John O’Gorman is chairman of the Tipperary-based club that’s thriving in the face of stiff competition. It’s good to see that the kids are still interested in football and hurling,” says John O’Gorman, chairman at Ballylooby-Castlegrace GAA Club in Tipperary. “Rugby has been getting pretty strong around here over the last while but we’re holding our own. The fact that rugby takes place moreso in the winter months, when the GAA is quieter is a big help in that regard.”
O’Gorman first got involved with the GAA when he arrived for his first training session at Ballylooby-Castlegrace as an eight-year-old: “I was born and reared here and although I’ve been involved with the GAA for practically my whole life, this is the only club I’ve been a member of,” he says. “I played underage football through to the under-21 team and then at junior level.”
O’Gorman was voted in as the club chairman three years ago, and it wasn’t long until he was presiding over big changes at the small rural club. “We purchased our own field about a year ago; up until that we were renting a field,” he explains. “The one we’re moving to was basically an agricultural field and it’s great to see it being turned into a GAA ground… right now we’re installing showers and putting up goal posts so it’s really starting to come together.”
The project was part funded by two large cash injections from the National Lottery, but O’Gorman and the rest of the board had to raise a sizeable chunk of the cash themselves: “We ran a club lotto, raffles, quizzes… Then we went and knocked on every door in the parish asking for donations for two years in a row.”
O’Gorman believes that the club will soon be in a position to repay the parish for its generosity. “There are really no facilitates for the kids other than a basketball and tennis court at the local school,” he says. “Now that we’re getting the clubhouse up and running, we’re hoping it will be a focal point for the community.
“We’re planning on encouraging people to come and play whatever sports they like there. We’re even looking at building a bowling alley beside the club. We have plenty of space for it, and there’s not a whole lot else for the kids, so it would be good to give them something for them to focus on.”
People from ethnic minority backgrounds are yet to make their mark at Ballylooby-Castlegrace, but O’Gorman believes this is more to do with the club’s catchment area than the club itself.
“We haven’t really got anyone at adult level,” he notes, “but I think this is because our parish is not that densely populated and not many people from minority backgrounds have chosen to settle here. Having said that, we are getting a few at underage level.”
Interestingly, the Lotto grants came with a related proviso. “We have no problem catering for anyone interested, and that was actually one of the conditions for getting funding for our facilities,” O’Gorman explains. “In order to receive grants you have to make sure your gates are open to anyone who is interested in the sport.”
Although O’Gorman enjoys the work he does with the club – which consists of junior football and hurling, minor football and hurling, under-16, 14, 12, 10 and under-8 teams, as well as ladies’ football and camogie teams – there is one area he can find frustrating: “At times we would like more people involved to help with training and coaching, but that’s a problem most teams have at some time or another.”
Despite being a relatively small club, Ballylooby-Castlegrace – which was established during the Second World War (or the ‘Emergency’, as it was known here) – has 25 members between its two boards, plus 12 coaching staff and around 120 general members. And while it is not as big as some of its neighbouring clubs, it has also seen a number of its players go on to represent Tipp at inter-county level. More recently, the club’s under-14 team made it to an inter-county final.
“That was one of the bigger games,” says O’Gorman. “Unfortunately, our lads were beaten by Holycross GAA Club on the day by a solitary point. But they did very well to get that far.”
For more information on Ballylooby-Castlegrace GAA Club, visit www.ballylooby-castlegrace.tipperary.gaa.ie
