2009- A Year to Remember for St. Brendan's GAA Manchester St. Brendan's GAA club in Manchester celebrated their 50th Anniversary in 2009. The club started their preparation in early 2008 and decided that a book would be a perfect way of celebrating the milestone. '50 years of St. Brendan's Manchester' was successfully published in March 2009 thanks to the continuous hard work of the book committee, which was led by the book chairman Brendan Burke. The book commemorates the history and the successes the club has enjoyed over the last half century '50 years of St. Brendan's Manchester' was launched by Uachtaran-Tofa Cumann Luthchleas Gael Críostóir O'Cuana at the St. Brendan's Annual Dinner Dance, which was held in The Grand Room at The Palace Hotel Manchester. The event was attended by over 750 people, many of whom came from Ireland to join in the celebrations. It was a spectacular event, and it was fitting that a former St. Brendan's player, a Double All-Star and Double All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Winner Neil Collins attended as the Special Guest on the night. With the luxury setting of The Palace Hotel, top-class special guests, excellent food and great entertainment it was superb GAA occasion and it was enjoyed by all. 2009 also seen the decision for the club to go back playing senior football again after many years competing at junior level. This proved to be the right decision as the team picked up 2 pieces of silverware. The senior team won the Pennine League Division 2 title and The Wolf Tone Cup. Both finals were played against St. Peter's, Lancashire Senior Championship finalists, with St. Brendan's coming out on top on both occasions. There was also success for the Under 16 team who beat St. Anne's to win the Under 16 Championship. To round off a fantastic year and to thank all those who contributed to the book St. Brendan's held a club presentation night in St. Kentigern's Social Club on Saturday 5th December. Members of the book committee were presented with a special hard back copy of '50 years of St. Brendan's Manchester' and congratulated on their magnificent publication by club chairman Kieran Gleeson. On the night the Under 16 team were also thanked for their commitment and presented with their championship winner's medals. With good music, beautiful food and plenty of craic it was an excellent evening enjoyed by all those who attended. St. Brendan's now look forward to 2010 and the new season. So build further on last year's success the club would like to welcome more new players to the club. So if you are interested in joining an ambitious senior team in 2010 feel free to contact Brian Johnston by email [email protected] or Call 07969314939. The club is happy to help with work, accommodation and transport to training. Finally, St. Brendan's would like to thank everyone who has been involved with the club celebrations in 2009 and would like to wish everybody a very Happy Christmas and Prosperous New Year. St. Brendan's GAA Manchester www.intheteam.com/stbrendans