07 April 2011

A very large band of Clooney/Quin followers packed Fahy Hall on Sunday evening to support our competitors in Scór na bPaistí – and they were not disappointed!
Having entered 4 of the 8 categories, we were victorious in two and in seriously strong contention in the other two. Pride of place must go to Marie Guilfoyle who maintained her 100% strike rate in Scór! Last year Marie coached her 8-hand Rince Fóirne group to the winner’s enclosure. This year, with some personnel changes, she repeated the feat. The winning dancers, who were highly praised by the adjudicators,   were: Mary Conneally, Aoife Guilfoyle, Cliodhna O’Keeffe, Grace McMahon, Laura Brasil, Kaley O’Regan and Amber Ryan. Indeed, this group were pushed all the way by Marie’s other entry – a very young set of dancers who ‘brought the house down’ with their 6-hand reel.  Well done to Eoin Guilfoyle, Seoda O’Keeffe, John Conneally, Cadhla O’Keeffe, Cormac Egan and Aoife Brasil. They were magnificent!
Traditional music is very much alive in the parish and we had no less than 4 music groups taking part. They all gave a tremendous account of themselves belting out great toe-tapping reels and jigs. The musicians were:· Aishling McMahon, Eoin Beirne, Rachel McEvoy, Brianna Fennell, Leah O’Keeffe.· Sophie Barbotin, Adam Deegan, Alex McConway, David Barbotin.· Clionadh O’Keeffe, Aoife Guilfoyle, Donnagh O’Sullivan, Cathal Browne, Conal Egan.· Ulick O’Sullivan, Oisin Egan, Hannah Conneally and Anthony O’Donnell.
Our Novelty Act relinquished their title but, nonetheless, put on a fantastic show that had the audience in stitches. Congratulations on an excellent performance  to Sophie Barbotin, Conor Cregan, Daragh Ryan, Paul Hogan, Aoife Deane, David Rochford, Oisin Egan and Ulick O’Sullivan.
Having shown how adept they were at all the other disciplines, our young boys and girls decided they would show off to the county how ‘brainy’ they were as well! No less than 7 teams entered the Quiz from Clooney/Quin! And what a performance!  We had 3 of our teams finish level and tie for 2nd place. But it was the ‘Three Wise Men’ from 4th class in Scoil na Mainistreach who scored highest to take the County Title. Congratulations to Eoin Beirne, Ulick O’Sullivan and Oisin Egan. Our other quiz contestants were: Dónal O’Criodáin, Conor Cregan, Daragh Ryan, Hugh Black, Harry McCarthy, Tiernan Boyce, Roisin McAteer, Cathal Browne, Cathal Lennon, Clara de Susa, Mary Conneally, Paul Hogan, Aishling McMahon, Hannah Conneally, Sophie Barbotin, Aoife Deane and David Rochford.
Míle Buíochas to all involoved. It was a great evening for the club. A special word of thanks to the teachers in Scoil na Mainistreach who helped prepare the boys and girls for music and quiz.