Write a comment
Today 1 February saw the start of the Armagh Ladies' Gaelic Football Association Virtual Fitness Challenge "100km in 28 Days".
Participants are challenged to complete 100km's during the month of February by walking, running or by bicycle.
Families have been encouraged to enter the event with Armagh LGFA receiving entries from across Armagh, Down and the rest of Ireland and indeed worldwide.
Money raised from the event will go towards the Orchard county's #LetsLightKillean campaign with a generous donation also going to the Friends Of The Cancer Centre.
Anyone interested in taking up a challenge for February can check out any of Armagh LGFA social media platforms.
If you want to support their fundraising effort you could visit their Go Fund Me page at www.gofundme.com where nearly £7k has already been raised.
Write a comment
A Belfast Gaelic Athletic Club has decided this year that instead of seeking a sponsor for their 2021 away jerseys that they would instead highlight the work of the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust based in Newry. Greencastle Wolfe Tones GAC will proudly sport the KBRT logo on their new jerseys.
The KBRT was founded in 2013 in memory of Newry native, Kevin Bell, who was killed in tragic circumstances in New York. Kevin played football for Newry Mitchells and Abbey CBS as well as being an accomplished Irish dancer and fluent Irish speaker. KBRT repatriate the bodies of loved ones who have died overseas and their services are available to anyone on the island of Ireland. To date they have repatriated the remains of over 1000 individuals to their families.
Announcing the decision the Club's PRO Tiarnán Millar who went to school and the Gaeltacht with Kevin said "Wolfe Tones GAC are delighted to announce that we will not be seeking a shirt sponsor for our new away jerseys for the 2021 season and instead, the Committee has agreed to highlight the excellent work carried out by the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust (KBRT), a Newry based charity which aims to alleviate the financial hardship of bereaved families repatriating the bodies of loved ones who have died abroad in sudden or tragic circumstances back to Ireland."
Tiarnán adds "Wolfe Tones were refounded in 2019 after being dormant since 1970. We're based in Greencastle which is just off the Shore Road in North Belfast We're managed by former Antrim and Ulster player Enda McAtamney."
The club have a few connections with Newry, Tiarnán from the town while Crossmaglens Gavin Cumiskey and Rostrevor's Tony Carroll are also involved.
Tiarnán added "We're hoping Wolfe Tones is going to be part of the Greencastle community for years to come and it would have been something Kevin would have supported given his love of GAA, Irish dance and the language."
Families in North Belfast and Newtownabbey have been helped by the KBRT and Wolfe Tones GAC will also be running a fundraising event when Covid-19 restrictions allow with a percentage of revenues raised through the sales of replica shirts will be donated to the Trust.
In the meantime, supporters and members of Wolfe Tones GAC can make a donation to the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust and learn about the work that they do by visiting their website KEVINBELLREPATRIATIONTRUST.COM
Write a comment
Newry City AFC have announced that their First Team Manager Darren Mullen has agreed to stay on having signed a new two-year contract.
In a statement a Club Spokesperson said "Unsurprisingly, given what Darren has achieved both for the club since we reformed and personally, progressing to his Pro Coaching licence, there were other opportunities open to him and it’s a massive boost to the club that he has decided to commit himself to Newry. Hopefully restrictions will soon be lifted and we can start to prepare for a full season in 21/22.”
Darren added “It has been a long few weeks with a lot of soul searching but I’m delighted to have agreed a new deal with the club. The past year has been tough for everyone football and otherwise which had led me to consider my own future. I took time to speak to the players, coaching staff and committee and it was evident that they all shared my desire to drive this club forward on and off the pitch. As a proud Newry man I would love nothing more than to take the club back to The Premiership and for the next 2 years will ensure that as a group we do all we can to make that happen.”
Write a comment
Following a one year hiatus the Northern Ireland Motor Club Ltd have announced that the Ulster Rally is set to return later in the year, the weekend of Friday 19 and Saturday 20 November. The event will run out of Newry.
As with most outdoor sporting events last year, the 2020 instalment of the Tarmac classic had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 health pandemic. But organisers are confident the roll-out of the vaccination programme against the respiratory disease, which is set to be largely completed by the end of this summer, will allow the Ulster Rally to be staged safely.
“Due to COVID-19 and the current restrictions, the preparations required for an August date could not be completed,” explained Event Director, Richard Swanston. “We will continue to monitor the situation and tailor our plans to suit as we work towards the November date.”
On the issue of spectators being allowed to attend the closed-roads event, Swanston added: “If restrictions are such that the attendance of spectators would be illegal, and would pose a risk to the community we are operating in, then we’ll review the viability closer to the time.
“In controlled areas such as service parks, again, restrictions at the time will dictate how we operate. It’s very fluid at the moment but we have a date and we’re working towards that.”
The 44th Ulster Rally will be run out of Newry in 2021, with further details concerning the stages, the event HQ and the service park all to be announced in due course by organisers.
The 2021 event can be followed via the Ulster Rally website www.ulsterrally.com as well as the official Facebook account www.facebook.com/ulsterrally
Write a comment
Armagh Senior Footballer Aimee Mackin has been named as TG4 Senior Players’ Player of the Year for 2020 as well as the AIG Cúl na Bliana award for her goal against Dublin. The awards were announced on TG4's Peil na mBan - Foirne na Bliana at the weekend.
Commenting on the win Ladies Gaelic Football Association President, Marie Hickey said “What a night it was for Aimee Mackin – who won the TG4 Senior Players’ Player of the Year award, found a place in the forward line on the Senior Team of the Championship, and saw her brilliant goal against Dublin named as the ‘AIG Cúl na Bliana.’
“We look forward to more brilliant football in 2021, when I expect so many of the players acknowledged this evening to feature prominently for their respective counties again.”
Shane O'Neills club player Aimee (23) scored 5:17 in the unusual 2020 Championship season.
Write a comment
A total of £1,448,122 has been allocated to the Ulster GAA from the government's Sports Sustainability Fund. It was part of £10M that has been awarded from the fund with £15M still left to be awarded.
The funding allocated to Ulster GAA will help the organisation in its quest to rebound from the financial hardships posed by Covid-19 and will be vital to the re-establishment of delivery programmes that have been severely curtailed over the past year.
Welcoming the announcement Ulster GAA Chief Executive Officer and Provincial Secretary Brian McAvoy said “I wish to sincerely thank the Executive, the Communities Minister and her Department and the team at Sport NI for the establishment and administration of this Fund which is a welcome boost for the sporting community.
“Ulster GAA has worked closely with Sport NI in relation to our submission and we are pleased to learn that our application for £1.44m has been successful. This is a welcome development following a year in which we have been financially challenged and where our revenue streams will continue to be severely dented for a considerable period to come.
“I thank the staff at Ulster GAA who prepared our submission and who worked diligently with our counties and clubs in ensuring that their applications and accompanying documentation were consistent with the criteria of the Fund.
“The applications of our constituent units remain under consideration and we anticipate that Sport NI will be in a position to allocate a further tranche of funding to successful applicants before the end of this month. We will advise our units accordingly when further detail is made available to us."
Commenting on the awards Antoinette McKeown, Sport NI CEO, said “The sports sector has played a critical role in supporting communities throughout this pandemic and our sector is needed now, more than ever, to help our communities emerge from this pandemic. The Sports Sustainability Fund along with our other Covid 19 responses has enabled our local sports clubs, governing bodies and sports organisations to survive and prepare for a safe return to sport”.
Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey welcomed the awards saying “I am delighted that the sports sector is to receive more financial support through the Sports Sustainability Fund. I know that the £25m fund is a critical to the sector and that the Governing Bodies and clubs urgently need it.
"The sector has shown outstanding resilience over the past year particularly when the Covid restrictions decimated their ability to generate their own income through ticket sales, sponsorship, running competitions and hospitality."
Write a comment
A player for St Brenda's Camogie Club in Ballymacnab has won the Translink and Ulster GAA Young Volunteer of the Year Award.
19-year-old Niamh Rafferty, from St Brenda’s Camogie Club, Ballymacnab, Co. Armagh was presented with the prestigious award remotely due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The Young Volunteer Award celebrates the outstanding contribution made by young members of the Association aged 14-24 to their clubs and communities in the last season and throughout the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. A panel of experts met virtually to select one overall winner of the year and Niamh came out on top; she impressed the judging panel for her dedication and hard work that best represented the volunteering ethos and community spirit of the Association over the last 12 months.
Congratulating Niamh on her award, David Curry, General Manager Bus Services at Translink said “This award was developed to celebrate the outstanding contribution made by young members of Ulster GAA to their clubs and communities in the last season and throughout the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. It was incredible to see the level of commitment Niamh has given especially during such a challenging year. From underage coaching to organising lockdown activities for younger club members, Niamh’s work during the last 12 months has no doubt been invaluable.”
Ulster GAA President, Oliver Galligan added “Niamh embodies what the GAA is all about – she is a self-motivated volunteer with a love for the game and a willingness to help and encourage others. Through her work as a support coach, committee member and co-ordinator of the club’s lockdown videos, Niamh has shown a fantastic passion for her club which has been recognised in the club’s appointment of her as Social Media Officer. She demonstrates GAA integration at its best – the GAA for all! We are delighted to present this prestigious award to this outstanding young volunteer from St. Brenda’s.”
St Brenda’s Club Secretary Kathleen O’Hare also commended Niamh on her award “Niamh has shown herself to be an enthusiastic, up-and-coming volunteer, who has made an outstanding contribution to the development of sport within our club. She has done this both on the playing field via her role as support coach, at the committee table via her role as committee member and on her mobile phone via her role as initiator and co-ordinator of the ‘lock-down’ club videos.”
14-year-old Étain Devlin, of Sean Treacy’s Hurling Club in Lurgan, was also highly commended for the breadth of volunteering and commitment to her club and wider community over the last year.
Write a comment
Newry born boxer Danny McAlinden passed away yesterday after a long battle with cancer. Danny made his home in Coventry in the early 1960's and became a Heavyweight British and Commonwealth Champion in 1972 with his defeat of Jack Bodell in two rounds.
In his book A Shared Home Place the late Seamus Mallon recalls teaching him at St Joseph's School in Newry and even sparring with him - although McAlinden always won!
Danny was the recipient of the Hall of Fame Award at the 2009 Newry and Mourne Sports Awards.
Mayor at the time, John Feehan nominated him for the award and recalls presenting him with it. On the night they put his 1972 heavyweight championship fight on the big screen. Commenting the former Mayor recalls "You would have thought it was a live fight. The crowd in the Canal Court were going mad cheering"
Danny was always loud in his praise of the Newry men who gave him a start in Boxing. Bosco men like John Fearon, RIP and Tom Tumilty. Remembering them in 2010 Danny said "They gave their time willingly, without thought of payment. The salt of the earth. There are few people like those today. Apart that is from Seamus McCormick who is a latter day Fearon"
"John Fearon was the man who taught me how to box. He put the first gloves on me. I had never thrown a punch until I met him"
Danny died 50 years to the day after he out-pointed Rahman Ali over six rounds in the chief support for Muhammad Ali’s legendary ‘Fight of the Century’ rumble with Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden, New York.
Wins for McAlinden and Frazier that night in ‘the Garden’ meant that both Ali brothers lost and the county Down native – who was involved in some legendary slugfests throughout his 12-year as a pro - went on to headline the bill at Villa Park, Birmingham the following year when he knocked out Jack Bodell to win those British and Commonwealth titles.
Over two savage rounds, McAlinden blasted Bodell into defeat and retirement. It was a typical full-blooded performance from McAlinden and was his 25th contest in slightly over three years as a professional, mostly fighting on the fast and furious London circuit of the early 1970s. He was 21-2-2 at that stage and boxed on home soil just twice, with the first of those bouts in Derry in July 1977 when he beat Sean McKenna on a Charlie Nash undercard to win the Northern Ireland Area heavyweight title. At the end of his career, 36 of his 45 fights finished inside the distance.
Danny passed away yesterday aged 73 after a long battle with cancer.
Write a comment
There was no-one more surprised than Blaithin Mackin when she was announced as the centre half back in the 2020 AIG Ladies Gaelic Football Team of the Year, but that only speaks volumes of how unassuming the 22-year-old Armagh footballer is.
Mackin had an outstanding campaign in her new role at half-back under manager Ronan Murphy as the Orchard ladies won the Ulster championship title and pushed Dublin all the way in an exciting All-Ireland championship semi-final. She was a worthy award winner, even if it still hasn’t sunk in for the young footballer.
“When my name was announced I was in complete shock, never in a million years did I expect it because the calibre of players is so high, there are just some amazing footballers in the ladies’ game,” Mackin said.
“I really would not have thought I was up with those players, but it is nice that somebody thinks I am. It was a big shock and obviously my family was delighted, and I was just sitting there and didn’t know what to do and then there was tears of joy of course.”
Fast, powerful, with silky skills and an eye for goal, Blaithin has grown into a key player for the Orchard team. The younger sister of Player of Year Aimee, the awards were a memorable occasion for the Mackin family and wider Camlough community.
“I was proud of Aimee and I was delighted for her and you couldn’t say she wasn’t deserved of it because she was more than deserving, especially after the year she had,” Blaithin said.
The Covid pandemic has left an unpredictable GAA season ahead but given how well Blaithin and her Orchard team-mates reacted after the last lockdown, the Shane O’Neill’s star is confident on building on last year’s successes.
“Training has gotten easier for me this year because Aimee does the runs with me compared to last year, “said Blaithin.
“We were on different programs last year, with Aimee’s injury. This year I am definitely enjoying the company in the runs rather that have to talk to myself to get through it. Even doing the gyms session with her has been a boost.
“I wouldn’t have been great at the gyms sessions but now Aimee has got me paying more attention to the strength side of things. Beforehand I didn’t do it much, I would have focused on the skills and running side of things in training and I love that. And it can only help my game, when you see how Aimee came out of that injury and all she could do was gym work, I knew I had to do more gym work and of course I have time due to lockdown.”
Blaithin is studying a master’s degree and it is online, which Mackin doesn’t mind because it fits into her lockdown lifestyle as it gives her more time to train. The Camlough woman stays in touch with her team-mates and believes it was the first lockdown last year that allowed so many footballers to become full-time athletes, with training twice a day not unusual. She believes the club season should come first and looking forward to playing with Shane O’Neill’s but Mackin also has high hopes for Armagh in 2021.
“My aim would be to get out of division two and into division one where we would be playing the best teams every week,” said Blaithin.
“Hopefully, we can win another Ulster title and then push on and go further in the All-Ireland championship and reach the final. We can’t look too far ahead and once the season starts; we will take it one game at a time but before the season starts, I like to aim to go further that we did last year.”
 |
 |
 |