< Previous© November 2019 The Meath Coaster 60 109 Marathons in 365 Days for Bettystown man. Dublin Marathon 2018 – Dublin Marathon 2019 by Gerard Fay I am 48 years old and I ran my first Marathon in 1998 in Dublin. On September 01 st 2018, I completed my 400 th Marathon, The Dublin Marathon 2018 was my 413 th and I will be doing my 522 nd Marathon in Dublin this year. To date this calendar year, I have ran 86 Marathons. All these marathons will be done in Ireland and all will be a minimum of 26.2 Miles each. Dublin City Marathon was my 1 st Mara- thon back in 1998 and 2019 will be my 22 nd Dublin. A lot of kilometres/miles have been run in the past 21 years and each and every one has been run with thousands of people in my head pushing me along. These people are of course those with Cystic Fibrosis both living and deceased. People constantly ask where do I get my motivation and it is simple Just look at a person with CF. Learn what they have to go through day in day out with physio, medi- cation and just basic breathing. Things we as healthy people take for granted. I have know some of these CF’s over 30 years now and to see their achievements in their lives pushes me on to do what I do. The people with CF are the motivation to achieve my dreams and if by doing so I can help them achieve their's then I am happy. Running is a passtime but this is their lives and with the support of their families they are doing their very best to achieve their potential. Please support those with CF if you can, see details opposite. My chosen charity - Cystic Fi- brosis Ireland - provide excel- lent and much needed support services to people with Cystic Fibrosis. The Funds raised will be used for the purchase of vi- tal physio equipment in the CF units around the country but also to assist Cystic Fibrosis Ire- land with their Exercise Grant Scheme whereby they give a grant to per- sons with CF for part funding gym mem- berships or the purchase of home exercise equipment. The Target for the fundraising is to raise a minimum of €50,000. I have been fundraising for Cystic Fi- brosis over the past 30 years and in that time have raised in excess of €150,000 of which €100,000 was used for the purchase and refurbishment of the Dedicated CF Outpatients unit in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. All funds will go to Cystic Fibrosis Ire- land and all expenses are borne by myself. You may not be aware Cystic Fibrosis is a Genetic Disease which effects over 1,250 people in the Republic of Ireland which is the highest per capita population in the World. The Association has contributed nearly €20 million to research and over €15 million for the building of dedicated centres around the country. You can do- nate in one of 2 ways. www.give.everydayhero.com/ie/ Gerardsmarathonchallenge Cheque donations should be made pay- able to Cystic Fibrosis Ireland & can be sent to 5 Ardmore View Bettystown, Co Meath. §© November 2019 The Meath Coaster 61 www.instagram.com/eastmeathunited www.twitter.com/EastMeathUnitedwww.facebook.com/eastmeathunitedfc East Meath United What a year it’s been - Annual General Meeting Time! E MU will hold our AGM on Thursday 28 th No- vember at 8pm in Reddan’s, Bettystown. All welcome! We would like to take this opportunity to thank our out-going Committee for the work they have done over the past year. Our Club, Our Family, will just not function without com- mittee members and volunteers. If you would like to be part of something fun, exciting and rewarding, then please consider taking up a position on the Com- mittee! “I’d sincerely like to thank everyone within the EMU Family past and present, for their support, effort and especially friendship over the past few years. We’ve had highs and lows, but never lost sight of what was important – ensuring the children of East Meath received quality coaching at quality facilities in a fun and safe environment. Every one of us on the Committee have a rewarding role to play and we would be delighted to have some fresh faces on board. We are also in need of some new volunteers and coaches for our Football For All Programme. If you think you would like to get involved, please come along to the AGM and have a chat.” – Sharon Tolan, Chairwoman. Academy Our Saturday morning Nippers Academy is going from strength to strength. If you have a budding footballer, or just a nip- per who may have an interest, bring them along any Saturday morning from 9.30am for a taster! 20 th Anniversary Celebrations Continue Founded in 1999 by a brave few, we are celebrating 20 years in existence this year! As part of our year-long celebrations we plan to “Party Like it’s 1999” on Satur- day 9 th November in The Village Hotel, Bettystown. Tickets cost €20 and can be purchased by contacting Richard on 086- 0462289, or Ciara on 087-4119809. Don’t miss a great night! §© November 2019 The Meath Coaster 62 C2 General Stamullen F.C. Club news I t's been an exciting month here at Stamullen FC with lots of brilliant things going on, training and matches are in full swing and the teams are having a terrific season so far. The girls and boys were out in force to support our teams in the aviva and Tal- laght stadiums. Both were brilliant nights out for the club and great for the kids to see their idols in action. Our under 17 and under 14 girls are away in Norwich as the coaster goes to print on a trip of a lifetime, we will give you a full update in next months coaster. We would like to thank StitchIT Brandit for the amazing job they did on our new fantastic club gear. We are all so happy with how amazing it looks and would recommend Ian and Su- san and the guys from StitchIT Brandit. Their level of professionalism and atten- tion to detail is out of this world so we can't thank them enough. The u14 and u17 girls and their coaches look so professional in their new tracksuits. You can contact the guys at StitchIT Bran- dIT on www.stitchit- brandit.com© November 2019 The Meath Coaster 63 Under 8's girls news Stamullen hosted their biggest blitz todate,with over 40 players from Lusk, Portmarnock, Balscadden and Donacarney Celtic and over 100 spectators taking part.A great spectacle for grassroots foot- ball and shows the game is getting bigger by the year. Some brilliant footballers on show today from all the clubs,from our end Kaitlyn Wall scored her first goal for the club,and Orla O'Byrne was on fire scoring a hat-trick in one game,Emily Coyne also scored a brace in our last game. far and are really enjoying training on the astros. Their coaches Paul and Laura are doing a brilliant job with them all. Academy news We are at capacity for our Saturday morn- ing academy, if you would like to put your child's name on the waiting list please email stamullenfc@gmail.com Changes within the committee We would like to thank Dave Reddin and Steve Jordan who after many years ser- vice are stepping down from the commit- tee. They will be sorely missed as they have put so much into the Club over the last number of years, thanks guys, we ap- preciate all your hard work, We would like to congratulate Grainne Carmody who has been appointed chair person of the Club, Grainne has served on the committee for the past few years and is going to be a brilliant Chairperson. We would also like to welcome Lisa Hand and Sean Moore Director of football who have joined the committee, welcome aboard guys. Sean is Club Club Contact Details: Email - stamullenfc@gmail.com Facebook - www.facebook.com/stamullenfc Club Secretary Marcus Kelly – 0851477825 Website – www.stamullenfc.com § Big shout out to Barry Coyne and Derek O'Byrne who have come in to the man- agement team with Simon. ell done to all the players,coaches and parents on a beautiful morning in Gormanston. Under 13 girls Our under 13 girls have had a terrific start to their season. They are undefeated so © November 2019 The Meath Coaster 64 EST. 1950 Cockhill Road, Stamullen, Co. Meath T: 086 1731739 E: pro.stpatricksmeath@gmail.com Facebook Stpatricksgaastamullen/ Naomh Padraig GAA St Pats Ladies are League Champions! W hat a year it has been for our Ladies teams 3 completions and 3 finals, we set out at the beginning of the year with a few goals in mind and never in our wildest dreams was 3 finals part of those goals. The main goal was promotion in the league, so we said top two finish in the league was priority motion this year means. Little did we know unlike other years to gain promotion you had to win the league this year, but cometh the hour cometh the girls, one of the best perfor- mances of the year was held back foe that memorable evening in Dunganny where the girls made history again winning our first ever leagues title beating a very strong Walterstown tram on a score line of 4-6 to 2-4. A great year for our Ladies was capped off Ciara McQuillan Capt.© November 2019 The Meath Coaster 65 with the news from the Meath Co Board that they have been nominated for 2019 Team of the year! In other news our U15’s made it six wins out of six to reach this year’s div3 league final in a few weeks’ time, also looking forward to our U13’s who will take part in this year’s division 1 Shield final, Plus our Minors still going strong in what has been a great year for the club this far! Emma White Player of the Match Stamullen Bowls Club Stamullen Bowls Club play every Tuesday and Thursday at 8pm-10pm at St Patrick's New Complex, Cockhill, Stamullen. So why not come along and take part in an enjoyable, relaxing and social sport in the company of new friends. Please contact 01 8412086 pr 089 4566396 for any queries. Help ensure essential blood supplies are always available by giving blood regularly Please Note Clinic Opening Times St. Patrick’s G.F.C, Stamullen Tue 5 th November From 4.30pm to 8pm Couch to 5k Bettystown M eath LSP are proud to support Cilles AC who are delivering a Couch to 5k programme every Tuesday & Thurs- day at 7pm meeting at Tesco, Bettystown. For more information please contact Orla in Cilles AC on 087-2569124. Women’s Netball Women’s Netball, in association with Netball Ireland are running a 6 week pro- gramme which started on Thursday 24 th October at 7pm-8pm in Gormanston College. Netball is similar to Basketball but there is no backboard or dribbling! It is a fast, energetic activity that is based around tactics and teamwork! This is the first Netball training in Meath and is ideal for beginners! Suitable for women over the age of 16 years. The cost of the programme is €3 per night. If you are interested in trying Netball, please come along any night or for more information please call Lisa O’Dowd on 046-9067337 or email lodowd@meath- coco.ie © November 2019 The Meath Coaster 66 Naomh Colmcille C.L.G. www.cilles.com Good Luck To The Minor Boys A t the time of writing both our Minor boys teams are preparing for two Championship finals. The Division 1 boys take on Summerhill on the 27 th October as curtain raiser to the Senior Football Cham- pionship final in Navan. The Division 4 boys team face Ballinlough on Bank Holi- day Monday 28 th October in what prom- ises to be a memorable weekend for all the players and supporters and we wish both teams the very best of luck. We are so proud of you all “Win A Car For A Tenner” – We Need Your Support Tickets have now been distributed to every team and are also available on www.win- acarforatenner.com. This is your chance to win a KIA Stonic for just €10. An ab- solutely must win prize. This is our major fundraiser for 2019 and all funds raised go towards our infrastructure projects (extra lands, clubhouse redevelopments and im- proved facilities). If every single member of the club buys and sells just one ticket then we will be well on our way to achiev- ing our ambitions. We need YOUR sup- port and we appeal to EVERYONE in our club and community to get behind the drive and ensure that we build top class facilities for the next generation. Please please support by taking an allocation of tickets and selling among friends, neigh- bours, work colleagues etc. Let’s make the dream happen The draw takes place on 29 th December in the City North Hotel where we will also have a Club night and party. We look for- ward to seeing as many of you there as possible U13 Hurling Team Into The Semi Fi- nals A big well done to the Saints Hurling team (the combination of St Patricks and St Colmcilles) on reaching the Roinn C © November 2019 The Meath Coaster 67 U13 semi-final. It’s another big step on the journey and a wonderful achievement by this talented squad. Well done to eve- ryone ! Club House Development Plans are continuing to on our new club- house. Work is expected to start in Janu- ary but are dependent on our fundraising initiatives. Please support these as much as possible. These are exciting times for everyone Best Wishes Niall And Welcome Conor It’s with a heavy heart that we bid a fond farewell to our Games Promotion Of- ficer (“GPO”) of the last two years, Niall “Squealer” Kane. A wonderful ambassa- dor for the club and the GAA Niall has taken the big step to pursue a career in teaching and our loss is definitely educa- tion’s gain. Thankfully Niall will not be a stranger as he will be working locally. Ni- all made a lasting impression on the lives of many and made a difference every- where he went. He will be an outstanding success in the education field and we look forward to following his development and career in the years to come. However we are delighted to welcome to the club, Conor Brennan as our new GPO. A native of county Armagh, like Niall, Conor is an enthusiastic and hardwork- ing young man who puts the child into the centre of everything he does. Conor will be starting in the schools after the Hallow- een break and cannot wait to get started and stuck in. We wish Conor all the best in the new role and look forward to work- ing with him Shane Black Property Advisers Cúl Cilles Academy As the winter begins to set in, another year of the Shane Black Property Advisers Cúl Cilles academy draws to a close. We have had a super season, learning new skills and making new friends. A huge thank you to all the coaches and army of volunteers from car park attendants to kitchen staff who make the Academy what it is. A special word to two people without whom this important initiative could not happen – firstly to our Minor Board Chair- man, Mark Gallagher, the glue that holds it all together, ensures we have the equip- ment and space, the first man to open up and the last man to lock up, a driving force and a selfless volunteer. Good luck to the Division 1 Minor Boys as they aim to bring home the Delaney Cup © November 2019 The Meath Coaster 68 Secondly to our sponsor Shane Black. Player, mentor and sponsor there is nothing this man cannot do. Shane has constantly been a force to help the club through his support and excellent commercial mind and we are indebted to Shane and all the team at Shane Black Property Advisers for their help and we ask all our members to support our sponsors Congratulations Niall A big well done to Niall Ronan on being appointed as Head of Strength and Condi- tioning with Meath GAA. Niall brings a wealth of experience to the area and will be a superb addition to the team. It is also a great honour for the club following on from the success this year of Meath when we had 3 starters in the Leinster Final and with the addition of our former coach, Colm Nally as the football coach to the county team. It is wonderful to see the club having such an influence at county level Hard Luck To The Junior D Men’s Team Our Junior D men’s team have had a su- perb journey this year culminating in a Championship final appearance on 19 th October in Navan. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be our day as we faced an excel- lent Wolfe Tones team who proved worthy winners. However what a journey we had and the panel renowned old friendships, found new friends and lost a few pounds along the way. We can’t wait for 2020 and another go ! Ladies Football There’s no sign of the games finishing an- ytime soon for our ladies teams. The u13, u15 and minor competitions are in full swing and are reaching the business end at the moment. All our teams are doing so well and who knows we could be report- ing on some final successes next month. Good luck girls ! Lotto Our club lotto is the lifeblood of the club and funds our day to day running costs. For just €2 you can have the chance to take part in what is surely the most won lotto in the country with 3 winners already in 2019. Lotto tickets are available from our three main outlets – Southgate Shop- ping Centre (Fridays), Tesco Bettystown (Saturdays) and the Shane Black Property Advisers Academy on Sundays. The lotto can be played online at www.cilles.com or in the clubhouse our local shops and hos- Well done to the Junior D men's team on making the Championship final last month © November 2019 The Meath Coaster 69 telries. All funds raised go towards our day to day running costs Movember Its back! Our 4 th annual November cam- paign is back with a bang and we are ask- ing all our supporters and members to get behind this event. You can support it by growing a “mo.”, by sponsoring one of “Movember Men” and importantly at- tending some of the events that we will Good luck to the Division 4 minor team in Championship final action v Ballinlough on Bank Holiday Monday after the Coaster went to print be running to promote health. Keep an eye out on social media over the coming weeks and make sure to support this great cause and campaign Outreach Programme The Autumn programme is up and run- ning with cards, Irish classes, ballroom dancing etc. all on offer at Piltown. Please contact James Kelly on 087-2579003 for further information § Our Gaelic 4 Mothers and Others had a super time at their recent blitz. We look forward to our own event in 2020 !Next >