Devastated, gutted, shattered – these are just some of the words which could be used to describe the mood of the members of our quiz team, their mentors and supporters who witnessed their narrow defeat in the All-Ireland Finals of Scór na nÓg, which took place in Derry on Sat. last. The Finals were staged in the magnificent surroundings of “The Venue”, a temporary structure erected to stage many of the events which are being held to mark the city’s status as U.K. City of Culture for 2013. Eimear and Paddy O’Connor and Stephen Mulligan, along with their mentors, have worked tirelessly over the Winter in the hope that they could bring a long awaited All-Ireland title back to their club, a feat which remained a possibility right up to and including the very last round of questions in what was a nail biting finish to one of the closest Quiz finals in years. It all looked so different at the end of the individual rounds when Tipperary held a commanding eight point lead over Down and Kildare in joint second place, with ourselves a further four points adrift in fourth place and seemingly out of the running. However just as they did in the Connacht finals a few weeks earlier our team answered all of their six mark team questions correctly enabling them to draw level with the Munster representatives who in contrast missed two of theirs while at the same time, and unfortunately for us, the Ulster champions also took full marks in the second round enabling them to leapfrog the Premier county to snatch victory at the death. And so while victory has eluded us once again those involved can hold their heads high in the knowledge that as a club we can compete with the best in the country in Scór na nÓg regardless of the category in which we progress. It may also provide some small crumb of comfort to those involved in our Ballad Group this year that Mayo club Aghamore which overcame them by a single point in the provincial decider took home an All-Ireland title in that category on Saturday.
On a somewhat brighter note our own Frances Hanley gave a powerful performance as M.C. on the day. Her fluency in our native language was much in evidence as she effortlessly alternated between English and Irish in announcing each act on the packed programme. It was a performance which she, her family and her club can be justifiably proud of. And as if that wasn’t enough of a contribution from St. Farnan’s on the day Damien McGuinness, a former Connacht Scór na nÓg winner himself, was among the adjudicators.
We will be holding a Presentation Function in the Ocean Sands Hotel on Sat. March 9th next to honour the successes of our U-16 and Junior teams in 2012. A three course Buffet type meal will be served followed by a Disco. Tickets for the event at a recession friendly price of €20 are now on sale from club officials and players. More details next week.
Congratulations to former club junior player Paula (Rowlette) Hargadon and her husband Fergus, a long serving goalie with the GAA Club, on the occasion of the birth of their twins, a boy and girl, recently. Congrats also to Darren and Noreen Walsh on the birth of their baby boy. Hopefully both events will boost the playing populations of both clubs in years to come.