Moate's run ends at Semi Final:
Pairc Tailteain Navan was the venue for Moate All White's All Ireland Junior football club semi final on Sunday when they took on John Mitchells from Liverpool.  The trip to Navan proved a step for the All Whites as they lost out by 1-9 to 1-6 to their opponents who progress to the final which is on Saturday 14th February. The game was marked by a long delay in the opening half when Moate keeper Darren Mc Ardle was forced to retire after picking up a nasty injury.  At the end of the opening half the sides were deadlocked on 0-3 apiece.  A goal for Mitchells scored by former St Lomans ace Kieran Lynam 10 minutes into the second half was decisive in helping the Liverpool men gain a commanding six point lead.  Moate did respond through a Cian Bradley goal which brought the gap down to two points with four minutes remaining but in the end the task proved too much as Moate's epic run ended. They have been great representatives for club football in Westmeath and a final appearance would have been just reward for their endedeavour.
Allianz League V Laois Next Sunday.
It's back to business in the GAA world with the commencement of the Allianz football leagues next weekend. The pre season O Byrne cup has finished and the opening round of the league signals the start of the real GAA season. Westmeath welcome fellow midlanders Laois to Cusack park for the opening fixture in Division 2, a game that both counties will be aiming to win in order to get the season up and running. 2014 was one of despair for the Westmeath Senior footballers as the reality of swimming with some very large sharks in Division 1 proved too much for the Lake County and one defeat led to another and relegation back to the second tier for this season. There was some optimism that Westmeath could hold their status in the top flight but despite the best efforts of the players and management, no momentum was ever achieved and the league performances led to an early championship exit by the end of June. For Laois, it wasn't an awful lot better. They spluttered through Division 2 only holding their status by virtue of a final round win over Down. The championship saw them beat Wicklow lose to Dublin and reach Round 3 of the qualifiers where they found Tipperary too strong. To date in 2015; the pre season games have been kinder to Westmeath than Laois with the home team winning twice from three starts in the O Byrne cup while Laois lost all three of their games. Now this doesn't mean too much with regard to the Allianz leagues but losing games is a cancer to a teams confidence. Westmeath found out that in 2014 as there were games that could and perhaps should have been won but the confidence of winning wasn't there. The couple of O Byrne cup wins have stopped that rot and a win on Sunday would give the team a huge boost. The bookies in their wisdom have hedged on this game with their view that there will be little to choose between the sides and I agree with them. There wont be much in it and possibly home venue could be enough to swing the result. Westmeath won by two on the last occasion the teams met and I think it could well be a similar margin on Sunday.
Cuasck Park Ticket Entry:
I think everyone within the county who has attended games at Cusack Park since last summer is aware that entry to the ground is by ticket only and most people have become used to the system whether they agree with it or not. However, I would appeal to our patrons to give themselves a better chance of not becoming frustrated with entry to the ground and make an effort to try and come ten minutes earlier. I must admit that I for one am as big a culprit as any and if I wasn't working at the ground, I would be leaving home about 30 minutes before the game; abandon the car and then growl about the queue outside the ground. I then ask myself the question who has the problem and the answer is obvious, it's me!  If you can manage to be a few minutes earlier, then any queues you encounter will be very small indeed. The ticket office is here to stay and it is now becoming compulsory at all county grounds so it is a feature of our games whether people like it or not.  So if you can for ease of access and a more enjoyable experience, try and come a few minutes earlier and it will make it easier for those within the ground and those entering the ground.
Series of Coaching Workshops
A series of coaching workshops is planned for the next number weeks. With many clubs now getting organised for the year ahead we feel the following will be of interest to many of your Mentors. The following gives the details:-

WORKSHOP 1
Topic: Nursery Activities Venue:  Garrycastle Hall
Date: Thursday, January 29th Time: 7:00pm - 9:30pm
Target Audience - Mentors involved with 4, 5, 6 and 7 year olds
NOTE - on the basis of clubs present at this workshop, the offer of assistance from Development Personnel will be available to a set number of clubs - in terms of helping to devise/develop a Nursery Programme and then working with those clubs as they deliver the programme including club visitations as part of this initiative

WORKSHOP 2
Topic: Gaelic 15 Injury Prevention Warm Up Venue:  Columb Barracks Mullingar
Date: Thursday, January 29th Time: 7.00pm - 9.00pm
Target Audience - All Mentors

WORKSHOP 3
Topic: Gaelic 15 Injury Prevention Warm Up Venue:  Athlone IT
Date: Saturday, January 31st Time: 9:30am - 11:00am
Target Audience - All Mentors
(NOTE: Workshops 2 and 3 are effectively the same - one facilitating south clubs with the other facilitating north clubs)

WORKSHOP 4
Topic: Games Based Approach to Coaching Hurling with Paudie Butler Venue:  tbc
Date: Tuesday, February 3rd  Time: 7:00 - 9:30pm
Target Audience - U.12 Mentors up to Adult Coaches

WORKSHOP 5
Topic: Nursery Activities  Venue:  Columb Barracks Mullingar
Date: Thursday, February 5th  Time: 7:00pm - 9:30pm
Target Audience - Mentors involved with 4, 5, 6 and 7 year olds
NOTE 1 - on the basis of clubs present at this workshop, the offer of assistance from Development Personnel will be available to a set number of clubs - in terms of helping to devise/develop a Nursery Programme and then working with those clubs as they deliver the programme including club visitations as part of this initiative
NOTE 2 - Workshops 5 and 1 are effectively the same - one facilitating south clubs with the other facilitating north clubs

WORKSHOP 6
Topic: Topics relevant to Club Coaching Officers Venue:  Cusack Park, Mullingar
Date: Thursday, February 12th     Time: 7.30pm - 9.00pm
Target Audience - Club Coaching Officers
Tutors: Local Development Officers will be delivering the sessions (except Workshop 4)
Code: Workshops general - covering both Gaelic Football and Hurling (workshop 4 focusing on hurling but aspects will be relevant to football also)
Fee: N/A
Methodology: Hall based presentations/activities during which coaches will develop their coaching capabilities in the topics identified through observation and participation and sharing experiences (preferable if coaches came in tracksuit etc and we would hope some/many would participate by way of developing the sessions)

If anyone has a query, feel free to contact the undersigned (or James Heffernan 085-7139924 or Eddie Bouabbse 085-7139175).    
Noel Delaney   
Mobile: 087 - 2456147
E.mail: [email protected]

Scoláireachtaí Gaeltachta
CLG Iarmhí will sponsor 5 part scholarships to Coláistí Samhraidh and applications are invited from your club members.
The form could be signed by the Club secretary, Underage secretary or Scór secretary as appropriate.
Applications are invited from members of Ladies Football and Camogie Clubs also.
Forms should be returned to Catherine Daly (address on the form) by Jan 31st.
Interviews will be held in mid February and applicants will be informed of their interview details by text.
 
Any clubs interested in participating in Scór Sinsir should let me know as soon as possible; County Final Feb 21st.
 
Scór Iarmhí would be delighted if your club would consider entering the Scór Tráth na gCeist Boird (Teams of four).Date for this is Feb 20th in Streamstown.

Referees Training:
A Referees course is due to be held during February which is vital to ensure that a supply of referees can be trained so that our games can continue to be played. Referee's coordinator Michael Gordon has sought applications for training and so far no names have been forthcoming. We do need match officials and the appeal to our clubs is for names as quickly as possible. The email to send in details is [email protected]

I can be contacted at [email protected] or 086 3992403

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