Top Mayo GAA Club launch book that looks through time

480-page hardback in landscape format chronicles the Knockmore club’s fortunes from the very start

By Aiden Henry

WHEN we talk of GAA club football in Mayo, Knockmore have been right up there with the best in terms of promoting and continually developing the country's number one national sport off the field of play, and have been one of the most successful clubs in the county with their on-field exploits.

Since Knockmore played their first ever official game back in February 1960, the success of this rural club has been phenomenal in every sense of the word.

This success didn’t just happen; it was made happen by many, many individuals (many of whom have since gone to their eternal rest) who had the ambition and passion to promote our great national game in their locality by giving endless hours of their time to help Knockmore to be the great club that it has been and still is, being very much to the fore in our county today.

We just have to look at the success the club has enjoyed since it was first affiliated in 1960.

In those 60 years they have contested the Mayo senior championship final on 17 occasions, winning nine (the first when defeating Garrymore in the 1973 final and their last just a couple of months ago).

They also reached the All-Ireland senior football club final on St. Patrick’s Day in 1997, losing out to Armagh kingpins at the time, Crossmaglen Rangers.

But winning was not just confined to senior level as numerous titles were won at all age levels.

Indeed, it was their great success at underage and the tremendous amount of work and coaching put in by many local individuals that was the real cornerstone to making Knockmore the famous club it is today.

With the club also having developed state-of-the-art facilities around their home pitch in the heart of Knockmore village, it is little wonder they are the envy of many others throughout the country.

Passion

As already stated, this has all been down to the tremendous work of the club members down through the years.

The passion for the GAA in Knockmore continues to be as strong today. Following on from Knockmore regaining the Moclair Cup after a 23-year wait less than two months ago, they are now publishing a magnificent book chronicling the history of the club.

This 480-page publication has to be one of the finest ever published by a GAA club in the country.

The brainchild of present Knockmore GAA Club chairperson, Ann Clarke, and the evergreen Eddie McHale, this massive project was first mooted almost four years ago.

After the club agreed to go along with the project, a special committee was formed, comprised of Frank Mulvihill (chairman), Anne Clarke, Eddie McHale, Jim Smyth (club treasurer), Patrick Duffy (ladies club chairman) and Seán MacEil.

Now, just over three years on, the project is a reality.

Like everything else Knockmore GAA Club have put their hand to over the past 60 years, this project is an outstanding success.

It is a publication like no other as it is a commemorative book with hundreds of team photographs, action shots and individual portraits (of male and female teams at all age groups).

The format is landscape and many team photos from down the years, as well as action photos and numerous head shots of male and female players, are included.

It covers a general review of football in the parish pre-affiliation as a club since their first official game in February 1960, including newspaper reports of games and events, and it covers the period 1960-2020 inclusive.

The book is a synopsis of each year of football activity, covering many match reports, male and female players who donned the Green and Red, and national schools report.

It also contains articles by Dr. Mickey Loftus, Fr. Sean Killeen, John Cosgrove, Joe Brolly, Sean Rice, Councillor Seamus Weir and Kevin Staunton, to name but a few contributors.

It also contains a feature on each of the nine men who captained Knockmore to Moclair Cup success, as well as an article on Knockmore’s trip in 1981 to the east coast of America – the first club from Ireland to undertake such a trip.

Archive

With regard to photographs, there are 60 pictures which will be displayed in their clubhouse featuring various teams that have won male and female county titles at underage, junior, intermediate and senior levels. There are also pictures of other iconic club occasions and events.

The archive strand of the project involved displaying laminated newspaper reports featuring Knockmore games and events covering the period 1960 to 2020.

All these reports will be displayed in year order within eight separate leather-bound books. These will be available for current and future members to access and review what was reported on Knockmore GAA in any given year.

Speaking at the launch of the book on Saturday, club chairperson Ann Clarke was loud in her praise for the members of the sub-committee for the tremendous amount of work they did in making the project come to a successful conclusion. She was thanked every member of the club for their great help, as well as their sponsors and everyone who had helped in any way to make this publication possible.

The Knockmore GAA Club 60th anniversary book goes on sale this Friday (December 11) at a cost of €30. It would make an ideal Christmas present.

The book will be available initially from the following outlets locally and committee members: Corcoran's Shop, Knockmore; Applegreen Foxford; Centra Foxford; Gala Foxford; Gala Ballina; Eason Ballina; Londis, Circular Road, Ballina; Clarke's Newsagents, Ballina; The Castle Book Shop, Castlebar; Ann Clarke - (087) 7554284; Eddie MacHale - (086) 3649192; Sean Mac Eil - (086) 1733419; Patrick Duffy - (086) 6813743; Jim Smyth - (086) 8397754; and Frank Mulvihill - (087) 6486710.