Westmeath"s Mr. Camogie

Rathowen man PJ Fulham is one of Westmeath GAA"s most recognisable faces. A popular figure, he has been involved in national sports, but is most intimately associated with camogie in Westmeath and Leinster.PJ"s contribution to the adminstration of the ladies" Gaelic sport was recognised by his peers when he was elected Honorary Life President of the Leinster Camogie Association.The first male to hold the position, it was previously held by the late Mrs. Kay Timmins, the Dublin camogie stalwart, who passed away three years ago. The post had since remained unoccupied, and at a recent meeting of the Leinster camogie board, PJ was surprised by his appointment.'At the full convention, Ray Quigley, the Leinster chairman, said that he was taking nominations for the position of Honorary Life President, and I was taken aback when Mary Connor from Louth proposed me,' PJ told the Westmeath Examiner.'I was seconded by Marie Woods from Kildare, and then all the hands went up. I accepted, and I was delighted. It"s a great honour for me.'While involvement with the GAA has been a lifetime pursuit for PJ, camogie has been a central part of Fulham family life for the past 32 years. It all started in the 1970s, when PJ recognised a demand for girls" sports in Westmeath.'I was chairman of Westmeath Minor Board at the time, and doing a bit of hurling coaching, and I was asked by some of the ladies if anything could be done to organise something for them,' he recalled.The result was the rebirth of camogie in Westmeath - a sport which was popular in the county during the 1930s, before dying out, and resurfacing now and again. But when PJ - joined by a couple of dedicated volunteers and receptive clubs - organised the sport again in 1977, it became a force in Westmeath.'There was never any doubt about it succeeding,' PJ continued. 'We got great support from the clubs, especially the hurling clubs in the north of the county.'And it didn"t stop there. After 27 years of working for the good of camogie in Westmeath, he has done the same at provincial level for an even greater period of time. His wife Maureen, who played for the St. Mary"s club in Rathowen, was by his side for 25 years in an administrative role, serving as Westmeath county camogie secretary. Both of them remain heavily involved with Leinster administration.As well as serving as PRO for the Leinster Camogie Association, PJ enjoyed a three year stint as chairman of Leinster camogie"s governing body, between 1987 and 1989. He has also featured as Vice-President of Central Council - the national camogie authority - while also holding the post of national PRO between 1992 and 2000.Outside of camogie, PJ has done sterling work for other Gaelic sports in Westmeath.In 1980 and 1981, he was elected as chairman of Westmeath County Board, but stepped down in a bid to get more involved with promoting GAA at underage level again. He served as the county"s youth officer until 1985, and he feels that this was one of the most important roles he has played to date.'There"s nothing I like to see more than kids getting involved in sport, be it any sport, as long as they"re active,' PJ said. 'And it"s a must that parents should be there on the sideline, getting involved, and cheering them along.'While PJ has devoted much of the last forty years to the administrative side of Gaelic games in Westmeath, he has also been heavily involved in coaching - an example followed by his late son Ignatius (Iggy), who played a key role in coaching young GAA starlets in Westmeath schools over the years.One of PJ"s most memorable experiences as a coach came in 1988, when he was offered an opportunity to coach Longford"s senior hurlers.'I said I"d take on the job for one season, and I brought Ignatius with me to do physical training,' he said. 'Ignatius was in the army, so anywhere he found a hill, he"d run the guts out of them, and before long they were among the fittest hurlers around.'When PJ took over in Longford, the O"Farrell men were one of the country"s weakest hurling forces; but by the end of the year, they had taken a giant step forward.'We drew in the Division 4 final against Monaghan, and for the replay, I had to come up with something a bit different for the replay. We won by two points.'As a camogie coach, PJ"s best memories came in 1984 and 1986, when he trained the Leinster camogie team to success in the Gael Linn Interprovincial Championships.The previous year, 1987, PJ"s achievements in rekindling the camogie flame in Westmeath when he was presented with a 'Dedication to Sport Award' by Westmeath VEC.His recent appointment as Leinster Camogie"s Honorary Life President is evidence that despite the Fulhams" retirement from Westmeath camogie in 2005, the plaudits will surely keep coming.Nevertheless, PJ remains one of the most modest men in Westmeath GAA circles. He marks the organisation of camogie events for Féile na nGael 2004 - held in Westmeath, Meath and Kildare - as one of his and Maureen"s greatest achievements as adminstrators. 'Other than that, I"m just happy to have started something and kept it going,' said PJ, adding that he is a 'great believer' in the volunteer spirit when it comes to sport.Outside of Gaelic games, PJ has had a long and productive career in dry-stock farming, and at one point, operated as a successful land reclamation contractor. He even ventured into auctioneering during the 1980s.A keen historian and folklore enthusiast, the Rathowen man also has a flair for writing. He contributed much of the camogie articles and statistics for the Millennium GAA Handbook, published by former Sunday Independent columnist, Raymond Smith.