St Malachy’s GAC Annual Dinner and Club Awards
Friday 10th March 2006 in Burrendale
Hotel
Newcastle.
186 members and guests attended the 2005 Club
Awards Dinner held in the Burrendale Hotel
Newcastle on Friday 10th March.
The Club Awards were made as follows:-
Minor Team: Minor East Down League
Winners(Medals and Cup)- presented by An
Cathaoirleach East Down Divisional Committee PJ
McAlinden;
Senior HurlersLeague Runners-Up (medals)-
presented by An Cathaoirleach Club Committee
Miceal Crilly;
Ladies Senior County Championship Winners:
(Cup + Medals)- presented by An Cathaoirleach
Ladies County Committee - Paul Kelly;
Ladies Management: Kevan Owens and Brian
Dougherty. The ladies captain Aine Keary also
made a presentation on behalf of the team to
Kevan, Brian and Patricia McMullan.
Most Improved Minor Player of the Year: -
Colm Flanagan;
Minor Player of the Year: - A new Cup was
presented to the Club for the Minor Player of
the Year by Mrs Rosaleen Wells and her family in
memory of her late husband Cyril, former Club
Chairman (1966) senior player in 1940's and
1950's (goalkeeper in 1950 SFC winning team) and
very much involved with underage teams in the
1960's.The first winner of the new Cyril
Wells Minor Player of the Year Trophy - Colm
Flanagan;
U21 Footballer Year:-Ruairi McArdle;
Most Improved Thirds Footballer of the Year-
Daniel Steele;
Thirds Footballer of the Year:-Declan
Fitzpatrick;
Both of the Thirds Cups were presented to the
Club by Frank McMullan and family.
2nds Footballer Year:-Paul cCabe;
Senior Hurler Trainer Year:-Stevie
Rodgers;
Senior Hurler of the Year:-Ray
Cunningham;
Ladies Player's Player of the year:Mairead
Hardy;
Ladies Manager's Player of the year:Noeleen
O'Higgins;
Senior Player of the Year: A new Senior
Player of the Year trophy was presented by the
Rice family in memory of Pat, former All-Ireland
star of the 1960's,and former Club Chairman
1974-75. in presenting this award the Fear An Tí
said that it was appropriate that this trophy
should be named the Pat Rice trophy as he was
involved with the senior team for over 50 years
as player, then manager, selector and backroom
staff right up to a short while before his death
in June 2005. The first winner of the Pat Rice
Senior Player of the Year was Ruairi McArdle.
SPECIAL INDIVIDUAL AWARDS TO MEMBERS:
Mickey McVeigh a player who continiues to
bring honour to our Club year after year at
county provincial and all -Ireland
level. In 2005 he was a member of the Ireland
Compromise Rules Team that toured Australia
2005.
Donal Ward, Paddy Hardy and Audie McVeigh
-3 Club veterans who were part of the Down
Masters Team that reached 2005 Masters
All-Ireland Final.
Aine Keary and Dierdre Quinn: 2 female
players who were part of the Down Ladies Team
that reached 2005 Intermediate All-Ireland Final
05.
Niall McArdle- senior player and member
of the Down U21 Team - Ulster Champions and
reached 2005 All-Ireland Final.
Kevin Duffin - A club player who was a
member of the Down Minor All Ireland Champion
winning Team 2005.
Ann Owens Club Person of the Year Award 2005:
The unanimous Committee choice for the 2005
Club person of the Year Award was Kevin
Sweeney. In announcing the award Club Runái and
Fear an Tí for the evening Ciarán Crilly had
this to say -
This year’s recipient of this coveted award is a
man who has been to the forefront of every major
club development, event, or decision taken or
organized by the Club Executive over the last
number of years. His enthusiasm, commitment, and
dedication to all club affairs has been both
refreshing and indeed beneficial to the
well-being of our club and his contribution
along with other like minded club people has i
believe set the Club on a sure footing for the
future.
However it was perhaps last year, the year of
our club centenary that this man’s contribution
was to have most effect. As an organizer and a
campaigner for doing things in a most
professional manner he is without doubt a
leader. He was to the forefront in the planning
of all of last year’s events and he was also to
the forefront when it actually came to making
them work and seeing each event through, from
the planning stage right through to the
conclusion of each event.
From the St Patrick’s Day Parade and launch of
the centenary year, the Golf Classic, the Horse
Show and Celtic fusion Bars, the Sports day,
Sevens competitions, the Book launch, and most
especially the Centenary Banquet, his
involvement and contribution ensured that each
event was successful and that our centenary was
celebrated in a fitting and dignified way.
His work didn’t stop there either as he
continued to market and sell new club
merchandise and source new lucrative sponsorship
deals for all our major annual tournaments
throughout the year including the annual Golf
Classic, bringing in much needed Club funding at
a time when the Club has very ambitious
development plans.
For business reasons he has decided to step down
from the Committee this year, but even though he
is not a member of the committee he has already
taken time to become involved in both this years
Golf Classic and the annual dinner, and we are
only into the 3rd month of the year.
He has promised to return to the Committee ranks
again next year but i know that all his
committee colleagues will welcome his return
because of the enormous contribution he has made
and continues to make for the future well-being
of our club
Hall of Fame:
A new ‘Hall of Fame’ trophy was donated to the
Club by the O’Neill family Ballylough in memory
of former player Club Chairman and Club
President Johnny O’Neill
The first recipient of the magnificent new
trophy was a Castlewellan emigrant of more than
60 years Tom Fitzpatrick from Ontario in Canada.
Tom’s grandparents, parents and his brothers
were all well known and highly respected Gaels
all steeped in the formative years of the GAA in
County Down as well as a very patriotic family
very much involved in local and national
politics. Tom’s brother Seamus continued the
family involvement in the GAA as a member of the
Castlewellan Club Committee in the 1960’s and
Seamus’s sons and grandchildren continue the
Fitzpatrick GAA tradition today through their
involvement on and off the field St Malachy’s.
Tom was born and raised in a little house on
Castlewellan’s Main Street were he lived with
his parents and his brothers Seamus and Patrick.
His father James was heavily involved with the
GAA and was also county Registrar from 1928
until his death in November 1942. Tom replaced
his father as County Registrar in 1943.
However it was Tom’s part in the reforming of
the Club in 1940 that he is best remembered.
Along with Peter King and Pat Savage, Tom was
responsible for getting the Club back together
again after a bitter break-up a few years
earlier, and so it was with Peter King as
Chairman, Tom Fitzpatrick as Secretary, and Pat
Savage as Treasurer that the club got off to a
shaky start during the war years. But these men
laid a steady foundation upon which future
generations were to build and which the modern
St Malachy’s club that we all enjoy today
successfully evolved. Tom also played centre
half back on the first team after the Club
reformed when they played against Gargory
Geraldines and he continued to play for the club
over the next number of years while continuing
in the post of Club Secretary and County
Registrar, and in 1944 he also became Club
Chairman.
Tom’s name doesn’t appear in any of the club
records after that date as it was about that
time that Tom joined his older brother Patrick
on the immigration trail eventually ending up in
Ontario Canada were he married and raised seven
children. But like many a Gael before and after
him, Tom never forgot his Irish roots and
particularly his GAA roots here in Castlewellan.
In all of his regular trips home down through
the years he always made time to drop into the
meadow to watch the town play, and in later
years the Clubrooms in Circular Road were he
would peruse the old photographs of former teams
and friends that he played alongside.
Only last year he took the trouble to write and
to telephone the club from his home in Canada to
covey his congratulations to his old Club in
reaching its 100th birthday and to the Club on
the DVD and ‘The Town’ book both of which he had
enjoyed tremendously.
tom did intend to make the journey home for this
special Club award and was delighted when he was
told he was to join the Club’s Hall of Fame.
However he was unable to travel due to his
wife’s temporary incapacity he has promised to
travel home sometime in the summer to collect
his award and to catch up with all his old
friends in st Malachy’s Club.
Other Club Awards:
A special award of Belfast Crystal was made to
outgoing Club President Pat Rodgers as a
token of the Club’s appreciation and as a
momentum of his term as President.
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