BY MICHAEL O’LEARY
With the summer season now in full swing and the overall improved summer type weather over the past few weeks, plenty of clubs and groups throughout the county will organize a fundraising night out at Kilkenny Greyhound Track.
This coming Sunday night May 26th, Young Irelands Gowran will host their annual Dog Night which has been a great success over the years, and once again this year Young Irelands Camogie Club have come on board as joint hosts for the fundraiser along with The GAA Club.
It’s actually a very busy time in James Park with a number of GAA Clubs hosting their annual Dog nights.
Bennettsbridge GAA/Camogie Club along with the Bord Na Nog Club hosted their Dog night on Friday May 10th, while last Friday night Emeralds GAA Club staged their night out as a fundraiser for their Field Development that was also part of Champion Unraced Semi-Final night.
Next Friday night, St. Brigids Camogie Club will host a night out in James Park as their main fundraiser for 2024, while Barrow Rangers, Thomastown and James Stephens GAA Clubs hosted very successful nights out over the past few months.
A month ago, Barrow Rangers hosted their night out as a fundraiser for Danny Byrne who has Multiple Sclerosis (MS), while The Thomastown and James Stephens Dog nights were broadcast by Community Radio Kilkenny City (CRKC) as part of an extended Friday Night Sport Special that was very well received.
Thomastown’s Dog night in March was perfect as it was part of their celebrations for their acheivements over the past year that culminated with All-Ireland glory in January.
Also on that same night, the Final of The McCalmont Cup was held which is one of the biggest races of the year at the Kilkenny Track and that was won by the Liam Peacock trained Bogger Dusty.
As mentioned, Young Irelands Gowran will host their annual Dog Night on Sunday night and it’s a joint venture by both Young Irelands GAA and Camogie Clubs with a packed crowd anticipated on what will hopefully be a lovely Summer’s Evening.
Tickets are €10, and their will be a raffle on the night for anyone who has bought tickets with all proceeds from Ticket Sales going to Young Irelands GAA and Camogie Clubs.
One man who will be mostly definitely missed on Sunday Evening is Gowran man JohnJoe Farrell who sadly died over The May Bank Holiday weekend. JohnJoe was a regular at James Park for so many years, and he was well known across the county and beyond.
His nephews Patrick, Brian, Eoghan and Toss Farrell were part of The Young Irelands Team that won their historic first County Senior Final in 1996.
The featured race on Sunday night will be the Champion Unraced Final that is worth €15,000 to the winner, while the first race starts at 7.30pm and it promises to be a great nights entertainment.
Sunday nights fundraiser will the first of a series of events organized by Young Irelands over the next six weeks, with the annual Golf Classic taking place on Friday June 7th and Saturday June 8th, while the ever popular Kilkenny Country Festival returns once again on Sunday July 7th.
Finally, Kilkenny Track will be hosting its annual John Mitchell Bookmaker Festival of Racing on Sunday July 16th in conjunction with Kilkenny and Carlow Coursing Clubs.
Plenty to look forward to in James Park throughout the Summer months.
