Kieran and Meidhbhin Megraw

Kieran Megraw

Early coming together, family links and education:

“When we all moved up to Stewartstown at the start there was only the eight houses at the front. As things moved on Stewartstown and Hillhead became very populated and we drew a lot of players from there. You had the Herron’s, McNeill’s, Paddy O’Donnell, the Kane’s, the Buchanan’s, Lynch’s, Brown’s, Conlon’s, Eugene McGoldrick and Terry Doran. I also had uncle who lived up in Stewartstown Park and he had played for the club early-on [Mick Magill] and his brother was on the team as well and was captain [Art Magill]. When we were researching the club history for the centenary book in 2003 there was a report of a match in 1909. They were heading on a trip to play Dalcassians in Aghagallon at Brankinstown– it was Dalcassians first match and there was 4,500 people at the match- It was unbelievable stuff. I was aware of Mick but didn’t really know much about Art- as he’s called on the team. We looked back on history and started to see that he was secretary of the club, he was an Irish speaker, he taught in Hannahstown school and was taking Irish classes in various parts of the city. My mum was born in Ballycullo – it is townland across the Glenside opposite Hannahstown Hill. We’d a lot of links with Hannahstown”.

“When Jim [Herron]  went to St Malachy’s, he got the Keenan’s [Colly and Gerard] to play for us. They lived in Hillhead plus the following played also Roy Irvine, Dermy McAuley, the Magowans, the Thompson’s, Ryan’s, Kearney’s and O’Neill’s. That had a big input and everybody tended to do things together – that was the way it worked.

“I went to St. Mary’s on the Glen Road and there wasn’t many from the Club at the school, only Jimmy Finnegan Jnr and Sean Kavanagh. Gerry McConville was in the same class, Mickey Ryan, Peader O’Prey, John McErlean, Stevie Maxwell and other lads that ended up playing for us.

“I attended Holy Child before St Mary’s; you were playing Gaelic games there from P6”.

Once you did your 11+ you were moved down to Casement Park, I ended up going to school in Casement for seven months. It was fantastic- Jimmy Trainor [the groundsman] wasn’t that keen to let us on the pitch but every break time you were out for a lap of the pitch. You could play all round; the banks were all grass and you’d a massive area to play in. There was only a couple of classes down there compared to the numbers that were up in the actual school. I think there was 44 in our class- big numbers for a teacher now!”

  I know this year was 50-years on from the 1969 final [Antrim U-21 All-Ireland win against Roscommon] I remember going to Croke Park with my brother Sean, not sure who’s car we travelled in.   Things were crazy in Belfast at the time but to go down there and see an Antrim victory and get out onto the pitch afterwards, was great”.

“Barney [Herron] and myself would have been the youngest in the group going to matches,  when you’re younger you used to bring your boots just in case you were needed or you could get ten minutes- that’s basically how we started off playing for Lamh Dhearg .We played for the juvenile team Stewartstown Mc Dermotts for a while, Peter O Toole was manager. Paddy O Donnell played also. In the early 70s, Lamh Dhearg had clubhouse number 1 (it was at the top of Hannahstown Hill above where the new houses are now). We would have gone up there for the craic. One day Barney and I went up, they had a table tennis inside it but we had to clear all the glasses off before we could play. The club was only probably a third of the size of the current members room – the odd time we would have played table tennis but usually we would have gone on out to Budore to the matches”.

“The troubles were going on and we had our pitch out at Budore. In 1971 the wooden changing rooms at the pitch were blown up and then in 1972 there was the shooting at the pitch while the South Antrim game between Lamh Dhearg and Dwyer’s was being played. Anto McCague, Raymond Jordan and the Dwyer’s keeper were shot. We were very, very lucky that nobody was seriously injured however, I think that everybody knew that we had to try and get a pitch closer to Hannahstown”. Barney and I were at that game and can still remember the shooting.

“Eventually we got land – through Jackie Duffy and Shanty [Pat McCague] who managed to secure land in Hannahstown where our current pitches are. Club number one was destroyed in 1975. Club number two was opened during 1978 at the new site and from then on it was a process of starting to build, get organised and get funding for the pitch. The pitch was open in 84 and we’d a lot of things going on- we were looking at the physical development of the club and the pitch, but we were continuing to develop the playing side of the club. We’d lads from St. Mary’s and players from Hannahstown and the Rock – lads like Robin Connolly, Davy Reid, Hughie Jordan jnr, Mitch & Gerard Tubridy, Mulligans and Stephen Maguire. There was a lot of guys from around there and we were starting to build the numbers at U-16 and minor- which was important as we needed to get the numbers up. In the early 70s senior players like Mackers [Sean McElhatton], Gerry Regan, Duffy [Jackie Duffy] had already joined the club and Tony Henderson [he wasn’t from the Ranch but was from Fermanagh]”.

Football

“Once I came out of minor- I was taking the minor team when I was 19 with Roy Irvine. Barney and myself would also have been taking some of the underage teams. That would have continued and we were trying to build structures and put in rules like- you needed to be training and building up your coaching skills. Mackers [Sean McElhatton] had come in as coach of the senior team in the early 80s. We’d a number of good years in the league and were starting to build the team – eventually we got to the Championship final in 1983 in senior and minor football- unfortunately we lost both”.

“I was still playing – but I was managing the South Antrim team and they were playing in the Martin Cup in 1983. There were a good number of players about and we had reserve as well. We were beat in the Martin Cup final and but went back two years later and won it plus the league. There was a great buzz around the panel and a mix of older lads – likes of Dominic McCann, Paddy ‘Beast’ McCann, Jackie Duffy, Seamy Fitzsimons and Sean McEIlhatton – they were all still playing and there were other lads were coming in. It was a good combination”.

“In 1987 I had a bad injury for a while and was involved in managing the senior Footballers with Sean Kavanagh & Seamy Fitz. The seniors won the ‘Autumn’ cup defeating Cargin, St Pauls and then Davitts in the final. In the Championship we ended up playing All-Saint’s – they’d a very good team at the time and beaten St John’s in the first-round. We were due to play them in the second-round and drew with them up in Portglenone and then came back to Hannahstown on the Wednesday night and they beat us after extra-time by a point. It was an exciting match; a big crowd and it was great to see so many people about. We’d a lot of injuries that year but did well – we’d Peter Fox, Paddy McCabe Russ, Buke, Paddy Cunningham Snr and others playing”.

“We pushed on – I was still managing the hurling and back playing the football myself. Barney had got me back playing and we had a couple of good years winning the Beringer Cup one of the years and getting beaten in the final. It was always a very good competition. I played in a SF Championship quarter final  against St John’s down in Casement in 1990 or 91. I remember the beast bringing a goat down as a mascot with a club jersey on, it had the desired effect as we won the match ! The team played well that night with Dodger getting his Mikey Sheehy goal. The club was developing and it was always important to get more players in. Bukey and Barney were heavily involved in the youth side to build us up”.

Hurling:

“My brother Sean used to be secretary of Mitchel’s Gac and for a while Barney [Herron], myself and a few others would have played hurling for Mitchel’s. Colm and Gary [McKenna] were playing for St Galls, John P and Barney McKenna were playing for Gael Uladh then St Teresa’s. However, we wanted to have a team at Lamh Dhearg and the club entered a team. These are some of the others that played: Shanty, Fitzy, Wee Joe (that was the full forward line !!!) Mickey Herron, Jim Herron (2 games I think) Sean Maguire a few. We had Paddy Cunningham Snr up front, so he got a lot of our scores. Paddy McCann was keeper. Paddy Hunter (Billy’s Son) had played for Ardoyne but he came and played for us. Gerry Crossey was the manager

“The Hurling had started in 1977 but was only at a senior level and we hadn’t enough players coming through and it finished by 1980. After a gap of a couple of years and we got it going again. In 1985 Lamh Dhearg entered Division Two in South Antrim and the year after the Juvenile Hurling was started, Stephen McCague was involved with that. Our target was to try and reach Division Two All County within 5 years and hopefully by that stage there would be players coming through to take their place on the senior team”.

“We’d a couple of really great years- in 1985 we won the McCoey Shield and then in 1986 we won three championships- the Belfast Championship, South Antrim and All-County. The following year we won promotion from Division Three and moved to Division Two. It was a big step-up. The younger lads in 1988 reached the All-County Féile final in Dunloy losing out to a strong Loughiel team You could see the hurling developing and four years later we won the minor [1992] against Loughiel at Casement with Frankie Quinn as Coach. We were still playing in Div 2 at Senior. Then the minors came in and we were able to push on, we were in 1B for a couple of years, playing Intermediate Championship, lost the final in 1995, I think – a good level of hurling”.

“When Fr John O’Donovan came in, he had a massive impact with regards to hurling and he really helped drive it on. It was a good thing for us that he arrived at St Oliver Plunkett at the time and people started to see it going well and other people got involved. Kaneso [Damien Kane] would have been one that came-in, he was a tremendous hurler. Noel Morgan was another lad that came-in, Brendan Toland, Marty Collins and I could list a whole lot of them. Fr John did have a big impact and the camaraderie and team spirit with-in that group was tremendous”. Fr John also was on the Antrim County Hurling panel for a year under Jim Nelson.

“After St Mary’s CBS I went to the Poly [Jordanstown] and previously the Poly would have joined with Queens to play their hurling matches. We didn’t want that to happen anymore and I was involved in founding the hurling club at Jordanstown playing there for 3 years. Some of the lads who played on that team Dessie Donnelly, Paddy Donnelly, Kevin Donnelly. John Hopkins, Stevie Burke, Charlie Lenfesty Eamon Convery, Paddy Mallon and many more.

During the early eighties Lamh Dhearg had a camogie team, they trained usually at the pitch out at The Rock. I had been involved in coaching them and for one of the matches we had to travel up to Loughgiel. Hughie Jordan snr arranged for one of the Mc Quillans works minibuses to be available to take them as long as I would drive. There is a picture of the panel in the 1984 Pitch opening booklet. Great to see the current camogs playing.

Admin roles- Treasurer and Chairman:

“In 1983 I came onto the Senior Committee as vice-treasurer while Jackie Duffy was treasurer and then moved onto become treasurer. To see the pitch come to fruition in 1984 was tremendous, plus the pitch Opening Committee did great work to ensure everything was in place for Easter Monday. To see the facilities, we had in 84- the changing rooms, floodlights etc- from where we used to play at Budore- if you were left corner-back you were way down in the hole. It was a fantastic achievement and some people had doubted that we would get the pitch built. It’s very important that history is taken into account – Shanty was leading as chairman over that period and there was a lot of people working hard to make sure that it came about. Thankfully now we’re pushing for a second pitch because of the demand and numbers- that’s where we want to be. To get that pitch open with what was going on in society plus people wouldn’t have had the same disposable income as today. Early 1991 was a difficult period because the NIO and the RUC objected to renewing GAA clubs’ bar licences. We all ended up going to court and had our licences approved as everything was in order. We were using the money to try and develop the club facilities and the GAA therefore it was important that we looked after the social side”.

“We had the pitch opening in 1984 and the importance of that. There were many people working hard in the youth side of the club. I was still treasurer and in 1992 Jim [Herron] became chairman and it was a massive year for the club. The club was very, very busy from the social club side. People were queuing up on a Sunday night and different nights to get in. Hurling and Football were going well and it was fantastic that we won the seven Championships and three leagues. It was down to everybody getting involved and pulling in the one direction. A couple of people wouldn’t have been able to do all that- it needed so many involved and all the management teams done a great job. The youth policy was paying off for the football and hurling. It was a tremendous year”.

“We were down in the Slieve Russell – Jim and Joan [Herron], Sean Maguire and myself. The Slieve Russell Hotel had the capacity of 800 and 900 people. They mentioned Lavey and Burren but once Michael McGeary mentioned an Antrim club- we knew we’d got it. It was fantastic to be recognised as Ulster GAA club of the year. It was a reward for everyone who went before us. ‘Ginger John’ McQuillan, Harry McKenna and Hughie Jordan were the three trustees at the time – Frank McCague, Patsy Mulholland, James O’Boyle, Billy Kane, John McPeake, Tony Sherry, Felix Mulligan and Hugh Grogan had all played important roles over the years in the history of Lamh Dhearg”.

“I came off the committee at the end of 1992 – Caoimhe was born at the start of October. The night she was born I had just got in from a committee meeting at about 11 o’clock and then at 12 o’clock we were heading down to the hospital. I remember we got her out of hospital on the Sunday morning then I went to Casement for the second half of the minor football final against the Johnnies. It was a very good second-half cause the Johnnies were well ahead in the first half. It was a great comeback and unfortunately the seniors were beat  by Burren in the Ulster club Championship after that”.

“When I stepped down from the committee- Jim Herron had approached me to be one of the club trustees for a couple of years. However, when I came onto committee as chairman in 1996 and 97, I could no longer be a trustee. It was a privilege to be a chairman of Lamh Dhearg. Things were changing and the club wasn’t as busy as before because people were tending to go into town and places like that. We won the junior football Championship in 1996 and I can remember Dee O’Connor’s tremendous goal up at the pitch against Portglenone. Michael Herron was secretary and we had put in a proposal that our second team would play all-county in Division Three or Division Four- we wanted to have a separate team for the Reserve. We did have a lot of players- even in the hurling- we were in Division 1B, reserve and a South Antrim team. We’d big numbers in hurling and football and it was trying to manage that and make sure that everybody was getting a game”.

“We’d the 25-year reunion of the 1971 Championship winning team-that was in the Balmoral Hotel. It was a great night and Sean McQuillan had come back from Australia and the rest of the panel were there also. Brian McEniff was the guest along with County Chair. There was great stories etc and it was nice to have them all there, a strong bond between them all (Shanty brought his medal). It was a very busy two years- any of the lads who have been chairman – Peter [Kane] himself currently will know that there is so much that goes on as chair and as the club gets bigger and bigger the role has got busier and busier. We’ve been lucky with the people who have taken on the Chairperson role. I started managing the senior hurlers again for a couple of years up until about 2000 after leaving the committee and then I wasn’t managing anybody or involved until we came up to the centenary year in 2003”.

Centenary Year – 2003:

“In 2003 we were probably one of the earliest clubs to have a centenary and there hadn’t really been much movement on it within the club. Bukey and myself got together and drew up a list of events that we would do- or try and do- and went to the committee at the time and they were happy enough and a few other people got involved. Jim [Herron proof reader] got involved with the book, Seamy [Armstrong] was helping out with photographs as well. when we were doing the book – we started to find out a lot of history about the club and it was an important part of the centenary”.

“We played the hurling match against Carey under 1903 GAA rules – it was 17-a side, the forwards and the midfield were at the half-way line for the throw-in. Diesel [McGarry] had set nets up the same as Australian nets are- you had another set of posts either side. To me the Aussie rules line-up came from the GAA- not the other way around. You’d Irish people going over there and when they left Ireland that was the way the GAA was played – you had the two side poles. It was also Carey’s centenary year; we had the match set-up for a particular date  but it ended up that we had a replay in the senior football – I’m not sure whether it was league or Championship but some of our lads were late coming up. It was an unique event and great to have the nets set-up and play under the different rules. They all seemed to enjoy it”.

“Another big event was the reunion night- we set about tracking people from all over the place and Buke managed to get Frank Mitchell to promote the reunion on UTV Weather Report. We gave Stevie Thompson [O’Neill’s] a good order for the 2003 t-shirts – there was over 300 sold- they were brilliant. I had mentioned Tony Henderson early on from Fermanagh. He came up for the night and at the start he didn’t really know many people and said ‘I’ll stay for half an hour and I’ll head on’ I told him that other people will come-in, don’t be worrying. Seven hours later he was still there- when I was going- I was wrecked. That was the same for everybody- the time just went so quick, by the time you got speaking to people and catching up. It was a fantastic night with the club packed and everybody seemed to enjoy reminiscing and some stories were told and friendships renewed etc”.

“Getting the book written was a huge task, pressure and responsibility  – we met up in Buke’s house a couple of times and there were photo’s all over the place, trying to decide which ones to go in but it was well worth it and Claire kept us going with sandwiches and tea – it was great of her to do that. The centenary year celebrations and events were tremendous and to have the book as a record of Lamh Dhearg Gac. Buke interviewed many people and went to speak to Master Corr – he had been the headmaster at the Rock school. The Rock used to have their own GAA team – St. Peter’s the Rock. He’d a picture of the team in the book- in 1957 they were voted out of South Antrim because it was too far to travel. Their pitch was behind where Ballymacward PS school is. It was then they started playing for Hannahstown. Researching for the book is when I found out that bit of history about Art Magill. We were going through the Irish News- James O’Boyle did a lot of work too -hunting through the Irish News, discovering different facts about early matches. Older Club members would recollect their memories of different events”.

“Peter [Kane], Barney & Colette Herron, Stevie Bunting sen, Kate Cunningham, Rap Lappin and Colm McKenna had taken over the huge task of organising the Gala dinner at the Europa – because we were looking after the other stuff. It was a fantastic night and a lot of people had travelled to get there and it was a formal evening. The hurlers had won promotion to Division One and were presented with their trophy and medals. It was great to see so many people there to celebrate the success and the 100-years.  reminiscing about different things and how the club had grown. It would have been a tragedy not to have that”.

“Cormac McAnallen was the guest – he was an inspirational player and gave such a great speech on the night. Then two days later he had died, it was hard to take in- back then if you were using a camera you had to leave your film in to be developed. I was getting pictures back and there were pictures of Cormac speaking only a few days previously. It was so sad for Cormac’s untimely passing and for his family”.

Pride of family involvement, ladies football within the club and importance of striving for County:

“Brenda [my wife] and I met at the club and she’s been a massive support to all of us over the years. Regarding our kids playing- it’s tremendous and that’s what your hoping for- that your kids will be involved in the GAA whatever the role, whether it’s playing or coaching. I started the ladies off in 2005 and as Celine [Daly] said – we had no girls LGFA team before that. There were a lot of girls coming up through the club – Gerry McConville’s daughter [Aisling], Colm McKenna’s daughter [Caoimhe], Eamon’s daughters [Orla and Eimear], Grainne [Herron] and Una-Maebh [Herron] and other families that were linked. It gave us the opportunity to bring in new families as well. Orla and Caoimhe are still playing senior along with Meidhbhin who is a wee bit younger. The success they had last year was great to see and going to watch the three of them play together is tremendous”.

“Caoimhe had previously been involved coaching many of the girls that have come into Féile over the last two years. In 2013 or 14 she was coaching a lot of girls and organised the Gaelic for Girls initiative through the LGFA at Lamh Dhearg. We had an Ulster blitz up at the club, bringing in new girls and families- which is very, very important for the development of LGFA in the club. Generally, most of the girls’ matches are on Sunday nights and you’d go and watch their game. Afterwards there’d be plenty of discussion on the games at home with the three of them. Conal has been involved in coaching hurling with me and has been playing hurling for almost 10 years for the club. He is now moved into the senior set up.  It’s great to see them all involved” They have all been coaches at the Cul Camps over the years and in 2019 Caoimhe was the co-ordinator for the Lamh Dhearg Camp. Caoimhe is now the Senior Ladies Captain. My two nieces Clodagh and Bronagh [Hayes] also play for the team”.

I was involved in coaching with Fra [McKenna] and Sean Braniff for a number of years. When Conal moved on up and I stayed with U-12Hs for 2 years, then U-14H in 2019 and now U-16H with Christy [Tumelty], Jim Groves and James Martin.

“To see so many girls now playing in the club and the work that the coaches have done over the past couple of years- to bring forward the ladies has been tremendous. Last year you’d Benny [Brennan], Brendan [O’Neill], Marty [Hayes], Paul [Webb], Maura and Paddy [Larkin] – Previous years Linda [Fegan] has been involved and Smickers [Brian Smith], Micky [Boyle] and James [Martin] Peter [Kane] and Eamonn McGarry. There’s been so many people involved with the ladies. So many new families have come in over the last couple of years and because of the number of girls about and the drive from Fionnuala [Crilly] and the rest of the people – camogie has been driven forward”.

“It’s important as a club that we’ve always wanted our players to represent Antrim. We take great pride in seeing players – Declan [Lynch] is there as county captain and we’ve had other people there in that situation and people managing the county. Ciaran [Herron] was mentioned in the paper last week with 10- Ulster medals and Michael and Brendan have a few as well- it’s a fantastic achievement. We’re starting to see the girls come in at football and camogie. Isla Annett was in the camogie last year and hopefully some more of the girls will get to camogie- Dervla [Crilly], Jodie Peoples , Shannon Mc Cann and  Tierna [Fegan] were in the football and then you’ve Niamh [Webb], Ciara [Larkin] and Meidhbhin in the senior football squad this year”.

“It’s important that players take your chances to play county – through work I’ve come across a lot of people that are thinking – I don’t know if I can do it. You’re going to go there and you’re going to learn so much. You’re going to think faster and play faster, it’s going to help you when you come back into the club game. You’ve seen how many of our senior footballers have progressed on- there’s lads have got into the county panel and all of a sudden they take off. It’s important that clubs encourage players to aim for that, at least you can say you’ve gave it a shot and tried your best and that’s what you’re looking to do – go out and encourage people. For me that’s a massive part of the GAA – the people reminiscing in these stories. Fionn and Maebh [McNeill] singing at Croke Park, Orla [McGarry] talking about Scor and Cul Camps giving her confidence to do things”.

“It’s not just on the playing field- we’re pushing people forward in their professional life and developing as a person. We have to give them confidence, when they come into the GAA we want to see them develop. Celine and Ciara Doc are engineer’s – different ones are Doctors and teachers. Bronagh Keegan came into the senior team in 2019 having a big impact on the team. You’re looking to push forward and see that there are role models within the club- whether it be male or female. Some of our players will see Deaghlan Lynch as captain of the Antrim team and think ‘I want to be there’. It was great to see Fionn [Mervyn] talking about wanting to play for his county. We’ve got to provide games for all players. We are pushing towards that, giving everybody an opportunity”.

Gaelfast:

“Gaelfast is a fantastic opportunity for Antrim GAA to grow Gaelic Games within the County. There are now eight GPO’s [Games Promotion Officers] which means there is more time given to coaching in schools and clubs. In 2019/20 there has been a great buy in from schools and teachers for the GAA 5 Star coaching initiative. I think the Go-Games have been a big success for the GAA- they’ve increased the number of kids playing at underage. Clubs are providing opportunities for families and their children to be involved in the GAA from an early age, all codes. Additionally, there is the Super-Games initiative which will provide the opportunity for young people to play, ensuring everyone is getting the chance to get out and enjoy the game”.

GAA

“For as long as I’ve been involved- whether it’s voluntary or work- the GAA has always been providing a leadership role for its members. During the troubles Lámh Dhearg had built a social club for people to socialise in their own community as well as giving them an opportunity to play Gaelic games. This community spirit is still continuing now during the Lockdown scenario. We’re currently not able to play games however you can clearly see many other things that various clubs are doing. Kevin [Herron] and Paul [Buchanan] are doing this ‘Red Hand Journey’ initiative for our own club and there are people in many other clubs providing support within their communities ie fundraising, food distribution to vulnerable and needy. Once again showing the strength of the GAA in our society and that sense of belonging/purpose which is very important to all”.

Stories and trips:

“One year we headed down to Castleblayney to see Antrim take on Monaghan in the Championship. We went into the shop and ‘The Beast’ [Paddy McCann] was looking for something to eat. The man had no bread or cooked ham so he ended up coming out with a snow-ball and a packet of raw sausages and made a sandwich out of that”.

“The trips were a big thing – Canada/America [1995] was fantastic. Over 100 people travelled. We started in Toronto for 3 or 4 days, played hurling and football matches against Canada Select XV whilst we were there. I have a picture of about 10 of my cousins down watching- we’ve a lot of cousins from my Dads side. As we were arriving in Toronto, St John’s were leaving – they’d already been out. We stayed there then headed down to Orlando for 5 or 6 days visiting Disney and all the various parks/attractions, it was great to have club people with you. Once we finished in Orlando we headed to St Petersburg, Florida for about nine days. Everyone had a great time”.

“Lamh Dhearg played in loads of tournaments: Aldergrove, Glenavy, Aghagallon and Moy, Dungannon Clarkes – because of the connection with Joe Herron, Coalisland Na Fianna. We were in Derry – Castledawson, Newbridge and the Cargin tournament in Antrim. “Many great memories of those matches”.

“We went to Ballina in 1980 (according to Buke) – a big crowd went to that one and it was pretty eventful. Someone had to go out during the night to investigate the leak in a room. Sam [McGarry] and Sean McElhatton ended up barricading themselves in to keep themselves safe cause there was so much craic going on”.

“At that stage we were still playing in Budore- which was a very small field. Ballina Stephenites must have had one of the biggest pitches in Ireland – we couldn’t believe the size of it. They hosted us over the Easter week-end and we had a great time there. One other time we went down to Carlow and won the 1984 Centenary tournament down there – Eire Og were the hosts. Fr John had connections in Cork, one year we went down to Nemo Rangers- played them in hurling and football, staying in Jury’s. They were fantastic trips and we forged links and got to know many people from other clubs and counties.

 Fr John was mentioned earlier and there was links with other priests. Fr Jackie Fitzsimons was a priest in Oliver Plunkett at the start of the 1970s– he was a Down senior player and he ended up signing for the club. You’d Fr Matt Wallace who was club president for a number of years They’d great links with the GAA club. It’s great that we’ve Fr Kevin in Hannahstown at the moment- he is involved in the club”.

Meidhbhin Megraw

How you joined the club and memories of Cul Camp:

“Obviously growing up Dad was always up in the club and a lot of my early memories would have been going up with him. I would have been playing around with Orla, Caoimhe and Conal. I remember playing with Roisin Herron one day because Dad is obviously friends with Barney. They’d have been my earliest memories”.

“I used to go to the Cul Camp with Conal when I was quite young and before I started playing for any of the teams- I really liked it, mainly because I was with him at that age. I started playing on one of the teams when Mary Gibson and Caoimhe Whinnery took it. But it wasn’t until I went to the Cul Camp and it was split up into girls and boys and I made friends then. That was how I got into playing on the team and actually really wanted to go and enjoy it all. I felt like I had friends and that’s why I’m really looking forward to coaching at the Cul Camp when I get the chance to. I remember Roisin Herron, Maeve Diamond, Ciara Larkin and my cousin Bronagh Hayes would have went to the Cul Camp – I still play with Ciara and Bronagh now, which is really nice because we’ve grown up in the club together”.

“The first two years of Cul Camp- everyone would have been thrown in together. The first year our Caoimhe was there as well and I had her and Conal to play with. As we got older they split us up into girls and boys because there was only really one group of girls and all the other groups would have been boys. Now there just the same amount of girls as there is boys that go into the Cul Camp. There are loads of kids going to it- which is great. I remember we used to go on walks up Black Mountain, it was so much fun – even though one year we got absolutely drenched and everyone was falling in the mud, typical Hannahstown weather”.

Career to date:

“Before U-12 it was just a few of the girls and I never played in a mixed team- that was with Mary Gibson and Caoimhe Whinnery. Then Grainne [Herron] and Aisling [McConville] started taking it when I was U-12. We were very unlucky not to win anything then because they put in so much effort into it. We never really did win anything at all- but we just had such a blast and they used to organise wee team bonding days and stuff. It was with a lot of the girls that are still playing now. It’s great that we have that bond- it’s a really big part of it. I can remember we used to get absolutely hammered by St Pauls and whenever we did score it was a massive thing for us even to get on the scoreboard”.

“I played a wee bit of camogie- before Fionnuala became involved. At that time there was only a few girls my age wanting to play this meant the training was more for beginners, so some younger boys trained with us as well. I only played it for a few years, since Fionnuala got involved, I’m definitely glad to see that there are so many playing camogie for the club now. There are actually girls playing camogie first and then getting involved in football- it’s quite different compared to when I was younger. It was much more football focused”.

“I started playing senior football when I was U-14, Peter Kane asked me if I would be interested in playing senior and obviously I was over the moon that he asked me – because Orla and Caoimhe was both on the team and I was just really excited to get to play with them. There was no-one else my age playing so it felt good that I was playing with all the older ones”.

“We won Championship in 2015 under Peter Kane and James Martin – it was really nice to be involved in that because it was the first time that the senior ladies team had won the Championship. Dad had set-up the team and had a massive part in organising ladies football within the club, so it was really nice to be part of the first win with my sisters as well. I won the league under Smickers and Micky Boyle too – we were unfortunate not to have won Championship that year- we got beat by Rossa in the final”.

“Last season was definitely the most enjoyable season and probably the most successful that I’d been involved in. We only lost one match against St Brigids and I think it really dawned on everyone how well we were performing when we played in the semi-final of the Championship last year. We beat St Comgall’s and everyone just played amazingly. It was such a surreal feeling- it was an absolutely roasting day and we were getting water breaks every 15 minutes because it was so warm. We went onto win the final against Con Magee’s, they’d put us out of the Championship the year before after extra-time. It was even better to beat them and see how far we’d come in the space of a year”.

“We had always struggled with numbers – after winning Championship and the league – numbers took a hit afterwards and it wasn’t really the same commitment wise. Since Benny [Brennan] has come in along with Brendan [O’Neill], Maura and Paddy [Larkin] Webber [Paul Webb] and Martin [Hayes], they’ve all put their heart and soul into it- which I think is why we are giving so much back to them. Although we won Championship last year, coming back for pre-season – everyone was just as committed to do it over again and improve”.

Better structure and strength and conditioning:

“There’s so many coming through from the younger age groups and I feel like all the coaches have their heads screwed on about how we’re meant to all work together. There’s so many different aspects that help make the team perform well. As much as we hate it- Webber loves to make us do all our sprints and Brendan is keeping a record of who is attending and things like that. It definitely has changed from turning up and doing a bit of running and doing a bit of football – to taking it more seriously, which probably makes it a lot more enjoyable for the girls as well”.

“The strength and conditioning with Aaron was great- it’s always good. I don’t think there are too many of the younger ones who would normally do conditioning or anything outside of what Aaron did. It was good to give them the experience and show the importance of doing work like that to help your game”.

Playing alongside Orla and Caoimhe:

“I remember when I was younger, going up when Dad took them- watching their matches and training. All I ever wanted to do was play with them on the same team. It’s definitely my favourite part of actually playing- getting to play with the two of them because it’s just so much craic and we’re just super competitive with each other”.

“I love marking them in training and it’s a massive support system- both on and off the pitch. We have a really good bond with each other – but whenever anyone is slacking or needing motivation- we’re always there to give it to one another. It’s probably helped me the most because I’m the younger one and I’ve been able to go to them for advice- more so than the other way around. They’ve definitely helped me not the lose the head at times because I have a bit more of a temper than them two when it come to that”.

“It’s just been so good- that’s why winning Championship last year was so special. I was playing with them two and we all had a really big part in it. My uncle Martin is a coach with the team and my cousins Bronagh and Clodagh are also on the team. It was just really nice with my aunties, Conal and mum and dad on the side-line- it was a family event. That’s probably my favourite thing about playing- being able to play alongside Orla and Caoimhe”.

Pride in Dad:

“There are a good lot of girls – Celine [Daly], Orla and Caoimhe, Aisling McConville and Grainne Herron who have been there the whole time since my Dad started ladies football. It shows how much work Dad put into it because they are still involved after all this time. Winning championship this year was really special for us, I kind of felt like I was saying thanks to Dad for all his hard work starting ladies football in the club”. 

County experience:

“I played at U-14 -Aisling McConville sent me down to the trials at Woodlands. I was involved in the team that year and Aisling was also helping coach the county team. I enjoyed it at the time, but it wasn’t the same experience that I had this year. Benny text me and asked me if I wanted to go to the trials, I wasn’t really sure but Dad convinced me to give it a go. I’m actually really glad he did- he’s always right I suppose”.

“It’s been so good; I’ve really enjoyed playing at a higher level and I think it has definitely challenged me- which I love. It’s great to be able to make friends with girls in other clubs. I think the best thing about it is Ciara [Larkin] and Niamh Webb are also involved. Niamh played county last season too and it’s really, really good to have people that you’re friendly with anyway – because of the club- on the team. I hadn’t played from U-14 and I didn’t know a lot of the girls, so it was nice to have someone make me feel comfortable”.

“Webber was also helping out with the coaching- so it was great to have familiar faces when you’re a bit unsure and nervous at the start. Making my senior debut this year was extremely memorable, I had never expected to go back to playing county to be honest. I genuinely do think it has a lot to do with the current coaches. They have just been so encouraging and have a great bond with the whole team. Even though there are older girls and a lot of younger girls coming through- I think everyone is so comfortable with each other and very encouraging – especially Celine”.

“Celine is someone who I looked up to from a very young age- encouragement always means a lot when it comes from her. She has definitely inspired me over the past couple of years. Before last season- she told me- this will be your season. I think because Dad is so involved with Antrim as well- it’s good to give back and experience different things”.

Ambitions and aspirations:

“I would love to keep playing – I think this Lockdown has really proved to be that I have struggled to live without football. Caoimhe is the captain at the minute and I was looking forward to the season with her as captain but everything has been postponed. Whenever she does captain the team it will be a memorable season for the family and I would love to captain the team at some point in the future”.

“In terms of ladies football in the club- I would love to see us continue to grow and have success in Division Two – because we’ve moved up. Hopefully we get a few more Championship wins as well because there is no feeling like it”.

“In terms of County- I would like to keep playing and developing as a player. I think that during the short space of time which I have been playing County, it’s really made me improve. I’ve been able to think differently about matches and analyse other aspects of the game – rather than just playing to win”.