The launch took place at the Church of the Holy Family Hall, Magnier’s Hill, Youghal
on Wednesday 8th Feb. 2012.

Youghal Cycling Club are pleased to announce that the 3rd Annual Vee Challenge will be held on Sunday, 12th August 2012.  The event has grown in success from year to year with significant monies being raised for local charities.

This year Youghal Cycling Club are delighted to announce, that in 2012, we will be supporting local athlete Amanda Crotty in her preparations for the Paralympic Games later this year.  Amanda, who has been visually impaired since birth, is a member of Youghal Athletic Club and the Irish Paralympic Team.  As a visually impaired runner, she competes while tethered to a guide, who must always remain behind the athlete.

We are also delighted to announce that Cognex Corporation have continued their sponsorship of The Vee Challenge for 2012.  Running a cycling sportiff has significant costs and recurring expenses.  Having a main sponsor is a massive help to the Club and ensures maximum return of funds raised to the chosen recipients.  Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures and markets a range of products that incorporate sophisticated machine vision technology that gives them the ability to “see.”   Cognex products include barcode readers, machine vision sensors and machine vision systems that are used in factories, warehouses and distribution centres around the world to guide, gauge, inspect, identify and assure the quality of items during the manufacturing and distribution process.  Cognex is the world’s leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped more than 700,000 vision-based products, representing over $3 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company’s founding in 1981.  Headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, USA, Cognex has regional offices and distributors located throughout North America, Japan, Europe, Asia and Latin America.  For details, visit Cognex on-line at http://www.cognex.com

In 2012 we will again offer two routes for riders.  The 130km Vee Challenge which takes in the ascent of the Vee from Lismore and descending into Clogheen before climbing the Vee again through the Sheep’s Pass  From here we head to the food stop on the road to Cappoquin.  Refuelled the route will pass by the Blackwater Valley taking in the beautiful Dromana drive before heading for the coast and the final sting in the tail, at Monatrea, offering fantastic views of Youghal town.

The second option is the 90km Vee Ascent.  This route covers most of the roads that the Vee Challenge incorporates with participants climbing the Vee as far as Glenaknockaun before turning back for the R669 and the welcome food stop along this gentle descent into the town of Cappoquin.  This route is ideal for those looking for a moderate challenge with the scenic climb of the Vee, along with the beautiful Dromana drive part of the route.  A reasonable level of fitness would be required to enjoy your day in the saddle and the fantastic scenery that the area offers.

Please check out website www.youghalcyclingclub.com and our facebook page for regular updates.

Related story click on image below

Amanda Crotty Set To Be Youghal’s First Paralympic Athlete. – By Christy Parker

The usual high standard of excellence on the green baize was enjoyed by all at the Youghal C.Y.M.S snooker and billiards finals on Thursday the 2nd of February. The climax of both competitions brought Noel Landers against local Ross Bulman and Killian McCarthy against Adam Bulman. In a very competitive snooker match Ross took the first frame however the Cork under 14 champion Noel Landers came back to claim the next two frames and become this years winner of the ‘Dan the Baker’ trophy.

On the other table Killian McCarthy beat Adam Bulman in the Youghal C.Y.M.S Billiards final. In the first to 100 points Killian crossed the line with Adam trailing by 25 points. Congratulations to both players on reaching the final and all the other players who participated in this exciting and new venture for the junior players in the revived Junior Billiards tournament. Hon. Vice President Brendan Cooney and Secretary Ray Phelan acted as referees.

Cork Sports Partnership are running a Code of Ethics Basic Awareness Course in Youghal this Friday the 10th of Feb.
The course will run in the East Cork Further Education & Youthreach Centre (old Colaiste Eoin), on the Golf links road, next to St Raphaels from 1.15pm to 4.30pm

If you are interested in participating in this course, for which you will get a certificate please follow the link below:
http://www.corksports.ie/index.cfm/page/codeofethics2 here you will get further information and a registration form to complete

The cost per participant is €18 which is to be made payable to the Cork Sports Partnership.

Youghal Camogie Awards for 2011 took place last Friday night.  Youghal done well over the past 12 months in competition, both with Imokilly and County sections.U13 girls were runners up in the Imokilly A League and with the U18’s bringing home the U18 Championship County title last November was the highlight of the year.

Various awards were giving out to the Underage, with U8/U10/U12s awarded with Certificates and medals for the Cluster of Go Games Blitz’s, that went on over the east cork area over the summer months. Go Games is a new non-competitive league which caters for the age group from U12 down to players of 6 yrs of age.

U14 – Most Improved Player of the Year went to Eimear Farrell, with U14 – Most Dedicated Player of the Year was awarded to Sophie Monaghan. U16 – Most Improved went to Ellie Budds after having a great year with the U16s and U18 panels. U16 – Dedicated Player of the Year when to Shannen Bulman-Joyce another girl who shone in the U16 & U18 panels in 2011.

A number of the girls made the Cork Panels this year namely: Shona Cunningham for the Cork Intermediates, Leah Broderick – U16 Cork Panel, Emily Roche – U15 Cork Development Panel, Cork Primary Schools – Niamh Roche, Caitriona O Keeffe, Shauna O Connell, and Erin Galvin.

Great night had by all, with plenty of food from the generosity of the parents of the club, who have been great over the year with the support they show for the girls. Well done to all the trainers and mentors who give up a lot of their spare time to help train the teams. Underage training will begin shortly, keep you posted.

Click on image to see the Youghal Camogie Award Recipients for 2011. – Photo Youghal GAA. -

Youghal GAA Notes.

Eochaill Og Notes ( Tony Farrell)

Eochaill Og Match Reports and Results:

Sunday 29.01.12  – Venue: Cloughduv   – U/16 County Hurling League Final .

Eochaill  0  -  05       Clonakilty  1 – 08

On Sunday 29th January the postponed U16 County League Hurling Final V Clonakilty took place in Cloughduv. This proved to be tough day for the lads having lost all momentum after winning the East Region league Final in November. Both teams tried their hardest but the game never got to championship pace. Clonakilty started the brighter and it took our lads 20mins to get going. Try as hard as we could we just never got into the game and Clonakilty ran out winners on a score line of 1-8 to 0-5.

Team:  Kash Ranson, Sean Farrell, Chris Morrison, Conor Hennessy, Bill Mc Grath, Mark Flaherty, Chris Savage, Matt Farrell, Colin Keenaghan{Capt], Aidan O’Neill, Danny Walsh, Andrew Joyce, Ryan Coady, Ollie Dempsey, Ronan O’Sullivan.

Subs- Harry Oliphant, Rory Walsh, James Kelly, Darragh O’Connell.

Friday 01.02.12 – Venue: Club Aras   – Minor Football Challenge.

Eochaill  5  -  08          Clashmore  3 – 12

Our Minor footballers got their season off to a winning start on Friday night last when they took on near neighbours Clashmore in a challenge. This was a positive start for the lads playing a nice attacking style. Faced with a strong Clashmore defence our forwards kicked some great scores with David O’Mahony, Dale Donoughe and Ordhan Brennan leading the way. David Twomey at midfield, Jason Murphy and Chris Savage in defence were solid throughout.

Team:  G. O’Regan, C. Savage, R. O’Sullivan, M. O’Neill, C. Daly, O. Brennan, J Murphy,

D. Twomey,  B. O’Donoughe, D. O’Donoughe, C. Keenaghan, T. Coleman, C. Farrell,

D. O’Mahony, M. Kenefick.

Sub:  A. Joyce

Saturday 04.02.12  – Venue: Carrigadrohid  – U/14 Football League.

Canovee  2  -  12          Eochaill  0 – 01

On Saturday our under 14 Footballers travelled away to play Canovee in the opening round of the football league. On a very wet day in Carrigadrohid with the bare 15 players available ( our thanks to Rory Mc Sweeney for coming along and making up the numbers ) we took to the field of play. Canovee had us under pressure right from the start. Our full back line all played well. The two Mc Sweeney brothers tried very hard. Aaron O Callaghan had a good second half at wing forward.

A special thanks to Catherine, David and Sandy for their time given in helping to drive the lad’s to Carrigadrohid. It was great to have their support on the day, encouraging and driving the team on, when all seemed against them including the weather.

Best for Youghal:  Zach Downing, Jack Monaghan and Conor Walsh.

Team: Liam Mariga, Sean Hennessey, Liam Forrest, Zach Downing, Aaron O Callaghan, Rian McSweeney, Jack Monaghan, Leon Coady, Conor Walsh, Sean Smiddy, Fionn Cliffe, Cathal Mariga, Dillon Hogan, Oran Hennessey, Rory McSweeney.

Monday 06.02.12  – Venue: Club Aras  – U/15 Football League.

Eochaill  4  -  09          Midleton  5 – 08

Tuesday 07.02.12  – Venue: Club Aras  – Minor Football League.

Eochaill  4  -  07          Castlelyons  1 – 08

Our Minor Footballers got their League campaign of to a winning start when they took on Castlelyons in Youghal on Tuesday last 7TH February. Missing a few players due to college and exams, the lads started brightly. Both sides were evenly matched in the first half. Up front David O’Mahony and Dale Donoghue were playing well. Jason Murphy and Chris Savage tried hard to keep the Castlelyons attack at bay. A spell of Indiscipline led to a number of silly frees which the visitors converted. With five minutes to go to the break Tomas Coleman scored a well taken goal after great work by David Twomey and Cillian Ansbro. The first half finished, Youghal 1-2 Castlelyons 0-7.

The second half saw Ronan O’Sullivan move to midfield and Lee McCarthy introduced at center back. Right from the throw in Youghal set about winning this game with a much improved attitude. Colin Keenaghan at center forward started to get on more ball and our midfield pairing dominated the center of the field which led to a better supply to the full forward line and after 7 minutes Andrew Joyce finished a great move to the back of the Castlelyons net. From there the lads controlled the game and ran out winners on a score line of Youghal 4-8 Castlelyons 1-7. Round 2 of the league see the lads travel to Blarney to take on the home side on 18th February.

Team: Danny Walsh, C Savage, R O’Sullivan, M O’Neill, C Daly, D Twomey, J Murphy, B O’Donoghue, C Ansbro, D O’Donoghue, C Keenaghan, T Colman, O Dempsey, D O’Mahony, M Coady.

Subs.  C Finn, C Morrisson, M Farrell, L McCarthy, G O’Regan.

Upcoming Eochaill Og Match Fixtures.

14.02.12  -  U16P2FL Eochaill v Midleton Topfield @ 7:30pm

17.02.12  -  U14BFL Eochaill v Bride Rovers Topfield @ 8pm

18.02.12  -  MAFL Blarney v Eochaill in Blarney @ 4pm

18.02.12  -  U15AFL Eochaill v Erins Own Topfield @ 4pm

25.02.12  -  U13AFL Eochaill v Macroom away @ 2pm

Bag Packing in Tesco 4.02.12

Thank you to everybody that helped with our Bag packing in Tesco on Saturday the 4th last. A total of €780 was collected on the day. Also, thank you to all that contributed to the collection at such short notice. This collection will greatly help with the purchasing of new equipment for all our underage teams.

Website:  Our website to keep in touch with all activities, match reports, managers and contact numbers

for each please log onto www.youghal.cork.gaa.ie.

David McSavage – He’s Alive Inside! – Youghal is in for a treat!

On Saturday 25th February 2012, one of Ireland’s most popular comedians and street entertainers is coming to the Mall Arts Centre Youghal – David McSavage. Most well-known from his hilarious RTE show ‘Savage Eye’, his cutting commentary and performances cover all aspects of life and nothing is safe from his truth induced interpretations. From The Barman (Mick The Bull) to Father Finnegan to former President Mary Robinson and Pat…….Kenny, audiences relate to each character from the many aspects of Irish life.

A regular guest on TV and radio shows in Ireland for many years, McSavage has also appeared at all the major comedy festivals including the Edinburgh Festival and internationally in Australia, Germany and Scandinavia. He is well known for his street shows in Dublin’s Temple Bar.

In 2009, he devised, wrote and starred in the six part TV series The Savage Eye on RTÉ. The show which has been critically acclaimed, was nominated for an IFTA award for Best Entertainment Series. The third series and a Christmas special, is currently being filmed and will be released by RTÉ 2 shortly in 2012.

David McSavage is mischievous to the last and revels in creating tension. His aim is to make you feel uncomfortable with his comedy cutting close to the bone! He quarantees belly aching laughter and this really is a night not to be missed!

With recent sell out performances in the Opera House and Vicar Street, this is a real treat for the community of Youghal. The show takes place on Saturday 25th February 2012 in the Mall Arts Centre. Doors open at 7.30pm and show starts at 8pm.

Tickets are selling at the hugely competitive rate of 16 euro for adults and 14 euro concessions (students / unemployed). Reserve your ticket by contacting 083-3606507 or 024-81823; alternatively you can email your reservation to themallartscentre@gmail.com. Tickets can also be purchased from the Yew Wood booking office (the Coach House, Entreprise Centre, Emmet Place, Youghal) and Youghal Tourist Office.

Events in the Mall Arts Centre are part of the Youghal Socio Economic Development Group.

McSavage is a comedic force… a riotous evening and a thoroughly entertaining show -entertainment.ie

One of Ireland’s funniest comedians – The Irish Mirror

He makes me jealous sometimes because he kind of goes to areas that, in a sense, I am forbidden from going to. He (David McSavage) says an awful lot of things that I would love to say and can’t. He takes an awful lot of risks. – Mario Rosenstock

“A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC” – to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day, the Ailbrin Society presents a musical evening with John Kennedy. John is well known to the many listeners of CRY and we look forward to an entertaining and informative evening. It will be held on Wednesday, 15th February at 8.30 pm in the Red Store, North Main Street, Youghal. Members free; non-members 5E. New members always welcome.

John Kennedy from Community Radio Youghal presented a wonderful evening of music and nostalgia entitled ” The sound of greatness” celebrating the World famous Irish tenor Count John McCormack at The Walter Raleigh Hotel as special guest of The Youghal Ailbrin Society.

People often ask what is Ailbrin? It is a small society that hosts a series of talks on a variety of subjects, from September to April on the third Wednesday of the month. The name Ailbrin is the oldest known Irish name for Youghal and means wooded rock.

The talks cover a wide range of subjects from local history, current affairs, travel, art, music, architecture to deep sea diving. Many of the most popular talks with the public have been given by local speakers.

The society was founded in 1966 by Noel Mc Namara a local solicitor, as a discussion group. Michael Murray acted as Chairperson in its early years. Members met once a month in the Devonshire Arms Hotel and as the speakers were friends and the room was free there was no fee.

After some years the Society expanded, speakers were brought in from outside to broaden our horizons. All this activity involved more expenses, fees for speakers, room rental and inevitably insurance. It also required a hard working and dedicated committee, most of whom have given several years and much of their time to keeping the show on the road. What we now need are more members interested in helping the present committee. At a meeting on Monday September 17th, a discussion was held on whether or not to continue with the society’s activities, the present committee has agreed to stay on until April of next year.

Eochaill Og Notes – Report: Tony Farrell

 Eochail Og Awards Night 2012:  Eochaill Og in conjunction with the Ladies Football Club, held their awards night on the 22nd January last where winning teams from 2011 received their medals from one of the top Hurlers in the country Micheal Fennelly and Cork Ladies Football captain Amy O’Shea. On the night there was a great turnout of up to 350 club members and parents to honour the younger members of the club.
Guests on the night included Canon Brown, Ger Motherway, Christy Cooney, Micheal Fennelly, Amy O’Shea and Orla Farmer. MC for the night was Mick Sheehan who interviewed the guests and some of the players.

Both clubs would like to congratulate all the players and team mentors for their success in 2011 and wish them all the success possible for the coming season.

Eochaill Og would also like to congratulate all the players concerned for their awards received on the night on representing the club at both Imokilly and Cork underage level. We would hope that this level of representation of the club by the players continues and hopefully grows in 2012.

Both Clubs would like to extend their thanks and appreciation to everyone in the club for their help in another successful night for Eochaill Og & YLFC and hope that our Juvenile members and families enjoyed their night.

Underage Managers for 2012 are as follows:

Minor Hurling Manager:  Fergal Keenaghan Minor Football Manager: Fergal Keenaghan, U16 Manager: Tommy O’Connell, U15 Manager – Tommy O’Connell, U14 Manager – Philip Monaghan, U13 Manager – Philip Monaghan, U12 Manager – Joe Kirk, U11 Manager – Donal O’Sullivan, U10 Manager – Hugh Dorrian, U9 Manager – Alan Geary, U8 Manager – John Bulman, U7 Manager – Vincent Murray U6 Manager – John Lynch , Gaelic4Girls – Cormac Galvin.

Eochaill Og Training Times 2012:

U18 – Fri 7 – 8pm

U16 – Sat 4 – 5pm

U14 – Mon 7 – 8pm

U12 – Returning early February ( TBC )

U11 – Tues & Thurs 7:30 – 8:30pm

U10 – Sat 9:30am Tues 5:30pm

U9   – Tues 6:30 – 7:30pm & Fri 6 – 7pm

U8   – beginning Sat Feb 11th  & subsequent Thurs  5:30pm – 6:30pm

U7   – beginning Sat Feb 11th @ 11:30am

U6   – beginning Sat Feb 11th @ 11:30am

All players / parents will be notified by text of any amendments or cancellations of the above times and

date’s by the relevant managers.

General Note: Youghal GAA are collecting old mobile phones in aid of the Autistic Association. Please

support by dropping in any unwanted phones into Club Aras. Your support would be greatly

appreciated by all.

Website:  Our website to keep in touch with all activities, match reports, managers and contact numbers

for each please log onto www.youghal.cork.gaa.ie.

Parents Committee:  If there are any parents that would like to get involved it the parents committee

please contact Jillian Corcoran.  All help is very much appreciated. We would encourage all parents to

get involved and it would be great to see parents from each team participating in the parents committee.

We are hoping to have our first meeting for St. Patrick’s Day parade in early January.  I would like to

take this opportunity to thank most sincerely the parents that have helped out in all events so far and look

forward to your continued support.

The AGM will be held on Wednesday 8th February 2012 at 8 p.m in the Red Store, Youghal. Everyone, every group and every society is invited to come along and make a contribution if they wish.

After almost one year in existence Youghal Concerned Citizens Group are gearing up for another successful year ahead. In just 12 months the group organised 4 festivals in Youghal including a Mackerel festival, a Teddy Bears picnic, a Halloween festival and the Dickens themed Christmas which brought great colour to the town.

The upcoming Moby Dick festival will take place on 16th March and plans are very advanced for this, according to Ruth Vance-Lee group PRO. The highlight of the festival will be a live debate which will be broadcast to American schools and Universities (who still study the novel, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, as part of their school curriculum).

Other achievements of the group during its inaugural year were clean ups of the quay area and Mall beach,a meet and greet campaign which saw locals give of their time to meet tour buses and provide tourists on the street with any information required. Thanks to the kindess of local musicians and dancers, busy days when lots of buses visited Youghal saw the provision of entertainment and activity which is crucial in attracting further bus visits. The YCC Group also highlighted the issue of dog litter in Youghal and in conjunction with Youghal Town Council, an informational campaign as well as the provision of free dog litter bags around town was put in place. We continue to pursue this item.

The closure of the Diving Rocks was high on the agenda for 2011 and we lobbied hard to ensure the area would be re-opened. Having submitted a proposal that would have seen a volunteer builder carry out the works, we are delighted that Youghal Town Council have allocated money towards re-opening the area by this April.

We have also been busy in getting empty shop windows around town decorated. The windows of Merrick’s are a prime example of this type of work.

What happens next is the question that will be asked at the AGM. Members of the public are invited to bring along any ideas they might have on how Youghal can better itself for both residents and businesses alike. Ruth Vance-Lee of the Committee said, “The group was set up as an all-inclusive group with one goal i.e. bringing Youghal’s future to the people of Youghal. It is only right that Youghal’s people be given the voice to decide where the group’s future lies.” One of the considerations for the AGM is a name change. The committee feel that Youghal Concerned Citizens is too inward looking now and that the Group has outgrown the name. Jimmy Flanagan, chair of the group stated “Now we have given Youghal back to the people of Youghal it is time we gave Youghal to the outside world. We feel ‘Youghal 4 All’, better fits this
goal”.

The AGM will be held on Wednesday 8th February 2012 at 8 p.m in the Red Store, Youghal. Everyone, every group and every society is invited to come along and make a contribution if they wish.

BLACKWATER ESTUARY ACTION GROUP (BEAG)
Youghal says NO to Hazardous Waste Campaign Update

In early December 2011, An Bord Pleanála made known their decision that the planning application granted to Eras Eco Ltd., Foxhole, Youghal does not constitute a Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID).  Since that decision was made public, BEAG’s professional representatives have been analysing all the available documentation to establish the accuracy of information on which this decision and
the original planning application was based.

As a result, BEAG has identified discrepancies in the legislation and implementation process, facts which will be lodged with Youghal Town Council, Cork County Council, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), An Bord Pleanála and all other relevant statutory bodies before the end of January, along with 2,500 of the gathered signatures of protest.

BEAG continue to work tirelessly, meeting weekly.  The research, analysis and reporting by the group is ongoing.

On 12th January a group of residents invited BEAG to hold a public meeting at the Castlemartyr Resort Hotel at which the plans and traffic movements involved in this planning proposal were outlined.  This networking will also involve information meetings in Killeagh, Tallow and other outlying villages and towns.

BEAG’s case grows stronger as we amass information and broaden our communications network.

Stand with us and protect our town and it’s environment.

The decision date for the appeal to An Bord Pleanála is 23rd February 2012.

Gardaí keep open mind on cause of factory blaze

By Sean O’Riordan

Friday, January 27, 2012

Gardaí say they’re keeping “an open mind” on how a fire started at a former factory in Co Cork.

It took fire brigade crews from three different stations several hours to put out the fire at the former Seafield Technological Textiles factory in Youghal, only for it to re-ignite yesterday.

According to gardaí, smoke was spotted pouring out of the building, which is close to Perks amusements, on the Cork Road, at around 1pm on Wednesday.

The emergency services were alerted by a passerby and local fire crews were joined by units from Ardmore and Midleton.

Part of the building was extensively gutted and an asbestos roof caved in.

The fire brigade crews remained at the scene for six hours to continue damping down operations.

However, they were tasked again to the scene yesterday morning after the fire re-ignited.

A garda spokesman said they were awaiting a full report from forensic experts who examined the scene and were trying to determine how the fire was started.

Read more: http://www.examiner.ie