Friday 25 January 2013

Syls u15 Fixture list 2013

Sunday 03rd February, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2St Sylvesters AvsCastleknock 
U15 FL Div.6Castleknock BvsSt Sylvesters B
Sunday 10th February, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2St Sylvesters AvsSt Vincents 
U15 FL Div.6St Sylvesters BvsBye 
Sunday 17th February, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2Ballymun Kickhams vsSt Sylvesters A
U15 FL Div.6St Sylvesters BvsO Dwyers 
Sunday 24th February, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2St Sylvesters AvsCuala A
U15 FL Div.6Lucan Sarsfields BvsSt Sylvesters B
Sunday 10th March, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2Ballinteer St John AvsSt Sylvesters A
U15 FL Div.6St Sylvesters BvsBallinteer St John B
Sunday 14th April, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2St Sylvesters AvsFingallians 
U15 FL Div.6Ballyboden St Enda CvsSt Sylvesters B
Sunday 28th April, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2Raheny vsSt Sylvesters A
U15 FL Div.6St Sylvesters BvsNa Fianna C
Tuesday 07th May, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2Castleknock vsSt Sylvesters A
U15 FL Div.6Good Counsel vsSt Sylvesters B
Sunday 26th May, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2St Vincents vsSt Sylvesters A
U15 FL Div.6St Sylvesters BvsNaomh Barrog B
Sunday 30th June, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2St Sylvesters AvsBallymun Kickhams 
Sunday 07th July, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2Cuala AvsSt Sylvesters A
Thursday 15th August, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2St Sylvesters AvsBallinteer St John A
Thursday 05th September, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2Fingallians vsSt Sylvesters A
Sunday 06th October, 2013
Grade/DivHome TeamAway Team
U15 FL Div.2St Sylvesters AvsRaheny 

Thursday 13 December 2012

We Saw a Vision

Found this today while doing some research - it is an English translation of a poem in the Garden of Remembrance. It's as fresh today as when Liam Mac Uistin wrote it in 1976 to express the appreciation and inspiration for Ireland's struggle for freedom. In 2012 I wish we had a vision.


"We Saw A Vision"
In the darkness of despair we saw a vision,
We lit the light of hope and it was not extinguished.
In the desert of discouragement we saw a vision.
We planted the tree of valour and it blossomed.
In the winter of bondage we saw a vision.
We melted the snow of lethargy and the river of resurrection flowed from it.
We sent our vision aswim like a swan on the river. The vision became a reality.
Winter became summer. Bondage became freedom and this we left to you as your inheritance.
O generations of freedom remember us, the generations of the vision.

Monday 30 April 2012

Feile Peil na nOg


Feile Peil na nOg is a national competition held at under 14 level. Each year as many as 25,000 boys and girls take part in this festival across all 32 counties. London and Warwickshire also participate in this festival. The Dublin qualifiers for the National tournament which takes place this year in Laois/Offaly will take place on Saturday next the 5th May.


St Sylvesters have entered 2 teams this year - Our B(est) team is based in Balbriggan - fixtures and details as below:


Div 8 Gr 1 (all in Bremore Pk, Balbriggan)


10.30 a.m. St. Peter's               v St. Sylvesters B       B. Doran, St. Colmcilles
10.30 a.m. O'Dwyers              v St. Maurs                 D. Gilmore, Skerries Harps
11.30 a.m. Winner Game 1 v Loser Game 2         B. Doran, St. Colmcilles
11.30 a.m. Winner Game 2     v Loser Game 1         D. Gilmore, Skerries Harps
12.45 p.m. Winner Game 1 v Winner Game 2 B. Doran, St. Colmcilles
12.45 p.m. Loser Game 1        v Loser Game 2         D. Gilmore, Skerries Harps

Div 8 Gr 2 (in Parc Ui Tuathaill, Coolock)
10.30 a.m. O' Tooles B v St. Judes B C. McCarthy, St. Vincents
10.30 a.m. Cluain Tarbh B v Good Counsel D. Hoban, Scoil Ui Chonaill
11.30 a.m. Winner Game 1 v Loser Game 2 C. McCarthy, St. Vincents
11.30 a.m. Winner Game 2 v Loser Game 1 D. Hoban, Scoil Ui Chonaill
12.45 p.m. Winner Game 1 v Winner Game 2 C. McCarthy, St. Vincents
12.45 p.m. Loser Game 1 v Loser Game 2 D. Hoban, Scoil Ui Chonaill

Semi Finals 
Bremore Pk 3.30 p.m. Winner Group 1 v Runner Up Group 2 B. Doran, St. Colmcilles
Pc Ui Tuathaill 3.30 p.m. Winner Group 2 v Runner Up Group 1 C. McCarthy, St. Vincents


Directions & Map to Bremore Park


What to bring:


1. Football Gear (a special St Sylvester's Hoodie and bag will be provided)
2. A pack lunch - the lads will be hungry between games
3. Drinks
4. As many supporters as you can muster to give the lads encouragement
5. Boots & runners
6. Warm clothes - as anybody who was out in Bridgefield Sunday morning will know it is essential to wrap up well - especially between games. 





Friday 4 July 2008

A social network of my very own!

I have created a social network of my very own on Ning. How cool is that?

The Network Manifesto should sort you out just in case you were thinking of joining.

Monday 30 June 2008

A Week in Provence

Just back from a great week in Provence with the extended family - all 15 of us including 9 adults and 6 children. We flew to Marseille with Ryanair and then spent a night in Avignon before heading about 60kms east to the hamlet of Gargas near Apt and the beautiful l'Oustau des Vanels set in the Luberon region.

Avignon was a very good stopover - it is a charming city with plenty to do and see. We stayed in the Grand Hotel where we were able to book 4 family rooms (aka Superior Rooms) for the excellent price of €149 per night for 4 people w/o breakfast. The hotel was excellent for the price and was ideally situated since a number of our party were arriving by train and the Grand is next door to the train station. In Avignon we saw the Palais des Papes and had a look at the famous Pont (I never realised it did not go all the way across!) - but the highlight for me was the Wall Garden (as opposed to a walled garden) or perhaps they call it a Vertical Garden at one of the theatres? check it out...

Wall Garden

The girls claim to have seen a bridge planted in the same way on their shopping trip to Aix but we have no photographic evidence to present. Incidentally - how do you thing they keep the building in trim - doesn't look like a job for a petrol mower...

sur la pont D'Avignon

In any case before picking up our keys we spent a couple of hours up in Chateau Neuf de Pape which was about 15 mins north of Avignon where we tasted some of the local produce - none of which I found really compelling.

During the week we did some touring, journeying as far north as Sault (with a great ice cream parlour/choclatier straight out of the movie Chocolat), as far west as the very beautiful town of Isle de la Sorgue and east to the truly stupendous Grand Canyon de Verdon. The latter was a highlight for me of the whole trip. Although our drive to get there was long (about 2 hours of twisty roads) and the circuit of the gorge is approx 75km (of even twistier roads) I thought the scenery was incredible and well worth the journey. There are a range of activities available in the area such as hiking, cycling (NOT to be recommended) and kayaking. Unfortunately we had a couple of 5-year olds for whom hiking in 32C is not too much fun so we were more passive observers rather than active participants in the place although we did go for a swim in the lake.

The Grand Canyon de Verdon

Lac de St Croix

My pictures, pretty though they are, do not do justice to the scale of this place. The gorge is up to 700 metres (2100Ft) deep and the drive puts you right on the edge, especially since many of my fellow road users seemed to prefer my side of the road when they were cornering. I have never been to the real Grand Canyon but I have been to Yosemite and I would be equally as enthusiastic about the Gorge of Verdon. What is amazing to me is that this place is not better known. I would definitely go back and spend some more time in this area in the future.

This is a pretty long post - so here are my top recommendations:

1. The Grand Canyon de Verdon
2. Kayak down the Sorgue river from the Fontaine to Isle de la Sorgue (€18 per adult, suitable for children ~€12 from 6 up).
3. The Abbaye de Senanques
4. The town of Isle de la Sorgue
5. The villages of Gordes and Rousillon
6. The Colorado Provencal (near Saturnin)

My top things to avoid would be:

1. Cars on your side of the road
2. Going on a hike without a proper map
3. Getting lost in Marseille
4. Going to the coast - it was too crowded even in late June

You can see more pics on my Flickr


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Monday 16 June 2008

World Street Performance Championships, Dublin


IMG_1483
Originally uploaded by John Maughan
Major Kudos to the organisers of the street performance championships in Merrion Square this weekend - it was truly an excellent day out - full of exotica and humour. From a Swede smuggling cans of coke in his shoe to the excellent Japanese balancing teapots. From the hilarious mime artist who must have scarred a 5 year-old for life and the incredibly flexible and strong acrobatic act from West Africa. We saw only 4 acts - but felt it was well worth the trip. We did not see to winners of the competition or the runner up - but if what we saw was inferior then they must have been awesome - definitely one for the diary next year!

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Lisbon - crying over spilt milk

As far as I can see there were 3 reasons promoted for voting no to Lisbon

1. We could not understand the treaty
Our statutes are full of legislation which joe citizen would not understand. Legal documents are, because of the requirement to be unambiguous, quite complex to read. We pay our negotiators to ensure that they understand the detail and that it is not contrary to our national interest. We clearly dont trust them...

2. There is a better deal to be done (a.k.a the government and mainstream politicians cannot be trusted)
Over 90% of the representatives which we, the Irish electorate, voted into the Dail last year favoured a Yes vote in the referendum. However, when they said that this was the best available deal - we chose to believe Sinn Fein and other fringe organisations who took diametrically opposed views and interpretations of the treaty. Somebody was undoubtedly lying and misinforming the public during the debates on this treaty - the electorate seem to have decided that the same people we elected just a year ago were no longer to be trusted, a profoundly depressing conclusion.

3. We can't let foreigners run our country (a.k.a Europe can't be trusted)
They were all out to get us - those EU "Bullies". I mean what have they ever done for us? ....apart from the roads and infrastructure investment? ....access to a huge common market? Sustained peace in Europe for nearly 70 years? While I do not subscribe to the view that we should be brow-beaten to accept any deal because we have benefited from Europe in the past I do believe that Ireland will benefit from a more efficient European executive in the future.

So where do we go from here? - it is clear that the EU is perceived as a remote bureaucracy without a strong identity. It will certainly remain an inefficient bureaucracy in the absence of the reform package in the Lisbon Treaty. The challenge for the EU is to connect with it's citizens. It must reach out to it's regions and deliver strong leadership so that we can share and subscribe to a vision for Europe and so that we can compete with China, Russia and the US. I hope that M. Sarkhozy, and his like, who have arrogantly dismissed the democratic decision of the Irish people will put their efforts into promoting the credibility of the EU rather than undermining the democratic principles that are supposed to underpin it.




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