Pat Gavin – a Castlebar Celtic stalwart who helps keep the club on track
CLUB CENTENARY SPECIAL
Pat Gavin has been central to the consistent development and progression of Castlebar Celtic, on and off the field of play, over the past three decades.
As long-serving treasurer, he cited the amalgamation of youth and adult wings of the club 20 years ago as being crucial to bringing the club forward with a coordinated approach to future planning.
Those who attended matches at Celtic Park in the not too distant past will remember it as simply a pitch with railings all the way around it and access via a pathway at the rear of the former tennis club pavilion.
Now when one walks through its imposing gates with the words 'Celtic Park' above them, there is an extensive clubhouse, fine dressing rooms, a first aid room, an AstroTurf pitch and a newly refurbished AstroTurf amenity at the county library end.
The main and AstroTurf pitches have state-of-the-art floodlighting and spectator steps have been erected at the clubhouse with the hope of constructing a stand when the opportunity presents itself.
All of this work brought its own challenges and financial strains and Pat Gavin found himself, along with former chairmen Gerry Walsh, Sean Gavin and Colm Hynes, at the forefront of dealing with many of these issues as well as ensuring there was always enough money to field all of the teams in the various Mayo Football League divisions and underage competition at local, provincial and national levels.
The task of getting the full-size AstroTurf pitch over the line was particularly demanding and Gavin said it was a tribute so many club officials who pulled out all the stops when required.
Thanks to sports capital funding, so much has been achieved at Celtic Park but the debate remains in regard to whether or not it is future proofed for the consistent growth in playing numbers, and particularly in the sphere of girls and women's football and its evolution.
Gavin has a candid view of the situation.
He explained: "Of course we would love a new facility with five or six pitches and so forth. Indeed the issue is one that has been explored by the club.
"But the reality is that an awful lot would need to happen for us to reach that stage but we are keeping an open mind on the matter.
"There has been talk in recent years of Mayo County Council developing pitches on a site not too far from Celtic Park.
"We will wait and see how that evolves. It would certainly have the potential of helping to address our needs when it happens, which, I'm sure, it will."
The very notion of the club leaving their ancestral home has long been an emotive one among members - and particularly so since the 1980s when plans for a new relief road in Castlebar were earmarked to run through the pitch, and previously the site had been earmarked as the site for the Sacred Heart Hospital.
As it happened, the road (Humbert Way) ended up running adjacent to the ground but not through it, so perhaps Celtic Park is destined to be around for many decades to come.
Said Gavin: "During my time with the club, there have been so many wonderful people who invested considerable time and energy in Castlebar Celtic.
"You cannot buy that kind of loyalty and commitment and it always inspired me to keep pushing the club forward.
"I am not going to start mentioning names because I would hate to leave anybody out.
"But Celtic, as a club, owes a debt of gratitude to so many people. We have had our ups and downs over the years but we have never shied away from challenges.
"We fielded men's and women's teams in FAI national league competitions for a number of years and the experience was enriching from a number of perspectives.
"I will long consider Castlebar Celtic playing Raheny United in the FAI Senior Cup final at the Aviva Stadium on November 3, 2013, live on RTÉ television, as one of my most memorable days in football.
"That was the day the players wore jerseys with the name 'Jeremy' across the back in honour of their late coach, Jeremy Dee, who died in a road tragedy the previous year in a devastating blow for the club.
"We lost the game but we left the Aviva Stadium that day feeling on top of the world.”
He added: "In the long term, national league football proved unsustainable for a club like Castlebar Celtic without the backing of serious funding.
"It is my view that the kind of capital funding that was invested in infrastructural development in recent years should now be channelled into providing incentives to clubs across the provinces to become more involved in national league structures, starting perhaps at a regional level."
Another highpoint for Gavin was the club’s Under-18 boys and girls teams winning FAI Youth Cup titles within a few years of one another.
A recent survey commissioned by Castlebar Chamber of Commerce revealed that soccer has a membership rating of 30% compared to 40% for Gaelic games.
"The growth of the sport and delivery of facilities has been phenomenal in the Castlebar district in recent years with Castlebar Town, Manulla FC, Ballyheane and Snugboro making significant investments.
"As Castlebar Celtic marks 100 years, you start wondering what the next century will bring to the club and sport, in general," stated Gavin.
He added the spirit of the club is reflected by people like Frank Ludden, John McEllin, Noel Coll, Andrew Leonard, Pat Naughton, Mattie Togher, Philip and Geraldine Cresham who have been selling lottery tickets for a long time.
"We meet every week and we miss two great lotto stalwarts, Frank Foy and Paddy Moylette. May they rest in peace," he added.