Fair play to the lads in O’Connors pub and a hat tip where it is due. After the Dubs great win on the Sunday and half of Ireland in Coppers, the lads put all pints on at €3.50 for the Monday.

Nice one. Appreciated. And what’s more a [...]]]>

Fair play to the lads in O’Connors pub and a hat tip where it is due. After the Dubs great win on the Sunday and half of Ireland in Coppers, the lads put all pints on at €3.50 for the Monday.

Nice one. Appreciated. And what’s more a nice pint.

Every Tuesday in Ballyboughal Old school hall, at 9pm – opposite the pub – A group of about 25 – 30 people meet to play a game of cards called Whist.

I never knew that Whist was a card game until very recently. That said, if you are a card player and think this might be for [...]]]>

Every Tuesday in Ballyboughal Old school hall, at 9pm – opposite the pub – A group of about 25 – 30 people meet to play a game of cards called Whist.

I never knew that Whist was a card game until very recently. That said, if you are a card player and think this might be for you or you simply are looking for something to do of your Tuesday evening Ann, one of the organisers tells me that you and your Auntie are more than welcome to pop along and join in.

Someone will show you the ropes and you might just enjoy yourself. Go on, sure you’re brutal at golf anyway….. you may as well take up a new hobby.

• when: every Tuesday
• time: 9pm
• where: the old school – opposite the pub
• ask for: Ann

Whist rules….

A standard 52 card pack is used. The cards in each suit rank from highest to lowest: A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2. Whist is played by four players, who play in two partnerships with the partners sitting opposite each other. Players cut or draw cards to determine partners, with the two highest playing against the lowest two, who have seating rights. The players then cut for deal. It is strictly against the rules to comment on the cards in any way. One may not comment upon the hand one was dealt nor about one’s good fortune or bad fortune. One may not signal to one’s partner.

Shuffling and dealing

The cards can be shuffled by any player, though usually the player to dealer’s left. The dealer has the right to shuffle last if he or she wishes. To speed up dealing a second pack can be shuffled by the dealer’s partner during the deal and then placed to the right ready for the next hand. The cards are cut by the player on dealer’s right before dealing. The dealer deals out all the cards, one at a time, face down, so that each player has thirteen cards. The final card, which belongs to the dealer, is turned face up to indicate which suit is trumps. The turned-up trump remains face up on the table until it is dealer’s turn to play to the first trick. The deal advances clockwise.

Play

The player to the dealer’s left leads to the first trick. He may lead any card in his hand. The other players, in clockwise order, each play a card to the trick and must follow suit by playing a card of the suit led if they have one. A player with no card of the suit led may play any card, either discarding or trumping. The trick is won by the highest card of the suit led, unless a trump is played, in which case the highest trump wins. The winner of the trick leads the next trick.

Play continues until all thirteen tricks are played, at which point the score is recorded. If no team has enough points to win the game, another hand is played.

Part of the skill involved in the game is one’s ability to remember what cards have been played and reason out what cards remain. Therefore, once each trick is played, its cards are turned face down and kept in a stack of four near the player who won the trick. Before the next trick starts, a player may ask to review the cards from the last trick only. Once the lead card is played, however, no previously played cards can be reviewed by anyone.

Scoring

After all tricks have been played, the side which won more tricks scores 1 point for each trick won in excess of 6. When all four players are experienced, it is unusual for the score for a single hand to be higher than two. A game is over when one team reaches a score of five. There are so-called “Hotel Rules” variations where other numbers are agreed to be played to in advance. Popular variations are “American” and “Long”, where the games are played to seven and nine respectively. The “Long” version is normally combined with “Honors.”

In longer variations of the game, those games where the winning score is not the standard 5 points, honours are points that are claimed at the end of each hand. Honours add nothing to the play of a hand. Honours serve only as an element of luck that speeds up games, and they are often omitted these days. Serious players disdain honours because it greatly increases the element of chance. A team that was dealt the top four cards (A,K,Q,J) in the trump suit collect extra points. A team who holds three of the four honours between them claim 2 points, a team who holds all four honours between them claim 4 points. Tricks are scored before honours. Honours points can never be used for the last point of a game. Consider the following example: A game is being played to 9 points. The score is tied at 6. A hand is played and the winner of that hand took seven tricks and claimed honours. That team would receive 1 point for the 7th trick and only 1 point for honours. The score would then be 8 to 6.

Basic whist technique

• For the opening lead, it is best to lead your strongest suit, which is usually the longest. A singleton may also be a good lead, aiming at trumping in that suit, as one’s partner should normally return the suit led.
• 1st hand: It is usual to lead the king from a sequence of honours that includes it, including AK (the lead of an ace therefore denies the king).
• 2nd hand usually plays low, especially with a single honour. However, it is often correct to split honours (play the lower of two touching honours) and to cover a J or 10 when holding Qx and cover a Q when holding the ace.
• 3rd hand usually plays high, though play the lowest of touching honours. The finesse can be a useful technique, especially in trumps where honours cannot be trumped if they are not cashed.
• Discards are usually low cards of an unwanted suit. However, when the opponents are drawing trumps a suit preference signal is given by throwing a low card of one’s strongest suit.

the above courtesy wikipedia

Check this out….

A little more Dublin…

A little of Gus Delaney….

what about some snow patrol ?

Every Friday, O’connors pub Ballyboughal. 9pm [...]]]> As most are well aware the trad session in O’Connors runs every Friday from about 9 ish onwards. I picked up this audio just to give you a wee taster of what you might have missed.

Check this out….

A little more Dublin…

A little of Gus Delaney….

what about some snow patrol ?

Every Friday, O’connors pub Ballyboughal. 9pm ish onwards

Listen to The Sodcast [...]]]> I picked this up from Peter’s Gardening Podcast…. You can listen to the entire thing if you wish but the bit you may wish to hear is the forecast for the week coming that he did with Mark from Irish Weather online. For that scroll to 2minutes and 25 seconds on the podcast

Listen to The Sodcast in MP3 – or subscribe/ listen to the podcast in iTunes. Alternatively, subscribe to the blog and listen to them right here. Missed Episode 19 of the garden podcast ?

Anything else you can contact Peter in the following ways

• info@DoneganLandscaping.com
• twitter.com/DoneganGardens
• via the contact page on DoneganLandscaping.com

More from Irish Weather Online ?

• About Irish Weather Online
• Irish weather Online on twitter
• email : editor@irishweatheronline.com
• I recommend the Irish weather latest news

..

On March 25th 2010 at the ODEON bar and grill on Harcourt Street

Ballyboughals very own Morning Dew are set to light the place apart as the opening act for the global event that is Twestival

And more important is that Ireland very own Concern charity is the main banefactor of the global gig. Unbelievable!!

Never [...]]]>

twestival 2010

On March 25th 2010 at the ODEON bar and grill on Harcourt Street

Ballyboughals very own Morning Dew are set to light the place apart as the opening act for the global event that is Twestival

And more important is that Ireland very own Concern charity is the main banefactor of the global gig. Unbelievable!!

Never Been? Ever Thought of  Going?

On Thursday 25 March 2010, people in hundreds of cities around the world will come together offline to rally around the important cause of Education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness.  Twestival™ (or Twitter Festival) uses social media for social good.  All of the local events are organized 100% by volunteers and 100% of all ticket sales and donations go direct to projects.

Whats the Bands and entertainment line up – check this out! you won’t be disappointed. Buy your Dublin Twestival Tickets here

with thanks to the bands:

• The Shoos
• Candice Gordon
• The Last Tycoons
• The Morning Dew

Last night the Ballyboughal Community Council met and to my surprise…. there was actually a great attendance.

I went along. Never been there…. but I went along.

Of course Michael Kennedy TD, Clare Daly and even Trevor Sargeant turned up.

So what came up in conversation that may make you sit up straight in your chair….?

Over the last weeks I’ve been researching chatting with some friends about gardening and the usual how to bits of outdoor advice.

From those conversations came the suggestion that I should do a crash course of some format in ‘gardening‘.

I did teach horticulture and courses before. But this class request or what one should get at [...]]]>

....

Over the last weeks I’ve been researching chatting with some friends about gardening and the usual how to bits of outdoor advice.

From those conversations came the suggestion that I should do a crash course of some format in ‘gardening‘.

I did teach horticulture and courses before. But this class request or what one should get at the end of it is to be slightly different as those urging me to do so are not horticulturalists – moreso they have a window ledge/ balcony or only wish to garden in small amounts and stints.

The outcome…? Either a one day course in gardening at my homestead or a 1.5 hour evening course in Dublin City Centre over a 3/4 week period. The majority in this case decided on a one day workshop.

To tailor make this session to the people and their wants I am proposing the following:

• a one day crash course from 9.30am – 3.30pm
• The day/ date for will be in March
• cost of materials only to be covered set at €60 per person
• you take home what you make on the day
• lunch will be included
• to take place in Ballyboughal [it's near Swords/ North Dublin ]
• numbers will be limited to a maximum 8 people only

What we will achieve on the day:

• gardening basics
• how to grow your own from seed
• growing plants on a budget
• window ledge balcony gardening
• looking after your plants
• planting your planters
• growing in a confined space
• not enough hours in the day/ the 10 minute gardener
• herb and salad kitchen gardening

The idea is simple enough and if numbers run over/ demand is great enough/someone approaches me with a suggestion I’ll do a second class/ consider those options then.

If you would like to do this class – or – have any queries or suggestions

• pop your name down as a comment on the gardening blog [not here]
• email me info[at]doneganlandscaping[dot]com
• telephone me on [vodafone prefix - and then] 6594688

...

http://blog.doneganlandscaping.com/2010/01/15/the-garden-groups-first-adventure/

war memorial gardens

It is official. The first ever outing for the Garden group has been organised is set up and ready to go.

The trip is to The National War Memorial Gardens [Dublin] and it will cost you absolutely nothing.

We [...]]]> PLEASE NOTE: comments here are closed – names only over at the landscaping weblog. Click the link below….

http://blog.doneganlandscaping.com/2010/01/15/the-garden-groups-first-adventure/

war memorial gardens

It is official. The first ever outing for the Garden group has been organised is set up and ready to go.

The trip is to The National War Memorial Gardens [Dublin] and it will cost you absolutely nothing.

We will have a personal guided tour and if you have never been here before… the towers will be made open and available to us so if you had [or think you had] a relation in World War 1 we will be able to go in and get printed copies from the original books of the records. The fact that the entire gardens were built by hand…. is amazing just to look at and for the pure gardener there’s a collection of over 5,000 roses. There literally is something for everyone and this is not about ones ability to horticulture….

Date and Time: Sunday 7th February 2009 at 12pm midday. Depending on yourself this should take no more than 3 hours [at a max].

To Book Your Place: Places are limited to 18 people maximum. Whether you showed interest in the previous post – or not – this is the list I will use. If you would like to go enter your details and note: ‘ i’m in ‘ – or – ‘keep me on the shortlist’

Any Other Details: My suggestion is we bring some sandwiches and a flask and maybe have a bite to eat/ picnic there [weather permitting]. This can be organised through the comment section below.

Anyone who travel-wise can only get so far – note it below I’m sure some of us will be driving and would be more than happy to pick you up en route.

Location: South Circular Rd, Islandbridge. Opposite the army barracks Entrance from Con Colbert Rd. and South Circular Rd. (Phoenix Park end) enter via school gates and drive through to the car park

Bus Route(s): No’s. 51, 68 and 69 from Aston Quay.

* a note of thanks to Michael Herbert [and Margaret Gormley] and his team in the OPW park department – really so very much appreciated

As an opening line… it was a tough battle, on many levels – but let us not forget – on so many greater levels what these men, these great [...]]]> In a tough battled Leinster semi final versus St. Mochtas of Louth, Ballyboughal finally ended the greatest run ever in the history of the club and the village.

As an opening line… it was a tough battle, on many levels – but let us not forget – on so many greater levels what these men, these great men,  forever now remebered in the history of the town – did, for us all and for this small village.  

To put in context, the effect playing into the wind and the weather had…. St. Mochtas scored two points in the second half – the exact same amout as Ballyboughal scored in the first half.

Here’s how it was reported live online - it appears back to front here btw.

Some Pictures from the day are below.

A note of thanks to Nookie Senior for doing the online commentary with me.

I’ll leave at that for the moment… what do you think….? leave a comment below.

Game over well done St mochtas

Great game ballyboughal.

Seavers point 2-8 to 0-11

Robbie on for dickser

Sm 2-8 to bb 0-10

Seavers point

Sm point 2-8 to 0-9

2-7 to 0-9 oooooooh?!! 4 points in it now!!!

Delaney point

G seavers pt 2-7 to 0-8

G Rooney pt now 2-7 to 0-7

Sm 2-7 bb 0-6

G seavers point for bb

Mc philipinne on for Eoin o Brien

K wynne point sm 2-7 to bb 0-5

Sm point 2-7 to bb 0-4

G Seaver point sm 2-6 to 0-4

Bb g Rooney Pt sm2-6 to 0-3

2nd half.. 

Sm 2-6 to bb 0-2

Sm 1-6 to BB 0-2

Sm 1-5 to bb 0-2

G Seavers point sm 1-4 to 0-2

Lar lynch off Keith lynch on

Sm 1-4 bb 0-1

G. Seavers point for bb

Sm 1-4 bb 0-0

Sm 1-3 bb 0-0

Sm 1-2 bb 0-0

Sm 0-2 bb 0-0

Bb playing against the wind first half . Sloppy out there…

Sm 0-1 bb 0-0

And were off

Nice to see the supporters out on such a windy day…;)

 

 

 

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