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SCARIFF NEWS
A Sad Week Alcohol Awareness Bridge Fax from Hong Kong G.A.A. News Hello Kitty June Draw The Inevitable Amalgamation
It is a sad occasion when anybody in our parish passes away. And while the
immediate family and close friends feel the loss most, there is a general sense of regret
in the community. Those feelings however could not hope to adequately express the shock
and sense of numbness in our parish over the last week following the tragic circumstances
which were visited upon the Brady family.
By Michael Donnellan There has always been a great friendship between the two parishes of Whitegate and Scariff, whether it is a common interest in farming, the game of hurling or their love of the high stool. Over the years they’ve had some great battles on the hurling field but once the final whistle blew, whatever happened on the pitch was left there. Then there was a time when Scariff and Whitegate couldn’t even field a senior team, so the obvious solution at the time would have been amalgamate. In 1938 the Scariff senior team was made up of reinforcements from Whitegate and Mountshannon. Then in 1939 they amalgamated. For the next few years Tom and Pake Lyons, Jacky and Dermot Solon, Jimmy Mulvihill, Pake Haran, Jack Conroy and Bernie Power all played for Scariff. In August 1942 their efforts were finally rewarded, when for the first time in their history Scariff won the Clare Cup in what was a very exciting final. Best for Scariff that day were the Lyons Brothers, the Solons, Pake Haran, Melody and McInerney. Later on that year Scariff lost the County Final to Clooney in what was believed to be the Best County Final for a number of years. On October 3rd 1943 Scariff played Clarecastle in the County Final. Clarecastle won by a point 4-3 to 4-2 and in July 1944 Scariff reached the Clare Cup semi-final, losing out to Clooney on a scoreline of 5-4 to 4-3. The usual players from Whitegate and Mountshannon played in all these games. In 1945 the County Board dissolved the amalgamation and both Scariff and Whitegate went their separate ways. Thirty years would pass before our two parishes would amalgamate again. In the month of February 1975 a decision was taken to form a new amalgamation under the name "Iniscealtra". Unfortunately they drew County Champions Newmarket in the first round of the Championship and were well beaten. They entered the loser’s draw where O’Callaghan’s Mills beat them by two points. Iniscealtra then met Sixmilebridge in the Cup and beat Eire Og in the next round by five points. This win brought up against Sixmilebridge again, and in an outstanding game the Bridge won by two points. Iniscealtra reached the semi-final of the Championship in 1976 after beating Eire Og in a replay, but up popped the Bridge again and beat them by eight points. Sixmilebridge did more damage in 1977 when defeating Iniscealtra by nine points in the cup, but in ’78 Iniscealtra upset the Apple Cart when they beat a Cocky Brian Boru side in the Championship by 0-13 to 2-6. The team was as follows: Liam Waterstone, Paddy O’Rourke, Michael McNamara, Seanie Pearl, Pat Clancy, Noel Burke, Tom Nugent, John Treacy, Gerry Nugent, Brian Madden, John Minogue, Brendan Ryan, Michael Madden, Pat Mulvihill and Tom McNamara. They went on to lose the Quarter Final of the Championship that year to Clarecastle. And so again like over thirty years before, Whitegate and Scariff went their separate ways. We are now in the year 2001 and Scariff haven’t won the County Title in forty-eight years; (if said fast it dosen’t sound that long, but believe me it is). Whitegate on the other hand haven’t won the title since 1961. It’s not that long ago when hurling followers were whispering on bar stools in dark corners around East Clare that Whitegate were coming, well we are still waiting boys! Both Clubs are playing most of their underage hurling in Grade C, so I
am afraid that the future looks bleak. I believe that in Ogonelloe and Feakle many girls
play at underage level because young boys are in such decline. Where once emigration was
the excuse used for the demise in East Clare hurling, well I am afraid that can no longer
be the case. What now becomes of Whitegate and Scariff? What does the future hold? Is it time to rekindle the old amalgamation I wonder? Johnny Moloney once said to me and I quote " If Scariff had Whitegate’s Skill and Whitegate had Scariff’s heart, there would be a lot more County titles for both Clubs". This is so true with regard to these two parishes. I suppose some lads have it and some don’t which brings me into the next piece that I discovered while doing my research. " if you think you are beaten you are, if you think you dare not, you don’t, if you would like to win but you cant it is almost sure you won’t Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or fastest man, But in the end the man who wins is the man who thinks he can". Final Thought While writing this piece a well known Inter-county trainer expressed his grave concern about the future of East Clare hurling. This view is shared by many wise men in the area. So will we ever see a County Title back this side of Tulla ever again. Feakle were the last East Clare side to bring the Canon Hamilton trophy back home in 1988. I am now afraid that Feakle are staring down a big black hurling hole. I have taken the liberty of selecting a team from the current bunch of players who play senior hurling for Scariff and Whitegate. A sort of Iniscealtra team for 2002. The team is as follows:
John O’Brien (w)
Enda Flannery (w) Donal Moloney (s) Pat Collins (s)
Enda Murphy (s) Thomas Holland (w) Eric Minogue (w)
Darragh Kelly (s) Gordon Malone (w)
Brian Minogue (w) Pat Minogue (s) Mark McKenna (s)
Barry Murphy (s) Terence Fahy (w) Michael Madden (w)
When the one great scorer comes to write against your name, He marks not whether you have won or lost but how you played the game.
Greetings from a very wet and humid Hong Kong. This is the rainy season
and when it rains here the soft showers of Eire pale in comparison. There has been
torrential rain today and the month of June was the wettest according to Hong Kong
records. Well, it is typical for this part of the world to have such downpours. I remember
reading about the "Torrid Zones" at National School. Little did I think that one
day I would be living in one! I often wonder how Europeans survived here before the days
of air conditioning. Without air conditioning one just cannot get by. Waiting at a bus
stop is like having a sauna in the open air. You step out of an air-conditioned building
and immediately your glasses steam up! Luckily I am going on holidays at the end of the month and will be in Tuamgraney/Scariff on August 7th. Unfortunately, I will just miss the Galway Races and climbing the Reek. I am coming to the end of my first year here. I enjoy Hong Kong in spite of the climate. Even though it is a small territory, it is a fascinating place. I am always amazed at how these people can make a living. The Chinese are great workers, very disciplined and also very talented. Many people find them rather rude and abrupt. Personally, I don’t. They are business-like certainly, and don’t waste time on small talk.
However it is nice to escape from Hong Kong occasionally if only just to get away from the crowds, the hectic pace of life, the poor air, the heat and humidity. Everybody goes on short breaks here. Nobody would think of taking a month’s holiday at a go. People generally get away for a few days. Hong Kongers are great travellers. That’s probably one of the reasons why the International Airport here is probably the biggest and busiest in the region. It is good to get away from the pressure-cooker environment that is Hong Kong. Thousands of people living in small apartments in characterless skyscrapers. It gets a bit tedious having to look up at these tall buildings all the time to catch a glimpse of sky. When it comes to evening rush hour, I often say to myself: "Oh to be in Connemara today". By the way I have an e-mail address if anyone is interested: eugeneva@netvigator.com. I visited the Scariff Community web site recently. Very nice. Well done! Looking forward to enjoying the natural air conditioning of East Clare in August. Slan go Foill. Monsignor Eugene Nugent. Scariff G.A.A. News The month of July has seen a second defeat for our senior hurlers. In a crunch match they went down by 5 points to last years beaten county finalists Eire-Og on a score line of 0-17 to 1-9. Having played with the wind Scariff went in 5 points up at half time. Indeed the problem of not having taken their chances cropped up again as it did against Sixmilebridge. In the second half inspired performances from Barry Nugent and Cathal Egan ensured a deserved win for the townies. Scariff had fine performances Enda Murphy, Mark McKenna and Michael Rodgers. The team lined out as follows: Alphie Rodgers, Ger Rodgers, Donal Moloney, Pat Collins, Enda Murphy, Darragh Kelly, Ger Crotty, Mark McKenna, Dan Treacy, Michael Rodgers, Pat Minogue, Patrick Moroney, Barry Murphy, Derek Murphy, Michael Madden. Subs. Gerry McNamara for Donal Moloney, Michael Moroney for Dan Treacy, Peadar McMahon for Michael Madden. This loss means Scariff must beat Ogonnelloe in their last match and hope that Sixmilebridge will beat Eire-Og to force a three-way play-off. Our Junior A team is now severely weakened as a result of the senior team’s two games. However they overcame St. Joseph’s in their latest league game with a very young team. The team lined out as follows: Michael Collins, Dermot Waterstone, Paul Crotty, Shane McMahon, Padraig Myles, Colm Kavanagh, Michael O’Brien, Johnny Colleran,, Michael Scanlan, Andrew McNamara, Padraig Brody, Brian Harte, Niall Minogue, Tom Crotty and Robbie Madden. Hopefully next month we will have better news of activities on the field. £50 Marie Bolton £30 Michael Rodgers £20 Nellie Slattery The July draw will take place in the Market House on Wednesday August 1st 2001.National Alcohol Awareness Campaign There is no doubt that Scariff, like many other small towns has a teenage drinking problem. All one has to do is look around, usually on a Friday or Saturday night. It seems that almost the only people unaware of the problem are the parents of those involved. Recently the Minister for Health, Micheál Martin, launched the second phase of his departments National Alcohol Awareness campaign. Below we reprint the minister's launch statement.
Minister launches Phase 2 of Alcohol Awareness Campaign10 July 2001 Mr Micheál Martin TD, Minister for Health and Children today launched Phase 2 of the National Alcohol Awareness campaign. Highlighting startling facts about alcohol and its impact, it is aimed at buyers and suppliers of alcohol - buyers being parents, siblings or whoever supplies alcohol that young people access and includes pubs, off-licences, hotels, and supermarkets - anywhere alcohol is sold. The campaign will run on national and local radio supported by a poster distributed to every retail outlet selling alcohol. With the theme - Keep Kids Safe from Drink - it will drive home a number of critical facts about alcohol:
Launching this phase of the campaign Minister Martin said, "The campaign will challenge adults of all ages to be alert to the reality that alcohol is being used to excess by large numbers of Irish teenagers and prompt them into considering the impact of their behaviour - behaviour in allowing easy access in the first instance and also in examining their own drinking practices and how those practices impact on their children." The Minister said that research indicates that among the 12 to 18 year old second level pupils pubs, discos and the home are the three most commonly reported sources of supply. However, among the 13 and 14 year olds home is the most common source of supply. Minister Martin said that one of the biggest challenges in driving home messages about alcohol is parental attitude. "Unfortunately as a nation we tend to view alcohol as harmless. This manifests itself in many parents thinking it´s fine for teenagers to drink alcohol as long as they don’t touch drugs." He said that Health professionals know that alcohol is the drug most abused in this country. This phase of the National Alcohol Awareness campaign follows the launch phase in February and is supported by the Drinks Industry Group. Contents
Scariff Bridge
The Bridge Season came to an end with a very enjoyable meal and party in Mike McNamara’s Lounge on Thursday June 7th. The A.G.M. followed the meal and included the presentation of prizes.
Officers for the coming year:
President: Nora Fennessy Vice President: Bridget Minogue Secretary: Margaret McNamara Treasurer: Mary Murphy Tournament Director: Brid Minogue Asst. Tournament Director: Marie Long Committee: Therese O’ Halloran outgoing President and Sheila Treacy.
Therese O’Halloran then presented her own prize – two beautiful Crystal Mantle Clocks to the winners – Tim McGillicuddy and Timmy Treacy. Other Winners: Gross Prize: Ann Harte and Noreen Doyle 2nd Kathleen Holland and Margaret Chapman 3rd Mary Collins and Mary O’Sullivan 4th Mary Gibbons and Nuala McNamara 5th John and Marie Kelly 6th Liam Gavin and Frances McKenna 7th Margaret O’Grady and Nora Fennessy 8th Sheila Treacy and Therese Treacy 9th Tom and Nellie Molamphy 10th Danny Dillon and John Brigdale Player of the Year: Catherine Murphy.
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