Fixtures: Thursday, April 14: DHL v Inniskeen (Home) at 7.15pm; U-15 FL Division One v Donaghmoyne (Away) at 7.15pm
Friday, April 15: U-15 FL Division 5A v Truagh (Away) at 7.15pm
Saturday, April 16: U-13 Spring League Group B & H Clontibret (Away) at 11.30am & 12.45pm; Group K v Scotstown (Home) at 3pm
Sunday, April 17: U-19 FL Division One v Truagh (Home) at 2pm
Tuesday, April 19: U-17 Spring League Group A v St. Finbarr's (Home) at 7.15pm
Wednesday, April 20: RFL Division Three v Clontibret (Away) at 7.15pm
Monaghan Harps Lotto: The numbers for last Sunday's draw were 5, 17, 19 and 30. Jackpot of €1,100 not won. The four €40 lucky-dip prize winners were: Adrian Sherry c/o Jim Dalton (Hurling Club); Conor & Aoife McEnaney c/o Paudge Connolly; Lorcan Brennan c/o Jim Dalton (Hurling Club); and Daragh Croarkin c/o himself. The sellers' prize of €20 was won by Eileen McElvaney. Jackpot for Sunday, April 17 is €1,200. Thanks to everyone for their continued support for our lotto, which plays an integral part for the club. Please note that the cut-off point for ClubZap each week is 6pm on Sunday.
Championship preview night: Thanks to everyone who supported our championship preview night in the Hillgrove Hotel last Saturday. Seán Boylan, Seán Cavanagh, Aaron Kernan, Dick Clerkin, Owen Lennon, Malachy O'Rourke, Conleith Gilligan, Peter McGinnity and David Brady all joined Shane Hannon in both reminiscing and previewing the upcoming championship season. Massive thanks to all our guests on Saturday night and especially to our own Shane Hannon, who did a great job as MC! GRMA also to our sponsors (Monar Civil & Ground Works; Lennox laboratories; Local Power Ltd.; and McConnon's Londis, Monaghan) and to Ulster GAA; Off the Ball; Dolan's Pharmacy; Magill's Jewellers; and Andy's Bar & Restaurant for donating excellent raffle prizes. We also honoured our 2020 IFC winners and our 2021 RFL Division 1B winners on the night, as well as making a special presentation to Neil McAdam marking his years of service to the Monaghan senior footballers. The club was also proud to be joined by members of the Ó Dufaigh family to make a presentation of framed team photos and Ógie's 2020 IFC medal. A huge amount of preparation work went into making this event run smoothly and we are grateful to our organising committee for all their efforts.
Juvenile presentation night: Our juvenile presentation night took place in our clubhouse on Tuesday, April 12. Thanks to everyone involved. Report in next week's notes.
Upcoming club events: The next date for your diary for a big club event is our Golf Classic on June 10. Before then, Darkness Into Light returns in its traditional format on May 7.
DIL: We hosted the 2022 Darkness Into Light Monaghan launch in our clubhouse last Thursday. Well done to Seán McKenna for organising the night. Darkness Into Light returns in its traditional format on May 7. Registration is open now at darknessintolight.ie.
U-19: Our U-19s host Truagh this Sunday at 2pm. All support welcome.
Seniors: Round one of the Intermediate Football League will see us host Toome on Sunday week, April 24.
Reserves: We played Clontibret in the RFL Division Three last night (Wednesday). Our next RFL Division 1A game is also against Clontibret next Wednesday at 7.15pm.
Minor: We have entered two teams into the U-17 Spring Leagues. We continued Group F with a draw in a good contest at home to Cremartin on Tuesday. Belying testing conditions to play some flowing football in the first half, goals by John McCrystal and Ali Galligan helped us lead by 3-7 to 1-6, but Cremartin rallied strongly in the second half and our lads had to dig deep to secure a point on a scoreline of 3-13 apiece. We wish Dónal Moran a speedy recovery from his injury.
Team and scorers: Oisín McGeown; Diarmuid McGinnity, Max Mallen (Capt.); Dónal Moran, Kyle Cooney, Dara Mullin (0-1); Ethan McCaffrey (0-1), Max Aughey; Rohann McKenna-Malocca (0-2), John McCrystal (2-8, 0-2f), Jack Kierans (0-1); Ali Galligan (1-0), James Gunn; Kyle Murray.
U-15: Our U-15 teams both began their league campaigns last week. First into action were the Division 5B side, who ran out convincing winners at home to Aughnamullen on Wednesday. Thursday's Division One opener was a thriller against Clontibret, where the Harps lads led for long spells but had to settle for a draw in the end. The momentum swung several times late on in a game that finished all-square at 3-8 to 2-11. Our Division One team are away to Donaghmoyne this evening (Thursday), with Division 5B continuing in Truagh tomorrow (Friday). Both games throw in at 7.15pm.
U-13: Our U-13s have another busy schedule this Saturday, with a double-header away to Clontibret at 11.30am & 12.45pm and a Group K game at home to Scotstown at 3pm.
U-11: Well done to our U-11s, who opened their season with a short trip to Truagh last Saturday. Scotstown are next up on Saturday week, April 23.
Saturday-morning coaching: Our U-9, U-7 and nursery groups have enjoyed the return of their weekly coaching sessions over the last two Saturdays. Thanks to all the coaches, parents and everyone involved. We are glad to have everyone back and lots of new members; we look forward to the months ahead.
Urgent: Ground-development works need to start ASAP as grant funding expires soon. Matching finance is needed from the club. Please support our lotto frequently. Become a regular lotto player by buying weekly or setting up a recurring entry on ClubZap or direct debit or contact Rose Donnelly 086 0825782. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Registration: Registration fees for 2022 can now be paid via Foireann.ie (use your log-in details from last year's return-to-play questionnaires). When you open the app, select 'my club' and 'membership' to pay your membership in seconds. Fees are as follows: juveniles €30; senior citizens €30; adults and all adult players €50; family membership (two adults and up to three juvenile players) €90. You can also renew your membership by contacting club registrar Kevin Treanor or treasurer Rose Donnelly. Please note that all juvenile and adult players must be paid-up members.
Club app: As well as offering an option to support our lotto, our new club app also has a function to pay your annual membership, make financial donations to the club, as well as a communication suite for all that goes on at the club. You can get involved by downloading 'ClubZap' on your phone and registering as a Monaghan Harps GAA Club member.
