The eircom League has today (Friday February 27th) announced that its Management Committee will meet next Thursday, March 4th at the FAI offices, 80 Merrion Square, Dublin 2 to agree fixtures for the 2004 season.

It has also been decided that the eircom League Annual General Meeting - which was adjourned last Saturday, February 21st - will reconvene on Saturday, March 13th at the Clarion Hotel, IFSC, Dublin 1, commencing at 10am.

Athlone Town New Stadium Committee held their first Gala Ball, last Saturday night, in the Hodson Bay Hotel Athlone. The night was a huge success, with 33 tables sold and over €20,000 brought in to aid the development of Athlone Town's new stadium at Lissywollan, Athlone.

Speaking at the event, Project Manager Tom Burke let it be known that preparation work had commenced on the stadium site. "The good news is that we are very close to commencing work on site - and the grass at Lissywoolen has been sprayed last week. That may seem like a small thing, but every marathon must begin with the first stride. "The bottom line folks is that, slowly but surely, the dream is becoming a reality. Thanks are due to Tom Fitzgerald, Tony Kilmartin, Kieran Temple, Martin Egan, Tom McEnroe and Ronan Fitzell for the Trojan work they have been so willing to do since this project commenced."

The time for Athlone Town's friendly against Drogheda United on Sunday March 7th has been confirmed as 2:30pm.

Please note that parking restrictions will again be in place for this match, as they will all season.

Athlone Town Supporters Weekly Lotto Draw details for Monday February 23rd 2004 are as follows:

23/02/04 - Lough Ree Inn, Coosan Point
Numbers drawn were 1, 3, 10 & 15

• Match 4 Winners [€4,200] - None
• Match 3 Winners [€150 Shared] - Jonathan West; John McEnroe, Coosan; John Francis; Olga Colgan, Sli an Aifreann.
• Consolation Prize Winner [€100] - None

Next week's draw will take place in Potters Bar, Irishtown for a jackpot of €4,350. Anyone interested in becoming a selling agent for the Lotto should contact Liam Gaffey on 087 1213147 or email info@athlonetownfc.com.

At the request of Drogheda United, the friendly fixture between Drogheda United and Athlone Town, due to take place on Saturday March 6th in United Park, will now go ahead the following day, Sunday March 7th in Saint Mel's Park. Time to be confirmed.

The following weekend, Athlone travel to the Brandywell to take on Gavin Dykes' Derry City. City have made a number of accquisitions since beating Finn Harps in the Playoff Final - most notable of these being Alan Murphy from Galway United, and goalkeepers Ciaran Kelly and Pat Jennings from Sligo Rovers and UCD respectively - and should provide a stern test for Athlone. The action gets underway at 7pm on Saturday March 13th in the Brandywell.

Athlone Town have one other friendly in the pipeline. Details will appear here once confirmed.

Athlone & District Schoolboy League fixtures for week ending Sunday February 29th are available here.

We have added a number of pieces to the 'past players' section of the website. If you would like to add a piece on your favourite player from the past, we'd love to receive it at info@athlonetownfc.com.

Athlone Town got their pre-season campaign off to a respectable start on Sunday afternoon, when they drew 2 - 2 with Liam Buckley's Shamrock Rovers. Stephen Kelly and Padraig Moran were on the mark for Athlone. More details here.

Bealnamulla Athlone Town Ladies' charge for the title came to an abrupt end on Sunday afternoon, when they went down 6 - 0 to their title chasing rivals, Eureka United from Kells.

The win handed the title to Eureka, with Bealnamulla missing out for the second season running. Commiserations to Aisling Dooley and her team.

Athlone Town Youths went down by a single goal to League leaders Saint Pauls of Artane on Sunday afternoon. One all at half-time, Athlone had equaled their opponents for most of the first half, having survived an early onslaught.

In the second half, Athlone were playing into a strong breeze which took it's toll. However they still matched the League leaders for most of the half, but for one mistake in defence. A ball wasn't closed down fast enough in defence, the end result being the Athlone 'keeper was lobbed, and Saint Paul's took all three points.

Turlough O'Connor, seen here on the right at an Athlone Town function last year, was inducted into the 'Westmeah Independent/Grand Hotel Moate Sports Stars' Hall of Fame this week. Pic: Ray Egan

Des Hope and Turlough O'Connor were among the winners in the inaugural Westmeath Independent/ Grand Hotel Moate Sports Star Awards, announced this week.

Ballinasloe native Hope picked up the Senior Soccer Award, after having a fantastic season at the heart of the Town defence. The 21 year-old has re-signed for the coming season, and should feature prominently in Aaron Callaghan's plans for the future.

Athlone's most famous and successful manager ever, Turlough O'Connor became the first person to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. O'Connor transformed his home town club into the most successful club in the country in the early eighties, with two League Championships and three League Cups among the honours to take up residence in Saint Mel's Park during his reign.

At underage level, Saint Joseph's Conor Jordan picked up the Youth Soccer Award, with Irish U-16 International, and Saint Francis' star John Connellan picking up the Young Sports Star Award. Congratulations to all on their achievements.

The Awards Ceremony takes place on Saturday March 6th in the Grand Hotel, Moate. For more information, please contact the Westmeath Independet on 090 6472003.

It might be difficult to pick out just one single star from Athlone Town's successful 80s era but ask anyone and the name Stefan Feniuk would never be too far from their lips.

The Manchester native spent almost 10 years with Athlone and in that time became one of the most respected players ever to grace the St. Mel's Park turf. Signed from Stoke City by Tony Talyor in 1977, Feniuk established himself as an intricate part of club for a decade. On a recent visit back to Athlone, Feniuk spoke to the Athlone Topic and reminisced about the town that he likes to call his 'second home.'

Athlone Town New Stadium Ltd. continue their fundraising efforts this weekend when they hold their first Gala Ball in Athlone. The black tie event takes place on the shores of Lough Ree, in the Hodson Bay Hotel, this Saturday evening February 21st. Entertainment is by The Showband Show, and a special guest speaker will also be present on the night. A limited number of places are still available, and anyone interested in attending should contact Tom Burke on 087 4195686, or by email here.

Meanwhile, it is expected that work will commence on site in the next two to three weeks.

Champions: The Under-12 All Ireland Community Games Champions, pictured in Saint Mel's Park during the season. Pic: Padraig Devaney.

Last Friday night at the Shamrock Lodge Hotel, Bealnamulla Athlone Town Ladies came out to celebrate what was a very successful year for the Club.

Cups and trophies were everywhere as players and supporters reflected on a memorable year. The club won the following honours during the past season: Under-11 Midland Shield, Under-12 Roscommon and Connacht Shields and All Ireland Community Games Cup, Under-13 League and Cup Winners, Under-16 League and Cup Winners and Senior Bella Pollard Cup.

There were many guests there on the night to help the club celebrate, including Liam Lennon, Robin and Bella Pollard from the Midland Schoolgirl League, Chris Hand of the Leinster Senior League, Jimmy Greene and Michael Francis of Athlone Town and Denise Kennedy on behalf of the sponsors Supermacs.

The club presented a number of special awards on the night. Jenny Downey and Aisling Egan for their international recognition, the Under-12 team for their All Ireland success, the team that finished runner up in the Liverpool Classic. Presentations were made to Gerry Doyle and Martin Egan, managers of the underage teams, and to Aisling Dooley, manager of the senior team.

The club also presented a number of Player of the Year Awards in the different age groups. Rebecca Naughton and Ellen Harney were honoured in the Under-9 category, at Under-11 Joanna Keegan, Kymberly Finlass, Blana Gately and Niamh O'Brien received the awards, Sarah Dolan and Stacy Wykes were the Under-13 players of the year, while Colleen Curley and Ciara Fallen picked up the Under-16 awards. Jenny Downey and Maggie McDonnell received the Under-18 awards while Niamh Fallon and Ger Griffith were awarded Senior Player of the Year and Sorcha Duignan was the Junior Player of the Year. The final award of the night was the coveted Overall Player of the Year and this went to Aisling Egan.

Athlone Town Supporters Weekly Lotto Draw details for Monday February 16th 2004 are as follows:

16/02/04 - Higgins' Bar, Pearse Street
Numbers drawn were 11, 19, 21 & 22

• Match 4 Winners [€4,050] - None
• Match 3 Winners [€150 Shared] - Willie Early c/o Careys, Yvonne & John Greene 30 Saint Mel's Terrace.
• Consolation Prize Winner [€100] - None

Next week's draw will take place in the Lough Ree Inn, Coosan Point, Athlone for a jackpot of €4,200. We appeal to supporters to support the Lotto, be it by buying a ticket, or even better, by selling just one book of tickets a week - fairly easy to do even in a small workplace. There are 12 tickets per book, with the final two tickets going to the seller as commission. Anyone interested should contact Liam Gaffey on 087 1213147 or email info@athlonetownfc.com.

Following on from the recent AGM, and the changes made to the constitution at that meeting, positions on the new look Executive Committee have now been filled. Paddy McCaul was re-elected as Club Chairman. Area Manager with Bus Eireann, Mr Ken Bryant was co-opted onto the committee and he then was elected to the position of Vice Chairman. Along with the Chairman, Ken will be responsible for the Club's new '400 Club', amongst other things. We welcome Ken to the Club, and wish him well in his role.

John Comber was elected as Club Treasurer, with Tony Knight elected to the new role of Assistant Treasurer. Tony Connaughton was elected Club Secretary, a position he held in the past before becoming General Manager. As General Manager, he also had regular contact with the FAI office. Ray Egan was elected Assistant Secretary taking in the duties of PRO, a position which was abolished at the AGM.

Michael Brennan, who did a trojan amount of work to guarantee the Club received a UEFA Club Licence retains the position of Club Licencing Officer. Michael Francis takes up the newly created role of Match Day Events Organiser. Tom McEnroe, a member of the sub-committee on the new stadium, remains as Liasion Officer between the Club and Athlone Town New Stadium Ltd.

The Supporters Club will be represented on the Committee by Liam Gaffey. Liam is the co-ordinator of the Weekly Supporters Lotto, and also runs the Club shop along with Brian Melinn, and all their helpers.

Another new position created at the AGM was that of Youth Liasion Officer. This position has been filled by Noel Lennon. Eventually, a stand alone committee will deal with all Youth affairs. To this end, he has already been joined on this committee by ex-Under 21 manager Philip Coffey.

The changes effected to the constitution at the AGM were to make the Club more appealing to people interested in getting involved. Sub-committees will be formed that deal with one specific area, be it Finance, Youth Development or Match Day events. Anyone interested in getting involved should contact the Club at info@athlonetownfc.com.

In other news, the Club can confirm that centre-back Ronan Frawley has departed for pastures new at Galway United. Ronan has been at the Club for the past seven years, but decided he needs a new challenge at this time. We wish him well at his new club. Two more of his team mate from last season, Robbie Shine and Michael Harney, are the latest to pen new deals, keeping them at the Club for another season.

Athlone Town Youths put in a top-notch display on Sunday afternoon last to beat Saint Joseph's Boys by four goals to three. Two nil up after 14 minutes, Athlone appeared to have shot themselves in the foot, when they conceded two soft goals to leave the score at two a piece at half-time.

Things got worse before they got better, when they soon found themselves behind for the first time in the match early in the second half. However, Athlone knew they had the beating of their Dublin counterparts and turned the style on for the remainder of the game to come out deserving 4 - 3 winners. The wins moves Athlone ahead of Joseph's into fourth spot in the table. On the mark for Town were Kevin Hogan (2), Ronan Foley and Robbie Hamm.

Aaron Callaghan has appointed former Town player Gordon Brett as Manager of Athlone Town Under-21's for the 2004 season.

Gordon, 29, is Sports Officer with Athlone Institute of Technology, and is also Assistant Manager of the Irish Colleges Soccer Team. He takes over the role from Philip Coffey. Padraig Dully will remain as First Team Assistant Manager, after assisting Jimmy Greene last season.

If you would like to try out for Athlone Town Under-21's, please contact us here.

At yesterday evening's (Thurs Feb 12th) eircom League Management Committee meeting, club representatives re-iterated their support and commitment to the standards outlined in the FAI Club Licensing Manual, notwithstanding that those criteria exceed the UEFA minimum standards. The eircom League clubs are concerned that the timeframe to achieve those criteria requires adjustment and it was agreed that the eircom League will ask the FAI to seek a review of the timescale for each of the separate licensing criteria.

The eircom League Annual General Meeting takes place on Saturday, February 21st as previously announced.

Galway Bound: Ronan Frawley, seen here accpeting a Player of the Month Award from Aidan Hegarty, looks set to join Galway United. Pic: Padraig Devaney.

Town boss Aaron Callaghan has wasted little time in finding a replacement for Ronan Frawley, who has expressed his wish to leave the Club. Callaghan reached an agreement with Paul Doolin to bring in Niall Donnelly on loan from Drogheda United for all of next season. Donnelly will be a direct replacement for Frawley, who looks likely to join his older brother Conor at Galway United.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent this week, Frawley said, "I was happy enough with Athlone and it had nothing to do with the new manager, the Club or money. I just want a new challenge in new surroundings. It was a hard decision and I don't have a clue how it'll go at Galway, but I'm looking forward to it."

Under the new UEFA Club Licencing Scheme, Athlone Town have been awarded a Level B [First Division] Licence for the forthcoming season. No clubs have received a Premier Division Licence, and two clubs, have failed to meet the criteria for a Level B Licence.

Athlone Town Supporters Weekly Lotto Draw details for Monday February 9th 2004 are as follows:

09/02/04 - The Palace Bar, The Square
Numbers drawn were 4, 15, 24 & 26

• Match 4 Winners [€3,900] - None
• Match 3 Winners [€150] - Noel Reynolds Shannonbridge.
• Consolation Prize Winner [€100] - None

Padraig Moran: Has signed a new deal to stay at Saint Mel's Park. Pic: Padraig Devaney.

Pre-season training began last Saturday, with a number of new faces looking to impress Town boss Aaron Callaghan. They included two goalkeepers, two midfielders and two defenders.

One of the midfielders, Shane O'Brien has since signed for the Club. O'Brien comes to Athlone from Bohs, and as a student of Athlone IT, was in Cyprus recently with Damien Rushe and Alan Kelly with the Irish Colleges Team.

Padraig Moran has also re-signed for another season. Moran signed for his home town club near the end of last season, and after a slow start regaining his fitness, he scored three goals in the last four games of the season.

In other news, the Youth's scheduled game away to Mullingar Town on Sunday afternoon, had to be called off, as a clash with a senior fixture left the Mullingar club with no available pitch.

Bealnamulla Athlone Town Ladies recorded a 3 - 0 loss away to Portlaoise, and now find themselves four points behind League leaders Eureka United with two rounds remaining. The two sides meet on the final day of the season.

Athlone Town Management Committee 2004: Back Row [L to R]: Noel Lennon, Tony Knight, Tony Connaughton, Ray Egan, Michael Brennan & Tom McEnroe. Font Row [L to R]: Kevin Moran, John Comber, Paddy McCaul, Liam Gaffey and Michael Francis. Pic: lspix.com.

Athlone Town FC held their 115th AGM last Thursday evening in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel. Elected to the Management Committee were Noel Lennon, Tony Knight, Ray Egan, Kevin Moran, Michael Brennan and Tony Connaughton. Those not up for re-election this year were Paddy McCaul, John Comber, Tom McEnroe and Michael Francis.

The sizable crowd received an update from Tom Burke on the New Stadium, with Jimmy Greene speaking on his new role of Youth Development Officer. Treasurer John Comber gave a breakdown of the club accounts for the past year, with the Club recording a debt 25% less than the year before.

A number of amendments were made to the constitution, reducing the size of the Committee from 14 to 10. There is still provision for another three co-options, and the Supporters Club will still appoint their own representative to the Committee.

A sincere word of thanks to all those who showed up on the night. See local press this week for a more detailed report.

Athlone Town Supporters Weekly Lotto Draw details for Monday February 2nd 2004 are as follows:

02/02/04 - The Castle Inn, The Square
Numbers drawn were 4, 9, 10 & 26

• Match 4 Winners [€3,750] - None
• Match 3 Winners [€150 Shared] - Hazel Ryan Pearse Street & Anthony Quinn Saint Mel's Terrace.
• Consolation Prize Winner [€100] - None

The next draw takes place tonight Monday 8th February at 9:30 in the Palace Bar for a jackpot of €3,900. Anyone interested in becoming a selling agent for the Lotto should contact Liam Gaffey on 087 1213147 or email info@athlonetownfc.com. Apologies about the delay in bringing last week's results to you.

Congratulations to the Athlone IT Ladies team, who won their Connacht/Munster Division recently when they beat Sligo IT 2 - 0. In their first season back in the League, the team coached by Athlone Town duo Padraig Dully and Tom Silke, stormed through the League, and can now look forward to taking on the bigger universities in Division 1 next season.

The Club would like to wish Michael Carroll of Mount Temple a speedy recovery, after a recent stay in hospital.

Download this weekend's Athlone & District Schoolboy League fixtures here.

Athlone Town again came second in the Fair Play League, once again coming in behind Limerick FC. Congratulations to ex-manager Jimmy Greene and his then team on this achievement, a reflection on their style of play last season.

1. Limerick FC 1143 POINTS
2. Athlone Town 1085
3. Bray Wanderers 1066
4. Dublin City 1058
5. Kildare County 1055
6. Dundalk 1053
7. Finn Harps 1052
8. Kilkenny City 1034
9. Galway United 1018
10. Monaghan United 1014
11. Sligo Rovers 1011
12. Cobh Ramblers 1008

Athlone Town have been allocated tickets for the upcoming International friendlies against Brazil, the Czech Republic and Romania, as part of the 'eircom League Fans Display' on the North Terrace. Tickets are available for all three games in one single package costing €63. Tickets are not available individually for any of the above three matches.

We are still looking for a co-ordinator to operate this scheme in Athlone. All that is involved is collecting names, the money for tickets, and then distributing the tickets on the day. Anyone interested should contact info@athlonetownfc.com.

Athlone Town Football Club's AGM will take place this Thursday February 5th at 8pm in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel. We would urge all Town supporters to show up on the night to air their views and ideas, ahead of a very busy and important year for YOUR Club.

Bealnamulla Athlone Town Ladies has no scheduled game at the weekend. Elsewhere in the Division though, League leaders Eureka United extended their lead over Bealnamulla to four points with a 5 - 0 win over Longford Town. Bealnamulla do have a game in hand however, with the two sides set for a show-down on the final day of the season.

The Youths' scheduled game away to Mount Merrion had to be called off due to the adverse weather conditions.

Mick McCann, accepting the September Player of the Month Award from Evetns Manager, Nicky Moran. Pic: Padraig Devaney.

Hot on the heels of Martin Reilly's departure to Kildare County, ex-County man Mick McCann has agreed to extend his stay at Saint Mel's Park.

The young striker was second in the goal scoring charts last season to Reilly, but offers alot more off the ball than his more experienced ex-striking partner.

With a full year of first team football now under his belt, McCann will be looking to improve on his 6 goals last season to aid in Town's bid for promotion.

Next season's squad so far reads like this: Michael Collins, Steven Gavin, Damien Rushe, Alan Kelly, Des Hope, Stephen Kelly, Eric Molloy, Mick McCann and Tom Silke.

Another friendly has also been conformed. Athlone will travel to take on Drogheda United, on Saturday March 6th, with a 7pm kick off in United Park.