Write a comment
Down were sent crashing out of the Ulster Championship at the first hurdle after they were mauled by Donegal in a one-sided affair at Pairc Esler.
Paddy Tally’s side went into the game with injured midfielder Jonny Flynn and leading forward Donal O’Hare and, despite the best efforts of Clonduff’s Barry O’Hagan who finished with eight points including five from play, the Mournemen were a distant second best on the day.
Donegal absorbed the loss of talisman and captain Michael Murphy after 25 minutes and a black card shown to Stephen McMenamin that reduced that to 14 men either side of half-time.
Jamie Brennan (Murphy’s replacement) seized on a Caolan Mooney fumble to score Donegal’s first goal late in the first half and, although Mooney goaled for Down with a fine finish after the break, goalkeeper Shaun Patton denied Ryan McEvoy and Paddy McBrearty’s goal and the red card shown to Down full-back Gerard McGovern meant the game was over as a contest long before the finish.
Afterwards manager Tally – who has completed three years at the helm – remained undecided over his future while Donegal, who had 10 scorers on the day and dominated the midfield battle, can now look forward to an Ulster quarter-final against north-west neighbours Derry in a fortnight’s time.
Down have been without a number of players this season including Kilcoo’s Johnston brothers (Ryan and Jerome), Shay and Ronan Miller from Glenn and Conor Poland and, after the loss, Tally said that the current provincial Championship has had its day.
“I’ve been saying for years that the system is flawed,” said the Tyrone native.
“There is a massive gap in the quality of the teams but the system doesn’t suit competitive football so I hope that the GAA sits down and realise that they have to change this. Otherwise what we’ll have is more players wondering: ‘Do we want to be part of this? Is there any chance of winning anything? Do we have a hope being successful?’
“It’s getting to the stage where it’s very difficult to break through and we’re finding that today.”
Down’s season has ended on the first weekend of Championship action after just five games and Tally argues that the limited amount of game-time available does not allow ambitious counties to develop players.
“I’m a big believer in playing matches,” he said.
“Even in a normal season you would be doing well to get 12 – seven in the League and if you got another five in the Championship you’d be doing fantastic but that’s still not a lot of games for six months’ of training. Let’s get more games!
“Run the competitions so the players have more matches and then you might have players who have the patience to stick at it and commit.”
Ulster SFC preliminary round final score: Down 1-12 Donegal 2-25
Write a comment
Football News
U11 Boys' Football:
On Sunday morning (27/06/21) the U11 team travelled to Annaclone for a much-anticipated encounter.
With both teams thus far unbeaten a tight game was expected and supporters certainly were not disappointed.
Having played well in the first half the young seasiders were a couple of points to the good at half time.
In the 2nd half the Annaclone team picked things up considerably and reeled the away side in to run out winners in a closely fought and very entertaining match.
The coaches are extremely proud of this young Point team and even in defeat there were many positives.
U9 Football (Girls & Boys):
40 of our U9 footballers (girls & boys) were out in full force on Sunday morning (27th June) in St Mark’s and gave a great performance against a competitive Ballyholland side. It was great to see the efforts in training paying off in the matches. Well done to all the kids and coaches.
Hurling news
U13 Rankins defeat neighbours Clonduff
Clonduff 6-2
Patrick Rankins 5-10
The U13 Patrick Rankins travelled to neighbours Clonduff in the league.
Rankins were first to get on the scoreboard with a point from Jamie Lock, quickly followed by Danny Doyle with 1-1. Ciaran McMahon added a point and Conal Gallagher a goal. Clonduff replied to close the gap as the first water break loomed, leaving Rankins ahead on a score of 2-3 to 2-1.
After the short break Clonduff fought back and by half time they were in the lead by four points, 4-2 to 2-4.
Patrick Rankins composure and team work saw them make the game more competitive as they pushed on to win the game over the remaining 25 minutes
Team
Eoin Campbell, Tiernan Fitzpatrick, Niall McManus, Oliver Murdock, Senan Rogan, Danny Doyle (3-6), Conor Treanor, Ciaran McMahon (0-2), Malachi Sherwin, Conal Gallagher (1-0), Jamie Lock (1-2), Eoin Gorman
Ladies News
Age Group: U15 Ladies
Date: 27th June – 3:00pm
Teams: Cumann Pheadair Naofa vs Burren
Venue: Moygannon, Warrenpoint
Competition: League
Match Summary: The U15 ladies in blue, faced close neighbours Burren at Moygannon, in their latest league encounter. The match started at the later time of 3pm, meaning the girls were playing during the warmest part of they day, which added an extra element to this local derby. A cagey opening period saw plenty of action, but very few scoring opportunities. It wasn’t until the 9th minute of play that the first score came courtesy of Sydney Barnett with a point. The Blues continued to apply the pressure & got their rewards with further scores from Cliodhna Martin, another point from Sydney & a goal from Arianna Doyle, with Burren unable to register a score in the opening quarter. After the much-needed water break, it was more of the same, with Cliodhna converting the scores for Warrenpoint, taking a goal & a couple of points, Burren registered their first score of the match in this quarter, with a point.
Whatever was said to the Burren players at half-time clearly had an effect as they came out fired up for the second half. The half wasn’t even a minute old before Burren scored their first goal, to launch a fightback. The visitors had the better of the third quarter, taking a further three points, however the Blues kept at it popping over a few points of their own thanks to efforts by Megan O’Neill, Tara McGivern & a brace from Cliodhna. Heading into the final quarter, the Blues knew they had to keep working hard, even though the heat was starting to take its toll on both teams. Warrenpoint managed to finish the stronger of the two, with a goal & a point from Alicia Jones, another goal from Cliodhna & points from Lillie McClorey & Sydney. Burren certainly weren’t giving up & ensured the Blues had to keep working hard, with a goal of their own, inside the final 7 minutes. Warrenpoint held on to take their first competitive win of the season.
Well done girls!
Final score: Cumann Pheadair Naofa 4-13 Burren 2-4
Team Sheet: Sydney Barnett, Lauren Breen, Niamh Carr, Teagan Carvill, Amy Clifford, Arianna Doyle, Alicia Jones, Kiah Kinney, Anna Malone, Kate Mansfield, Cliodhna Martin, Lillie McClorey, Tara McGivern, Orla McLean, Megan O’Neill, Millie Power-Bagnelle, Shannon Quinn, Joanne Rooney, Emma Ryan, Caoimhe Sneddon, Muirin Sneddon (C), Aoibheann Ward
Upcoming Fixtures: 25th July vs Annaclone - Warrenpoint
Camogie News
The U 13’s got their first win of the season against the Newry Shamrocks.
Captained by Abigail Naughton who had 1 of four goals along with Alicia Jones, Olivia McFerran and Tegan Carvill who also had two points. Once again the girls showed great teamwork with Shannon Quinn and Annabelle Leddy having a solid match in mid- field while Fíanna Murney dominated defence.
The Girls take on Mayobridge next Saturday on home turf. Come on out to support them as they strive for another win this season.
Our U7, U9 and U11's travel to Clonduff this Saturday 3rd July, for their first outing of the season. Start time is 10.30am.
Training for all age groups continues every Friday evening in St Mark's, 6.15pm-7.15pm. Please ensure you have completed your health questionnaire before training and matches.
Write a comment
“I’m looking for that Danny McAlinden ’cos he whupped my brother and I’m gonna sort him out…”
Muhammad Ali
THE final count. One, two, three… A champion breathing his last.
Four, five, six, seven… His partner Angie holding his hand as the seconds tick away.
Eight, nine, 10… Danny McAlinden, the British and Commonwealth heavyweight king, the man who knocked out Jack Bodell and beat Ali’s brother at the Garden, passes away peacefully at 4am on Monday, March 8. He was 73.
What a man he was in his prime! Big Dan, blonde-haired with the twinkle in his eye… The stories he could tell, the people he’d met, the men he’d beaten….
Danny was born in Newry on June 1, 1947 and first boxed at the city’s Bosco Club before he followed his father Patrick and his uncles on the boat to England, a week short of his 15th birthday.
There was no red carpet rolled out for immigrants in those days, no matter where they came from.
‘No blacks, no Irish, no dogs’ read crude signs in racist’s windows but Danny and his father found a place on St Patrick’s Road in Coventry to lay down their heads.
Before long they were travelling England building concrete garages.
Even at 15, Danny was built like a concrete garage. Broad shouldered and strong, he did a full day’s work and got a man’s wages (‘the full whack’) for his efforts. The McAlinden’s worked hard, put a few bob away and put down roots in Coventry.
Danny got a job at the Standard Motor Company in the city and was soon drawn to the sounds of skipping feet and fists on punchbags coming from Edgwick ABC at the Trades Hall which was attached to the company.
He began training with George Middleton at Edgwick and after success in England ABA’s, turned professional in 1969. His debut was in a prizefighter tournament at the World Sporting Club in Mayfair, London at which the recently-deceased Prince Phillip was a regular.
They called him ‘Dangerous’ and his style was uncomplicated and explosive. He came out swinging and knocked out three opponents, including future Ali challenger Richard Dunn, in succession to win the tournament and trousered a very tidy £1,000. Not bad for starters!
“He was very proud of that, he used to say (Norn Iron accent): ‘I knacked out three people on the wan night’,” recalls Angie, his devoted partner for the last 32 years of his life.
Angie first met Danny when their daughters were in the same class at nursery school together in Coventry. By then Danny was already a bit of a celeb and beloved by the city’s Irish diaspora.
Paul McKenna (owner of Armagh GAA sponsor Mac-Interiors) was brought up in Coventry and the champ was a regular visitor to the family home.
“He was good friends with our local barber Alan,” recalls Paul, who moved to Newry with his family aged 13 (Danny had gone the opposite direction as a 15 year-old).
“I brushed up in the shop and I enjoyed meeting the champ when he came in. He always got free haircuts – even when there wasn’t much to cut! I always remember his wit was razor-sharp!”
Perhaps he’d just come out of Alan’s barbers when he turned up at the nursery school in his white Mercedes one afternoon?
“You would see these enormous twinkling eyes and the blonde hair,” says Angie.
“I used to just say ‘Good morning’ to him and take Sophie in but one day he jumped out of the car and said: ‘Will you come and have dinner with me?’
“I said: ‘Oh, I’d love to but I couldn’t possibly even think about it’. We were both married, but not to each other! Off he went.”
Twenty years later they met by chance in a theatrical agent’s office in London’s West End. Danny tried his luck again.
“He said: ‘Is it you Angie?’
“I said: ‘Yes’.
“He said: ‘Let me buy you a cup of coffee?’
“We had a coffee and we were together for the next 32 years! There was never a dull moment with him. One day we were in London, where we lived and there was a charity abseil down this enormous office block going on. Suddenly he disappeared and I thought: ‘Where on earth has he gone?’ I looked up and there he was coming over the top of the building on a harness…
“He was the most amazing person, he truly was.”
Legend
IT’s a good bet that Angie would have spent a decent percentage of those 32 years with Danny listening to tales of glory days in the ring.
It was an appearance in Ring Magazine that paved the way for his most famous fight – a spot on the undercard of the ‘Fight of the Century’ – still the most famous rumble in history - in 1971 between Muhammad Ali and his great rival Joe Frazier at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
50 years to the day before he passed away, Danny fought Rahman Ali at the boxing Mecca and his victory was the first blow on a bad night for the Ali family because ‘Smokin’ Joe’ won the headline act on points.
“I met Danny several times and he always seemed so dignified,” says boxing broadcaster and writer Steve Bunce.
“His Ring Magazine status at the time and his slot on the Fight of the Century undercard remain very impressive. I loved the McAlinden, Bodell, Dunn, Johnson scraps from the 1970s – it was the fifties in colour. Danny would do some damage now – his punch power was no joke!”
With 300 million watching around the globe, that victory at the Garden was McAlinden’s most famous win but not the one he treasured most according to Angie.
“However, wonderful that was, he always said the best fight of his life – when he was totally ready and totally trained – was Bill Drover, the Canadian champion,” she said.
“He always said that was the one he was most proud of.”
Danny knocked out Drover in the fourth round and, with a hit-or-get-hit attacking style, his fights were action-packed. In 1972, then 25, he became the first Irishman to win the British and Commonwealth titles when he knocked out defending champion Jack Bodell at a raucous Villa Park, Birmingham.
It was a barnstormer of a scrap from the start. A succession of booming right hands thudded into Bodell’s lantern jaw and the heavyweights fell in a tangled heap twice during the opener.
McAlinden dropped Bodell 20 seconds into round two with another sledgehammer right and then threw hell for leather, battering him on the ropes until the referee eventually stepped in to stop it with Bodell on the canvas. McAlinden was lifted by his arms and legs and crowd-surfed on the horde of delighted fans who’d climbed over BBC commentator Harry Carpenter to invade the ring.
“He was proud he won the fight but he never thought it showed his true potential. He always felt it was a bit of a brawl,” says Angie.
He was managed by Jack Solomons (the legendary London match-maker whose many highlights included promoting Henry Cooper v Ali in 1963) and he treated Danny like a son.
After the Bodell win, Solomons matched McAlinden with an up-and-coming British heavyweight called Joe Bugner. McAlinden-Bugner would have been a massive event but it fell through when McAlinden unexpectedly lost what was regarded as a routine ‘tune-up’ against underdog Morris Jackson. Bugner went on to fight Ali (twice) and Frazier.
There was also talk of McAlinden challenging George Foreman but after he lost his British title to Bunny Johnston in 1975, his career went into decline. He won the Northern Ireland title (trained by then brother-in-law John Breen) but bowed out with a 31-12-2 record after a stoppage loss against Denton Russell back at Villa Park in 1981
“He was a very unassuming person and he never realised how well respected he was and how good he was,” says Angie.
“There were all sorts of problems – personal and political – within the boxing game that affected Dan very much and I think he felt that he never reached his true potential. I know he felt he could have achieved a great deal more.
“He felt he didn’t put enough into it or work hard enough because he had no realisation of how good he was and how loved he was. He was a very popular character in and out of the sport.”
Danny worked in security after boxing and also did some TV, appearing in The Bill, Eastenders and on The Catherine Tate Show.
Cancer ... and a Miracle!
DRIP, drip, drip... One day Danny left a photograph of himself and Muhammad Ali (the only copy he had) in a taxi. He mislaid his keys here, walked into a room and forgot why he did so there…
These things happen as you get older.
But a stage came when the episodes could no longer be dismissed as absentmindedness.
“He rang me one day and said: ‘I don’t know where I am’,” Angie recalls.
“We talked it through and he got his bearings and came home but it began then.
“He began to have little choking fits, clearing his throat a great deal and when he’d eat he’d be pushing his chest saying: ‘The food is stuck’. We thought it was indigestion and he didn’t want to go to the doctor but one day it got really nasty and he looked so poorly so I said: ‘Come on Dan, we’ve got to go’.”
The doctor was immediately concerned and tests confirmed that Danny had cancer at the base of his tongue. He was told him that his tongue would need to be amputated because a tumour ‘the size of a tennis ball’ had been discovered.
“In typical style, Dan said: ‘I’m not having that, I came onto this earth with a tongue and I’ll leave it with a tongue’,” says Angie.
He spent the next few months in hospital. He was unable to eat solid foods and had a feeding tube inserted. Eventually he got out of hospital and, exhausted, he slept around the clock as the radiotherapy and chemotherapy took their toll.
It reached the stage when doctors decided treatment was not working and they sent him home to enjoy one last Christmas with his family.
“They said it would be his last Christmas,” said Angie.
“So that was it – feeding tube, sleeping… Dan was a very good Catholic and so am I and we used to go to our local church to the healing service. Monks would come from Canning Town and it was a beautiful service.
“Then, as the weeks went by, he was getting a little bit better and the doctor said: ‘I think we can take him off the feeding tube’ and bit by bit he began to get stronger.”
Doctors couldn’t explain the improvement in his condition.
“The doctor said: ‘We don’t know why he’s improving, it’s nothing to do with me… I’m not really doing anything, I’m giving him some tablets but this is just a miracle,” Angie explained.
“His tumour was shrinking and I said: ‘Doctor we do have a very strong faith and we’re going to healing services’ thinking he would laugh at me but he said: ‘I would never poo-poo that, we can’t account for it and for nearly 12 years, until he died, Dan was the miracle of the London hospital.
“No one could account for the fact that the cancer disappeared. What had been so dark… he had been given weeks, three months maximum, to live but it just disappeared.”
Boxing was his Life
The reward for recovering from cancer should have been a long and contented old age but, in a cruel twist of fate, Danny was denied that. As the cancer went into remission and his physical health improved, his mental health deteriorated.
There were mood swings, sometimes violent, and tests confirmed the onset of dementia which doctors said had been caused by boxing. Angie attaches no blame to the sport.
“Boxing was his life, he loved it and he loved it all his life,” say Angie.
“He was part of the boxing fraternity and I would never wish that he hadn’t boxed.”
Danny did respond to treatment and led, Angie says: “Perhaps not a normal, everyday life but a happy life”.
“But bit by bit he began to deteriorate,” she adds.
“He had a fall and his knee began to play up until he had to go into hospital to have a replacement and he never walked properly again, he needed a stick or a walking frame.
“He began to wander and his confusion got quite bad. I was told that he would have to go into a home but I did everything I could to prevent that and I managed to keep him at home for a year because I promised that when it did come to the time I would let him go.”
Sadly, the time did come. In October last year the former heavyweight champion was admitted to a residential home and began to refuse to eat. By early January he was moved to hospital where doctors discovered that his cancer had returned.
“They knew at that point there was nothing they could do except make him comfortable but they phoned me and said: ‘You can come whenever you like’ and I spent the most beautiful weekend with him,” says Angie.
“I got there on the Friday, he couldn’t talk but he was able to squeeze my hand and understand everything.
“I was with him all day on Saturday, he had the last rights from our priest and on the Sunday, all the pain had gone, he was sleeping and waking and he listened as I told him how much we all loved him and I talked about the past and he died in his sleep at about 4am on the Monday morning of the 8th of March. I’m just thankful for that last weekend, it was just such a gift.
“That’s Dan. That’s our story.”
A fundraising page has been set up in Dan's honour in aid of the Building Bridges Boxing Club in Belfast. Go to: WWW.JUSTGIVING.COM
Write a comment
Having secured Division One status for another season, expectations and hopes are growing in Armagh.
Their track record in the Ulster Championship has been poor over the past decade, which followed a decade of dominating Ulster, and the target of an Ulster final is a realistic ambition.
First up for Armagh is Antrim in the Ulster quarter-finals on Sunday, at 3pm in the Athletic Grounds.
Antrim will be underdogs but after securing promotion out of Division Four they will be confident of claiming a scalp especially with Tyrone native Enda McGinley at the helm.
Armagh are without long-term injured Aidan Nugent, Mark Shields and Ethan Rafferty, while Paddy Burns is also unlikely to be fit, but Aidan Forker, James Morgan and Ryan Kennedy should play some part.
Armagh captain Stefan Campbell impressed in his last outing against Roscommon, and he feels that his team is in a good place at the minute, but he isn’t taking anything for granted.
“We are moving well and kept our status in the top tier and obviously mixed emotions because we were a bit disappointed not to make the semis, but I suppose we just turn out focus to Antrim,” Campbell said.
“We want to get any injuries concerns cleared up and just give us the best chance to go in with the best players at our disposal as possible. We are not underestimating the challenge Antrim pose.”
Armagh’s League campaign was already a mini-Ulster competition with mostly positive performances and results and the Orchard captain feels it should be good preparation for Sunday, but he expects all the teams to change tactics for the championship.
“I suppose it could have benefited us in a way, Ulster games are tight and hopefully we showed we deserve to stay in Division one and that helps us going into the championship,” said Campbell.
“We had our sights set higher, we wanted that semi-final slot and we were bitterly disappointed to miss out especially having matched Tyrone on league points. We just slipped below that, but we can take confidence that Donegal and Tyrone are being talked in the same breath as Kerry and we were able to compete. And that is all we showed, we showed we can compete by staying up and now it is onto the next task, which is Ulster.
“I think teams were coming out to play a little bit more expansive than they usually would [in the national league]. I think due to the heavy scores some teams conceded might force them to change their hands slightly. They might tighten their shores up and limit the goal chances. Hopefully not for the purists.”
Following the departure of Jim McCorry, manager Kieran McGeeney brought in Ciaran McKeever and Kieran Donaghy and the Armagh captain feels that the Kerry All-Ireland winner has made a huge contribution.
“A young coach and new to the game but because he has been that player, he has been the star of the show and an important player and also that impact sub, I think his biggest impact to the forward line is that he can relate to everybody,” Soupy said.
“He can relate to Rian O’Neill, Oisin [O’Neill]or Conor Turbitt who is coming off the line every game. “He is going into his recent history and examples from his career, and he is being genuine. Every player in the forward line can use his experience and can pick his brain.
“I think it is benefiting us as a team to make us play for one and other. There is a lot to be said for doing your own thing in the field, everybody wants a chunk of the limelight, and it is just a matter of burying that ego or whatever it is and trusting the man beside you that he can do everything that you can do. I think we have seen bits of that coming to fruition in the League and hopefully that will go up another level in the Championship.”
He has only had the best part of six to eight weeks with us, let’s hope with another few weeks under his belt we can go another level.
Write a comment
ARMAGH assistant-manager Kieran Donaghy is adamant there is “another gear” in the Orchardmen this summer.
Armagh have a chance to prove him right today when they host Antrim at the Athletic Grounds in a meeting of two of Ulster’s in-form counties. Enda McGinley’s Saffrons won four out of four in their Division Four promotion campaign but they face a step up in class against an Armagh outfit that lost just once in Division One.
“The way we went out of the Championship last year against Donegal, certainly we’d tell you there’s another gear and there has to be another gear,” said Donaghy.
“The boys have their chance on Sunday to go out there and put in a performance and that’s the way it has to be.
“Antrim are coming with such confidence, they haven’t lost a game this year and are moving forward. They’ve won all types of tight games, they’ve won games that have been difficult and they’ve figured out ways to come back and win. Winning is a habit so they’re a very dangerous obstacle and one that we have to be playing at our best and delivering on the stuff we are working on on the training field.
“That’s the focus of this group now. If you do that it gives you opportunities to possibly do better than what we’ve done in the past.”
Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney went four seasons without a win in the Ulster Championship until the barren run ended with a 2019 quarter-final success against Down. The Orchardmen beat Derry at the same stage last year but then came a cropper against Donegal and lost by 12 points.
Donaghy says there is a determination in the Armagh dressingroom to make a long-awaited breakthrough in Ulster this year.
“Absolutely it’s a big goal for us to deliver in the Championship,” he said.
“It is a focus point that we do perform and for this group it’s all about performing in the Ulster Championship now with their League status secured.”
Coming from a county were football is a religion, it’s a surprise that Donaghy rates the mentality in McGeeney panel as superior to that in Kerry and he attributes that to the work of McGeeney.
“The mentality is probably better because of the culture that Kieran has developed over the last six years,” he said.
“They are a fantastic group with the time they put into it, how professional they are, the leadership group on the players’ side and the message they constantly drive… It has been a huge learning curve for me to see how much work Kieran has done over the last number of years, it is starting to hit home with the players and they are really driving it on.
“It is a player-led culture. Whereas in Kerry what has gone before will carry a certain amount of weight, these players are really trying to forge their own story and their own history. They’ve climbed through the divisions and managed to stay up in a very tight group this year.
“They were probably at a low ebb when Kieran took over. I think the culture they have and how serious the players take it and how they prepare for sessions and how they prepare for games, how intelligent they are – you can see the work Kieran and the other managements have done.
“They’re at the stage now were they’re in the top eight teams in the country and trying to improve. That’s a good place to be.”
Write a comment
Armagh surged ahead in the second half and cantered home by 13 points to book an Ulster Championship semi-final against Monaghan on July 17.
Visitors Antrim had been written off by all sundry before the ball was thrown in at the Athletic Grounds but they gave a good account of themselves throughout a competitive first half that finished with the Orchardmen, who never seem particularly comfortable with the favourites’ tag, leading by just two points.
Rory Grugan had scored Armagh’s goal in the first half but the Ballymacnab forward also missed another golden opportunity while Antrim came close to a goal off their own when Ruairi McCann broke through the Armagh rearguard after 27 minutes.
Carrickcruppen clubman Hughes was off his line smartly to deny McCann and, after a frank appraisal of their performance from Kieran McGeeney at half-time, Armagh upped the ante in the second period. Rian O’Neill converted a penalty to leave clear daylight between the sides and although Antrim continued to enjoy moments of success they tired and goals from substitutes Conor Turbitt and Tiarnan Kelly added some gloss to the scoreline.
Armagh struggled to find the fluency many expected in this game but still won by 13 points. There is better to come from McGeeney’s side and they will need it against a Monaghan outfit that blew Fermanagh away at Clones on Saturday.
Afterwards McGeeney reflected on a patchy performance from his side.
“But I thought we didn’t put in the workrate they are capable of and they changed it,” he said.
“And the fellas that came in showed that’s what happens if you don't there are fellas there that will.
“It was a good lesson for us but not to take away, Antrim’s ability to keep possession in the first half and their pace inside caused problems, and that was a big factor as well.”
Final score: Armagh 4-15 Antrim 0-14
Write a comment
Football News
Nursery & Primary Football Training
Please note that there will be no training for our Nursery and Primary 1 footballers for the next two weeks due to St Mark’s being closed – training will resume as usual on Sunday 25th July.
U13 Boys' Football:
On Tuesday evening (29/06/21) our U13 boys made the trip to Banbridge to play local side, Clann na Banna. The game started as expected with both teams pushing hard to get on top. Fortunately, the boys in blue managed to get in front and were in the lead at half time.
Being motivated to make up for the only defeat of the season so far previously against Clann na Banna, the boys in blue played some fantastic football to leave Banbridge with the two points secured.
All 18 players who took to the field made a massive contribution to the performance and the victory!
Hurling News
U13s win away from home
Ballela 4-7 V Patrick Rankins 5-6
Having been well beaten several weeks ago by Ballela, Patrick Rankins knew they were going to get a tough return fixture on their victor’s home turf on Friday night.
Ballela were a strong team and it would be a big ask to get a result, but Rankins took to the field in a very determined manner.
Jamie Lock opened the scoring with a point, But Ballela were quick to reply with the opening goal. A Ciaran McMahon goal, a Danny McManus point and a brace from Lock left the visitors trailing by just two points.
The second half saw Rankins lift their game and aided by some brilliant pieces of interplay they started to turn the game in their favour. Further scores from McMahon, Eoin Gorman & McManus left them two-point winners at the final whistle.
Team: Lorcan Rowntree, Niall McManus, Jason Duffy, Tiernan Fitzpatrick, Eoin Campbell, Conor Treanor, Danny Doyle, Eoin Gorman (1-0), Senan Rogan, Malachi Sherwin, Danny McManus (2-2), Jamie Lock (0-3), Ciaran McMahon (2-0)
Ladies Football News
Senior Ladies Continue To Impress
Warrenpoint 6:14 V St. Michael’s, Magheralin 2:5
Another brilliant performance from Warrenpoint’s senior ladies last night when they played St. Michael’s, Magheralin, in Mogannon. After their defeat last week, the ladies were determined to comeback winning again and with a great amount of support play and high work rate the ladies came off the field at half time with a comfortable lead of 3:14 - 0:3. With a great team talk from management and players the ladies knew what they had to do to stay on top and keep pushing, always knowing that the match was not over. St. Michael’s proved that by coming back into the game with two goals in the second half. Our ladies worked hard and came off the field at the end as the winners. Well done to all players, substitutes and management.
10 Year Anniversary
This year marks the tenth anniversary of ladies’ Gaelic football in Cumann Pheadair Naofa, Warrenpoint. To help mark this milestone, the primary 7 pupils at St.Dallan’s school in Warrenpoint were tasked with designing a poster, on this theme. A large number of high-quality entries were sent into the judging panel, who after much deliberation, decided upon a winning entry & two runners up. The winning entry was produced by Kate McCaffery, with Grace Lunny & Molly O’Neill taking the runner’s up spots. Kate received a framed copy of her poster to take home, with another framed copy going up in the Cumman Pheadair Naofa club rooms. All three prize winners also received gift vouchers for the club’s shop.
Club chairman Larry Byrne & senior ladies’ vice-captains, Lucia Morgan & Caoimhe Shannon, presented the prizes.
Camogie News
Our camogie section travelled to Clonduff on Saturday 3rd July, for their 1st tournament since 2019. Since we returned to training our numbers have increased and so we were able to field 2 U11, 2 U9 and 1 U7 team. Once again our girls displayed great skill and determination against tough opposition with our U9 team reaching the final of their group.
Thank you to all who came out and supported the girls and to Clonduff GAA for hosting the event.
The Camogie and Hurling camp runs from Monday-Friday in St Mark's. We hope everyone enjoys the week.
There will be no camogie training on Friday 9th or Friday 16th July. We look forward to seeing all our camógs back after the break.
Other News
GAA For ALL
St Peter's GAA Club is proud to operate at the heart of the community for the whole of family for the whole of life. Today saw the launch of an exciting and innovative new initiative within our club – ‘GAA for ALL’.
Whilst GAA Clubs provide participation opportunities for all children, irrespective of ability, ‘GAA for ALL’ is a bespoke programme designed for children with additional needs who may not be in a position to take part in a typical team game. The focus of the programme is to assist participants with ball skills (across all GAA codes), exercise and most importantly, fun and inclusion in a safe, child-centred and friendly environment.
New members are very welcome - if you feel that your child would enjoy/benefit from ‘GAA for ALL’ please contact our Club ‘GAA for ALL’ coordinator declancarvill@yahoo.co.uk for more details.
Write a comment
Senior Ladies
Training returns on Monday night at 7.
The first half of league fixtures have been completed and we have had good numbers out for each game.
There are new people joining each week and more are most welcome
Senior Men
Saturday evening Thomas Davis and Killeavy battled out a great contest.
The game started out score for score and there wasn't much between the sides at half time with Killeavy leading at the break.
The games intensity was increased and a long ball into the square was punched to bring Thomas Davis within a point. David Hankin burtst through straight after to level the sides.
Some fast flowing football and some classic hard hitting shoulder tackles made the match an enjoyable watch. Towards the end Killeavy picked up momentum and got a goal of their own and chipped away at the scoreboard to finish comfortably in the end
Training
Underage training continues every Monday evening from 6:30-7:30 for age groups u7's - u11's
New members always welcome
Club Lotto
Winning lotto numbers w/e 27/06/2021
04, 08, 14 and 31
No winners this week
Next weeks jackpot is £7825
Cul Camp
This year our Cul Camp will run from 19th July- 23rd July
To book simply follow with link on our Facebook page - Thomas Davis Newry
Write a comment
The word Barrackovian will not be found in the Oxford dictionary. But people who lived in the old Linenhall Square will doubtless know the meaning of the word. For the uninitiated, it refers to the residents of the Square, formerly an old soldiers’ barracks.
It was a poor area in the town of Newry but amazingly it bred more than its share of talented men and women. Linenhall Square was knocked down in 1963 with Mourneview Park built in its place.
Recently Michael Cavanan posted a piece on Facebook, asking if anyone knew a man called Joseph Conway Guinan, who wrote a book called ‘A Poet of Newry’s Past.’
I remembered the man well as I lived in the Square and am proud to call myself a Barrackovian. I recall Joseph as being an absolute gentleman who lived beside the Fire Station in Linenhall Square and was a man who ran shows in the Newry Town Hall called Little Lyrics of Loveliness.
I also recall some of the boys from the Barracks going to the shows just to ridicule him. But Joseph had an answer for them. When the booing and catcalls eased the poet addressed them, saying: ‘You may well scoff, but I have YOUR money in MY pocket.’ That shut up the hecklers.
Joseph was a Barrackovian and just one of many famous Linenhall Square residents.
Charlie Casey
Charlie Casey is probably the best known Barrackovian as he was twice the Chairperson of the Newry and Mourne Council (in 2012 and 2019) but there were quite a few others.
Patricia Grattan
Indeed did Newry ever produce a better singer than Patricia Grattan?
In many people’s opinion she was simply the best. The wee songstress, currently living in America, was popularly known as Tishy, though in her Showband career she was often billed as Patricia O’Kelly.
She had a magical voice. From country and pop to her great love Jazz, she could sing them all. And how her audiences loved her. She idolised Shirley Bassey but Patricia could sing the Welsh singer’s songs as good as the lady herself.
While with the Hilton Showband she shared the lead vocals with Ricky McVeigh and Peadar Cowan, both tremendous singers in their own right, but in fact it was worth the admission money alone to see Patricia and Peadar sing Ike and Tina Turner’s River Deep, Mountain High. Listening to the duo belt out that tune was experiencing rock music at its raunchy best.
One time The Hilton played the Flamingo in Ballymena, supporting the great Tom Jones who went on record as saying that both Patricia and Peadar were fabulous artistes.
And while with the Hilton, Patricia recorded an excellent song, probably the best ever recording by a Newry singer, called Carlingford Bay, written by Frances Hall, who also hailed from our wee town.
Lottie McKeown
Another famous Barracks’ lady in the entertainment business was Lottie McKeown (RIP).
In Linenhall Square, the good lady began her lifelong devotion to making music, laughter and helping others. She organised the Canal Street team in the Top Talent competition, a competition in which almost every district in the town entered and where Lottie’s team consistently won.
But the huge highlight in her life came on November 5, 1990 when she met the late Princess Diana at a Golden Awards ceremony in London’s Hilton Hotel
As Diana was leaving the ceremony, she walked straight down the hall, making just one stop, and that was at Lottie’s table, there shaking hands with the Newry lady, before asking how she keeping, and having a little chat with her.
Lottie laughed and sang her way into the hearts of tens of thousands and made loads of money for charity along the way. And in summing up the good lady it was said: ‘Lottie’s cheerful outlook on life ought to be bottled and sold as blueprint for happiness.’
The Sons of Rest
Meanwhile I must admit to having a vested interest in another ‘famous’ Barracks’ musical story … as I was the bass player in one of Newry’s first ever pop groups - The Sons of Rest.
We were based in Linenhall Square with Gerry ‘Wigger’ McEvoy as singer, Willie Reilly on drums, Kevin ‘Blue’ McCamley as rhythm guitarist, with John Casey (older brother of Charlie), on lead guitar. Sadly, Wigger, Blue and Willie have each passed on.
We were founded in 1962, playing Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry songs - with John Casey always saying we were the first Rhythm & Blues group from the Newry area.
We played mostly in ‘The Cavern Club’ which was in fact the old St Colman’s hall, and was more commonly known as the ‘Bucket’ or the ‘Colehole.’
The wee dances or Hops, as they were then called, were run by Carlin’s Record’s boss Mickey Carlin who paid us £2.50 per group, per night.
The first time the Sons played on stage was at the St Colman’s Parochial Hall as part of Lottie McKeown’s Top Talent team. And joining us there was 12-year-old Patricia Grattan who sang ‘Then I kissed him,’ in the process bringing the place down.
Our first paid gig was in the Blue Anchor bar near Dundalk. Joe ‘McDokes’ McDonald was our manager and he hired a small car, not much bigger than a mini. However, somehow we managed to get all five members of the group into it … along with the band gear, Joe McDonald, the driver and a couple of ‘fans’.
Feet, arms and legs were hanging out of the windows as a cheering crowd waved good luck to the Sons as they left the ‘Barracks’.
The gig was a success but the car wasn’t and after getting two punctures the Sons had to walk home halfway from Dundalk, carrying their gear.
I also remember getting a booking in Dublin where nobody turned up and we were paid 50 pence between the five of us.
Tony Hadden
However, it was sport where the Barracks really excelled and there were many stars, including Tony Hadden, Billy Fitzpatrick, Joe Larkin and Marty McCabe.
Tony Hadden took centre stage for Down as they became the first team from the six counties to win the All-Ireland. At Croke Park on Sunday September 25, 1960 the blond bomber from the Barracks fired over the first point for the red and black-shirted Mourne men as they defeated Kerry to bring the Sam Maguire Cup across the border for the first time.
And the next year Tony and Down proved that winning that first All-Ireland wasn’t a fluke as they won a second Sam when they defeated Offaly.
And although Linenhall Square was a soccer-based community, the residents celebrated spectacularly as one-of-their-own played a big role in creating GAA history.
Marty McCabe
Marty McCabe, who sadly passed away a few short months ago, was another who wore the red and black of Down with great pride. The highspot of his GAA career was saving a penalty kick from the legendary Dublin full forward Jimmy Keaveney.
Though in fact the big goal-keeper, a great character, mostly played soccer and won three Mid-Ulster Shield medals.
Joey Larkin
Joey Larkin, a relative of Marty McCabe’s, was a youthful soccer star and at only 13-year-of-age and playing for Oliver Casey’s Colman’s team, actually was the leading goal-scorer in the Carnbane Open League.
But Joey’s claim to fame was that he signed for Chelsea, the crack English League team.
Incidentally Joey’s son Adrian scored the winning goal for Newry Town in their only excursion into Europe. In 1999 the Town defeated Hrvatatski Dragovojac 2-1 in the Intertoto Cup at the Showgrounds.
While the other Town goal in that match was scored by Robbie Casey, son of old Barrack warhorse Eric Casey.
Billy Fitzpatrick
Meanwhile the late Billy Fitzpatrick, known to everyone as Mousey Fitz, and formerly a star with the famous Linenhall Square team Mountainview, is the only person from the Newry area to ever sign for the mighty Liverpool.
Those are just a sample of the Barrackovians who made a name for themselves, though undoubtedly there are many, many more.
 |
 |
 |