CAHIR NOTES MOSNEY 2007 Many thanks to Martin O’Keefe for sending in the following graphic description of  the excitement  at Mosney, which must have been particularly breathtaking for him!  “We set off for Mosney on Friday morning very confident of getting into the medals. We had Gillian who had done it all before, and was confident of doing well. Then we had an exceptional Girls U-12 Gaelic Football Team that had beaten all lbefore them, both in Tipperary and in Munster, and this writer had put his head on the block months ago, stating if we got this team to Mosney they would win Gold. “I suppose that this was pressure that any team could do without. However, given the fact that we were quietly confident, there was also the fact that Gillian was on pain killers and physio all week for a back injury, and we would not have one of our leaders on the football team should we reach the Final, as Kirsty Downey was flying out on holidays on Sunday morning. These small matters did play on our minds, but we remained positive. “Gillian was first on the floor on Saturday afternoon. She was number 29 out of 31 competitors. The Ladies judging panel had been marking hard all day. Indeed, not all of the County coaches were happy with some of the marking. They did mark the Mayo representative with an 8.0, so we were very disappointed when Gillian, after what appeared to be an excellent floor routine, received a mark of 7.63, which put her in fourth place going on to the vault on Sunday morning. My heart sank, as I did not now think that it was possible to get Gold. “From the Gym Hall, we now ran to the GAA fields, where the Girls had just started their game –v- Claregalway. Their opponents here really fancied their chances of overall success, but this was the game when our girls decided to turn on the style. Kirsty, knowing that she would only get one chance of playing in Mosney, was particularly stylish and together with the brilliant Aisling Moloney, who scored 2-7 from pla;  Aisling McCarthy; Roisin Howard; Emma Corcoran and Emma Buckley, they scored a huge victory over quality opposition by 4-15 to 3-1. We returned to our bases for the night with our footballers on a high and our gymnast somewhat downcast. “Sunday morning found Gillian in a completely different frame of mind. She was very determined and insisted on going in at 8:30am to practice her vault. Knowing how badly Gillian wanted to win this competition, in her final year, I felt that he was really going to give it a go. “The competition went as predicted, but when the Mayo competitor got a mark of 8.66 for her vault, it placed Gillian in the unenviable position of having to score 9.06 to win.  It is rarely that any competitor, be it male or female, gets a score of 9.9, so after a superb vault the score of 9.17, a personal best, was displayed.  The hall burst into applause and history had been made, in that Gillian had won her fifth Gold Medal and the manner of her victory brought a tear to this writer’s eye. “News of Gillian’s great win reached our football team and everyone was on a high for the football Final at 4pm. The opposition was Dunboyne, a typically physical team from the County Meath. Our girls got off to a slow start, missing Kirsty and midfielder Aisling Armytage, who had to play in goal because of injury. “The opposition scored the first three points and a goal from the tireless Aisling McCarthy left the scores level at half time.  In the second half, against the wind, Cahir went 5 points in front before a late goal for Dunboyne brought respectability to the scoreline:  Cahir 2-4, Dunboyne 1-5. “The celebrations then began and the magnitude of what had just been achieved suddenly dawned on everybody. This was only the second team ever to win this competition from Tipperary.  The Final was a team effort, where everyone had to get stuck in against a very dogged and determined opposition. However, special mention must be made of Aisling McCarthy, who covered every blad of Mosney grass in the Final. “The presentation was made to joint captains Aisling McCarthy and Emma Buckley and everyone arrived home to Cahir late but in high spirits, to a reception organised by Cahir Ladies’ Football Clb at the GAA Clubhouse.  Mr Mattie McGrath TD and Any Moloney MCC were there to welcome the victors home. “So that is the story of a marvellously successful weekend for our Cahir competitors in Mosney this year. Seeing the excitement and enjoyment in the eyes of all those young girls makes it all so worth while. My thanks to everyone, Mentors and Competitors, for the manner in which they represented Cahir over this weekend. There wasn’t one incident to report and everyone was a credit to their town.” FUNDAY SUNDAY Just a reminder that this fundraiser for Special Olympics Ireland and Maria Shine’s efforts for them is to take place this coming Sunday in the Castle Inch Field. All the usual fun and games will be happening, including Tossing the Welly.  That means pony rides, races, Putting Game etc. I am happy to say that some of our friends from the Farmers’ Market will be attending too.  Considering they are having one of their special Market Days on the Saturday, this is a very generous gesture, as they will be out of produce and out of energy too, I should think. Entries for the Fun Dog Show will be taken from 1:30pm with judging starting at 2.  Judging of the Fun Classes will not start until after 4pm. By the way, Maria Shine will be womaning the Bottle Stall and there is an amazing range of things bottled to be won, from Vodka to Mustard! And plenty in between. CALENDAR GIRLS On Saturday 18th August, the Abbey Tavern put on an event that included the photography of 12 of Cahir’s most eligible fellows, as the Calendar Girls.  The actual Calendars will be on sale soon, so watch this spot. I understand there was a terrific night’s entertainment, including Fancy Dress in which everyone participated,  for which Maria Shine is extremely grateful, as this was all for Special Olympics Ireland.  She particularly wants to thank everyone who took part, helped or contributed in any way, and especially Bridie Kendrick for coming up with the idea and getting the ball rolling.  Bernie Coady, in the Abbey Tavern and John & Helen Orme too deserve special thanks.  Not forgetting Seanie Lonergan, who was the hard-working photographer. CHURCH GATE COLLECTION Cahir Mother & Toddler Group will be holding a Church Gate Collection this Saturday and Sunday, 2nd September. All support would be gratefully appreciated. The Group’s meeting will resume on Thursday mornings from 10:30 am to 12:30pm at the Community Hall from 6th September, and all parents, child-minders, grandparents and babies to pre-school children are invited. The Cahir Parent & Toddler Group can provide the company your child is beginning to need and you are beginning to miss, so go along and join in the friendly environment. DAY CARE CENTRE Cahir Day Care Centre will re-open on Monday 3rd September.  The Management and Staff are looking forward to meeting their clients and renewing stories and fun in the coming year. The past year was successful, and let us hope that the coming one will be as good and maybe even better. FARMERS’ MARKET As I mentioned above, a special Market will take place this Saturday, 1st September, to celebrate Heritage Week.  There will be live music, a BBQ of tasty offerings from the Market, Face Painting for the kinds and a classic vintage car from Michael Lavin will be on display. Pat “The Fish Man” Hartley returns from his holidays and will be there, as will Tasha Grubb with her Covent Garden apple baskets. Pat O’Brien will have his new season potatoes and his usual range of in-season local veg, and Con Traas will have the start of the apple season available with his award-winning cooking and eating apples and strawberries.  Also, Con has his juices, james and cider. Ann and Mary will be offering the best of home baking, homemade jam and free range eggs. Stella has brown and soda bread, as well as mixed berry schones that are a must, not to mention her carrot cake. TJ has pork and bacon products and his homemade sausages that got a special mention from top chef Richard Corrigan. Cate produces a mouth-watering range of classic American confectionary, including cookies, brownies, chocolate fudge cake and magic cookie bars.  Also, this week she will be adding to her range, to include olives, sun-dried tomatoes, focaccia and yeast bread.  Maria and her Knockara Pate have been getting a lot of good press recently, doing justice to her range of produce.  And Keith and Jim continue to bring the very best of homegrown fresh vegetables weekly, which sell out so quickly one needs to be at the Market early to catch the goodies.  Finally, new recruit Leo sells organic meat and chicken.  There’s plenty for everyone at this Market and especially so this weekend. COUNCILLOR CALLS FOR UPGRADING OF LIBRARY Cllr Seanie Lonergan has issued a public statement demanding that increased funding be allocated to Cahir Library by the Department of Education.  Congratulating the Librarian on her excellent work and dedication, Cllr Lonergan contends that, given that the population of the town is increasing, it is clear that the Library is in urgent need of upgrading. In particular, extra funding is required to increase the range of titles available.  The Library is a vital public service.  Since it is increasingly expensive for individuals and families to purchase books, it is important that new books are constantly purchased to compliment existing titles. Cllr Lonergan will be raising this important issue at the September meeting of the County Council.  In the meantime, he is asking parents to encourage their children to join the Library. As the new school year commences, it is an ideal time to introduce children to becoming members of the Library. WHAT’S ON AT DUNESKE? Roll on September, getting back to school and into a routine.  At Duneske’s it’s busy, busy and they now have activities and schedules for your diary. Starting from 3rd September, they have a new class schedule, so pop up and get your copy to pin up at home. Junior Gym is back and the hours have been extended:  Monday & Wednesdat 4pm – 5pm;  Saturday & Sunday, 11am – 1pm and 4pm to 6pm. All Weather Pitch users, get your teams together and your slot booked, because all the places are filling up fast. Due to demand they are now opening from 7am in the morning for all you early birds, and closing at an earlier time of 10:30pm. For further details, contact Duneske at 052 45517. CAHIR CAMOGIE NOTES After a relatively quite few weeks on the competition front the club is gradually picking up speed again with a few games in the next week. The U16 championship is underway and the girls have two games played at this stage. Their opening game was against a very strong Clonoulty side and even though their was some great individual preformances on the night, the victory went to Clonoulty. Their next game was an away fixture to Annacarty and the Cahir team proved much to stong for the opposition coming away with a fine victory. Their next game is scheduled to be played in Duneske on Saturday September 1st at 2pm against Knockavilla. This team is showing some real promise with some very fine players and well worth watching if you happen to be free on the day. The U12 girls fresh from their County title and many who were on the victorious Community Games football All Ireland wining team, are about to begin their involvement in the "B" league competition. While we were County champions in the "C" competition, the league will see us enter a higher standard of camogie so the team will face stonger and more experienced players at this level. They are scheduled to play Clonoulty in Duneske on Tuesday evening August 28th and on the following Thursday we have an away game to Holy Cross. Skorts for the U12 panel are available now so if one is required please give your name and size to either Gerardine Hickey or Jo Burke in the next few weeks. The cost of the skorts is €15. Also, the club has been requested by Tipperary County Camogie board to sell tickets in aid of the building of a stand at the County Camogie grounds in the Ragg. These tickets are €10 each and very valuable prizes are on offer. Committe members will have these tickets and it is hoped that each family that have girls playing in the club would be in favour of buying one. This is a building that will be vital to Camogie progress in the County and therefore in everyones intrest to support this project. FAIR TRADE CAHIR NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT The Fairtrade movement was born of recognition that many people in the Third World are economically poor, not because they do not produce anything  but because they often receive so little of the retail price value. It is a growing international movement, which ensured that producers in developing countries get a fair deal for commodity foods such as tea, coffee, bananas, sugar, cotton etc. Your support is needed to Build Cahir into a Fair Trade community, so keep Monday 10th September free so that you can go to a meeting at Duneske Sports & Leisure Centre. For more information, contact Mary Teresa at -087 961 6325 or e-mail corpde@gmail.com. CAHIR ACTIVE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION Next Wednesday, 5th September, there is a meeting to finalise arrangements for the trip to the West Lodge Hotel, Bantry on 23rd September.  This will be for three nights B&B and evening meals.  A guest speaker will be present, followed by refreshments. Enquiries about the above can be made to 052 41892 / 41963 / 41213 /  65306. CAMPAIGN ON ROAD SAFETY The Cahir Cumann of South Tipperary Ogra Shinn Fein welcomes the recent launch of the new National Ogra Shinn Fein campaign on road safety, launched in the last fortnight.  Entitled Moilligh Sios – Slow Down! the campaign will run for the next six months, leading into the Christmas and New Year periods, times synonymous with road accidents. It is hoped that this campaign can bring home a message to all drivers, young and old, that fast and dangerous driving should not be tolerated and that we all have a part to play in making our roads a safer place for everyone. Also, OSF participated recently in the launch of Sinn Fein’s Road Safety Policy in Dublin. These initiatives by both sections of the Party, it is hoped, will contribute in some way to alleviating the incidence of road traffic accidents on the island’s roads. More can be read about this and other news relating to Ogra Shinn Fein at ograshinnfein.blogspot.com or www.osf.ie. READERS’ NEWS & VIEWS I welcome response and/or news to 10 Market Yard / 086 840 5020 and at the e-mail address above. By the way, the attendance of people to inform about Fostering Children at the Farmers’ Market did not take place last weekend, as one of the people involved was ill.  However, this will happen in due course.