Castlelyons GAA Weekly Lotto valuable again as Jackpot now €11,000. 

This draw was held Monday 22.3.21 and the numbers drawn were 6, 10, 14 and 26. There was no winner, and the Jackpot is now a massive €11,000. The Lucky Dip winners were as follows: -Bernadette O’Brien, Mary Kate O’Dowd, Pauline Kiely, Gerry O’Donovan, Bridget Murphy, Liz Burger, Carmel O’Sullivan, and Oliver Beausang.  The next draw is Monday 29.3.21. Thanks so much for your support and please advise your friends that they can play our Lotto, ONLINE or purchase tickets from the usual outlets.

New Gym for Castlelyons GAA.

Hurling and football were the dominant sports of the country with the highest membership for many years.  In recent times a growing trend of greater personal fitness has led to massive membership of Gyms and challenged the GAA membership top spot. This is driven by a variety of factors such as toning the body at one’s own pace, being in shape for a holiday, emulating the stars of Operation Transformation or Love Island and a growing sense of general fitness and wellbeing. However, GAA has reacted wisely to this challenge and embraced the culture of the intercounty game of stronger, faster and fitter into the club scene by establishing gyms for both players and the general membership.

Castlelyons GAA in line with so many other clubs have now decided to set out a Gym.  Unfortunately, this is at the cost of Squash and Bar facilities which were part and parcel of the scene since the early seventies are now closing to facilitate this latest initiative. While there were strong representations by Squash Club officers and some members request continuity of the Bar the committee acting on a proposal and overwhelming agreement are replacing these facilities with a gym. It will be available to both GAA and Camogie members players, club members, and social members. 

Of course, the success of this latest Castlelyons club initiative is helped by the fact that strength and conditioning are now vital to the the modern GAA player both male and female.  This type of health and training facility is very suitable to the parents as they are not in a pressurised game and is available to them throughout the day when children are attending school, etc.  Therefore, the Gym is much more convenient way of training and fitness.  In fact, it is often recommended to patients and, of course, sports people by the medical profession for recuperation.

It is intended that the set up will comprise of weights, circuit training, spinning, Pilates in interval training classes as this type of exercise increases cardiovascular fitness and boosts overall health. Regular workouts help in reducing stress, anxiety and depression and other diseases affecting health. Earlier, only the males showed interest in the gyms, but today the ladies are crowding into the gyms. Thanks to the internet the internet and growing education levels, there is a complete paradigm shift in perspective of all, who now consider exercising and healthy lifestyle a serious affair. But one can still enjoy the social engagement of training with others and developing their fitness in a friendly manner too.

There will be a membership fee and setting up a Gym is a big decision. The GAA and Marsh Insurance have a detailed set of instructions, regulations, and compliance format for use of gyms.  The Club will have a subcommittee including players, male and female and club members likewise will set it up, furnish, cater for its upkeep, and supervise it into the future while concentrating on the best practices in health and safety.   

Club development.

Members held a special meeting on virtual setting last week to view the layout of the proposed development.  Chairman John McCarthy presided and while there was almost general agreement on refurbishment of the Clubhouse the discussion on proposed traffic system and pitch was a source of enlightened debate as many members took part.  The location of the second pitch was agreed after some discussion on level and use of the machinery while on site.  There is a proposal to construct an all-weather pitch on the site, but it was not decided whether it be located down towards the Village side or up Abbeylands. 

Then there was a further proposal to move down the current pitch over 30 metres downwards. It was highlighted that this will give a much wider roadway to Leahy’s field yielding great health and safety and a large carpark at the back of the Clubhouse and Community Centre and close to them also. It was outlined that this would be invaluable to the layout despite the sizeable extra cost involved.  There is a one-way system already set down and that is entry at Main Street and exit at Abbeylands and this is part of the planning application for the development.  This one-way system reduces current associated risks as it is much safer for both vehicles and pedestrians.  However, on the one-way system it was outlined out that the existing roadway up along the back of the goals to Leahys field is still very narrow with a pinch point at the Ball Alley.

A layout subcommittee had visited pitches and grounds last year with a view to establishing the most suitable set up for our own development. There may have been a concentration on the construction of the actual pitches rather the overall layout of the complex. So, the layout committee will now return to the drawing board, speak with the engineers on a second layout plan and cost the proposal. Then all members will compare, contrast, and evaluate both plans before deciding on what is best for the club going forward.

Players advised on a careful return to play whenever it may be. 

The GAA has outlined that the challenge of returning to play for GAA players after a significant period of lockdown last year led to many suffering injuries from pushing themselves too hard, too soon. The 2020 figures for the GAA’s player injury fund were high as there was no club action from March to June and from October on, there were still 5,692 injury claims in 2020 which was only slightly less than the 2019 figure of 6,288 injuries.

This year male and female players in hurling and football codes will be faced with how to avoid injury while getting back to a good level of fitness once the lockdown ends and collective training can resume. The GAA have advised while it is great to go running in the park or the road it does not prepare you for what you need to be doing when you are playing Gaelic football or hurling. Since there are no collective training sessions players should incorporate a kicking programme for football training to prevent quad injuries. Of course, hamstring and tendons must be work on during your individual training.  Players should be carefully exposed to acceleration, deceleration, turning and contact before they can return to play. The GAA ran a few webinars for both juveniles and adults on the subject.  These ‘Return to Play’ webinars for on the GAA.ie website.  

Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of Páirc an tAthair Peadar 1971 – 2021.

As outlined before in these notes this year marks the 50^th anniversary of our present playing field Páirc an tAthair Peadar Ó Laoghaire as it was officially opened in 1971. Football, hurling, camogie, and other sports were played in the parish from times long gone and there were numerous fields used about the place.  Castlelyons have developed a competitive culture over the years and enjoyed a lot of success in winning county championships at various grades and this includes the camogie teams in later years.  Club members have experienced great individual achievements and awards playing with the county and many others playing in foreign shores but as they say the Club is where it all begins.

It is appreciated that many players past and present are involved with various teams and administration but maybe there a few more Castlelyons interested in some initiatives to mark the occasion to mark the occasion and if you are please give you name to the club secretary Michael Barrett.

Castlelyons Hurling Star Colm Spillane to draw the “sliotars” at Rebel Bounty Draw

The Rebel Bounty draw will take place this Thursday evening at 7.30 pm and it will be live on the Irish Examiner Website and the remainder will be live on the Cork GAA Facebook.  Our own hurling star Colm Spillane will be representing the hurling clubs and wearing the Castlelyons colours, and we are all hoping he will get a few lucky scores for Castlelyons. There are three lots of €20,000 and a total of ninety big cash prizes can be streamed live into your own home so it could be some celebratory evening for you, the family, your pod or wherever you are.  Then there are nine monthly draws left with the first prize €20,000 each month and the first prize for Christmas is €100,000. A sincere thanks to all our members and supporters who have joined and made it a success as it is a great boost to our Club finances.  Don’t forget to tune in Thursday evening at 7.30 and more details on social media.

Garda Vetting.

As we near a possible recommencement of training and games, all persons involved in underage teams must be Garda vetted.  This is a straightforward process that is to be done online.  Also, any person from the age of 16 to 18 who may be involved must also be vetted with parents /guardian consent. If you have any questions, please contact Castlelyons Child Welfare officer Clare Reals. 

Quote of the Week.

Out of all the magic words in existence, kind words produce the most powerful transformation spells.

Club Main Sponsor: ZEUS Packaging Group.