This also proved to be a very enjoyable night and the large crowd in attendance showed that the community as a whole is very keen to see the club develop the facilities at the new playing field. On the new field development 2005 saw us play on the actual pitch for the first time. The first game on the field was on Sunday 6th February against Emyvale in a challenge match. Fr. Sean Hegarty, then the local Priest, blessed the pitch before the game. There was also a lot of work done on the banks around the field to facilitate spectators. As regards changing facilities we had hoped to have the changing area and pavilion ready for 2007 But these plans came to a standstill during the past year when National Lottery funding became available again through the Building Sport programme. The club submitted an application to this programme in early November and we are awaiting the outcome at present. Due to this we had to hire temporary changing facilities for teams. The Harte Memorial Tournament took place on Saturday 5th December and proved to be a very enjoyable day. Four U-12 teams from Kildress, Galbally, Greencastle and Loughmacrory competed, with Kildress emerging victors over Loughmacrory in the final. Youth Officer Sean McCartan deserves our thanks for organising of the Tournament. There was also a tribute match played in memory of Gerard and Martin Harte on 26th March between the club’s 1980 Junior Championship winning team and the victorious U-16 team of 1982. It was good to see a number of club stalwarts back in the Loughmacrory colours again in memory of two men who had given so much to the club. This game was organised by the local Sinn Fein Cumann to mark the party’s 100 years in existence. The club had 150 members registered with Croke Park for 2005 and also had three Adult and six Youth teams covered under the Coyle Hamilton Players Insurance scheme. We also received a heart defibrillator from the Cormac Trust in August and had five people trained in how to use it. Tyrone’s successful run during the year brought added pressures on every club with ticket distribution. Of the ten games in Tyrone’s run to All Ireland glory eight of these were All Ticket affairs and these were distributed to all those who requested them up until the All Ireland final. On this occasion sadly our allocation of 130 tickets was not enough to meet the demand and unfortunately there were people left disappointed. Moving on and a special word of thanks must go to our weekly lotto collectors whose work ensures that the club has a healthy weekly income. Barney Gallagher must also take praise for the efficient running of this worthwhile fundraising venture. The contribution of our sponsors is a major boost to the clubs finances and I want to thank them all for their input and in particular to main sponsors, Glen Builders. The club’s annual Dinner Dance was held in February and it proved to be a very enjoyable night as did the Youth Presentation night which was held a week before the Dinner Dance. The club website, thanks to Seamus Mullan, also went from strength to strength during the year and it kept everyone updated on the latest events happening in the club.
