01-03-2003

Magnificent Moldovans masters in Mountmellick

Loughnane Sportswear Futsal Cup
MOLDOVAN professional outfit FC Camelot won the first ever Loughnane Sportswear Futsal Cup in Mountmellick on Saturday.

Under the watchful eye of new Football Association of Ireland Technical Director Packie Bonner, the Moldovans put on a great show to win all five games, wrapping the title up with a 6-1 defeat of England's Tranmere.

Former Italia 90 and USA 94 World Cup star Bonner was particularly impressed with his first ever viewing of futsal, a FIFA approved version of indoor soccer which is played professionally in a number of countries, including Moldova.

"It's a game we really want Irish players to embrace and I believe it will help our youngsters develop their skills, passing and movement," said the former Celtic goalkeeper.

International futsal stars Ion Iacovenco and Ivan Todocov were inspirational for the Moldovans.

Tranmere beat Dublin in the semi-finals to gain revenge for their penalty shoot-out loss to the same side in the Masita Cup in Dublin last year.

Dublin gave Camelot their toughest challenge overall, going to within nine seconds of a 0-0 draw in the best game of the tournament.

Debutants Grainthorpe from Grimsby and the host side, the Midlands Select, were left to fight for the scraps in an event that will have taught both sides plenty.

The Midlands, where a futsal league commenced for the first time last December, started well with a 1-1 draw against Northern Ireland in a match they should have won.

Tranmere were fortunate to beat the hosts 1-0 in the second round of matches but Scotland gave the Midlands a real lesson with an 8-1 thumping to clinch their semi-final berth.

"The whole event has been a great success and I'm sure everybody that came to watch was delighted with the show that was put on by all the teams," said FAI Regional Development Officer Ger Dunne.

"We'd like to thank all the teams for making the effort to come here and I believe futsal in the Midlands will have received a huge boost from this tournament."

The Midlands team, which included players from Birr Town, Bracknagh, Portlaoise, Moutmellick and Clara Town, eventually finished in seventh place after a goal from Clara's Ronan Guilfoyle earned a draw with Northern Ireland, losing narrowly to Tranmere and being defeated by Scotland.

Four goals from Mountmellick's Robbie Hibbitts, a brace from Portlaoise's Carl Connolly and another goal from Ronan Guilfoyle gave the Midlands a 7-3 win over Grainthorpe in the seventh/eighth place play-off.

Group A

Camelot 2 (Iacovenco, Todocov) Santos 1 (McDowell)
Camelot - Valentin Moccov; Ruslan Roic, Ion Iacovenco,Gena Cuchereavii, Ivan Todocov, Valen Galushea.
Santos - M Harrison; C Yip, K Brennan, M Cruz, P McDowell, P Harrison, C Gaskell, J Kelly, S Rickard, D Robinson, C Dinsdale, C Thompson. Booked:
Yip.

Dublin 8 (Harrington 4, McCabe 2, Finn, Murphy) Grainthorpe 0
Dublin - Martin Forde; Stephen Finn, Cian Connolly, Chris Costello, Keith Harrington, Mark Byrne, Alan McCabe, Mick Murphy. Booked: Harrington.
Grainthorpe - Gavin Bryan; Paul Cowie, Dave Clark, Darren Hanley, Shane Belamy, Tim Shaw, Christoher Hartley. Booked: Clark.

Camelot 12 (Galushea 7, Iacovenco 2, Todocov 2, Cuchereavii) Grainthorpe 0
Camelot - Valentin Moccov; Ruslan Roic, Ion Iacovenco,Gena Cuchereavii, Ivan Todocov, Valen Galushea.

Grainthorpe - Gavin Bryan; Paul Cowie, Dave Clark, Darren Hanley, Shane Belamy, Tim Shaw, Christoher Hartley. Booked: Clark.

Dublin 2 (Harrington, Murphy) Santos 0

Dublin - Martin Forde; Stephen Finn, Cian Connolly, Chris Costello, Keith Harrington, Mark Byrne, Alan McCabe, Mick Murphy. Booked: Harrington, Byrne.

Santos - M Harrison; C Yip, K Brennan, M Cruz, P McDowell, P Harrison, C Gaskell, J Kelly, S Rickard, D Robinson, C Dinsdale, C Thompson. Booked: Kelly.

Camelot 1 (Todocov) Dublin 0

Camelot - Valentin Moccov; Ruslan Roic, Ion Iacovenco,Gena Cuchereavii, Ivan Todocov, Valen Galushea. Booked: Cuchereavii

Dublin - Martin Forde; Stephen Finn, Cian Connolly, Chris Costello, Keith Harrington, Mark Byrne, Alan McCabe, Mick Murphy. Booked: McCabe.

Santos 6 (Brennan 2, Cruz, Gaskell, P Harrison, Yip) Grainthorpe 0
Santos - M Harrison; C Yip, K Brennan, M Cruz, P McDowell, P Harrison, C Gaskell, J Kelly, S Rickard, D Robinson, C Dinsdale, C Thompson. Booked: Yip.

Grainthorpe - Gavin Bryan; Paul Cowie, Dave Clark, Darren Hanley, Shane Belamy, Tim Shaw, Christoher Hartley. Booked: Clark, Hanley.

P W D L F A Pts
Camelot 3 3 0 0 15 1 9
Dublin 3 2 0 1 10 1 6
Santos 3 1 0 2 7 4 3
Grainthorpe 3 0 0 3 0 26 0

Group B

Scotland 0 Tranmere 2 (-)
Scotland - Gordon McGillivray; Lee McGillivray, Steve McPhee, Mark Potter, Craig Rattray, Scott Williamson, Mark Caldow, Alan Cameron, Jonathon Kelly. Booked: G McGillivray, McPhee.

Tranmere - Adam Tooley; Dave Jones, Dave Connor, Dave Goodwin, Andy Goodwin, Mike Corran, Jay Corran, Michael Liverani.

Midlands 1 (Guilfoyle) Northern Ireland 1 (A McAleese)

Midlands - Declan Loughnane(Birr Town); Darren Broderick(Bracknagh), Carl Connolly(Portlaoise), Fergal Fennell(Portlaoise), Padraic Goodwin(Mountmellick), Ronan Guilfoyle(Clara Town), Robbie Hibbitts(Mountmellick), Mark Kelly(Clara Town), Paul Lee(Mountmellick), Sean Moran(Clara Town), Thomas Quinn(Clara Town), Greg Donagher(Bracknagh) (Unused GK). Booked: Goodwin.

Northern Ireland - Paul Brooks; Robert Shannon, David Laverty, Dessie McCann, Lee Brownlow, Andrew McAleese, Michael McDaid, Christopher Dunlop, Colin McAleese, Stephen Fillis, Mark Connor, Samuel Murphy. Booked: A McAleese.

Scotland 4 (Cameron, McPhee, Potter, Williamson) Northern Ireland 0
Scotland - Gordon McGillivray; Lee McGillivray, Steve McPhee, Mark Potter, Craig Rattray, Scott Williamson, Mark Caldow, Alan Cameron, Jonathon Kelly.
Northern Ireland - Paul Brooks; Robert Shannon, David Laverty, Dessie McCann, Lee Brownlow, Andrew McAleese, Michael McDaid, Christopher Dunlop, Colin McAleese, Stephen Fillis, Mark Connor, Samuel Murphy.

Midlands 0 Tranmere 1 (D Goodwin)
Midlands - Greg Donagher; Darren Broderick, Carl Connolly, Fergal Fennell, Padraic Goodwin, Ronan Guilfoyle, Robbie Hibbitts, Mark Kelly, Paul Lee, Sean Moran, Thomas Quinn, Declan Loughnane (Unused GK). Booked: Moran.

Tranmere - Adam Tooley; Dave Jones, Dave Connor, Dave Goodwin, Andy Goodwin, Mike Corran, Jay Corran, Michael Liverani.

Midlands 1 (Hibbitts) Scotland 8 (McPhee 3, Kelly 2, Caldow, Potter, Williamson)
Midlands - Declan Loughnane; Darren Broderick, Carl Connolly, Fergal Fennell, Padraic Goodwin, Ronan Guilfoyle, Robbie Hibbitts, Mark Kelly, Paul Lee, Sean Moran, Thomas Quinn, Greg Donagher (Unused GK).

Scotland - Gordon McGillivray; Lee McGillivray, Steve McPhee, Mark Potter, Craig Rattray, Scott Williamson, Mark Caldow, Alan Cameron, Jonathon Kelly.
Tranmere 3 (J Corran, D Goodwin, Liverani) Northern Ireland 1 (Murphy)
Tranmere - Adam Tooley; Dave Jones, Dave Connor, Dave Goodwin, Andy Goodwin, Mike Corran, Jay Corran, Michael Liverani.

P W D L F A Pts
Tranmere 3 3 0 0 6 1 9
Scotland 3 2 0 1 12 3 6
Nthn Ireland 3 0 1 2 2 7 1
Midlands 3 0 1 2 2 10 1

7th-8th Play-off

Midlands 7 (Hibbitts 4, Connolly 2, Guilfoyle) Grainthorpe 3 (Hartley 2, Cowie)
Midlands - Greg Donagher; Darren Broderick, Carl Connolly, Fergal Fennell, Padraic Goodwin, Ronan Guilfoyle, Robbie Hibbitts, Mark Kelly, Paul Lee, Sean Moran, Thomas Quinn, Declan Loughnane (Unused GK).

Grainthorpe - Gavin Bryan; Paul Cowie, Dave Clark, Darren Hanley, Shane Belamy, Tim Shaw, Christoher Hartley. Booked: Hanley.

Semi-finals

Camelot 4 (Moccov, Roic, Galushea, Rattray o.g) Scotland 1 (L McGillivray)
Camelot - Valentin Moccov; Ruslan Roic, Ion Iacovenco, Gena Cuchereavii, Ivan Todocov, Valen Galushea. Booked: Roic.

Scotland - Gordon McGillivray; Lee McGillivray, Steve McPhee, Mark Potter, Craig Rattray, Scott Williamson, Mark Caldow, Alan Cameron, Jonathon Kelly. Booked: Cameron, Potter, Rattray.

Tranmere 3 (D Goodwin, J Corran, Liverani) Dublin 1 (Byrne)
Tranmere - Adam Tooley; Dave Jones, Dave Connor, Dave Goodwin, Andy Goodwin, Mike Corran, Jay Corran, Michael Liverani.

Dublin - Martin Forde; Stephen Finn, Cian Connolly, Chris Costello, Keith Harrington, Mark Byrne, Alan McCabe, Mick Murphy. Booked: Byrne.

5th-6th Placing

Santos 3 (McDowell 3) Northern Ireland 2 (Fillis, Shannon)
Santos - M Harrison; C Yip, K Brennan, M Cruz, P McDowell, P Harrison, C Gaskell, J Kelly, S Rickard, D Robinson, C Dinsdale, C Thompson.

Final

Camelot 6 (Iacovenco 3, Todocov 2, Roic) Tranmere 1 (Lizerani)

Camelot - Valentin Moccov; Ruslan Roic, Ion Iacovenco, Gena Cuchereavii, Ivan Todocov, Valen Galushea. Booked: Galushea.

Tranmere - Adam Tooley; Dave Jones, Dave Connor, Dave Goodwin, Andy Goodwin, Mike Corran, Jay Corran, Michael Liverani. Booked: J Corran.

High stakes as Mountmellick awaits relief road

"WE are looking at the possibility of losing millions of euros in private investment," warned Deputy John Moloney at the County Council monthly meeting on Monday, stressing the need for the Mountmellick inner relief road.

Declared Cllr Charles Flanagan: "Everything appears to be moving in Mountmellick except the traffic."

Cllr Seamus McDonald: "It takes 20 minutes to half an hour to get through the town of Mountmellick."

Cllr Ray Cribbin: "For God's sake do something now with Mountmellick. That ring-road has to be done."

Deputy Moloney was disappointed that the National Roads Authority (NRA) had allocated only 50,000 euros for the relief road project. That wouldn't even get it to the CPO stage, he thought.

He insisted: "This is not just a Mountmellick issue. This is a county issue."
And, he continued, it was an issue that had been on the Council's agenda for nearly five years. Housing and other major development were dependent on the project going ahead, he stated.

Deputy Moloney added: "Existing businesses are finding it very, very difficult to continue. You cannot compete in this world if you cannot find parking spaces or get through a town."
Cllr Flanagan: "I was told 18 months ago that over 90% of the people opposed the road. I hope that is not one of the reasons why it appears now to be on the back burner."
He called on Mountmellick people to support the inner relief road. He said: "The only way that (traffic congestion) is going to change is by having the relief road. I do not believe that anything like 90% of people oppose the road."

Cllr McDonald: "The road is crying out to be done.

Co Engineer Gerry McGlinchey agreed that the 50,000 euro allocation for the Mountmellick relief road was somewhat disappointing. On the other hand, though, it was positive in that it would enable the Council to complete the CPO documentation, he opined.

Within the next three months, the documentation would be completed and lodged, he said. He explained: "Then it will be a matter of keeping the pressure on."

Mr Glinchey promised that a traffic management study of Mountmellick would be prepared this year.

Hospital Table Quiz

A table quiz in aid of St. Vincent's Hospital Patients Benefit Fund will be held on tonight Wednesday, February 26 at 9.30 pm in The Mellick Inn. Table of four - £20. The quiz master will be Michael Linehan.

Angling A.G.M.

Mountmellick Angling Association is holding its AGM on Thursday, February 27 at 8.30pm in the Town Hall. All members and anyone wishing to join are asked to attend
Laois Citizens Information Service

The above will be in attendance every Wednesday at MDA lrishtown from 10 am to 12.30 pm or else may be contacted at the Portlaoise office.

Art Classes

Art classes commencing on Friday, March 7 and will continue each Friday from 10 am to noon. For more information please contact Mary or Catherine.

Enrolment

Enrolment of new pupils for September 2003 for St Joseph's GNS is taking place from Monday, February 24 to Friday, February 28 from 9 am to 2.45 pm each day.

Family Day

The parents council of Mountmellick Community School and the committee of the sports centre are organising a family day/fund raising auction on Sunday, March 16. Anyone who would like to contribute to the event by advertising or donating a product are asked to please contact the principal.

Laois Youth Theatre

Laois Youth Theatre restarted on Saturdays in the Owenass Hall. There are still a number of places available for 13 to 18 years old to join the group. Time 11 am to 1 pm every Saturday. For enquiries please contact the Arts Office at.

P.T.A.A.

The quiz for the late Fr. Crowley Shield will be held in the Owenass Hall on Friday, March 7. It is hoped we will have a good turn out from all schools in the parish.

Juvenile Soccer Cake Sale

Mountmellick Juvenile Soccer Club are holding a cake sale and a sale of bric-a-brac etc. in the Town Hall on Friday, February 28 from 11 am to 3 pm. Your support would be very much appreciated. All welcome.

Active Retirement Group

A speaker will attend the next meeting on Wednesday, March 5 at 1 am in the MDA to speak on Multiple Sclerosis. New members wishing to attend are very welcome.

St. Vincent's Hospital

A table quiz in aid of Patient Benefit Fund will be held in the Mellick Inn on February 26 starting at 9 pm. Table of four cost £20. Please support this worthy cause. Thank you.

Ladies Football

The senior team are through to the Leinster Schools A final for the first time following their big win over St. Michael's of Navan in Clane on Friday.

Having lost at the semi final stage in 2001 and 2002, the girls were determined to make no mistake this time round as they totally over whelmed Navan by 4-12 to 0-2.

Despite missing numerous scoring chances in the early stages, Mountmellick continued to keep up the pressure and eventually in a ten minute patch before half time added one goal and seven points to build up a substantial lead at the break.

Team: Caroline Birmingham, Cassie Dunne, Deirdre Halley, Laura Quigley, Aoife Lawlor, Grace Weston, Patrice Deffew; Emma McEvoy, Rachel Farrell, Aoife Cleary, Olwyn Farrell, Claire O'Loughlin, Claire Conlon, Aileen O'Loughlin, Nichole Dunphy. Subs: Emma Hayden, Julieanne Cantwell, Lucy O'Loughlin, Therese Weston, Rachel Mullen, Sarah Williams, Gemma Bergin.

S.T.E.P.S. Careers In Engineering Competition

Congratulations to Denise Carroll a 4th year student of Mountmellick Community School on winning a second level maths competition which was organised by STEPS (Science, Technology and Engineering Programme for Schools).

Dáil Visit

The victorious U 14 footballers from Mountmellick along with their mentors made a trip to Leinster House last week where they were guests of John Maloney TD for the day. This was a great occasion for the young lads and was a lovely treat after a very successful year on the playing field. The day started with a visit to Trinity College followed by some shopping time then on to a meeting with Mr. Maloney who treated everyone to lunch. A full guided tour of Leinster House then followed taking in the Dáil Chamber and the Senate ending up in the main refreshment area.

This was a most enjoyable visit and Mountmellick GAA Club would like to thank John Maloney for this most generous gesture and for his hospitality on the day.

Football Training

Football training for both intermediate and junior starts on this Friday night at 8 pm sharp in Acragar. All footballers who intend playing this year are expected to attend.

Hurling

An important meeting of all hurlers will take place on this Friday night at 9.15 pm in the club house in Acragar (after football training). All players and others interested in hurling should attend.

Parade

The St. Patrick's Day Parade is to go ahead with the usual floats, bands, vintage cars and entertainment starting from Harbour Street at 2 pm.
Meeting to take place in Town Hall Wednesday, February 26 at 8.30 pm. For further information call Michael Gormley

Mountmellick to stage 10th annual drama festival

FROM Ireland to America, including the works of Behan and Miller, a rainbow of classic and contemporary dramatics is set to light up the region.

And considered to be one of the top three in the country, the 10th Mountmellick Drama Festival will have its official launch at 8.30pm on Thursday, March 13, at the Credit Union Offices, Sarsfield Street.

Festival Secretary Patricia Conroy said: "Eight nights of fabulous theatre by top class groups from throughout Ireland will be performing in Mountmellick, hoping to gain those all important points to reach the All-Ireland Finals."

The curtain goes up on the first night, Tuesday, March 18, when the Moondharrig Players, Kilkenny, put on, Tom Murphy's 'a Crucial week in the Life of a Grocers Assistant'.
Wexford's Bridge Drama Group follow it up on Wednesday with, 'Breezeblock Park'.
On Thursday, Carlow Little Theatre will perform, 'A View from the Bridge', and on Friday, the Silken Thomas Players from Kildare show their adaptation of 'The Borstal Boy'.
On Saturday, March 22, the Crossbridge Drama Group from Dublin are performing, 'A Delicate Balance'.

While on Sunday, the Ballyduff Drama Group, Waterford, produce 'Antigone' and Holycross/Ballycahill D.G. from Tipperary stage, 'Absent Friends' on Monday.
To bring the curtain down on this celebration of dramatic presentation, Classic Revival from Dublin enact, 'Steel Magnolias' on Tuesday, March 25.

All shows take place in the revamped CYMS Concert Hall, Mountmellick, and all performances begin at 8.30pm.

The Mountmellick Drama Festival will take place from Tuesday, March 18 to the following Tuesday, March 25.

Season tickets cost €20 while nightly tickets cost €5.

| | | |

Last updated :: Wednesday March 17 2010 ::

News Items for 2003