Sport

The changing of the guard

Pictures show outgoing Presidents Joe and Kay O’Regan and incoming Vice-President Donie Colfer and President Andy Kehoe. At this year’s AGM of Slaney Olympic AC, the President and Vice-President, Joe and Kay O’Regan, stood down.

These two long-devoted members of the club, since their return home from overseas in 1997, have shown the way to all athletes with their running feats, and their willingness to work for the development of the club and the people within it.

Slaney Olympic Athletic Club Enniscorthy 10K

The Slaney Olympic Athletic Club Enniscorthy 10K, kindly sponsored by Campion Insurance, takes place on Sunday 12th February 2023, at 12 noon, starting on the Old Dublin Road, Enniscorthy. This is the 17th running of the Enniscorthy 10K. Online registration is now open at https://www.popupraces.ie/race/enniscorthy-10k-2023/ The course for the Campion Insurance Enniscorthy 10k consists of two laps, with just a 94 metre rise over the 10k, beginning at the Old Dublin Rd, heading out to Scarawalsh and back in the New Dublin Road.

Race number and t-shirt pick up is at Lifestyle Fitness, Old Dublin Road, Enniscorthy (Eircode Y21 FY68). There are no registrations on the day. The race will be signposted from all approaches to the town. The race starts at 12 noon. Prizes will be posted out after the event. There is ample parking facilities in the surrounding area. Prizes:

• €200 1st Man & 1st Woman. • €125 2nd Man & Woman. • €75 3rd Man & Woman. • 1st Under 20, Over 40, 50, 60, 70. • €160 1st Men’s & Women’s Teams of four. • Event Record €200

Male 29.35 Mark Christie (2011)

Female 32.52 Linda Byrne (2012). Slaney Olympic Athletic Club looks forward to welcoming all participants on the day. n

In their 86th year, they are still active club members, but now their long runs have become long walks through the streets of Enniscorthy. But you won’t find two fitter 86-year-olds anywhere in the world, and another marathon comeback couldn’t be ruled out!

The committee extends its appreciation for their service as Presidents of the club and their work over many years in administering and promoting the club. The incoming President is Andy Kehoe, a true stalwart of the club, who worked as a coach and organiser from the 1980s, before the club was called Slaney Olympic. And the new Vice-President is Donie Colfer, another stalwart of the club from the 1980s. The club is fortunate to have two such devoted members of the club to take over now from the O’Regans and guide the club into the future. n

Enniscorthy Greyhound Track

Racing will resume after the winter break on Thursday 2nd March 2023. n

Astro Pitch

The eagerly awaited new Astro Pitch project at Ross Road, Enniscorthy, is making progress. The Part VIII planning process for the new pitch has been completed. Before Christmas, a call went out for tenders for the construction of the pitch with work likely to commence in Spring 2023 and the project to completed over the following months. n

GREAT NEWS FOR LOCAL CLUB

Planning Permission has been granted to erect a new astro turf training pitch with surrounding fencing, netting and floodlights for Enniscorthy United AFC at Neil O’Sullivan Park, Sean Browne Court, Enniscorthy. Best of luck to the club with this exciting development. n

Enniscorthy Sports Hub

O’Leary Sludds Architects were appointed in Feb 2021 for the detailed design, procurement of works contractor and construction management of the proposed new Sports Hub building. A competition to award a works contract was advertised in May 2022. The lowest price tender opened for the project exceeded the available budget and, therefore, it has been decided not to progress with awarding a works contract. A redesign process for the project is now underway, and it is expected to retender in early 2023.

The question of a playing pitch at the centre of the running track at the Sports Hub came up at the November meeting of Enniscorthy Municipal District. The District Manager informed the meeting that it is under review with a view to it being used for Spring/Summer soccer. n

Building Bellefield – the roadmap

The vision is to create a ‘Flagship Sports and Community Facility’ to world class standards at the heart of Enniscorthy that will promote the health and wellbeing of all the community in a safe and inclusive environment. Read more about this project on the next page. 

Paddy Gahan, Joe Carley, Gareth Kavanagh. December may be considered part of the closed GAA season, but it was all action at Bellefield, home of the Rapparees/Starlights.

Bellefield Beat

‘The Patron Wall for Bellefield is also going extremely well with spaces filling up fast,’ Ger continued, ‘so if you want a loved one, or your business on the wall for posterity get in contact with a member of the committee as soon as possible, before it’s too late.’

‘Dáithí Ó Sé will be our guest presenter at the Blind Date fundraiser which promises to be a cracker on 10th March at Riverside Park Hotel, so it is all hands on deck once again moving forward into 2023,’ the popular Chairman warned his newly elected committee. ‘We will need everyone putting their shoulders to the wheel to bring our adventurous project to fruition.’

Ger thanked all the Club sponsors and others for the very generous donations we have received to date.

Before concluding, he warned that patience would be needed in the coming year to manage games and training with only the use of one field at the premises and outlined planned alternatives for the smooth running of our games. ‘No pain, no gain, there will be times when some of our teams may be discommoded and may be forced to give away home advantage but this is all part and parcel of our new development and in the end it will all be worth it.’

Ger thanked all the Bellefield neighbours for their patience and understanding and called for a minute’s silence for all the deceased members of the club.

Coiste Chair Stephen Murphy gave a detailed account of all our underage activity in 2023, and there were reports from the Ladies Camogie and Ladies Football along with chronicles of the outcome of all our adult teams for 2022.

Traditionally the month for AGMs, this important event on the club calendar was held on Thursday 29th December at the clubhouse.

Chairman Ger McVeigh thanked everyone for their hard work throughout 2022, players, mentors, committee members and supporters, and in particular the Building Bellefield Project team and their marvellous team of fundraisers who contributed to making the Christmas Bonanza Draw a huge success.

‘The goodwill emanating from the town of Enniscorthy for this innovative project is phenomenal, demonstrated by the magnificent response to our Christmas draw, and is indicative of the high esteem in which Bellefield is held among the people of Enniscorthy and beyond,’ Ger told the AGM gathering.

with Maria Nolan

ANNUAL PUDDING RUN:

Our annual Pudding Run in memory of the late Michael Foley was held on a bright, crisp, St. Stephen’s morning, with the large crowd leaving the club premises at 11am.

Now in its 14th year, this most lucrative and enjoyable fundraiser allows families and friends to come together over the festive period to raise money for bursaries allocated each year to students from CBS Enniscorthy to help them defray some of the costs of third level education.

It is a testament to the friends, family, and teammates of the late Michael that the annual Pudding Run continues to grow and expand.

And what a great way to dust off the Christmas Day cobwebs whilst connecting with and re-establishing old and cherished acquaintances.

20 YEAR REUNION:

On Tuesday 27th December the Starlights footballers of the 2002 winning championship team came together at the Bellefield clubhouse to reminisce and indulge in their triumph over the great Duffry Rovers team of twenty years ago.

Many a tall tale was related as Starlights were treated to video showings of their historic 2002 win, both the drawn game and winning one.

There was some stinging, good-natured banter with all bar two of the 2002 panel in attendance, especially when the jerseys they wore in the final were produced and PRO Maria Nolan announcing that jerseys would have to be donned for the commemorative photograph. Shay Deegan and Tom Wall. Several expressed qualms about whether they would fit twenty years on but to the surprise of all – they did, even if some were a little snugger than others, and we now have the photograph to prove it!

Speaking of photographs, a very special presentation was made in the clubhouse on St. Stephen’s Day to Ger Collins and Kevin Foley as Captains of winning Rapparees Senior Hurling teams, forty-three years apart.

The presentation included a photograph of the two captains captured by PRO Maria Nolan on the day of the 2021 County Final win along with a poem by Tom Boland commemorating the event.

The photograph will take pride of place in the Members’ Bar.

– Words & Pics by Maria Nolan PRO

Members of the newly elected Rapparees/Starlights Executive Committee.

Enniscorthy rugby recap: December

As the AIL is on its Christmas break, Enniscorthy remain winless, however there were signs of improvement in the games in December, but the materialisation of these improvements into wins and points in the table is still a work in progress. Up first, they hosted Rainey Old Boys from Magherafelt, Co. Derry, at Alcast Park on the 3rd of December, suffering a heart-wrenching one point defeat by a scoreline of 19-18.

Enniscorthy lost two players in this game within the first fifteen minutes with Niall Parker and Jamie Barron picking up injuries and were subbed off. A recurring problem with the team this year has been injuries and it carried into this game. A Peadar O’Mahony try, and a Jack Kelly penalty was all the home side could put together in the first half. While they conceded two tries themselves, the position of the scores made the conversion attempts difficult, with one of the two conversions going wide for Rainey Old Boys but the visitors led by two points at the half. The second half was low scoring but had a high tempo, with both teams getting inside the opposing 22 metre line on a number of occasions but losing the ball in turnovers. Enniscorthy capitalised on poor ball skills from the visitors and went on the attack through their pack with pick and goes before Tom Ryan touched down to restore their lead only for the away side to replicate the same type of moves on their way to scoring their third try. Nick Doyle kicked a penalty for Enniscorthy’s only other points of the game – a tough loss to swallow. Next they travelled to Galway again, this time to face Galwegians, which was a different story altogether. A cold miserable day in Ballybane at Crowley Park, Enniscorthy were outmatched by the hosts, who scored seven tries on their way to a 41-18 win.

Enniscorthy’s attacking charge was led by Nick Doyle for the most part from a scoring perspective. The versatile player lined up at outside centre in this game and was responsible for two of Enniscorthy’s tries and a penalty kick, his second try showed the Still man’s individual brilliance.

Pinned down inside their own five metre line, Enniscorthy secure a vital turnover at the breakdown, and it gets out to Nick, who was able to link up with David O’Dwyer before receiving the ball back on a give and go from O’Dwyer and off he went, using incredible footwork and ball skills to sell three dummy passes before taking the ball the length of the pitch and scoring, the highlight on an ultimately dim day for the visitors. Luck hasn’t gone Enniscorthy’s way with player availability and injuries in the first half of the season, but it has been a challenge to say the least come match day. As mentioned before, there have been improvements that can be seen during the games with their discipline and their commitment to play till the final whistle, but results have been extremely hard to come by, still looking for their first win of the season.

That being said, it is a club that has always had a positive mindset and will look to prove a lot of critics wrong and avoid relegation from 2B by their play in the second half of the season. 2023 kicks off for Enniscorthy on the 14th of January when they host Galwegians for the return fixture at Alcast Park, kick off at 2.30pm. n

Shane swimming with the Sharks

Slaney Sharks Swim Club was delighted to host a brilliant evening with Irish Olympic swimmer Shane Ryan during December in the Waterfront Pool and Leisure Centre, Enniscorthy. Shane got into the water with the swimmers and gave them advice and tips on their dives, strokes, turns etc, affirming the hard work being done by the club’s own coaches and swimmers day in, day out, at the Waterfront Pool and Leisure Centre. An invaluable experience, and one the swimmers will always remember. Check out: ‘Slaney Sharks Swim Club’ on Facebook.n

Donncha O’Callaghan’s message to Wexford’s sports clubs

Former Irish rugby international Donncha O’Callaghan has issued a call to sports clubs in Wexford reminding members not to overlook 31 January next, the closing date by which application for a €5,000 award under the Texaco Support for Sport initiative must be made.

Noting the benefit to be gained by the award, the popular broadcaster and adjudicator confirmed that “entry is open to all clubs irrespective of sporting discipline, size, membership, age, cultural appeal, or gender, including those whose application may have been unsuccessful previously.”

Held annually, the scheme has seen funding of €260,000 distributed to clubs across the 26 counties, of which €10,000 has already come to Co. Wexford with successful applicants Kilmore United FC (2021) and Menapians Athletic Club (2022) receiving €5,000 in each case.

Further information can be viewed online at www.TexacoSupportforSport.com n