation Bursaries), John McAreavey, Joe
Kernan, Aógan Ó Fearraill (Ulster GAA
President), Mickey Harte and Eilis Cassidy
(Foundation Bursarry winner). Niohmi and Eilis
are modelling the new jerseys for the Match. |
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Launch of 125 Banquet
Tickets

Pictured above are some
members of the 125 Sub Committee launching the ticket
for the celebratory banquet to be held on 4th November
2012. Back row (l to r) Connor Donnan, Francis Quinn,
Plunkett McConville, Vincent Devlin, Paul McConville;
Front row (l to r) Brendan Murray, Marie Milligan,
Lorraine Bloomfield and Tommy Kelly. Tickets can be
purchased now and paid for in instalments! Contact any
of the above people (or Sheenagh McConville, Jerry
Quinn, Mark McPolin, James McConville, Anita Brannigan,
Noreen Tumilty)
for further details. |
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Opening of New Pitch and
Switching on the Floodlights!

Sunday 19th August - the
rain stayed away and the crowd turned out in force. It
was a great day! Proceedings got underway at 4pm with the
'Join In' Sports for all - the obstacle race (organised
by Shereen) was very popular as was the improvised
One-wall Handball (Sean McNally), Long Puck (Paul
McCusker) and Football skills (Aidan and Collie). Then
everybody moved up to the new pitch for the mini games -
U8 Football (Clonduff v Kilcoo) refereed by Young Ref
Mark Devlin; U14 Camogie (Clonduff v Kilcoo - though
which was which was hard to tell); U10 Hurling (Clonduff
v Warrenpoint) refereed by Young Ref Martin Rooney; U12
Ladies Football (Clonduff v Rostrevor) refereed by Young
Ref Sarah Bloomfield. These four games were
representative of the 30+ teams fielded in Clonduff were
a great spectacle and a fitting way to open the formal
proceedings!
The formalities began
shortly after 7pm - Jerry Quinn (Clonduff GAA Club PRO)
introduced the Platform Party - Oliver Galligan (Ulster
Council) Seamus Walsh (Down Co Chair), Sean Óg McAteer
(Co Secretary), Michael McArdle (South Down Chair),
Deirdre McGrath (Co Camogie Chair), Paul Kelly (Ladies
Football Co Chair), Mayor John McArdle (Newry & Mourne
District Council), Damien McConville (Sport NI), Fr
Jarlath Cushenan (Clonduff PP), Dean Anthony Davies
(Clonduff GAA President) and Brendan Murray (Clonduff
GAA Club Chair). Jerry also welcomed the visitors from
the other clubs in Down who turned out in numbers as
well as representatives of McAvoy Construction who had
'created' the new pitch and Mr and Mrs Brendan O'Hagan,
Claregalway (Brendan is son of the late Great Patsy
O'Hagan) who had travelled up especially for the
occasion.
There were short speeches
by Oliver, Seamus, Michael and Brendan before the
Blessing carried out by Dean Davies and Fr Cushenan. The
Party then moved to the entrance to the field for the
cutting of the tape (Oliver and Seamus) before returning
to the platform where Damien performed the 'Switching
On' ceremony.
The 'main event' then got
under way with the Ross Carr Select taking on the
Clonduff Senior Football team under the scrutiny of
Clonduff's inter-county referee Ciarán Branagan. Whilst
the official result was a draw (a bit suspect perhaps)
the result, like in the mini games was unimportant - the
players had a lot of fun and the spectators were treated
to a 'now and then' spectacle. Mickey Linden, DJ Kane,
Tony McEntee, Ross, Cathal, Peter Withnell among others
still can show the 'youngsters' how it's done! Johnny
McAleavey in goals, Plunkett and John Morgan in Midfield
wouldn't go amiss in any Clonduff team but the highlight
of the day had to be Martin Farnon (current Senior
Football Selector and a member of the 1980 Clonduff
Championship winning team) taking to the field! No doubt
a sight to behold!
Refreshments for all were
served in the clubrooms and the 'Early Bird' draw in the
'Friends of Clonduff' draw took place and this was won
by Ciarán Cranny of Newry who bought his ticket from
Roisin McConville who to date has sold over 200 tickets.
(The next draw will take place at the 125 Banquet on 4th
November before the major draw on 12/12/12).
Clonduff GAA Club sincerely
thanks all those, past and present, who played a part in
the day's proceedings, all those who helped in the
organisation, all those who attended and all those who
sold tickets for the draw! Roll on the 125 Banquet which
takes place on 4th November! See you all there!
The Platform Party at the
cutting of the tape are: (l to r) Fr J Cushenan PP,
Michael McArdle, Dean A Davies, Seamus Walsh, Brendan
Murray, Mayor John McArdle, Oliver Galligan, Sean Óg
McAteer, Damien McConville and Jerry Quinn.
Click here to view a slideshow of Anita's Photos
- other to follow! |
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Kellogs
GAA Cúl Camp in Clonduff Park 2012

Clonduff once
again hosted a very successful Cúl Camp (this year
sponsored by Kellogs) for 4-13 year old boys and girls.
The 4-7 year olds attend the Nursery Camp some of whom
are pictured (above) going through their paces with
Clonduff's Onagh Gribben. There were in excess of 50
children in the Nursery section which ran from 10 am to
12-30. The older children attended from 10 am to 2.30
pm.
The youngsters can
participate in Football, Ladies Football, Hurling and
Camogie.
For once the camp
was blessed with a great week of weather with not one
spot of rain!
Four of the
coaches were from Clonduff GAA Club - Onagh, Niohmi
Murray, Sarah Bloomfield and Orla Gribben which was
co-ordinated by Clonduff's Children's Officer Teresa
Carr and the head coach was Gareth Thornton (a former
coach with Clonduff Senior Football team)
Click here to view a slideshow of photos on Snapfish - you need
to log in but it's free! |
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Down Memory Lane
by Jacqueline Rooney!

These lovely 'lasses' took
part in an early Boley Fair match. The photo came to us
from Jacqueline Savage's Facebook page via Helena Grant.
Mo Brown says he has reason to know the year was 1987!
Helena says the team is:
Back row (l to r)
Marty Woods, Peter
Hamill, Tony Brannigan (home on holidays from
Australia), Martin Farnon, Paddy Brown, Paddy Oliver
McConville, Maurice Brown; Middle row: Vincent
Devlin, Eamonn McCusker, Brian McGreevy, Johnny
McCumiskey, Andrew Carr, Cathal Murray, Aidan Brown; Front row: Hugh
Grant, Thomas Murnin, Louis Brown, Thomas Brown - help
us out with the names of the two boys with their heads
down.
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Anticipation on Bondi
Beach, Sydney - Sunday 22nd July 2012

This group of mainly
Clonduff ex pats on Bondi Beach prior to heading off to
watch the Ulster Final - Back row: Seamus Parr, Ruairi
Cousins, Kieran Loughlin (Kilcoo), Kevin Parr, Peter
Heatley (Warrenpoint), Eoin Murphy; Front row: Noleen
Quinn (Castlewellan), Fionnbharr Murphy, Colin Brannigan
- Seamus, Kevin and Colin (with significant others) flew
from Melbourne to Sydney on Saturday and upwards on 20
local young people of this agre-group met up on Saturday
night for pre-match craic! |
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Clonduff GAA Club and The Boley Fair 2012
Poc Fada
on The Hen Mountain
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Traditionally on Boley Fair Monday Clonduff GAA
Club organises the Poc Fada on the Hen Mountain
The weather bad been drizzly in the morning but
by the time Poc Off came around the weather had
improved dramatically (picture above) and most
of those completing the course finished in
t-shirts. There were twelve adults and four
juveniles slogging it around the mountain and
quite a number of supporters completed the
course including six-year-old Grace and
four-year-old Martín McCusker from San Francisco
who accompanied their Daddy who was competing
for the first time. Moya and Orla Maginn were
the only adult females whilst Cassie Fitzpatrick
was the only juvenile female. The youngest
competitor was ten-year-old Padraig Clancy. By
the time they got back to base Rhys Ward had won
the juvenile section for the second year in a
row and Cassie was awarded the juvenile female
prize. What a different story with the adults -
the Maginn sisters couldn't be separated (Orla
was going for her third title in a row) and
neither could Eddie Clancy and John Murphy (also
going for his third in a row). The hard slog
around the mountain was reduced to one long puck
each - Orla and John both successfully retained
their titles - come on folks let's give them
stiffer competition next year!
Later in
the evening, in glorious sunshine the Parish
Sevens was a close fought, entertaining game
between the Clonduff Sarsfields and Clonduff Red
Hands (names aptly chosen by organiser Paul
Kelly representing former names of Clonduff
teams from the early 20th Century). The
Sarsfields, captained by Nigel McPolin were the
eventual winners. The Red Hands were captained
by Connor Maginn and P J McGreevy was in charge
of the whistle.
Presentations were made in the clubrooms to
members of both teams as follows: Red Hands
(below left) Back row - John Boden, Eddie
Clancy, Connor Maginn, Rory Matthews, (front)
Paul McShane, Kieran Kelly, Connor Donnan
(Missing Collie Magee); The Sarsfields (below
right)- Gavin McCann, Paul Kelly, Nigel McPolin,
Tony Wilson (with son), Gerard McNeill (back),
Shay Fitzpatrick, Paddy Green (back), Eamonn
McCusker.
Well done
everybody for a great Boley Monday!
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Parish
Sevens |
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Clonduff's 125 Boley Parade
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On Sunday
8th July, Clonduff GAA Club were given pride of
place in the Boley Fair Parade to mark their
125th year of playing Gaelic Football. The heavy
rain in mid-morning had disappeared before all
the GAA Club members had left the top car
park. Those taking part represented all the
field sports, handball, Scór from U6 right up to
Social Footballers and they reached Hilltown
Square without a spot of rain!
About to
lead off the parade with the new banner (created
by Kieran Tumilty)are Senior Footballers Ruairi
Lively and Finbarr McConville (above)followed by
the 'Clonduffmobile' (below left) lovingly
created by Tommy Kelly and Peter Hamill (Tommy
drove the tractor). Below right Kieran Kelly
marshals the U6s followed by active members of
increasing age ranges in all sports. |
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Big Boley Breakfast 2012

The 'Big
Breakfast' has become a feature in Clonduff Clubrooms on
occasional Sunday morning. This excellent fund-raising
idea was the brainchild of Clonduff Camogs several years
ago and the Camogs are still the driving force behind
its success. On Boley Fair Sunday, 8th July, the ladies
were again to the forefront but midway through the
morning the Senior Footballers, their managers and some
Senior Ladies Footballers stepped in to lend a
hand - and how well they did it! They coped so well they
will be allowed to do it again! Pictured above are (l to
r) Paul Lively, Kieran Trainor, Paul McPolin and Shane
McGreevy. |
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Boley Family Fun Quiz
2012
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Gaeltacht Scholarship for Emma Gallagher

Congratulations to 13-year-old Emma
Gallagher who received a Gaeltacht Scholarship from Down Co Cultural and
Language Committee on Saturday 9th June. Emma, centre above is pictured with Co
Cultural/Language Officer Paula Magee, Co Chairperson Seamus Walsh and Sean
Ennis (Down Senior Hurler and former Gaeltacht student). Emma is a
member of the Clonduff U14 Camogie team, U16 Ladies Football team and is a
juvenile Scór na nÓg dancer in both Ceili and Sets. Well done Emma!
Parents are reminded that Clonduff
distributes small bursaries to juvenile members who will be attending Gaeltacht.
Put a note in writing to secretary stating child's name, dob and team he/she
plays for.
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Launch of Five-year Plan
A great turnout of Clonduff Gaels in the
clubrooms on Wednesday 16th May for the presentation of the very ambitious plan
covering the next five years. The plan embraces all aspects and all codes and
identified the following areas as key to the success of the plan:
Coaching and Games Development
Administration
Public Relations, Communications and
Culture
Physical Development
Finance and Fundraising
Community Enhancement
The vision of the plan is to make a great
club the best it can possibly be in all areas!

The plan was co-ordinated and presented by Dermot
O'Hagan (above centre) - his father, Paddy (extreme left above) - one of only two
Clonduff men ever to have won eight Senior
County Championships medals (the other being the late Henry Brown, RIP) -
attended the launch. Also included in photo above is Club President Dean A
Davies (2nd from left), Sean Óg McAteer (Down Co Secretary) and Club Chairperson
Brendan Murray.
The attendees were given the opportunity
to discuss the plan and were then treated to light refreshments.
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125 Trip to Claregalway (Saturday 31st
March-Sunday 1st April 2012)
As
part of the ongoing celebrations to mark
the 125th Anniversary of the Clonduff
GAA Club a party of players and
supporters departed Hilltown at 9am on
Saturday morning - some by bus and some
in cars to Claregalway - the home club
of the late Patsy O'Hagan (RIP) - Patsy
was a founding member of the Football
Club.
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All four field sports were represented
and games for each were organised by the
host club. The Hurlers and the Camogs
played their games on Saturday afternoon
but the visitors lost narrowly in hard
fought games in both codes. Then it was
on to the Galway League game when
Claregalway hosted Moycullen in the
first League game of the year -
Claregalway won by six points.

On
Saturday night the whole contingent was
treated to a great reception - food and
entertainment in The Arches Hotel.
the Clonduff Chairman, Brendan Murray
handed over a magnificent locally
sourced Mourne granite sculpture to mark
the occasion and issued an invite to Claregalway - for a return visit to
Clonduff in 2013. It was instantly
accepted. Brendan is pictured above
exchanging mementos with Claregalway
Officers - Tom Clarke (Chairperson), Tom
Lenihan (President) and John Feeney
(Secretary). (Photo courtesy of
Francis Quinn)
On
Sunday morning the Clonduff contingent
attended Patsy's Anniversary Mass and
visited his grave, where Clonduff
Captain, John Fegan laid a spray of
flowers as a mark of respect to Patsy before heading
off to
the pitch for the the Ladies and Men's
Football matches with their local
counterparts - the Ladies lost but the
men won and received the new Patsy
O'Hagan Memorial Cup. To mark the
occasion, the Claregalway team lined out
in the Down strip, kindly lent by County
Board for the weekend. Patsy's two
grandson's wore the numbers that Patsy
won his two All Irelands in - Danny
Cummins, a current member of the Galway
team wore 14 and Colm O'Hagan wore
5.
Brendan
Murray was a very
proud bearer of the cup from Claregalway
to Clonduff and his first
stop was with 'The Darner' - Patsy's
brother John.
The results over the two days were
unimportant on such a weekend! The
occasion was very special and one that
will live long in the memory of all
those who were privileged to be part of
the inaugural Patsy O'Hagan Weekend - a
very fitting tribute indeed to a great
son of Clonduff!
A
special word of thanks to all those who
travelled but especially to the players
and mentors who were a credit to
themselves, their families and Clonduff
GAA Club!
Lots of photos to come! Below, Brendan
O'Hagan (Patsy's son) presenting the
Patsy O'Hagan Memorial cup to Clonduff
Captain John Fegan (photo courtesy of
Sheenagh McConville).
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Inaugural Michaela Foundation Awards

Congratulations to Niohmi Murray,
(back centre) daughter of our Chairman Brendan who
was
one of the three recipients of the
inaugural Michaela Foundation Awards
valued at £1,000 each in conjunction
with 'The Irish News' to help allay the
costs of Higher Education. The bursaries
were presented on Friday 30th March 2012
at Queens University.
The Michaela Foundation was established
by John McAreavey and the Harte Family
following the murder of Michaela on
Honeymoon in January 2011. They wished
to commemorate and celebrate Michaela’s
life -she was a woman of great faith, who
believed this faith was the reason she
was so happy in her life. She had a love
of the Gaelic language and above else
loved to have fun and enjoy
life.
Michaela was also a keen pioneer and
exhibited her love of life without the
need for alcohol or additives.
The awards were made to the three
students in three disciplines, Irish,
Religious Education and any other
General discipline.
The purpose of the Michaela Foundation
Award is two fold. It provides three
students with some much needed financial
support for college life as well as
providing the wider public a
monthly blog in the format, ”
View from the Student” in terms of the
following areas:
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The practical and emotional challenge of
leaving home for university
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The excitement of starting a new chapter
in their lives
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The challenge of balancing academic work
with social life
Niohmi, a student teacher at Stranmillis College,
was awarded the General Studies
Category and the blogs of the three
recipients will appear monthly in The
Irish News as well as online.
Photo (Irish News, Saturday 31st March
2012) show the three recipients - Eilish
Cassidy (Slaughtneil, Co Derry) received
the Irish Award; Niohmi Murray
(Clonduff, Co Down) and Rosemary
Jeffries (Derry) Religious Studies with
(front) Mickey Harte and John McAreavey.
Great achievement Niohmi - well done!
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St
Patrick's Eve in Clonduff Clubrooms

A
great evening and night's craic took
place in the clubrooms on Friday 16th
March. The evening started with a Senior
Football Challenge match between
Clonduff and Whitecross and both teams
were entertained to great traditional
music and a welcome bowl of Irish stew.
Cora Magee and Paula Higgins and their
students from our weekly traditional
music school got proceedings off to
a lively start and they were later
joined by the Murray Family. Eileen
McCusker accompanied them on the spoons
before regaling us with a couple of
hilarious recitations. Francis Quinn
then gave us an exhibition of the 'Brush
Dance'. Cormac McKay and Neil Francis
O'Hagan joined the party with music and
song; which continued for quite some
time - John Curran's and Noreen
Tumilty's melodic tones were a joy to
behold; Eileen once again was in fine
form with her storytelling and a
rendition of 'Hail Glorious St Patrick'
in which the whole audience joined - the
Chairman, not to be outdone, gave us a great story about
a bodily function much to the disgust of
his daughter! The talent for
entertainment in our Parish knows no
bounds!
The Irish Stew and Green Juice went down
a treat - thanks to Marie (and Sean),
Noreen and Lorraine for making the stew
and to Bobby McGowan and Patrick Morgan for donating the potatoes
for the stew! Thanks also to those who
donated prizes for the raffle. A great
night was had by all and there was a
request to hold another night like it in
the not too distant future! |
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John Boden Just Wants to Dance

Congratulations to John Boden (above) one of Clonduff's newest committee
members and his dance partner Siobhan
Morgan who won Bryansford's 'Want to
Dance' with Siobhan dancing as 'The
Outlaws'. John, a native of Bryansford
turned out for his
native club and was declared winner on
the night! Well done John1 Can Clonduff
find someone to better John in the Grand
Finale? Come on you Yellas! |
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VOTE FOR ETHAN

The Gaelic
Life newspaper is currently
running a Kiddie
GAA competition with £1,350
worth of prizes on offer .....including a set of jerseys for an
underage CLONDUFF team!!
Ethan
McConville has been shortlisted!!
Can we ask that all Clonduff
followers vote for Ethan online (Facebook or Gaelic Life Webpage) or
by cutting out the coupon in THIS week's edition (THURSDAY 15TH
MARCH 2012) and returning it by post.

VOTE FOR ETHAN!!
VOTE FOR
ETHAN!! VOTE FOR ETHAN!!
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Clonduff
Set Dancers retain County Championship
Title 2012

Congratulations to our Set Dancers,
pictured above
who retained their County title in Abbey
Grammar School Newry on Sunday night
(25th February 2012). The Dancers with
Co Chairman Seamus Walsh (back left) and
Fear an Ti James White (back right)
are standing (l to r) Francis Quinn,
Jayme Farrell, Niall Quinn, Joe Farrell;
seated (l to r) Wendy Branagan, Ursula
Quinn, Lisa Gribben, Janine Branagan,
Thanks to the
Ceili team of Wendy, Ursula, Lisa,
Janine, Orla Gribben, Kerrie
O'Hagan, Niamh and Ellen Murphy, and the
Quiz team of Brian Canavan, Paul Shields
and Anita Brannigan who also represented
Clonduff with honour in the finals.
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Many Hands Make Light Work!
On
Saturday 25th February 2012,we laid the
copings on the wall on the new field.
This was very labour-intensive work,
which could have taken a few Saturday to
sort out normally. However 17 men turned
up and the work was completed in a half
day! It was a tremendous effort, and
also a great day's 'banter'. The workers
were: Mo, Paddy, PJ, Liam, Brian, Harry,
Dermot, John, Peter, Raw, Leo, Sid,
Martin, Sean, Lawrence and Arty.
A
special mention to Lorraine for serving
up a hearty breakfast which all the boys
really enjoyed. Also to Blair for coming
down after coming home from work.
With
this kind of effort we will get get a
lot of jobs done in and around the club. |
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U18 Pool in Clonduff Club

Congratulations to 15 year old Shane
Milligan, above centre who retained the
U18 Pool title played off in the
Clubrooms on Friday 24th February 201 |
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Clonduff's Young Referees for 2012 and
beyond!

P J Quinn (back right) Down Referees
Administrator, conducted a Young
Referees Course towards the end of 2011 with one night of theory (Saval) and
one night of practical skills (Clonduff). Of the eight young people attending five of them
were from Clonduff. Back row (1-3) Mark Devlin, Stephen McConville, Shane
Milligan; Front row (1 and 2) Sarah Bloomfield and Natasha Boyle.
The Young Referees course prepares the
young people to take charge of Go Games up to and including U12 level |
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Clonduff
125 Chat Night - Friday 17th February
2012

This was a great night's craic hosted by
Assistant PRO Francis Quinn, with
reminiscences of players from the 1940s to 2000s! Jerry and Francis secured
recordings from Paddy O'Hagan, one of only two Clonduff players to ever win six
County Championship medals (the other was the later Henry Brown) and is the last
surviving member of the County Team that secured Down's first All Ireland title
- the Junior in 1946! Next up on video was Leo Lowry who regaled us with stories
from the 50s - he and his family attended on the night; then it was the turn of John (Darner) O'Hagan who had us
all in stitches with his anecdotal stories of his playing days - particularly
the story about sustaining a 'blood injury' on the cheek only to discover a week
later someone's tooth had embedded itself in his cheek - on confronting the
tooth's owner some time later the Castlewellan player revealed that he'd lost
two teeth and wondered where the other one had gone!
The second part of the show was a 'live'
panel of players from the 1980 and 2000 Championship winning teams - P O
McConville, Martin Farnon, Arty Noel McConville (1980); Ross Carr and Cathal Murray
(2000). The three Eddies pictured above - Eddie Gribben, Eddie O'Hagan and Eddie
McParland played in 1950s and 1960s but were a bit shy about sitting on the
panel. It was a great idea to kick off our 125 celebrations - great
entertainment and inspiration! |
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Clonduff Lads on St Colman's Gael Linn
Irish Language Table Quiz!

Congratulations to Mark Devlin and
Declan Gribben
(together with Sean Branniff and
Patrick Gallagher), who were the
St Colman's Quiz team that won the Gael Linn
Irish Language Table Quiz last week!
They were pitting their wits against 22
other teams from St
Joseph's Crossmaglen and Our Lady's
Grammar School, Newry and St Colman's.
The quiz was held in Newry Sports Centre
on Tuesday 7th February. Declan (2nd
from right) and Mark
(extreme right) are members of Clonduff Scór na nÓg
Trath na gCeist team. We are proud to
know you Declan and Mark! |
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Christmas Gourmet
Evening

Clonduff Camogs joined forces with Morgan Meats
Hilltown to host a Gourmet evening in the Clubrooms on Friday 2nd
December.
Guests were treated to a Christmas scene of
tantalising aromas and tastes for the festive season. Mulled wine,
mince pies covered in Brandy and cream, and other refreshments were
served to guests on arrival.
Doing the honours was Chef Patracia McClean
joined by colleagues from the Southern Region College Ann Murray and
Theresa Keenan O’Connor.
Patracia had patrons spellbound with her menu
of Thai Beef Noodles, Smokey Lentil soup, sweet and sour turkey with
braised rice, Turkey a la King, and finally Christmas Cake with Filo
Mince parcels.
Following the demonstration by Mrs McClean her
colleague Ann Murray gave a demonstration on table settings and
napkin folding and Mrs. O’Connor did desserts.
Complimenting the work of the chefs were a
number of stands.
J’adore Make up, -Patrice Maginn,
Imelda’s Cup Cakes, -Mrs. Imelda Rooney
accompanied by her daughter Marie McNamee and son Eugene who also
displayed a wide range of Christmas cakes and other Christmas
goodies.
Barleywood Flowers -Mrs. Mags Graham gave a
demonstration of flower arranging and presented a number of
arrangements.
Jamie Oliver Cookware -Gail Graham.
Crafts and Jewellery -Alice Murphy who had on
show a variety of art work and personally designed Christmas
decorations and Jewellery.
Speaking at the end of the event Guinevra
McGilligan chairperson of the Clonduff Camogie club thanked Colm
Morgan and Patracia McClean for staging the event, Noreen Tumilty
and Teresa Carr and everyone else who had worked to make the evening
a success.
Organisers and Presenters are pictured above (l
to r) Maura Quinn, Guinevra McGilligan, Patricia Keenan, Anne
Murray, Teresa Carr, Colm Morgan, Noreen Tumilty and Patricia
McClean. |
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Great Clonduff Night at
South Down Awards 2011

Thirty Clonduff members
attended the Annual South Down Awards in Burren Social Club on
Friday 25th November 2011. Arthur McConville had been nominated for
'Player of the Year' and finished runner-up to Kevin McKernan
(Burren); the Club was presented with a 'Chairman's Award' in
recognition of its role in the community (providing four field
sports, handball, big participants in Scór, developing the new
field, providing 12 active referees in all field sports, playing
active part in Divisional and County activities); Fionnuala Carr and
Orla Maginn received awards in recognition of their 'Soaring Star'
awards; Ursula Quinn (Secretary Co Camogie) accepted award in
recognition of U16 Camogs winning All Ireland title (six Clonduff
girls on team) and Cathal Murray (along with Principal Cormac
McKinney) in recognition of St Colman's winning back-to-back Hogan
Cup (All Ireland) Senior Colleges title (with Cathal at the helm). A
great night was had by all!
Full list of winners:
Juvenile Referee of the Year:
Fergal Laverty, Kieran Mooney, Ronan Barry
Senior Referee of the Year:
Kieran Trainor, Brendan Rice, Neil Cousins
Player of the Year: Kevin
McKernan, Arthur McConville, Paul Murphy
Coaches of the Year: Vincent
Byrne, Gerard McVeigh, Edmund Kali, Martin Tumilty
Chairman's Award: Clonduff,
Glenn, Bosco
Club of the Year: Burren
Hall of Fame: Dan McCartan
A feature of the South Down
Awards night is a presentation to a charity of choice. This year it
was 'The Michaela Foundation' to help students 'look after
themselves'. The magnificent sum of £1,200 was presented by South
Down Treasurer Philip O'Hare to the husband and brother of the late
Michaela McAreavey (nee Harte) John McAreavey and Mark Harte - John
outlined how the money would be spent.
The entertainment on the night
was provided by Gene Fitzpatrick who had the packed house in
stitches - and not an improper word the whole night!
The photo above shows many of
the Clonduff members who attended. Below left Players of the Year
with Board Members and below right The Clonduff Officers Marie
Walls, Brendan Murray and Anita Brannigan with their
Chairman's Award |
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Social Initiative Forum in Croke Park |
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| On the day of
the County Final - 15th October 2011 - Clonduff had
three delegates attending the Social Initiative in the
Croke Park Conference Centre - Brendan Murray, Anita
Brannigan and Marie Milligan (good shot of their best
features above). Clonduff had been selected as one of
two Down Clubs to pilot the SI programme and with Niall
Rafferty as the SI Officer it was very successful - back
in July four delegates (Brendan Murray, Marie Walls,
Niall Rafferty and Paul Kelly) attended a Garden Party
for SI clubs in Áras an Uachtaráin hosted by President
McAleese. For the first ever forum, Ulster was asked to
select a Club to make a Presentation and Clonduff were
asked and duly obliged with Anita making the
Presentation on behalf of Clonduff, Down and Ulster. |
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'Yellow Day' in
Local Primary Schools
In the run-up to
the Championship Final, the local Primary Schools played
a full part - they participated in the Art Competition
(see photos elsewhere) and held a 'Yellow Day' when the
children were encouraged to wear something yellow to
show their support for the teams. Below is St Paul's
Primary School, Cabra. |
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Championship
Fever Hits the Parish of Clonduff 2011
Art Competition
In association with our local primary schools, the club launched a
very successful Art Competition, thank you to the teachers and
children who made such an effort with their entries. The judges had
great difficulty in choosing the winning entries.
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St Paul's Art
Competition Winners |
St Patrick's Art
Competition Winners |
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| Principal of
St Paul's, Mr Vincent Devlin and Mrs Pauline Paul with
the artists from St Paul's displaying their prizes at
the school gate (l to r) Aidan Kelly, Megan Farnon,
Eoghan McAlinden, Niamh Travers, Ryan Woods and Anna
Morgan (front) |
Principal of
St Patrick's Mrs Kathleen Cousins with the winners with
their prizes (back row) Laurence Brannigan, Molly Brown,
Oskar Tomasick; (front) Charlie McConville and Clodagh
Kelly. Missing from photo Aoife Trainor as she was sick
on the day - Mrs Cousins accepted her prize |
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Well done to all the children who participated in the competition!
The winning artwork will be displayed in the schools on their
'Yellow Day' - St Paul's on Thursday (13th) and St Patrick's on
Friday (14th). All the rest of the entries will be on display in the
Clonduff Shop on the Main Street opposite the Mace Shop.
Big Breakfast
Our club hosted a very successful ‘Big Breakfast’ on Sunday 9th
October, where our senior players greeted
their young fans, whilst
enjoying a tasty breakfast. There was an excellent turnout at the
breakfast, and a very BIG thank you to everyone who helped,
cooked and cleaned up – it was a brilliant morning for our Club –
Well Done Ladies and Gentlemen.
During the Big Breakfast the Senior Players distributed certificates
and 'goodie bags' to the U6 boys and girls who attended the
FUNdamentals Programme on Sunday mornings but has now come to an end
for the season.
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Clonduff Cul Camp 2011 |
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The Annual VHI Cul
Camp (sponsored by Club Down) was held in Clonduff Park from 1st to 5th August
when 150 children aged 4-14 turned up for this great
week of fun and skills in Football (boys and girls) and
Camogie/Hurling. The weather was brilliant and the
excitement was sky high on the Wednesday when our own
Down Rose, Nicole Curran returned to the club where she
was a very skilful Camogie player until she went off to
University in England. Nicole also represented Clonduff
in Solo Singing in the Scór na nÓg competitions.
Everybody in
Clonduff wishes Nicole all the best in the 'Rose of
Tralee' pageant which takes place on 22nd/23rd August,
preceded by a week long festival including 'The Rose
Cup' in which a Clonduff U13 Football team will be
participating by invitation on Saturday 20th August!
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GAA Chat Night in
Clonduff |
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July a most enjoyable (and insightful) night was held in
the Clonduff Clubrooms when the great and the good and
the funny side of four All Ireland Winners, a GAA
Journalist and Clonduff's equally entertaining Fear an
Tí held the audience enthralled and entertained, often
with the tears running down their faces! The night was
organised by Ross Carr and his guests were Bernard Flynn
(former Meath footballer and RTE football pundit),
Michael Duignan (former Offaly Hurler and RTE Hurling
pundit), Benny Tierney (Armagh and Irish News), Oisin
McConville (Armagh and TV3 football pundit) and 'Against
the Breeze' journalist with Irish News, Paddy Heaney
were brilliantly prompted and questioned by Francis
Quinn. Pictured above are: Back row (l to r) Francis
Quinn, Anita Brannigan, Teresa Carr, Marie Walls,
Brendan Murray; Front row (l to r) Bernard Flynn, Benny
Tierney, Paddy Heaney, Michael Duignan and Oisin
McConville. |
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Family Fun Quiz 2011 |
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The family fun quiz was a great success in the Clubrooms on Sunday
24th July. There were 13 tables representing upwards on 30 families.
There was something there for all ages and it was indicative of what
the evening was about when parents called their children in from the
field to answer the questions! The real winners on the night
were the youngsters that are going to Athlone to participate in the
All Ireland Community Games Finals in August. On the night, however,
the quiz winners and recipients of The Brannigan Family Perpetual
Trophy were The Provincial Mix closely followed by The Harps while
the winners of the Wooden Spoons were the Carnmeen Challengers. What
a great way to spend a Sunday evening! Pictured above with the
Trophy is Jimmy Smith (formerly Sligo), Eddie Clancy (formerly
Limerick) and the Clancy children and Loretta Smith |
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Boley Parish Sevens

Only two teams turned up this
year for the Parish Sevens on Boley Tuesday, 12th July - perhaps
some people were confused by the Inter Club Tournament on Saturday
9th July. However those that did provided a great spectacle and not
content with playing a game of two halves they wanted to take full
advantage of the opportunity and the appreciation of the spectators
- they played four 'halves'! The skill and fitness levels were
remarkable with great end to end fare. There were some great goals
scored playing into the 'Go Games' nets. At the end of 32 mins
football (4 x 8 mins) 'The Non-shirts', captained by Peter Withnell
emerged one point winners over 'The Shirts', captained by Tony
Wilson.
There was a big welcome for
Gavin Mackin who religiously makes it home from San Francisco to
take part every year. The Boley plaques were presented in the
clubrooms by Brian McGreevy and Anita Brannigan and Mary Rodgers
entertained everyone with her rendition of "She'll be Coming Round
the Mountain".
Those taking part are pictured
above: Back row (l to r) Tony Wilson, Paddy Green, Paul Trainor,
Gerry Coughlin (Ref), Peter Murnin, Eddie Clancy and Hugh Grant
representing 'The Shirts'; Front (l to r) who represented 'The
Non-shirts' - Gerard McNeill, Liam McGreevy, Peter Withnell, Gavin
Mackin, Gerard Carvill and James Mackin.
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Clonduff's First Ever Inter Club
Social Sevens - July 2011 |
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The sun shone in Clonduff Park
on Saturday 9th July and so did the players from An Riocht,
Longstone, Drumgath, Aughlisnafin, Rostrevor and Clonduff who
participated in Clonduff's first ever Inter Club Social Sevens
Tournament. The fact that a number of teams had withdrawn because of
the earlier start time (necessitated by Down's Qualifier time being
fixed in Newry for 3 pm) certainly didn't dampen the enthusiasm or
detract from the spectacle. Clonduff and An Riocht topped their
groups and played the runners up in the other group in the semi
final for the Cup. Clonduff played Rostrevor and it went to a 5-min
period of extra time before Rostrevor emerged the winners. Mourne
opponents An Riocht and Longstone faced each other in the other semi
final with The Kingdom emerging winners. Whilst the two Cup
Finalists took a well-earned rest before the final, Drumgath and
Aughlisnafin played out a thrilling Plate Final with Drumgath
emerging the winners. The Cup Final was a thrilling affair between
An Riocht and Rostrevor - An Riocht had beaten Rostrevor in the
Group stage - but in the final Rostrevor pulled out all the stops
and emerged the winners of the game but in truth everyone who took
part was a winner. All the players were treated to tea and
sandwiches in the clubrooms afterwards where many stayed and
listened to the Down v Leitrim game on the radio.
Of course the tournament could
not have been run without the services of the Club referees Ben
Brennan, Gerry Coughlin and John Anthony Gribben; the Tournament
administrators Paul and Tommy Kelly, Marie Walls and Anita Brannigan
and the very valuable tea maker Attracta Brown and to them all we
say a very big 'Thank You'. |
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Clonduff Members at Áras an Uachtaráin |
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On Tuesday 5th
July 2011, President Mary McAleese hosted a Garden Party
for the GAA Clubs of Ireland who are involved in the
Social Initiative. The scheme is specifically aimed at
people who are no longer playing sport. Clonduff as one
of two Pilot Clubs in Down was represented by Club
Chairman Brendan Murray, Treasurer (and Walking Club
member) Marie Walls, Niall Rafferty (Vice
Chairman/Social Initiative Organiser) and Paul Kelly
(Social Footballer). They are pictured above with
President and Senator McAleese
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Canon Joey O'Hagan is 100 Years Old! |
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Congratulations to Canon Joey O'Hagan
who celebrated his 100th birthday on Friday 17th June. Canon Joey celebrated
Mass in his home on his birthday and on Saturday 18th June the Saturday evening
Mass in Cabra, where he served as a curate for 18 years, retiring just six years
ago, the Mass was a celebration for Canon Joey. They was a large attendance at
the Mass celebrated by Fr Cushenan and Dean Davis. The Dean, former Parish
Priest and Diocese Historian delivered a wonderful 'This is Your Life Canon
Joey' during the Mass. The congregation was entertained to refreshments in the
Cabra Hall after Mass where Canon Joey and his nieces accepted cards and well
wishes of the parishioners. Many more of them Canon Joey!
The photo above shows Clonduff Secretary,
Anita Brannigan presenting the Birthday Boy with a card on behalf of all
in Clonduff GAC in Cabra Hall. |
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| £1,000
Drop Fundraiser in Clonduff Clubrooms |
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On Friday 17th June
‘Friends of Clonduff’ hosted ‘Thousand Pound Drop’ in the
Clubrooms, based on the TV show ‘Million Pound Drop’ presented by
Clonduff’s Golden Girl Orla Maginn. One Thousand pounds had been
transported from a secret location to the clubrooms on Friday
evening monitored by the security team of Senior Players Ryan
McShane (Hurling) and Neil Trainor (Football). In round 1 of the
show the first contestants to take to the stage were Gary Haughian
and Conor Óg O’Hagan - the boys battled through the first few rounds
but unfortunately lost all their money on question 4!! In Round 2
Daragh Sherry and Karl O’Hagan put their heads together trying to
win the jackpot, unfortunately for them they lost their money on
question 2 when they were quizzed on Boxing. The night was well
under way when family double act James and Ryan McConville took to
the stage, they reached question 5 but got stuck on a Rose of Tralee
question!! Next to the stage was P J McGreevy and Mark Brown, they
turned out to be the most successful contestants of the evening,
reaching question 7. The first lady to go under the spotlight was
club treasurer Marie Walls assisting Aidan Brown on the question
forum, the audience had high hopes for this duo considering Marie’s
experience on the Scór quiz team, however they lost all their money.
Thank you to everyone who
attended the event, and to those who helped with the preparations,
including Shane Hanaway and Thomas Murnin who created the ‘Drop
Boxes’ and Patrick Mackin (Mini Mac Disco Roadshow) who provided the
music for the event. Orla Maginn, Sheenagh McConville, Niall
Rafferty and Paul McShane who co-ordinated the event on behalf of
the Social and Fundraising Committee. And a massive thank you to
those who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to prepare, in
particular, our two Senior footballers Rory Grant and Shane O’Hagan
deserve special recognition for providing the power point
presentation and questions. Well done boys!! This was a very
successful night hosted in co-ordination with members of all our
senior teams; such was the success of this evening that it will
return to the clubrooms at the end of the summer.
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Country Dancing in Clonduff Clubrooms
For the
last few months Clonduff Clubrooms have been hosting a weekly Country Club Dance
on Saturday nights and it is now flourishing.
Click on
the image on the left to view the patrons, of a certain vintage enjoying themselves on Saturday 14th
May dancing to the music of 'Twilight'
The band
on Saturday 21st May is 'Odd Man Out' - Everybody Welcome! |
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Scór Sinsir 2011 |
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Clonduff Set Dancers who
once again annexed the County Title in Castlewellan on Sunday night (27th
February). The Ceili Dancing team were unlucky in being beaten to the title by
Saval. The Clonduff team Pictured below is: Niall & Francis Quinn, Joe and Wayne
Farrell; Ursula Quinn, Wendy Farrell, Lisa Gribben and Jolene Morgan (both nee
Parr). They meet the Derry and Antrim Champions in Abbey
CBS Newry on Saturday 5th March in Ulster Semi Final |
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Set Dancers 2011
(above) Ceili Dancers 2011 (below) |
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| The Ceili
Dancers who were runners
up in South Down and Co Finals 2011 (l to r) Janine Branagan, Jolene
Morgan, Wendy Farrell, Lisa Gribben, Ursula Quinn, Gayle Kane, Kerrie
O'Hagan and Orla McPolin |
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New Walking Club
Launched
Between 50 and 60 people turned out
(pictured below) on Thursday 10th February 2011 to support the launch of the new 'Hillbilli Ramblers' which
is one of the activities organised as part of the GAA's Social Initiative. A
committee was set up to formally register the club and the aim is to walk on the
beautiful Mourne Mountains every second and fourth Sunday of the month setting
out early in the morning.
Official Registration is in the Clonduff Clubrooms on Wednesday 9th March
(8.30/9 pm)
First Walk (gentle 2-hour stroll) is on
Sunday 13th March - details will be given at registration
After the first walk, walkers can choose
to stay with the gentle group or can progress to a more active group - an
experienced leader will accompany each group. Alternatively, if for some reason
2 or 3 people cannot make the designated day they can arrange to walk (in a
small group) at a time convenient to themselves. |
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Gaelic Start
2010/11 |
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and girls (and their parents) in the P1 to P4 age range are taking part in
Clonduff's FUNdamentals Gaelic Start programme in the INF Hall on Tuesday
evenings. The response was so great that the group was sub-divided with
the Under 6s attending at 6 45 and the Over 6s attending at 7 45. The
initiative was initially led by Ulster Council coaches Ciarán Murtagh and
Gareth Thornton but from next week onwards (15th February) it will be led
by the parents themselves and Clonduff coaches. |
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Tráth na gCeist
2011 |
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More than 50 dedicated Gaeilgeoirí,
representing 12 different clubs came together on Thursday
night past (20th January 2011) for the second
annual Irish language Table quiz. The quiz goers braved the cold weather to
come out for the Down heat of the national quiz.
The Clonduff team, pictured above are Anita Brannigan, Ciarán
McGreevy, Plunkett McConville and Marie Walls were runners-up and will be
one of three teams representing Down in the Ulster competition in Eglish, Co
Tyrone on Friday 28th January. |
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Clonduff's
First County Title for 2011! |
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Clonduff
won their first Scór na nÓg Novelty Act
title in 20 years in the magnificent surroundings of the the
new Abbey Grammar School, Newry on Sunday
evening (21st November). It was an original
script by Senior competitor Paddy Downey
entitled "It's a Rocky Road to Dublin" that had
the audience in stitches and won over the three
adjudicators - the actors were Noel Grant,
Darragh O'Hanlon, Michael Grant and Darragh
Downey. They will participate in the Ulster Semi
Final (also in the Abbey) on Saturday 11th
December competing with the winners of
Derry and Antrim.
Our County winners will meet the County
winners of Derry and Antrim and we wish
them continued success!
The Novelty Actors are pictured above with
County PRO Ronan McMahon and County
Language and Cultural Officer Ryan Doyle.
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South Down
Scór na nÓg 2011 |
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The
New Abbey Grammar School Newry was the setting
for the South Down Scór na nÓg finals on Sunday
14th November 2011. The standard was high and
the competitions were keenly contested and most
entertaining. With five strong teams competing
in all competitions the audience in attendance
were not disappointed, and the adjudicators had
a huge job in deciding their winners.
At the end of the evening
Clonduff, with over 60 participants was adjudged
the 'Most Improved' Club and Mairead Sheppard
(top picture) presented the The Cathal Sands
Memorial Cup on behalf of Michael and Lily Sands
to former Chairperson Brian McGreevy (top
picture) - Mairead and Brian with South Down
Chairperson Michael McArdle and Co Vice
Chairperson William Smith
Clonduff winners below left -
Instrumental Music: Tanya McAleenan and Mary
Catherine Murray (missing Sean Murray) with
Cathy McPolin and William Smith; below right is
Ciara Kelly who won the Recitation (with runner
up Ryan Byrne Drumgath) with Kieran McGreevy and
Michael McArdle. Clonduff were also runners up
in Novelty Act and Quiz. Winners and runners up
will be on stage on Sunday afternoon in the Down
County Final at 3.00pm in the same venue, where
they will be joined by the winners and runners
up from the East Down Final.
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Down
Minors 1977 Re-unite in Clonduff Clubrooms |
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A Reunion
for the Down Minor Football Team who were
crowned All Ireland Champions in 1977,
took place on Friday 12th
November in Clonduff GAC Clubrooms. The
team had based their entire training
programme in Pairc Chluain Daimh.
The
evening celebrated the first ever Minor
All Ireland title won by a Down team. The
event began with a brief presentation
featuring photos from this historic
journey, followed by evening dinner and
speeches from Team Manager Sean O’Neill,
Selectors Sean McManus, Paul Lambe, Sean
Lavery and Tony Hadden, as well as Team
Captain John McCartan (Glen), Dr Walsh
(Team Doctor) and Harry McEvoy (Chairman
Down County Board 1977). Everyone recalled
their own personal memories and those in
attendance received a special
commemorative booklet which included
various match reports, photos and team
sheets of 1977. A special word of thanks
must go to Sean McManus who mainly
organised the reunion and compiled the
excellent souvenir booklet for this
historic occasion. |
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Moss
Keane RIP - The Clonduff Connection: The
death has been announced on 5th Oct 2010 of former
Irish Rugby International, Moss Keane who
at the age of 62 lost the fight with Cancer.
Moss Keane
was born in Curnow County Kerry, he played
minor, U 21 and Junior County football for
Kerry before turning to
Rugby at the age
of 21 - he was the first GAA player to do so
after the Ban was lifted. It was during his GAA
career that he won three Sigerson cup medals with
University College Cork and one of those was won in
Clonduff
Park!
It was in
1969 and Queens University in Belfast were due
to host the Sigerson weekend but because of
'The Troubles' in Northern Ireland the Southern
Universities were reluctant to travel (and stay
overnight) in Belfast. Clonduff were delighted
to help, and the games were actually played in
Clonduff
Park!
Moss Keane
was full back and captain of that winning UCC team in
1969. Thus Moss Keane came to play in
Clonduff
Park.
(Contributed by Jerry Quinn) |
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Clonduff GAC
Celebrates with Down! |
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A
big contingent of Clonduffians attended
both the Down Pre-match Breakfast in The
Canal Court on Wednesday morning (15th
September) and also the Post-match Banquet
in the City West Hotel on Sunday evening
(19th September). Pictured above are some
of the Clonduffians in City West. Back row
(l to r) Aoibheann Downey, Sheenagh
McConville, Niall Rafferty, Colum Lynch,
Johnny McPolin, Cathy McPolin, P J
McGreevy, Sean McGreevy, Sean Spires (took
his holidays from San Francisco to
coincide with the All Ireland Final), Mary
McGreevy, Brian McGreevy, Francis Quinn,
Jerry Quinn; Front row (l to r) Leann
McParlan, Maura Quinn, Brian Canavan,
Pauline O'Donaghue, Anita Brannigan, Marie
Walls, Tommy. There were lots of other
families represented including Carrs,
O'Hagans, Browns, McConvilles, Downeys -
we are hopeful of getting more photographs
of the weekend including the Homecoming on
Monday nights when hundreds of supporters
gathered at Clonduff's new Car Park and
the Church Cark Park to pay tribute to the
boys who gave us such joy throughout the
summer. The players travelled on board an
open top bus. Chairman, Brian McGreevy
welcomed and congratulated them and Aidan
Carr responded on behalf of the players.
Below are the musicians who provided the
pre-banquet entertainment - Clonduff's
Murray Family (back) Stephen and Sean;
(front) Mary Catherine flanked by
Mayobridge men Ciarán Morgan (l) and Peter
Magee (r). The same group (along
with six other Down Instrumental Music
Groups) provided eight hours of
traditional music at the Down Golf Classic
at The Spa Golf Course, Ballynahinch prior
to the All Ireland Final |
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Clonduff Set Dancers in RTE Recording Studio |
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Clonduff Mixed Set Dancing team were invited to
participate in TG4's 'An Jig Gig' to be screen
in Autumn 2010. On
Thursday
27th May 2010, the eight dancers (pictured above
on the An Jig Gig set - Jayme, Wendy and
Elaine Farrell (Joe and Irene's son, daughter
and daughter-in-law), Francis, Ursula and Niall
Quinn (Maura and Jerry's children), John
Cunningham (Peter and Goretti's son) and Joleen
Morgan (Joe and Eileen Parr's daughter) and Joe
Farrell, as their mentor, set out for RTE
Building in Donnybrook Dublin to rehearse and
record the show. Later in the morning a bus load
of supporters set out for the studio. There was
only a maximum of two minutes to showcase their
talent so they performed a specially adapted and
choreographed version of the 'Cavan Reel'.
Recording began about 2 15 pm and concluded
about 4 45 pm - Clonduff were the 9th act out of
10 on stage and they danced brilliantly and got
great comments from the judges. Unfortunately
only one of the ten acts was progressing to the
quarter final stage and it wasn't our team but
they were in good company as a young man, who is
a current world champion in his age group didn't
make it either!
It was a wonderful experience for the supporters
as well as for the dancers - they got to see
exactly how a show is put together. What will be
screened in under an hour took two and a half
hours to record!
Look who supporters Jerry Quinn and Anita
Brannigan ran into outside the recording studio
- Micheál Ó Muírcheartaigh!
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Party
Against Poverty -
Clonduff ran a Fun Quiz on
Friday night (21st May 2010) in support of Ulster
Camogie and Ulster Ladies Football drive to
raise funds for Trocaire's campaign for 'Women
in Uganda'.
Whilst there were some traditional quiz
questions there was a lot of fun with the
'Catchphrases', identifying 'stills' from
classic films and the introductory music to TV
shows to say nothing of the 'Chocolates' round.
It was a very closely contested event with the
'Mentalists' (above left)coming out on top and they very
kindly donated their winnings back to the fund.
One of their team members, Catherine McConville
(former Down Ladies Football Secretary) won the first raffle prize and
young Niamh Brown (Clonduff Camogie) won the
other. A great night's craic was had by all and
the handsome sum of £280 was raised for the very
worthy cause. |
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Lá na
gClub 2010
Sunday
9th May was designated by Cumann Luthchleas Gael
as a National day to celebrate Gaelic Youth and
Volunteerism. Clonduff's programme of activities
started at 12 30 pm with a blessing by Fr
Cushenan following which well over 100 young
people and their parents paraded behind the
Feile award-winning Club banner the short
distance from Ballymaghery Church car park to
the playing fields. A full programme of
coaching, skills competitions and small-sided
games took place. Regular coaches were assisted
by Minor and Senior players in all codes. There
were lots of side shows including Face Painting,
'Hitting the Target', 'Rings' and skittles.
Undoubtedly the skittles were a very popular
attraction where people 'from 9 to 90' had a go
and continued long after the field activities
ended around 4 30.
There was a break in activities at 2 30 when
Scór na nÓg singer Christina McConville sang
Amhran na bhFiann before the 'Parade of
Champions' when young people and schools coaches
from Clonduff, who had brought honour to theirs
schools, colleges and universities were
presented to the crowd.
Throughout the afternoon, Traditional Irish
Music was relayed across the complex and when
the outdoor activities concluded the Youth Pool
finals took place in the clubrooms (eliminators
had been run off earlier in the year). The
results were as follows:
U18 - winner Caolan
McPolin, runner up Mark Bradley
U16 - winner Mark Bradley, runner up Conor
Milligan
U14 - winner Shane Milligan, runner up Mark
Devlin
U12 - winner Conor Milligan, runner up
Dean McCabe
A great time was had by all and the general
feeling was that this should become a regular
event, if not in the GAA Calendar certainly in
the Clonduff Calendar
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Parade of Schools Champions 2010 |
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As
part of the activities for Lá na gClub
2010 on Sunday 9th May Clonduff recognised
the achievements of the young Clonduff
boys and girls and their mentors from the
Club who brought honour to their schools,
colleges and universities during the
current school year. Schools represented
in the picture above represent St Colman's
College, St Mark's High School and
Southern Regional College. On the extreme
left is Cathal Murray (St Colman's) and
Mark Copland (SRC). There was also one
representative on UCD Freshers winning
team and two University Camogie All Stars.
Mentors missing from the photo are
Lorraine Maginn (St Mark's Camogie and
Football) and Ryan McShane (University of
Liverpool Camogie Coach). |
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THE LIFE AND SOUL OF OUR COMMUNITY – PAST,
PRESENT and FUTURE
Clonduff GAC Community
Support Scheme (CCSS) |
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A large gathering of parents, children and the
wider community gathered at the special launch
of the Clonduff Community Support Scheme on
Monday 19th April 2010. This event was to
increase awareness of the club’s new development
plans, whilst emphasising how this project will
enhance our local community.
Clonduff Vice Chairman Niall Rafferty along with
the club’s development officer Nigel McPolin led
this special public meeting to highlight what is
taking place. The presenters described a range
of exciting developments envisaged for the Club,
including a new floodlit playing field, now
nearing completion and a proposed state of the
art sports hall. They also mapped the way
forward in terms of how the Club could best meet
related fundraising requirements. The special
fundraising brochure which had been designed by
Roger Sherry was also distributed at the
meeting.
Community support for the scheme was described
as ‘vital’ as the details of a new fundraising
campaign were announced. The Club’s senior
players and non playing members will be
promoting this new Clonduff Community Support
scheme, whereby, all households and businesses
in the community, together with Clonduff’s
international Diaspora, will be invited to
donate £5 per week towards the scheme which will
run for 3 years.
It was pointed out and agreed that such an
outlay represented excellent value for money
considering the quality of the new facilities on
offer. Niall Rafferty reflected on the range of
sporting and social activities available through
the Club and the importance of improving
recreational opportunities for the youth of the
community, given today’s challenging social and
economic environment.
One member of the audience pointed out that it
would be very hard to imagine life in the
community without the Club while another
suggested that the Club invite parents down to
the Club on any given Saturday or Sunday of the
new season, to see the excellent, and often
unnoticed, work that goes on with underage
players across all sports. Other members
recommended holding Sport’s Days and all of
these recommendations will be carried out over
the next few months.
Each child that attended with his or her parent(s) was entered into a Free Prize draw for
club and related merchandise. The winners,
pictured above, with Niall Rafferty, Felix
McKernan, Thomas Murnin and Nigel McPolin, were
as follows:
1st Aoife Brown – Clonduff Jersey
2nd Anna McAlinden - Clonduff Shorts
and Socks
3rd Joey O’Hare - Clonduff Shorts and
Socks
4th Darragh McAlinden - O'Neill's
Football
5th Conor McAlinden
- O'Neill's Football
6th Jake Morgan
- O'Neill's Football
7th Clara Cowan
- O'Neill's Football
8th Evie Lynas-Feehan
- O'Neill's Football
9th Katie Murnin
- O'Neill's Football
10th Aoife Trainor
- O'Neill's Football
11th Rory McKernan
- O'Neill's Football
12th Ben Magee - Clonduff Sports Bag |
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Clonduff Delegates at National Youth Forum in Croke Park |
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Niomhi Murray and Katherine Milligan were among
the 9-strong youth delegation that travelled to
Croke Park on Saturday 20th February
2010 for the National Youth Forum which was attended
by some 300 young people aged 16-20 years from
throughout the country. The young people were
transported to and from the event and were
accompanied by County Youth Officer, Sean McCashin. Christy Cooney, the National President
of the GAA address the young people and was in
attendance throughout the day for the workshops
and discussion groups.
The three priorities for the forum were,
1.
To bring together the broadest
representation of members aged 16-20 from around
the Association to share their stories, idea and
ambitions for our clubs and the GAA of the
future.
2.
To discover what they believe to be the
best practices, strengths and resources of the
GAA in order to understand the positive core on
which the GAA has been built as seen and
experienced by the young attendees
3 To
collectively imagine and envision the best
possible future for the GAA in terms of:
- More enjoyable experience playing and
preparing for our games
- The role of our clubs in our community
- Our games as an event, a place to go, an
occasion - at county and club level
- How to make the best of technology and
communications
- Enjoying being involved in the GAA as a
volunteer in any role
- Making our club and the Association more
attractive to those currently involved
- Building the reputation and brand of the GAA
- Our games Internationally
Niomhi and Katherine had a
great day out and feel they learned a lot some
of which they hope they can help implement in
Clonduff. They enjoyed the
experience and camaraderie
and built up a good contact network.
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(Above) the Down Delegates with Youth Officer
Sean McCashin (extreme left) and Christy Cooney
(Uachtarán CLG) at the 2010 Youth Forum in Croke
Park. Niomhi is beside Sean and
Katherine is beside her at the back. (Right) the
delegation on the pitch. |
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Clonduff's Ciarán McGreevy at National
Congress 2010 |
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| Front row - Some of Down's delegates at
National Congress 2010 held in Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle on the weekend
16th to 18th April - (l to r) Seamus Walsh (Chairperson), Sean óg McAteer
(Secretary), Diarmuid Cahill (Delegate) and Ciarán McGreevy (Youth
Delegate). |
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Down's
Iconic Event and National Congress 2010
On
Friday 16th April, the Down Co Board hosted a
magnificent event of Down Icons - the members of
1960/61 'Breakthrough Teams' hence the title
'Iconic Event'.
Down is hosting the National Congress in the
Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle over the weekend
16th-18th April commencing at 7 pm. By way of a
preliminary event they played host to the mighty
men and their families of 1960/61 to mark the
Golden Jubilee of that first title. Around 800
people were treated to lunch and drinks in the
massive marquee in the grounds of the Slieve
Donard. Every club in Down was invited to send
along a limited number of representatives to the
eve nt. The mellifluous Jack Devaney compered the
event which was attended by the great and the
good in the world of GAA - Christy Cooney, Jack
Boothman, Nicky Brennan, Paddy McFlynn, Peter
McDermot (the man in the cap) dignitaries from
the Ulster Council, and delegates from
practically every county in the country as well
as some well-known faces from the world of media
- TV, Radio, Newspapers, etc.
One of the highlights was the address by
Uachtarán na hEireann, Mary McAleese (who was
accompanied by husband Martin). She voiced the
feelings of everyone present by speaking of how
honoured she was in the presence of these Icons
and sadly some of whom had transferred to St
Peter's team in the sky. She quoted that great
Chinese Proverb "As we drink the water from the
well, we should never forget who dug it" - the
Men of 1960 dug the well from which Down Gaels
have drunk on five occasions.
Each member of the squad and management or a
family representative was individually
introduced by Miceál Ó Murircheartaigh and
presented with a specially commissioned Beellek
China vase by Christy Cooney. Down Co Scór Sinir
Instrumental Music Champions from Darragh Cross
and Glenn's Declan McConaghy (Recitation/Story
Telling) provided the entertainment.
This was a wonderful event with which to start
Congress at which Clonduff's Ciarán McGreevy is
Down's Youth Representative.
Clonduff was well represented in the congregation at the Congress Mass on
Saturday evening and The Murray Family (Stephen, Sean and Mary Catherine) helped
provide the Sacred Music; Scór singer Ruby Crothers was in the specially
selected Choir and young Ross Carr (pictured above right) was selected to carry
the Gifts in the Offertory Procession. |
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Club Chairperson Brian McGreevy
and Events Secretary Sheenagh McConville visited the two primary schools on
Thursday 15th April to distribute the invites and Entry Forms for the launch of
the Clonduff GAC Community Support Scheme (CCSS). |
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Visit to
St Paul's |
Visit to
St Patrick's |
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Brian and
Sheenagh with some of St Paul's aspiring Gaels
and the Principal, Vincent Devlin |
St
Patrick's Acting Principal, Mrs Kathleen
Cousins, Club Chairman Brian McGreevy and some
aspiring Clonduffians |
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County
Scór Celebration night 2010

A big crowd of Down Gaels gathered in
Clonduff Clubrooms on Tuesday 6th April to
celebrate in song, dance,
music
and craic the talent of the county's Senior, Juvenile and Aspiring
Scór participants in a relaxed informal
atmosphere. The function was attended by Seamus
Walsh (Co Chairperson), William Smith (Co Vice
Chairperson) and that grand man of Down GAA
and great Scór supporter, Paddy McFlynn. Fear an
Ti for the evening was one of the bright young
faces of the Down Culture and Language Committee
James White; Stage Manager was Gerard Keenan and
Anita Brannigan was the 'Act Co-ordinator'.
Proceedings got under way at 8 30 pm with
Clonduff's Christina McConville singing Amhran
na bhFiann, followed by the Murray Family
setting the tone for the rest of the evening for
the acts from Saul, Rostrevor, Warrenpoint
(current All Ireland Readóirí Set Dancing
Champions), Teconnaught, Mayobridge, Annaclone, Tullylish,
Glenn and of course the homeside, Clonduff who,
in addition to the Murray Family and Christina,
strutted their stuff in the Novelty Act, Ballad
Group, Recitation (Sean Downey) and Set Dancing.
The Down Cultural Committee
sincerely thanked Clonduff not only for the use
of their facilities but also for the level of
hospitality shown towards guests throughout the
evening. A Special word of thanks also to all
those who took part during the celebration,
without the support of those Clubs represented
on the evening, the event could not have taken
place. Fear An Tí James concluded by wishing
Áíne Brolly from the Breadgh club every success
in the forth coming All Ireland final in
Killarney on 24th April.
Clonduff provided a delightful hot and cold
buffet supper, following which, Joseph Farrell
involved all and sundry in Sets-Ceíli which
concluded about 12 30 am. (Click the image above
to view a few photos of the night) |
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Clonduff GAC Community Support Scheme (CCSS)
Launched in Clonduff |
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A big
crowd of adult players from every code
(Football, Hurling, Camogie, Ladies Football)
turned out to give their support to the Clonduff
GAC Community Support Scheme which was launched
in the Clonduff Clubrooms on Monday 15th March
2010.
The scheme is to provide for the shortfall in
funding required for the development of physical
resources in the club - the new floodlit pitch
is just Phase One in the ambitious plans to
provide state of the art facilities for the
Clonduff Community. Members sign up for a
three-year commitment to a monthly Direct Debit
scheme - if a contributor is a tax payer, the
club can claim back 27p for every £1 donated
from the Inland Revenue via CASC (Community
Amateur Sports Club)
CCSS will be launched to the wider community -
parents, grand parent, other family members, ex
pats, or anyone else who has an interest in
Clonduff GAC - on Monday 29th March at 8 pm
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Left - The committee behind the Clonduff
GAC Community Support Scheme - Back row:
Ross Carr, Roger Sherry, John O'Hagan,
Brian McGreevy; Front row: Marie Walls,
Niall Rafferty, Sheenagh McConville and
Roisin McConville
Above: A section of the players who
attended the Launch.
The
scheme will be launched to the general
public
in
April 2010 |
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Scor Sinsir
County Champions 2010 |
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Clonduff's two reigning County Scór Sinsir
Champions
retained their titles
in an amazingly high standard of
competition in Saval Sports and Leisure Complex on Sunday 28th February 2010.
The Novelty Act (above) with Co Language and Cultural Officer Ryan Doyle (Left)
and Co Chairperson Seamus Walsh (right) -
back row: Owen Roe Brogan, Sean Downey,
Anthony Brogan; front row: Eamon Devlin,
Chloe Franks, Kealim O'Hare, were involved in a tight competition - all four acts
had the audience 'in stitches'. The Set Dancers below - back row: John
Cunningham, Francis Quinn, Niall Quinn,
Jayme Farrell; front row: Jolene Morgan,
Wendy Farrell, Ursula Quinn, Elaine
Farrell - had the packed house and the adjudicators in raptures with
their footwork and energy. The Ceili Dancers (Ursula Quinn, Elaine Farrell,
Wendy Farrell, Jolene Morgan, Gayle Kane, Kerri O'Hagan, Janine Branagan and
Niamh Murphy), Sean Downey (Recitation), Colleen Walls (Solo Singing) and Quiz
team (Marie Walls, Brian Canavan and Anita Brannigan) all had hard luck in one
of the closest County Finals for very many years. |
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Clonduff Cultural Sub Committee 2010 |
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(Above) Clonduff were awarded the Peter
Keenan Memorial Trophy for the 'South Down
Scór Club of the Year' at the Divisional Scór Sinsir
Final in Saval on Sunday 21st February.
Pictured above is the Clonduff Cultural
sub committee that organises Scór within
Clonduff together with South Down
officials. Back row: Joseph Farrell
(Clonduff Scór Committee), Paula
Magee (South Down and Co Scór Secretary),
Cathy McPolin (Clonduff and South Down
Scór Committees), Mary McGreevy
(Clonduff and South Down Scór
Committees), Anita
Brannigan (Clonduff, South Down and County
Scór Committees), Maura Quinn, William Smith
(South Down Scór Chairperson and Co Vice
Chairperson); Front row: Michael McArdle
(South Down Acting Chairperson), Anne
Keenan and Maureen Keenan (the late
Peter's family), Brian McGreevy (Clonduff
Chairperson) and Sean Downey (Clonduff
Scór Committee). |
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Tráth na gCeist Gaeilge 2010 |
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Oifigeach
Chultúrtha an Dúin
organised their first ever
County Table Quiz on Wednesday 3rd February
2010, held in Clonduff Clubrooms. Unfortunately
there wasn't a great turnout - but such things
have to start somewhere! Questions were set and
asked, as Gaeilge, by the new Language and
Cultural Officer, Ryan Doyle. Clonduff entered
two teams which finished 2nd and 3rd, to qualify
for the Ulster Final to be held in Eglish, Co
Tyrone on Friday 12th February. (Mayobridge were
the winners). The two Clonduff teams, pictured
above, were (on the left) Brian Canavan, Ciara
McKeown, Marie Walls and Anita Brannigan; and on
the right Niamh Murray, Mary Catherine Morgan,
Plunkett McConville, Brian McAleenan (Liatroim)
and Kevin McShane. |
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Clonduff Talent shines
in Strictly Come Dancing |
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On Friday Night the Canal Court Miller Suite was
packed to capacity to see 'Strictly Come
Dancing' organised by Clonduff's Paul McShane &
Burren's Sean O'Hare. Clonduff's Frankie Quinn
and Eliza Downey (Down Ladies Football Captain
2009) hosted the event.
Eight Couples participated in the show:
1. Aisling Pyers (Annaclone) & Conal McGovern
(Burren)
2. Cathal Maginn (Clonduff) & Catherine
McGovern (Burren)
3. Aiobheann Downey (Clonduff) & Eoin
McCartan (Burren)
4. Grainne McKernan (Burren) & Danny Hughes
(Saval)
5. Sheenagh McConville (Clonduff) & Eamon
Toner (Burren)
6. Mairead Trainor (Burren) & Connor Toner
(Burren)
7. Niamh Canavan (Saval) & Kevin McKernan
(Burren)
8. Jacqueline O'Neill (Glassdrumman) & Dan
McCartan (Burren)
Each couple performed 3 dances, a group dance,
salsa dance and then a free-style dance. Judges
on the night included Celebrity Bainisteoir
Derek Davies, dance teacher Catherine Murphy and
Five FM host Simon Burke. Everyone in the
audience got a vote with their ticket, and then
they had the opportunity to purchase additional
votes.
The competition was won by Dirty Dancing Couple
'Jacqueline O'Neill & Dan McCartan, With
Sheenagh McConville & Eamon Toner being
placed runners up, followed by Aoibheann
Downey and Eoin McCartan. The night was
a great success with alot of money being raised
for the Kenya Appeal 2010, and of course the
Clonduff folk turned out in force to support the
Clonduff Dancer's.
Well Done to all to involved!!!
Photo Gallery - Top left - All eight couples
Top Right - The Clonduff Contingent (l to r) Cathal Maginn, Aoibheann Downey,
Paul McShane (joint organiser), Sheenagh McConville and Francis Quinn (MC)
Left - Sheenagh McConville and Eamon Toner |
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Scór
na nÓg 2010 County Finals |
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Many
congratulations to the Scór na nÓg Quiz team
of Mark Devlin, Katherine Milligan and Ciara
Kelly (pictured above with Co Secretary Sean óg
McAteer, Question Master and Question
setter and Co Chairman Kevin Bell) who picked up the 2010 County title in
Saval on Sunday 22nd November 2009 (the County
competitions take place at the end of the
previous year with the Provincial and National
finals taking place in the New Year). This team
has been competing for the last three years -
they were runners up in South Down both this
year and last but obviously it's 'third time
lucky'. They now go to the Ulster Semi Finals
versus the Armagh and Antrim Champions in Keady
on 12th December.
The young Dancers (below) who just started Set Dancing
six weeks ago gave a great account of themselves
in the County Final and finished in third place.
A county title in the not too distant future
awaits them if they stick together - they all
have 3-4 years at this level! Thanks to Senior
dancers Ursula
and Lisa! |
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Clonduff Scór na nÓg Set Dancers 2010
(l to r) Nicola Ward, Noleen McAlinden,
Emma McAlinden, Clare McGilligan, Caoimhe Morgan, Jenna Boden, Megan Kelly,
Emma Gallagher |
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Strictly Come
Jiggin' 2009 is a Huge Success |
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Left - the
seven couples before the 'Dance Off' and right The
Organiser, presenters and winners! Left to
right: Sheenagh McConville (Organiser), Paul McShane
(Presenter), Onagh and Aidan, the Champions,
Janine and Gary runners up, Orla Maginn
(Presenter) and Club Chairman (and participant)
Brian McGreevy. |
Clonduff
GAC hosted one of it's most successful fundraisers ever on Saturday 21st
November in INF Hall, Hilltown. 'Strictly Come Jiggin' saw seven local
couples battle it out for the honour of becoming Clonduff Dancing Champions.
The hosts for the evening were Clonduff Camog Orla Maginn and Clonduff
Footballer Paul McShane, and they played a big part in keeping the critic
going between each dance. Our judges included Mary Grant (local celebrity),
Catherine McAnulty (Carrickcruppen set-dancer), Debbie Murnin (Nurse to
senior footballers) and Eugene Lively (well known mover and groover in
Hilltown).
The night began with the couples arriving onto
the floor wearing their own personalised t-shirts, urging those in the
audience to vote for them!! Luckily Paudie Brown made it home from Denmark
just in time to take to the floor with his partner GAGA Maginn, even though
he had to leave his suitcase at the door!! A group dance saw the couples
move to 'Evolution of Dance' and a very high standard had been set for the
rest of the night. First up was Joleen 'Mambo' Morgan and club Chairperson
Brian 'Bust a move' McGreevy who entertained the audience with their
costumes and moves to 'Cotton Eyed Joe'. Second couple to raise the rafters
was the Cabra Magpie Mickey 'Lightning Moves' Greenan and Ursula 'Quickstep'
Quinn who worked the floor to 'Footloose'. Third Couple of the evening was
Hostess with the mostess Pauline 'Twinkle Toes' O'Hare and Thomas 'Dirty
Dancing' Murnin, who had the crowd in fits of laughter when Tooter appeared
pushing Pauline in a wheelbarrow. Tooter then took the competition to a
whole new level when he combined the 'Hills of Donegal' to moves that
Stavros Flatley couldn't even match!!!
Next up after the break was Dermot 'Fancy Feet'
Fitzpatrick as we've never seen him before, Dermot had transformed his image
for the show and went to great lengths to look like a female Irish Dancer,
let's hope his eyebrows can grow back!! His partner Carol 'Cha Cha' Magee
who would have given Michael Flatley himself a run for his money, re-enacted
the 'Riverdance'. The props and backing dancers were first class in this act
and the
high calibre of talent continued right through the night. Couple five was
Clonduff Ladies Footballer Onagh 'Dancing Queen' Gribben and U14 Football
Manager Aidan 'Billy Elliott' Brown. They got the first standing ovation of
the night when they danced to the 'Grease megamix', wearing fabulous
co-ordinating outfits. Next up was the recently returned from Denmark Paudie
' Crazy Legs' Brown and Lorraine 'Lady GAGA' Maginn, who created their own
megamix and pulled moves on the stage that have never been seen in
Hilltown!! Last but by no means least, Gary 'Float like a Butterfly'
Haughian (Senior goalkeeper) and Janine ' Jitterbug' Brannigan (Ladies
Football) who performed Dirty Dancing 'Time of my life' and the crowd went
crazy when Gary pulled of that 'lift'!! Seven couples had performed to a
very high standard and the audience were left scratching their heads as to
who would win their vote. In the end, Gary and Janine (right) emerged as
runners up receiving beautifully inscribed trophies, whilst the winners were
declared as Aidan and Onagh (above left) who also received trophies and
flowers.
The event was a wonderful success, the audience
had been entertained with video diaries and the actual dances they performed
on the night! Thanks to our hosts Orla and Paul, Technical support in Ciarán
McGreevy and Joe Farrell as well as Paul Fitzpatrick who recorded the whole
event. (DVDs go on sale soon) Thanks also to Patrick Fitzpatrick, Deirdre
and Maureen Killen. Thanks also to the INF Hall and their staff for their
help in co-ordinating this event, and to Mini Macs Roadshow who had everyone
in the hall dancing by the end of the night!!!
Congratulations and Thank you to each of the
dancers for making last night such a success!! It was brilliant and couldn't
have happened without your efforts.
Many thanks Sheenagh McConville for the original
idea and all the hard work and publicity to turn such a great idea into a
roaring success! |
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This group of musicians comprised the Ceíli
Band that provided the music at the Ulster Scór Dha Scór and 125 Anniversary
Concert held in Saval on Saturday 14th November 2009. All the counties
contributed an act each with Down, Armagh and Tyrone contributing two each
reflecting their overall contribution to Scór. Down was presented with a
special award in recognition of having the largest Scór entry in the whole
contry in 2009 with over one thousand entrants (Derry also received a
presentation for the Ulster County with the biggest increase in numbers).
The musicians above are (l to r): Peter Magee (Mayobridge), Sean Murray
(Clonduff), George McDermott (Cavan), Mary Catherine Murray (Clonduff) and
Gareth McGreevy (Saul). |
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Pictured above are the young people who
represented Clonduff in the Annual Bord
na nÓg U18 table quiz - 2009r held
in Ballykinlar. The Clonduff team were
runners up and are (l to r) Mark Devlin,
Ciara Kelly, Naoimh Murray and Katherine
Milligan. They are flanked by organisers
Sean McCashin (County Youth Officer) and
Seamus Branniff |
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'Parade
of Clubs' on County Final
Day 4th October 2009 |
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The
Down County Board organised a 'Parade of
the Clubs' as part of the 125 Celebrations
in the County before the Senior Football
Championship Final on Sunday 4th October
2009. A selection of U12
and U14 Boys represented Clonduff. The
boys are pictured making their way from
John Mitchel Place to Pairc Esler with
their mentors Harry Brown and Liam
McGreevy on left and Aidan Brown on the
right (missing from photo is Sean Fearon). The parade was led by The Artane
Band and the Float of County Jerseys
prepared by Artie Noel and Roisin
McConville and family, Kieran Tumilty and
Patrick Mackin - the float was first seen
at Clonduff's 125 parade on 10th May 2009. |
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'The
Float Builders' for the County Final 2009
- Kieran Tumilty, Patrick Mackin, Roisin
McConville and Artie Noel McConville |
The
Clonduff Float leads the 'Parade of Clubs'
to County Finals in Pairc Esler on Sunday
4th October. The Artane Band in background |
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Clonduff's
125 Trip to Dublin
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On
Wednesday 19th August 2009 more than 40 hardy souls
gathered in Hilltown Square to board the bus
that would take them to Dublin for the day. It
was 8 30 am and the rain was falling in torrents
but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the
travellers.
This trip was jointly organised between Clonduff
GAC and the Clonduff Historical Society, many of
whose members overlap.
The further south the bus travelled the bluer
the sky became and it remained like that all
day! The first port of call was Croke Park - the
assigned guide was Philip Archbold who led the
group in an informative, entertaining,
passionate and often amusing two hour tour of
the stadium which simply flew past.
It was then on to the museum where the
interactive area proved very popular and not
only with the younger members of the group!
Honestly you would think some people would have
had more sense!
Following lunch at Croke Park the group made the
short journey to Glasnevin Cemetery for another
guided tour, feeling sure that Philip's
'performance' could not be topped! Sorry Philip
it was by Shane Mac Tómais! Shane gave us a
valuable insight into the history of Glasnevin
as well as pointing out the final resting place
of the some of the men and women who have helped
to shape Ireland's past, present and future. The
tour lasted one-and-a-half hours but it would be
quite easy to spend an entire week browsing -
there are 120 acres in the cemetery.
There were two magnificent guides on the tours -
it is a pity that history in schools is not
taught by people like these guys! The classes
would be bursting at the seams! |
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Annual Scór Concert in Downings - 2009 |
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Each
year the Ulster Council runs a week-long
Language and Cultural event in Downings,
Co Donegal with a concert of Scór
competitors on the Wednesday night and
this event in 2009 took place on Wednesday
22nd July. A big contingent from Down,
mainly Clonduff, travelled to Downings on
Wednesday morning and made an overnight
stay and what a night it turned out to be!
Clonduff Set Dancers, Novelty Act and
Juvenile musicians took part in the formal
proceedings in honour of Paddy McFlynn's
book launch. (Paddy is a former National
President of GAA 1979-1982). The
group then retired to their hotel for a
Seisún until the wee small hours of
Thursday morning. In Joe Farrell's words
'We'll have to do two nights next year'!
Roll on! |
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Kevin Mussen
Honoured in
Clones! |
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On
Sunday 19th July 2009 at the Ulster Final,
All Ireland winning captains from Ulster
teams took centre stage when they were
honoured. It was appropriate that the
first man to bring Sam across the border
was one such man in this historic year of
the GAA and the 40th anniversary of Down's
first Ulster title.
Clonduff's Kevin Mussen is pictured making
his way forward for the presentation.
(Photo Louis McNally) |
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Down Scór
Competitors entertain at Captains Banquet |
After all the
excitement and formalities had taken
place in Clones on Sunday all the
honoured captains were invited back to a
banquet in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan,
where Down Scór competitors Stephen, Sean
and Mary Catherine Murray from the
Clonduff Club along with Killyclogher Ballad Group had the honour
and privilege of being present to
entertain at the after-match dinner. The
talented trio are no strangers to this
scene having previously played on several
match days in Pairc Esler, Newry. This
was a great opportunity to display all
that is good for Scór and another great
occasion to record, in what all ready has
been a great year in this County as we
celebrated our 40th Anniversary in Scór.
Well done to all three musicians.
Stephen, Mary Catherine and Sean are
pictured below. (Photo
Paula Magee) |
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| Clonduff and The Boley Fair
2009 |
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Clonduff Club
has played a big part in the staging of the
Boley Fair in 2009. Sean Milligan was on the
organising committee. On Saturday 11th
July, on what should have been the ‘Family Fun
Day’ Clonduff U8 footballers (above) kicked off Clonduff GAC's Boley events when they entertained Bryansford U8
footballers when about sixty children from both
clubs took part in a mini blitz – all the
children got playing time and were awarded a
medal at the end. Unfortunately the weather then
intervened and the proceedings for the rest of
the day were cancelled. (Click on the image
left to view a few more pictures of the U8s and
their visitors)
There was a big entry
for the Handball Tournament which took place in
the Handball Alley the week after the Newry and
Mourne sponsored Handball Camp in Hilltown (the
coaches were Des McNeill and Paul Shields. The semi-finals and the finals
were played on the one-wall court at the club on
Monday morning. Those taking
part in the U15 competition were (Clonduff
unless otherwise stated)
Shane Milligan,
Ryan Dunne and Conor O’Neill (Downpatrick), Pat
Havern and Stephen Digney (Saval), Packie
O’Hagan, Conal Brown, John Brown, Conor Brown,
Darren Harper, Liam McAleavey, Ruari McQuaid,
David Quinn. Ryan Dunne eventually defeated
Conal Brown 24:20 in the final. Four lads took
part in the U18 competition - Ché Curran and
John McAleavey (Clonduff), Eamon Savage and
Daniel Connolly (Downpatrick). John defeated
Daniel in the Final 22:10.
The
Neighbourhood Challenge Quiz in the Clubrooms on
Saturday night was one of the biggest ever with
eighteen teams participating. The eventual
champions were the Goward Dolmens followed by
Mark’s Minors plus two in second place. A
three-man United Nations team (one from Hilltown, one
originally from
Tyrone and one originally from Cork) were rewarded for their
efforts in taking up the rear!
Sunday morning The Big
Boley Breakfast, organised
by the Camogs, was one hectic event – the demand
was so great the food ran out twice but luckily
supply sources were on hand to replenish the
larder! Before the breakfast was over a great
crowd of young and not so young enthusiasts set
out to walk the Old Hilltown to Downpatrick
route (now the lane that runs up behind St
Patrick’s Primary School) from the Clubrooms to
the Goward Dolmen – there was great craic there
and back and the weather, whilst not exactly
shining on the participants held firm until they
all returned safely. Despite the rain a huge
crowd turned out to witness the Tug-o-War in
Clonduff Park which
was eventually won by Doran’s men and The Downshire Arms
Ladies. The rain also affected the
staging of the Farrell & Farrell sponsored Townlands
inaugural Set Dancing competition which moved
from The Square to the INF, followed by a big
crowd. Five teams took part with Newry
Road/Yellow Road the winners and Cabra
runners-up.
(Click on each of
the images below to view a slideshow of that
event) |
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Clonduff and the Boley Fair
Picture Gallery |
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Boley
Townlands Quiz |
Big Boley
Breakfast and Goward Dolmen Walk |
Handball
Camp and Boley Tournament |
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Poc Fada |
Senior
Citizens Boley Tea Dance in Clubrooms |
Boley
Tug-o-War |
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Boley's
Got Talent - Michael Jackson Tribute |
Set
Dancing at the Boley 2009 |
Boley
Sevens 2009 |
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Despite
the torrential rain on both Saturday and
Sunday evenings, Monday dawned dry though it
changed for the worse just as the juveniles
competitors in the Poc Fada reached home base.
Nine lads (none of the girls were brave enough)
accompanied by an adult started the course (a
few lost the ball along the way). First home was
Conor Grant but he (with Jamie Curran) had taken
17 pucks - one more than new course record
holder, Shea Murnin. The three older lads plus
nine adults, including two females, set out on
the more gruelling adult course by which time
the weather had worsened but brave souls that
they are most (but not all) completed the
course. Shauna McParlan, the only female
finisher completed the course with 30 pucks.
Course and event organiser Damien Farnon
together with Jim Murnin and Shane Murray
completed the course in 21 pucks each. The
weather was too bad to stay on the mountain any
longer - it was decided to have a Puck Off
during the Sevens tournament on Tuesday. Damien
Farnon was tied up with work - Jim and Shane
agreed that Eddie Clancy could be Damien's
'proxy pucker' and how Eddie fulfilled that
role! In the best of three pucks each man pucked
further each time but neither Jim nor Shane
could match even Eddie's shortest puck,
consequently Damien was declared the winner.
Great credit must go to Damien - he organises
and marks out the route every year. In this
year's event he walked the mountain four times -
1 to lay the course, 2 accompanying a group of
juveniles, 3 competing himself and 4 lift the
flags (though Gerry Coughlin helped with this
task). So was there ever a more worthy winner?
The inclement weather meant that the remaining
outdoor events planned for Monday evening either
moved indoors or had to be cancelled and
unfortunately that is what happened to The Boley
Knockout in Clonduff Park! The Boley Fair is a
community festival catering for all aspects of
heritage and culture for all age groups -
Boley's Got Talent is one such event. The
Clonduff Camogs organised and produced a Tribute
to Michael Jackson. Again the staging of the
event fell foul of the weather on the outdoor
stage but it moved indoors to The Downshire
Arms. Unfortunately the stage was just a bit
small for the 13 man/woman tribute group (which
incidentally won 2nd prize) but not to be
outdone they restaged it outside Lowry's Pub
when the rain settled a bit!
Tuesday was the only dry day (apart from Opening
Night) - a large crowd enjoyed Hugo Duncan in
The Square before moving to Clonduff Park for
the now traditional Boley Sevens. People arrived
wearing t-shirts and whilst it turned colder
later it was a very pleasant day. Four
teams turned up for the football (unfortunately
none for the Camogie) and it was decided to run
the event on a League basis with each team being
guaranteed three games and the winner the team
with most points at the end - in the event of a
tie there would be a play-off. There were three
players who had returned from the US (all on
Cabra teams) especially to play in the Sevens. A
very pleasing aspect of the day was the number
of participants who have moved into the parish
and have not previously played for Clonduff
teams - the Sevens is about community and craic!
After the first round of games some of the
players were finding the pace just a bit much
(it is an over 30s event though in hindsight
some players should have been asked to produce
their birth certificates) and it was agreed to
reduce the playing time from 7½ mins to 5 mins
each way. Gerry Coughlin (Clonduff Senior
Hurling Manager and qualified referee) and Henry
Brown (Minor player and Young Whistler) took
charge of the games - generally everybody
behaved themselves and allowed the referees to
get on with the job of refereeing.
Unfortunately, in the last game of the day Conor
Donnan sustained a dislocated finger and had to
go to hospital (thanks to Collie Lynch). The
good news is that after treatment Conor was
allowed home with some strong painkillers. The
tournament was a close affair but Cabra 1 with
two wins and a draw were declared winners with
Ballygorian (2 wins) close runners-up. Players
from both teams received Boley Fair plaques
which were presented by Anne McKeown the Boley
Fair Secretary for 2009. |
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Clonduff's 125 Celebrations |
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Lá na gClub -
10th May - What a Day!
This was a day that will live long in the
memories of Clonduff Gaels. The day dawned
bright and sunny in the midst of wet and windy
weather and shone on the whole proceedings all
day!
Click on the image (left) to view a slideshow!
The special Mass was celebrated by Club
President Dean Anthony Davies who retires from
duties at the end of the month on the Golden
Jubilee of his Ordination. St John the Baptist's
Church Ballygorian was packed for the occasion
with many more Clonduff Gaels resplendent in
club dress outside. For the Mass, Clonduff
native Gerry Curran had written a special
reflection for inclusion in the Mass. The parade
of hundreds of players, officers and
members, with each of the Parish townlands
identified, got under way with the Clonduff
Banner followed by the Tommy Kelly/Peter Hamill
'Clonduffmobile' with dignitaries and local
musicians on board, and this was followed by the
colourful McConville/Mini Mac float. On arriving
at the Clonduff Club all those present formed a
'125' on the pitch. Dean Davies said a Blessing
and Christina McConville sang
Amhrán na bhFiann.
This was not only included in the Club video but
also in the BBC film to be shown on Tuesday
evening Sport at the end of the 6 30 news. A
time capsule including club memorabilia, a
jersey, and submissions for both St Paul's and
St Patrick's Primary Schools was buried to be
raised at the 150th Anniversary of the GAA and a
native Irish Rowan Tree was planted. The
activity on the two pitches show-cased all the
Gaelic field sports - football for men and
women, Hurling and Camogie with the individual
skills of each game demonstrated. The whole day
was a highlight but the Rounders match between
the 'Inner City' and the 'Country Cousins' drew
a very interested crowd. The one-wall handball
drew another large crowd of participants as well
as spectators. There was Cic Fada, Poc Fada,
Hurling and Football Skills and Penalty Kick
competitions for various age groups and for both
sexes. And to fulfil the 'Athletics' element of
the GAA there were races for mothers and fathers
(separate, of course). Just before the finale of the
outdoor activities the 2009 Down County Set
Dancing Champions (Clonduff) showed us all just
why they are County Champions. The finale was a
mixed Hurling/Camogie game refereed by Gerry
Coughlin and this was followed by a mixed
men's/women's football match. The only prizes on
the day was bragging rights!
Throughout the day a wonderful array of club
memorabilia was exhibited in the clubrooms and
the Club Officers and President cut the
specially commissioned commemorative cake.
The evening proceedings got underway with a
Céili, called by Joe Farrell interspersed with
Scór participants - musicians, dancers,
reciters, singers and the Clonduff Novelty Act
which won the County title in 2009. It was long
(12 hours) but memorable
Lá na gClub!
Below are three slideshows with over 300
photographs of the great day! More still to
come!
Lá na gClub - Click here to see the
day's programme! |
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Clonduff
got their 125 celebrations off to a good
start on Thursday 7th May with an inter-club
table quiz

The turnout from visiting clubs
was rather small but to those who did come we
say a big thank you for contributing to a good
night's entertainment. The front runners from
the start was the Clonduff Goward/Ballyaughian
team and Mayobridge.
The quiz consisted of Scór type questions - GAA,
Ireland and the Irish. A picture round on Irish
Landmarks was the deciding factor - with the home
side just edging out the visitors.
The picture above shows the winning team
and the Quiz organisers - Back row (l to r) Brian Canavan,
Kevin McShane, Marie
Walls and Anita Brannigan; Front row (l to r)
Aishling Walls, Niamh Murray, Niohmi Murray,
Rachel Dickson.
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Unveiling
of first Townland Stone (Friday 8th
May 2009)

The first of the
'Townland stones' was unveiled by Jarlath
Burns the Chairman of the National 125
Committee. The first stone has been set at the
Eight-mile Bridge denoting the boundary between
Carcullion in which the village is situated, and
Ballymaghery in which the Clonduff Club is
situated. About 70 stones will be required to
complete the project - they are being phased in,
as funds become available - if anyone out there
wishes to be part of this great project of
resurrecting and restoring the townlands in the
Parish of Clonduff please get in touch with any
member of the Club.
The occasion was witnessed by a small group of
Clonduff personnel and members of the local
Historical Society, all of whom were entertained
to a cup of tea in the Clubrooms before the
event. The rain poured down at the tea-drinking
but miraculously the sun shone for the unveiling
as the photos in the slideshow on the left will
show - click on the picture to view the
slideshow.
The granite stones are being crafted by local
craftsman Tony Branagan.
Jarlath congratulated Clonduff as one of the few
clubs who whole-heartedly embraced all the
Gaelic sports and spoke of the importance of GAA
Clubs in not only keeping the townland unit
alive but also the Irish Language.
As a token of appreciation Jarlath was presented
with a glass plaque beautifully crafted by
another local craftsman Patsy O'Hagan. |
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St
Patrick's and St Paul's Primary Schools
celebrate GAA's 125
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Patrick's |
St Paul's |
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celebrated the GAA 125 Anniversary on Friday
24th April with a series of all day activities.
The weather was favourable in the morning when
all the youngsters from both schools took part
in outdoor activities. The children of St Paul's
used Lowry's Meadow which has a historical link
with Clonduff teams of the past and has recently
been used recently to accommodate club teams for
training when there was just too much activity
in Clonduff Park. The children from St Patrick's
were all brought to Pairc Chluain Daimh where
every child took part in Football, Hurling,
Camogie or Rounders. The teachers in both
schools were assisted and supported by Club
personnel who were available on the day.
The GAA theme continued in the afternoon with
the teaching of the curriculum through the GAA
resources, which has been ongoing for some time.
St Patrick's is also doing a presentation on the
'Townlands' Project which will be displayed in
The Clubrooms over Lá na gClub weekend. |
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Clonduff Clubrooms is very much the hub of the
local community - family
gatherings / parties / Meeting Rooms /
Enteretainment, etc |
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Mrs
Fearon's 90th Birthday |
Celebrating Their Wedding Anniversary |
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Local INF Held National Conference |
Juvenile Disco |
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The
Club Juvenile Pool
finals
took place in clubrooms on Sunday 1st March
2009
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U18 Finalists |
The following young people had qualified for finals day:
U12-Shane Milligan, Conor Milligan, Stephen McConville
and Mark Bradley
Winner: Shane Milligan, Runner Up Conor Milligan
U14- Finbarr Greenan, James McParlan, Shane Milligan and
Mark Bradley
Winner Shane Milligan Runner Up James McParlan
U16- Darren McKevitt, Caolan McPolin, Stephen McConville
and Shane Milligan
Winner Shane Milligan Runner Up Caolan McPolin
U18-Sarah Bloomfield, Declan Gribben, Caolan McPolin and
Darren McKevitt
Winner Caolan McPolin Runner Up Declan Gribben
Congratulations to Shane Milligan who won 3 out of 4
categories, having picked up the U13 County Handball
title a few weeks earlier. (He also plays football
and participates in Scór na nÓg!) Well Done also to Sarah
Bloomfield who was the only female to qualify for Finals
Day!! |
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Clonduff's two Scór Sinsear County Champions 2009
Left - Novelty Act -
Back (l to r) Kealim
O'Hare (The President), Sean Downey (Down Hurler)
and Paddy Downey (Tyrone Footballer). (Front) Eamon
Devlin and Therese White (Set Dance winners 40 years
on).
Above - Set Dancers (Back) Niall Quinn,
Seamus Parr, John Cunningham, Francis Quinn; (Front) Tracey Magee, Anne Kelly,
Janine Branagan and Onagh Gribben |
Before a
capacity crowd in Saval GAC Club on Sunday 1st March
Clonduff picked up two Scór Sinsear titles to
add to their South Down titles won two weeks previously!
The opposition was tough in both competitions but the
nature of the Novelty Act - based on Barack Obama's
Irish roots - comprehensively swept the boards. Those
taking part were the Downey Brothers Sean and Paddy (who
wrote the script), Kealim O'Hare, Eamon Devlin and
Therese White. The Set Dancing team was a new-look mixed
team from previous years - Onagh Gribben, Janine
Branagan, Anne Kelly, Tracey Magee, Niall and Francis
Quinn, Seamus Parr and John Cunningham - but they
carried on the strong tradition of Clonduff in the
County Final!
Scór in Down continues to gather momentum in this the
40th anniversary of the founding of the GAA's Cultural
flagship and the 125th anniversary of the founding of
the GAA itself - hopefully this increased
participation will be maintained and not just a
gesture to mark the two great anniversaries!
Fear an Tí on the
night was Scór chairman John Devaney while the quiz
master was Brian Kennedy. |
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Scór
Dha Scór

To mark the
40th
anniversary of Scór, President McAleese
hosted
musicians, singers, reciters, dancers and officials from
Co Down at Áras an Uachtarán on Thursday 19th February
2009 - the 40th anniversary coinciding with
the GAA’s 125th anniversary .
Scór is the GAA’s principal cultural competition, which
celebrates and promotes Irish traditional music, dance,
poetry and drama through its club and county
structures. Each year it attracts thousands of young
and not so young who compete in eight categories
from local county semi finals through to the All-Ireland
finals.
President McAleese welcomed the group at 11.00am
and was entertained by the Ballad Group from Saul, who
went on to lift the All-Ireland Scór na nÓg title
the following Saturday (21st February) in Athlone.
The winning groups were accompanied by club officers,
Scór and GAA officials from the county.
Down’s GAA Cultural Officer and Scór chairman John
Devaney described the visit as “an important
acknowledgment of the work that continues in promoting
Irish culture through the clubs in the county.”
John stated that “the high levels of participation and
the high standards prove that Scór is the most important
vehicle within the GAA for maintaining and expressing
culture through music, song, dance, poetry and drama.”
“It has stood the test of time of 40 years, and despite
the many competitive distractions, it is now stronger
than it has been in years” he added.
Presentations were made to President McAleese on behalf
of Down Scór by Anne Marie Mulholland (Rostrevor) and
Declan Boyle (St Michael's) the two solo winners in the
2009 Scór na nÓg competitions
Among those who visited the President are the county
winners of Scór na nÓg (U-17) 2009.:
Ballad Group All Ireland winners from Saul
Instrumental Music winners from Saul
Solo-Singing winner from Rostrevor
Recitation/Story-telling winner from St Michael’s
Ceilí Dancing winners from Ballyholland
Set Dancing winners from Warrenpoint
Novelty Act winners from Saul
Clonduff was represented by Scór Committee members Mary
McGreevy, Cathy McPolin and Anita Brannigan. Seamus Parr,
the Senior Football goalkeeper and member County
Scór Sinsear Set Dancing team was the bus driver for the day. |
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South
Down Scór Sinsear finals 2009 took place in Saval on Sunday 15th February when,
to mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of Scór, 22 of the 23 South Down
football clubs were represented. This was the result of the hard work and
'coercing' abilities of a very dynamic Scór Committee.
Saval Hall was packed to capacity with most of the clubs vowing not to let their
efforts be just a 'one off' and build on what was achieved in 2009.
Three new cups were presented - Cathal Sands Memorial Cup (Most Improved Scór na
nÓg Club) to St Michael's (presented by Michael and Lily Sands); Moya McCormack
Memorial Cup (Most Improved Scór Sinsear Club) to Rostrevor (presented by
Feargal & Roisin McCormack); Peter Keenan Memorial Cup (Best Overall South Down
Club) to Ballyholland (presented by Evelyn and Nichole Keenan).
The South Down Scór Committee pictured left are: Back (l to r) Gerard Keenan
(Mayobridge), Kieran McGreevy (Annaclone) Anita Brannigan (Clonduff), Grainne
McGovern (Warrenpoint) Gerry Quinn (Mayobridge): Front (l to r) Mary McGreevy
(Clonduff) William J Smith (Glasdrumman and South Down and South Down Scór Chairman), Paula Magee
(Mayobridge and County/South Down Scór Secretary) and Cathy McPolin
(Clonduff). |
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On Thursday 29th January 2009, Clonduff Club was
the host for the Health and Wellness course
organised by The Ulster Council and delivered by
Aileen Tohill. Clonduff's representatives,
pictured right are (back l to r) Shauna McParlan,
Sheenagh McConville, P J McGreevy, Kitty Fegan.
Front (l to r) Ciarán McGreevy, Arty Quinn,
Sheenagh Tally (Facilitator) and John Anthony
Gribben. |
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On Thursday 15th December
Clonduff
Clubrooms hosted their annual Christmas Party
for the local Gateway Club. A big crowd of
Gateway Club members and their families
attended. Of course the highlight of the evening
was the visit of Santa who had a gift and plenty
of craic for each member. The lovely meal was
cooked by Mona Killen.
The Gateway Christmas Party has now become
established in the Clonduff Clubrooms which is
the ideal setting for community groups and
family get-togethers.
The Slideshow, left, (click on the image of
Fionnuala and Santa to view the entire slideshow)
shows not only Fionnuala Smith (Hilltown Gateway
Leader) but also a number of members and their
families - of course, some of the members
pretended they were too shy to have their photos
taken with Santa. (Photos courtesy of Sheenagh
McConville) |
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On Thursday 20th November
Eadaoin Hynes, representing Clonduff GAC, swept
aside all opposition to win the top talent competition De X-Factor final
in The Canal Court Hotel.
Over the previous six months, GAA Clubs from South Down and South Armagh held
their own internal competitions and the winner from each represented their clubs
in the Canal Court in the final. Eadoain was the run-away winner of the Clonduff
heat with her rendition of Duffy's 'Mercy' and she sure showed none towards the
opposition in the final.
The fact that the winner received £5,000 - £2,500 for herself and £2,500 for the
club they were representing added spice to the event!
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Clonduff Clubrooms was the setting for the 18th Birthday Party for Ogie
(Seamus) McGaw. A big crowd was present to wish Ogie a 'Happy Birthday'.
The two pictures above show Ogie having the time of his life. On the left
he is pictured with his parents Seamus and Briege and his sister Sonya. On
the right Sonya and Ogie are happy in each other's company. |
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For
quite a few years, The Newry Wheelers Cycling
Association has used Clonduff Car park and Club Rooms as the base for their
bi-annual activities - one day's racing is confined and the other is open. On
Saturday 21st June 2008 they staged their Open event when over 200 cyclists took
part in the wet and windy conditions.
The cyclists sign on in the clubrooms and commence their racing from the top of
the driveway and complete three circuits of the route which takes them from
Clonduff Park to The Square, Kilcoo, turning left on to the Newry Road and onto
Rathfriland. At the bottom of the brae they turn left on to the Hilltown Road,
into into the village, turn left down through the village and past the Club.
Clonduff are always willing to assist other organisations - Clonduff Club
member, Billy Campbell is one of the main organisers in The Wheelers'
Click on the image (left) to view a slideshow of the Wheelers' around the club
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Hall of Fame Winners 2008 |
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The Clonduff Annual Awards night for 2008 was
held in March 2009. This was also the date of the 40th
Anniversary of Scór Competitions (Scór Dha Scór) and to mark the
occasion, Clonduff chose the All Ireland winning Novelty Act
personnel of 1977 to join the Hall of Fame - the first Down Club
to do so. The three members of the act - Anne Quinn, Mary Grant
and Eileen Hamill are seated at the front. In the back row are
Brian McGreevy (Club Chairperson) Enda McGinley (All Ireland
winning Tyrone team) and Bronagh McAlinden who presented the P J
McAlinden Memorial Trophy to the three ladies. |
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County Scór Sinsear Champions 2008 |
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| The Set Dancers, looking
resplendent in their re-styled dresses, regained the County
Title, last held by Clonduff in 2006. Back row: Onagh Gribben,
Wendy Farrell, Gayle Kane, Niamh Pritchard, Laura McShane. Front
row: Lisa Parr, Ursula Quinn and Andrea Gribben |
For the second year
in a row, super sub, Mary McGreevy helped the Clonduff team to
the Quiz County title - left to right: Mary McGreevy, Marie Walls
and Brian Canavan.
Both acts won their respective Ulster Semi Final. |
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Despite
all the other activity on Sunday 12th August, a large
crowd of
players, mentors and parents attended the
presentation on 'Health and Wellness' by Sharon Madigan
(Dietician) in the clubrooms.
She recommended that in the interests of hygiene, all
players should bring his/her own water bottle to both
training and games. She said it was vitally important
for players not to train or play on an empty stomach and
recommended that all players should eat a balanced meal
1½ to 2 hours before the activity.
The Clonduff Club believes this is sound advice
and, while water will still be provided in the usual
manner, would like everyone to bring his/her own clearly
marked water bottle with them and always eat a meal a
short time before a match or training.
On the right, Paul Shields (Youth Officer) is pictured
with a section of the young people who attended. |
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Flanked by two of the Scór Sinsear winners are
the Scór na nÓg County Champions 2007 in Instrumental Music -
The Murray Family, Sean, Mary Catherine and Stephen with (at
back) David Mackey.
Clonduff were the top club in Scór Sinsear an
Dún in 2007. They picked up three county titles - Recitation,
Novelty Act and Quiz and progressed to the Ulster Final. Above
(left) is Eileen McCusker (Recitation) receiving the brand new
Kennedy Family trophy from Josie and Brian Kennedy
(Brian is County Scór Chairman); On the right is the Quiz team
of Anita Brannigan and Marie Walls who were joined in the County
Final and the Ulster Semi Final by super sub Mary McGreevy
(regular member Brian Canavan was unavailable). The Novelty Act
group, pictured on the bottom left are: Therese White, Eamon
Devlin, the mannequin, Sean Downey, Paddy Downey. In front are
Cailim O'Hare and Danny Nugent. Bottom right are the three county winners with the
three brand
new trophies. |
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| St Paul's are GAA Table Quiz
County Champions 2007! |
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| St Paul's
Primary School, Cabra are Cumann na mBunscol an Duin Table Quiz
Champions 2007. The children, pictured left to right are: Shane
Milligan, Gabriel McCoy, Declan Gribben and Mark Devlin. They
are pictured here with their trophy and their Principal, Vincent
Devlin and Quiz Organiser Collie Bell. The boys went on to
represent Down in the Ulster Quiz. Mark and Declan represented
Down in a televised quiz on 'The Den' on RTE in March (broadcast
23rd March). Mark and
Shane cut their 'quizzing teeth' in this year's Scór na
nÓg and Clonduff Club is very proud not only of these
two but of Declan and Gabriel also. Well done boys (and
Vincent too). |
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| These 12 boys and girls
represented Clonduff in 3 teams at the annual Down Youth
Table Quiz (2005). They are pictured in the Mayobridge Club
with Tom Markham - the All Ireland Minor cup won by Down in
2005! |
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| Clonduff Set Dancers picked up another
County Scór Sinsear title in 2005! Back row (l to r): Jayme
Farrell, Niall Quinn, Wayne Farrell, Ursula Quinn. Front row
(l to r) Elaine Farrell, Niamh Pritchard, Lisa Parr and
Joleen Parr |
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| Co Sets Champions
2004 - the men are all Farrells - Joe (2nd from left)
and sons Jayme, Wayne and Keith (substituting for the
injured Niall Quinn). Front Row: Elaine Farrell (Jayme's
wife) Lisa Parr, Andrea Gribben, Joleen Parr |
Co Quiz Champions
2004! Brian Canavan, Marie Walls and Anita Brannigan |
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| This team of young
ladies reached the Down Co Final in 2003 competing for
Clonduff in the Set Dancing Competition. Left to
right: Caroline McGreevy, Laura McShane, Claire Cunningham,
Tracy Magee, Jane McPolin, Onagh Gribben, Karen McConville,
Janine Branagan |
Co Céilí Champions -
one of three Scór Sinsear County title winners in 2004. Left
to right: Kerrie O'Hagan, Joleen Parr, Laura McShane, Lisa
Parr, Andrea Gribben, Wendy Farrell, Gail McPolin, Elaine
Farrell |
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Clonduff GAC's Very First Golf
Classic - 15 June 2001
| The Trail Blazers |
The Winners |
The Mourne Windows |
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| These four young Clonduff men were the
very first team to tee off in the first ever Clonduff Golf Classic. Left
to right - Damian Smith, John Fegan, Stephen Brannigan, Damian Fearon |
This team, representing Dromara GFC
returned a magnificent score of 103 to collect first prize. |
Four more Clonduff men, represented
Mourne Windows, the senior team sponsors. Left to right - Shane
Fitzpatrick, Oliver Morgan, Tooter (Thomas) Murnin and Paul McConville |
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| Clonduff Senior Set Dancers
reached the All Ireland Final for the first time in 2003
having won the County and Ulster titles. The dancers are
(left to right) Wayne Farrell, Niamh Pritchard, Joe Farrell,
Andrea Gribben, Niall Quinn, Lisa Parr, Michael Walls,
Joleen Parr |
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| Sean Downey won the
County Scór na nÓg Recitation title in 2002 is pictured here
with Cathy McPolin |
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| Darren Gribben, Marie Walls and
Anita Brannigan won the County Scór Sinsear Quiz title in
2001, 2002 and 2003 |
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Y2K was a special year
for Clonduff - they picked up four County Titles in Scór
Sinsear! |
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- Clonduff's first ever Ballad Group
winners Left to right Cathy Murray,
Ann O'Hare, Niamh O'Hare, Eileen Murray and Matt McGinn
Right - Niamh O'Hare picked up three County
Titles at Scór Sinsear 2000 - Solo Singing, Ballad Group and Ceili Dancing |
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Clonduff's Four County Scór Sinsear
Champions, 2000!
Back row - Left to Right: Ted
Gilmore, Gerard Duggan (Novelty Act) Laura McShane, Ursula Quinn, Jolene Parr, Andrea
Gribben, Niamh Murphy, Lisa Parr, Claire Cunningham and Caroline Brannigan (Ceili Dancing)
Middle Row - Left to Right: Eileen McCusker (Novelty Act), Niamh O'Hare (Multi
Award Winner), Karen McConville (Novelty Act), Ann O'Hare, Matt McGinn, Eileen Murray,
Kathy Murray (Ballad Group) and Fr Tony Corr (Novelty Act) Front: P J McGinn and
Noel Carvill (Novelty Act) |
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This young group of Set Dancers kept up the great tradition of Clonduff -
they won the Down and Ulster Scór na nÓg titles in 2000 and were beaten into second
place in the All Ireland Final on a countback. The following week they collected the
Readóri title competing against the same team. The team, from left to right (back)
Michael Walls, Oonagh Gribben, John Cunningham, Wayne Farrell. f(ront) Janine Branagan,
Sharleen McCaffrey, Karen Gribben and Wendy Farrell.
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County U18 Table Quiz Champions and
Runners Up 1999/2000!
Clonduff entered two teams in the Youth Table quiz in
1999/2000 and they picked up first and second prize! Seated: County Champions (Left to Right) Niall
Quinn, Niamh Hynes, Ruari Cousins and Kevin Mooney. Middle Row Patrice McPolin
(Organiser) Colin Brannigan, Rory Grant, Cillian Cousins and Ryan Arthurs with Michael
Keenan (County Youth Officer. Clonduff's Youth Officer, John McPolin is pictured
centred back with other members of the organising committee. |
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| Scór Sinsear Winners
1998! Clonduff picked up three County titles - Set
Dancing, Novelty Act and Quiz. Back row: Jayme Farrell Joseph
Farrell, Francie McKeown, Eileen Parr, Sean Fegan, Leona Lavery,
Fr Corr, Agnes Murnin, Seamus McPolin, Keith Farrell. Front:
Elaine Hillen, Gail McPolin, Anita Brannigan, Marie Walls,
Andrea Gribben, Lisa Parr. Missing from the photo is Francis
Quinn who was on the quiz team. |
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| President Mary
McAleese invited the Clonduff Dancers to Aras an Uchtaran for St
Patrick's Day Party in 1998. Front (l-r) Wendy Farrell, Wayne
Farrell, Onagh Gribben, Joseph Farrell, President McAleese,
Martin McAleese, Laura McShane, Michael Walls, Janine Branagan.
2nd row (l-r) Kevin óg fitzpatrick, Claire Cunningham, Caroline
Brannigan, Eithne Harper, Elaine Hillen, Niamh Murphy, Ursula
Quinn, Sharlene McCaffrey, Niamh O'Hare. 3rd row (l-r) Peter
Magee, Conan O'rourke, Jayne McPolin, Niall Quinn, Joleen Parr,
Seamus Parr, Gayle McPolin, Sean Hillen. Back (l-r) Keith
Farrell, Lisa Parr, Jayme Farrell, Andrea Gribben, Francis Quinn |
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| These young dancers won the Set Dancing at the
very last All-Ireland CCD Finals in February 1998
Back Row: (left to right) Joe
Farrell (coach) Wayne Farrell, Seamus Parr, Niall Quinn, Michael Walls, Phyllis Breslin
(President of All Ireland Camogie Board) Front Row: Wendy Farrell, Sharleen
McCaffrey, Oonagh Gribben and Janine Brannigan |
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| This team - Anita Brannigan, Marie Walls
and Francis Quinn won Clonduff's first Scór Sinear Quiz title on home ground in
1997. They retained the title in 1998 and 1999. They are flanked by Harry McAvoy (Down Scór) and Martin Goss presenting the Goss Shield.
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These ladies brought three All-Ireland CCD
titles back to Clonduff in 1997
Back left to right - The Set Dancers -
Jolene Parr, Lisa Parr, Niamh O'Hare (Niamh also won the Solo Singing) Ursula Quinn, Jayne
McPolin, Clare Cunningham, Laura McShane, Caroline Brannigan: Front left to right
- Belle O'Loughlin (President All Ireland Camogie) The Quiz Team - Mary C Morgan, Marie
Walls and Anita Brannigan |
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CCD Winners 1994 - All Ireland
Set Dancing winners - Left to right Front: Seamus Parr, Wayne
Farrell, Niall Quinn, John Cunningham. Back: Onagh Gribben Wendy
Farrell, Eileen McCusker (Ulster Recitation winner), Belle O'Loughlin (Ulster Camogie Council Chairperson), Maureen Kearney
and Sharlene McCaffrey |
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1993 - Clonduff entered the Record Books
when they became the only Club in the history of Scór na nÓg to win both the
All Ireland Ceili and Set
Dancing titles on the same day, using only a total of nine dancers! The children are:
Back Row (l to r) Kevin óg Fitzpatrick, Jayme Farrell,
Francis Quinn, Keith Farrell. Front (l to r) Elaine Hillen,
Caroline McShane, Andrea Gribben, Lisa Parr, Joleen Parr.
The children are flanked by their mentors Sean Hillen (left)
and Joe Farrell (right). |
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John Cunningham and Kevin óg
Fitzpatrick won the Scór na nÓg Instrumental Music Co title in
1994 |
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All Ireland CCD Quiz Champions 1994 - Mary
Catherine Morgan, Marie Walls and Mary Kelly won the All Ireland
on the fourth occasion they reached the All Ireland Final. They
are pictured here with the President of the Camogie Association
Bridin Uí Mhaolagáin |
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Following the great success of Clonduff competitors in various
cultural competitions a presentation was made to Joe Farrell and
Sean Hillen (Dancing coaches) by Eileen Hamill (Chairperson
Clonduff Camogie) and Vincent Devlin (Chairman Clonduff GAC) |
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| South Down Scór na nÓg
Champions 1992! Left Sean Magee and John Cunningham won the
Instrumental Music and Tracy Rodgers won the Solo Singing |
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| Sean Fitzpatrick (Back
right) won Down and Ulster CCD Recitation title in 1990 |
Keith Farrell (Centre) won
the Down and Ulster Final in Scór na nÓg Recitation in
1991 |
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| This group of
youngsters won the Scór na nÓg County title for Novelty Act in
1990. They are: (l-r) P J McGinn, Francis Cousins, Sinead Hannaway,
Paul McConville, Bridgín Grant and Paul Parr |
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| The Fegan Sisters -
Michelle, Angela and Sheenagh were Scór na nÓg Co Instrumental
Champions in 1989 |
Clonduff's first ever Scór na nÓg
Quiz winners - 1992 - Jayme Farrell, Francis Quinn and Gavin
McCann |
Angela has moved on but Sharon is
an able replacement as the Fegan Girls were once again winners
in 1990 |
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| South Down Scór na nÓg Set
Dancing Champions 1989! Back row (l to r) Laurine Harper,
Lisa Parr, Andrea Gribben, Elaine Hillen. Front row (l to r)
Jayme Farrell, Kevin óg Fitzpatrick, Keith Farrell, Francis
Quinn |
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| In 1984, to
mark the Centenary of the GAA, Clonduff staged a pageant "To
Wear the Yellow Gold", telling the story of the GAA in Clonduff
(founded 1887 and continuously in existence since). Pictured
above is the cast. Front (l-r) Sean Hillen, Jayme Farrell, Keith
Farrell, Bridgín Grant, Paul McAlinden, Lorcan Mussen. Second
row (l-r) Joseph Farrell, Teeni Wilson, Aileen McGinn. Back
(l-r) Helena Grant, Arthur Murphy, Eileen McCusker, Peter
McPolin, Bronagh McAlinden, Pat Hannaway, Kathleen Fitzpatrick,
Jimmie Cousins, Peter Hamill, Sean Fitzpatrick, Francis Quinn |
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| Scór na nÓg County Champions 1988
- (l to r) Elaine Hillen, Aileen McGinn, Martina McGinn, Siobhan
Magee, Noreen McPolin, Edel Harper, Martina Monaghan, Denise
Hillen |
Scór Sinsear Set Dancing team
1988 - (l to r) May McCaffrey, Sean Hillen, Kathleen McPolin,
Desmond Connolly, Christina Monaghan, Ted Gilmore, Briege
McCartney, Damian Murray |
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| A Youthful Set Dancing team in
1987 - (l to r) Paul McConville, Karen McConville, Francis
Quinn, Lisa Parr, Jayme Farrell, Tracey Magee, Keith Farrell,
Mairead McGinn |
CCD Ulster Set Dancing
Champions 1987! Back row (l to r) Grainne Harper, Noreen
McPolin, Siobhan Magee, Edel Harper, Martina McGinn. Front row
(l to r) Denise Hillen, Aileen McGinn, Martina Monaghan |
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| The Magee Family -
Siobhan, Paul and Tony who won the Co Scór na nÓg Instrumental
Music title in 1986 |
Clonduff's 1st Set Dancing
team in an Ulster Final - Back Joseph Farrell, Sean Hillen,
Seamus McPolin, Patsy O'Hagan. Front: Kathleen Smyth, Kathleen
McPolin, Christine Monaghan, Winnie O'Hagan |
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| Down Scór na nÓg Novelty Act
Champions 1985 - Pamela McQuaid, Lynn Carvill, Mary Clancy,
Sheila Lowry and Lorraine Brown. |
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| These ladies won the 1985 Down
and Ulster CCD Novelty Act titles (l to r) Jacqueline McGreevy,
Eileen McCusker, Rosaleen McCartney, Teenie Devlin and Eileen
Hamill |
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| Representing Clonduff in Scór Sinsear Quiz in
early 1980s in Mary Catherine Morgan, Tom Gribben and Aidan Carr |
Clonduff Set Dancers in early
1980s - Back: Seamus McPolin, Sean Hillen, Joseph Farrell, Paddy
O McConville. Front: Carmel McGinn, Kathleen Hillen, Kathleen
McPolin, Margaret McShane |
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| These men represented Clonduff and
Down in the All Ireland Scór Sinsear Instrumental Music
Final in 1983. They are Peter Cunningham, Ciaran Mussen
and Liam McSherry. |
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| CCD County Quiz Champions in 1980. Mary
Murphy, Pamela Arthurs and Kathleen Clancy. |
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| These young ladies reached
the All Ireland Final of the CCD Quiz in 1978. They are: Jacqueline
McGreevy, Martina Devlin (RIP), and Elizabeth Maginn |
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Clonduff's first All
Ireland Cultural Award winners!
They did us proud in 1977!
All Ireland Novelty Act Winners - Anne Quinn,
Mary McGinn and Eileen Hamill. "The Matchmaker" was written and produced
by Mary! |
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The
very first winners of a Cultural Award in Clonduff!
These 3 young ladies,
(left to right) Susan Magennis, Ursula Hamill
and Ann Murphy, picked up the County CCD Quiz
title in 1974 |
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© Anita Brannigan
If you wish to make a comment or supply information for inclusion on
this site please e-mail Anita |
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