Tag Archives: Gaelic football

August 15, 2011 · 2:12 pm

Our weekend

Mossie, Sean, Liam Óg and Ray

It’s been a busy weekend. Early on Friday morning Pauline, Susanna and I were in Dublin for continued heart screening (so far, so good). Munterconnaught Gaelic Football Club opened its new (magnificent) facilities on Friday night – as part of this, the heritage society staged an exhibition of photographs – mostly old ones of local people, but there was also a selection of Sean’s photos of the area, which drew a lot of interest.

An excellent concert followed – the high point, Pauline and I thought, was a great rendition of ‘All the Lies’ by Timmy, Martina, Geraldine and Kieron. I sang ‘Will You Go, Lassie, Go’ with Noel, Pauric and Jim, plus Caroline on fiddle and Breda on harp. We had a few drinks in the pub, and got to bed around three. Continue reading →

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August 5, 2011 · 12:06 am

Some diary entries … March to May 2000

1/3/00 – Pauline took Sean to his keyboard lesson.

4/3/00 – Pauric picked up Sean for Gaelic football training … Susanna had made up a song and dance routine yesterday – she’s very good at that. Sean is writing a story: Pauline thinks he may be a writer, as he clearly has a flair for it … Pauline took Sean and Susanna to their drama class in Virginia.

7/3/00 – Sean and Pauline are both still upset about Peter’s death – they had a long talk about him after Sean went to bed.

8/3/00 – I taught Sean ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ on the keyboard, by writing down the notes as numbers.

17/3/00 – Pauline and the kids went to a Paddy’s Day parade in Ballyjamesduff … It was very poor: even Sean, who is normally so enthusiastic about everything, didn’t enjoy it. Continue reading →

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June 11, 2011 · 1:59 pm

Sean and Gaelic football 5

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The first weekend in June last year was a busy one for Sean (and Pauline, his chauffeuse – thanks to my Uncle Charlie (RIP) for that word). As well as the Killinkere Jamboree, Kilnaleck Fleadh and various social events, he took photos for the Cavan Post at three Gaelic football matches at various grades in Co. Cavan – Cavan Gaels v. Drumalee, Cavan Gaels v. Kingscourt, and Munterconnaught v. Maghera.

Some of those photos are shown above. Sean didn’t have a proper sports lens … he made do with what he had that weekend.

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March 11, 2011 · 3:23 pm

Sean and Gaelic football 4

9/4/02 – Sean played about three-quarters of a match for the under-12s against Kill, and apparently he did very well. Munterconnaught had a big win. Sean was very pleased with himself.

20/4/02 – Sean had to be at Boylan’s at 10 for a Gaelic football club trip to Croke Park … Sean arrived home sporting a Meath baseball cap (he supports Meath), having had a great day and very impressed with the size of Croke Park etc.

23/4/02 – Sean had an away match for Munterconnaught under-12s against Knockbride … They lost the match but it was only a challenge match – Knockbride had supplied the (biased) referee, and had been extremely unsporting, wetting the seat in the Munterconnaught dressing-room so that the Munterconnaught players couldn’t sit down, and so on.

30/4/02 – Sean had a Gaelic football match, away, against Ballymachugh – Munterconnaught lost, and he didn’t get a game.

21/5/02 – Sean had his Gaelic football Quarter-final against Arva, away … Munterconnaught lost – apparently the other team was very dirty, and Sean got a punch in the mouth at one point.

15/4/03 – Sean played a Gaelic football match against Cuchullains for Munterconnaught under-12s, and scored two goals and a point – he was delighted with himself.

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January 30, 2011 · 6:08 pm

Sean and Gaelic football 3

Sean with Armagh Gaelic football star Oisin McConville - 2 January 2004

20/4/03 – Pauline and I had a four-mile walk, ‘around the block’ – the kids went ahead on their bikes, Sean and I having mended his puncture. On the way, Sean’s Gaelic football trainer, Dennis Nolan, stopped to check Sean’s availability for a match on Tuesday – he says that Sean is ‘making a difference’ to the under-12 team.

22/4/03 – Sean had an away under-12 football match at Ballymachugh – his team won and he scored another goal, so he was very pleased.

6/5/03 – Sean played a Gaelic football match, against Arva, which his team lost – he didn’t score this time.

12/5/03 – Sean had an away match against Knockbride – Munterconnaught lost and he didn’t score, although he hit the post.

27/5/03 – Sean played in the Cavan under-12 quarter-final – Munterconnaught lost narrowly, to his huge disappointment. Continue reading →

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January 8, 2011 · 5:25 pm

Sean and Gaelic football 2

Munterconnaught under-14s, 14 April 2005

The following are extracts from my diary.

6/4/04 – I played some football on the lawn with Sean. He had an under-14 Gaelic match against Killinkere, which went well – Munterconnaught won by two points. Sean started in goals but moved to the defence, which he now feels is his best position, and enjoyed himself enormously.

13/5/04 – Munterconnaught played Knockbride in an under-14 match. Noel asked me to be an umpire and I complied, so I spent much of the match chatting to the Knockbride umpire and one or other of the goalkeepers. Sean played very well in defence, but Knockbride won fairly comfortably.

18/5/04 – Sean had a Gaelic football match, away to Killygarry. He had left his football boots in Donnybrook, so he had to ring around and borrow a pair … [later] Sean’s match had gone very badly – they had lost, and the referee had not allowed them to tackle – apparently Sean had got a yellow card and Shane a red, for very little.

20/5/04 – Sean had a Gaelic football match in Mullagh, against Cuchullains … Munterconnaught won the match by eleven goals or so, and have apparently qualified for the quarter-finals. Sean was delighted. He said he was marking Cuchullains’ best player, who was sent off for punching him. Continue reading →

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October 30, 2010 · 11:25 am

Sean and Gaelic football

Sean and friends at Breffni Park, Cavan, after winning a county title

Sean liked team sports … when we bought him a green ‘Ireland’ tee-shirt at the time of the 1994 World Cup, when he was about three, he said, ‘Great! Now I can be on a team!’

In rural Ireland, the GAA club is often the hub of the community. Sean played some soccer as a young kid in Dublin, but when we moved to the country it became obvious that Gaelic football was the natural outlet for youngsters interested in sport. Continue reading →

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