MacHale Park and getting ready for the big day

GAA FEATURE: BY MICK BYRNE

THIS week we recall some of the great sporting commentators who have enriched our enjoyment of GAA games, including such legends as Michael O'Hehir, Willie 'the Shoe' McNeely and Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, and we look behind the scenes at MacHale Park and the work that has been put in by so many volunteers preparing for the big games over the years.

I’ve been privileged down the years to see many great teams, many great matches, and enjoy some great occasions in MacHale Park in Castlebar.

I have memories aplenty since I first saw Aidan Brady break the crossbar in Castlebar in 1962 in the championship clash between Roscommon and Galway.

But there is one team we always seem to forget when we consider MacHale Park and that is the team of people who work tirelessly in getting the pitch ready for the big day.

It was in 1979 that the famous tunnel from the complex to the pitch was built.

There was a group of volunteers who worked hard down through the years and played a major role in getting the place ready for a Connaught final or any other big games which the venue hosted – people who would take their summer holidays especially just to get the work done on the pitch so that everything would be ready for the big day.

It was a massive undertaking maybe once or twice or three times a year, where dressing rooms had to be painted, the pitch mowed on a daily basis, sometimes with hand mowers (depending on the weather).

The press box had to be readied, lines installed for television and radio, toilets cleaned and painted, and the park prepared for an invasion of crowds which often surpassed 30,000 at a Connaught final. Fencing and barriers, both inside and outside the grounds, had to be readied.

It was a huge undertaking and we owe a debt of gratitude to those who gave of their services free of charge.

I recall park manager Mick Flynn and later Mick Ruane, and men like club president John Burke, Paddy Kerrigan, Philip Heneghan, Tommy Rothery, John Joe Walsh, Martin McManamon, John Eddie Walsh, Martin Lydon and, of course, the legendary John Doherty, all great characters in their own right with the common bond - a great passion for Gaelic football and a great affinity for the hallowed ground that is MacHale Park.

There was great fun and craic in those days among that group and we do owe them a great debt of gratitude.

Philip Heneghan is now the manager of MacHale Park and is ably assisted by his son Darren and their team, who are doing a top class job in keeping the pitch and the stadium up to the highest standard and up there with the best in the country.

Many congratulations to Philip, who recently celebrated a milestone birthday for which I was delighted to light the candles.

Connaught finals were also special and took centrestage in the GAA calendar on the day. It was a day when the national press arrived in town with RTÉ radio and television commentators, Michael O’Hehir and Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh among the legends to grace MacHale Park.

I will never forget O’Hehir’s commentary on the 1966 Connaught final when he said: "This is the All-Ireland final. The winners will come out of this match." And how right he was - Galway went on to win and complete the three-in-a-row. A game in Castlebar would not be the same now.

O'Hehir was arguably one of the most famous commentators of all time. His enthusiasm and memorable turn of phrase endeared him to many a Mayo household with his marvellous commentaries on both radio and television.

From the early 1960s O’Hehir built his reputation and while working with the BBC during the 1967 Grand National after a huge pile-up of horses, he correctly identified 100/1 shot Foinavon galloping clear.

He went on to commentate on 99 All-Ireland finals but unfortunately illness denied him making his 100th commentary.

Ó Muircheartaigh carried the baton left behind by O’Hehir and excelled on both radio and television. He first got into commentating when he took part in competitions at Croke Park for an Irish language commentator’s job.

His knowledge of the game and its players, the stories and his interaction with the Irish language, made the man stand out as one of the greatest commentators of our time and a joy to listen to,

When we speak about commentators, Castlebar man Willie ‘The Shoe’ McNeely was up there with the best of the them.

This man loved his football, having grown up in McHale Road. He was passionate about the game. He had immense knowledge of the sport.

His wit was one of his many attributes and, of course, The Shoe was never stuck for a word and had that unique skill to make a bad match brilliant.

We will never forget Tuam Stadium in 1997 when, after making a return to the microphone, Tuam Stadium and 28,000 people present rose to their feet to give him a standing ovation.

In 1999 there was another memorable occasion when he crossed the bridge in Athlone with Diane O’Hora, the Mayo ladies and the Brendan Martyn Cup that they had won for the first time.

There were many great times, great comments and stories from a man we affectionately called The Shoe.

A game in Castlebar would not be the same without some live entertainment whether it be a county final, a league game or a championship encounter.

Music is very important to keep the crowd entertained and in Castlebar we are very lucky to have a top class band that has entertained the people of Mayo for over 100 years.

Memories come flooding back to the '60s and '70s and people like Tommy (The Laughing Policeman) Lally, Mickey (The Clinic) Guthrie, Jimmy Feeney on trumpet, Michael Basquill, Tommy Devereaux and Sean Burke, to mention a few.

Of course, the town band is part of everything that is good in Castlebar.

They have given great enjoyment and entertainment to hundreds of thousands of people down through the years, whether in parades or playing before and at half-time in big games.

They continue to go from strength to strength and only recently opened a school of excellence.

They continue to tour and only returned from New York in 2019. They were also honoured when asked to play at the Kilkenny county hurling final in 2013, a match Clara (not the Clara in Offaly) won beating Carrickshock in the final.

It is wonderful to see so many of the old stock still getting involved, such as Declan Hynes, Sean Gavin, John O’Donnell, Tom Kelly, Kevin Heraty, Tommy O’Malley, Todd Bourke (son of the 1936 legend Tom who played in goal for Mayo) and, of course, my good friend Pauline Rodgers, to mention but a few.

The Balla Pipe Band continues a proud tradition and they too have entertained us over the years at MacHale park.

Founded in the late '60s/early '70s, people like Mattie O’Dowd, Peggy McWalter, Tony and Michael Reilly, Ger Flanagan, Benny Canavan and Tommy Joe Gallagher brought a lovely and unique style to the entertainment as they were a pipe band.

The band went from strength to strength, with the likes of Toby and Tom McWalter, Bernie Jennings and her sisters Nuala, Breda and Sheila, Breege Flanagan and her sisters Irene and Pauline, along with many more, playing their part down through the years in the success of a band which became renowned all over the world.

Sadly, one of the founding members of the famous band, Mattie Dowd, passed away a few months ago.

I can still see him coming into the shop in Main Street working for McWalters with the white coat branded with Manor Brand Butter and Calvita Cheese. A gentleman, a great conversationalist, good company, and one of the finest that ever came from of the town of Balla.

Mattie Jennings was one of the founding members too and four of his daughters are still in the band.