St Loman’s honour heroes of 2013 at club dinner dance

Flanagan Cup holders St Loman’s, Mullingar celebrated their dinner dance on Saturday in Bloomfield House Hotel, Mullingar.

It was opportunity to recognise and honour the team of 2013, the first team of the current era to win a senior title after a 50-year absence.

Declan Rowley, who was manager of that team and his wife Rosmarie were among the special guests. “Declan was absolutely fantastic. It was amazing to see the warmth with which he embraced the players and they, him,” remarked club chairman Pat McCartan.

The 2013 winning manager spoke eloquently about the year. His words touched all present. He referred to the talent in the group and the total buy-in from the players which won him over. These were players who had come close; they had lost semi-finals, they had the potential to win, but it was just about getting over the finish line. Declan said he never worked a team physically harder than them and the dynamic to win came from within the group.

Frank Mescall, chairman of the Westmeath GAA county committee, was another special guest. MC was Will O’Callaghan of Midlands 103 and Newstalk’s Off The Ball.

“Will O'Callaghan was a breath of fresh air, really good. He was very generous with his time and he had all his homework done. He was marvellous,” said Pat McCartan.

A very seminal moment in the evening was an interview Will conducted with Liam Davitt and Liam Martin, two club presidents. They spoke honestly and candidly about where the club was 45 years ago before they established an underage structure and the challenges they met trying to get teams set up.

“They had no prep time: they spoke from the heart and it galvanised the room and brought us all back to where we are and how the club came through such a challenging period,” said Pat McCartan.

Sadly Joseph Maleady, the third joint president, was absent due to a prior family engagement but he was there in spirit and mentioned many times by the people present.

The chairman also addressed the gathering and said the club can never take for granted the commitment of the volunteers, those who sit on executives and the people who coach teams.

“They are the heartbeat of the club. There is never going to be unanimous agreement; there will be counter opinions, but we are a very united club going forward,” he remarked.

The development of a new pitch is a big target for the club and the chairman is hoping to have it open by July of next year.

The ladies teams were also present on the evening and there was a strong sense of solidarity at the celebration. The ladies side of the club are on the ascendancy also. It was a great family occasion, a great club event and a lovely social gathering.

Pat McCartan paid tribute to Alan Bracken, who organised the occasion.

“Alan Bracken deserves special mention as he coordinated the whole evening. He did a serious job.”