Tag: Photos

The Ruddy Report – 12/09/01

More hairstyles for the sports fan!
Following up on our previous report of John Ruddy’s new look for the sports fan, it would seem that John has indeed set a trend. As you can see, many young men are attempting to copy John’s style with devastating results.
Please, please do not try this at home.


All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final
Tipperary have won their 25th Senior Hurling All-Ireland title with a 2-18 to 2-15 win over Galway at Croke Park on Sunday.
Nicky English’s team took the lead in the fourth minute through captain, Tommy Dunne, and never relinquished it, and while Galway tired at the end, the Munster men pressed ahead to seal their victory.
Paul Ormond did his job at corner-back well. Eugene Cloonan, so lethal against Kilkenny in Galway’s semi-final victory, was kept eerily quiet in the final quarter, his 2-9 against the Cats already relegated to distant memory. Declan Ryan caused more problems at the edge of the square and should have snatched a goal for himself midway through the second half when he caught a pass unmarked on the 14-yard line. His shot whizzed wide of Michael Crimmins’ post.
Eoin Kelly once again proved the most prolific of the Munster men’s forwards in the opening half, having scored five of Tipp’s 1-9 total in the opening 35 minutes (four frees). Mark O’Leary scored Tipperary’s goal in the 22nd minute after Declan Ryan caught a high ball on the edge of the square and fed it to the Kilruane man who was unmarked.
Galway began the half slowly scoring just three points by the 23rd minute, but two minutes later, Eugene Cloonan brought the Tribesmen back into the game when he pounced on a rebound of Alan Kerins’ saved effort to bring the score to 1-6 to 1-3 for Tipp. The Munster men extended their lead to six points by the half hour mark, but a late rally by Galway with points from Kevin Broderick (2), Fergal Healy and Eugene Cloonan made it 1-7 to 1-9 at the half-time whistle.
Mark O’Leary added a second goal for Tipperary four minutes after the break. Running through the heart of the Galway defence, nudging the ball ahead of him, he dribbled under the legs of Crimmins before passing him and kicking the ball into the net.
Eugene Cloonan added a free a few minutes later, but Tipp were already on the higher ground. Dunne, Ryan and Lar Corbett (2) pointed to put the Premier County 2-13 to 1-10 in front with 20 minutes remaining.
Galway came to within a point of Tipperary in the 61st minute when corner forward, Fergal Healey, outpaced Donncha Fahey on the wing to reach the end line and slot the sliotar past Brendan Cummins. Fahey had only come on as a substitute for the injured Tom Costelloe five minutes earlier.
But Tipp were relentless. Within four minutes they were three points ahead again and by the 70th they had a four-point cushion, 2-17 to 2-13.
Ollie Fahey, a 68th minute substitute for Rabbitte gave Galway a slight hope of equalising when his 73rd minute point put just a goal between the sides but Eoin Kelly ensured there was no time for a dramatic equaliser with a 21-yard free a minute from the final whistle.

A generous gift to the Currane Community

Tom Farrar, whose grandmother Sarah Gallagher left Currane for the USA in 1912, has recently visited the area. Tom, a keen collector of coins, travelled from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, bringing with him a precious collection of Irish coins, the earliest dating back to 1035AD. Tom has generously donated his collection to the Currane community, saying that it was most appropriate that they should “come home”.
On a visit to the Currane National School and Community Library, Tom was able to view the school archives which included a record of his grandmother’s time at the school.


In the photos above: Tom Farrar, Mary-Ellen Ryder and Mary O’Malley take a look at the old school records, which include references to his grandmother, Sarah Gallagher.
Tom Farrar presents his coin collection to Anne Chambers who accepts on behalf of the community and former Government Minister and native of Currane Denis Gallagher thanks Tom for his generous gift, saying that it is wonderful that a descendent of a Currane native should hand over a collection of such historical and educational value. The gift will be a real treasure for future generations.
Below are some pictures of the coins. We hope to have professional photographs taken of all of the coins individually, and make this collection available on CD

’00- ’01

Click below to view the gallery of full-sized pictures.

Currane National School Fundraiser – Spring 2001

The evening was a great success.
The Board of Management of Currane National School would like to thank all who took part. £630 was raised for the school library.
The evening comprised a table quiz, raffle, the official handover of the new football kit kindly donated by Tommy Moran (Connecticut and Currane) and the auction of the old football kit. There was a photographic display of past and present sporting events at Currane School. A special surprise presentation also took place, Anne Chambers, head of Currane National School is celebrating 25 years in the teaching profession.

Ladies Back to Work

For the past 18 weeks, 28 local ladies have been attending a FÁS back to work training scheme at Glór na dTonn. They have studied a wide variety of topics, computing, communications and presentation.
An end of course graduation ceremony took place at Ostan Oilean Acla on Friday March 16th.
Here are the proud ladies pictured with the organisers and their tutors. Congratulations to all the ladies who completed the course to to all of those who were responsible for making it such a success.

The Ruddy Report – 25/11/00

Hacky Cup Final Bunnacurry 10-7 Currane 4-1
On a very chilly afternoon in Keel, Bunnacurry NS took on Currane NS in the final of the Hacky Cup.The first half was a closely fought affair with attacks at both ends, and some excellent defending by Currane kept them in touch at about three points down at half time.The beginning of the second half saw the larger and more proficient Bunnacurry team putting the squeeze on. Despite valiant defending by Currane, a flurry of goals and points put the result beyond doubt.Currane did not lose heart and came back strongly in the last quarter with some good scores. Had it not been for the quality of the Bunnacurry keeper the score would have been somewhat closer.
It was a very entertaining game and a credit to both teams who should be proud of themselves.

Crossmolina Champions Again
AIB Connaght Club Football Championship Final
Crossmolina 1-10
Corofin 0-5
Crossmolina made history last Sunday by becoming the first Mayo side to win two Connaght Titles back to back, outclassing the 1998 All Ireland Champions all over the pitch. The game began with both sides wanting to stamp their authority on the match, which is exactly what they did. Derek Reilly of Corofin broke his Collar Bone after just 30 seconds of the game, then Crossmolina’s ace forward Kieran McDonald followed him with a rib injury. But the loss did not halt Crossmolina’s stride, Liam Moffat replacing McDonald in the forward line.Crossmolina dominated midfield and took their chances although it was not until the 11th minute that they registered their first point of the game scored by Johnny Leonard. Corofin struggled to find their feet with Deel Rovers defence showing no flaws. Micheal Moyles was excellent in the forward line creating a lot of chances and after seventeen minutes he created a chance for Liam Moffat who fisted the ball into the back of the net to register the only goal of the game. Peader Gardiner was also excellent in the forwards.Corofin lifted themselves for a while due to the shock of the goal. Alan O’Donavan scored Corofins first point from a free kick but Moyles and Gardiner Stretched the gap to 5 points. Before half time Corofin clawed back a point courtesy of Micheal Donnellan to leave the gap at half time at 4 points.Corofin’s hopes of changing the game around in the second half were dashed by Moyles and McGuinness who at this stage had the game wrapped up. After 42 minutes Crossmolina lead by 8 points. Johnny Leonard and Damian Mulligan knotched up a few more points for Deel Rovers and Paul McGuinness put the icing on the cake three minutes from the end with the last score of the game. Crossmolina now face Ulster Champions Bellaghy in the All Ireland Semi- Final but they must improve on their shooting tally which was very high.
Crossmolina:
B. Heffernan, S. Rochford, T .Nallen, C. Reilly, P. McAndrew, D. Mulligan (0-1), F. Costello, J. Nallen, M. Moyles (0-3), T. Loftus, K McDonald, P. Gardiner (0-2), P. Mcguinness (0-2), E. Lavelle, J. Leonard (0-2)
Subs: L Moffat (1-0) for McDonald, G Walsh for Loftus, D O’Donnel for Reilly, P Whittaker for Rochford.

All Ireland U-21 Hurling Championship Final
West-Meath 0-11
Mayo 0-4
Mayo were outclassed by West-Meath last Sunday at Hyde Park, Roscommon. They struggled to break down the West-Meath defence and forwards Derek McDonnell, Ger McDonnell, James Hogan and Paul Broderick didn’t get a chance at goal.Mayo didn’t get their bearings in midfield at all, changing the line up before half-time to bring in Stephen Broderick, but while he made an impact for a time,t West Meath soon marked him out of it.Mayo defence played well with Paddy Barrett, Pat Freyne and Seamus McGlynn all making big impacts. Aaron Farrell caused his marker so much trouble his marker was substituted.Mayo had the wind in their favour in the first half but West-Meath still led by 5 points at half time. In the first ten minutes in the second half Mayo went to 7 points down but held West-Meath to a single goal for the rest of the game.Mayo should feel proud for getting this far and it’s a view of the future of Mayo Hurling.

Allianz National Football League Preview
Mayo travel to O’Moore Park in Portlaosie this Sunday to play Laois. Mayo, who had an excellent game a fortnight ago, may have the Crossmolina Connaght Champions in their panel this weekend with Moyles and Nallen expected to travel with the team. Kieran McDonald will be missing though due to an injury he picked up last Sunday which, although it is not supposed to be serious, means he will be rested as a precaution. No changes are expected to be made to the team which defeated Fermanagh, with Loftus and McNicholas expected to retain their places in the team. Laois on the other hand have had a poor star to the competition, losing their opening games to Cavan and Derry. Laois are under new management and are still experimenting with their squad. My prediction for the match is a Mayo win and if they play as well as they did against Fermanagh I can’t see them having a problem.

GAA Briefs

  • Kilmeena defeated Balla by 3 points to win the County U-17 Football League Final.
  • Ballahadereen defeated Castlebar by 5 points to win the County U-15 Football League Final.
  • Carnacon defeated The Neale by 1 point in the Mayo Ladies U-16 Football Championship Final.
  • Garrymore defeated Crossmolina in the Mayo Ladies Junior Football League Semi Final.
  • Rice College, Westport defeated St Brendans, Belmullet in the Connaght Colleges first year Football League.

 

The Ruddy Report – 04/11/00


The Sheila Joyce Cup
On the 29th of October at Griffin Community Park, Currane, a lot of interesting football took place.
At 2.30pm the final of the Sheila Joyce cup took place. This is an annual tournament, organised by Michael Joyce in memory of his late wife Sheila.
The boys and girls of Currane National School were split into teams. They competed against each other until the best two teams met in the final to decide the winner.
All credit to the children who played so well given the difficult weather conditions. A wet and windy Griffin Park attracted a lot of spectators, which shows that this annual contest is very popular among locals.
On the day Mairead Moran’s team won. In her speech she thanked everyone for coming to watch and her team for playing so well. She also thanked their opponents for giving them such a good match.

Over 30’s versus under 30’s.
After the Sheila Joyce Cup an unusual event took place. The match would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the efforts of Eamon Joyce and Sean Dever and everyone who helped them organise it in a matter of weeks. Originally the match was to be a clash between over 30’s and under 30’s but was changed to over 25’s v. under 25’s due to the uneven teams.
Michael T. Gallagher had the pleasure and honour of refereeing the match.
Just before throw in the weather took a turn for the worse, it began to rain heavily.and many spectators took refuge in their cars.
A large cheer went up from all corners of the field when Eamon Joyce ran onto the field. The over 25’s began the match with the wind in their favour and took advantage of it scoring a lot of points early on. The under 25’s battled to keep Eamon Joyce’s team in check but the over 25’s were just too strong in the first half and were winning by about 7 points at half time.
In the second half, the under 25’s started with a mini revival, coming to within 2 points of their elders. But a great goal at the very last minute by Andrew Patten sealed it for the over 25’s.
There were great performances by both teams, scores for the over 25’s came from; John Joe McNamera, Sean Gallagher, Noel Grealis, James McNamera, Andrew Patten, Eamon Joyce and Michael Cattigan. Other players who played well were; Paul McGinty, Andrew and Michael Dever, Tommy and Michael Madden and Kieran McGurk.
Scorers for the under 25’s were; Adrian Ryder, Peadar Cawley, Thomas Ruddy, Barry Dever, Declan O’Malley, Dennis Patten and John Dara O’Malley. There were great performances also from; Ronan O’Malley, Donnchadh O’Malley, Sean Dever, Thomas Joyce, Michael Joyce and John Ruddy.
The organisers and the players would like to thank all who came to support the teams, especially in such poor conditions, we hope you enjoyed yourselves. We hope for this to become an annual event, there is even talk of a trophy being introduced. Stay tuned for more information on this development. Please accept my apologies if I have omitted any names.

The over 25s team
The under 25s team

Achill GAA News – Ladies
In the semi-finals of the local ladies competition, Currane play Achill Sound and Kildownet/Sáile play Cashel/Bunnacurry on Sunday 5th November at Griffin Community Park, Currane. The first game starts at 12 noon.
When Currane and Achill Sound last met, Currane were run away winners . I believe whoever wins this one will win the overall competition as these are the two best teams. Achill Sound are very confident but they went into the last game against Currane very sure of themselves and were defeated.

My Prediction: Two very competitive games with Currane coming out as eventual winners once again.

GAA news – Mayo senior football
The Allianz National Football League 2000-2001 has started, although the Mayo Football team missed last week’s games due to the FBD Connaught League Final. Mayo travelled to Gaelic Park in Manhattan to play New York.
Mayo won 0-13 to New York’s 0-9. The Mayo team were to fly to Chicago on Tuesday (31st October) to play a local selection and are due to return home on the following Tuesday (7th November).
Mayo begin their National League campaign against Fermanagh. The fact that Fermanagh lost their opening match to Sligo and that they are being coached by former Mayo manager John Maughan is certain to add spice to the occasion. Mayo won’t want to lose this one!
Also in our group (Division 1B) are Derry, Fermanagh Laois, Meath, Clare, Sligo and Cavan. It is a tough division. The panel this year is an unfamiliar one compared to past seasons. There are a lot of new players in the squad including players who have been on the fringes and players coming through the youth teams.
Mayo will be aiming to survive in this group and hopefully challenge for the play-off’s. They are trying to rebuild their squad for the future and hope that the national league will bring some new talent into the picture.
This looks promising as in the last five years the Mayo Minors have dominated Connaught although our under 21 team has let us down (one provincial title in five years). The recently appointed Mayo U21 manager Paul McStay said recently “I attended a challenge match in Hawkfield on the outskirts of Newbridge town and the headquarters of Kildare senior, junior, U21, minor and U16 teams. They had three full lit pitches, two warm up pitches, dressing rooms as big as the local town halls complete with treatment tables and medicos on site”.
Mayo are at the moment trailing Kildare in facilities. We are a big county with a big population and most of us wish we were up amongst the best in Ireland, i.e. Meath, Derry, Cork and Galway. But we just have to wait and hope.
Stay tuned for more info on Mayo’s progression in the National league.

AIB Connaught Club Football Championship – semi-final
Crossmolina are Mayo’s representatives in this year’s Connaught Club Football Championship after retaining their county championship. This Sunday Crossmolina welcome Sligo champions Bunninadden to St Tiernan’s Park.
The Bookmakers have Crossmolina as favourites but Crossmolina have still to actually win the game. The Sligo side made history by winning their first Sligo county title last month. Crossmolina are not expected to make any changes from the team, which defeated Kilbride a fortnight ago. There are no injuries but Pat McAndrew who missed the last game due to a cold is back in contention for a starting place. Crossmolina will name their starting line up on the 1st of November.
Crossmolina are looking good, they have two very good midfielders and Kieran McDonald has been playing well lately, the inside forwards are also very impressive.
Bunninadden are going into the game after already reaching the pinnacle of the club’s history and a good performance from them will be expected, anything else is a bonus.

My prediction: Crossmolina are not lacking in preparation and should qualify for another provincial final.
Throw in at St Tiernan’s Park at 2.30pm on Sunday (5th November).

Senior Ladies Football Challenge
All Star selection 5-6
Mayo 1-2

The weather spoiled the game yet again on Sunday last (29th October) at Claremorris. The referee was considering calling off the match but, due to the large crowd that had already gathered, the players convinced the ref. to go ahead with it.
The referee decided to play a 20 minute aside match which resulted in a flattering win for the All Stars. Mayo had fielded a depleted side – Cora Staunton was missing due to a broken jaw picked up whilst playing for Athlone IT. Scores for the All Stars came from; A. Crotty (Waterford), A. McNally (Dublin), F. Blessington (Longford), M. Downey (Down), E. Gormley (Tyrone), O. Colreavy (Dublin) and for Mayo: M. Heffernan, C. Heffernan, M. Corcoran.