Club's strength and resilience has always shone through
St Oliver Plunketts celebrate 50th Anniversary
The St Oliver Plunketts story is one of resilience, survival and absolute determination. Brendan Lyons, who was treasurer when the club was under the guidance of men like the late Maurice Wallace and the late John Joe Lynch, speaks with pride about how far they have come in the past half a century.
Brendan joined the club after his early hurling stint with Castletown Geoghegan came to an end. He moved to Mullingar in 1976 and was naturally attracted to the hurling club in the town. His working life in Graham’s Electrical back then meant he met many people connected to the club and one of those was the late Tony O’Donoghue, a stalwart in every sense of the word.
“I decided to throw in my lot with St Oliver Plunkett,” he recalled.
“I remember we had our first game in Robinstown in 1989/’90 and before then, we had basic facilities in Grange where the BLE (Mullingar Harriers) is now. We were there for many years, but Tony O’Donoghue and Maurice Wallace were determined to find a new home and they were constantly on the lookout around the town for an opportunity. Eventually that came and they worked with great determination to get the deal over the line,” he added.
The owner of the land at Robinstown, where the club is now based, passed away and his sister, Mrs Murray, bought it. Consultation followed with the two St Oliver Plunketts officers and a deal was put in place to buy a share of the land for the club’s current home. Brendan remembers Pat McKenna from Ardmore Road, Mullingar, being the man in charge of the groundwork back then and there was a lot of voluntary work involved in getting it developed.
It was a collective effort to ensure hurling got its home in Mullingar and it didn’t happen without overcoming some serious challenges.
“At the time, back in 1988, Westmeath County Council were insisting we build a road from Grange Motors into the grounds before permission would be granted for any development work. We were in no position, financially, to do so. Maurice got in contact with Willie Penrose, who was a County Councillor at the time, and he organised a meeting with then County Manager, Jack Taaffe,” recalled Brendan.
“Willie Penrose was a great speaker and he was very determined to get his message across - the club needed this development to get off the ground for the youth of the town. It was vital for the future. He put up a great fight for us; he called a spade a spade. And in the end, we got permission to develop the pitches,” he added.
The hard work commenced and there was voluntary labour involved. Brendan recalls how he and Leo Swords were on their own in the ground one Sunday working as the pitches were being levelled. Stones needed to be picked and other groundwork was essential. Gradually, more and more people got involved and pushed it on.
Initially, Brendan recalls the old 40ft containers which were used as dressing rooms: nothing glamorous but a good starting point. Eventually, the club progressed to building facilities at the grounds and Lynam and O’Boyle were the contractors for the construction of the building currently in place.
Brendan, who was by then employed in Tarkett, Mullingar, remembers the work of the late John Joe Lynch, Kit Sharry and Paul Murtagh. It is with sadness that he recalled the day they learned of John Joe’s tragic passing following a car accident. The club also lost Paul Daly in another tragic accident and former chairman, Ben Kelly, passed away at a young age following illness.
Tragedy has brought people closer together, though, and their resilience has ensured the club has grown to its current standing.
“We have had our share of tragedy, but the people involved are wonderful and they are determined that the club will continue to grow. It has been great to be involved; there were challenges that were never easy, but St Oliver Plunketts has come such a long way in the past 50 years,” remarked Brendan.