December 2014 Volume 1, Issue 2 PARK/ RATHENISKA GAA CLUB NEWSLETTER Seasons Greetings from Park/Ratheniska The Gaelic Games year is over for 2014 and we here at the Park/Ratheniska GAA Club would like to take this opportunity in our review of 2014, to thank you one and all for your hard work, support and dedication over the past 12 months. We ve had differing degrees of success and heartbreak over the course of the 12 months, this is par for the course in any GAA Club, but as always we ve taken the victories and the defeats together as one. To win or lose is a sportsman s lot and we will face into 2015 with renewed hope and vigour. In the meantime, we wish you and yours all the best for this holiday season. Intermediate Hurlers Our Intermediate Hurlers had a tremendous Championship run this year, carrying the hearts and minds of the Club faithful on their shoulders, sadly just coming up short in the decider. The atmosphere of the semi final & final especially will stay long in Park/Ratheniska, 2014 Laois Intermediate Hurling Championship Finalists the memories, with them having given great entertainment all year. We hope they continue to work hard and improve and aim to go one step further in 2015. CLUB EXECUTIVE 2014 President : N Mansworth Vice President : D Mansworth, H Fingleton, P Drennan (RIP), P Rankins, S Cushen, T Cushen, J Leonard, D Fingleton, L Wall, M Cushen, A Corcoran, H Ramsbottom. Chairman : Jimmy Morrin Secretary : Tommy O'Connell Asst Secretary : John Kelly Treasurer : Christy Fingleton Asst Treasurer : Brendan Delaney PRO : Brian Ramsbottom Asst PRO : Max Ramsbottom Committee : P Brennan, H Ramsbottom, L Wall, T White, J Kelly (Grange), J Kelly (Loughteague), J Shields, G Ramsbottom, B Greene, J Brennan, D Kennedy, S Tynan.
2014 Christmas Cracker We teamed up with the Mulhare s of Ireland s Fittest Family fame and St Francis School Portlaoise to release details of our upcoming Christmas Cracker 2014. On hand representing our local celebrities was patriarch David, a man who knows all about overcoming any different degrees of obstacle course, a skill which will come in handy for any of those preparing for this years all new and improved 5K & 10K Obstacle Course which will take place in Park/Ratheniska GAA Grounds on December 28th! 2014 Park/Ratheniska Christmas Cracker Press Launch. L to R: Park/Ratheniska Chairman Jim Morrin, Organiser John Kelly, St Francis School Principal Marian Whyte, Teacher Alma Fingleton, Irelands Fittest Family Finalist David Mulhare, Organiser Ger Ramsbottom. more muck, more craic, less tarmac Ratheniska NS Double Up With Football Title 2 The successful Ratheniska NS team Congratulations to the young footballers of Ratheniska NS on their Football final win back in October. They have now put back to back titles together which is a huge credit not just to the players but to their dedicated manager and our club coaches. Coaching Four of our Coaches - Anthony Hitchcock, Paddy Dalton, John Connolly & Pat Brennan recently completed the Award 1 Youth Football Coaching Course which covers U13 to U18 teams so hopefully we will see the benefits of their knowledge in the coming season. Following on from last year s hugely successful maiden event, one which helped raise over 4,000 for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease, this year s course is all new and improved, or to quote Organiser Ger Ramsbottom more muck, more craic, less tarmac! Organiser John Kelly went on to outline plans for this year s proceedings saying last year s event was a tremendous success, possibly even more popular than we were expecting for our first year out. We ve taken on board some of the feedback from last year, and we ve opted for less road running and more obstacles. We ve also retained our 5K walk which proved very popular with both young and old competitors. But for those who want to really test themselves, and get down and dirty, we ve got an option of the 5K Obstacle Course, or pushing yourself that bit further and try to really work off that Christmas Turkey, by going for the 10K Obstacle Course. Another addition this year will be the presence of Irish TV, who we are delighted to be able to partner with for the event. They will be on hand to record this year s action for a segment to be broadcast at a later date on their channel. Further information on that when we have it! Competitors are encouraged to sign up online rather than just waiting to register on the day. The online option is 20 for the Obstacle Course, while it will be 30 if you decide to register on the day. The 5K walk is on offer for just 10 and all competitors will receive a free Christmas Cracker t-shirt is on offer to the first 200 competitors who register for the event, so don't miss out! This year, proceeds from the Cracker will be staying local, as the Club have nominated St Francis School Portlaoise to be the ones to benefit from the event. Remember, register online to receive the 10 discount, simply sign up now by going to http://www.active.com/co-laois-ireland/running/mudruns-races/park-ratheniska-g-a-a-christmas-cracker-2014
The Annual General Meeting took place on December 12th in the GAA Clubhouse. It had been a busy year on all fronts for the Club and Chairman Jim Morrin welcomed all in attendance and wasted no time in getting down to business. 2014 Annual General Meeting Secretary Tommy O Connell detailed the 2014 year for the Club, among which we had the highlights of the Intermediate Hurlers wonderful run to the County Final, including the atmosphere in both the semi final and final being just two of the standout moments not to mention the skill and determination on the field of play. The Ploughing Championships also proved another wonderful success and it was fantastic to see one of our 2014 Annual General Meeting crowned an All Ireland Champion. There was disappointment too on the field with our Intermediate Footballers demotion to the Junior grade proving a big talking point on the night. We also lost a lot of friends and club members this year, as they passed onto their eternal rest, most notably our Vice President Pat Drennan. Treasurer Christy Fingleton Report put forward another comprehensive report of the Clubs finance where it was noted that that our Lotto was won twice this. The importance of our Club lotto was emphasized once more, and member were urged to find new sellers and buyers to ensure the Club can remain on sound financial footing. The other major business of the night was the election of officers where our hard working Chairman of the past 3 years, Jim Morrin stepped aside at the head of the Club, to be replaced by John Kelly. Jim was thanked wholeheartedly from the floor and the top table for his hard work and dedication over this time at the helm of the Club. Jim thanked all those who helped him out, and urged everyone to work hard to once again succeed on the playing field. He wished John all the best in his position and assured him he would do all he could to help in him every way he could. Officers elected on the night were as follows: President : N Mansworth Vice President : D Mansworth, H Fingleton, P Drennan (RIP), P Rankins, S Cushen, T Cushen, J Leonard, D Fingleton, L Wall, M Cushen, A Corcoran, H Ramsbottom. Chairman Vice Chairman Secretary Treasurer Asst Treasurer PRO : John Kelly : Jim Morrin : Tommy O Connell : Christy Fingleton : Brendan Delaney : Brian Ramsbottom Votes of sympathy were passed with the following families who lost loved ones over the course of the year: Phelan, Comerford, Greene, Corcoran, Drennan, Scully, Norton, Dowling, Conroy, Delany, Allen, Dunne, Lewis, Fingleton, Graham, Keane, McLaughlin, Conroy, Carter, Graham, Comerford. The Chairman called for a minutes silence for all those mentioned and took the opportunity to wish all our members a Happy Christmas and a safe and successful 2015.
Shield Success for U12 s & 14 s! There was great joy for our U12 and U14 Footballers earlier this year when they got their U14 Footballers celebrate Shield Success hands on silverware. Our U14 Footballers captured the U14B Shield with an impressive 614 to 1-6 win over St Fintan's Gaels after leading 2-5 to 1-4 at half time, they turned on the power on the re-start to run out comfortable winners. The team was captained by Stephen Hitchcock who had the honour of collecting the Shield on behalf of his team-mates. It was an even more impressive win given that they had lost to same opposition earlier this year in Feile competition. The panel was as follows: Ploughing 2014 The Club would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank each and every volunteer who helped out over the course of the National Ploughing Championships. Many Our All Ireland Champion Plougher, Benny Greene! wondered could the event top last years wonderful occasion, but it Cian Marum, Brian Dunne, Kyle Byrne, Sean O'Connell, Sean McNamara, Cian O'Toole, Alex Renehan, Conor O'Farrell, Jonathan Rafter, Craig Adams, Stephen Hitchcock, Brian Fingleton, Shane Dalton, James Renehan, David Brennan, Peter Conroy, Robert Laffan, Daniel Whelan, Caleb Macken, Dragus, Stephen McCabe, Simon Fingleton, Ceejay Kelly, Jack Masterson. Coaches: Paddy Dalton, Jimmy Renehan, Ken Byrne & Pat Brennan Congratulations to our U12 Footballers, League Shield Champions with a 7-3 to 0-2 win over Ballyfin! Well done to all the young players who U12 Footballers celebrate Shield Success have tasted their first County success with the Club, we hope it whets their appetite for further silverware in the future! Also a big thanks to their mentors, its a huge sacrifice to take on coaching a group of young players but the smiles tonight in Portlaoise will have made it all worthwhile. seems the general consensus that this years festival outstripped it and some. We can't thank all our volunteers enough for their hard work, commitment and dedication, you are a credit to not only yourselves to our small community and a testament to what can be achieved in the name of local pride. We are delighted to be able to contribute somewhat to the smooth running of this event and do as much as we can to boost our coffers at the same time. While all of our volunteers both in the Juvenile and Adult Club deserve huge credit, it would be wrong not to pay special mention to our Chairman Jim Morrin and Treasurer Christy Fingleton who done so much to ensure the smooth running of the event from our point of view. Once again we thank each and every one of you, we'll be in touch again in 12 months time... Keep up the good work! 4
Adult Team & Competitions 5 2014 Sub Committees Grounds and Match Day Officials Jimmy Morrin (C), Liam Wall, Ger Ramsbottom, Brendan Dowling, Tommy White, John Brennan, Benny Greene. Club Organisation and Development Jimmy Morrin (C), Brian Ramsbottom, Pat Brennan, Tommy O'Connell, John Kelly (G) Finance Committee Christy Fingleton, Har Ramsbottom, Joe Cunningham, Brendan Delaney Sean Tynan Coaching/Games & Development & Fixtures Darach Kennedy (C), Pat Morrin, Brendan Delaney, Pat Brennan, Joe Cunningham, Padraig Dermody Social Committee Ger Ramsbottom (C), Liam Wall, Christy Fingleton, Stephen McLaughlin, Darach Kennedy, John Kelly (L) Liaison Committee Jimmy Morrin (C), Jimmy Shields, Pat Brennan Communication Brian Ramsbottom (C), Max Ramsbottom, David Kelly Ploughing Committee Har Ramsbottom, Jimmy Morrin, Benny Greene, Stephen McLaughlin, Martin Howe ASAP Officer - Jimmy Shields Intermediate Hurling We predicted good things for our Hurlers earlier this year, and despite a ropey enough start to the League campaign it all started to come good in the final stages, setting up a tilt at Championship success for Jack Nolan s charges. A rip-roaring victory over Ballypickas Denis Brennan v Portlaoise in the years Championship opener raised eyebrows around the county, but it was the quarterfinal win over Portlaoise that truly lit the touch paper for 2014. This game was lit up by two moments of genius, a beautiful sideline cut from Jimmy Langton and an outstanding overhead strike from Denis Brennan driving our hurlers to victory. Next up was a semi-final tilt against Trumera where John Holohan proved to be the executioner in chief. Ably assisted by Dinny Cahill in the corner, Holohan was practically unplayable rifling home the games defining score from the penalty spot to propel his team into the County Final. Sadly it wasn t to be however as they lost out to Borris in Ossory Kilcotton in the County Final. An outstanding first Jimmy Langton v Portlaoise half Denis Cahill goal kept us in touch at the break and allowed us make a big rally in the second period where we scored 7 points to eke out a two point lead as we faced into the last 10 minutes of the game. Sadly frees proved costly against us all throughout and in the end Borris Kilcotton edged 3 points clear with the final whistle approaching. Try as we might, we just couldn t get the goal that would have sent the game to a replay. We are hugely proud of this group of hurlers who gave us such great days over the course of the year. Great credit must go to the entire panel and their management team for their hard work and commitment and we thank them all for this. There was a fantastic turnout of support from across the Park/Ratheniska community, it's great to see us come together like this and we know the players and management Brendan Dowling leads the charge in County Final really appreciated seeing so many turn up to cheer them on, both young and old, and especially some of our former players who have been suffering poor health of late. There's nothing quite like the bond that exists in a GAA Club and days like Sunday prove this once again. Sadly the result wasn't to be, but such is the lot of a sportsman, the bad days serve to make the good days even better.
The Club would like to thank all those who were so generous in the lead up to the Final, especially Mark Carroll Electrical, Bosco Ramsbottom's GALA and PJ Kavanagh in The Wrens Nest. We are forever grateful to all your financial assistance and we are proud to be associated with you all. The year finished up with a trip to Wexford in the Leinster Junior Hurling Club Championship. The players and management refocused as best they could for the task given the disappointment of the Final defeat, but a combination of fatigue, injuries and a very strong opposition saw our lads bring the year to a close many miles from home. Here s to 2015. Intermediate Football It was an annus horribilis for our Intermediate Footballers as after fighting against relegation for the past 2 seasons, they finally succumbed to the drop in 2014. Defeat to Kilcavan saw the coffin nailed shut, but in truth it was the draw against Graiguecullen that will rankle with anyone involved in Intermediate Football this year. Holding out for a win in that tie could so easily has transformed a year that was so close on many occasions. While heads will be down after this, we do have a lot of positives to look towards from a footballing point of view. There has been huge changes in our team over the last few years with a lot of more experienced heads moving on and a influx of young talent coming through. This talent must now be nurtured and it will happen in the Junior ranks. We have enough ability and talent to bounce back from this, but it will take hard work and commitment to do so. We have let things slip in recent years from the heady heights of '06 and '08 and while emigration has hit us hard, we must now pull ourselves together and go once more. We thank everyone for their work over the course of the year, things didn't work out as we would have hoped, but that doesn't lessen the work done by both management and players. Junior C Football There had been some high hopes for this grade in 2014, an influx of young talent, combined with some older talent regarding and a new management gave hope of a possible Championship run. This hope was stoked with a home Championship win over Ballacolla in the opening round of the Championship. In total over the course of this game, we gave around a dozen new players their Championship debuts, and when the tie was in the melting pot, it was two of them in particular, Adrian Knowles and Denis Cahill who stood up took on the responsibility to see us over the line. The win gave great hope for our next tie against Errill, but perhaps that is a tie that is best consigned to the rubbish bin of history, with Errill dominating from start to finish. Stephen Knowles Adult Team & Competitions IFC v Portlaoise However over the whole of the year, there was definitely far more positives to take that negatives and as always, this grade has been very useful in exposing younger players to the rigors and requirements of adult football. Thanks to all the players and management who once again made the effort this year. 6
Ladies Club Ladies AGM Now that the all competitions are complete the committee are in full swing preparing for the new season which is just around the corner. Although we weren't successful in adult grades this year we had a relatively good season with our U14 girls winning the League final, under the guidance of our Chairman John Buggy, Michael Finn & Claire Delahunty. Our U16's this year partnered with St Paul s and were unlucky to loose out to a strong St Conleth s Team in the A championship final. Our Minors also partnered with St Paul s and although we had a very strong panel, due to the time of year with exams and collage it was impossible to field our best 15 on any given day, however we used the championship with a view to building for 2015. We would like to extend a big thank you to the Heath Girls who helped us fulfill fixtures towards the end of the championship. National Volunteer award Our Treasurer Danielle Keane was presented with a very prestigious award by the Minister For Sport Michael Ring in November for her unending voluntary commitment and dedication to our club and lots more sporting organisations over many years. Park/Ratheniska 2014 U14 A League Champions We hosted a night for Danielle In Treacys the same evening where Laois County Council Chairman John Joe Fennelly and Kilkenny & Ballyhale Shamrock's legend Michael Fennelly were the guest speakers. We would like to thank Portlaoise Panthers and The Heath Rounders who cohosted the event! Our AGM has been scheduled for Saturday January 17th. Strictly Our club were well represented in the Laois Ladies Strictly Come dancing fundraiser both on and off the pitch, with Danielle Keane and Martin Foran responsible for almost all of the event from start to finish. A special mention to Jim Morrin (Timmy) who was responsible for a significant amount of sponsorship which ultimately made its way back to our ladies club! 2015 Training We anticipate adult training commencing towards the end of January in preparation for the league towards the end of February! We would like to wish all our members and their family's a happy Christmas and a prosperous 2015.
8 Juvenile AGM The AGM of the Park/Ratheniska Juvenile Club took place on Thursday last. The Chairman and Secretary reports covered a wide range of topics and laid out the plans for the coming year across all age groups. Also recognised on the night was the high level of participation by U6's to U10s' in their Go Games and the successes in U12 football, hurling and schools football team, along with the U14s winning the Shield competition and U16's taking the league title. There was particular emphasis on how to retain players and bring them through the system from U6 through to the minor ranks. Also discussed was the need to recruit new players and the potential issues in the years ahead where numbers are low in certain age groups. Officers elected were Chairman Joe Cunningham Vice Chair. Liam Dunne Sec. Kevin Fingleton Asst. Sec. Colm O Hara Coaching Officer Darach Kennedy Pro Jimmy Fitzpatrick County Coaching Best of luck to John Sugrue and Pat Brennan who will both be making the step up to Inter-county Coaching in the coming year. John will be Manager of the Laois U15 Development Squads for 2015 while Pat will be a Selector with the Laois U14 Football squad. We wish them both well with their teams for 2015. Underage Teams & Competitions U6 Football: Joe Cunningham (M), Liam Dunne, Darach Kennedy, Michelle McEvoy, Padraig Dermody, Fergal Bracken, Damien Kavanagh Our U12 s Footballers & Hurlers on their Summer day out in Croke Park U6 Hurling: Joe Cunningham (M), Liam Dunne, Eamon Carroll, Michelle McEvoy, David Larkin, John Kelly We finished up our training at the end of October with our presentation of medals and all our young players really enjoyed the season. We had a particularly good attendance for our Monday evening hurling so the autumn weather didn t dampen the enthusiasm of our young hurlers and they finished the season in style with a great game against Clonad. We focused on getting the basics rights in both codes with fun and enjoyment central to all our activity. We have a large number of enthusiastic qualified mentors now in place and we look forward to new members joining us for in Spring 2015. U8 Football: Chris Kavanagh (M), Pat McEvoy, Kevin Bowe, Enda Fingleton, Conor Shiels, Jimmy Fitzpatrick U8 Hurling: Padraig Dermody (M), Mark Carroll, Pat McEvoy, Conor Shiels, Enda Fingleton, Seamus Kelly Mid July was an exciting time for our U8 footballers as they got to play on the hallowed turf of Croke Park. The full-on experience began with a team talk in the player's dressing room and a nervous wait in the warm-up area, before being led towards the pitch by the team mentors. Once the team had posed for the official team photograph they ran on to the pitch to the cheers of the parents and club members who travelled up on the day. After a tough game against St Patrick's of Wicklow, the team climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand to hold up a mini Sam Maguire. A great experience for the kids, their families and the club mentors, topped off by a visit to McDonald's on the way home. Underage Awards Presentation This group of youngsters have a genuine love of football and the numbers at training hit 26 on some occasions. Our indoor hurling training session for u8's commenced on the 31st October in Portlaoise College. The sessions are an hour in duration and take place on alternate Friday nights with indoor football between October and March. We are using the sessions to develop our hurlers striking off both sides while also coaching the arts of blocking, hooking and tackling. Each session finishes with a small sided game using a wall ball to develop touch and speed up striking for the 2015 season. While hall space is limited with our existing group of 25 lads, if you know of anyone who would like to join us, please make contact with Padraigh Dermody (087)9118145 for further details. We would like to thank all the families for their support this year and encourage them to become more active and hands-on with their kids' training and development with us.
Underage Teams & Competitions U10 Football: Colm O'Hara (M), John Ramsbottom, Liam Smith, Karl Byrne Our U10 Footballers were very busy in 2014. Numbers varied between 15 and 20 for this 2014 squad and we work hard to ensure every child is given specialist attention and coaching to develop their skills and maximize their enjoyment. They competed in the Go Games exhibition game at half time in the Laois v Donegal NFL game earlier this year and had challenges over the year against both St Jude s of Dublin and JK Brackens of Tipperary to name just two They Park Ratheniska - U12 Shield Winners, 2014 Ballyroan Tournament also were part of the O Moore Park Nights Experience night. U10 Hurling: John Ramsbottom (M), Colm O'Hara, Jimmy Fitzpatrick Our U10 Hurlers had a progressive year with both the Coaches and players have taken advantage of an experiment which has seen them travel to Castlecomer where they have undergone Coaching sessions with the local Club which seems to have been a great success thus far. They ve also been attending the Setanta Hurling Coaching sessions every Saturday morning in Portlaoise, all under the watchful eye of the Laois Coaching and Games Development Officers aided by current Laois Senior Hurlers. U12 Hurling: Kevin Fingleton (M), John Ramsbottom The U12 hurlers competed in Division 1 and 2 of the U12 league. Div 2 league was used mainly for the development of the U11 hurlers for next year, we competed strongly in a number of matches before losing out to Colt in the shield semi-final. Div1 team played 10 matches winning 7 and losing 3 to the team above them in the league. By finishing 4th we played the league leaders Abbeyleix in the cup semi-final, but lost out to a very strong team who went on to win the final. U12 Football: Kevin Fingleton (M), John Connolly, Pat McGurk, Niall Aird, Roger Youn The U12 footballers entered 2 teams in Division 3 and 5 of the football league. Again the division 5 team was used for developing the u11s within the squad for coming year as well as guaranteeing game time for all. This team played 6 matches. The Division 3 team won their division and followed by wining semi-final and final with P Ruddy Captain bringing the shield home for the year. We had 25 players in the squad with an excellent turnout and commitment by players and mentors alike. U13 & U14 Football: Pat Brennan (M), Paddy Dalton, Jimmy Renehan, Ken Byrne We competed well in the end of season U13 league securing a win against Ballylinan/Gleanmore and a draw with St Joseph's Barrowhouse and a defeat to Clonaslee St Manmans. In the knock out stages of the Shield we lost to eventual winners The Heath. The Club were delighted that Brian Fingleton was selected on this year s Laois U13 football panel and with other players pushing hard for a call-up we are hopeful of increasing our representation on next year s Laois U14 panel. 9
Underage Teams & Competitions Under 14 Football: Pat Brennan (M), Paddy Dalton, Jimmy Renehan, Ken Byrne There was disappointment in the first round of the football championship when summer holidays and injuries meant we were unable to play our first round game. We then competed in the Shield Competition and captained by Stephen Hitchcock we comprehensively defeated St Fintan's Gaels in the final on a scoreline of 6-14 to 1-6. Following a good campaign our U14 hurlers bowed out at the semi-final stage to eventual winners Rosenallis. Four of our Coaches - Anthony Hitchcock, Paddy Dalton, John Connolly & Pat Brennan recently completed the Award 1 Youth Football Coaching Course which covers U13 to U18 teams so hopefully we will see the benefits of their knowledge in the coming season. U14 Hurling: Hugh McCabe (M), Pat Brennan, David O Brien (Clonad) Following a good campaign our U14 hurlers bowed out at the semi-final stage to eventual winners Rosenallis. U16 Football: Anthony Hitchcock (M), Glen Maher, Ger Ramsbottom Following the successful winning of the league earlier in the year, out footballers entered the Championship with high expectation and progressed to the semi-final where they met Ballylinan/Glenmore. Despite being short a number of players on the day, they put up a great effort and got a number of goals to keep hopes alive but unfortunately came up short in the end. We had a great group of players who trained hard all year and the league win was well-deserved. We had a most enjoyable evening in Ratheniska hall on Sunday 6th December where Laois star Ross Munnelly presented the players with their medals. U16 Hurling: P Morrin (M) The Clonad-Park/Ratheniska hurlers had a challenging year with varying numbers attending training making it difficult for team U16 League Champions management to develop the team. They had a fine win over Graiguecullen in the quarterfinal of the championship but bowed out at the hands of Rosenallis in the semi-final. Minor Football In our second year on our own our Minors disappointed somewhat. We had a great opportunity to win a Minor B Championship but suffered through a loss of key players for vital matches. In our first league match we had a very good win over The Heath on their patch which qualified us for a league quarter final which we failed to field a team in due to players failing to turn up on the night. The Championship the following weekend was similar in that we were again missing key players and lost to O Dempseys. Minor Hurling It was a difficult year here trying to gather a team together even though we have three Clubs involved. We were unable to field in the league and lost out in the first round of the Championship. U21 Hurling Our U21 Hurling Championship suffered badly due to fixture congestion. When it eventually began we were up against St. Fintan s Colt, a Shanahoe, Trumera and Colt combination. The winners of this would qualify to play Portlaoise in the quarter final. It was a very disappointing outcome however as on the day we had to do without nearly two thirds of the starting team. This was due to Timahoe s involvement in the IFC final the following day, injuries and other Lads just not turning up or further excuses. Though we were sixteen points down at one stage in the second half the lads put in a tremendous effort and were unlucky to go down by six in the end despite a poor return from placed balls and playing the last twenty minutes a man less due to a very dubious red card.
Club Finance New Sponsors Having already been won twice in the space of two weeks earlier in the year, our Club Lotto Jackpot had been growing steadily once more and had reached the tidy sum of 6,200 before being WON once again in the first week of December! The lucky winner on this occasion was Sean Cooney and the Club would like to congratulate Sean on his handsome windfall! We were delighted to be to announce Kavanaghs Bar & Venue (The Portlaoise as Wrens the Nest) Park/ Ratheniska GAA Club Sponsors for the coming years, taking over from GALA who have been our Official Sponsors for the past few years. We hope to have many years of success to come with our new Park/Ratheniska GAA Club Powellstown, Ratheniska. Telephone (Secretary) 086 8746460 www.parkratheniskagaa.com secretary.parkratheniska.laois@gaa.ie Club Treasurer Christy Fingleton, Mrs Lawlor of Park Engineering and Chairman Jim Morrin perform the draw for our Shed Raffle which took place at this years National Ploughing Championships. So back the Jackpot goes once more to our base level of 2,500, it in itself a welcome amount at this time of year no doubt, but can it be won for a FOURTH time in 2014? Only time will tell, don t miss out though, get your tickets and be in with a chance! We urge all our members and supporters to ensure they are entered each week to be in with a chance to win. We remind all that our Lotto is our primary fundraiser and is responsible for all the day to day running costs of the Club and we as always thank you all for your continued support. Weekly results can be found on www.parkratheniskagaa.com There are a number of payment options including weekly/monthly/half yearly/annual payments or direct debit - if interested in joining please contact Club treasurer Christy Fingleton @087 2416876 or any member of the Senior or Juvenile Club Committee. Newsletter by PRO Brian Ramsbottom pro.parkratheniska.laois@gaa.ie 2014 This year saw us take on the raffling of a Shed at the National Ploughing Championships. Park Engineering provided a wonderful Shed and selling point for us and we thank all those who supported us over the three days including our legion of enthusiastic ticket sellers who helped make the enterprise such a huge success. Congratulations to Sarah Brody of Portlaoise on her new shed!