THE SASH Thursday December 23rd 2010
The Weekly Online Newsletter of Sarsfields GAA Club.
Happy Christmas.
Thanks to all our players for their commitment in 2010 and non-players who have worked so hard throughout the year on the various committees to ensure the continued success of the Sarsfields Club. We look forward to continued success in 2011 for the Sash. Happy Christmas and New Year to all our members, friends and supporters.
Sunday Tribune Interview With Dermot Earley.
A year of sadness ends as proud son plays on in the name of the father
A knee injury ruined Dermot Earley’s chances of helping Kildare make an All Ireland final and win the trophy that eluded his much-missed father
Ewan MacKenna talks to Dermot Earley
There’ll be an empty seat at the dinner table this year. An empty chair in the living room as the evening withers its way towards a full and tired conclusion. An empty feeling throughout the day as he spends his first Christmas without his dad around, talking in that wise and steady voice that always made people listen and made his son proud. Dermot Earley jnr has prepared himself as best he can for next Saturday, but as has been the case these past few months, it’s a learning curve that carries on into infinity. He pauses and then sighs at the thought of it. ‘We’ll have a big dinner and have a few visitors but to be honest, after everything, it’ll be a day for us to spend together as a family.’
He mentions a picture he has at home, the famous one of his dad’s last game where Eugene Lavin and Willie Joe Padden carried the Roscommon legend from the pitch, where he and his brother Conor are visible in the background, draped in yellow and running excitedly after him.
He talks about moving to New York when his dad served with the UN, how he could see the joy he took out of it all, and how ‘since I came back from America at 14, I said, ‘Yeah, the army, that’s what I want to do too”. Even when he brings up his one service abroad, when in Bosnia in 2004 his regiment moved into an American base with ‘a 15-mile radius I used to run and that had an American football field with rugby posts I used to practice on every day,’ he’s aware of the parallels. After all, those who served with his father in Lebanon testify to Dermot snr running and bouncing a ball most mornings despite the risk of sniper fire. ‘People can say it’s almost copybook. It’s just how much he enjoyed it, I could see how much he got out of it. It was obvious, so little wonder I wanted to follow.’
For Dermot jnr, this year could have been about an All Ireland. And it should have been about an injury that kept him out of the semi-final against Down. Coming off his best-ever season in 2009 where he covered the pitch as if it were a basketball court, he jarred his knee in early-season training and turned on it in a league game against Laois, a moment that saw him tear 90 per cent of the cruciate ligament. ‘I was told I’d need an operation eventually, but I may be able to keep playing, that it depended on how strong my quads and other muscles were to stabilise the knee. So I kept going.
‘The doctor said I would have to tone it down about 10 per cent but in championship instinct takes over. And I remember thinking against Leitrim when I came down from the throw in at the start of the second half, the last bit of the ligament is gone and it’s completely torn. I played on for a while that day and in the rest of the qualifiers I had no problems. There were times when you get a dart of pain but it goes away again. If you were in the same boat, then you’d do the same thing. Any footballer would keep going unless his leg was hanging off. I don’t want it to sound like I’m delighted I came through some pain barrier and it makes me unique. I’m not.’ But his 2010 wasn’t about an All Ireland final or playing through the pain barrier and it was unique as it became about the personal story of the summer. For all Cork and Tipperary achieved as teams, what he achieved in late June as the qualifiers stuttered into life echoes loudly into winter too. The championship isn’t solely about winners. It’s about the many threads that make it up. And he provided one of main ones, as one Friday in the Irish Times, the death notice read:
EARLEY Dermot, June 23, 2010 – Gorthaganny, Co. Roscommon and College Park, Newbridge, Co. Kildare. Lieutenant General, former Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces. Beloved husband of Mary and dear father to David, Conor, Dermot, Paula, Anne-Marie and Noelle… Burial after 11o’c Requiem Mass with military honours to Newbridge Parish Cemetery, Kilbelin tomorrow (Saturday) June 26…. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
The next day in the sports section of the same and every other newspaper read the fixture: All Ireland SFC Qualifiers Round One. Kildare v Antrim, St Conleth’s Park, Newbridge, 7.00. That he attended both was something special and oozing courage. In the morning he buried his father; in the evening he served his county.
‘I suppose it’s one of those things that maybe people might not understand or people might say you should have been home with your family. You have to realise that football in our house is a massive part of our lives. After all, it’s the family that allows the person to go and make the commitment and go to all that training and miss out on all the other things they could be doing together. The love is there, the family want the player to succeed, and they allow them to do that stuff. And that week I knew the match was coming, my Dad passed on Wednesday and I sat down and I talked to Mam and my brothers and sisters and I didn’t want anything extra to change. There was enough already changing.
‘At the same time I was conscious of the funeral and I felt that Dad would have wanted me to play. He knew how much it meant to me and he would have wanted me to go out there and give it my best. That’s exactly what he said to me every time I played a match, go out and give it your best. It’s the same thing I said going out to play against Antrim. But that night I went home, went up to my parent’s house, my Mam’s house, and a lot of things go through your head. And I suppose for maybe that hour and a half of the game I was able to go away and concentrate on that match and have that release. But again it’s not something that requires any extra status. It happens people.’
‘He would have meant so much to them and it was their way of paying their respects. It was a nice gesture, very nice. The support we got from all over Ireland, but especially from the people of Roscommon, was unbelievable and still is. And I’ve been down there a couple of times for different events and any time his name is mentioned the place goes silent, it’s unbelievable to see it. When I was young, we used to go down to Hyde Park training, and you don’t appreciate the magnitude of it. And then the fact we were living in Kildare, you forget almost how much he meant. But even that day, my family and sisters were in the stand and the amount of Roscommon people that went up to them… very special.’
That Kildare won was consolation, as was the hope of playing in the semi-final, but in hindsight he believes he was lying to himself. The morning of the Down game he went for a fitness test and could run a straight line as well as at any stage in his career, but turning was a different story. And we all know the story of that day. ‘Of course it’s hard when you go so far in summer and it would be so special to win an All Ireland at any time, but certainly in the year when my Dad dies. And the fact he never won one, you know. Everyone has their own reasons for playing football and I know mine. Ah, I’ll keep that to myself, but he never won one, I’d love to win one.’
Instead he saw Cork win one and having attended the final, seeing them celebrating on the pitch only increased his hunger. But with the season over, on the way home that evening he finally drew breath on a year of near misses and huge loss. And right now, these last few months are still only seeping in. ‘I’m looking forward to a fresh start in 2011, but I won’t forget 2010 for personal reasons and sporting reasons. I’ll look and say as a team what did we learn from that year and individually what did I learn? I learned a few things about myself I’ll bring forward with me. ‘But this time of year is tough. Thankfully my Mam is a very strong woman. You talk about my father being a huge influence but my Mam is as well. She is a huge GAA supporter and a very good analyst. ‘But I guess one of the toughest things, and it’s still tough, is not having him there to ask about stuff. And it’s not even about football, it’s other things as well. For instance, in September I was doing some work and my first thought was I must ask my Dad what he thinks of it. Then I realised he was gone and at moments like that reality hits me. We used to talk a lot about football before games and a lot after and that’s something I will miss.’
There’ll be an empty seat at the dinner table this year. An empty chair in the living room as the evening withers its way towards a full and tired conclusion. But there’ll be a house full of warm memories too. ‘I have to be grateful for the man he was and how much I learned from him,’ smiles Earley. ‘I’ll always be very proud he was my father.’
Sarsfields AGM
At the Sarsfields AGM held on Saturday night last the following Officers were elected: Chairman, Ray O’Sullivan. Vice Chairman, Christy Horan re-elected. Secretary John Holden re-elected. Treasurer Shane Cambell, re-elected, PRO, Tony Ryan re-elected. Registrar, Kathleen Ryan re-elected. Co Board Delegate. Kevin McNulty, re-elected.
Floodlight Committee
During the AGM Padraig Brennan made an excellent PowerPoint presentation on a Senior players driven initiative to have top quality floodlights installed on pitches two and three for the benefit of all teams now and into the future. His appeal for financial support from all members was met with a positive response. For as little as €4 per week members can contribute to the scheme. Padraig and his committee have had discussions with Newbridge Credit Union with regard to members taking out loans to help defray the substantial costs involved. Padraig said that already the floodlight committee had offers of financial support from 50 people. More details about the plan will be forthcoming in the New Year.
Sash Newsletter
The latest Sash Newsletter dedicated to the memories of the late Tommy O’Hanlon and Dermot Earley is now available. Copies can be obtained from the following: Buckley’s Allenview Heights, O’Connors Centra, Main Street, Coffey’s, Con Cummins. And Johnson’s and Joe Keogh barber. Thanks to Secretary John Holden for his production of the AGM booklet and his work on the attractive layout of the Sash Newsletter.
Message from Sarsfields Ladies Secretary Dema Houlihan.
Firstly, a massive big thank you to all our managers and mentors in
2010, for all your hard work and dedication, it goes without saying
there would be no ladies teams wearing the Sarsfields jersey only for
the amount of time and effort you all put in.
As usual we had a lot of success this year but most importantly all
Sarsfields teams are still playing at the highest level in all age
groups.Its a credit to all involved and thanks to everyone who helped
out during the year, especially the parents who were always there be
it for transport, sandwiches etc….. go raibh milé maith agát.
Now we move on to 2011, and as normal we the committee are now looking
for all of the following positions to be filled.
We dot not need an immediate answer just something to think about over
the Christmas when you have some spare time !!!
If you can reply to myself or Paul before 10 Jan 2011 we can then
organise a ladies AGM to follow soon after.
U12 Manager and mentors
U14 Manager and mentors
U16 Manager and mentors
Minor Manager and mentors
Senior Manager and mentors
We are also looking for some of the older p[layers to get involved in
academy training on Saturday morningsfor about 90 minutes, and
hopefully the girls involved last year will remain on.
In all of the above it would be ideal to have minimum of 3 mentors (Mixed)
Finally, I’d like to wish each and every one of you a happy, healthy
and peaceful Christmas and all the best for the new year.
Dema Houlihan
Sarsfields ladies sec
Club Membership Discount Scheme
Sarsfields members can avail of a 10% discount when they show their membership cards while shopping at the following businesses that are participants of the Club Membership Discount Card Scheme.
Acupuncture and Sports Therapy – Gerry Loftus 16 lower Eyre Street.
Amazon Beauty Salon, Ballymany Shopping Centre, Newbridge
An Chistin Restaurant, George’s St, Newbridge
Attic Storage, Industrial Estate, Newbridge.
Biodental Dental Laboratory, Middle Eyre Street
Blooms Florist, Henry Street , Newbridger
Champions Sports, Whitewater, Shopping Centre
Chat & Chew , Café Edward St. Newbridge.
Chicken America Restaurant, Edward St Newbridge.
Clarke’s Menswear, Edward St, Newbridge
Cosgorve’s Pharmacy., Edward Sy Newbridge.
Curraghr Race Course.
Ecocraft, Environmental Building, Clongorey, Newbridge.
Edward Harrigans, pub and Restaurant. Main Street.
Enigma Design Homeware & Gifts, Tarmel Centre
Fallons Bar & Café Main Street, Kilcullen
Farrell & Nephew Gift & Bookshop, Main Street, Newbridge.
Fitzsimons Finance, Cutlery Road, Newbridge.
Hokey Pokey Café, Charlotte Street, Newbridge.
Jardin Royale , Chinese Restaurant, Main Street, Newbridge
Jean’s Jewellers & Giftware, Henry Stret.
Joe Kelly Barber, George’s Street.
Kildare Tyres & Batteries, Cutlery Road, Newbridge.
LHW Insurances Group, 57/58/George’s Street Dun Laoghaire.
Lilywhite Print, Eyre Street, Newbridge.
Maginn Electrical, Curragh Camp.
Marty’s Cabs, Main Street Newbridge.
Michael Murphy Furniture, Edward Street, Newbridge.
Moores Builders Providers, Cutlery Road.
Newbridge Hire Service, Newbridge Industrial Estate.
Newbridge Van Rental, Newhall, Naas.
Newbridge Nutrition, Eyre Street.
O’Leary Shoes, Dunnes Stores, Newbridge
O’Reilly Pharmacy, Curragh Grange, Newbridge.
Owen Baker, Menswear, Charlotte Street, Newbridge.
Paul’s Riverside Restaurant, Market Square, Kilcullen.
Red Lane Driving Range, Red Lane , Newbridge.
Reflections Boutique, Moorefield Road, Newbridge.
Riozzi’s Take Away, Eyre Street.
Robbie’s Butchers, Highfield, Newbridge.
Sheehy Motors, Newbridge Road, Naas.
Stevenson’s Home Décor, Ballymany Shoppinf Centre, Newbridge.
Swift’s Bar and Restaurant, Main Street, Newbridge.
Tarmel Laundry & Dry Cleaners, Cutlery Road, Newbridge.
The Fabric Library, Kildaara Industrial Estate, Newbridge.
The Good Food Gallery, Carnalway, Kilcullen.
The Kiosk Florists, Main Street, Newbridge.
Tom Malone Butchers, Charlotte Street, Newbridge
Top Twenty, Dunnes Stores Shopping Centre.
WE Fit Tyre & Exhaust Centre, Newbridge Industrial Estate.
Whitewater Café Club, Edward Street, Newbridge.
Whyte Melia Electrical, 882, Piercetown, Newbridge.
Sasrsfields On Facebook
Sarsfields now have 640 Fans on Facebook.
Sarsfields now has a Facebook Page where all sections can now post information directly relating to games, results events and photos etc. In addition there is a discussion forum. Link to Sarsfields Facebook page can be found by scrolling down the home page of the Sarsfields website or by Googling Sarsfields GAA Facebook.
‘I like women who look like me. Generally, you’re attracted
to women who look like you, because the most beautiful thing
in nature is your own reflection.’
– Actor Terrance Howard stupid and vain.
‘In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in
Kansas. Ten thousand people died — an entire town
destroyed.’
– US President Obama on a Kansas tornado that killed 12
people
‘I’ve never wanted to leave. I’m here for the rest of my life, and hopefully after that as well.’ Alan Shearer
‘You’ve got to believe that you’ re going to win, and I believe we’ll win the World Cup until the final whistle blows and we’ re knocked out.’ Peter Shilton
‘ I was watching the Blackburn game on TV on Sunday when it flashed on the screen that George (Ndah) had scored in the first minute at Birmingham. My first reaction was to ring him up. Then I remembered he was out there playing.’ Ade Akinbiyi
‘Without being too harsh on David Beckham, he cost us the match.’ Ian Wright
‘I’m as happy as I can be – but I have been happier.’ Ugo Ehiogu
‘Leeds is a great club and it’s been my home for years, even though I live in Middlesborough.’ Jonathan Woodgate
‘I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel.’ Stuart Pearce
‘The Brazilians were South American, the Ukrainians will be more European.’ Phil Neville
‘All that remains is for a few dots and commas to be crossed.’ Mitchell Thomas
‘One accusation you can’t throw at me is that I’ve always done my best.’ Alan Shearer
‘I’ d rather play in front of a full house than an empty crowd.’ Johnny Giles
‘Sometimes in football you have to score goals.’ Thierry Henry.
‘I was surprised, but I always say nothing surprises me in football.’ Les Ferdinand.
‘It was like the ref had a brand new yellow card and wanted to see if it worked.’ Richard Rufus.
‘There’s no in between – you’ re either good or bad. We were in between.’ Gary Lineker.
‘If you don’t concede any goals you’ll win more games than you lose.’ Wayne Bridge.
‘So many people have asked me how I could possibly be a role
model and dress like a tramp and get implants… all I have
to say is that self-esteem is how you look at yourself and I
feel good enough about myself to wear that kind of
clothing… the breast implant issue has nothing to do with
that.’
– Britney Spears on her taste in clothes
True Story
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia’s smoking toddler has kicked
the habit.
Footage of 2-year-old Aldi Rizal, who smoked up to two packs
a day, puffing away circulated the Internet in May and
sparked an international outcry. His parents said he’d throw
tantrums every time they tried to stop him from lighting up.
Psychologist Seto Mulyadi, who took the child into his own
home as part of rehabilitation efforts, said Friday the boy
has stopped asking for cigarettes.
He said Aldi picked up the habit because virtually every man
in his fishing village in South Sumatra province smokes.
When removed from that environment, and offered a wide range
of activities, including playing and drawing, he no longer
had the urge, the psychologist said.
Aldi’s father gave him his first cigarette when he was just
18-months-old, relatives have said.
Humour
Perscriptions only.
A nice, calm and respectable lady went into the pharmacy,
walked right up to the pharmacist, looked straight into his
eyes, and said, ‘I would like to buy some cyanide.’
The pharmacist asked, ‘Why in the world do you need
cyanide?’
The lady replied, ‘I need it to poison my husband.’
The pharmacist’s eyes got big and he exclaimed, ‘Lord have
mercy! I can’t give you cyanide to kill your husband!
That’s against the law! I’ll lose my license! They’ll throw
both of us in jail! All kinds of bad things will happen.
Absolutely not! You CANNOT have any cyanide!’
The lady reached into her purse and pulled out a picture of
her husband in bed with the pharmacist’s wife.
The pharmacist looked at the picture and replied, ‘Well now,
that’s different. You didn’t tell me you had a
prescription.’
Absolute Governmental Authority
A U.S. Department of Water representative stopped at a ranch
and talked with an old rancher.
He told the rancher, ‘I need to inspect your ranch for your
water allocation.’
The old rancher said, ‘Okay, but don’t go in that field over
there.’
The Water representative said, ‘Mister, I have the authority
of the Federal Government with me.
See this card? The card means I am allowed to go WHEREVER I
WISH on any agricultural land. No questions asked or
answered. Have I made myself clear? Do you understand?’
The old rancher nodded politely and went about his chores.
Later, the old rancher heard loud screams and saw the Water
Rep running for the fence and close behind was the rancher’s
bull.
The bull was gaining on the Water Rep with every step.
The Rep was clearly terrified, so the old rancher
immediately threw down his tools, ran to the fence and
shouted out…..
‘Your card! Your card! Show him your card!’
Nasty case of Arthritis
A man flops down on a subway seat next to a priest. The man’s tie is stained, his face is smeared with red lipstick, and a half-empty bottle of gin is sticking out of his torn coat pocket. He opens a newspaper and begins reading.
After a few minutes the guy turns to the priest and asks, ‘Say, Father, what causes arthritis?’ Loose living; cheap, wicked woman; too much alcohol; and contempt for your fellow man, ‘answers the priest.’ I’ll be damned, ‘the drunk mutters, returning to his paper.
The priest, thinking about what he said, nudges the man and apologises.’ I’m very sorry. I didn’t mean to be so harsh. How long have you had arthritis?’
‘Oh, I don’t have it, Father. But it says here that the Pope does.’
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Joey Goes to Confession
Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I have been with a loose girl’.
The priest asks, ‘Is that you, little Joey Pagano ?’
‘Yes, Father, it is.’
‘And who was the girl you were with?’ ‘I can’t tell you, Father. I don’t want to ruin her reputation’.
‘Well, Joey, I’m sure to find out her name sooner or later so you may as well tell me now. Was it Tina Minetti?
‘I cannot say.’
‘Was it Teresa Mazzarelli?’
‘I’ll never tell.’
‘Was it Nina Capelli?’
‘I’m sorry, but I cannot name her.’
‘Was it Cathy Piriano?’
‘My lips are sealed.’
‘Was it Rosa DiAngelo, then?’
‘Please, Father, I cannot tell you.’
The priest sighs in frustration. ‘You’re very tight lipped, and I admire that. But you’ve sinned and have to atone. You cannot be an altar boy now for 4 months. Now you go and behave yourself.’
Joey walks back to his pew, and his friend Franco slides over and whispers, ‘What’d you get?’
‘Four months vacation and five good leads.’
Nun and the Drink
John was sitting outside his local pub one day, enjoying a quiet pint and generally feeling good about himself, when a nun suddenly appears at his table and starts decrying the evils of drink.
‘You should be ashamed of yourself young man! Drinking is a Sin! Alcohol is the blood of the devil!’
Now John gets pretty annoyed about this, and goes on the offensive.
‘How do you know this, Sister?’
‘My Mother Superior told me so.’
‘But have you ever had a drink yourself? How can you be sure that what you are saying is right?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous–of course I have never taken alcohol myself’
‘Then let me buy you a drink – if you still believe afterwards that it is evil I will give up drink for life’
‘How could I, a Nun, sit outside this public house drinking?!’
‘I’ll get the barman to put it in a teacup for you, then no one will ever know.’
The Nun reluctantly agrees, so John goes inside to the bar.
‘Another pint for me, and a triple vodka on the rocks’, then he lowers his voice and says to the barman ‘and could you put the vodka in a teacup?’
‘Oh no! It’s not that Nun again is it?’
Smoking Nuns.
Two nuns were in the back of the convent smoking a cigarette, when one said, ‘It’s bad enough that we have to sneak out here to smoke, but it really is a problem getting rid of the butts so that Mother Superior doesn’t find them.’
The second nun said, ‘I’ve found a marvelous invention called a condom which works really well for this problem. You just open the packet up, take out the condom, and put the cigarette butt in, roll it up, and dispose of it all later.’
The first nun was quite impressed and asked where she could find them. ‘You get them at a drug store, sister. Just go and ask the pharmacist for them.’
The next day the good sister went to the drugs store and walked up to the counter.’Good morning, sister,’ the pharmacist said, ‘what can I do for you today?’ ‘I’d like some condoms please,’ said the nun.
The druggist was a little taken aback, but recovered soon enough and asked, ‘How many boxes would you like? There are 12 to a box.’ ‘I’ll take six boxes. That should last about a week,’ said the nun.
The pharmacist was truly flabbergasted by this time and was almost afraid to ask any more questions. But his professionalism prevailed and he asked in a clear voice. ‘Sister, what size condoms would you like? We have large, extra large, and the big liar size.’
The sister thought for a minute and finally said: ‘I’m not certain, perhaps you could recommend a good size for a Camel?’
Blind As a Bat
A vampire bat came flapping in from the night covered in
fresh blood and parked himself on the roof of the cave to
get some sleep. Pretty soon all the other bats smelt the
blood and began hassling him about where he got it. He told
them to go away and let him get some sleep. However, the
bats persisted until finally he gave in.
‘OK, follow me,’ he said and flew out of the cave with
hundreds of bats behind him. Down through a valley they
went, across a river and into a forest full of trees.
Finally he slowed down and all the other bats excitedly
milled around him.
‘Now, do you see that tree over there?’ he asked.
‘Yes, yes, yes!’ the bats all screamed in a hungry frenzy.
‘Good,’ said the first bat tiredly, ‘Because I didn’t!’
The Magician and The Parrot
A magician worked on a cruise ship. The audience was different each week so the magician did the same tricks over and over again. There was only one problem: The captain’s parrot saw the shows each week and began to understand how the magician did every trick.
Once he understood, he started shouting in the middle of the show, ‘Look, It’s not the same hat!’ or, ‘Look, he’s hiding the flowers under the table!’ or ‘Hey, why are all the cards the ace of spades?’
The magician was furious but couldn’t do anything. It was, after all, the Captain’s’ parrot.
Then one stormy night on the Pacific, the ship unfortunately sank, drowning almost all who were on board. The magician luckily found himself on a piece of wood floating in the middle of the sea, as fate would have it – with the parrot.
They stared at each other with hatred, but did not utter a word.
This went on for a day… and then 2 days …. and then 3 days. Finally on the 4th day, the parrot could not hold back any longer and said…
‘OK, I give up. Where’s the f#ckin’ ship?’
Most Wanted
Little Ronnie’s kindergarten class was on a field trip to their local police station where they saw pictures tacked to a bulletin board of the 10 most wanted criminals. One of the youngsters pointed to a picture and asked if it really was the photo of a wanted person.
‘Yes,’ said the policeman. ‘The detectives want very badly to capture him.’
Little Ronnie asked, ‘Why didn’t you keep him when you took his picture?’
