Moate Matters - Castledaly Foroige Update

Castledaly Foroige Update The Castledaly Foroige Club has been keeping very busy lately! After a successful coffee morning in aid of Midlands Simon in September, the club decided to continue its link with Simon and run a collection for salable goods for the Simon Shop in Athlone as the holiday season approaches. The club is collecting clothing, soft furnishings, toys, books, games etc at Castelday Hall every Friday evening between 8pm and 9:30pm. The club recently completed a local fun walk in aid of the Casteldaly Senior Citizens Group and Castledaly Development Association. The Foróige Club will be meeting with the Senior Citizens Group on Sunday, December 7, at 2pm in Castledaly Hall to present the cheque. The club members who participated in the walk will be treated with a holiday-time trip to Funderland in Dublin!  Due to a keen club interest in animal rights and welfare, the group has invited ASPCA Inspector Paul McCormack, to come to speak on Friday, November 28, in Castledaly Hall at 8pm.All are welcome.  For any further information on Castledaly Foroige, contact group leader Kate Molloy,on 087 7569405.  Greyhound News Congratulations to Paddy Gavin who returned to the winners enclosure in Longford last Monday night when Labaun Mama Mia landed the spoils in the Longford A9 525. This bitch is by Blackjack Tom out of Eternal Way and with a winning time of 29.14 it will not be long before she moves up the grades. Eternal Way is a Top Honcho bitch, owned by Moate"s Trevor Kelly, another member of the Kelly clan, who have enjoyed great success with the dogs in recent years. Trevor was not so lucky himself on Monday as Lenny"s Maggie, a dog with a time of 29.46 at Harold"s Cross could only run 30.23 in Longford to finish in fourth place. Best wishes to Benny Smyth and trainer Michael Gleeson in The Thurles Bookmakers Champion Bitch Semi-Final on Saturday next at Thurles Park. They will be looking for a faster break from Woodhill Spark which is drawn in trap three. Moate Bridge Club The AGM of the Moate Bridge Club was held on Wednesday last in Moate Golf Club. The officers elected were President: Joe Casey; Secretary/Treasurer: Joe Creggy; Assistant Treasurer: Una Tuohy; Handicap Secretary: Larry Flanagan. The results of the game held on the night were: 1st net, Joe Creggy and Larry Flanagan; 1st Gross, Michael O"Halloran and Seamus Buckley; 2nd net, Eithne Pettit and Catherine Roche; 2nd gross Kathleen Grogan and Marjorie Lowe. The club would welcome new members and beginners. If you are interested please come along to Moate Golf Club on Wednesday night at 7.45pm. Christmas Bingo Bonanza The hardworking bingo committee at the Moate Community Centre is starting its Christmas Bingo Bonanza tonight (Wednesday) with the first of four big prize nights offering cash prizes of over €4,000. The jackpot of €1,000 must be won on the night, the flier prize of €400 must also be won on the night. There will be sit beside prizes on all pages as well as a raffle for prizes ranging from €200 down. The night starts off at 8.30pm and everyone is welcome. Moate Community School 5-5   Moyne Community School 4-10 On Friday last the Moate CS U14 team travelled the long journey up to Fr McGee Park, Aughnacliffe, Longford, to take on Moyne Community School in the final group game of the North Leinster League. Although both Moate and Moyne have already qualified for the knock-out stages of the league, bragging rights were at stake for pole position in the Group. Conditions were ideal for the game, a superb pitch and a calm day. Moate CS started strongly with a goal from Sam Moran after some good work from Joe Kinihan and James Farrell. Within minutes Brian Sheridan added another goal to the tally, but Moyne cancelled this score out with a fisted ball to the back of the net. Both teams traded points at either end before Stephen Woods netted another goal for Moate after good work from John Corbally and Lorcan Dolan. Moyne, however, did not submit to the Moate pressure and finished the half strongly, leaving the teams all square at half time. Moate started the second half like the first, scoring a goal and a point from Adam Scanlon and Ciaran Allen respectively. Both teams exchanged points before Lorcan Dolan added another goal to put Moate in the driving seat, but Moyne once again drove through the heart of the Moate defence and were awarded a penalty after a long period of pressure in the Moate half, which was duly dispatched. Their impressive full forward completed the comeback with a goal on the full time whistle to give Moyne a 2 pt winning margin. Moate CS played well at times but still have a lot of work to do if they intend to progress in this competition. Team: Dean Tyrell, Theo Watts, Paul Henson, James Petit, John Corbally, James Farrell, Joe Kinahan, Lorcan Dolan, Dylan Fitzpatrick, Brian Sheridan, Adam Scanlon, Sam Moran, Shane Colgan, Ciaran Allen, Stephen Woods. Sub used: Andrew McCormack. Testing our knowledge "as Gaeilge" Twenty eight students from Moate Community School recently travelled to St Finian"s School, Mulingar, to take part in an Irish table quiz competition. This quiz was organised by the Irish association, Feachtas. The students were accompanied by Ms Lorraine Kennedy and Ms Blaithín Seoige, who also gave of their services in the correcting of answers. There were seven teams from MCS with four students on each team, two senior students and two junior students. All questions were asked and answered "as Gaeilge" and ranged from geography, to general knowledge, to sport, music and a pictures round. One MCS team performed exceptionally well, coming fourth overall. This was a huge achievement as the standard was very high this year, and the number of participating teams had also increased dramatically on previous years. Everyone who travelled to, and participated in the quiz thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from this educational, yet hugely entertaining event. All students are now looking ahead to the quiz next year and hope to be even more successful in 2009. MCS hosts NUIG professor of English On Monday of last week, Moate Community School proudly welcomed NUI Galway"s, Prof Hubert McDermott of the English department. He presented a talk on Approaches to Shakespeare"s Macbeth in the Leaving Cert. Not only were Moate"s 6th years privileged to hear this insightful and witty speaker, so too were visiting students from Mercy College Kilbeggan, St Aloysious" College, Athlone and St Joseph"s of Rochfortbridge. Professor McDermott travelled from Galway to present to the students of the midlands with a detailed insight into Shakespeare"s Macbeth, in depth discussion of the Elizabethan era and analysis of the play; its characters and central themes. The Professor succeeded in instilling a great understanding of the play"s central ideas to the students present, with his use of quirky and yet inspiring diagrams. The sheer volume of students interested in attending such an event, highlights the appetite for Shakespeare that still exits some 400 years after his death. It proved to be a very enjoyable, informative and worthwhile experience for all involved. Students felt that they had become aware of new approaches to the great text and had gained much insight into the aspects of study for the big exam in June. Strong Performance for MCS U16s Moate Community School"s Under 16 boys football team began their year with a championship match against Edenderry. The Offaly side enjoyed the advantage of a home venue. The match was played in blustery conditions and it took some time for both teams to come to terms with the weather. However, with Moate playing with the wind at their backs, they finished the first half the stronger side, with a lead of five points to three points. Edenderry played the second half with a new found determination to make it a very close game. Points from David McCormack and Lee Scanlon saw Moate into the closing 10 minutes with a three point lead. But a goal proved decisive for the opposition and brought the game back to level pegging. However, Edenderry at this stage began to pull away. A late point from Cian Bradley left the scores at Moate 0-8, Edenderry 1-5. This was a closely fought game, with a draw seeming the fairest result for both sides. Moate played some good football and had strong performances all over the field. Team: Steven Butler, Oisín Daly, Lee Colgan, Jack O"Kelly Lynch, Robert Duffy, Patrick Holloway, Jamie Cornally, John Maguire, Eamon MacCabe, David McCormack (C), (3pts), Lee Scanlon (4pts from frees), Emmet Heavin, Cian Bradley (1pt), Colm Casey, Chris Maguire. Wedding Fayre Supports Local Hospice The Wedding Fayre at the Grand Hotel last Sunday was a chance for businesses to display their offerings to the happy couples who came along on the day. Twenty businesses took part in a well organised display of the options available. People of my generation must wonder were we married at all! The newly refurbished function room at the hotel looks superb with the new lighting and décor providing the ideal setting for the show last Sunday. And a show it was. I am not a candidate for a reception but I enjoyed watching the professionals in action. The petite hats, the floral displays, the horse drawn carriage, hairdressers, beauticians - they all were working flat out to show what they could do but the highlight of the day was definitely watching Micheal Claffey doing his Strictly Come Dancing routine on the video display. The serious side to the day was the opportunity provided to the customers and the businesses to support the local hospice and I am delighted to report that a total in excess of €500 was donated on the day. Well done to all concerned and if you have not viewed the new look ballroom at the Grand Hotel I suggest you take the opportunity as soon as possible. St Vincent De Paul Apologies to the committee of the St Vincent De Paul for the omission of their quiz notice on last week"s page. I can assure them that this was not intended and I hope to be able to make up for this error at a future date. Midland Warriors RFC The Midland Warriors U15 team made the long journey to Carrick on Shannon on Sunday last where they gave a good account of themselves before going down by 14-7. The half time score was 14-0 so it was a great second half performance which brought them back within one score of their opponents. Playing against a physically much bigger Carrick side the Warriors fought well with Robbie Marsh in the backs and John O"Hara and Daniel Buckley in the forwards catching the eye. Meanwhile in the Showgrounds on Sunday morning the hardy boys from the U8, U10 and U 12 squad were training in the cold and wet as they prepare for their trip to Birr on Sunday next. The bus will leave from the Showgrounds at 10am on Sunday next and all players are asked to be there on time and with their gumshield (available from Moate Sports if required).