Coachford News

World Champion presents County Medals 

World Champion Walker, Olive Loughnane was guest of honour at the Aghabullogue Juvenile Medal Presentation Ceremony last Sunday, February 1^st at the GAA hall Coachford. Olive presented medals to the Aghabullogue Under 13 camogie County League Champions and to the Under 15 girls who won the Muskerry Cup blitz and to the Under 14s who were runners up in the County League in 2014.  The Aghabullogue Under 13 footballers who won the County League title were also presented with their medals. Olive Loughnane spoke on how giving your best in every game or race is vitally important and being able to walk off the pitch after winning or losing knowing that there was nothing else you could have given out there was the most important lesson any sportsperson could learn . She praised all the efforts of the players and thanked the club for their very kind invitation. The Chairman of Aghabullogue GAA, John Barry Murphy congratulated Olive on her achievements and on being elevated to Gold Medal status. He thanked all the coaches, grounds men and parents for all the volunteer work carried out by all of them to ensure that the teams being honoured reached finals and came back with abundance of silver ware. He went on to appeal to all the players to continue to train, develop their skills, listen to their coaches and commit themselves to hurling, football and Camogie.

GAA season kicks off

Aghabullogue Under 21 footballers start their Championship season on Saturday when they face neighbours, Canovee in the first round of the Muskerry Championship in Annahalla on Saturday at 3.30pm. Although Canovee are red hot favourites to win this game having won two minor titles over the last three years, the boys from Aghabullogue will do their very best  give them a tough game. Coachford publican and Canovee GAA Chairman, Pat O’Riordan  said “This should be a great game of football between two good football teams and as long as everyone on the pitch and the sideline keep their heads we should have a great hours football. I’m well aware of how good Aghabullogue are at this level and they will be determined to put up a very good performance against us but we should have more football and more experience to see us emerge as winners”. The Intermediate Footballers of Aghabullogue play their first league game of 2015 on Sunday in Coachford at 2.30pm when they play Adrigole.  The Under 14 footballers entertain Blarney in Coachford in the Premier 2 league on Saturday at 2.30pm.

Coachford AFC back in Action

Following their  two week long break from games Coachford AFC premier team will play Grattan united in O’Neill park on Saturday at 2pm. The B team entertain Killumney in Carrigadrohid on Sunday at 2.00pm.

Musicians and Painters donate to Hospice

Aghinagh Comhaltlas  and Coachford Artists will donate the proceeds of their very successful 2015 calendar to Marymount Hospice on this Friday Night in Breathnachs Bar Coachford. The two groups came together for the second year to produce a unique calendar with original artworks by local artists featured in each month.

Coffee and Cakes

Coachford Foróige will hold a Cake Sale And Coffee Morning on Sunday, February 15^th to raise funds for the Club. The members are busily planning their next outing at Easter. The group are also planning for their participation in the West Cork District Talent competition in March.

Tidy Towns Collection

The Annual Coachford Tidy Towns Church Gate Collection takes place on Saturday February 14^th  and Sunday February 15^th at Masses in Coachford. Please give generously.

Music Quiz

Coachford National School Parents Association will hold a Music Table Quiz on Saturday February 28^th in O’Callaghan’s Bar Coachford at 8.30pm. This is a great night out and will have you humming, singing and frantically trying to guess the song, the movie it came from or the name of the artist. Great night assured, don’t miss it.

Coachford Play

Coachford Players are busily rehearsing for their annual full length Play, ‘Separate Beds’ by Sam Cree. This hilarious play will be performed in Coachford GAA Hall on April 11^th 12^th and 13^th

Parish Business Association formed.

The Coachford, Aghabullogue Rylane Business Association (CARBA) was founded last Monday night at a very well attended  meeting in Coachford. The organisation hope to operate as a lobby group to improve the infrastructure of the parish and to enhance the opportunities for doing business in the area. CARBA also plan to produce a business directory  for the parish and to publish a Business Board where all the business in the area will be available to view at a glance. The businesses present discussed the challenges facing all of them at this time and appeals were made to locals to support their local shops, pubs and businesses so that they in turn can support the local voluntary groups and charities when they come looking for their support. “If local shops close then customers and the community will suffer. Revenue spent in local businesses goes back into the local economy, enriching  the whole community and builds a stronger local economy.” The next meeting of the Association is planned for March 23^rd and further information can be obtained by ringing Mary Cronin on 087 2411161.

Coachford Celebrates Gold Medal

The Village of Coachford was buzzing with the exciting news that local resident, Olive Loughnane’s silver medal triumph in Berlin in 2009 is to be upgraded to Gold following the disqualification of the Russian Athlete, Olga Kaniskina for performance enhancing drug violations. Coachford celebrated Olives fine performance in 2009 and organised  a welcome home party for the athlete. In 2012 to mark her involvement in the London Olympics a statue in honour of Olive was erected in the village. John Hogan, member of the Community Council and organiser of the 2009 welcoming Home event  said “ We are all thrilled for Olive and her Husband Martin and family on this excellent turn of events. Olive was always special to us here in Coachford and we are all immensely proud  of all her achievements. We have all witnessed Olive putting in hour after hour of intensive training  on the roads around Coachford when she was preparing for the world, European and Olympic Games and we now feel that this Gold Medal win is the least she deserves. Olive is a fantastic Community person and is always on hand to speak to Children and adults about staying fit and healthy and preparing for the big sporting events in their lives. Olive will be presenting the medals to the young Camogie players this weekend.  She is a member of the organising Committee for the Coachford 5 mile Road race every August, She is an officer on the  School’s Parent’s Association  and is taking part in and supporting the Operation Transformation walks in the village at the moment. Olive  has always been Gold to us here in Coachford. We may  now  have to erect another Statue for our World Champion.”

Girl Power

The Annual General Meeting of the Aghabullogue Camogie Club takes place this Friday, January 30th in Aghabullogue Hall at 7.30pm. All welcome.

Let’s hear it for the Girls

Coachford College will contest the Munster Post-Primary Camogie Senior A Final next Saturday, January 31^st when they will face hot favourites, St. Flannan’s of Ennis in Cloughduv at 2.30pm.  It isn’t often that a Munster final where the local school is involved in is played so close to the school so please take this opportunity to go and support the girls

World Champion presents County Medals

World Champion Walker, Olive Loughnane will be guest of honour at the Aghabullogue Juvenile Medal Presentation Ceremony on Sunday next, February 1^st at 7.00pm in the GAA hall Coachford. Olive will present medals to the Under 13 camogie County League Champions and to the Under 15 girls who won the Muskerry Cup blitz and medal will also be presented to the Under 14s who were runners up in the County League in 2014.  The Aghabullogue Under 13 footballers will also be presented with their medals.

Raised Voices

The Coachford Church Choir are looking for new members to join the traditional Choir.  New members are vital to keep the choir rejuvenated and to offer new voices to those attending mass each Sunday. “ If some more people don’t join the choir soon you won’t hear them at all ” said organist, Laura Dineen. The Coachford Church Choir doesn’t ask for full time commitment and there are no fees to join! There are plenty of spaces available and you will be welcomed with open arms.

Mind your own Business

If you are a Limited Company or a sole Trader operating within the parish of Aghabullogue then come along to the Community House in Coachford on next Monday evening at 8.00pm where the possibility of setting up a Parish Business Association will be explored. Every Business is welcome. For further information contact Brenda on 087 2411161

Coffee and Cakes

Coachford Foróige will hold a Cake Sale And Coffee Morning on February 15^th to raise funds for the Club. The members are busily planning their next outing at Easter. The group are also planning for their participation in the West Cork District Talent competition in March.

Tidy Towns Collection

The Annual Coachford Tidy Towns Church Gate Collection takes place on Saturday February 14^th  and Sunday February 15^th at Masses in Coachford. Please give generously.

Soccer

Congratulations to the Coachford Premier Team who put seven goals past an off form and scoreless Glen Celtic last Saturday in the Premier league. This weekend the premier team and the B team have a weekend off. In Underage soccer the Under 14s play College Corinthians in Castletreasure at 11.45pm on Sunday.

Old sewerage plant blocking Coachford’s development

The Community council have expressed huge concerns surrounding the failure of Irish Water to upgrade the sewerage treatment plant in Coachford. The council have learned that Irish Water has the proposed treatment plant on the C list and there are no plans to progress its development until 2016 at the earliest. Meanwhile according to the council members, the village’s growth is on hold due to lack of new houses and homes for the many people wishing to live in Coachford and to raise their families there. The council has written to the six local Cork County Councillors to seek their assistant in bringing their case to Irish Water. This is not a new issue and is in fact rumbling on for many years without any action from Irish water now or the Cork County Council in previous years. One local resident said, ” Cork County Council must take some responsibility for this mess as the new treatment plant for the village was earmarked over ten years ago and they did absolutely nothing about it and now are quite happy to put all the blame at  Irish Waters door.” Community Council member Peter Dineen said  ” A new treatment plant for the village is vital, we are witnessing a fall off in numbers at the primary school, our businesses in the village are stagnant, there are grave concerns about raw sewerage leaking into the river lee which will have huge knock on effects on  the growing fishing tourism sector and the upgrade of the R619 is on hold due to the uncertainty of the location of the new plant. The ongoing delay in upgrading the sewerage system in Coachford is having a detrimental effect on the social and economic life of this vibrant village. Coachford is one of the biggest villages in Cork County. It is a vibrant and busy village with many businesses operating in the area. The business Community in the Coachford area needs an injection of people to  grow the community and maintain their customer base. This growth cannot happen without the new treatment plant. It is imperative that this plant be progressed immediately and moved from the C list to the A list in 2015. The people of Coachford deserve better from our politicians and from Irish Water.”

Operation Transformation comes to Coachford.

CM Fitness, Nutrition and Sports Rehab in conjunction with RTE’s Operation has organised a schedule to help people in Coachford of all ages and levels of fitness to get involved in changing their lives for the better. The ‘keep fit get fit’ walking and running sessions will include warm ups, cool downs and stretching aiming to build your fitness up to take part in the National Walks and Runs organised by Operation Transformation. The walk is January 17th from CIT at 10am and the run is February 21^st.The planned walks and runs are free of charge.
Fitness Coach, Ciara Murphy said “ I’m hoping to get Coachford up and exercising. I’ll be organising soccer and badminton tournaments and master classes in Zumba, Zuu, Circuits and a Bootcamp These events (tournaments and classes) will require a small fee due to rental of halls etc but any surplus will be returned to the community or to charity or we can collectively decide what to do with it.” CM Fitness, Nutrition and Sports Rehab  is also available for Personal or small group Training sessions and Nutritional planning to help maximize your results and to help achieve and steer your fitness and weight loss goals in the right direction. As part of this very successful programme  you will receive 6 weekly personal training sessions including weekly weigh ins, a personal training session each week, a personalised nutritional programme, a tailor made training programme based on what you really want to achieve for yourself in the coming few weeks and months. If this option interests you email ciara.murf@yahoo.ie for more details or ring 085 762 2387.

GAA membership Fees for 2015

Aghabullogue GAA membership registration will take place in Aghabullogue Hall on Saturday 17th January from 6.30pm-8pm and on Sunday 18^th January from 12pm-1.30pm.
All non-players, adult players and juvenile players are asked to come along and complete their membership registration. New members welcome. Membership Fees for adults is €50, students will be asked to pay €30 and the fee for Juveniles is €20 and €10 for each additional child in the same family.

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Local Job opportunities

The Community Employment Scheme have vacancies for a Grounds Keeper at Aghabullogue GAA Hall Coachford and a Childcare Assistant at Coachford Pre School. The applicants must be eligible for the scheme. Further details from Diane, Community Scheme Supervisor on 021 7337171.

Acting Workshop

Coachford Players will host an acting workshop this Saturday, January 17th from 2.00pm to 6.00pm in Coachford. Everyone is welcome. Further details from group secretary on 086 8177684.

Soccer Fixtures

Killanardrish/Coachford under 14 schoolboys soccer team play Greenwood on Sunday at 10.30am in Carrigadrohid. Meanwhile the Coachford Youths team travel to Greenwood for their league fixture which kicks off at 2.00pm in Togher. The Premier team have a Saturday fixture when they entertain Grattan United in Coachford at 2.00pm.The Junior B team play Tower FC on Sunday in Carrigadrohid at 2.00pm

Footballers and hurlers party at Golf Club

The Aghabullogue GAA victory Dinner Dance will be held in the Lee Valley Golf Club on Saturday, 24^th January at 8.00pm. Medals will be presented to the victorious  Minor Footballers who won county league and Regional championship titles in 2014. The Mid Cork Under 21 hurling champions will also be presented with their medals on the night. Music will be provided by the fabulous and entertaining ‘Hillbillies’ . Tickets for the victory social are €30 and can be obtained from any committee member

All The Ways You Wander

It’s great seeing so many people who live and work overseas home for Christmas. The village is buzzing with the excitement of the holidays and with so many people returning home for a few weeks it adds to the whole atmosphere. But for all those that are home there are still many more of you that remain away from home and you are missed.  

Our Village is improving every day, it is a vibrant, hard working place full of proud people with great traditions in sport and business. We continue to face what life throws at us and we are determined to keep going and to make sure Coachford grows, but you are missed.

When the pubs bustle with people at this and other  times of the year, you are missed. When the matches are played and we win or lose, you are missed. At the Autumn Festival Weekend, you are missed. When the Corpus Christie Procession takes place, you are missed. At weddings, Christenings and even funerals ,you are missed.

You see, although all of us here get on with life there is a little bit of the heart of the village that remains overseas with you. Our village, like many others around the country is emptier, bleaker, quieter without you. . We miss seeing you, talking with you, having the craic, finding out how things are going with you , learning more about the new people in your life. Facebook, Skype and all the other stuff is great but it will never make up for you being here.

No matter how long ago you left the area and how long you remain away we think of you often and look forward to seeing you again. We wait to see you coming in the door of the pub, to see you on the street or turning up to a local wedding. We know that it is not easy for you to come home but when you get here you will be welcomed back with open arms and until that day please know that you are thought of often and remembered especially at this time of year.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNEItfrYsgY

Christmas Market

The organisers of the Coachford Christmas Market were delighted with the huge crowds that turned up to enjoy a wonderful festive atmosphere in the GAA hall last Saturday. There were some beautiful homemade crafts and baking and other goods on sale. The art competition for local children saw many wonderful works of art from children of all ages. The local Foróige club also had a stall selling some lovely Christmas goodies that they were busy making over the last number of weeks at their weekly club meetings. Santa Claus was also in attendance and was very busy in his grotto taking all the requests from the children for that special toy they were hoping he could bring to them in a couple of weeks time.

Championship draws

Aghabullogue Intermediate Footballers have been drawn against Mitchelstown in the first round of the 2014 championship. The two clubs met each other last year also in the championship where Mitchelstown emerged winners on that occasion. Treasurer of Aghabullogue GAA, John Tarrant said  “It’s a big first round game for us and we would ideally love to beat them in order to advance to the next round. Because we’re a dual club it is also very important to avoid the back door game as this would  give our hurlers a better chance of beating Grenagh who they have been drawn against. There is no doubt Mitchelstown will be a huge challenge for us but we’ve never shied away from challenges, big or small.”

Children Escape

The pupils of Coachford National School and Coachford College will pack away their books and Uniforms this Friday, December 19^th and take them out again when the schools reopen for business on Monday January 5^th 2015 after the Christmas holidays.

Coachford gears up for Christmas

The village of Coachford is well prepared for the Christmas and new year season. The village is looking extremely festive, the pubs have music and other entertainment planned right throughout the two weeks of the season and the shops are fully stocked with everything you will need to make your Christmas and New Year special. Chairperson of the Coachford Tidy Towns, Martha McCaffery said, “ We are all looking forward to Christmas in Coachford this year and we would ask that where possible we would support our local businesses. It is vital that local communities Shop local, Eat Local, Spend Local and Enjoy Local.”