Mohill Girl Makes TV Debut

Mohill native Katherine Lynch made her television debut on Tuesday night, January 15th, in the first part of a three-part mini-series titled 'Katherine Lynch's Working Girls'. The series could be described as a comedy 'Mockumentary' which documents the lives of three very different Irish women, all played by comic Katherine. The first episode introduced us to the character 'Singing Bernie Walsh', a wannabe country and western superstar from a traveling background. Katherine is the daughter of Tom and Maureen Lynch, who reside at Castle Gardens in Mohill. She is the eldest in a family of four children, with John, Mary and Michael being her siblings, and members of the 'Lynch Gang'. The family is well known in Gaelic Athletic Association circles while Maureen Lynch is the niece of the famous Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh, 1904 - 1967.

American Tourist?
Rare Bird Sighted Near Mohill

A Blue Winged Teal, which is not usually found outside the American Continents, was sighted at Cloonfinnan Lake near Mohill on January 12th. The distinctly marked drake is a native of the southern half of the United States and the northern countries of South America. It is not known what would have brought this lovely bird to our shores. The adult male has a grayish head with a white facial crescent, a brown body with a small white patch near the rear, and a black tail. Both male and female of the species have a blue patch on their wing, which is especially prominent during flight. Their natural habitat is in marshes and ponds in Central and North America, and they usually migrate in late autumn to Central and South America. There have been very few sightings of these birds in Europe but their distinctive markings and yellow legs set them apart from European species. These birds usually feed on plants and in shallow water. The mating call of the male is a short whistle, while the female uses a soft 'quack'.

50th Wedding Anniversary

John Patrick and Teresa Bohan from Lough Rynn, Mohill, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on January 2nd. Teresa is a former President of the Leitrim Gaelic Athletic Association County Board and a long serving President of the Mohill G.A.A. Club.

More Developments For County Leitrim

Despite growing concerns about the construction industry and property market, a number of planning permits have been made for further developments in the county. Over the next few weeks the local planning authority will decide whether or not to give the green light to the residential developments in Carrick-On-Shannon, Manorhamilton and Kinlough.

Rally Ireland Generates

48 Million EurosLast November's Rally Ireland W.T.C. (World Rally Championship), which featured three Co. Leitrim stages, generated a massive 48 Million Euros in revenue according to a recent research carried out by the University of Ulster.

G.A.A. News

Scór Na nÓg Finals

Scór Na nÓg is a competition which is affiliated with the Gaelic Athletic Association, specializing in Irish culture, language, dancing and music. Four Co. Leitrim clubs tasted success at this season's Connacht Scór Na nÓg finals in Claremorris, Co. Mayo, on January 19th. The successful acts were Rachel McLoughlin representing Mohill in solo singing, Fintan Fitzpatrick representing Aughnasheelin in recitation, The Sean O'Heslin's ballad group and the Fenagh St. Cailin's dancers. We now look forward to the All-Ireland Finals in Athlone, Co. Westmeath.

Co. Leitrim Sports News
Who Wants to be a Thousandaire?

The Leitrim Ladies County Board recently commenced their new fundraising campaign with the launch of a 'Who Wants to be a Thousandaire?' competition in Clarke's Hotel a few weeks back. The competition will take place in Clarke's Rynn Valley Lodge Hotel in Mohill on February 1st. Commencing at 8:30 PM the event will be run on the basis of the TV show 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' The committee members include Damian Brennan, Mary Shanley, Mary Clancy, Gerry Stenson, Geraldine Creamer, Jerome Quinn and Kathleen McManus.

Connacht F.B.D. League

(The F.B.D. League is an Irish football league sponsored by the Federation of Business Disciplines Irish Insurance Board.)

Galway 0 - 13
Leitrim 1 - 9

Leitrim Seniors were most unfortunate to be pipped at the post by their Galway counterparts in the F.B.D. Connacht League following a controversial, competitive and thrilling encounter played in the county grounds in Carrick on January 13th. Leitrim had midfielder Michael Duignan sent off quite early in the second half in a case of mistaken identity. The match referee has since admitted he made a mistake and issued an apology to the player in question and to the Leitrim County Board. Leitrim scored what looked like a perfect point in the closing stages, which went up on the scoreboard, but was signaled wide by the umpire, a scenario which left supporters somewhat confused. Leitrim Manager, Des Dolan, has requested a replay but the Galway County Board is unwilling to facilitate a refixture.

Leitrim chalked up their second win in the Connacht F.B.D. League courtesy of a 0 - 12 to 0 - 7 victory over reigning Connacht champions Sligo in Carrick on January 20th. Having earlier in the competition beaten the students of G.M.I.T. (Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology), Leitrim would now be in a final, only for the controversial defeat at the hands of Galway.

Hastings Cup
Our Leitrim Under-21 footballers have suffered two defeats in this year's Hastings Cup competition and have lost out to neighbors Longford and Roscommon.

Hurling
Our county hurlers have yet to get off the mark for this year, suffering defeats to next door neighbors Sligo and Roscommon.

Basketball
The Senior Girls basketball team from Carrick-On-Shannon Community School qualified for the All-Ireland semi-finals following a round robin series of games held in Limerick recently.

Boxing
Sean McDermott's Boxing Club recently held it's annual tournament in Killague. The bouts were held in various weights and age groups. There were also two female bouts for the first time. The participants came from the five Counties of Leitrim, Sligo, Donegal, Derry and Tyrone.

Soccer
A famous face from the past appeared in County Leitrim during the month of January when former Glasgow Celtic star John 'Yogi Bear' Hughes attended a party for Celtic supporter Sean Pilkilinton to mark the occasion of Sean's 60th birthday. The celebration was held at the Barge Steakhouse in Leitrim Village. Sean's parents both come from County Leitrim.

Leitrim G.A.A. Annual Awards Night
The Bush Hotel in Carrick-On-Shannon hosted this year's Annual County Board Awards Night recently. Guests of honor on the night were the Leitrim Ladies Team, who captured the Inaugural All-Ireland Intermediate title in 2007. Award winners honored on this gala occasion were Hall of Famer, Pat Conifrey; Senior County Player of the Year, Conor McCauley; Under-16 Player of the Year, Shane Flanagan; Referee of the Year, Michael Leydon; Under-Age Referee of the Year, Pat Flanagan; County Hurler, Niall Glancy; Young Hurler, Morgan Quinn; Club Grounds of the Year, Kilturbrid; Ladies County Player of the Year, Michelle Reynolds; Club Hurler, Michael Dolan; Senior Handballer, Tony Cullen; Junior Handballer, Aidan Gilmartin; Ladies Handballer, Shauna Clancy; Club Player of the Year, Gene Bohan.

Hopefully, I will have more of a variety of news next month. Until then, Slainte!

-- Gerry Bohan