The Craughwell senior hurlers made a welcome return to training on Wednesday evening.
By Cian O’Connell
For three months with no on field action Craughwell GAA club in Galway served their community with admirable determination.
A rapidly expanding and progressive club Craughwell continue to build the future so a sense of satisfaction accompanied Wednesday’s senior hurling session at Gilligan Park.
Craughwell Chairman Kevin Quirke is thrilled that some semblance of normality is now being restored.
“It was great last night to see it,” Quirke says about the return to hurling activity. “We had done a lot of work getting the signs up. We had set up a Covid committee, 14 of us were on it.
“They really have been working hard getting the medical rooms ready, getting all of our signage ready, the questionnaires, the eLearning module done.
“Getting the boys back on the pitch was brilliant, it showed all of the hard work other people have done in the various committees - pitch committee, Covid committee, finance committee - they have been a revelation really.”
Throughout the past decade significant energy has been invested in developing an emerging crop of players so Quirke was delighted that Craughwell were able to facilitate a safe comeback environment.
“We have been at the upper end of the Galway Championship for a number of years,” Quirke adds. “We have a lot of newer players coming through and we were really cognisant about these younger players.
“They were always being kept in touch with over the period, especially with the online sessions. Getting them back last night was the icing on the cake, we managed to navigate the period with the squad intact. It could easily happen that guys might want to take a step back for various reasons.
Refurbishment work was carried out at Gilligan Park recently.
“To get them back on the pitch was brilliant. These younger players, the 19 and 20 year olds, they are the guys we want for the next 10 years. To be able to see them coming back enthusiastic, happy, smiling, and chatting was brilliant.
“That will feed on through to all of the other age groups - minor, 16, 14, 12s. It is just another positive milestone we've had. It has probably been the mantra of the club, to have this positivity between all the competitions on Facebook, the run for Pieta, all of the runs for the pharmacy and shop.”
That willingness to help others has been central to Craughwell’s approach in recent months. Quirke acknowledged the role of PRO Stephen Glennon and the rest of the executive aiding people throughout the locality.
“The community, doing the drop offs for the elderly,” Quirke says. “We worked with the local businesses, the pharmacy, the shop, Jodie's Spar, and I was working with the Galway County Council too, the Covid hotline. We had a number of people with issues in their houses - trip switches, leaking pipes, things like that. It was busy on that side.
“Keeping moral high we ran a few competitions, sharing the page, we got Craughwell tops and we had the run for Pieta.
“We raised more than 5,000 euro for that, we were delighted to try to keep peoples' minds off life and what was going on around us. Also we wanted to be cognisant of our older members because these people did great work over the years.
“Sometimes they can be forgotten by the current generation and we really wanted to make sure nobody felt isolated. Even having a chat, we really encouraged all our members along each townland to make sure that they looked after the elderly.
“Even if it was just having a chat, over the wall, to see how they were, things like that. It has been an enjoyable period in that we have got a lot of work done in the club with a lot of people helping out.
“Obviously the bigger context of what is going on in the world is a bigger story, but locally most clubs have gone back to what it is all about: that sense of community and the core values.”
A new ball wall facility is currently being developed by Craughwell GAA.
Many things struck Quirke, but that desire to help people, provided a source of optimism for those involved with the club.
Craughwell has altered dramatically in recent decades and in a strange twist the Covid 19 pandemic enabled the club to forge connections. “We are classed now as a large commuter village,” Quirke explains.
“There is a lot of new houses being built, we are 20 minutes from Galway city. Everybody getting involved, especially in the underage, nearly all of them work in Galway city. There is a real newness to the club with all these new people.
“So it is about connecting them with the older generations on what the club is all about. You will have your families here for generations and generations, steeped in the club. Then you have people, who moved to the parish.
“They may not be GAA families, they may not have been into sport. We offer an outlet for their kids to take part in sport in hurling, camogie, and football. Getting that connection is good for the community, it is good for local business. I think overall I just find this period has knitted things, I have got to know so many new people.
“Even through the deliveries for the pharmacy, a lot of them wouldn't necessarily be older people, it could be just people with underlying conditions. I have met four or five families with young kids where one of the parents might have had severe diabetes and just didn't want to be going out.
“They are talking about all of the work the GAA club has done. That link has been crucial. In the last 20 years we have gone from a relatively small club to a large club in terms of numbers - juvenile base and adult base.”
A new ball wall facility is on the verge of being completed – a further sign of the positive steps being taken in Craughwell.
“We had a Strictly last November for the ball wall,” Quirke responds about the fundraising effort. “We started it just before the Covid outbreak, PST are doing the work, Kieran Donaghy, and they had to halt that.
Craughwell clubman and Galway selector Fergal Healy pictured alongside Shane O'Neill.
“Once the restrictions were lifted it was one of the first things we wanted to get done - just for the kids, to have it available once the restrictions were lifted. As we know it is tough on adults having to work from home and all of that, but for the kids, the boys and girls, they have been restricted to their houses and gardens.
“We just wanted to make sure that ball wall was ready. It is due to be ready on July 3, the surface, fencing and all of that is done. We just have a bit of netting at the top to finish off.”
While the pandemic examined the resolve and finances of clubs in every sporting code, Quirke is encouraged about the positive manner in which the people of Craughwell have continued to support the club.
“One thing we have noticed is the online lotto,” Quirke adds. “We really pushed the online lotto and it really is at its best now for the last six or seven years.
“Considering all that is going on with no pubs open and people can't get lotto tickets in the shops. Our lotto has risen from about 700 or 800 to 1500 euro a week, we have a big jackpot of 16, 200 euro. So we are delighted with the way things have worked out.”
The planning and plotting continues with the Cúl Camps also placed high on the agenda by the club, who are embarking on an interesting initiative.
“In 2010 our Cúl Camps we had about 70, now we are up around 250,” Quirke reveals. “For the Cúl Camps Galway has done it slightly differently letting the clubs run it. What we did was get messages sent out through the managers to see what the interest was. We got it back very quickly.
“So we have decided as there are a lot of guidelines about running a camp, but we have decided to run two camps. One camp will be 6-9 year olds and the other will be 10-14 year olds. Everybody will get to do the camp, at the same time it is manageable for us and within the guidelines. I think a lot of people appreciate that, too.”
Throughout a testing period Craughwell have minded young and old with real care and distinction.