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John O'Flynn who purchased a Churchtown GAA Win a House membership on St Patrick's Day 2005 won the House at 50 Bruhenny last Saturday night. John is definitely on a lucky streak as he is also getting married just after Christmas and on Monday night on his visit to Churchtown to meet the local GAA committee he also entered the Churchtown GAA weekly lottery and he went on to win an unbelievable two lucky dip prizes out of the hundreds of tickets in the Drum. "We are delighted that John O'Flynn who is a strong supporter of the GAA in general and Freemount GAA in particular won the House", Colm Conroy, Churchtown GAA, Chairman told the Vale Star. "We were hoping for a local winner and the fact that he was an early supporter of our Draw was a good thing too", Colm also stated. John bought the ticket from Tony O'Flaherty, Secretary, Churchtown GAA on a visit to Churchtown to arrange use of the local pitch for a Freemount game. Niall O'Shea, Treasurer of Churchtown GAA confirmed that the Club had cleared in excess of 250,000 euros after all costs were taken into account. Star promoter of the House lottery was clubman Willie Relihan who sold a massive 710 memberships in the Draw. The winning number was 0293. The zero was drawn by Georgina O'Callaghan, Rose of Churchtown. The second digit was drawn by Fr Tom McDermott. CC in Churchtown. Sgt Tom Downes drew the third digit and the final digit was drawn by the Mayor of Churchtown, Mary Clancy. On the night 5 consolation prizes of 500 euro were also won by the following Draw members; - Eddie Sweeney from Doneraile; Leonard O'Carroll from Malahide in Dublin; Joan Lane from Charleville; William Keith Vandevere from Louisville, Kentucky and John and Ann Horgan from Mallow. Speaking just before the Draw Colm Conroy said: "I want to thank everyone who bought a ticket, everyone who sold a ticket, everyone who supported the sellers and everyone who is helping out at our reception here tonight. I do not propose to mention any name at all as it would be impossible to recognise everybody who helped us. However, the Club will be placing a special notice in the Vale Star early in the New Year so that we can make sure we acknowledge all concerned. He then went on the say: "This was a very ambitious project … certainly the biggest fundraising ever attempted in Churchtown. A quarter of a million surplus represents a huge fundraising effort but it is not enough to complete our ambitious plans. We will now be seeking Lottery funding of €500,000 to give us €750,000 to spend on our new Sports Hall and Hurling Alley. The Club has already applied for planning permission for their new Sports Hall and Hurling Alley and expect a positive response from Cork County Council in early 2007. During 2007 the Club will prepare construction plans, apply for Lottery funding and would hope to turn the sod in 2008 with the new facilities becoming available in 2009. "That may seem like a long time but then we are used to the long haul in Churchtown GAA ever since our club was founded in 1890 and we won our first North Cork in 1929", Colm Conroy stated as he concluded his address to the large audience who had gathered for the Draw which took place just after midnight on Saturday night. Club PRO, Rosemary O'Flaherty thanked the Vale Star and other media for all the coverage they gave the Draw over its two year run. "This was a huge community effort and we really need to thank a lot of people", she said. Club secretary, Tony O'Flaherty also told the Vale Star that in the New Year Churchtown GAA will be making a donation from the Draw proceeds of 15,000 euro to Gorta, the third world charity. Gorta posted out a promotional flyer on the House Draw to their supporters which added to the membership sales. The total number of members in the Draw amounted to 4,909 out of a possible maximum of 4,999 permitted under the Draw rules. Over 1,600 members joined on the web site www.2winahouse.net and the balance were largely issued to members who live within a 12 miles radius of Churchtown. Churchtown village has been undergoing a huge renewal in recent years and over 100 new houses have been built and occupied since 2000. Plans are well underway to build a further 100 new homes in the village and so the new Sports Hall and Hurling Alley will be a most welcome addition to the lovely Georgian village of Churchtown. |
