Well done to the students on the QQI Level 4 Sports & Recreation course who received their Occupa-tional First Aid Certs in January.

Congratulations to the winners of The Peace Link Games 2016. Marcus Chew won the over 80kg male.

Mark Mc Caul won the under 80kg male. Bernie Mc Dermott winner of the female.

This was a challenge that tested your Strength, Endurance, Fitness, Mental Fortitude and had competitors coming back month after month for the entire

year to grind out impressive lifts and times in the gym.

Well done to Damien Reavey who won the staff member of the year award for

2016.

Damien worked very hard that year and has earned the rest he's taking this year

January

Well done to all the participants of Operation Transformation 2017. We ran the class for 6 weeks this year and there were some great results at

the end.

Operation Transformation will be returning to The Peace Link timetable this January so if you are looking to get active and follow a healthy life-

style then this is a great place to start.

February

The Peace Link Sports Facility was honoured to host the Irish Rugby team in February for a

closed training session.

March

The Peace Link Sports Facility launched the “Gym for All” program in March. This program aims to encourage all members of the community to get ac-

tive! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday between the hours of 12.00pm and 1.00pm you can use the gym at a discounted rate of only €3.

Another month & another new piece of equipment. The Ergom-eter Machine or Arm Cycle as it can be called helps build upper body endurance, fires the core stabilising muscles as well as

giving you a good cardiovascular workout.

If you need any assistance on any of the equipment in the gym

please don’t be afraid to ask a member of The Peace Link staff.

Two members of staff, David Masterson and Sean Mc Dermott both passed their

final exams and obtained their NCSA (National Certificate in Strength and

Conditioning).

The NCSA course is specifically aimed at fitness professionals who want to work in elite sport and upon completion gives

the individual the skills to coach elite athletes.

The Peace Link were delighted to have had

Sharon Tobin from RTE down in the facili-

ty during March discuss-ing Brexit for a news

report which we ended up on later that evening

on the 6.00pm news.

The Peace Link kept up with tradi-tions in 2017 by entering the annu-al Clones night time St Patricks Eve

Parade.

April

It was a Happy Birthday to The

Peace Links hard-est worker in April.

Happy Birthday Kevin, hope you

enjoyed your cake.

Gerry admiring the Irish Rugby memo-rabilia that was put up

on the wall in April.

A signed gift from the Irish Rugby Team from their visit to the Cen-

tre in February.

Might be a tight fit on you Gerry!

The Peace Link opened

its doors to the gym at

7.00am on Wednesday

mornings during April.

So if your looking to get

in before work, we now

have two 7am classes

on Tuesday and Thurs-

day mornings and the

gym opens at 7am eve-

ry Wednesday morning.

Members of the

Rockcorry/Clones

Erne East Badminton

group taking part in

The Peace Link Bad-

minton Tournament

in 2017.

Badminton takes

place every Wednes-

day evening in the

facility at 8.15pm

Special Olympics Ulster Inter Club Athletics Meet organised by Breffni Blues Special Olympics Club and Ulster Special

Olympics. Breffni Blues train once per month on The Peace Links athletics track. We look forward to hosting more Inter

Club Meets in 2018.

The 2017 Ulster & N. Ireland Track & Field Games

The 2017 Monaghan County Track & Field Meet

The Peace Link in Clones was honoured to be selected to host The Ulster & N. Ireland Children's Track & Field Games in 2017. A large amount of events took place throughout the day involving athletics clubs from all over Ulster & N. Ireland.

The Peace Link also hosted the Monaghan County Track & Field Championships in 2017. There was a range of different events in the U-10/12/14 & 16 categories. Great numbers turned out with well contested events in all ages, despite the

windy conditions.

May

A big thank you from The Peace Link to these two great men, Declan Mc Kernan & Peter Mc Aleer, who recently stepped down from our Board of Management. Without

their invaluable contributions The Peace Link would not be here today

or be the great success it has be-come.

Largy College Senior Athletics

team, winners of the ETB County

Sports Day 2017.

Well done to all the guys from the Cairde Activation Centre in Clones

who took part in a highly competitive yet fun filled Bad-minton for All Ses-sions during May in The Peace Link Sports Facility as

part of National Fit 4 All Week 2017.

Annalee Athletics Club had a great day in the 2017 Senior Track & Field

Championships that were held in The Peace Link on Sunday May 14th.

The Senior Championship along with the Junior and Masters Championships were

held in conjunction with Cavan's Track & Field Championship. Together the two

Championships where called the Setanta Games.

June

Badminton Ireland held their Shuttle Time Level 1 coaching course

in the Centre in June. This Level 1 course provided these new

coaches with valuable new coaching techniques & information.

Donald Mc Donald facilitated a Polish-Czech Bor-

derland community group visit to The Peace Link

for Pobal in June to highlight an example of a

successful cross community project to the group.

Great photos of Conor Mc Farland & his mum Anne promoting The Peace Link at a youth international basketball competition in Hungary where his team, the North East Knights, finished in third place. A big

well done to Conor & all involved.

David showing off the Hell

and Back training top that

was kindly sponsored by

Gymfix Ireland and Wilson

Insurance Brokers for each

participant of the 2017

Peace Link Hell and Back

crew.

Big thanks to Eddie Master-

son and Shane Wilson for

this kind gesture.

Clones Cycling Club organised a bike to school

day for St. Tiarnach' s National School as part of

National Bike Week in June.

National School athletics meet 2017

June

It was Bike week in June as Monaghan Sports Partnership came to The Peace Link to run their six week training pro-

gramme for young children with disabilities to help with some balance / co-ordination development.

Thank you

to Magheraveely

FC Chairman Philip

Hutchinson for donating a

signed Northern Ireland

soccer jersey to The Peace

Link Sports Facility.

There was plenty of free activities

around Monaghan as part of the

National Recreation Week which was

organised by Monaghan Sports Part-

nership.

The activities that took place at The

Peace Link were Baseball facilitated

by Cavan Baseball and Archery or-

ganised by Cavan Instinctive Archery.

Over 50 children attended these free

events during the week.

Hell & Back 2017

July

Thrive Therapy returned to The Peace Link for their Leaps and Bounds camp which was ran during July. The games looked great fun and every child had smiles on their face throughout. Well done to all the kids that participated and to

the Thrive staff for such a well run camp.

During July the Senior Fit group had a little day trip to Enniskillen. The day involved a boat tour from Erne Tours Limited that stopped at Devenish island for a bit of sightseeing. Afterwards it was onto the Killyhevlin Hotel in Enniskillen for some well deserved grub.

Three of The Peace Link team completed the CARA Inclusive training course held in the centre during

July.

Brilliant stuff from Michelle Reinhardht Mc Cabe during July as she took home Two Gold Medals

in her Categories at the World Transplant Games in Malaga, Spain.

Michelle won Gold in both the 100m Sprint and the Long Jump.

August

It was a home victory for the Ulster Baseball Team

who defeated the Dublin Black Sox's at The Peace Link

during August.

Our Summer Camps continued into August this year and there were plenty of activities to keep the young ones busy. Each child

received a certificate and a Peace Link bag as well as a visit from one of the famous minions. Can you guess who the minion is

though???

The Minion returned the following week to hand out yet more

certificates and Peace Link bags to each participant on our annu-

al Kids Inclusive Camp. Well done to everyone involved.

Killeevan Ladies G.F.C had a lot to be proud of after reaching

the Division 3 final in Monaghan in August after only being

together for 5 months. Well done ladies!

Michelle popped in to

show us her 2 Gold

Medals in August. She

had put in a lot of

training hours over

the previous months

on the track with Paul

O’Neil and in the gym

with Jeni. All the hard

work definitely paid of

for her.

The weather was fantastic as the annual Peace Link tournament took place. Massive thank you to all players and teams who took part. Congrats to the Cup winners Gym Fix and the Shield winners Hoof and Hope who retained their title. Big

thank you to Wayne , Katie, Damien and Jeni for running a fantastic event.

The Peace Link Cup

September

The Peace Link was delighted to welcome Minister Heather Humphreys, Minister Shane Ross TD and Minister Brendan

Griffin to the facility during September as part of their visit to St. Tiarnachs G.F.C.

The Peace Link held their first Table Tennis Tournament at the

beginning of the month.

Ryan Mc Conkey came out the eventual winner with Joshua

Hall finishing as the runner up.

KG Elite Performance returned to The Peace Link

for phase 2 of their Strength and Conditioning

course in September.

Two members of the team (Jeni & Olga) took part

and are taking their final exams in January.

Olga and Jeni complet-

ed Phase 2 of the KG

Elite Strength and Con-

ditioning course during

September as The

Peace Link continued

to educate their team

on up to date scientific

knowledge.

Good work ladies!

October

Thanks to everyone who attended our Halloween Disco Ball in October. Everyone looked fantastic in their fancy dress cos-

tumes & scary painted faces and had loads of fun as the DJ blasted out the tunes. All received sweets & a green Peace Link

trick or treat bag before leaving. A great evening of fun and dancing was had by all our little monsters.

The Peace Links

new zippy sports

top was unveiled in

October. This slick

looking top is sure

to add 20kg to your

bench press.

Please ask any

member of staff if

you are looking to

order one.

The Cassandra Hand Rose Competition took part in the centre

during the month. The 10 Roses took part in some physical &

mental challenges during the day and were back again in the

evening to help crown the 2017 winner. All the ladies looked

amazing and done a fine job representing there local businesses.

Some pictures from the Walk a Mile with a Smile morning that took place on Thursday the 12th of October in the centre as

part of Mental Health Awareness Week. At the end of the walk, each participant released a balloon symbolising the release

of all their negative thoughts & then headed into the Multi Room for some well deserved refreshments.

November

Big well done to regular Peace Link users Finbarr,

Rhona and Grainne who completed the West-

port Sea 2 Summit challenge in November.

Members of Clones Athletics Club who won the Father Enda Mc

Cormack Cup at the County Uneven Age Cross Country Champion-

ships in November.

Peace Link staff member Olga Reilly interacting with the audience

& guest speakers of the Peace of Mind Positive Mental Health

Conference organised by the Clones Family Resource Centre

which took place in the Creighton Hotel in Clones.

December

Some members of the Clones Cycling Club who keep up their fitness levels during their off season by participating in an

Indoor Cycling Spin session every Tuesday and Thursday evening during the winter months.

The Senior Fit group getting their snap taken after their 2017 Christmas Party in The Peace Link. This group of ladies come

to the centre to keep fit every Wednesday at 12pm before socialising over a cup of tea and maybe the odd biscuit after-

wards. We are extremely lucky to have such a friendly & kind bunch of ladies like this use our facility every week.

December

December saw the final meeting of the year for Clones Photography Group (CPG) in The Peace Link where the following

awards were presented for 2017.

Photographer of the Year [advanced category] James Cosgrove, Photographer of the Year [non-advanced category] Joint

Winners Mary Conlon and Laura Murray, Image of the Year [advanced category] James Cosgrove, Image of the Year [non-

advanced category] Caitrín Ánna O’Cathain & Most Improved Novice Winner Mary Conlon.

CPG is looking forward to an exciting 2018 with a very full schedule of events happening and as always welcoming new

members.

Clones Athletics Club taking part in their Annual Santa Fun Run at The Peace Link in December.

Other News

Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair became All Ireland School

Champions after victory in the FAI Schools John Murphy Sen-ior B National Cup Final which took place in The Peace Link In

February.

The Donegal and Ulster Win-ners beat Gaelcholáiste Na

Mara from Arklow 3-2.

Eddie Masterson from Gym Fix delivered a few new toys for the gym and a few items to make The Peace Link classes

even better in February.

The Peace Link introduced their class loyalty cards in

January. These gave each pay as you go class goer a chance to get a free class if they col-

lected ten stamps.

Don’t forget to look for yours if participating in a class

The Peace Link BRTS programme enabled 9

local Community Volunteers & Sports Club

members to take part in a basic Sports 1st

Aid course in The Centre during the year.

All of the local Sports Clubs within the

Clones Erne East Area were invited to send

one Club Volunteer, Club Member or Club

Representative on the course free of charge

on the night in order to try to boost the lev-

els of Sports 1st Aid knowledge throughout

the Clubs & local region.

Another great year for the Centre as it was again awarded The Gold Standard White Flag for Fitness & The Silver Standard White Flag for Accessibility at the Annual Ireland Active Awards. The Peace Link would like to extend

our appreciation to all involved in maintaining the highest standards of excellence in Fitness,

Leisure and Community Inclusion.