Thursday 24 April 2014

Peter Synnott: From O'Tooles GAA club to the iconic Barbarians rugby team!

Peter Synnott (L), playing for his current club, Esher.
There are many Irish international rugby stars that can attribute their sports upbringing to the GAA. Players such as Shane Horgan, Geordan Murphy, Gavin Duffy, Tommy Bowe, and Rob Kearney, to name but a few.
But few can claim to represent one of the most prestigious and iconic rugby teams – the Barbarians.
Being asked to represent the Barbarians is one of the highest accolades a rugby player can achieve in his career. This Wednesday, Clontarf Rugby Club will welcome the Barbarians to Castle Avenue in what is being dubbed 'The Real Battle of Clontarf'.

The match has been organised in line with celebrations which have been held over the weekend, marking the millennium anniversary of the historic- Battle of Clontarf.

The tradition of the Barbarians dates back to 1890, to the inception of Rugby Union. Their jersey is black and white hoops with black shorts. However, the socks of each player are unique, as they don the socks of their club team.
Dubliner, Peter Synnott, will be lining out for the Barbarians on Wednesday evening, and he will be wearing his clubs socks. However, they are not the socks of his current rugby club, Esher, based in London. They will be the green and white socks of O'Tooles GAA Club.
Synnott is a talented rugby player who has played at a high level for many years. However, he will never forget his ties to St Laurence O'Tooles, in north Dublin.
The Synnott family have a tradition with O'Tooles going back four generations. Peter's great-grandfather was actually on the field representing Dublin during the infamous Bloody Sunday match, in November 1920 in Croke Park.
Peter, the youngest of three brothers, played most of his Gaelic career two years above his age bracket. This helped mould him into the tough, physically strong athlete that he is today.
In 2003, Peter won the Dublin Feile. This resulted in a call up to the Dublin Under 14 hurling squad. It was clear from a young age that Peter would be a highly talented sportsman.

He played alongside current Dublin inter-county hurlers such as Oisin Gough, David Treacy, Paul Schutte, and Peter Kelly. His love of GAA was tribal. However, his love of rugby became more prevalent during his secondary level schooling in Belvedere College. Peter emerged as a tough-tackling, powerful ball-carrier, comfortable anywhere along the back-row.
However, what was unusual about the man who usually starred for Belvedere at number seven was that he was also their place kicker. The obscurity of a back-row forward assuming kicking duties stems from his early days playing Gaelic football.
He kicked the winning penalty from within his own half to help Belvedere win the schools cup against St Marys in 2008.
Peter now resides in London and plays semi-professional rugby for Esher. They play in the National League One, which is the third division of rugby in England. He has earned a successful living in construction management and still gets paid for playing semi-professional rugby.

Before departing for England, Peter starred for the Leinster schools team and Leinster Under 20 team. He played alongside established professional players such as current Irish Internationals Ian Madigan and Jack McGrath at Leinster, Tom Sexton at the Melbourne Rebels, and Eamonn Sheridan at London Irish during his spell in the Leinster underage setup. Peter also represented Leinster 'A' against Glasgow in 2008.

He appeared for Clontarf too in the 2009/10 season under the management of Bernard Jackman, now head coach of Grenoble in the Top 14.

When he first moved to London, the multi-talented sportsman played for London Irish 'A' before transferring to Esher. Peter even captained London Irish in the JP Morgan Sevens Competition in 2012. He still has great ambitions to return to the Championship with Esher and play in the second division of English rugby.

His kicking ability has never left him, as the flanker still often assumes kicking duties for Esher. If he ever returns to Dublin, Peter would love to play GAA once more for his beloved O'Tooles.

But for now, there will be a proud O'Tooles representative playing for the most historic rugby team in the game. The Barbarians is an honour bestowed to few rugby players, and Peter is aware of the responsibility that comes with the chance of playing for the 'Baa-Baas'.

There is no doubt Peter would not be the successful rugby player that he is today without his time at O'Tooles GAA club. He immersed himself in sport from a young age. He has transferred the abilities he amassed playing GAA to his rugby career.

A rugby career which has been awash with highlights; although none bigger than representing the Barbarians in his hometown of Dublin.

For Peter, the Synnott family, O'Tooles GAA club, Belvedere College, and Clontarf rugby club, Wednesday night is sure to be a proud and inspiring night for everyone involved.


S.DAWSON 24/04/14

Friday 11 April 2014

Johnny Corcoran: The man who set the foundations for Castleknock GAA club

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Johnny Corcoran is a truly remarkable character. From Finglas to Castleknock, via Leixlip, he has immersed himself in the GAA. Johnny is a proud Erin’s Isle man who was involved in the iconic Dublin squad of the 70s, commonly known as ‘Heffo’s Army’.

His enthusiasm for the game stemmed from his love for Erin’s Isle. There was a fantastic mix of characters within the club in the early 70s. “Every county in Ireland was represented where we lived,” recalls a nostalgic Johnny. Finglas East has produced many notable Dublin GAA stalwarts. John Costello, Paddy Canning, and Mick Seavers, who are all vital county board members, lived in the same neighbourhood as Johnny.

It is fair to say that Heffo encouraged the love Johnny had developed for the GAA. Johnny is adamant that you should always play for your local club. He married and moved to Leixlip where he joined his local GAA club, engulfing himself within the local community. When he moved to Castleknock in 1996, it was no different. The only challenge was that there was no GAA club in his local area to join. Johnny knew this issue must be addressed.

St Patrick’s Day 1998: Johnny’s hometown club Erin’s Isle lose out to Corofin by five points in the All Ireland Football Club Championship. However, thoughts turned from Erin’s Isle of Finglas to a potential new club in Castleknock. Johnny raised the thought with the late John Egan, who was county chairman at the time. John Egan attended Beneavin College in Finglas, a school with a strong GAA ethos. He was fully supportive of Johnny’s plans. John Costello, county secretary at the time, also committed to supporting the venture of creating a GAA club in Castleknock.

Johnny explains why he wanted to start a new club. “The love of the game is what drove us to start something from scratch. It’s all about the promotion of hurling and football. I saw, first-hand, in Finglas East and Leixlip what a GAA club can do for the area. The community spirit it brings into the place is amazing. Between 1985 and 1998, there were an awful lot of houses built in Castleknock; the population exploded.

We came in at the right time. The Celtic Tiger era came after so even more houses appeared then. We were able to capitalise on that; there was a bit of luck involved too.”

Johnny initially got the plan in motion. Fergus Hamill, a friend of Johnny’s and a teacher in Castleknock, became involved after John Egan had mentioned it to the Monaghan native. Fergus, at first, was slightly apprehensive about the idea. He eventually became the first chairman of the club. Johnny, although a humble man, was focused, driven, and extremely intent on succeeding with the Castleknock GAA project.

“You have to be on the edge all of the time. I was going around telling people white lies. I asked Fergus would he come to a meeting if we got a group of people involved. But at the time I had no one else, there was only me.”

Johnny was cunning in how he went about organising support. His resilience paid off in the form of luck on many occasions. “My third son, Rory, was in Francis Xavier School and there was a man there, John O’Brien, who would take the class out a few evenings every week and play football in the field under the lights from the shopping centre. The lights were shining onto the school and that’s how they first started with GAA.”

John O’Brien didn’t have a big GAA background but his enthusiasm was what drew Johnny to him. John agreed to support the plan of creating a Castleknock GAA team. That group of school children formed the first juvenile team for the club at under 10 level.

John was part of a small group that held their first meeting upstairs in Myos pub, in Castleknock. Another man associated with Erin’s Isle, John Conway, was an integral part of that meeting. He was good friends with John Costello, as they grew up together. Plans were coming together for Castleknock GAA club. Suddenly, they had a chairman and secretary agreed on, Fergus Hamill and John Conway, respectively. It became a bit of an obsession for Johnny as he put all of his spare time into the project. But that’s what was needed.

The group agreed to meet once a week, in order to build up regularity. From the outset, they organised professional meetings; minutes of the meetings were taken. Although they were not officially a club yet, they were doing things right.

“From the start we could see Castleknock was a great name. Everyone knows Castleknock as a nice area which would be good for sponsorship. We were putting Castleknock on the map. It was never associated with the GAA, until we came along.”

“The essence of the GAA is localism. You want local rivalry. The area around Castleknock is a hotbed for the GAA. If you come up the Navan Road, there is a GAA club in every parish. You have St Finbarrs, Oliver Plunketts, St Brigids, and if you keep travelling up that road you’re met with a club in Clonee and a club in Dunboyne. They may be in a bordering county but they’re still the next parishes.

If you go west, then you’ve now got Castleknock, St Peregrines, Tyrrelstown, Westmanstown Gaels, Lucan Sarsfields, and Confey.”

Castleknock also had a struggle competing for grounds. In April and September of 1998, there was a desperate rush to obtain grounds to play on. They received a green in a housing estate to use as a juvenile pitch.

“We could only put up temporary posts as the local residents didn’t want us using it as a permanent pitch. We were happy to agree to that. We knew beggars couldn’t be choosers. We went up every Saturday morning and dragged steal posts up. We had to put them up and take them down during the week too if there was a match. It was hard going but it was great fun.”

Their home ground was affectionately known as Tir Na nOg. In early July of that year, before official approval was granted, they had begun training. Twenty five children showed up for their first session on a beautifully sunny Saturday morning. A week later, they were officially granted approval.

Castleknock entered three juvenile teams at under 9, under 10, and under 11. Approval was needed by July in order for all paperwork to be submitted and approved for the start of the leagues in September. However, there were still some stumbling blocks along the way.
“If we hadn’t of been approved when we were, just before the deadline, we may have folded,” admits Johnny. 

He goes on to say, “at certain stages, we were very worried because the county board only meet once a month. We were working hourly. Big wheels move slowly. However, it all worked out in the end. We even entered an adult football team for the start of the season. So now we had to search for an adult pitch.”

The county council provided Castleknock with a pitch in Porterstown and it all took off from there. Within eight Saturdays they had 100 children playing for the club.
They hounded local schools for support. Johnny recognises the support Castleknock Community College gave to the new club. Their principal wrote a letter which Johnny produced to the county board and local politicians in order to entice them to support the club.

Johnny elaborates on how funds were raised in order to give momentum to the project. “The local pubs were much busier than they are now. We used to be down there every night of the week gathering support. We got everything from them. They really were so supportive. They gave us cash when it was needed in order to buy anything for the club. We organised functions. Mick Lynch, a great man from Cavan, organised two golf classics in the one year with 50 teams in each. That’s a great bit of money raised. It was tough, but we got there.”

At their second meeting, they created a membership scheme. They all decided to give €20 each. The thinking behind this was that if 20 people gave €20 then that €400 could be used to purchase a set of jerseys. Johnny was overwhelmed with the support the club received at the start. “The local T.Ds were great - Joan Burton and the late Brian Lenihan – but so too were all of the local councillors.”

Castleknock were beginning to progress as a club. A year after their inception, they entered a junior hurling team. At times Johnny and the chairman, Fergus Hamill, often found themselves playing for the adult teams in order to fulfil the numbers needed.

“We adopted the mindset from the start which was to never give a walkover. I’d be very upset if we gave a team a walkover, even if it meant lads playing two or three times per weekend. That is how we aimed to get ourselves a good name in the county board. We never withdrew teams. Even if we were beaten, at least we fielded a team and fulfilled the fixture. We insisted on developing a good name that way.”

As the years progressed, Castleknock further improved as a club. In 2007 they won an All Ireland Division One hurling Feile. It was an extraordinary achievement for a club who were in existence for less than ten years. The Feile was held in Kilkenny. None of the country teams had even heard of Castleknock GAA Club. They were astonished that a relatively new Dublin club, whose facilities consisted of a council pitch and a container as a makeshift dressing room, were playing at this level. Castleknock beat Ahane of Limerick in the final. Brian Cody gave a pre-match talk to the team as he helped mentor the teams who had knocked out the local Kilkenny teams from the competition.
Members of Castleknock GAA Club during the Feile na nGael Atha Cliath parade in 2012

Members of Castleknock GAA Club during the Feile na nGael Atha Cliath parade in 2012
Confidence was extremely high in the club after that victory. The adult teams were gaining promotions and are now playing at very respectable levels in Division 2 football and Division 3 hurling. The Feile win in 2007 was the juvenile highlight for Johnny, and he admits it would be “very hard to beat that feeling of winning our first national juvenile competition.” However, progress can be seen at all levels in the club.

“Two years ago, we won the Junior A Dublin Championship in football which was brilliant. Kenmare beat us in the All Ireland Junior A semi-final which was disappointing, but it was a great achievement to reach that stage. Last year, we won the Junior A Dublin Championship in hurling. The hurlers will be hoping for promotion this year, but there’s no pressure on them. They’re a very young team.”

Castleknock are currently fielding three adult football and hurling teams. On average, there are 170 children who attend the nursery level in the club on a Saturday morning. According to Johnny, there are around 1,000 members in the club with a big emphasis put on family membership. There are an estimated 600 families involved with the club. The team who won the All Ireland hurling Feile achieved more success at minor level when they won the Dublin minor A football Championship. Competing at the top level has occurred for Castleknock, now they must strive to maintain that level of success.
Castleknock and Dublin star forward, Ciaran Kilkenny

Castleknock and Dublin star forward, Ciaran Kilkenny
When one talks about the current state Castleknock find themselves in, the name Ciaran Kilkenny must be mentioned. In Johnny’s opinion, Ciaran was “the best bit of talent in Dublin at under 14 level up to minor both in football and hurling.” He goes on to state that: “his talent was evident since the cradle. The impact he has had in promoting Castleknock has been huge; he’s a genuinely nice lad which helps the cause too.

The saga about him going to Australia and returning was mind-blowing for us. A few people had a quiet word trying to convince him to stay, for the good of his future career, but you can only say that to a certain extent. He’s an all round fantastic sportsman; he’s a brilliant tennis player too. His recent injury is not only a huge blow to him, but to everyone involved with Dublin GAA. I wish him all the best in his recovery.”

Overall Johnny is proud of the progress that Castleknock have made. “It was such a huge challenge at the start to get the club on firm footing and not just be temporary.

A lot of people involved with other clubs in Dublin saw us as a temporary idea at the start, especially when we were first looking for pitches. We were offered pitches on Dunsink dump and the joke was that Castleknock were going to get pitches with underground heating! A councillor actually came back to us with that idea. But that would have killed us; we aimed for everything to be local.”

Castleknock is now a distinct GAA area thanks to work Johnny and many others have put in.

“It’s been tough going at times, you have to be really focused. You have to be prepared to go beyond the call of duty sometimes. It takes up all of your spare time, but that’s how the GAA thrives. I was on talking terms with every chairman in the county, and we get on really well with other clubs. For me personally, in a sporting context, Castleknock GAA means everything to me. We’re promoting the games that we should be familiar with. It’s great for the community ultimately. When you put so much into it, it’s fantastic to see so much come out of it. You’d be a bit disappointed if it hadn’t reached the levels you intended, but at the moment we’re exceeding all expectations.”

Johnny recalls one of his most recent happy memories associated with Castleknock.
“One of the biggest matches this year, in a way the biggest adult football match we ever played, was against our local rivals St Brigids. We had to win in order to gain promotion to Division 2. The match was scheduled for the Sunday. On the previous Friday night, we had to beat Whitehall Colmcille’s in order to get to that position which was very tough. Beating Whitehall was our best ever win in terms of the standard of football, as Whitehall play in the senior championship. We brought a huge crowd down to St Brigids that Sunday and we came away victorious. But we were all welcomed in the clubhouse afterwards with absolutely no animosity.”

Indeed there has been a great amount of work put into Castleknock GAA Club but there are miles to go before they sleep. They recently acquired grounds beside the Castleknock Hotel where they now have fantastic playing facilities. Building work on a clubhouse should begin this summer. Johnny is aware though that they must keep progressing as a club.

“If we think everything is rosy then that’s the rock you perish on. You have to keep working hard and see where that takes you. But generally, it’s been brilliant. I can’t wait to look back on all the brilliant work we’ve achieved when our 20th anniversary comes around in 2018.”

With his welcoming mannerisms, unique Finglas humour, and his honest toil, it’s clear to see why Johnny Corcoran has been so beneficial to Castleknock GAA Club.
There has been a core group of men working relentlessly on behalf of Castleknock since its inception in 1998. It’s these people that are the life and soul of the GAA.

They are the true patrons of the game. They represent the tireless volunteer work which the GAA embodies. It’s people like Johnny Corcoran that make it possible for Dublin GAA to achieve success at the highest level of the sport.

But for players rising through the ranks of Castleknock GAA club, it would be advisable to follow Johnny’s mantra.

“Castleknock should be people’s main aim. You have to start at the grassroots and if you’re good enough, Dublin will come calling. But the parish comes first!”

S.DAWSON 11/04/14

Monday 7 April 2014

Eamon 'Silver Dunning': "GAA is my life"

Eamon Dunning

The GAA is a unique organisation. It is an unparalleled amateur sporting organisation that is played, and run, at a professional standard. It is arguably the most professional sporting organisation in the country, even though it operates on an amateur playing basis. The effort put in by volunteer coaches at the grassroots level of a GAA club is most admirable. There is a certain unique spirit the GAA possesses, and Eamon Dunning embodies this characteristic.

The Roscommon native is a well travelled man who has adopted St Brigids GAA club as his club. He is quick to point out that his roots are in Clonown, Roscommon, and that his local team Clann na nGael will be in his heart forever. Where ever Eamon has travelled, his love of the GAA has followed.

He recalls a tale from his youth: “we’d go to 10 o’clock mass and then we’d meet our neighbours and we’d spend all day kicking a ball in a field. We had to make the football out of paper and tie twine around it. We wouldn’t go home for dinner even. It was the same in school; we’d make a football and spend all day kicking it around. We all lived for football.”

The GAA has been omnipresent in the life of Eamon Dunning. In 1965, Eamon emigrated to Manchester and he linked up with St Brendans GAA club during his time in England. It was his time playing Gaelic football in Manchester that developed his character both on and off the pitch.

“Football in Manchester was filthy; it was absolutely filthy. You’d want to be insured to play, but having said that, when the game was over you’d go and have a few drinks with the lads and there was no bitterness. At the time you could be working with the same guys on the building sites and although they’d be playing for another club, they’d still be your friends. It was most enjoyable,” says Eamon.

The handful of clubs based in Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham who all played in a Lancashire league were solely made up of ex-pats. The English never integrated. It is clear there was a strong commitment to the GAA from the Irish in the sports-mad city of Manchester. “We used to train every Thursday and you’d have to get two or three buses out to train, it was tough going,” a nostalgic Eamon recalls.

In 1971 Eamon returned home to Ireland and settled in Blanchardstown, Dublin. The local club was St Brigids. He joined St Brigids in 1975 and nearly 40 years later he is still seen around the club on a weekly basis. Eamon began his career with St Brigids by chance when he stopped to watch a local GAA match.

It’s clear that Eamon’s devotion to the club began from the outset as he says: “at the time, they only had one intermediate team. A year later myself and a friend of mine, Jim Powell, started a second team. It all really started from there. An under 21 team was created and a junior team then followed.”

In the early 80s, St Brigids created a juvenile committee which had a separate chairman, secretary, and treasurer. Eamon believes this is the “best thing that the club have ever done.” The club linked up with local primary schools in Blanchardstown, Castleknock, Corduff, and Clonsilla. These teams started an under 10 league of their own, refusing to enter into the Fingal league.

“They used to be fierce matches at under 10. It was a great idea to have them play locally before entering the Fingal league at under 11. Jason Ward was a product of this system before playing Senior in 1991,” according to Eamon.

Jason Ward, although a proud St Brigids man, played inter-county football for Leitrim. He was the first player to avail of the parent rule and he was part of the Leitrim side who famously won the 1994 Connacht Championship.

Eamon was the manager of one of the teams from Clonsilla. He rejoices: “we won the league in ’84 and we won it well. We had three girls on the team that beat Blanchardstown, who had all boys in their squad, in the final. It was a great day.”

Eamon gave up playing at the age of 35 and he’s been coaching teams ever since. Eamon loved the early stages of his coaching career, stating: “St Brigids started a camogie team in the 70s and I coached it. We won a good few leagues and championships, I even brought them up to Senior B level.”

“Then I started coaching minor hurling. We won the minor hurling division 3 about five years ago. I love coaching the juvenile teams because if you take an under 9 or under 10 team, they don’t even know how to pick up a ball. The following year they can do that. The following year they can hit a ball. You see promotion all of the time. They’re learning all the time and it’s the thrill of a lifetime to see them play minor hurling.”

Eamon explains the key to the success of his minor winning side: “when we won the minor championship, we had Paul Winters (current Dublin senior inter-country hurler) on that team. He was only 15 but he was a different class. To see all of them progress, all of the time, is an absolute pleasure to watch.”

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Eamon is still coaching in St Brigids: “I’m coaching a Junior division 6 side at the moment. I’m coaching 30 years and I keep saying I’ll leave it because I want to watch the Seniors play and when you’re coaching a team you just don’t have the time to do that. But I love it. I might go back down to coaching juveniles again. I’ve grandchildren coming along and the ultimate goal would be to see them playing inter-county football.”

“All of my grandchildren are involved with St Brigids. The GAA is my life. I would not be as fit as I am today only for the GAA. I’d go home and sit down and do nothing if it wasn’t for the GAA. But I’m out there with a football with the kids. I’m always training down in the club and it is terrific the people you’d meet.”

The GAA thrives on its community based ethos which is evident as Eamon says: “I’ve met Sean Og O’hAilpin in my house. James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick was up training my minor team. Brendan Murphy of Offaly and Damien Hayes of Galway were up speaking to the team. I know all the Cork footballers. Paudie Kissane is a great friend of mine. It’s the people that you meet which is unreal. They’re all friends of mine. I was at a wedding two months ago and I had a great chat with Mick O’Dwyer.”

Eamon has gained many things from St Brigids such as “hardship and many friends.” He speaks of the welcoming nature of St Brigids: “every friend I have has some association with the club. They all call me ‘Silver’. They wouldn’t know me by my real name at this stage.”

The friendship and family ties are interlinked for Eamon as he speaks about his wife: “my wife is a Cork woman and she too was heavily involved with St Brigids. Coming back from Cork and anytime there was a football or hurling match on, we’d have to stop and look at it. That’s the one thing I have to say about the woman I married; she embodies sport. She was out seven nights a week. When I was playing she’d have three of the children with her – two in the pram and one holding her hand – and she’d push them across the field walking to watch us. And that’s the family spirit that the GAA is all about.”

Indeed there is something very special about the GAA. For those who are involved, no explanation is necessary; for those who aren’t no explanation is possible. Eamon told me of a story which he feels represents what the GAA means to him. “I had a cousin over from Australia two years ago for the Dublin v Mayo match. There were two lads gunning for each other in the Hogan Stand. But as soon as the final whistle went, they were walking up the aisle talking to each other. We went to the pub afterwards and there they were drinking together. My cousin just couldn’t physically believe it. He was afraid more lads would come into the pub and it would be uneasy.”

“The GAA breeds a unique type of person. You go into Meaghers, The Big Tree, Hedigans, or any pub around Croke Park and they are all drinking together. It’s hard to explain to an outsider.” On a more local level, Eamon has his priorities set for his beloved St Brigids. “My hope for St Brigids is for them to reach a county final. To beat St Vincents would be ideal. I’d hope for that because that’s why you play the game, you must want to reach that level.”

“One thing St Brigids has had all my lifetime is a great chairman to bring them forward. And each time they take the club one step further.” Eamon is in high praise of the work done by current chairman Billy Quane.

Eamon reiterates his heritage by saying: “I don’t shout for Dublin, I support their efforts, but I’m a Roscommon man and that’s the only team I truly support.” Having said that, Eamon goes on to praise his adopted Dublin club saying that: “St Brigids help out greatly in the parish; it brings people together. It’s brilliant. I think the GAA really is so special. I’d have nothing wrong said about the GAA. You could kick lumps out of each other on the pitch and you’d still be the best of friends in the dressing room.”

The GAA plays a pivotal role in many rural towns across the country. Eamon agrees that the organisation is “all powerful”. “I think that the GAA is something very special. If I was driving along and I saw a soccer match, I wouldn’t bother with it. But if I was driving along and I saw two ducks playing Gaelic Football, I’d have to stop and watch them.”

Eamon Dunning is the GAA. His journey from Clann na nGael of Roscommon to St Brigids of Dublin, via St Brendans of Manchester, is a route illuminated by the eternal flame the GAA shines upon Ireland. It’s very easy to follow a GAA club; it’s much more difficult to support one.

When players such as Shane Supple, Paddy Andrews, Sean Murray and the now retired Barry Cahill don the blue and navy of Dublin, it is because people like Eamon Dunning are tirelessly putting in the effort of training the stars of the future in St Brigids. Without people like Eamon, St Brigids wouldn’t survive. He, like many others, is the life and soul of the club. St Brigids relies upon volunteers such as Eamon to be the lifeline of the club. And there is a certain soothing comfort in knowing that there are still many years of devotion still to come from Eamon 'Silver' Dunning.

S.DAWSON 07/04/14