Uncategorized – Ballinrobe GAA Club

The late Anna O’Loughlin, RIP

It is with great sadness that Ballinrobe GAA Club announces the passing of one of our greatest supporters, Anna O’Loughlin. A native of Kilnaboy, Co. Clare, Anna (87) became an integral part of life in this town after moving here in 1970. If there was a match, you could rely on Anna being there, along with her husband, Christy, who passed away 12 years ago. A quietly spoken woman, Anna often sat in the car up on ‘the embankment’ at Flanagan Park where she studied football and hurling encounters with an astute eye. Afterwards, she would share with players and mentors a thoughtful word of commendation or encouragement, as befitted the outcome. Her loyalty to the club was undiluted in every circumstance. Long journeys to remote venues never cost her a thought, either. Wherever the maroon and yellow of the club – or the blue and white of Ballinrobe CBS and later Ballinrobe Community School – fielded teams in pursuit of victory, Anna and Christy made it their business to be there, an inseparable couple who wanted only the best for the people they knew and loved. Multiple generations of Ballinrobe players regarded Anna with great warmth and respect, and her passing has occasioned much sadness locally. Anna and Christy moved here in 1970, when Christy was appointed to work as farm manager at the agricultural research station at Creagh, Ballinrobe. He served for a period as vice chairman of our club and was also heavily involved in the physical developments of our facilities at Flanagan Park. He played an active part in Ballinrobe hurling club during the 1970s and 1980s. Their sons contributed to some of the best days our club has ever had – a teenage PJ featured on the team that captured our first Mayo Intermediate Championship title in 1979; Brendan played on the 1990 side that won the Mayo Junior Championship; and Fergal was a leading light when we won our second Intermediate Championship title in 2000. Fergal figured on the Ballinrobe Community School team that won the historic first All-Ireland Senior B title in 1991. Brendan was a substitute on the Mayo team that won the 1983 All-Ireland U21 Championship. The family involvement is as strong as ever and is highly valued by all of our members. Anna and Christy’s son, Declan, who also played at under-age level with the club, is a key figure in the club’s ever-expanding ladies football wing. The emergence of a strong ladies football sector in the club dictated that after many years watching her sons star in the Ballinrobe colours, Anna had the great joy of watching her grand-daughter, Ailbhe, shine for the club. Grandson Fionn, who is also an accomplished basketballer, has worn the club jersey from an early age. Declan’s wife, Katherine (Butler), is a former club secretary. The Christy O’Loughlin Cup was inaugurated in 2012 and Anna presented the cup to winning captains on a number of occasions, including to Fionn in 2018. We extend our deepest sympathy to Anna’s sons James, PJ, Brendan, Declan and Fergal; daughter Evelyn; daughters-in-law; son-in-law; grandchildren, great-grandchildren and extended family members on their loss. As a club, we feel acutely the pain of Anna’s passing, and are mindful of the fact that the family have lost a dearly loved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Funeral details are available HERE. The club will form a guard of honour at the removal of her remains from St Joseph’s Funeral Home to St Mary’s Church on Sunday. John Sweeney, Chairman, Ballinrobe GAA Club.

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Last Man Standing – rules and how to enter

Can you pick the winner of the next Premier league games and can you get further than most? Win €500!! €10 to enter. Starting this Saturday 13th August. Enter by Thursday night, 11th August. Contact Paul on 086 224 8078 WhatsApp to enter. Scroll down to see the rules of the competition. Last Man Standing Rules A team can only be selected once. Should your selected team win, you will progress to the next round. However, if your team loses or draws you will be eliminated from the competition. Should you forget to make your selection in any matchday, you will be automatically assigned the first team you have not previously selected according to alphabetical order. If your selected team’s game is postponed you will automatically go through to the next round and you cannot select that team again. The deadline for matchday picks will be one hour before the first game of each matchday. All competition correspondence will be done via the Last Man Standing WhatsApp group. The winner will be the last remaining person in the competition.

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Ballinrobe GAA Club Launches its Strategic Development Plan 2021 – 2022

‘New goals and aspirations’ as Ballinrobe GAA Clublaunches its five-year plan Past glories, current hopes, and future aspirations all blended together on Saturday night last (January 29th), as Ballinrobe GAA Club celebrated the launch of its Strategic Development Plan 2021-2025. You can view the plan HERE Delayed in its finalisation due to COVID-19, the plan was finally unveiled at the first formal indoor gathering of club members in almost two years, at Ballinrobe Racecourse. The chairperson of the Steering Committee that oversaw the development of the plan, Denise Horan, remarked that the lifting of COVID restrictions provided the ideal backdrop to the launch of the plan. “Its a time of joy and hope – a perfect time to start a new chapter in our club, to set out new goals and aspirations,” she said. Developed over an 18-month period by five sub-committees led by chairpersons Colm Jennings, Declan O’Loughlin, Donal McCormack, Paul McElarney, Mike Finnerty and Elaine O’Donnell, the plan sets out ambitions across all areas of the club, from coaching and games development, to finance and fundraising, and facilities development. Though the ‘thinking, research and consideration of ideas was broad and deep’, Denise Horan noted, a deliberate decision was made to condense the initial long list of recommendations to a set that was ‘small, but meaningful; aspirational, but clear and simple’. The 24 final recommendations that made the plan reflect this considered approach. The event, hosted by Liam Horan and broadcast live to over 400 followers on the club’s Facebook page, traced the proud history of the club from its early days (recalled memorably byclub historian Mike Coyne), through to its successes of last year, in boys’ and ladies’ underage competitions. Newly-appointed intermediate team manager – and former Mayo full-back – Peter Ford, a native of Ballinrobe, also spoke, recalling his playing days with the club, the highs of his previous stint as manager over 20 years ago and his excitement about the season ahead. “I wasn’t involved with any team last year and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be again. But when I was approached about the Ballinrobe job and when I started having conversations with some of the guys involved, it was like a drug that took hold again,” he said. The long and loyal service of club stalwart Billy Horan – who recently marked 70 years covering Gaelic games for the local papers – was also recognised on the night, with club chairman John Flannelly making a special presentation to a man who ‘has been a leader within the club since the 1950s – as player, coach, chairman, PRO, President and South and County Board delegate’. Encouraging everyone to get behind the new club plan, John highlighted that there is ‘a role for everyone in Ballinrobe GAA Club’. “Sometimes people think they have nothing to contribute, but there is something everyone can do. No matter how small it seems, it all matters because it takes the whole community to keep the club going,” he said. Entertainment was provided in the form of traditional music and sean-nós dancing, ably performed by underage club members Rachel Gallagher, Ethan Tierney, Roisin and Katie Yates, Jamie and Billy Donnellan and Aoibhinn and Caitlin Cummins, under the tutelage of Chloe Feeney of the Chloe Feeney School of Music

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Registration 2022

Ballinrobe GAA registration will go live on Wednesday 2nd February at 9am via https://returntoplay.gaa.ie/. For New Members we have information below on how to set up your account, create a profile and complete registration. Existing Club Players and Members already have an account with Foireann and can complete their registration via their account. All underage Players must be registered under their parent/Guardian account. Please note the youngest Players we will be welcoming this year will be children born in 2017. LGFA Membership: Please select LGFA for all underage Girl Players, Ladies Players and Coaches involved with our Ladies Teams. If you have any further queries, please email ballinrobegaa@gmail.com Membership 2022 Adult Player GAA/LGFA €100 Adult Student Player GAA/LGFA €60 Adult (Non-Player) €50 Youth Player U18 First child €60 Youth Player U18 Second and Subsequent children €50 each Club Family Membership 2 Adults and up to 5 Children €230 * 1 x €100 Ticket for Mayo GAA Development Draw * Entry into Weekly Club Lotto Draw Club Individual Membership Adult Non-Player Player GAA/LGFA €150 * 1 x €100 Ticket for Mayo GAA Development Draw * Entry into Weekly Club Lotto Draw New Club Members New Club Member: If you are new to the Club you will need to set up a Foireann account via https://returntoplay.gaa.ie/ . Click on video below which outlines the steps involved in setting up an account. (Please ignore the Covid 19 information at end). Once you have registered a Foireann account you are now in a position to create a profile. We understand that you may be the parent of a member, and not registering yourself. That is fine, however you still need to complete a profile as a Parent/Guardian and just follow the steps that work for your household. The first step is to register all those who want to be members. Adding Child: As the account holder, you are covered through the Profile Section. You then need to add your son/daughter and create their Profile to register. Once their profiles have been completed you proceed to membership options. Payment: You will see a number of Membership options on the screen. Please select the membership option which best suits and make the relevant payment to complete the registration process.

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Ballinrobe GAA Club Gear

Ballinrobe GAA Club Shop is now open. This year we are procuring our gear from a number of sources, to avail of best price for our members, provide a greater choice of gear and support a local business. The providers of gear this year are our usual suppliers O’Neills, for adult and underage gear and we have also agreed a club shop with Adidas for adult and underage gear. We have entered into an agreement with Hughsey Sports based in the Neale for Robe Rockets gear (Nursery to U 11 boys). The links to the 3 club shops are below O’Neills Club Shop: The O’Neills club shop is open on an ongoing basis and gear can be ordered from it at any time and will be delivered directly to an address specified by the purchaser. Adidas Club Shop: The Adidas Club shop will be open until the 11th May only and items purchased will be delivered directly to an address specified by the purchaser. Delivery will take approximately 7 weeks from the closing date. Hughsey Sports: https://hughseysports.com/pages/robe-rockets-bundle The Hughsey Sports Club Shop will be open until 17th May only. Items purchased will be delivered in bulk directly to the Club and will handed out at a fixed date and time upon receipt. Ballinrobe Football Socks can be ordered from Team coaches. Depending on demand, the club shops will be open again later in the year. Don’t miss the closing dates for placing an order, as the gear from Adidas and Hughsey Sports will not be available again until later in the year. We look forward to seeing all our players and supporters in the new Ballinrobe GAA Club Merchandise.

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Win a Mulberry Handbag in our Draw

We are a thriving South Mayo Club providing football for over 500 members, 400 Players – 14 teams – boys and girls – from Under-6 to intermediate and is one of the most active sporting organisations in our community. We have seen increased demands on our facilities with a growth from 280 playing members to over 400 in the last 5 years due to our thriving underage structure. Ballinrobe GAA Club has never lacked ambition and, though we are in challenging times, the club is determined to move forward now too. Development work on our pitch and facilities will start in 2021 and we need your help to achieve this. We invite you to purchase a ticket for our Christmas raffle for as little as €10 which will help us kickstart the development work at Flanagan Park. In what has been a challenging year, Ballinrobe GAA are offering you the chance to win an authentic Mulberry bag from Brown Thomas worth over €1,100 just in time for Christmas. This could be yours this Christmas and all you have to do is purchase a ticket to enter!! What a present to receive, imagine the excitement of gifting this to a loved one for Christmas or having this welcome addition to the outfit for girl’s night out…. To be in with a chance to win this wonderful prize, raffle tickets are available starting at €10 per ticket, option to buy 3 tickets for €20 or indulge, go all out and purchase 10 tickets for €50. Tickets are available at https://www.idonate.ie/raffle/ballinrobegaaraffle The Draw will take place Live on Friday 18th December on the Ballinrobe GAA Facebook page. Make sure to enter your name and contact details when buying the ticket. Your chance to win starts here so please spread the word and help us achieve our dreams.

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Ballinrobe GAA Club “Movember Challenge”

You Too Could Have the Padraic Cos Look. Ballinrobe GAA Club is using the month of November and the remaining Covid19 Level 5 lockdown period to raise funds for worthy charities by organising a “Movember Challenge“. Support our players, coaches and members as they take on the ‘Movember Challenge”. ”Movember” is a time to inspire men (and women) to look after their physical and mental health and wellbeing. Men are challenged to grow a moustache, and men and women can be physically active and move or host a fundraising event. The charities that have been chosen are the Corrib Mask Search and Rescue, and the Mayo Roscommon Hospice. Both charities are very worthy causes and contribute greatly to the community of Ballinrobe and its surrounds. At the end of the Level 5 lockdown period, an event will be organised whereby all those who took part will have the opportunity to have their masterpieces shaved off. John Flannelly, Chairman of Ballinrobe GAA Club said “during COVID-19 it has been very difficult for charities and voluntary organisations to fundraise with all the restrictions of movement currently in place. This is an opportunity for Ballinrobe GAA Club to give back to just 2 of those groups that provide such a valuable service and support to the people of Ballinrobe and its environs”. Each week, participants will send in photos of their progress in the challenge. With the age profile of our current Intermediate Team, it is suspected that some of them may struggle with this challenge, however we as a club have not, and never will, doubt their commitment to the cause – on or off the pitch. A collage of those photos will be posted on facebook so that everybody can keep track of their progress. To support please go to out GoFundMe page. Ballinrobe GAA Club

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Gaelic 4 Mothers & Others

Calling all Ladies over 25. Ballinrobe Ladies GAA Club – Gaelic 4 Mothers & Others kicks off again this year very shortly. This is great fun and a non competitive outlet for all women of the community. Whether you’re a novice, or a former or current player, this is a very enjoyable opportunity to get out for some exercise and perhaps learn a new skill in a fun environment. Registration takes place this Friday evening 24th July in TACU from 7.00 to 8.30 pm with the first training session with experienced coaches on Wednesday the 29th July at 8.00pm in the community school pitch. All are welcome, whether you played before or not. It promises to be a very enjoyable couple of months.

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Sympathy to Lyons and Culhane families

Ballinrobe GAA Club extends sympathy to two local families who suffered bereavements over the weekend. Tom Lyons, Templeogue, Dublin, who passed away at the AMNCH, Tallaght, Dublin, was a native of Cloonacastle, Ballinrobe, and a former player with Ballinrobe. He lined out with the club in the 1959 Mayo Senior Football League final against Ballina Stephenites. Tom’s brother, John, played alongside him on many occasions for Ballinrobe, including in the 1959 final, and Tom’s nephews – John’s sons – Damien, Joe and Sean all played for the club. In 1957, Tom won a Flanagan Cup final with Ballinrobe CBS. A retired member of An Garda Siochána, Tom was predeceased by his wife Eileen (née Ward, formerly of Castlecoote, Co. Roscommon). He was a much loved Dad to Garry, Petrina, Arlene, Tommy, Leah and Alva. He will be very sadly missed by his family, sisters May, Breege and Lena, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, his 16 adoring grandchildren, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and many friends. More details HERE John Culhane, Rahard, Ballinrobe, a former club treasurer who continues to be deeply involved in our club, is mourning the death of his mother, Kathleen, today (Monday). She passed away in Kings Heath, Birmingham, where John and his siblings grew up. Mrs Culhane was formerly Carroll of Brackloon, Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo. She is predeceased by her husband, Padraig, who died three years ago. Sympathy is extended to John; his wife, Dymphna, a keen club supporter and Principal of St Joseph’s Primary School, Ballinrobe, a noted school for Gaelic football; and their daughters, Caoimhe, Aoife and Sadhbh.

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Thank you to our outgoing Management Team

Ballinrobe GAA would like to thank Donal Costello, Intermediate Manager who is stepping down and his Management team of John Gilrane, Pat Guickan, Kieran Biggins and David Colleran for their hard work, dedication and contribution to our Club during the last 2 years with our Intermediate and U21 Teams. They finished the 2019 season on a high winning two U21 Titles. We wish them well in the future from us all in the Club.

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