Top Mayo club's centenary marked by The Connaught Telegraph
This week's issue of The Connaught Telegraph, on sale from tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, features a 24-page supplement marking the centenary of Castlebar Celtic Football Club.
The publication by the newspaper gives a revealing insight into the many challenges the club overcame over the course of its history, many of which related to its grounds at Celtic Park.
Founded in 1924, it took the club a long time to establish a firm footing at a time when the country was deeply divided following the conclusion of the Civil War the previous summer.
Like the nation itself, Castlebar's first soccer club, or team to be more exact, was facing into uncertain times, unsure of its future in a society in which poverty and strife abounded.
The triumph is that it survived in the face of such early adversity.
One hundred years on, it is now established as one of the most successful clubs in the county, province and country thanks to the dedication of so many loyal members who engendered an unyielding sense of spirit and commitment within the club.
Ever so, it has been a long and challenging journey from 1924 to 2024 for Castlebar Celtic, a journey littered with success, setbacks and no little pain.
The supplement touches on all those aspects of its history.
Edwin McGreal pens a wonderful portrait of the life and times of his grandfather, Hughie McGartland, who was a central figure in shaping Castlebar Celtic during his 40-years involvement with the club.
In his article 'My grandfather and Castlebar Celtic', he recalls that no matter how tough matters got, he never abandoned ship, giving the club the resilience and character that was a key factor in so many of its successes in future years.
In a separate but related piece, McGreal reveals how Celtic Park, first purchased by the club in 1954, seriously threatened Celtic's survival because of major underlying drainage problems.
In fact, McGartland was receptive to an approach from Mayo County Council in 1961 to purchase Celtic Park as the site for the new Sacred Heart Hospital.
But the council subsequently had second thoughts and developed the hospital instead at Pontoon Road, where the old County Home was located.
Frank Burke, a former club secretary, took up this theme as he ran into the same problems during the early 1980s as McGartland had many years earlier.
But, as Burke recounted, the club finally found a contractor with a solution - and that marked a turning point when works were finally completed, culminating in the opening of the new Celtic Park pitch in 1984.
Six years later, the need for a clubhouse and permanent dressing rooms was addressed, members of the club building the new facilities in 1990 without a main contractor ever being appointed in order to cut down on costs.
Castlebar Celtic was now in a position to thrive and James Murray, a former club chairman, writes about the glory day of Celtic in the Women's National League with a particular emphasis on the FAI Women's Cup final against Raheny United at the Aviva Stadium in 2013.
It was also during this era that the club won its first national title, the FAI Youths (Under-18) Cup in 2007, followed by the Women's FAI (Under-18) Cup in 2016.
Another milestone was the building of a full-sided FIFA approved Astroturf pitch which has been an important piece of infrastructure for the coaching young boys and girls, as well as taking pressure off the main pitch by hosting games.
The supplement was put together by an editorial team consisting of Marian Robinson, Andrew Leonard, Noel Coll, Michael Feeney and Tom Kelly.
Others to have contributed articles include Johnny Mee, Richey Berkeley and Joe Redmond.
The supplement includes a feature on the club's 'International Roll of Honour' as well as a list of all the title at various levels won by the club over the past 100 years.