GAA:More progress made by Eoghan Rua GAC

With the completion of their pavilion this will be the club's first AGM in their own premises at Pairc Eoghain Rua. They will be able to look back on season 2009 with a good deal of satisfaction given the progress made both on and off the field of play. Their senior footballers had a great season winning Division Two to gain promotion to the top league for the first time in the club's history. They will now look forward to welcoming the likes of county champions Loup, Bellaghy and Ballinderry to Pairc Eoghain Rua for league games this season.

Eoghan Rua lost just two league games all season, neatly book ended as they were they lost the first game of the campaign against Swatragh and the last against Glen, while drawing two against Newbridge and Lavey. The club's senior footballers enjoyed a good senior championship campaign reaching the quarter-finals before losing out to eventual beaten finalists Dungiven.

In the first round Eoghan Rua lost narrowly to Bellaghy before going on to shock Slaughtneil in the first qualifying round. Next up they beat Lavey after extra time in a replay, two and a half hours of physically grueling championship football. Next up it was Dungiven where the Coleraine men had a disastrous first half before giving the St Canices outfit with a real scare in a superb comeback second half in which they just came up short.

The club's senior hurlers agonisingly missed out on an Intermediate championship title when they were beaten in the final by a controversial last minute penalty goal. Eoghan Rua seemed to be on their way to the title when they led by a single point going into added time. However Ballinascreen IIs were awarded a dubious penalty and instead of opting for an easy point to send the final to extra time the sliothar was blasted to the net, glory for 'Screen, agony for Eoghan Rua.

The Eoghan Rua camogs certainly can look back on a super season as they completed a fantastic 'double' winning the Derry and Ulster Premier league titles in an unbeaten campaign across both competitions. They lost out in the premier championship at the semi-final stage to eventual Derry, Ulster and All-Ireland winners Lavey, no doubt the Eoghan Rua camogs will be serious contenders for the Gulladuff girls Derry crown I 2010.

A key player in that winning 'double' for the Eoghan Rua camogs was Grainne McGoldrick who completed a personal 'treble' as she picked up three awards for her fantastic season for club and county. Grainne was awarded the Irish News Merit award, the Ulster GAA writer's 'player of the year' award and the pinnacle, a coveted All-Star award.

While success in terms of trophies was limited to the Under-14 camogs who won their championship the Eoghan Rua club can still look back with some satisfaction their under-age activity in the 2009. They fielded teams from Under-8s to Under-18s in all three codes of football, hurling and camogie, some 18 teams, in competitions from blitzs and leagues to the championship. The club also ran a very successful FUNdamentals coaching programme for P1s and P2s while a record number of 154 young footballers, hurlers and camogs in the Under-8 to Under-13 age group attended their ‘Cuil Camp’ in the summer.

Meanwhile the undoubted highlight of the club’s off-field activities was the completion of their new pavilion and the official opening of their facility at Pairc Eoghain Rua on 17 May. Recently the President of the GAA, Christy Cooney, visited the club’s premises and commended them on their progress in recent years. Indeed at the Derry County Board’s annual awards presentation the Eoghan Rua club was recognized for the great season they have had on and off the field of play when they were awarded the 2009 ‘Club of the Year’ and were presented with the Gerry Crossan Memorial trophy.

Certainly the Eoghan Rua club has plenty to be content with over the past year but as with all other clubs in the county they will be planning ahead for 2010 and hoping for more progress in the next decade.