Over 3,000 people attended the England-Ireland Under-18s Schoolboys Soccer International on Friday night at Broadfield Stadium, Crawley.

It was a fantastic result for England who now sit top of the table, with 7 points, having played all their games. Rep. Ireland Schoolboys remain unbeaten in three years. The Republic of Ireland Schoolboys now need to beat Northern Ireland on 10 April to share the shield with England (goal difference is not a factor). Scotland and Northern Ireland have no chance of winning in 2006.

[ESFA]

Broadfield Stadium, Crawley, is the venue for this year’s final Centenary Shield football match as the schoolboys of the Republic of Ireland take on their English counterparts this Friday, 31 March 2006 at 7pm. Around 3/4 of the tickets have already been sold for what promises to be one of the most exciting schoolboy internationals in years.

The Republic of Ireland schoolboys are unbeaten, since 2002, whilst the English side have conquered both Scotland and Northern Ireland this year to make the final showdown the Shield decider. The schoolboys are young adults in full-time secondary education (aged 17-19). This will be the final opportunity for many of the players to compete at this level before they begin their professional carreers.

So get down and lend your support to the fixture - tickets are just £6 (adults) / £4 (concs) and available at the turnstiles. Tickets are also available from Crawley Town Football Club.

Crawley has successfully held the 2006 Saint Patrick’s Festivities that concluded, over the weekend, with the 3rd Annual Crawley Saint Patrick’s Parade. The events, sponsored by community sponsors including Coinford were organised by the Celtic and Irish Cultural Society in association with Crawley Borough Council.

The Celtic Weave concert, at the Friary Hall (11 March), and the Irish Night celebrations (18 March), at the Hawth, both sold out. In addition, it is estimated that more people took part in the Crawley Saint Patrick’s Parade and the post-parade entertainment than ever before.

The parade was led by local dignitaries including local MP Laura Moffat, the Mayor of Crawley, Ben Clay, local councillors and representatives from the Embassy of Ireland in London. The parade concluded with dance displays at The High Street from the Andromeda, Mullins and O’Brien Schools of Irish Dancing plus performances from the Gatwick Caledonian Pipe Band and TS Glorious.

Our activities were covered through the local media including ITV Meridian, BBC Southern Counties, Mercury FM, BBC Radio Kent, Crawley Observer and Crawley News. The ITV Meridian broadcast is, at this time, available at ITVLocal (by clicking on ITV Brighton).

The festivities were made possible by Coinford Construction and our community partners who sponsor the annual Crawley Irish Festival in August.

[Coinford Construction] - [St. Patrick’s Festivities] - [Community Sponsors]

In Crawley, and across the southeast, Saint Patrick’s Parties are in full swing. You are sure to find that your local pub or club is putting something on to entertain you plus you may well find that local Irish dance schools are doing a circuit of venues to raise funds for the year ahead so please give generously.

Meridian Tonight will be broadcasting from Crawley, this evening, to showcase the Saint Patrick’s Festival which concludes at the third annual Crawley Saint Patrick’s Parade on Sunday. Be sure to tune into Meridian Tonight on ITV1, 17 March at 6pm. If you miss it, you can also catch up with the broadcast on ITVLOCAL.COM.

Or you can manually tune ITV1 Meridian South or Southeast into your Sky Digibox:

FREQ: 10.891
POL: H
SYMBOL: 22.0
FEC: 5/6

View SKY Manual Tuning Guide - using ITV1 Border region tuning information which is the same as above - simply select Meridian South or Meridian Southeast region.

Mercury FM will also be giving details of the Saint Patrick’s Festivities over the weekend so tune in for more information…

The festivities conclude with the third annual Crawley Saint Patrick’s Parade, so get down to Crawley to join in the fun! Wherever your roots lie, celebrate them with the Irish in Crawley!

[Saint Patrick’s Festivities 2006]

Crawley’s third annual Saint Patrick’s Celebrations began over the weekend with the Celtic Weave concert performed by the New Ross and District Pipe Band and the Dunbrody Folk Group, sponsored by Coinford Construction.

John Stanley, Deputy Major of Crawley, officially launched the week of events at the concert. Also in attendance were representatives from the Irish Embassy at London and local community groups. The event was sponsored by local firm Coinford Construction.

Photos and images of the event will be available at our photos page from 15 March 2006.

The celebrations conclude with the third annual Crawley Saint Patrick’s Parade, organised by the Celtic and Irish Cultural Society and supported by community sponsors such as Coinford Construction.

[Crawley Saint Patrick’s Festivities] - [New Ross and District Pipe Band] - [Coinford Construction]

The 11th Annual Crawley Irish Dinner Dance was held over the weekend at the Clarion Hotel, Gatwick. The event included a meal, entertainment and music.

The Dinner Dance helps to raise funds for the Crawley Irish Festival and allows us to showcase our plans for the year to welcomed guests. The O’Brien School of Irish Dancing presented the post meal entertainment and music was provided by Pat Nugent and Mustang.

The 2006 Crawley Irishperson of the Year was also announced by Zita Scott-Martin and David Nolan. Gabe Doonan was announced as this year’s winner for showing continued commitment to the community and always making himself available when asked. His assistance is greatly appreciated. The Doonan family, and their family operated business, AllBuild provide much of the “hands on” support that makes the annual Crawley Irish Festivals possible.

Amongst our honoured guests, were Jim Carroll, representing the Embassy of Ireland and Eithna Rynne of the Federation of Irish Societies. Jim Carroll presented a toast to Ireland whilst Eithna welcomed the CICS to the Federation and presented a toast to our future success.