Ballon GFC 2012

Chairman – John Kelly 9159338
Secretary – Billy Fanning

8/6/12

Ballon Ladies GFC held their Awards Night in Kavanagh’s Lounge in Ballon on Saturday night , 2 June. Medals for the 11-a-side League, 15-a-side League and the Junior Championship won by the club in 2011 were presented on the night. The club would like to thank everyone for the continuous support throughout the year and in particularly the trainers Ger O’Shea and Pat Doyle. Individual award winners on the night were ( l to r) Ellie Hegarty (Junior Footballer of the Year); Bridget Kenny (Club Person of the Year); Hayley O’Shea (Young Player of the Year); Carol Brady (Player of the Year) and Cheryl Keogh (Club Person of the Year).

7/5/12 Drive in Bingo

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Michael O’Toole, the fund raising entrepreneur of the club, explained the rules of this first off venture. If you get a line you sound the horn, the ticket is checked, and the winnings collected at the end of the games. €1800 was paid out and the punters went home satisfied.

The drive in Bingo attracted about 60 cars and a couple on mini coaches with avid bingo fans from around the area.

Towards the end of the session a downpour disrupted the speaker system but play continued in the spacious club house where refreshments were available during the day. A bouncy castle was available for the kids for free. A great effort which should grow in popularity.

18/4/12

BALLON GFC’S DINNER AND AWARDS NIGHT

Ballon Gaelic Football Club held its 35th annual Dinner Dance and Awards Night in The Millrace Hotel in Bunclody on Saturday night, 14 April. For the first time in three years there were no trophies to adorn the top table but on the subject of trophies chairman, John Kelly, had an interesting statistic in his address to the gathering. He informed them that since the club was reformed in 1977, fourteen county trophies had been won, which is an average of one every two and a half years. It’s not a record to be sneezed at, he said, adding that many clubs around the county would be glad to have a similar record. 2011 wasn’t the greatest for the club, he said, but it should not be overlooked that the first team reached the IFC semi-final and that the second team only lost out of a place in the Div 4 semi-final by the minimum of margins. Stating that the club had a new trainer in Tommy Quirke, the chairman appealed to all players to put in that extra effort in 2012.

John went on to state that the annual dinner dance gave the club possibly the only chance to thank the public and the many sponsors for their continued support. Ballon would be considered a small rural club, yet it costs in the region of €50,000 per annum to keep it afloat. He made special mention of Jim and Máire George of Cheetah Electronics, the club’s main sponsors and also thanked Margaret Carroll and those who sell the weekly lotto tickets and run the weekly draw.

He wound up his address by complimenting the ladies football team on their success in 2011; the Burren Rangers committee on the great work they were doing at juvenile level from under-6 to under-18 and Cuchulainn Rounders Club for their successes also in 2011.

Michael Byrne, representing the County Board, congratulated the club on holding the function in difficult times and congratulated the club on its tremendous successes over the past few years. He also praised Martin Barry, John Blanche and Dick Fitzgerald for their assistance at Dr. Cullen Park. Fr Edward Whelan and treasurer, Michael O’Toole, also addressed the gathering.

An evening of good food, drink and presentation ceremonies was followed by dancing to the superb Helter Skelter till the early hours of Sunday morning.

AWARD WINNERS

The announcement of the winners of the club’s awards was, as always, eagerly awaited. The names of the winners are kept strictly under wraps until the night so there was surprise on the faces of all of the recipients as they were called forward to receive their awards and none more so than John Fanning who was the winner of the Hall of Fame Award.

hall-of-fame

A forward with a sharp eye for goal in his playing days, John and his wife Mary have been associated with the club since 1979 and five of their sons and one daughter are currently playing with the club. Michael Byrne presented John with his award which was sponsored by Liam and Margaret Buggy.

jack-murphy

Another man associated with the club since its formation is John Murphy who received the Clubman of the Year Award. John is a multi-medal winner with the club over the years and currently is a committed committee member who is a driving force behind the weekly lotto draw. John received his award, which was sponsored by Zerafa’s Centra Supermarket, from Michael Byrne.

shane-byrne

The Intermediate Player of the Year Award went to midfielder, Shane Byrne, a player who has been one of the backbones of the team in recent times and a leader both on the field of play and in the training field. Fr. Whelan made the presentation which was sponsored by Kavanagh’s Lounge.

ken-deacon

Ken Deacon, who joined the club four years ago on a transfer from Rathvilly and who has won two FL Div 4 medals with Ballon was the winner of the Junior Player Award which was sponsored by Barbie’s Hair Salon and presented by Fr Whelan.

jamie-carroll

The final award, The Young Player of the Year, went to Jamie Carroll who graduated from a top Burren Rangers player to a Ballon player in 2011 where he continued to impress. Fr. Whelan presented the award which was sponsored by Jimmy’s Takeaway.

ALL THE WINNERS

all-the-winners

The award winners at the Ballon GAA Dinner Dance: Back (l to r) John Fanning (Hall of Fame) and John Murphy (Clubman). Front: Ken Deacon (junior player), Jamie Carroll ( young player) and Shane Byrne (intermediate player).

Narrative from Michael Dawson. Pictures by Gavin Kelly