Éire Óg Greystones
GAA Club

This Week

Archive

Weekly Notes - 16th January 2008

Annual Dinner Dance The 2007 season will not be at an end until the avoirdupoids-ly challenged lady, no, sorry, got that one wrong, rather not until the Big Jewels (their programme this year includes a novelty item which it is hoped will add greatly to patrons’ enjoyment) strike up their first chord at the Éire Óg Greystones Dinner Dance in the Rugby Club on Friday February 1st. By then the various awards in recognition of outstanding achievements and contributions on and off the field for the year gone by will have been presented. Proceedings begin at 8pm sharp and include a 4-course meal, the best of fare from Vincent and Margaret. There will, of course, be the usual after-dinner speeches but these will be tightly scheduled to avoid listener fatigue and to maximise socialising time. Ticket numbers are strictly limited so early booking is advisable; already in excess of 100 have been assigned. In previous years the organising committee has been subjected to last-minute demands which would have them perform a loaves and fishes-like miracle with respect to the tickets. They tell me that, due to abject failure in their attempts to perform this miracle in the past, they have no intention of trying their hand at it this time round.

Club History Séamus Whooley, in an interesting aside in his e-mail referred to in last week’s notes, alluded to the meeting in the mid-70s which ensured that the Burnaby Estate could not wrest away our rights with respect to our original playing area – formerly known as the old pitch. The proceedings of that meeting described below are surely an admonition to the righteous that they should at all times (unfortunately, on most occasions they are anything but, and the unworthy triumph) be bold. What would have been the consequences for the GAA in Greystones if this piece of brinkmanship had failed? One shudders to think.

“I was secretary of Greystones GAA Club at the time that Lady Burnaby sent her legal team to meet us with a view to repossessing the field. I attended the meeting held in the Rugby club which was a memorable affair. A little known fact is that the then Chairman of the Greystones GAA Club was none other than George Glynn who was also Chairman of Greystones Rugby Club. You could say that George, like the club was the dormant Chairman. Going into the meeting George whispered in my ear to keep my mouth shut and say nothing, and for once I obliged.”(One needs to know Séamus to appreciate this piece of self-deprecation!). “I think everybody on our side got the same instruction. The meeting took all of 5 minutes. George barely allowed Lady Burnaby’s legal team explain the reason for their presence and before they could finish he stood up, told them to close their briefcases and go back to Dublin. That was that and the rest, as they say, is history.”

St. Stephen’s Day The Éire Óg clubhouse and environs were all a-buzz on St. Stephen’s Day. And how it gladdened the hearts of all those who had worked so hard to bring their dream for the club to this present stage of its realisation – a lán déanta ach a lán le déanamh – to see so many of the community making use of our facilities. The day began with the annual seasonally adjusted Gaelic match and was followed at noon by the Goal mile many of whose participants must have been surprised at the club’s excellent amenities. Organisation was a little more difficult this year because of the unavailability, due to the immaturity of the sod, of the recently developed grounds. No doubt these notes are being berated in quiet recesses and noisy barrooms for their negligence in recording the heroic deeds of those fearless lads and lasses who took to the field on that day. The game began at breakneck pace and one was reminded of the old adage “the hottest flame is soonest cooled”. True to this motif Deccie Hogan and Willie “Decibles” O’Hagan who started with an uninhibited exuberance were calling for a cessation of activities long before the end. Willie ‘bottled’it close to game’s end; with only Johnny Barry (who had retreated to goals later in the game because of a serious lack of fitness) to beat and the winning of the game in his gift, he opted conservatively for a score-equalising minor – the final result. Rival captains James Kelly and Scott Smullen scarcely impressed by the quality of their leadership and will be lucky to retain their captaincies! James suffered the indignity of being rounded by Míde Ní Shúilleabháin on her way to scoring her team’s only goal. Her top upper right-corner shot gave Lorcan Treanor no chance. Lorcan showed great agility in bringing off some spectacular saves. Laurie Ahern, a consummate ball player, proved herself the equal of any of the lads in her ability to take scores and Lorna Fusciardi was prominent throughout.

Blessed as it was by beautiful weather, the occasion proved to be a very enjoyable way of dispelling post-Christmas Day lethargy.