Sunday, August 27, 2017

TESTING TIMES FOR SWISS AND HIS WIFE.

Probably the most devastating news a family can receive has been visited on the most decent of families with the news that their son at about 4 years old has been diagnosed with a rare and extremely serious malady.
The Church was overflowing tonight as their friends and neighbours and all who heard about the Rosary recitation crowded in and fervently prayed that God and Mary  in their  infinite mercy and compassion would see Their way to cure this most dear and loved child.
The bonds that are formed during childhood and in rural growing up were well illustrated as Brian Newman  and Donal Daly ,home from the States and England ,were amongst the may who showed up in solidarity .
Donal recently brought home his daughter to make her First Holy Communion with the Dunderry kids of which my grand daughter Ciara was a celebrant also.
We are a close and deeply caring community indeed.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Yet another burgalry.

Reports are filtering in of yet another burglary in the Parish.This time the thieves got entry via the fields at the back of the house,tranquilizing 4 guard dogs in the process and forcing entry when there was no one at home.
Clearly they had intimate knowledge of the surrounding area  AND HAD CASED THE HOUSE THOROUGHLY BEF0RE HAND.
All landowners should run from their lands all trespassers especially those whose identity they don't know.Especially those professing to be hunting rabbits or hares,whose capture is illegal in the first place.
This shit has got to stop or brr stopped.

On the bright side

Our good friend Kevin Conroy is back in town for a few days.Glad to see him around.His late father John did tremendous work in the GAA Club for years prior to his death ,particularly in selling life memberships for the Club at E.500.00 A POP ,A SUM NOT TO BR SNEERED AT.
What a pity that the promise to erect a permanent memorial and scroll to those who walked the walk has yet to be honoured.
T.Dowd Senior recently con celebrated a birthday with Ted his son. T was 70 and Ted 40.
We had roast pig,song craic and gargle and footballs and sliotars flying in all directions.
A night to remember and the very best of craic.
Reports are still drifting in of people not there getting in a few cans ,opening the windows and grooving to the warbles of the great Paddy MC Garry.
T,sang his rendition of Kevin Barry to universal approval .
In his day and time T.was to British GAA WHAT GEORGE BEST WAS TO SOCCER.
Both appear ring to play was an event and Tommy's Etna surpasses any day any of Georges women by a country mile.
Plus she has lasted the course far better too.
Tommy the ALL Star and his family and Cathy and Dolly and their families were there too.
Jimmy was in fine fettle despite his more scarce public  appearances of late.
Gerry Coogan is home from Boston  for  a special birthday party too and the Second Dunderry Judge  ,Paul Fitzgerald is home from  New Hampshire to visit his family .
On a personally low side a Bart Simpson low life has called me "lower than a knacker "while separated from me by a chain link fence at a GAA Match.I am unsure exactly who he is trying to insult,me or the travellers and fully appreciate how travellers must feel when so addressed.
I have  GOOD MIND TO TELL HIS NEIGHBOURING TRAVELLERS OF HIS IDENTITY but will keep my powder dry for a while.
The weather is brutal for making hay and I am caught with about 10 round bales on the ground soaked to the
GILLS.
I am determined however to keep at it until it is fit for bailing.
This is called stupidity.
As per usual the place is abuzz  with rumours of one sort or another .

IFC.Dunderry 0-11.Trim 0-11.

Today I qualify for my bus pass.Yesterday and not for the first time this year we committed barefaced robbery in securing valuable points against the run of play in the Inter Championship.
All our Birthdays came together in doing a job we had to do and Napoleon's adage that the most important quality in a General was pure "LUCK" never ran truer.
Consider this team that didn't  field yesterday.

                                           Garret Dooley.
Red Callaghan                      Finn Stephens.               Sprog Stephens.

JP Kenneally                        Simon Carty                   Alan Garry

            Paddy Kenneally                            Liam Dempsey

Cyril Halton                          T.J.Garry                     Lukie Martyn

Martin Garry                   Connor Dempsey        Christopher Harrington.

Subs.John Kelligher,Gerry Murray,Aaron Feeney,Ciaran Mulvenna,Ivan Mc Cormack.Tosh Garry,Michael Martin.Joey Martyn.
NON PLAYING CAPTAIN IS OF COURSE SWISS CLARKE .
I would definitely fancy it to go far.
Had we a Fairy Godmother with loads of mullah with an ability to cure injury we could field such a team.
Gives an idea of what we are missing and lost potential.
The team we did in reality field and which did bring home enough bacon was;-

                                                        Jennings
Aaron Newman.                            Davy Mack                        Jordan Martyn

Mark Kane                                     Conor O Shea                   Chuck Dempsey

                                  Bomber                             Baby Doc

Oisin Martyn                                       Stephen Coogan                     Gooch Daly

Alex                                                      Morgan Callaghan                A Watters.

Subs used.Andy Coogan,Kenny Fay and Declan Dub Mahon.
Athboy is a fine ground and bathed in brilliant sunshine the most civil of officials had the place humming.
Not much wind sa speir and we were hoping for a good result given our missing list.
They opened with a bang and had two points up before we caught our bearings.
Bob wouldn't be fit but himself and Bomber achieved parity in midfield ,which was no mean feat with a determined Frankie Murphy giving it his all as per usual for the townies.
After 10 minutes we took over  and played with confidence and panache setting a goodish pace and edging into a 4 point lead by half time on a scoreline of 0-8 to 0-4.
Mark Kane had benefited from the corn fed steak he had clearly devoured in the States with some searing runs down the wing and I was again impressed,but not surprised  by the contribution of Oisin Martin who played with a vision beyond his years.
For four months four years ago I was a mentor with his age group and that panel was particularly talented .It is to the DETRIMENT  of the Club that a more bountiful harvest was not saved from that crop and lessons ought be learned .
In the latter half of the half our younger guns excelled to a man and had Trim on the rack.
The second half was a different animal altogether as Trim hammered us everywhere except on the scoreboard.
They missed chance after chance including a penalty which our veteran goalkeeper Jennings saved after out psyching entirely  the taker .
Jennings is like a General marshalling his troops and he is not shy in making the necessary calls at times of distress and in the last  fifteen minutes he made many wise calls.
Trim totally dominated play in the last fifteen minutes and missed score after score ofter making the wrong shooting decision but then again the luck was on our side.
More often than not in recent years they have got more than their fair share so we will gratefully accept what came our way last night.
We were way off the pace the second half and even with a weakened team it was not good enough.
But hey we are still in pole position.
Long may it last.
Scorers were Kane 0-1.Bomber 0-1,Oisin 0-2,Cougar 0-6.5 frees,.Morgan 0-1.
Apropos nothing Morgan is not the first player to field for Dunderry with Welsh blood coursing through his veins.
Fair dues all round for the second steal of the year in this competition.
We do have lucky Generals and indeed corporals.