The View – Celebrating the club as well as a Legend of the Ash
By Noel Dundon
One often wonders whether we celebrate the value of our GAA clubs often enough.
The thought wandered into my mind this week as I make preparations for the launch of a new book on Tipperary hurling legend –Pat Stakelum Legend of the Ash – captain of the All-Ireland winning Premier County senior hurling team of 1949 – that launch, by the way, takes place in Ballycahill Community Centre on Saturday October 7th at 8:00pm and all are more than welcome. Pat’s grand nephew, All-Ireland winning Limerick captain Declan Hannon, will launch the book.
Anyway, the club. Pat Stakelum had the height of regard for his club Holycross Ballycahill and in an interview with well-known author Norman Freeman, he opined that the club, like the Church, was the focal point of each parish. The men who ran the club were, generally speaking, the same ones who would be found running the affairs of the parish. They were the ones who helped out with thrashings, organised the fairs and fetes, supported the St Vincent de Paul, fundraised for the local schools and helped out to ensure that the villages remained neat and tidy.
In other words they were the doers rather than the talkers and they were the people Pat had the utmost respect for. They were the ones he tried to impress as a young hurler and if you caught their eye and got their approval, you were on to something. They would take you under their wing, offer advice and follow your development as a young lad as well as as a hurler. They would delight in your success and share the burden of disappointment in defeat.
Of course Pat Stakelum would become that person that young fellas looked up to and never was this more true than in the club he helped to establish, Dúrlas Óg juvenile GAA club in Thurles – his pride and joy. There, Pat, together with a plethora of other highly respected people imbued young boys with the joy of playing hurling and football, armed them with the skills of the game, and instilled in them a sense of fair play, honesty and discipline. They became the people that Pat looked up to in Ballycahill and Holycross all those year before.
Of course, the same scenarios pertain right throughout Tipperary and Ireland. The GAA club and its many volunteers are the mainstay of the parish. Pat was right – you will now find GAA people sitting on the Board of Management of the schools, on Parent Councils, Parish Councils, heading up the Tidy Villages committees, managing the graveyards, organising the local charities, the sale of work, summer camps – you name it, GAA people are stuck in the middle of it, while at the same time driving on the affairs of the club too. Leadership – that’s what it’s all about and the GAA is very fortunate to have such leaders working in a voluntary capacity from January 1st – December 31st.
In Tipperary we can take huge pride in our clubs. From the biggest, most celebrated clubs in the county on the playing fields, to the smallest country club struggling to field teams, there are people who ensure that the show remains on the road. Clubs have provided facilities which are second to none in their communities – facilities which are used for far more than just the hosting of training and games of hurling and football. The doors are always opened to those who need the facilities – after all, these facilities have mostly been funded by the local community through draws, lottos, collections, donations – you name it, clubs have used it to raise a few bob for the development of the club grounds.
Few other organisations could claim to have tentacles as deeply rooted in the community as the GAA. And the universal nature of the Association ensures that blow-in’s are as welcome to pick up a camán and start coaching, or act as an officer or a groundsman, as the dyed in the wool local. Pat was that blow-in in Thurles but as far as Dúrlas Óg was concerned you would never know it. In fact, a quick look at the Dúrlas Óg committee in its formative years reveals Kerry, Mayo, Laois, Kilkenny, Cork, Limerick, Clare and of course Tipperary influences. Other clubs are finding that too in the modern day as population trends change and many country people move into the urban settings, while many urban dwellers seek the green grass of the countryside. This movement of people is infusing clubs with fresh blood and new enthusiasm.
One last mention of Pat Stakelum. He was a very articulate man but he found it hard to describe the joy he received from seeing young boys playing the games on Saturday morning in Páirc na n-Óg. And, he suggested that retired hurlers should throw in their lot helping out with coaching – “You will never know the level of satisfaction you can get from teaching a young lad how to strike the ball left and right, or how to pick a ball on the run and hit it over the bar or into the net. It is a thrilling feeling,” he said. So the call is out – if you have hung up your boots or decommissioned the hurley, think seriously about helping out with coaching hurling, camogie, ladies football or gaelic football. You will get far more from it than you will ever give.
Remember that date – Saturday, October 7th in Ballycahill Community Centre at 8:00pm- a short 65 from Pat’s native home in Ballinahow. A special evening of chat and tales is promised. Beidh failte roimh cách.
Stakelum would surely be excited about the two big hurling games this weekend – the preliminary quarter final clashes of the FBD Insurance county senior hurling championship. Clonoulty Rossmore take on Mullinahone in a game which could either way, while Thurles Sarsfields will be fancied to overcome a Nenagh Éire Óg side which will be void of a number of players due to suspension – there is a suggestion that Jake Morris could make a welcome return to action after that serious facial injury. Time will tell.
There was a great day of activities in and around FBD Semple Stadium on Saturday last as Tipperary sponsors Fiserv organised a series of events which went down a real treat. Fun runs, mini-games, activities, car boot sales, tours of the Stadium and chances to meet Tipperary players featured among the highlights of the day which was a brilliant success. The Dillon Quirke and Cliona Foundations will benefit from the proceeds – two great causes indeed.
We might not always celebrate our clubs, our County Board and our Association as we should. But, you know what, we ought to, because without them, our lives would be so much duller.
By Jonathan Cullen Tue 5th Sep
