ÉIRE ÓG, GREYSTONES: The venue for the Éire Óg against Kilcoole 2009 Intermediate Football League game was in a state of flux up to well after lunchtime on the day of the game.

The original choice was Roundwood but, because of the state of the pitch, this was ruled out as were subsequently a number of other venues. When Kilcoole sportingly agreed to play on our home patch we were, thankfully, spared the totally undesirable option of a postponement.

In other days the confusion sown by such uncertainty would have greatly restricted the number of spectators at the game. But buíochas to the modern means of communication, the information texted, twittered and blogged its way around Greystones and Kilcoole and the match had by far the biggest ever attendance at an event in the Éire Óg grounds. The late notification called for an „all hands on deck‰ approach to the preparing of the pitch. A call answered by Ray, son Johnny, Patsy, Anto (capt.), Philip, Gerry, Fergus and his brother Johnnie, all of whom laboured mightily in the spills of the cold afternoon rain to have everything in readiness.

Spectator interest clearly indicated that much was expected of this local derby as a contest and the large contingent from Kilcoole was a clear indication that the 'goosebankers' were in Greystones with intent. Happily the match lived up to expectations and we were treated to an all-action sporting event which excited with its skills and knife-edge uncertainty.

One has to confess that our victory was of the 'getting out of jail' variety but that does not take from it as an achievement. Those people who may have been anticipating a more convincing win would surely have been underestimating Kilcoole and the motivation they would be deriving from the desire to take the scalp of their 'uppity' near neighbours and ageold rivals.

They did, after all, finish on equal points with Éire Óg in the league and had beaten us in the head-to-head. On the night they had shown themselves to be no mean footballers and for much of the game led Éire Óg a merry dance. Our players never relented and, helped by some strategic substitutions, somehow found that extra energy and determination to fight back from being 4 points down with time running out.

A vox pop after the Dinner Dance established that young and old had found it a very enjoyable occasion. That it was so is a great tribute to the organisers who were presented with huge logistical problems: the presentation of medals to the three county champions and of trophies to those who had made particular contributions on and off the field, and speech making from notables. All to be implemented with due solemnity and without crossing the boredom threshold while leaving adequate time for tripping the light fantastic. President Danny Hatton welcomed the guests and congratulated the various team managements on their achievements.

The hurlers have returned to training in anticipation of their participation in the Leinster League which will be getting under way shortly. Attendances at the training sessions under Ciarán Goff have been very encouraging. A team, shorn of its county panellists, played a junior side from Ballyboden St. Endas on Saturday in what turned out to be a competitive game and a very useful work-out for the two sides, both of whom showed some signs of rustiness after their long lay-off. James Kelly, Daniel O'Connor and Paddy O'Sullivan did well for Éire Óg and young Hughie O'Neill looked sharp up front.

At the Dinner Dance Brendan Cuddihy was called upon to make the presentation to those hurlers deemed to have made a contribution above the ordinary in 2009. As we watched a crutch-assisted Brendan make his way to the podium, the clichéd 'physician heal thyself' came to mind. Paulie Sutton whose goal getting exploits, including the winning goal in the championship, were a constant feature throughout the year was awarded the trophy for Player of the Year and Peter Keane whose bravery in the tackle and energetic running were an inspiration to his team mates received the accolade of Hurler of the Year. Michael Walsh and Mark Doran were recipients of the minor hurling awards. They both also played on the Junior Championship team, Michael in the half-forwards and Mark in goals. Their awards were well earned.

KILCOOLE CAMOGIE

Our Under 11s got competitive action underway on Sunday with a trip to Clonshaugh to play Craobh Chiarain. A top class team performance and great effort put in by all meant we returned with the two opening points in this League. Well done to Ava Condon, Lorna Bates, Emma Davis, Grace Bruton, Sara Davis, Lauryn Coughlan, Caitlin O'Toole, Jade Byrne, Kaitlin Daly, Roisin Keegan and Megan Byrne. Next match v. St Mark's in Tallaght next Sunday - meet at the Church at 10.45am.

Well done also to the County U14 team who recorded another victory in the Leinster League with an impressive victory v Carlow. Aoife Keddy and Katie Honan got the call up to play with Rachel Finnegan, Alana Dole and Allanah Bellamy on the panel. Next week-end they play Louth Away.

All Wicklow underage games were expected to start at the end of March but as the Fixture Programme was not ratified at the last Co Board meeting the start date is a little unclear but all age groups should be in operation by the second week of April at the latest.

Training continues in Colaiste Chraobh Abhann on Tuesdays at 5pm and 5.30pm for Nursery and U10. On Tuesday March, 16, we will start an Indoor League for all U11, U12, U13 and U14 players. This league will run for three weeks as follows: March 16, March 23 and March 30. All players are welcome to join this League. For players who have not been following the Indoor Winter programme: the fee is €10.

Our 6 week ' Camog Aerobics' Programme starts on Tuesday, March 16 in Colaiste Chraobh Abhann at 8.15pm - aimed at female adults who would like to get involved in Exercise/Activity at their own pace and learn the basics of playing Camogie at the same time! Why not come along, bring your friends and give it a try? A recession friendly fee of €30 for the 6 weeks will also include a sociable cup of tea after the work!

Register and get Information from secretary@kilcoolecamogie.com/ Tracy 0877518680/ Breda 0876998536

The camogie celebration night takes place next Saturday, March 13 in Kilcoole Golf Club - Buffet Dinner and Music with DJ Darren. Tickets are €15 from Billy, Tracy and Breda.

KILCOOLE

Adult hurling training takes place on Tuesdays at 6.45pm sharp at the GAA pitch and also on Saturdays at 2pm. All welcome. Contact Eamonn Hughes for further deails on 087-2565571.

Training for all footballers continues at the GAA pitch on Tuesdays and Thursdays at half seven under the new lights. Also football training at the pitch on Saturday afternoons, all welcome. For more information contact Shane Ryan on 087 8595442.

Ladies Football training continues on Mondays and Wednesdays at 7pm on the pitch, all welcome. Thanks to Declan Greene who refereed the training match last Sunday, the team is really starting to take shape and it promises to be an exciting year for the lady footballers.

Club gear, jackets, hoodies, shorts, socks, t-shirts, gear bags etc, are all available from Noeleen Evans. The next order will be placed in the next couple of weeks, for information on prices and to order gear contact Noeleen on 086-8111843.

The deadline for paying your club membership for the year is fast approaching, anyone who wants to play this year must have their membership paid by the end of this month. Fees are as follows: €25 for juvenile players, €70 for adult players, €20 for non-playing members and €75 for family membership (must include at least one juvenile member). Tommy Nolan or any committee member will be happy to accept your membership.

The new club website, www.kilcoolegaa.ie <http://www.kilcoolegaa.ie/> , is being updated on a regular basis, be sure to check it out!

If you are a Vodafone customer you can help support the club for free, just log onto vodafone.ie <http://vodafone.ie/> , select support your GAA club, select St. Patrick's Kilcoole and add your details. Vodafone will then give our club 5% of your monthly bill, whether you're bill pay or prepaid, at no extra cost to you.

BRAY EMMETS

Our second game in the Spring Minor League saw us play our neighbours Kilmac away on Friday. The first half was a close affair with Bray scoring goals from Adam Conway and Nicky Sweeney. Kilmac scored a fine goal and some nice points to leave the half time score, 2-3 to 1-3 in Bray's favour. In the second half, Bray upped their game, scored some good points and two goals from Chris Lyons and Mikey Lee, which gave them a good win.

The next game is away to Avondale next Sunday, March 14.

Fixtures: 2009 Wicklow Boys Under 16 A Football Final - Friday, March 12.

The long awaited final of the County Wicklow Under-16 'A' boy's football championship takes place in Newtown on Friday, March 12 at 7.30pm. We will play Rathnew in the final. The Emmets are holders of the championship, having won the under 16 football and hurling in 2008. They have retained the hurling in 2009 and are hopeful of completing the double. The teams have met twice this year with a win each. Rathnew will start favourites after most of their team was involved in their narrow loss to Eire Og, Greystones in the County Minor Final. Please support our boys in Newtown next Friday.

Our men's senior footballers play their second game in the 2010 Senior Football League away to Newtown on Sunday next at 11am.

This season's under-14 hurling campaign started on Saturday with the first game against Ballyboden in the Dublin Hurling League. It was a beautiful afternoon and conditions were perfect. Bray got off to a good start and had some fine scores from Michael Boland, Cathal McAodha, Eoin McCormick and Shane Lohan. There was good defensive play by all players and Ballyboden forwards only had two scores at half time with Bray leading 4-6 to 2-0.

Bray kept the pressure up in the second half with some fine ground hurling and good hand passing movements. Outstanding performances by Eoin McCormick and Cathal McAodha at centerfield and Shane Lohan at centre forward kept us well in the game right throughout. Further scores by Michael Boland (3-3), Cathal McAodha (2-1), goals from Patrick Cunningham and Liam Benville and points from Shane Lohan, Eoin McCormick, Dylan Terry and Padraig Doyle left the full time score of 7-10 to 30. Well done to all for a great performance. Our next hurling game is a friendly against Craanford, Wexford this Wednesday, March 10, and meeting Woodies car park at 6pm.

The U13 and U14 Wicklow hurling development squads start this coming weekend, details to parents this week. An important date for your diaries is April 10 for the hurling feile qualifiers which will be held in Clare in mid June. Any details on the above can be got from Dan Boland at 087-2555974.

KILCOOLE JUVENILE

The Minor footballers had a very impressive win over A.G.B. last Saturday. It was a good all round team performance. Our scorers were Kurt Stark (3-03), Shane Doyle (2-02), Darren Gammell (202), Ciaran Byrne (0-2), Dan Hannigen Rooney (0-1), Eoin Keddy (0-1) and Simon Cosgrave (0-1).

Next week we face a stern challenge from St. Kevin's over in the field (day and time to be confirmed). It is therefore very important to have a big turn out at training on Wednesday at 7.30 pm.

Players are reminded that any outstanding membership forms and money must be returned as quickly as possible - the deadline March 20 is approaching fast.

Thanks to Ronan Keddy for taking time out to train the panel and thanks to Bernard Collier for his help. Congratulations to our Minor players, Shane Doyle, goalscorer Darren Gammell and captain and goalscorer Danny Kavanagh on their magnificent final success with the school, well done lads. Best of luck to Philip O'Connor with the county minor panel. Come over to the field next week and roar on the lads.

U10/U12 hurling: No training this week. However, the finals of the Tom Ryan indoor tournament in Arklow will be held this Saturday, March 13. Our u12's will be up first in their shield competition against Avondale at 9.30am and again at 10-10am against Kiltegan. Next up our u10's will play Glenealy in the Shield competition. This will prove to be a very exciting finals day for both teams and we would like to encourage all to come down and support our skilful young hurlers. There will be a reception after the event at Arklow Rocks clubhouse for the presentation. Meet at the church on Saturday, March 13 at 8.30am sharp. U8/U6 hurling: No training this week. As you may know our u12 and u10 hurlers have been playing in the inaugural Pat Frawley indoor tournament in Coláiste Chraobh Abhann on Thursday nights. With three weeks to go, all three teams involved are still challenging for the competition. After last week's games we have Kilkenny on 20 points, Limerick on 19 points and Waterford on 15 points. There are six games left to play.

All juvenile registration must be paid by March 20. If you have not paid yet, please contact a committee membe

NEWTOWN

Newtown GAA's new season got underway last Saturday with our opening league clash in Tinahely. In a hotly contested and gritty game, the lead changed hands several times. Tinahely took the lead in the opening minutes with a well placed point, but Newtown responded brilliantly through Padraig Doyle who scored a sublime goal and two points by Brian Doyle saw Newtown storm into a 12 to 0-1 lead early on. Tinahely rallied and battled back, shocking Newtown by scoring 7 unanswered points and taking a lead of 0-8 to 1-2 into half time. Newtown opened the second half with a point from Terry Murphy, and Phillip Martin but Tinahely scored twice in response.

With the score reading 0-10 to 1-4 to Tinahely, Newtown were awarded a penalty, which Ross Odlum coolly slotted home into the bottom right hand corner to bring the game back to parity with only ten minutes remaining, 2-4 to 0-10. Brian Doyle sent over what was potentially the winning point in the dying minutes to give Newtown a slender 2-5 to 0-10 lead.

But with literally the last kick of the game, Tinahely pointed from a free kick. As the kickout was taken, the referee blew the final whistle and the sides ended their opening encounter with a draw. The Newtown team was: 1. C. McGuirl, 2. Wayne Hamilton, 3. A. Halpin, 4. N. Martin, 5. P Martin (0-1), 6. R. Odlum (1-0), 7. J. Owens, 8. P. O'Riordan, 9. J. Fitzsimons, 10. T. Murphy (0-1), 11. B. Davis, 12. P. Doyle (1-0), 13. A. Duffy, 14. B. Doyle (0-3), 15. G. Doyle. Subs: 22. C. McNicholas for A Duffy.

With the new season now in full swing, here are the people guiding the fortunes of Newtown GAA Club for 2010: -Senior: Joe Clifford, Pat Carthy and Pat Kenny. Junior: Jas Carthy, Marty Heffernan. Minor: Shay Power, Ross Odlum, Rory Chester. U-16: Papa Davis, Brigid Davis. U-14: Trevor Doyle, Tom Cronin. U-12: Peter Turner, Tom Doyle, Sean Power. U10: Marty Heffernan. U-8 Football: Frank Murphy, Mark Doyle. U-10 and U-8 Hurling: Shay Walsh, Andy Kavanagh. We sincerely hope that all our management teams have a most prosperous and successful season in 2010.

Congratulations to all our Inter-County teams, our Senior Footballers, our Ladies Team and our Hurlers, following their successful weekend.

Please note that club membership fees are now due and must be paid in order to ensure membership for the coming year. Senior Membership is €40 and Juvenile Membership is €15. There will be a registration night in the Newtown GAA Clubhouse on Wednesday 7th April at 7pm. All those who wish to become members or renew their memberships are asked to attend on that night. For anyone who wishes to pay beforehand, they can contact Brian Doyle (Senior Registrar) or Brigid Davis (Juvenile Registrar).

Newtown GAA Lotto Jackpot now stands at €5,600. Be sure to play!

ENNISKERRY

Adult hurling has started back on Wednesday evenings in Kilmac at 7.15

under the watchful eye of Mick Priest. Everyone welcome, young and not so young. For info contact Noel Driver 0872576800 / 2862366.

Under 16s football starting in the next week or so contact Damien Driver on 0861663415.

A table quiz will take place in the Powerscourt Country House on the 28th March at 8.30pm. Table of four is €30.

All membership is now due, adult playing is €100, adult non playing €20, juvenile €50 which includes a sports pack, family membership is €70.