1st February 2010

'Stars in their Eyes' takes place this Saturday 6th February at 8.30PM in Riverstown Hall. This is an important fundraiser in aid of underage and ladies football and we would appreciate your support. It should be a great nights entertainment and admission on the night is only €5 with children free. You can vote for your favourite act on the night for €1.

Padraig Mullen has been appointed senior team manager for the coming year and he will be joined by Paddy Hennessy as selector with additional selectors to be announced later. We wish Padraig and Paddy well in the year ahead. Training is already up and running with the first game scheduled for early February.

There are full reports of the Senior AGM and Bord Na Nóg on the website. The following is an exctract from Secretary Andrew Kearns report;

"Whilst there may be a perception that 2009 wasn't a successful year for the Senior team due to the fact that we ended up in a relegation battle to retain Senior Championship status, we must keep a sense of perspective. We won the Kiernan Cup and consolidated our progress in the League in 2008 by finishing up in 3rd place. In the Senior Championship, we were drawn in an extremely tough group and perhaps our lack of experience at this level was exposed in the process of the campaign.

The year started on 14th February, with the first round of the Kiernan Cup against St Mary's, which we won. We eventually progressed to the final of this competition, which we won in some style by beating Bunninadden in Tubbercurry in June. This was our first Senior trophy in many years and gave everybody associated with the Club a great lift.

In the Senior league, we played 14 games, winning 7, losing 5 and drawing 2 games to end up in third place on sixteen points. We missed out on promotion to Division 1 by 4 points - hopefully 2010 will be the year that sees us push on and finally gain promotion to Division 1. This must be a priority for the year ahead as we seek to compete effectively for Senior Championship honours.

In the Championship, we were drawn in a difficult group and we ended up in a relegation battle where we eventually beat Easkey in a replay by eight points. Whilst it's regrettable that we ended up in this situation, once again the team proved that when the chips are down they are capable of big displays and we can only hope that this sort of attitude will be evident throughout the 2010 League and Championship campaigns. 2009 saw the progression of a number of younger players to the Senior panel and this is very encouraging as this is the lifeblood of any Senior panel. I want to thank the players for their commitment during the year. A very special mention goes to the senior team management of John Quinn, Eugene Carroll, Shane Quigley and Fergal White for their unstinting work during the year.

I wish to thank Eamonn Mc Munn, Club Physio, for his work and also to Joanne Lyons who came on board this year to help out. Thanks also to the various people who came on board in various ways to help out with sponsorship of the Senior team, whether in terms of kit sponsorship, meals and refreshments after training etc., with a special mention to Glen Mc Dermott in this regard.

The Juniors had a memorable year, with the League commencing on 4th April. We lost our first two games but then went on to win 6 games in a row to put ourselves in contention for promotion. Our last game was a winner takes all encounter with Calry / St. Joseph's, however unfortunately we were well below par on the day and were well beaten. In the Championship, we built upon our solid performance in the League to qualify for the final for the second year in a row, where we were once again pitted against Ballisodare which we lost in heart breaking circumstances by a single point. It's great to have consolidated on the progress made by the Juniors in 2008 and hopefully we will continue to build on this in the year ahead. Thanks to the Junior management team of Vincent Henry, James Conlon, Seamus Cawley and Conor Mc Donagh.

A massive amount of work continues to be put in across all grades within the Club. A full rundown on all under-age activities in 2009 was given at the Bord na nÓg AGM and is also available on the website. 2009 was a relatively successful year at underage level within the Club and whilst we look forward with confidence to the year ahead, we must not become complacement and I would make a particular appeal for more parents to become involved, no matter how small the commitment they feel they can make.

Martin Nealon stepped down as Bord na nÓg Chairman at the recent AGM and I wish to compliment Martin on how he ran Bord na nÓg affairs during the year. John Moore has taken over as Chairman and we all wish John the very best in the year ahead.

I want to pay particular tribute to our Ladies panel, who continued to represent the Club in 2009 in very trying circumstances and with a very small panel of players. Towards the end of the year we held a number of meetings with the players and a plan of action is now in place to try and revive the fortunes of the Ladies panel in 2010. They sorely need and deserve more support from the Club in a number of ways. We have taken some steps forward in this regard and hopefully the fortunes of our Ladies panel will begin to turn in the year ahead.

I want to also congratulate Club players who were involved with County teams and development squads during the year at various grades. I also wish Bernard Mulhern and Shane Quigley well with the Minors in 2010.

Off the field we were busy in many areas, In February, 19 Club members participated in a Foundation Coaching Course - the years ahead will see formal coaching qualifications becoming a vital part of our activities and this will be integral to raising our coaching standards.

In March, we held our first Club Dinner Dance in many years Castle Dargan. Our special guests on the night were Christy Cooney, Uachtaráin, C.L.G. and John Murphy, Chairman of Sligo County Board.

On 3rd May, the annual Golf Classic was held for the first time in Castle Dargan with 23 teams participating. Thanks to FBD, main sponsors of this event and all of the other sponsors and all of the teams who participated as well as the organising committee.

I wish to thank Sligo Folk Park for the continued use of their magnificent facilities for Club events - this is a tremendous resource for the Club and one we are fortunate to have in our area. Another very valuable resource for the Club is Riverstown Park and I want to thank the Park Committee for the use of its facilities in 2009. Thanks also to Paul Little for his maintenance of both pitches during the year.

Again, a very sincere word of thanks to John Joe, Margaret and Katie Mc Goldrick for the way in which they continue to maintain our clubhouse, which is a credit to them.

These are especially difficult financial times and I wish to sincerely thank all of our sponsors and especially our official Club sponsor, John Mc Dermott and all who contributed in any way to the Club during the year. I also want to make special mention of the members of our monthly Club draw, which continues to be our main income source.

I wish to sincerely thank Mrs Quinn and the Quinn family for their continued preparation of Club kit across all grades. This is a job that may sometimes appear to be taken for granted but it is sincerely appreciated by the Club.

Congratulations to Club Patron, Paddy Joe Quigley, who in March was presented with the GAA President's award in Croke Park. This was a great honour for Paddy Joe, his family and Shamrock Gaels and just reward for a lifetime's dedication to the GAA and his Club.

Congratulations also to Lauri Quinn, who was appointed Chairman of the GAA's Financial Management Committee.

Congratulations to Coola Secondary School who won the Senior Schools Championship in 2009 and also to Aoife Mc Dermott who brought great honour to the area by winning an All-Ireland basketball title with Sligo Allstars.

During the year we lost some great friends and I want to remember in particular two of our Patrons who died during the year, Paddy Gethins and Frank Gannon, who were great servants of the Club down through the years and part of a generation we must continue to honour, as they gave this Club its very existence. Ar dheis De go raibh a n-ainmneacha.

There is a full report on the website.