Search Results for 'Pat Spillane'

Ballyhaunis GAA club are most certainly on cloud nine at the moment. I can only imagine how tough it is trying to keep the hurling and football teams fresh as they are playing every other week. In all, 10 or so players are representing both teams so some serious negotiating has to be going on between the managers to make sure that the players are fresh for whichever code is on the following weekend. Their hurlers had a fantastic win last Sunday in Athleague and this Sunday it’s the footballers’ turn against tournament favourites St Croan’s in Hyde Park at 2pm. Kiltane’s victory over Boyle last year in Castlebar means it’s an away game for Ballyhaunis. I don’t imagine club officers would have it any other way and love the predicament they are in. Any time you are training for championship matches after the October Bank Holiday weekend means you have at the very least secured a county title for your club, and with wins for both the footballers and hurlers already in the provincial series it can only mean there will be a real adrenaline rush attending training. I experienced it twice as a player; it brings such a feel-good factor around your town or parish to be involved in the championship when the evenings are short. Players are probably and deservedly getting a little spoilt now, gear bags, training tops and polo shirts are more than likely been sponsored and to top it off they are probably been treated to some grub after training, which is ideal for the bonding of the group, that never happens unless you at least win your county title. Ballyhaunis will need to be on top of their game to win in Roscommon.

Galway Advertiser GAA correspondent and All Ireland winning captain, Ray Silke, has been chosen as one of the first inductees of the University of Limerick Sports Hall of Fame.

A State agency is to host a meeting in Athlone this week to look at promoting job creation in renewable energy in rural Ireland.

An Athlone meeting of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (Cedra) was pulled recently for a later date because there wasn’t enough interest - it was revealed at the March meeting of Westmeath County Council.

An Athlone meeting of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (Cedra) was pulled recently for a later date because there wasn’t enough interest - it was revealed at the March meeting of Westmeath County Council.

Foróige Galway is hosting a table quiz in Monroe’s Tavern on Wednesday February 13 at 8pm, to raise funds for the Alan Kerins Africa Projects.

Successful Irish Olympic boxing coach Billy Walsh will headline a special charity seminar in aid of Alan Kerins Projects.

The Ulster Bank GAA Force Roadshow travelled to Castlebar Mitchels GAA Club on Wednesday night, where some 250 Mayo GAA fans took part in the evening’s activities. The event featured a panel discussion and questions and answers session with RTÉ pundit and Kerry GAA legend Pat Spillane, former Mayo players Liam McHale and Martin Carney, and current Galway stars Joe Bergin and Finian Hanley. The event was MC’d by Newstalk sports commentator David McIntyre.

I don’t know about you, but I have been bored out of my tree watching Gaelic football in this year’s championship so far. As a viewing spectacle it has been very poor fare. Of course it is up to the various counties to raise their standards to those set by the likes of Dublin, Cork and Kerry, but watching the championship over recent seasons suggest that the gap between the elite and the rest is widening. The suggestion from both Colm O’Rourke and Kevin McStay, on last weekend’s Sunday Game, for a two or three tier system is surely going to become a reality sooner or later.

I don’t know about you, but I have been bored out of my tree watching Gaelic football in this year’s championship so far. As a viewing spectacle it has been very poor fare. Of course it is up to the various counties to raise their standards to those set by the likes of Dublin, Cork and Kerry, but watching the championship over recent seasons suggest that the gap between the elite and the rest is widening. The suggestion from both Colm O’Rourke and Kevin McStay, on last weekend’s Sunday Game, for a two or three tier system is surely going to become a reality sooner or later.