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The Irish Football Association and UEFA are hosting an international U15 tournament between N. Ireland, Luxembourg, Latvia and Faroe Island.
The fixtures will be held during week beginning 13 November 2023 at Newry City FC Showgrounds and Milltown Stadium in Warrenpoint. This will give the football fraternities from both areas the opportunity to watch possible future international stars of the future.
The Newry Fixtures are as follows,
Monday 13 November 3pm kick off N.Ireland v Faroe Island at Newry FC Showgrounds
Wednesday 15 November 3pm kick off N.Ireland v Latvia at Newry FC Showgrounds
Saturday 18 November 12pm kick off N.Ireland v Luxembourg at Newry FC Showgrounds
Martin McLoughlin Chairman Newry City FC Chairman stated, “I am very pleased the Irish Football Association and UFEA have chosen the Newry FC and Warrenpoint FC stadiums for this prestigious tournament and hopefully it will have major impact on both clubs youth academies. This will encourage many local boys and girls to get involved with both clubs. I would encourage all local youth football teams and schools to come and watch these very exciting games. The selection of Newry And Warrenpoint Stadium’s proves that the facilities we have developed over the years are now at a very high standard.
Finally I also thank the Newry Mourne and Down District Council for putting both our clubs names forward for this tournament”
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Newry people came out in force today to pay a fitting tribute to one of their own. It's not many people who are in a position to unveil a statue of themself, but thanks to the incredibly driven Newry based Friends of Big Pat group, legendary goalkeeper Pat Jennings was able to do exactly that!
At 12 noon Jennings removed the white sheet covering Newry's newest art piece, created by the incredibly talented Sculptor Andy Edwards. Edwards has created an incredible statue that will outlive us all and will attract football fans to Newry for years to come.
Friends of Big Pat managed to raise the funds needed for the statue thanks to generous donations from around the world, all of them wanting to acknowledge the incredible talent that is Pat Jennings. Following time with Newry Town, Shamrock Rovers and Watford, Jennings (78) played 13 years with Totenham Hotspur and 8 years with Arsenal and racking up 119 international matches for Northern Ireland along the way.
Jennings couldn't have been prouder to have received this recognition in his home town. "I can't believe it's happening. I've watched other people getting a statue unveiled to them and I never thought it would ever happen to me. I've had an unbelievable career in football. Leaving here as a 17 year old to join Watford. I never dreamt that I'd be back over 60 years later unveiling a statue. I love this place. Every opportunity I'm back home to see the family and friends here over the years." said Jennings.
He added "This is basically my home city. I wouldn't have wanted it anywhere else. Where football started for me out in The Meadow. That was named Jennings Park in 1976. I've really been proud of that, and everywhere I go I never miss the opportunity to acknowledge that and thank Newry council."
Pat remains true to his Newry roots
On a local level pupils from his former school St Joseph's High School are also incredibly proud, in their case it's because they are associated with the legend. The pupils formed a guard of honour for his arrival outside Newry Town Hall. Head Boy Lee Fulton speaking at the unveiling said "In preparing this speech I took the copy of an old school magazine that gave an interview with Pat. Carried out by Seanie McGuigan and Ronnie Hollywood It is fantastic read and the most striking passage is this. 'At that time Pat sat at the back of the class with Niall Clarke from South Armagh. A pupil that shared Pat's lack of enthusiasm for accademia. In exasperation the teacher approached the two reluctant students 'Do you see you two numbskulls, you'll never amount to anything'. Thankfully that teacher could not have been more wrong."
Lee continued "We are so proud as a school to say the first player in English football to make 1000 appearances was a St Joseph's boy. We are delighted also that when UEFA picked the best Northern Ireland player of the last 50 years they choose someone who sat at a desk on the Armagh Road. Beyond all this and most importantly to us is the fact that Pat lives and breathes our school motto ' Vir Justus' (an honourable man)."
"We hold Pat in such high esteem, not just for his sporting achievements but also the standards he sets as a person. As a school and being a young man growing up in Newry, I could not ask for a better role model than Pat. As pupils in St Joseph's we are encouraged to work hard, reach our potential and make the most of the talents we have. Without any doubt Pat has achieved all of this and more. We will never forget the day he visited St Joseph's, not leaving until every jersey, football and scrap of paper was signed."
In conclusion Lee said "Much has changed since Pat left school. St Joseph's has changed, Newry has changed and Ireland has changed. We are delighted that Pat Jennings has not changed. He remaiins true to his Newry roots and the values of our school."
A proud day for Newry
MC for the day sports commentator Stephen Watson thanked the Friends of Big Pat group "It's a very, very proud day for the City of Newry. This journey started over two and a half years ago. Much credit must go to Kevin McAllister and Larry Powell for pulling together a diverse team of people, including chairperson Aidie Toner, Wayne Denner, Adrian Markey and Gary Rocks and many others from which the Friends of Big Pat was formed."
Watson continued "We're here to honour a man who played over 1100 top flight football games, but also a man who has been a real unifying force in this country. An amazing person who's also given so much back. He has done as much off the football field as he did on it. Pat Jennings has helped raise over £2m for charity. He has received an MBE an OBE and recently a CBE and we all know what's next - A knighthood surely must follow."
He added "Pat is very proud to be from this city and we're very proud of him and we're indebted to Newry, Mourne and Down District Council for their support and giving us the opportunity to place this statue in such a wonderful location in the city in Kildare Street."
The commentator ended expressing a wish that following the horrific floods Newry experienced last week, the statue would bring hundreds of people to the city and pump money into local businesses.
Greatest ambassador
Another legendary Northern Ireland footballer, Gerry Armstrong was one of the players there to celebrate with Jennings. Armstrong believes Jennings is our greatest ambassador. "We are proud of him so much. In 1982, when that team went over to play at the World Cup, Pat was the one world class star we had. We unified the country, which is something that politicians couldn't do. We unified the country after we beat Spain and we had a fantastic journey. A lot of that is down to big Pat, he was just superb. Another four years later, he kept himself another World Cup in 1986 which was a big surprise. He's just an amazing person." he said.
Best goalkeeper in the world
Former Ireland and Arsenal star, Liam Brady also spoke at the unveiling. Brady said "He's a very special person to me. He's been a great friend down through the years. He was probably the best goalkeeper in the world at one time, without any doubt. When he left Tottenham he came to Arsenal and I wanted to be here today to tell everybody that he's an Arsenal player as well and not just Spurs. He's just unique because he's loved by both Tottenham and Arsenal supporters and I think he's the only one in the world that can say that."
Inspiration for young people
Former Tottenham Hotspur player Ledley King loves hearing Jennings stories about former players "It was probably 12 years ago when I retired I had an opportunity to get to know Pat on a personal level. What a gentleman. An icon and a legend of the football club. I love hearing his stories about the great players that he's played with and against. One of our favourites was when he represented his country at 41 years old at the World Cup, his last cap against Brazil, which is amazing to hear. What this statue will do is hopefully inspire young people that no matter where you come from in the world that you can achieve anything and go on to be the best. That's testament to Pat and the hard work throughout the years he's put in."
Following the formalities a steady stream of people descended on both Jennings and the statue determined to get that historic photo. A proud day for Newry indeed.
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It has been an overwhelmingly positive year for her thus far and with an Ulster LGFA Senior Club Championship decider on the agenda tomorrow in Healy Park, Omagh, Laoise Duffy will be looking to add another memorable chapter to her 2023 story.
A TG4 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship winner with Down back in August, Duffy was named alongside her sister Orla on the TG4 Junior Team of the Championship a month later and picked up this award at a function held in Croke Park on November 3. Following the conclusion of the inter-county season, the Duffy sisters returned to their club Bredagh, where they are joined on the senior panel by their siblings Emer and Caoimhe.
A 0-4 haul from Laoise was one of many highlights from Bredagh’s emphatic victory against Kilcoo in the Eamonn Rooney Coach Hire Down Ladies’ SFC showpiece in early October and she rattled the net last Sunday week as the Mourne women defeated Tyrone’s Errigal Ciaran on a scoreline of 4-8 to 1-8 in the semi-final of the Ulster Club Senior Championship.
This now leaves them 60 minutes away from securing a top-tier provincial title and while their opponents Clann Eireann will be appearing in their first final at this grade – in contrast to 2021 finalists Bredagh – Duffy knows that a big team performance is needed to get past the Armagh side.
“The girls have worked hard every game and come out with the win. It hasn’t been an easy road. The scorelines have, especially in the Down championship, seemed easier than they were. Every game has definitely been a battle and we’ve had to work for every win that we’ve gotten so far,” Duffy explained.
“I think Clann Eireann are going to be strong all over the pitch. I think we’re just going to have to be on our game from 1 to 15 really. We know that they’ve definitely got a good few players from the Armagh team and things like that.
“We’ve got our eye on a few different areas, but we know we’re going to have to be strong the whole way through the pitch in order to get the win.”
A Down panellist since 2015, Duffy has been vice-captain for Bredagh’s successful club championship campaign to date. Just above her in the leadership ranks is Eilish Ward, who hails from Donegal and featured for the O’Donnell County in their TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Football Championship final win of 2010.
She was still playing at inter-county level as recently as 2020 and with someone of her experience within the Bredagh set-up, Duffy was able to settle in comfortably to the vice-captaincy position.
“It’s an honour to be vice-captain of the team, but to be honest it’s not too difficult a role. Everyone on the team is so dedicated and everyone is working towards the same goal. There’s not really much on my end that I’ll need to do and having Eilish Ward as well as captain is unbelievable.
“She puts in an extra 1% and makes sure that everything is running smoothly. Between her and the management and coaches that we’ve got in, there’s definitely not much for me to do in the background anyway! I think we’ve all gained that experience together, but she’s a great person to have around the team. She’s a fantastic captain. She brings a lot of experience to it.”
Interestingly, Ward is one of a number of players on the Bredagh team to have represented a county other than Down. Before becoming an integral part of the Mourne side that won the same competition this year, Aoife Laverty represented her native Derry in an All-Ireland JFC final replay defeat to Fermanagh in 2017.
Additionally, because Bredagh are located within earshot of the Down-Antrim border in South Belfast, it is not uncommon for members of the club to represent the Saffron County. One such player is Aislinn Keenan, who was on the Antrim team that claimed the TG4 All-Ireland junior football title in 2022.
While the fact that she hails from Holywood in County Down meant she was always going to don the red and black jersey from a county perspective, Duffy is glad to have the Antrim cohort on board at club level.
“There have been girls in the past that have played for Antrim from Bredagh, just because it is where their home address lies. It’s good to have those girls on the club team too. I would have played with St Paul’s Holywood, underage on the boys team.
“Then whenever I got to U14, that’s when I moved over to Bredagh. Because there wasn’t a ladies team in St Paul’s at that time.”
Even though they required a replay to get over Fermanagh in the closing stages of last year’s junior championship, Keenan and her Antrim team-mates made a strong impression in the second-tier of ladies football in 2023. Three successive victories against Westmeath, Longford and Monaghan got them into the semi-finals of the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Football Championship, where they fell to a narrow four-point reversal at the hands of Clare.
Having made it to the quarter-final stage of the same competition in 2021 – and seen how the profile of the game has been bolstered by their All-Ireland success - Duffy is confident that Down are more than capable of replicating what her club colleague and provincial rivals did in this year’s campaign.
“We definitely are looking forward to this next year with county. I think our first step is definitely the league and seeing if we can progress out of Division Three. We think there is a lot of potential in the team and we’re excited to see where the year takes us,” Duffy added.
“Orla and myself actually went to our old primary school there recently and brought the trophy with us. It was unreal just to see our old teachers and the kids that are in school now.
“Throughout Down, the support for the team has just been unreal and then after the final, we would have gone and done a homecoming in Bryansford. It was unreal to see all the young kids out there as well. It has just raised the profile of it and hopefully it has allowed us to be role models for some of the younger girls out there.”
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Daniel Rooney, son of Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II along with Steelers legends Santonio Holmes and Alan Faneca made a trip to Newcastle on Friday to play a round of golf at Royal County Down. The Rooney family are closely linked to The Meadow in Newry. Daniel and the Steelers were in Ireland for their first ever Irish Watch Party at the weekend.
It follows an announcement earlier this year that the Pittsburgh Steelers had been awarded rights to expand their brand and activities in Ireland as part of the NFL’s ‘Global Markets Program. On Sunday, 19 November the Steelers hosted their Watch Party in Dublin’s iconic Croke Park. This is the first watch party ever organised by an NFL franchise in Ireland and proved a hit with Irish fans, with tickets selling out in a matter of hours.
The NFL’s Global Markets Program grants NFL clubs access to international markets to expand and grow the game through activities such as fan and youth events, along with corporate sponsorship and merchandise sales. 500 Irish Pittsburgh Steelers fans were in attendance in Croke Park, to watch the key divisional battle between longtime local rivals the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers, along with special guest appearances from Steelers legends Santonio Holmes and Alan Faneca and the Pittsburgh Steelers Director of Business Development and Strategy Daniel Rooney.
Touching down last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers also experienced some of Dublin’s notable sights, including a visit to the GAA Museum at Croke Park, EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum and sampling a taste of the black stuff at the Guinness Storehouse. The team also hosted an American youth football clinic at the Sport Ireland Campus, where young players in attendance participated in American Football skill sessions hosted by Holmes, Faneca, Tadhg Leader and American Football Ireland.
Steelers Director of Business Development and Strategy Daniel Rooney said, “We’ve had a fantastic week on the island of Ireland. The events we held allowed us to spend time with Steelers Nation and NFL fans alike, as well as teach the game of American football to young Irish athletes. We look forward to future trips where we can engage with fans and further educate people of all ages about the game we love.”
Dublin’s Croke Park played host to the Steelers and Chicago Bears preseason game in 1997, still the only NFL game to ever be played in Ireland. The game was made possible in large part to the Steelers late Chairman, Dan Rooney. Rooney’s ties with Ireland were notable, as he served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland from 2009-2012. He also helped establish the Ireland Funds, a program founded to promote and support peace, culture, education, and community development across Ireland and among Irish communities around the world.
Henry Hodgson, GM of NFL UK & Ireland, said: “We are thrilled to see such a strong turnout for the Pittsburgh Steelers first ever NFL Irish Watch Party. Growing the game globally is a major strategic priority for the NFL, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are a fantastic partner to accelerate the interest in our sport on the island of Ireland and we look forward to supporting them in future events.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers have launched dedicated Irish social media accounts, where content from last weekend’s events and activities will be published for Irish fans to enjoy. Their recent four-day trip was the commencement of their marketing activities here and the Steelers are planning for further upcoming activities, with the team aspiring to host an NFL game on the island in the coming years.
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Down Gaelic footballer Ryan McAleenan is in Africa this week as part of an initiative to plant a million trees and raise awareness of the impact that climate change is having on some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
The week-long trip to Kenya by 50 Irish GAA stars will include a showpiece ‘Plant the Planet’ games between the visiting GAA players and Kenyan Premier League football team, AFC Leopards, as well as visits to Self Help Africa projects, a programme of tree planting activities, and a reception hosted by the Irish Ambassador to Kenya.
Participants aren’t just raising awareness about climate change, as they are collectively aiming to raise more than £350,000 in sponsorship support, to plant a million trees in Africa and support the efforts of Irish development charity Self Help Africa to combat the effects of climate change amongst small-scale farming communities.
The event is being organised, for its second successive year, by former Galway dual-player Alan Kerins ‘Warriors for Humanity,’ the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) and Self Help Africa, and will also include a programme of sports sessions with children, and participation in Irish brother Colm O’Connell’s elite training camp, alongside some of Kenya’s leading long distance athletes.
Speaking about the upcoming event, Alan Kerins of Warriors for Humanity said that “Gaelic Games has an ability to bring communities together for a greater good, and we are sure this event will be no different.”
Self Help Africa’s Martha Hourican said that tree planting in Kenya would do much more than remove harmful greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, as the trees being planted would provide alternative sources of food, additional crops that could be sold for income, and would help restore degraded land and improve soil quality for farming in Kenya and elsewhere on the continent. She said that each of the participating competitors was seeking to raise £10,000 in sponsorship to fund the tree planting campaign.
Gaelic Players Association CEO, Tom Parsons, said that a key element of the GPAs role was to empower inter-county players to realise the bigger picture beyond sport. “Not only will this campaign allow the players to come together and experience something entirely different, but in doing so they will also be able to leverage their influence off the field of play in support of the planet and some of the world’s most challenged communities.”
To find out more or make a donation, please visit: www.selfhelpafrica.org
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Laragh O’Grady, a dressage rider based in Newry is one of 8 amateur athletes and two sports clubs based in County Down that have each received a £850 uplift ahead of the festive period courtesy of Kingspan.
The Kingspan Kickstart Sports Fund launched earlier this year, with support from Irish professional golfer, Shane Lowry, to provide support for grassroots level athletes and community sports clubs, and has already awarded a total of £76,500 to successful applicants across Ireland.
As part of the fund, athletes Nathan McCabe, Castlewellan, Benji and Harley, Holywood, Jamie Moffatt, Bangor, Laragh O’Grady, Newry, Charlie McVeigh, Dundonald, Ben Watson, Dundonald and Tom Williamson, Ballynahinch have been awarded £850 each, alongside clubs Patrician Youth Centre, Downpatrick and Ulster Barbarians Wheelchair Rugby Club. The Fund will help to provide sporting equipment, training and other necessary resources, alongside offering assistance with any campaigns that are currently underway.
Speaking about the Fund, Hannah Fidgeon, Kickstart Marketing Manager at Kingspan said: “We are a long-standing supporter of Irish sports through our sponsorship of Ulster Rugby and Cavan GAA, so establishing the Kingspan Kickstart Sports Fund was an important initiative for us.
“Professional level sport is largely well bolstered, however if it’s to continue to progress and thrive, support for grassroots level athletes, sports clubs and facilities is essential. It’s well known that competing at an amateur level can be extremely tough, especially in terms of finances, and we hope that this Fund will help to make a huge difference to clubs, facilities and athletes in their sporting journey.
“We have an immense amount of home-grown sporting talent here in Ireland,” Hannah continued. “If our rich sporting culture is to continue to evolve and develop, we must do all we can to support the grassroots levels, which hopefully the Kingspan Kickstart Sports Fund will help to achieve. "
To apply for the Kingspan Kickstart Sports Fund, you must be an amateur athlete, sports club or a community sports facility open to all and based on the island of Ireland.
Applications for the next round of funding will open in 2024. Visit: www.kingspangroup.com for further information.
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Newry City Athletic Football Club are seeking a manager for their first team, following the resignation of their Manager Gary Boyle on St Stephen's Day after their 4:0 defeat to Glenavon. Boyle has only been in the position since May 2023 when he replaced Darren Mullen although he had been Mullen's assistant for a number of years.
Speaking to the BBC after the Glenavon game Boyle said "I'm really disappointed that it hasn't worked out. I've been here a long time and enjoyed some good times, some tough times but within the tough times the club has never turned on their own and I've felt over the last couple of months there's been a lot of stuff directed obviously at me but it's now seeping on to the pitch and the players and I think for the betterment of the club, to try to galvanise it again that maybe there's a new figurehead needs to come forward."
Until the new managers position is filled the first team will be handled by assistant manager, Damien Hillen.
In a post on their website the club invites expressions of interest for the position of first team manager. Essential criteria states that the candidate must have at least a valid UEFA A Licence.
Interested parties can send an expression of interest and an accompanying CV to club chairman Martin McLoughlin in strict confidence at: martin@newrycityafc.co.uk
Closing date for expression of interest is 12 noon on Thursday 4 January.
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Newry City Athletic Football Club have appointed former Warrenpoint FC manager Barry Gray as their first team manager on a long term deal. It follows the resignation of manager Gary Boyle just after Christmas.
To introduce the new manager to the fans Newry City are hosting a Q&A with Barry in the Social Club this Friday evening 5 January. Doors open at 7.30pm, with event to start at 8.30pm. All welcome
Barry returns to the club having previously worked with Newry's underage teams and brings a wealth of experience, having managed at the top level with both Cliftonville and Warrenpoint Town.
Speaking to the club media team Barry Gray commented “It’s great to get things finalised and the formalities over. We have a tough challenge ahead and I am under no illusions how tough it is to get off the bottom of the table in such a competitive league.
“I am looking forward to getting in and working with the players, a lot of them I have worked with before or I am familiar with already.
“My job is to try and secure Newry’s premiership status with whatever it takes to do so. The players no doubt are a little low on confidence at the minute and struggling for form, but this is an opportunity for everyone to reset and focus on a fresh start.
“We have a lot to do in the coming weeks and months, we will prioritise the most appropriate games and concentrate on raising standards and performance levels. “We have good players here and performances may have been lower than expected but now is the time to stand up and be counted. We will get to work right away and hopefully see performance levels and results improve quickly.”
Club Chairman, Martin McLoughlin added “Firstly let me give a warm welcome to Barry Gray.
“Barry comes to us at a time when we need someone to lead us out of the difficult spell we have been going through and someone who can restore the confidence that has been lacking of late within our squad.
“With almost 20 years coaching experience at the highest level with spells at Cliftonville and our neighbours Warrenpoint Town, he has earned much respect and built up a network of very valuable contacts. Barry is a Newry man by birth and we feel that he is exactly what we need to help us retain our premiership status.
“I would like to thank Gary Boyle for his efforts and commitment throughout his seven years at the club and in particular over the past seven months.
“We are under no illusions about the task ahead and the dedication and efforts needed, but having spoken to Barry at length, we believe he has the passion and the drive to give us a fighting chance.
“We hope all at The Showgrounds get behind Barry and his team. Welcome home Barry.”
Warrenpoint Town accepted his resignation and wished him well. A spokesperson said "We thank Barry for his commitment in this second stint as first team manager.
"The impact of being denied our place in the Premiership Play-off, based on sporting merit, earlier this year has changed the strategic focus of the club and led to a more realistic and time bound approach to building the club back to where we belong.
"In a stepped approach, we remain focused on securing promotion from PIL to Championship. This remains our sole objective this season.
"We wish Barry well on his next appointment as manager. The club will announce further first team details in due course."
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Armagh take on Donegal tonight in the opening round of the The Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup with a new squad of players under the microscope. Clan na Gael have 5 players in the starting 15 whole local eyes will be on Conor Magennis from Killeavy and Sean Conlon from Silverbridge.
Down have to wait till Saturday for their clash with Derry in Owenbeg.
Getting straight down to business, Manager Kieran McGeeney in his tenth season in charge of the senior team will be keeping a close eye on the performances of the newbies as he plans his team for the upcoming Allianz National Football League, with the first game 27 January when Armagh take on Louth at home.
Last year Armagh's progress was once again cruelly stopped by the dreaded penalty shoot-out having lost in an epic clash with Galway in 2022. In 2023 it was Derry in the Ulster Final and Monaghan in the Quarter Final who ensured they didn't advance.
Tonight's game kicks off at 7.30pm in Ballybofey.
Armagh Team
Rhys Stevens, Pearse Og's
Cathal Agnew, Armagh Harps
Sam McClarnon, Clan na Gael
Conor Magennis, Killeavy
Emmett Magee, Clann Eireann
Sean McCarthy, Clann Eireann
Joe Sheridan, Madden
Tadhg Grimley, Armagh Harps
Paddy Carr, Madden
Sean Conlon, Silverbridge
Brendan O'Hagan, Clan na Gael
Callum O'Neill, Clan na Gael
Cianan Campbell, Clan na Gael
Daniel Magee, Clann Eireann
Michael McConville, Clan na Gael
Dr McKenna Cup Fixtures
Round 1: Wednesday 3 January 7.30pm
Section A: Donegal v Armagh at Ballybofey
Section B: Cavan v Derry at Kingspan Breffni
Section C: Monaghan v Antrim at Castleblayney
Round 2: Saturday 6 January 6pm
Section B: Derry v Down at Owenbeg
Round 2: Sunday 7 January 1pm
Section A: Tyrone v Donegal at O’Neills Healy Park
Section C: Antrim v Fermanagh at Ahoghill/Portglenone TBC
Round 3: Wednesday 10 January 7.30pm
Section A: Armagh v Tyrone at Box-It Athletic Grounds
Section B: Down v Cavan at Páirc Esler
Section C: Fermanagh v Monaghan at Brewster Park
Semi Finals
13/14 January
Final
20 January
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