Photo- Denny Irish Surf Team
Front Row- L to R Easkey Britton, Jamie Byrne, John Mc Carthy, Ashleigh Smith, Fergal Smith, Stephen Kilfeather, Shauna Ward
Back Row- L to R Bryan Mc Auley, Stevie Burns, Hugh Galloway, Andrew Mennie, John Mc Curry, Colin O’Hare, Pascal Devine, Darragh Mc Carter.
Denny Irish Surf Team member, John Mc Carthy has taken a bronze medal in the senior division at the European Surfing Championships. Fifteen nations and over 250 surfers competed in the ten day competition that finished today in Anglet, France.

Current Irish Senior Surfing Champion, John Mc Carthy secured his bronze medal when he finished 3rd in a final against Paulo Rodriguees, Portugal, 1st, Mark Vaughan, Wales, 2nd and Scott Eastwood, Channel Islands, 4th.

Fergal Smith was the highest placed open surfer finishing 21st. Other good performances include 6th place for Stevie Burns in the Masters and 7th place for Ashleigh Smith in the Women’s Bodyboard.

The Denny Irish Surf Team finished 9th overall at the European Surf Championships. Portugal finished 1st, France 2nd, Spain 3rd and Wales 4th.

Denny Irish Surf Team 2007 Results
Open
Fergal Smith, Westport- 21st
Colin O’Hare, Strandhill - 41st
Stephen Kilfeather, Standhill- 49th
Jamie Byrne, Tramore- 49th
Andrew Mennie, Portrush- 61st
Hugh Galloway, Tramore- 61st

Women
Easkey Britton, Rossnowlagh- 11th
Shauna Ward, Bundoran- 21st

Bodyboard
Bryan Mc Auley, Ballybogey- 11th
Darragh Mc Carter, Bundoran 15th

Longboard
John Mc Curry, Ballymena-17th
Jamie Byrne, Tramore- 21st

Womens Bodyboard
Ashleigh Smith, Sligo- 7th

Senior
John Mc Carthy, Lahinch- 3rd

Master
Stevie Burns- Portrush- 6th

Judges
Shane Meehan, Sligo
Daniel Gow, Portrush
Howard Robinson, Portrush

Coaches
Pascal Devnie, Newtownstewart
Marcus Dias, Bundoran

Manager
Stevie Burns, Portrush

Young surfers (groms) from all around Ireland travelled to Strandhill at the weekend for the Irish leg of the Quiksilver King of the Groms. Although there had been no waves for several weeks Strandhill produced just enough surf on Saturday morning to kick off the competition. The Quiksilver King of the Groms is a worldwide series to encourage young surfers that culminates annually in a world final in France bringing together the hottest young surfers from all over the World.

In 1-2ft onshore surf the event got going with the U16 Boys. Local surfer, Aaron Reid and Lahinch surfer, Damien Conway were the standouts from the 1st round. Both surfers continued their good form to progress to the final. Ballyshannon surfers Brian Patton and Eoghan Shanley were not so lucky in the 1st round as both were eliminated by Enniscone surfers, Barry Tuffy and Dominic Barrett. However the Ballyshannon boy got a second opportunity to progress in the repecharge round and from here they made no mistakes to progress all the way to the final to meet up with Reid and Conway. Local knowledge was certainly a factor in the final. Reid selected a spot were he new he would pick up the better quality waves, he waited patiently as the other competitors paddled from peak to peak eventually snagging himself the two highest scoring waves of the final to capture the title of King of the Groms. Damien Conway finished second, Eoghan Shanley 3rd and Brian Patton 4th.

The U16 Girls attracted a good enter and eventually ended in a final between last year’s winner Amy May Garvey, Castlederg, Copper Pigot, Enniskerry, Joyce Dunne, Sligo and Tahlia Britton, Rossnowlagh. Once again Amy May was on form taking the title for the second year with Tahlia Britton close behind in 2nd place, newcomer Joyce Dunne finished 3rd and Wicklow girl, Copper Pigot in 4th. Nine year old Ayesha Garvey (Amy May’s younger sister) reached the semi-final and received a special award for her fine performance.

In the U14s it was another title for the Garvey family with James Garvey the clear winner. He was followed Bundoran surfers, Iarom Madden in 2nd and Conor Maguire 3rd, with Eoin O’Malley Daly, Rossnowlagh 4th , these three young Donegal surfers have been making finals all year and are certainly looking promising for the future.

U16 Boys

1. Aaron Reid, Sligo
2. Damien Conway, Lahinch
3. Eoghan Shanley, Ballyshannon
4. Brian Patton, Ballyshannon

U16 Girls

1. Amy May Gavery, Castlederg
2. Tahlia Britton, Rossnowlagh
3. Joyce Dunne, Sligo
4. Copper Pigot, Enniskerry

U14 Boys

1. James Garvey, Castlederg
2. Iarom Madden, Bundoran
3. Conor Maguire, Bundoran
4. Eoin O’Malley Daly, Ballyshannon

· “500+ Players arrive in Singapore for the Guinness Asian Gaelic Games”
· Friday 22 Jun 2007 saw the opening of the 12th annual Asian Gaelic Games with a gala event at the Asian Civilisations Museum, one of Singapore’s most famous buildings.

· Former Tánaiste & Kerry footballer Dick Spring joined a number of Irish Ambassadors from across the region at the event to offer his personal congratulations to the 500+ participants who had arrived into Singapore throughout the week to take part in what will be the biggest Asian Gaelic Games to date.

· The Vice-Chairman of the Leinster Council, Sheamus Howlin delivered a personal message from the President of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Nickey Brennan, who had planned to travel out for the games but was unable to do so due to meetings at Croke Park on Saturday. Brennan highlighted the growth of GAA games in Asia – “When visiting Dubai in January with the All Stars, we had the opportunity to meet with many of the people involved in the GAA in Asia and the progress that is being made is truly astounding. With the Asian County Board now fully affiliated since the GAA’s Annual Congress in 2007, these are exciting times for our Games in the East. The sense of identity and community on which our games are based appeals greatly to all who get involved in their promotion – be they of Irish descent or not – and I am sure there is still significant potential for continued growth of the GAA around the world”.

· In particular, he paid tribute to the extraordinary work of dedicated GAA members saying “The dedication of so many to the promotion, development and enjoyment of our Gaelic games is truly astounding and is one of the main reasons why Gaelic Football and Hurling will always have a future both at home and abroad. This weekend is another fine example of the manner in which the GAA continues to flourish overseas due to the hard work of our clubs and their members abroad and I want to say a special “Thank You” to everyone involved in the Singapore Lions Club and the various Irish groups in Singapore who worked together to make this a reality.

· There will be 4 adult mens & womens competitions of 7-a-side gaelic football with Hong Kong & Dubai defending their Asian crowns while the battle to be named the first Asian Hurling Champions is expected to feature hosts Singapore, Dubai, Korea & Shenzen from China. In addition there will be gaelic football matches between the Gaelic Cubs (boys & girls aged 4-14) & the local Australian rules team.

· The event is being hosted by the Singapore Gaelic Lions Club, under the auspices of the Asian County Board. For more information please refer to www.asiancountyboard.com, or contact Singapore Gaelic Lions club members, Siobhán Carmody – Siobhan.carmody@pfizer.com - mobile: +65 81888504 or Peter Ryan - peter.ryan@asef.org – mobile +65 97596321.

90% of people in Northern Ireland are happy with their lives, new research reveals
- 61% believe that the future will get even brighter over the next 5 years

One thousand people across Northern Ireland have taken part in a major piece of research by BT aimed at discovering what social and cultural values impact most on people aged between 18 and 74 years.

The research reveals a big difference in what the people of Northern Ireland value in their lives, with variations from county to county, and between the sexes.

What about Co. Fermanagh and Tyrone? More people in these counties rely on their mobile than any part of Northern Ireland, with more than one in three (37%) saying that they would miss their mobile more than any other appliance.

Social values are also particularly prevalent, with 58% of people admitting that their weight is an important factor in influencing their current state of happiness or unhappiness. And more than half (51 per cent) of people in these counties said that they would not date someone who smokes. Co. Fermanagh also polled the lowest results of people who were willing to consider cosmetic surgery with only one in ten stating that they would consider having a procedure.

Overall 90% of people in Northern Ireland are happy with their lives in general, with 61% believing that their quality of life has improved over the past 5 years, and the same percentage feeling it will continue to get even better in the future.

The research also found the following statistics:

· One in five think drinking is essential for an enjoyable evening but men are much more likely to agree with this than women (28% compared to 15%)

· A quarter of households, with no children, have a games console (25%)

· Single people are much more likely to use online gaming

· Over half the population would not date someone who smokes

· Only 13% of 18-24s would not consider living with someone before marriage

· Females are more attached to their mobile phones with 35% of females stating that they would miss them more than their TV compared to 24% men

· While for 61% of people life has got better over the last five years, this is very strongly correlated with age. Life for 77% of 18-24 year olds has improved while it has only got better for 40% of 55-74 year olds.

Commenting on the report, Peter Morris, Head of Consumer, BT said “Our company has changed dramatically over the past number of years – not so long ago we were the ‘telephone company’ – but our business and peoples lives have all evolved. As an integral part of our society we wanted to explore how values have changed given the extraordinary period of change of the last few years and to encourage debate on key issues affecting people’s lives in Northern Ireland.

“The research gives us a great snapshot of what people in Northern Ireland value,” said Peter Morris. “Reassuringly for BT, people value contemporary methods of communication with 70% of those surveyed using the internet and 60% having broadband at home. What has been very interesting is how people differ in their values from one county to the next and of course there are big differences between the sexes. Overall the key driver for people’s happiness is keeping in touch with family and friends (89%), but there are those who see the success of their football team as integral to their happiness with 16% stating this as the most important driver of happiness!”

Key regional findings:

* 20% of people in Co. Down would consider cosmetic surgery (14% overall)
* Humour in a person is valued more by those in Co. Armagh (55% v. 46% overall)
* 58% of people in Cos. Tyrone/Fermanagh state their weight is important in influencing their current state of happiness/unhappiness (49% overall)
* 36% of people in County Derry/Londonderry stated career/job as one of the three things they value most, compared to 24% overall.
* People in Greater Belfast value integrity in a person more than others (53% compared to 41% overall), but fewer people in Co. Armagh do (29%).

As part of the research a web address has been launch so anyone who would like to join the value debate can go on-line and express their view at www.whatdoyouvalue.co.uk .

A member of GAA’s Ulster Council has been beaten with hammers and had his car hijacked in a robbery.

The man was leaving Casement Park in Belfast following championship games.

Money was stolen from the car he was in was attacked by the gang between the M1 and Ballygawley in County Tyrone.

A fellow member of the council, has said he has been “savagely beaten”.
However, his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
The council said it had reported the incident to the PSNI who are investigating the incident.