On Sunday 25th Oct. the newly formed Volleyball Club EUROPWYD VC hosted an exhibition-come-competition series of matches in Youghal GAA Hall featuring the Republic of Ireland Men’s Volleyball Squad, a selection of the best players in Ireland as an All-Stars Team and their own Division 1
Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com E mail news@youghalonline.com

New Club Formed: “Made in Europe”, “Youghal International Volleyball Club” and a Dungarvan ad-hoc group have joined together as a new club under the name EUROPWYD VC. The club is based around the Youghal & Dungarvan area and is looking to provide Volleyball opportunities to all players within this area.

EUROPWYD VC are presently in the process of establishing a junior section within the club with the kind assistance of the VAI Southern Development Officer, Ms. Ciara Buckley. This will provide for qualified trained members to coach young people initially Spikeball, but subsequently progressing to Volleyball. This should be up and running for the month of December. See http://www.volleyballireland.com

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The American Tea Party at the KGK Community Hall on Saturday 24th October was a great success.  Well done to all involved in organizing this fundraising event!  Your hard work, long hours and cooperation was clearly evident and greatly appreciated by all who attended.

The tables were beautifully arranged and dressed amid the soft lighting around the hall.  The dinners and desserts, supplied by our hosts, were of the highest standard.  In line with the theme of the evening, each of the 20 tables was given a US state-name.  There was a general US trivia quiz to keep the party going.  Novelty prizes were handed out to various participants.  A raffle was also held with prizes to be won, which were generously donated by several sponsors.
Dancing to the music of the local Bride Valley Boys kept the atmosphere alive until the wee small hours. A great night was had by all.
The KGK Community Hall Committee would like to give a very special thanks to all of our sponsors, organisers and young adults who helped throughout the night and most importantly to all of you who attended which made the night a fantastic success.  Thank you!

Youghal Utd 1 – 0  Ballincollig

This was as difficult a game as the girls will play all season. For the opening 15 minutes Ballincollig pushed the home side into their own half and held them there. Goal chances were far and few between and with Youghal’s defence standing firm Ballincollig’s possession fizzled out.

Holly Twomey, playing up front on her own, held the ball up well and with Rachel Galvin and Jess Lawton coming into the game more Youghal grew in confidence

Youghal finally put some decent passes together and looked likely to score for the first time. When the goal came it was fortunate but well deserved. Jess Lawton hit a strong corner and when the ball broke in the area Rachel Galvin was the first to react and prodded the ball with her right foot as it bounced. The keeper looked to have it but   fumbled the ball behind the line.

Ballincollig fought back and a goal bound effort was brilliantly blocked by debutant keeper, Jessica Swayne. With pressure mounting Jessica again proved she will be a huge addition to the squad when she grabbed a high ball with confidence. The goal gave Youghal a lift and there was great improvement in the second half. A six pass move almost brought a second goal. Holly Twomey’s touch saw the ball run onto Rachel Galvin who clashed with the Ballincollig keeper. When the ball broke Holly’s shot deflected off a defender and rolled to safety.

The visitors responded superbly, piling the pressure on with sustained attacks resulting in four consecutive corners. During this phase of the match the star of the day rose to the challenge. Kelly Sullivan put in a monumental performance to deny Ballincollig time and again. Alongside Sarah Roche, Michelle Healy and the equally outstanding Katie Manning the defence turned in  the performance of the season so far.

Youghal were now relying on counter-attacks and almost stole a second goal when Jess Lawton went on a great run only to see her shot parried to safety by the keeper. Youghal’s Jessica Swayne was then quick off her line to stop an equaliser and when Ballincollig’s excellent number 14 struck a free kick over the bar breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Next for the U-14s is a visit to Kinsale on Saturday 31st and they can now approach this game with confidence. Star players: Kelly Sullivan and Katie Manning.

Award Winning Ceramic Artist Martha Cashman’s exhibition opened at The Castlemartyr Resort Hotel last night (Fri. 23rd Oct.) Guest speaker was food historian Regina Sexton, Centre for Adult Continuing Education, University College Cork.
Report: www.youghalonline.com//Arts  Photo: Michael Hussey  Email: news@youghalonline.com

This is the first venture by The Castlemartyr Resort Hotel in hosting a ceramic exhibition and were delighted to show the wonderful talents of local girl Martha Cashman from Ballymacoda.

Regina Sexton highly praised the creative works on show and talked about the evolution of the implements that aid eating and serving through the history of Irish food that were the inspiration for the artist.

Martha said she wanted to bring her exhibits to the people here in The Castlemartyr Resort Hotel rather than the confines of the gallery which people might find a bit intimidating. Guests, family, friends and art connoisseur’s mingled in the beautiful surroundings and enjoyed the creations that the award winning artist brought to East Cork.
The ceramic exhibition on show from Fri Oct 23rd until Dec. 2009

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Tickets are now on sale for our first piece of theatre this autumn from The London Irish Theatre Company presenting Kavanagh, written by Tom O’Brien and directed by John Dunne.

A two-handed exploration of the life and times of Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh (1904-1967) as seen through the eyes of Hilda Moriarty (later to become Hilda O’Malley), the inspiration of Kavanagh famous, On Raglan Road.

Patrick Kavanagh was born in the village of Inniskeen, Co Monaghan, in 1904 and is now regarded as Ireland’s most important poet after WB Yeats. The son of a shoemaker and small farmer, he moved to Dublin in his mid thirties where he lived in poverty for most of his life, surviving on handouts, the occasional bit of journalism, but mostly being supported by his younger brother, Peter.

Tuesday,  November 3rd at 8pm at The Mall Arts Centre.

Tickets on sale at Crees Card Shop on the North Main Street tel: 024 93899 at €12, concessions €10.

Oona Colin
Facilities Coordinator
The Mall Arts Centre/St. Mary’s Collegiate Church
Tel: 083 360 6507

A large group of family and friends gathered recently to celebrate Joe Gleeson’s 90th birthday at Farrell’s Bar,  Summerfield, Youghal. All sides and generations of Joe’s family were represented and a great atmosphere prevailed for the day. Joe from the Pilmore area was said to have been frequenting Farrell’s bar for the past 70 years but when asked about this Joe simply replied “What 70 more like 80″

Congratulations Joe, heres to many more…

Photos & Story: Michael O Connell   Email: news@youghalonline.com

Click on images for larger…

John Spillane, Cork’s finest songwriter and charismatic performer, plays St Mary’s Collegiate Church in Youghal on Friday October 30. Sacred Root Productions are promoting the event to raise funds for their excellent work with youth and community groups. The concert is the first in a series to be staged in the historic Church with Mick Flannery coming at the end of November. -Interview with Youghal’s Eanna Dowling

Sacred Root conducts songwriting and performance workshops with youth and community groups throughout East Cork. The series of concerts will raise funds to enable CDs to be recorded and give participants access to top class tuition and studio experience.

John Spillane is a well-loved performer and recently released a career retrospective called “So Far So Good, Like”, his seventh solo album. With two Meteor awards on the mantelpiece and a reputation as one of Ireland’s best songwriters, the album compiles some of the outstanding songs from his career. I interviewed him recently about the album, the new tracks, singing in the kitchen with Christy Moore and the Irish Songs he learned at school

INTERVIEW

Eanna Dowling: John, you’ve just released a new album, can you tell us about it?
John Spillane: The new album is called “So Far So Good, Like”, released on EMI records. It’s available from good record shops and online.

ED “So Far So Good, Like” is a “best of” compilation – What’s on it, and are there any songs left out that you would have wanted on it?
JS I’ve recorded two new songs and re-recorded one old song. Then there’s two songs from each of my six albums to date. The one song that’s left out that I would have wanted on is “Prince’s Street” from “Will We Be Brilliant or What?” It was one of my earliest successes. But my manager, Lorcan Ennis, he picked the tracks, you have to give him something to do, you know, like?

ED One of the new tracks is called Passage West. How did that come about?
JS I’ve lived in Passage West for the last 12 years and one day a man approached me in the street and gave me a book on the history of the place. He asked me to write a song about it, so I did. It’s a song for the town and it’s a love song. People left Passage West to go to America and Queen Victoria visited in 1849. There’s still places in Passage called after her, Victoria Terrace and the like. There’s also a strong republican tradition in Passage West so I included that in the song too.

“The famine Queen stood tall and proud
On either bank the people bowed
From Passage West came a Fenian yell
‘Rule Britannia, rule in hell’”

ED Why did you re-record The Dance of the Cherry Trees?
JS Well I got a lot of slagging over the production on that song, people thought it was like Eastenders or the theme song from Bosco, the production was a bit poppy. So I’ve re-recorded it with my live band, it has a more acoustic sound, including some lovely cello.

ED You’ve written a lot of songs about places – Johnny Don’t Go to Ballincollig, Gortatogart and now Passage West. Is a sense of place important to you?
JS All my songs seem to be geographical now.

ED Christy Moore recently recorded your song Gortatagort, written about your family farm in West Cork. How does that feel to have Christy recording your songs?
JS It’s my proudest moment. He came out to visit the farm at Gortatagort, he walked the fields with me. My cousin has the farm now. We had high tea in the kitchen and I sang the song. Aunty Mary played the fiddle and Christy sang the Cliffs of Dooneen, it was marvellous, beautiful altogether. He recorded it for his new album “Listen” and he calls it “the emotional heart of that album.”

“I sing the field, I sing the farm
I sing the house my mother was born
In Gortatagort, Colomane
A green jewel.”

ED That’s the third of your songs that he’s recorded after Johnny Don’t Go and Magic Nights in the Lobby Bar.
JS Yes, I’m very proud of that, we’ve a bit of a mutual appreciation thing going on now.

ED You recently played in the Lobby Bar again, or the Crœib’n as it’s called now.
JS Yes, another great night, the gig was sold out. They were like lambs to the slaughter, we played brilliant.

ED “Irish Songs We Learned At School” was a success for the Gaelic Hit Factory last Christmas.
JS Yes, it was a great success, and I have to thank Ray D’Arcy and Ryan Tubridy. They picked up on it and it was like in the movies where a DJ hears a song and makes it a hit. It sold over 30,000 copies in Ireland and was number 7 in the Christmas chart, battling it out with BeyoncŽ, Brittany Spears and Joe Dolan in the top 10. It was largely on the back of that success that EMI, the record company, wanted to release a “best of” package and that’s what’s out now.

ED Will there be a follow up to “Irish Songs We Learned At School”?
JS Yes, there’s loads of great songs there, Eamonn an Cnoic, Mo Ghile Mear, loads of great Irish songs. I’ll be doing my homework and putting the tracks together. The record company wants us to do “Irish Songs We Learned at School Volume 2″, it’ll be out for Christmas. That’ll be my second album this year and I released two last year too.

ED The music scene in Cork is very strong. Are there any local artists you admire?
JS I’ve a lot of time for Ger Wolfe, who’s a very poetic songwriter. He’s well worth a listen. And Niwel Tsumbu, he’s a rare talent.

“There were magic nights in the Lobby Bar
when Ger Wolfe would sing like a lark,
singing ‘winter hung her coat
on a hanger of dark’”

ED You do a weekly radio show – Rogha John Spillane ar Radio na Gaeltachta – a diverse mix of contemporary and classic tracks from cŽil’ to reggae.
JS It’s kind of a sideline thing, I play for a couple of hours on a Sunday night. I play music I like myself and, as you say, it’s very diverse. I play Irish music but I like to throw in a little AC/DC to wake up the Gaelgeoir’, or a bit of Deep Purple, or something like the Ace of Spades.

John Spillane plays St. mary’s Collegiate Church Youghal on Friday October 30, starting at 8.00. Tickets €18, door €20. Support from Grayson. Contact Sacred Roots at 087 9957102 for tickets or details.

See www.johnspillane.com for more information about John, including gig listings, his career to date and up to date news.

The Mall Arts Centre was buzzing with laughter and giggles last Tuesday night (October 20th) with a sell out concert by the one and only Brendan Grace.
Photo: Michael Hussey   Email: news@youghalonline.com

Brendan charmed the socks off all present, from the very young to the not so young, with his family friendly sense of humour.  The show started at 8pm sharp and went right on to well after 10.30pm where he signed his latest cd and dvd and posed for photographs without hesitation.

“I love playing in smaller venues like this, where I can get real close to the audience” says Brendan “they were a wonderful, happy crowd” he added.
Lets hope we’ll see Brendan back in Youghal again soon for all those who missed out this time !

Next comedy line up at the Mall Arts Centre is Jon Kenny, one of the most talented comedians in Ireland, on Saturday, November 28th.  Get you tickets now and don’t be left out in the cold !

For more details contact Oona on 083 360 6507 or email your details for future events to themallartscentre@gmail.com.

Oona Colin – event organiser and facilities coordinator of the Mall Arts Centre

Mary Clohessy – helper on the night

Sandra Kennedy – helper/on the door

Barry Clohessy jnr – usher/helper/tea maker etc

Click on image to see who was at Brendan’s sell out show

Valarie’s Hair Salon, 24 North Main St. Youghal. Tel: 024 91822
Proprietor: Valarie Griffin
Staff: Louise, Andrea and Emma

Valarie’s Hair Salon, 24 North Main St. Youghal.
-For that professional touch-

Valarie’s Hair Salon has a warm friendly feeling, where you feel instantly relaxed and giving plenty of time to discuss with Valarie and her staff  your requirements. Valarie’s Hair Salon for that professional touch.
Valarie’s clientele includes all ages, Male or Female. Valarie and her staff are up to date with all the latest in hair creations. Feel free to phone or call into Valarie for a consultation. Phone: 024 91822

Youghal Town Council accorded a civic reception to Youghal man Christy Cooney, President of the GAA at the council  chambers on Monday night (19th Oct. 2009). A large audience representing members of Youghal GAA club and Christy’s family and friends were present to honour the Youghal native who heads the largest sporting organisation in the country.
Photo: www.youghalonline.com Email: news@youghalonline.com

Speech by Mayor of Youghal Sandra McLellan at the civic reception held in The Mall House to honour Youghal native Christy Cooney, President of the GAA.

“Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to welcome you all here this evening.

On behalf of Youghal Town Council it gives me great pleasure to honour Christy Cooney, a native of Youghal with this Civic Reception in recognition of his achievement in becoming president of the Gaelic Athletic Association.

Christy has given a lifetime service to the G.A.A. both as a player and administrator at all levels.

He was secretary of the Youghal Juvenile Club at just 16 years of age. He represented Youghal at both East Cork and County Level and held every position within the Youghal Club down through the years. He was also Chairman of the Youghal Club for 2 terms, Chairman of the Cork County Board, Chairman of the Munster Council and now currently President of the GAA.

Id like to pay tribute to all of Christys family especially his wife Ann, his daughter Edel, and his son Patrick who lives in Australia because I know it was a team effort.

Id also like to mention Christys parents Paddy and Agnes who would have been very proud of him.

Christy, The people of Youghal are very proud of you on your fantastic achievement and I am delighted all your hard work and dedication has paid off.”

Click on image to see the civic reception accorded to Christy Cooney, President of the GAA at the Mall Arts Centre, Town Hall, Youghal