Moneyglass - St Ergnat's

Our Club

St Ergnat's GAC has been a central part of our community now since 1948 and this year celebrated its 60^th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee with a Celebration Mass in Our Lady Of Lourdes Church in Moneyglass whose spire dominates the field of view from our grounds . Members past and present together with all our players from senior to under 6 from both men's and ladies football lead by our chairman Gerard Weir attended the ceremony and later paraded back to the pavilion for entertainment and refreshments .

60th Anniversary

Team Performance

Clubs are measured on there success in the field of play and this year our Mens Senior team is in the Antrim Intermediate Football Championship Final playing against All Saints . The Senior team have also dominated the top of division 2 in 2008 and hopefully look to promotion once again into the top stream of play.

Senior Team

The Reserve also have turned out well all year and at the time of print are in contention for promotion to Div5. It is encouraging to see the level of commitment shown by the players all year and the to see the younger players now filtering through joining and contributing to their success . Our minor team narrowly lost out in the league semi-final against our neighbours Cargin by two points finishing amongst the top four in the league .Our U21's gained victory over Gort Na Mona in the U21 Championship 1^st round but missed out on Championship success this time around . St Ergnat's also supplied the county with three players to the successful Tommy Murphy Cup squad this year in Kevin Brady ( Captain ), Benny Marron and Kevin Marron . Our Juvenile teams also supplied players to the U16 and U15 development squads this year .Our U12 boys succeeded in getting to the semi-final of the South West Shield , our youth teams remain hungry for success but have shown great commitment and pride in our colours .

Ladies Football

After a slow start to the season and a small panel the ladies increased in numbers with the appointment of John Downey as senior coach .And the Ladies look forward to improving on their position in the league next year . Four of our senior ladies successfully served on their county panel . U16 girls had a good season in the league but missed out in the championship final playing against St Paul's .

Youth Development

U12 Team

Our club has seen a swell in the numbers of younger player to both it boys and girls U6-U10 who have participated in bi-weekly training seasons and competitive blitz's . The boys and girls have gained in confidence this year , the emphasis is keeping fun in the game for the younger players . Our youth co-ordinator Raymond griffin has introduced a number of new initiatives for the children and over the season we have had guest sessions from John Morrison and Terence Mc Williams who have lent valuable experience to our existing coaching staff and the children have been complemented on their willingness to listen and learn.

Cul Camp

This year saw an increase in numbers on last year and again Kevin Brady was aided by Brendan Prenter , Cailin Weir , Cathy Carey , Ryan Mc Greevy and Laura Robinson . Special thanks to Joe Mc Mahon ( Tyrone All Ireland Winner ) and Sinead O'Neill from Tyrone for adding to the success and enjoyment the kids got from this years event,

Fundraising

Activity within Moneyglass has not been confined to the field of play and fundraising is the core to any clubs survival in todays climate . Many thanks to all who have supported our club events this year and to our new members and supporters who have contributed to the club . Elaine Kelly our fundraising and events co-ordinator has worked tirelessly in organising successful events to date and helped establish the womens support committee which has encouraged more community involvement .

Club Development

This year the club has taken the first steps on the road to better training facilities for the players and club rooms for the members of the future . with two public meeting in O'Neill Arms hotel in Toome and a consultation with players ,members and local interest groups completed we are now progressing to the next stage in making our "Vision A Reality ".

Unsung Heroes

We are gratefully to everyone who has given their time and effort to our club this year making a difference for our childrens future . A special thanks to all our coaching staff who gave up their own time for the club and players , attended courses in child protection , coaching fundamentals and first aid , training sessions and matches . Thanks to our support workers who are to numerous to mention working in the background looking after the pitch and players and finally to the members for supporting the club .

Membership

Our membership has increased this year and we would ask parents with players to join and help increase our numbers even further as this helps pay the bills . Communication has been improved by the use of the local press and the introduction of our website http://www.moneyglassgac.com/ together with the parish bulletins the club keeps the community informed . We look forward to more success in the future.