The Galway Lawn Tennis Club hold an Open Day on Saturday from 12 noon to 4.00pm to introduce all of its activities to potential new members. The activities are not confined to tennis, squash and badminton but a huge array of other activities such as hill walking, aerobics, chess, golf outings and a surprising array of other activities.

But the club has something else up its sleeve! It will be showing off its brand new defibrillator. As many as 13 members and staff have already received training from the Irish Red Cross and the club is most anxious that the neighbours, the local community should be aware that the defibrillator is available to them as well. www.gltc.ie, 091 522353.

Liam Mellows Hurling Club have a mass for deceased members in the clubhouse at Ballyloughane this evening at 8.00pm. And the annual Niall McInerney Tournament will be held on Sunday in Sixmilebridge.

The Irish Universities Soccer Championship for the Collingwood Cup, running all week in Galway, will conclude tomorrow when the final will be played in Terryland Park.

Congrats to Pauline Cahill, Blackrock, Peterswell, Lorraine Burke, Slieveaun, Clarinbridge, Sheila O'Grady, Killilane, Tuam, Niall Daly, Mountain South, Athenry, Gearóid Conneely, Letterpeak, Spiddal and Rebecca Dolan, Clooneykearney, Ballintubber, Castlerea who will receive GAA Fun Do packs in the weeks ahead, so keep reading the Galway Independent!

Kinvara GAA and Camogie Clubs are holding a fundraising Fashion Show tomorrow night in the Lady Gregory Hotel Gort. Latest styles, top prizes, best dressed lady, wine reception at 7.00pm and show at 8.00pm. Marian 087 9132800 and Sharon 087 9943539.

There will be lots of Ladies Football in Dangan on Friday and Saturday when the HEC Third Level Ladies Gaelic Football Intervarsities gets into its stride.

Fr.Griffins/Éire Óg Football Club hold a 'Are you smarter than a 10 year old' Table Quiz in the Menlo Park Hotel tomorrow night at 8.00pm.

The Diary has a weakness for All Ireland winners and here's the latest, the Connacht Under 16 Chess side took national honours in Limerick recently. So heartiest congrats to David McCann, team captain, (Claregalway), John Cormican (Clarinbridge), Oisin Murphy (Knocknacarra), Eoin Moran (Ballinasloe), Conor Barrett (Ballinasloe) and Dylan Connolly (Ballinasloe).

And Galway City Harriers has two more Irish champions in Martin McEvilly (1500m and 3000m) and Brian Geraghty (1500m) who won Irish Vets titles last weekend.

The GAA Inter Club General Knowledge Quiz was held last Thursday in Poitín Stíl Indreabhán and was won by Micheál Breathnachs, Salthill Knocknacarra were second and Killanin were third. All three teams will compete in the Connacht final in Knock Co. Mayo next week, which is very fair as there were minimum points difference between the teams. The All Ireland final will be in Croke Park on St.Patrick's Day.

Salthill Knocknacarra GAA Golf Society hold their first outing of the year on Saturday in the Connemara club at Ballyconneely. Mike O'Flaherty 086 1700913.

Galway United at their Black and White Ball on Saturday night handed out a number of awards. Firstly they remembered four of their own who contributed handsomely to the club in their time, Joey Malone, Adrian Walsh, Jimmy Nolan and Bernie O'Connell. They honoured two girls, the captain of the Galway team Susie Cunningham that won the FAI cup and the multi talented Niamh Fahey. They honoured Peter Morrissey of Colga FC and Moyne Villa FC through J.P Walsh. The final two awards were most interesting and nothing to do with Galway United. They honoured Ray Carroll who with others rowed the Atlantic Ocean as a fundraiser for Aware and they honoured sprinter Paul Hession for an outstanding season and in recognition of he being selected for Ireland to run in the Beijing Olympics.

Some of the most unlikely Galway personalities, called Galway Gladiators, are in training for a charity white collar boxing tournament to take place on Saturday week 8th March in the Radisson Hotel in aid of the Galway Rape Crisis Centre and Goal. Tickets: Kay Tighe 091 583149 and Ronan Scully 087 6189094.

The Irish Under 17 side will play two matches in Terryland Park next month, against Germany on Thursday 13th March and against Portugal on Tuesday 18th March. Here's hoping that Ger Hanley (Salthill Devon) and Greg Cunningham (Manchester City), the former Mervue United player get a run in an Irish jersey in front of their own.

Childline and the ISPCC are appealing to women across the country to pull on their runners and run, jog or walk in the Flora Women's Mini Marathon on Bank Holiday Monday 2 June

Croí, the West of Ireland Cardiology Foundation invite participants for the Berlin Marathon in September, the Chicago Marathon in October and the New York Marathon in November. 091 544310 and 087 2599979.

This day last week Chick Gillen closed the door of his shop in Dominick Street and called time on an extraordinary life as a barber and an awful lot more. Chick Gillen begs description at times for the vocabulary of the second official language is hardly adequate to do him justice. Institution, legendary, phenomenon, upbeat, giver, mischievous, wise cracker, fun maker, story teller, sportsman, helper, raconteur, generous, unpretentious, friendly, independent minded are just some of the words that might help to describe an extraordinary human being. The man's such an asset. Goodness personified.