The Fifties
Perhaps the man who made the greatest contribution to the evolution of the Club was Dan Rooney - (Hall of Fame) who became Club Secretary in 1947, and held the post for 25 years. He was also Club Chairman from 1976 to 1986. Not only was he an outstanding player, but he has been a wonderful official and enthusiast at Club, Divisional and County level. He was the funnel through which all the Club’s activities passed. In 1953 the first under-16 championship was established and Castlewellan organised by Dan, Jimmy McEvoy - (Hall of Fame), Cyril Wells - (Hall of Fame) and Paddy O’Donoghue - (Hall of Fame) reached the final against Downpatrick. The first two matches were drawn and Castlewellan emerged victorious in the third game. The team was D. Feggan, F. Rooney, D. McCabe, E. Magorrian, T. Rice, J. McVeigh, G. Poland, 0. Brannigan, M. Doran, P. C. McAleenan, J. McMullan, G. McVeigh, J. McGreevy, J. Rice, 0. Rea, E. Toner, B. Magorrian, D. Kearney, T. McGrady. Also in 1953 a schoolboy hurling team was formed and remained unbeaten in the schoolboy league for a number of seasons.
It was Dan who pioneered all the success’s of the 50’s- the County Championship in 1950, the Feis sevens in 1950 and 1956, the Minor League and East Down junior Leagues in 1951 and 1955, the All-County Senior League in 1955, and the Club’s first Minor Championship title in 1957. Dermot (Chum) McCabe (father of Ciarán of Down 1994 fame) was captain of the victorious minor team and other team members included James McKenny, Frankie Rooney, Joe Mcveigh, Jackie Fagan, Eamon Magorrian, Paul Hillen, Sean McMullan, Ned Rooney, Raymond Jennings, Oliver Brannigan, Eugene McKelvey, Gerry Poland (uncle of Simon Poland of the 2001 Down and town senior team), and Dessie Toner. The successful minor team met Glenn in the final and beat them 6-3 to 3-3.
But the biggest achievement of this decade was winning our fourth Senior Football Championship in 1958 after a lapse of 22 years.
As in previous decades, there was a large "family" influence on the Club with the Rooneys, Guinness, Rodgers, Jennings, Corrigans, McGreevys, Rices and Burns families contributing to club teams, as the Steeles and Toners had done in former times. That family influence continues to day, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren are playing or involved in running the Club at the start of the twenty-first century. Perhaps one other name should be recorded here although not a town man born and bred like the aforementioned. Ronnie Crosier from Annsborough joined the town club in the late forties and was a member of the victorious SFC side of 1950. Another couple of ‘Annsborough men’ that joined the town club during this decade. Gerry Hawkins (uncle of club members Dermot, Michael Paul and Moira Hawkins as well as Frankie and Garry Toner) won a SFC medal with the town in 1958. But perhaps the greatest asset to the town team that had previously played for Annsborough was Malachey McAnerney (Big Moc). His towering strength and presence helped the to the ‘B’ league in 1963, the ‘A’ league in 1964 and the SFC in 1965.
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