'The spirit we had was tremendous' recalls Flanagan

Kilbeggan Shamrocks GAA Club honour heroes of 2000

Pat Flanagan managed Kilbeggan Shamrocks to the Intermediate Football Championship title 25 years ago and he was part of a special reunion evening on Friday at Kilbeggan Races.

In splendid sunshine, the heroes of 2000 met for a special evening of celebration and they were introduced to the crowd in the parade ring.

Speaking to the gathering, Flanagan said it was a special occasion for all connected to the successful team of 2000 and explained how everyone built a special bond from that glorious journey.

He thanked Aidan Gorry for the invite and recalled the great campaign and spoke of how the friendships that developed meant more than actually winning the Peter Geraghty Cup. He recalled how he met Matty McCormack 25 years’ ago upon taking up the challenge to manage the team, in what was his first involvement with an adult team.

“It's a pleasure to be part of this reunion celebration; 25 years is a serious long time to reflect on. It was my first venture into adult football and, apart from the football side of things - I know you won a championship - building friendships, the craic, the fun and the spirit that we had with all those guys, was absolutely tremendous. And it's great to see them all looking so young, looking so well and so fit and healthy.

“Back then, 25 years ago, there were all these mobile phones (coming into our lives), and I remember being in Larrigy’s pub, Kilbeggan, and this man walked in and he said, ‘this is my mobile phone’. And it was like a lump of briquette! Matty was in good form the rest of the day.”

While success brought great joy to the community and gave people such a great boost, Flanagan said the human side of sport, often forgotten about, was equally important and the friendships that grew during that era were more significant than any trophy.

“It was a pleasure to be part of it; I really enjoyed my time here, met so many good friends, and still to this day, every time I come back, we can have a good chat and a good laugh. And we built a massive spirit among the group, went on a holiday the following year, had so much fun.

“To be totally honest, football aside - it's great to win, it's great to achieve - but it's far better to meet friends, meet people that you had the opportunity to work with many, many years ago and who can still sit and talk and look back at those days where we achieved something,” he remarked.

It was the start of a great journey for Flanagan, the Clara man going on to lead Tyrrellspass to senior football glory for two years running. He took them to a Leinster Club final, a significant achievement for a club with such a small population. Following that, he took up the reins as Westmeath senior football boss at a turbulent time in the county.

During his time in charge of Westmeath, Flanagan led the team to promotion to Division 1 of the Allianz Football League. Championship progress remained elusive, however, though Westmeath famously came extremely close to knocking Kerry out of the All-Ireland race in 2012.

His career continued to flourish and he went on to manage the Offaly senior footballers and Roscommon club side, Pádraig Pearses, whom he led to senior football glory on two occasions before they won the Connacht senior football title. In recent years he has joined Caulry as their senior football manager and this will be his second season in charge of the Mount Temple side.

In a remarkable achievement, Kilbeggan’s Aidan Gorry scored 2-8 in the intermediate final against Ballymore 25 years ago. He served the club with distinction for many years and later went on to play with Coralstown/Kinnegad winning a league title in the lower divisions with the club in latter years.

Friday's reunion was attended by over 300 guests and was a major success for the club. Katie Colton, wearing a distinctive headpiece created by Edwina Maloney Millinery, won the best dressed lady competition, while the smartly turned-out Niall Kinahan was winner of the best dressed man. Brian Gavin was MC for the evening and Kilbeggan Race Course chairman PJ Lynam spoke of the importance of the venue to the region, and outlined improvements at the popular race track. Further development is planned next year and he paid tribute to Stephen Heffernan, general manager, and Hillary Stenson, office manager, for their work. He acknowledged the support of the sponsors, who play a vital role in making the races a success.

Kilbeggan GAA chairman Adrian Carroll paid tribute to the team of 2000 and to all involved in Friday's hugely successful event.

The 2000 Kilbeggan Shamrocks side was: Paul Daly, Richie McMahon, Tommy Rattigan, Niall O’Brien, Paul Maloney, Philip Kiernan, Dermot Smith, Michael Ennis, John Brennan, Bobby Kelly, Aidan Gorry, Keith Gorry, Emmet Dalton, PJ Ward, Mattie McCormack, Damian McLoughlin, Brendan Coffey, David Conroy, Gary Doonan, Kevin Smith, Aidan Reid, Leon Carberry, James Brennan, David Kelly, Robbie Dalton and Darren Burke.