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Weekly Notes 27.02.2022   27/02/2021

Reeling in the year 2021

The twelfth and final instalment of our Reeling In The Year feature covers December 2021.

December 2021 saw the re-introduction of our bumper Christmas Raffle. This was a mainstay of club fundraising down through the years, ever before the Club Lotto fundraisers became popular in the mid 1990’s so it was great to see it back for 2021. We were blown away by the generosity of our community. Not just of our top prize sponsor, Ken Ross of Ross’s Centra Watergrasshill and the other 22 local businesses who put up great prizes but also the response from the community, which was amazing. A heartfelt thank you to everyone for their support, every penny of which goes back into our club, our community and our parish. 

We also had our annual mass for living and deceased members in December. This year we remembered the loss of so many members of our community but Eamonn Ryan, Richie Power and Richie Foley were particularly poignant in December. Richie Foley, who passed away in December, was the first official sponsor of Watergrasshill GAA club. Our red jerseys with Foley’s Garage emblazoned on the front are still prominent in the club today. The Foleys have been and are still to this day, huge supporters and valued members of our club. An immensely popular man, he continues to be sadly missed by his many friends in Watergrasshill GAA.

Eamonn Ryan, whom we lost in February 2021 was remembered fondly across the country through a TG4 documentary which aired in December. The documentary gave a fantastic insight into the life of the great man through contributions from past pupils of Watergrasshill NS, past teammates and players whom he coached from Watergrasshill, Glenville, UCC, Na Piarsaigh, CLCG Béal Átha'n Ghaorthaidh and the Cork Ladies football team. A great tribute to a true Laochra Gael.

Richie Power was also remembered in December through a fundraising walk for CUH organized by his wife Sheila. The club were honoured to support this initiative with all proceeds from our Puc Fada donated to the walk which raised €43,600. An amazing show of support from the entire community for Sheila, the Power family and the staff in CUH who cared for Richie before his passing.


Finally, it was great to see the return of our traditional St. Stephen's day Puc Fada in 2021 after a COVID induced break. A beautiful St. Stephen’s morning in the Hill played host and we had a great turnout with 39 teams taking to the roads followed by family and friends along the 4km route from Trantstown bridge back towards the village. A massive Thank You to everyone who turned out and generously supported the event. All proceeds were donated to Sheila Power in support her fundraiser for CUH in memory of her husband Richie. Delighted to say we presented €1,155 in advance of her 10K walk which took place in Glenville the following day. A big Thank you to Claire O’Leary & Adrienne McCarthy for taking care of registrations and being there at the finish line to keep the event moving.


New Walkway lighting completed 

This week saw the completion of the final works on the new cycle / walkway connecting our GAA grounds to the village. Since its opening, our grounds have always been missing a direct pedestrian connection to the village, this has now been rectified through the installation of a dedicated cycle / walkway connecting the village to the pitch. The walkway now also has full public lighting which makes it very safe for everyone to walk to our grounds be it for recreation, training or matches. We would like to acknowledge the support of Cllr. Sheila O’Callaghan and Cork County Council for enabling this project, an asset to the community for many years to come.


Lifetime achievement award for the late Eamonn Ryan

The impact the late, great Eamonn Ryan had on Gaelic games coaching was fittingly recognised last Saturday when he was posthumously honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the 2022 GAA Coaching Conference. The GAA Coaching Conference was held in the Connacht Airdome. The day focused on 'Coaching The Youth Player' and combined key-note speakers with practical coaching demonstrations. It was fitting for Eamonn to be remembered at such a forum as he was ahead of his time in so many areas of coaching and the player centric approach.


Lotto 

There was no winner of the Lotto Jackpot this week. Numbers drawn were 4, 7, 8 & 16. Lucky dip winners are Conor Mullane, William Casey (c/o Derek), Eilish O'Neill & Michelle Sheehan. Congrats to you all. Next week's jackpot is a fantastic €12,100 and draw will take place Monday 7th March. Tickets are on sale in some of the village businesses like The Hut Bar, The Fir Tree, Johnny's Shop and our new Lotto stand in Ross's Centra. Tickets can also be purchased on-line via our club website (www.watergrasshillgaa.ie). The Club would like to take this opportunity to thank all our members and supporters of the Watergrasshill GAA Club Lotto. The Club Lotto is a vital source of income for the running of all our teams within the Club and for future development of our facilities, so we ask you to please support it if you are in a position to do so. Remember, if you’re not in you can’t win.



Pitch Signage & Advertising Opportunity 

As we enter a new decade, we do so with great optimism and excitement here at Watergrasshill GAA Club. Later this decade we will celebrate our centenary year, which will be a special milestone. While it's important to celebrate the past and the history of the club, it’s also important we look forward to the future. With this in mind, the club will shortly be undertaking a development project, to prepare the club for the future and further position ourselves at the center of our community. Part of this project will be the development of our existing club grounds. To that end we will endeavor to raise a revenue stream from advertising, while giving businesses the opportunity to advertise their services and reach a wider audience within our community. With the playing numbers on the increase our facility will be a busy spot over the coming years, and we would love to have your name and business positioned in the hearts and minds of all those who visit on a weekly basis. We are offering advertising space via pitch signage, 3000mm wide x 750mm high. These are a 5-year gloss laminate, flash mounted to 0.2mm skin diabond sign. If you would be interested in this opportunity to advertise and support our club, please contact Claire O Leary on 087-6239297 or any member of the club who can provide assistance


Upcoming Fixtures 

 

Sunday 6th March

Rebel Óg North – Fé17 D1 Hurling League

Watergrasshill V’s Kiltha Óg in Dungourney at 4:30pm


Sunday 13th March

Red FM Intermediate Hurling League Division 2 Group A

Carrigaline V's Watergrasshill in Carrigaline at 2:00pm





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