Former heroes out in force for gala Offaly GAA fundraiser

THERE were legends everywhere you looked when Offaly GAA staged a very successful fundraising event on Friday evening.

A Cork dual star from the 1970s and '80s, Jimmy Barry Murphy, a Tipperary hurling hero from the 1980s and '90s, Nicky English and current Offaly senior football joint manager Mickey Harte, a fantastically successful Tyrone senior football boss in the 1990s and 2000s, were the star guests at a corporate afternoon dinner in the Tullamore Court Hotel.

Offaly GAA expect to clear over €40,000. Businesses and individuals paid €1,500 for a table of ten for the four course dinner and a very enjoyable afternoon emerged as the three guests were guided through a questions and answers session by former Offaly GAA chairman Michael Duignan.

A fundraising committee of Michael Duignan, Colm Cummins, John Hackett, Brian Digan, Johnny Dooley, Dervill Dolan, Tony Flanagan, Padraig Egan and Aisling Duignan oversaw the event and they were thanked for their work by Offaly GAA chairman Tom Parlon.

Mr Parlon spoke about the “tough job” in raising finance. “We are talking a lot about demographics lately and sometimes we use demographics as an excuse for not doing well. We had a presentation from someone from Croke Park on Wednesday night and we are the eight lowest populated county in the country and we are the only one in that group who have won All-Ireland's in hurling and football. And we have won U20s recently as well so we are punching above our weight and we need to do that.”

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Mr Parlon added: “Sometime we bemoan the fact that we don't have any big corporates but power generation is a big thing in Offaly. When we won All-Ireland's in the 1970s and '80s, Bord na Mona and ESB were absolutely massive employers but we are producing ten times the power in Offaly now than we were producing then when we had those power plants. Generation from wind and solar will be well in excess of €320 million worth in the next couple of years so I welcome all the power generation companies that are here. We will be talking to you a lot more and we hope you step up to the plate.”

He talked about the work that County Boards have to do, stating that they turnover €2.8 million at the moment.. He stressed that County Board officers don't claim any expenses. “Running the whole show is a big operation. Raising the money is a challenge and that is why we are here today. Thank you all for turning out today and putting your hands in your pockets.”

The theme of the afternoon was the forthcoming championships and Michael Duignan talked about Offaly's ambitions in competing at the highest level. “We don't have the same resources as a lot of the bigger counties but we punch well above our weight as you all know,.”

He extended a particular welcome to the new sponsors present, stating that they hope to attract more.

The large crowd included several of Offaly's most famous footballers and hurlers with the 1972 and 1982 All-Ireland senior football champions and the 1981, 1985, 1994 and 1998 All-Ireland well represented.

They were treated to a great afternoon's entertainment and the highlight was the discussion with Mickey Harte, Nicky English and Jimmy Barry Murphy. Michael Duignan expertly ran this, getting the balance right between banter and serious discussion as well as the length of it – it took less than an hour which was neither too long or too short and the audience certainly enjoyed the light hearted nature of the event.

There was a great mixture in the discussion. The trio talked about their own playing and managerial careers. They showed their passion for their own counties and their respect for Offaly, speaking about former Offaly players with admiration and games they played. They discussed the upcoming championship with Jimmy Barry Murphy talking about Offaly hurlers being “in development” at the moment. “It is going to take a year or two to build up to the standard that Cork, Tipperary, Limerick are at but I saw signs last Saturday (At the Offaly v Cork NHL game) that they are on the right path. It is not easy in Division 1 because it is so competitive. Your goalkeeper (Liam Hoare) conceded six goals last Saturday but I thought he played excellent on the night and has a brilliant future. One bad night in Cork won't define your season, championship is what defines you. Dublin in the first round is a huge game for Offaly.”

Mickey Harte discussed Offaly's injuries this year and how this helped make things difficult for them in Division 2 of the league. “Having said that, we were within touching distance two or three days and if we just did things a little differently, we could have got enough points to stay there but it was always going to be an uphill battle. That is difficult but the determination is there, there is lots of very good players in Offaly and they are improving. It is not going to be easy and coming to the championship, we are going to have to be really on our guard because Laois have had some very good results in their division.

“Those derby matches are never easy. We can't be thinking we are going to get through the next round because we are in a higher division. That doesn't happen that way and we will have to really focus totally on this game. That is so important. The longer you stay in the Leinster championship, the more chance you have of building a bit of confidence and exposing the players to knockout football. Knockout football is a different ball game. Leagues are okay but you need a mentality for knockout football. It is hard to beat championships and the more we keep in that, the better the rest of the season will be. Hopefully we will get a few players back and that will give us more depth in strength. We love a battle and a challenge and we have to go after it.”

Nicky English spoke with confidence about the future for Offaly hurling, talking about the quality of Adam Screeney. “If you can keep the young minors and U20s that we all saw together, there is a very good future for Offaly, the Tipp man said.

Offaly 1990s hurling heroes, Brian Whelahan and Johnny Pilkington were among the people who asked questions. Brian Whelahan wondered if Jimmy Barry Murphy regretted retiring from intercounty hurling in 1986 – the Cork man said he had a pang of regret at the Cork v Tipperary game in Killarney in 1987 but knew in 1986 that he was finishing and was ready to go.

Johnny Pilkington asked about the importance of man management versus the modern trend of relying on stats and technology for information. The trio spoke about dealing with players with Nicky English admitting that he tried to manage too much in his early days as Tipperary manager and things went better when he let them develop naturally.