There was mixed fortunes for our Senior Team this week as they began with a defeat to Carrickshock in the All County Hurling League. A disappointing result for sure with the opposition scoring 2-19 to the St. John’s side 0-18. The tides turned on favour of O’Loughlin Gaels later in the week when they recorded a win over Clara GAA on a scoreline of 2-11 to 1-21. All good preparation for the dinal round of the St. Canices Credit Union Senior Hurling League which takes place next weekend against city rivals James Stephens in Nowlan Park.
The Junior A’s had a quick exit from this year’s championship after been beaten by a rampant Conahy side. Conahy hit the ground running and never gave our boys room to create any kind of momentum. However a decent league campaign insures that o’loughlin Gaels will retain Junior A status in 2016 so well done to everybody there.
O’LOUGHLIN PLAYERS IN CROKE PARK
It was hard work in Croke Park last Sunday as the Kilkenny Seniors shook off a Waterford challenge to reach this years All-Ireland Hurling Final and the Kilkenny Minors couldn’t put Galway away in a tense mi or semi-final resulting in a draw after extra time. O’Loughlin Gaels players Mark Kelly (Senior), Daniel O’Connor, Shane Mahony and Ross Butler were all involved in the Kilkenny Panels. Well done to Daniel and Shane who each got a point from play in a game where space was at a premium. Daniel played a captains role setting the tone with an early shoulder that empowered the team to play strong. His obvious treat after a good first half attracted a lot of attention from the Galway opposition as theu worked tirelessly to stifle the forwards impact on the game. Shane bagged himself a point also in what was an excellent performance in an energy sapping game. Well done too to Eva Collins, u12 Camogie star who played on the Kilkenny Cuman na mBunscoil representation at half time of the senior game. A great experience for all players involved and a proud one for O’Loughlin Gaels GAA.
JUVENILE NEWS
U16 Roinn C Hurling Championship
O'Loughlin Gaels 3-11 to 0-5 Dicksboro GAA.
Following on from last weeks’ Roinn A win over Graigue Ballycallan it was the turn of the Roinn C panel to commence their championship campaign. They had a good result as they proved too strong for neighbours Dicksboro. Another fine team performance is reward for some fine mentoring by the u16 coaching team. Wing forward Eoin Neary laid down a marker with two fine points by the 4th minute. A missed 'Boro free gave the St. Johns side further opportunity to stretch the lead..points from Robert Boyd and Pacey McFarlan followed before Odhrán Lawlor found the net on 17 minutes after good play from the industrious Jamie Ryan. Pacey added another point to give O'Loughlins a 1-5 to no score advantage after 18mintues. From here to half time Dicksboro had their best spell and returned 4 points by the break. However they could only register one more point in the 2nd half to O'Loughlins 2-6 as our boys grew with confidence. Impressive performances from Lorcan Whelan at midfield, Ian Clifford and full back Paudge Nolan ensured the St. Johns side were dominant throughout the game. Jack Kearns could do no wrong in corner back and Cian Madden worked tirelessly up front. Goals through Robert Boyd and Eoin Neary were just rewards for the workrate they showed from start to finish. Well done to all the boys as they progress to the next round against Tularoan.
Panel: J Malone, Mark Twomey, Paudge Nolan, Jack Kearns, Jake Fahy, Ian Clifford, Johnny Collins, Lorcan Whelan, Jamie Ryan, Sean Baird (0-1), Robert Boyd (1-1), Eoin Neary (1-3), Pacey McFarlan (0-6, 3f, 1'65), Odhràn Lawlor (1-0), Cian Madden, John Nolan, Sean O'Leary, Conor McHugh, James Higgins, Fiachra O'Callaghan.
SUMMER CAMP 2015
This years’ Summer Camp is being feted as 'the best ever!'...Last the bones of 200 young Gaels took to St.Johns Park and were treated to a feast of Gaelic Games activities mentored by Senior Players and Trained Adult Coaches from both hurling and camogie. On Wednesday 'Doc' arrived to much excitement to show the Minor Leinster Final Cup he received on behalf of the Kilkenny team he captained. He's some man to field a ball in Croke Park but that's nothing compared to the barrage of questions he fielded from the enthusiastic campers. The answers were swift..Breakfast? - "2 boiled eggs"...advice? - " train hard and often" .. concentration -"drink plenty of water" .... Least favourite teacher? ..(ahem..we'll move on!)...favourite teacher? - ."Muinteoir Siobhan" - good answer too as Doc refers to his Gaelscoil teacher and O'Loughlin Gaels Camogie Club Chairperson, Siobhan Galwey whose two children watched intently from the onlooking crowd. (No pressure then Doc).
On Day 3 the camp was visited by three of Kilkenny's finest - players Joey Holden (Kilkenny Captain), Colin Fennelly and Paul Murphy. Just a few days to the biggest match of the year and credit to these boys as they took time to offer our Gaels advice, take selfies, sign hurls, jerseys and helmets and field a few questions of their own. Photos taking with all the groups and they left with good memories of their own and impressed with what they saw. Then it was time to reveal the much coveted O’Loughlin Gaels Summer Camp Jersey . All the anxious moments of anticipation were over..wondering - "what colour would it be?..what about the design? ".. so when it was finally revealed it was met with the enthusiasm it deserved - inspired by the catwalks of Milan, London and Paris it is sky blue with flashes of green, bearing the logo of our Juvenile sponsors McDonagh Junction with the club crest declaring proudly that the wearer is from O'Loughlin Gaels GAA Club. Every child took one home along with a sliotar, a grip and K-Bowl vouchers. Week 1 ended with a visit from KCLR who conducted a live outdoor broadcast from the St. Johns Venue on Saturday. Brin Hogan Dropped in and the young children were treated to goodie bags courtesy of our visiting guests. Hard to believe you can get so much into one weeks camp but organiser Niall Bergin and his team certainly can. Week 2 continues this week with another 150 happy campers registered to take part. The camp finishes on Friday and by then there will be a few more guest, a couple of surprises and action packed gaelic games sourced fun. Well done to Niall Bergin, the team of coaches and helpers for putting together a very well run and event-filled Camp. I wonder what next year’s jersey will be like?
CLUB LOTTO
There was no jackpot winner of this week’s club lotto. The numbers drawn were 3, 12, 16 ,23 and the bonus number was: 14.Tickets can be bought from the usual selling agents or by asking at the clubhouse bar. Remember – if you’re not in; you can’t win the jackpot prize of €20,000.
LIVE BROADCAST FROM ST.JOHNS PARK
KCLR visited St. Johns park on Saturday morning to Broadcast the Edward Hayden presented show Saturday Morning Live from 10am to 12.pm. From 8am the engineers were getting the place readied for the live outside broadcast and there was plenty of activity about. The annual Summer Camp was in full swing and hoards of young Gaels were only two happy to take the opportunity to hone their media skills. Presenter Edward Hayden seemed to enjoy the enthusiasm of the youngsters and was quite content to talk about their days activities at the club. Chairman Eddie Buckley was on hand to outline the day to day workings of the club, while the PRO did a good job in outlining some of the extensive activites that take place at O’loughlin Gaels throughout the year (ahem!). Niall Bergin was collared from his duties overseen the Summer Camp to talk about it and the Juvenile Section of the club and Brian Hogan dropped in to give listeners an insight on what it means to be a member and players at O’Loughlin Gaels. Of course two of our County Minor representatives, Ross Butler and Shane Mahony were close at hand too to describe their experiences at the club and discuss Sundays All-Ireland Semi-Finals. The sun shone, the pitches were full with hurling action and thanks to KCLR for spending the morning with us at St. Johns Park.
JOHNSWELL ROAD HURLING – SATURDAY, AUGUST 29TH
The very popular Road Hurling takes place on the bye-ways of Johnswell in a few weeks time and is always a fun day out. Special guests on the day include Joachim Kelly and Paudge Mulhare of Offaly and former Kilkenny greats Tommy Walsh and O’Loughlin’s man Andy Comerford. The cost per entry for a team of 3 is €30 with u14s costing €15. Another great day out in St. Johns Parish.
ST. JOHN’ HOME FOR THE ELDERLY
A vacancy has arisen at Homes for the Elderly located on the grounds of
St John’s Church. Applications are invited in writing from suitable candidates to: St John’s Homes for Elderly Committee, The Presbytery, Dublin Road, Kilkenny. Closing date for application 12th August