Article May Week 3 2005
Unsung Heroes of Kerry GAA & more
One of the great pleasures of writing a weekly column for this paper
is the opportunity it gives to meet people from all walks from the
Kerry sporting scene, indeed we can even go further than this and
include sporting greats from further field and here it gives me
the opening to mention that just two short weeks ago I had the great
pleasure of spending some time in the company of one of the greatest
rugby players of all time. Zinzan Brook was in town lately and our
paths crossed if only briefly. One of my recent sporting heroes,
the legendary All Black while on a flying visit contributed greatly
to a local worthy fund raising campaign which was held in The Great
Southern Hotel, however more about this great story at a later time
in the column.
Now while I am on great sporting heroes and all the focus is on
the current start to the championship and the stars of to day
let me add that next week I will be documenting the wonderful
story of the former great Kerry footballer Tom Long, and indeed
it could not be a more appropriate time to tell of his achievements
on the playing fields of Ireland. Last week we accepted the national
McNamee award in The Burlington Hotel Dublin from GAA president
Sean Kelly for an in-depth interview we did last August on Tom's,
magnificent sporting life and times, needless to add that only
for Tom Long this award would not have come to Kerry, and to add
to what was a lovely occasion our esteemed sports editor of The
Kingdom Paul Brennan was also presented with his award for the
superb article he compiled on the history of football in St. Brendan’s
College Killarney.
And so our own Terrace Talk awards, "Unsung Heroes Of Kerry
GAA" continues to gather momentum, and it is very heartening
to hear such county wide appreciation for this scheme, the first
of it's kind in the county. Indeed since it's inception I have
received inquiries from near and far in relation to what it's
all about and by virtue of the fact that Sean Kelly, GAA President
launched it back in January has really copper fashioned it's true
worth. All the divisional boards have been exceedingly helpful
and so enthusiastic when approached in relation to nominating
their local "Unsung Hero" and it's fair to say that
the biggest problem the boards are discovering and each one so
far has relayed the very same message for me is, the difficulty
they face in attempting to choose one person above the rest for
the awards from the applications they receive from the clubs in
their districts.
The ten boards including football and hurling in Kerry will each
nominate the person of their choice and to include recipients
for twelve months the Kerry Supporters club and the Kerry Ladies
Board have also been invited to nominate their people giving us
a nominee for each month of the year. All will be brought together
for what promises to be a unique and historic night in The Lansdowne
Arms hotel Kenmare at the end of the year. Radio Kerry will sponsor
a specially framed photograph of the monthly awards for each individual
occasion, Tim Clifford ace photographer of The Kingdom is on hand
to capture the moment each month as family, club mates, friends
come together and the paper is also giving the venture very generous
coverage.
The Lansdowne Arms Hotel Kenmare, long time sponsors of Terrace
Talk are also playing a huge part and those nominated are wined
and dined in the hotel for two days and nights at a time suitable
to themselves and this has proved the ideal prize for people unsung
and unheard, but working day and night behind the scenes all their
lives, it's a small reward in the overall picture, nevertheless
it's great to see exactly how much a little appreciation means
to these exemplary workers, they are surly the real heroes of
this county.
January saw Sean Kelly present as his Kilcummin club mate Sean
McCarthy was the very first person honoured representing the East
Kerry district, he was followed in February by Tom o Connor from
the Kenmare District Board then the following month the exemplary
Michael o Riordan a life long activist with Cromane was the choice
of Mid Kerry. And so last week West Kerry board Chairman the long
serving and hard working Derry Murphy brought his Aunascaul Hero
to Killarney and at a lovely gathering of the real grass roots
in Quill’s Batty Cronin joined the growing list of Kerry’s
Unsung Heroes.
Batty Cronin first got involved with his beloved Aunascaul close
to thirty five years ago and since then he has worked tirelessly
year after year for this outstanding family like club. He played
with their senior and junior teams; unfortunately his very promising
career came to a premature end when he received a very serious
arm injury during an indoor training session. Nevertheless this
injury only made him more determined to get more involved with
his club. He became a selector with numerous teams and like all
great club men fund raising was of the utmost importance to him
and both he and his Dingle born wife Joan became responsible for
processing and delivering the old reliable fund raising weekly
lotto tickets.
Following in the footsteps of the three previous recipients Batty
has been deeply involved in the club grounds for many years, giving
long hours of his spare time to the maintenance and upkeep of
the playing pitch and dressing rooms. Aunascaul recently upgraded
their pitch to an all weather facility and indeed I can vouch
that it is one of the finest in the county and a credit to club
and parish, and of course in the thick of all this vast undertaking
was Batty and it was mainly due to his prompting, his diligence
and continuous work morning noon and night, winter and summer,
year after year, unknown and unsung to the county in general that
the pitch is always in impeccable condition.
He is available to prepare the field for all games no matter what
age group be it schools club sides or divisional teams, indeed
this beautiful pitch is one of the most used in the West Kerry
area. He is the person who maintains the dressing rooms, cleaning,
painting and all round general repair work. He organizes the strimming,
lining and cutting of the grass both on the playing surface and
the surrounding areas which are always immaculate, Batty Cronin
is a perfectionist and this is clear to be seen when we are lucky
enough to visit Aunascaul for games.
In his few words at the function Batty made no secret of the fact
that he was absolutely thrilled to be nominated by his club and
some of his favorite Aunascaul memories was the winning of the
1982 Intermediate county championship and ‘93 when they
went on their own in the county championship reaching the final
only to lose to Laune Rangers. And then two years later they lost
by a point to a Seamus Moynihan inspired East Kerry side in the
semi final in a thriller, 2-12 to 2-11. Tommy Doyle bringing the
Sam Maguire cup to the village in 1986 was very special for this
great worker, ?I have great pride in my club and great pride in
our field and I love seeing it in perfect condition and I don’t
know how my wife doesn’t divorce me because I am always
in the field, she calls it my home at this stage but she is great
to me, always there to help me in anything concerning the club,
I would be lost without Joan, I have two daughters, Michelle and
Sharon, and a lovely grandson Cathel my pride and joy.’
Aunascaul club chairman Tom Kennedy and West Kerry chairman Derry
Murphy were also high in their praise of the awards scheme and
lauded Batty and his wife Joan for their untiring dedication to
his club while Enda Walsh of Quills and Paul Brennan of The Kingdom
also spoke. We repeat in this instance what we have said of previous
recipient, the Batty Cronin’s of Kerry are the heart and
soul of the GAA in this county and for my part the more I meet
these Unsung Heroes the more I marvel at their life long dedication
to the GAA, with their likes the county would be a much poorer
place.
Weeshie's Week 
