The Seventies
The Dawn of the Modern St Malachy’s Club
As the swinging sixties drew to a close a number of younger men were beginning to make their presence felt about the Club and were calling for radical changes to the traditional concept of Gaelic Clubs. None of these men were more prominent than a 20 year old senior footballer by the name of Trixie Dougherty who had already claimed his first SFC medal a few years earlier. Trixie joined the Club Committee in 1968 and in 1969 at the Club’s AGM stood for Secretary when Dan Rooney decided to step down after 23 years in the post (1947 – 1969). Trixie was elected with ease and there followed some dismay by a number of older Committee members who had served the Club well for many years but were not ready to move in the direction that Trixie was calling for. Gradually these older Club servants retired to make way for younger men who supported the direction in which Trixie wanted to go. There was also other club stalwarts who shared the vision and enthusiasm of the young Trixie and proved to be valuable allies to the ambitious new Secretary. Together with men such as Oliver McStravick( who was curate in the parish at the time and a great GAA man), Pat Keown, Pat Rice, Dan, Pat and Frank Rooney, they decided that the club must be developed both on and off the field. Trixie Dougherty was to continue as Club Secretary for a record 25 years (1970 – 1994), and later became Club Chairman from 1997 – 1999.
Their plans for the development of the meadow and the development of a senior championship winning side would take almost a decade to achieve. This development programme began in earnest in 1975 with the purchase of a 75 year lease of the meadow from the parish for a cost of £1000. This had been preceded a few years earlier in 1973 with the purshase from the parish of the disused bus depot that lay adjacent to the meadow for a cost of £4000. The bus depot was converted into the first GAA Social Club in County Down, (click here for social club story) and completed in 1996 at a cost to the Club of £15,000, and a year later a new heating system was installed at an additional cost of £7,000. In 1978 the lifetime’s dream of many a dedicated Castlewellan Gael was finally fulfilled with the official opening of Pairc Naomh Maolmhoig. The old boggy meadow was gone for ever and at last the club had a first class playing pitch, as well as, for the first time hot and cold showers and state of the art changing facilities. The total cost for the development of the new Park and facilities in 1978 was a staggering £82,000.00, and adding the costs of the new Social Club, the Club now found itself in debt to the tune of just over £100,000.00, and at a time of extremely high interest rates. But Dan Rooney who had retired as Club Secretary in 1972 after a spell of 20 years was now back as Club Chairman, Gerry Dougherty, one of the Club's players-young and energetic was Club Secretary, and with Frankie Rooney as Treasurer and an enthusiastic committee, the many frustration’s and disappointments encountered in such a major scheme were overcome. But it would take 20 years and a lot of hard work and sweat before the club would be finally out of debt again.
With facilities the envy of the County now in place the Committee’s attention now focused on achievements on the field of play, team building and a SFC title. Victories in the 70’s included the 1973 East Down League (U-14), 1974 All-County "B" League, 1976 first Minor Feis sevens. Team: E. Toner (Captain), M. Crilly, D. Rooney, L. Hardy, D. O'Kane, C. Keown, 1. Russell, H. Toner, P. Rooney and D. McCombe. 1977 a repeat win in the Feis Minor Sevens. 1976 East Down League Cup and 1977 East Down Reserve League.
Just as the Club had shared in the 1946 junior All-Ireland, and the 1960-61, '68 Senior All-lrelands, so it also shared in Down's first All-Ireland Minor success in 1977 through Eamon Toner and Liam Hardy.
1977 was also a very special year for the Club in other ways too. That was the year that the great Colm McAlarney transferred to the town club from Leitrim (click here to view the McAlarney story). Other great footballers arrived about the same time. Fermanagh man Kevin McElroy, a bank official by profession was moved to a kilkeel branch of his bank and through his friendship with senior player Leo Flanagan, decided to play football for the town. Kevin was following in the footsteps of other bankers who had played football for the town down through the years. In the 50’s Derry footballer Sean Young was transferred to a Castlewellan branch and played for Castlewellan winning an All-County League medal with the town in 1955. Sean was also a member of the Derry county team during the same period. Perhaps one of the greatest GAA men and a great club man too who came to the club in the early sixties was Tyrone man Aidan O’Neill. Aidan worked for the Allied Irish Bank and when he was posted to the Castlewellan Branch he took lodgings in Pat and Mary Lavery’s in the town’s Circular Road overlooking the meadow. Aidan was a top class footballer, and soon became involved with the local club lining out for our senior team and winning a SFC medal with the town in 1965. He had already won his first SFC medal with Newry Mitchells in 1963 before moving to Castlewellan and he won his third SFC with Mitchels after being moved back to Newry for a time about 1968. When he married a local lass he settled in Newcastle, and joined the town club once again and became a dedicated club committee man as well as County treasurer.
Kilkeel men Barney McAleenan and Liam Sloan were another two exceptional footballers (Liam Sloan was a member of the 1968 Down All-Ireland winning side) that arrived in the 70’s both having married local girls and settling in the town to live (we have a lot to thank the local girls for) Sean Gallagher who had previously played for Annsborough also joined the town club at that time. Little wonder then that we were maligned the length and breadth of the county. The Club was accused of poaching players and indeed of paying players to join the club, and in the case of at least two of the above players, it was even whispered that the club had bought houses for them in the town. All of this of course was total rubbish, but the rumour mongers still had a field day, and thirty years later there are still some people that like to believe that it was true. It was different personal circumstances in each case that had brought all of these players to the town during the seventies. In any case the club was very heavily in debt at this stage having purchased the meadow and the garage that was to become our social club and having embarked on a huge development programme. All of this was to keep the club in debt for the next twenty years. Other great players had joined the Club in earlier years too but without the same commotion, George Glynn from Galway had joined the club about 1964 when he came to teach in the new St. Malachy’s Intermediate School, as had Armagh man Des Farley (later to become school principal and senior team manager). Another teacher and Fermanagh man who came to the town in the late sixties was Eamon Keavney. Eamon’s son Cillian played on the senior team in the late nineties and into the new millennium.
Colm McAlarney recalls that when he joined the club in 1977 Castlewellan were already a very strong side. Colm also recalls that there were other important individuals that joined the club at the same time as he did and who were to prove very important additions. They were Kevin McElroy, Barney McAleenan, and Sean Gallagher. In the words of Colm they all added much character, heart and steele to the side which were crucial qualities in any team. Of Fermanagh man Kevin McElroy, Colm says that he was the best team captain at either club, or county level he ever played under. And of Barney McAleenan, Colm says that as well as being a very skilful player, he was also a trainer and coach away ahead of his time. Colm credits Barney McAleenan with being the first Gaelic coach to change the scene for fitness training, away from the playing field utilising the parks and sand dunes for stamina training. There was also other great town stalwarts of that period that made an enormous contribution to the success of the team. Men like Bengy Toner, Danny Keown, Colm Crilly, Lawrence McAlinden, Paddy McGeown, leo Flanagan, Gerry Dougherty and Ned McCartan. Younger men too were just coming onto the scene. Lads like big Ned and Harry Toner, Miceal Crilly, Liam Hardy John McAleenan and Donagh O’kane. Danny Hillen was the manager of this successful squad and Colm also makes special mention of Danny Hillen’s great man management skills that knitted this unique squad of men from different club backgrounds into the championship winning side that it was.
The seventies had indeed been a progressive decade for the club in development terms, but as the 70s drew to a close it began to look, as if a SFC win in that decade would elude the town. In 1978 the first National title was won by the club – the Kilmacud All-Ireland Sevens. This was a huge honour for the club and celebrated as such. The winning panel was Lawrence McAlinden, Kevin McElroy (capt) Danny Keown, Eamon Toner, Gerry Dougherty, Brendan toner, barney McAleenan, colm McAlarney, and Colm Crilly. Then in 1979, under the management of Danny Hillen and Anthony King gold was struck when the senior team lifted its seventh County Championship title beating Rostrevor in the final The town did the double that year also winning the League. Both men stepped down after the town were defeated in the Championship in 1981.
Hurling
About 1974/1975 the County board had called on all clubs in the county to become more involved in the promotion of hurling. In answering this call the club decided to enter a junior team in the new East Down Hurling league. About that time too a very experienced Antrim hurler by the name of Art. McClone from the Belfast club St John’s, had arrived in town to work for Rodger Bros. Building Contractors. One of Art’s first jobs with the Bros. was on the new social club. Art quickly became involved with the club and in particular the fledging new junior hurling team. Art along with Tom McGrady (from Bunker’s Hill) and Dermot (Chum) McCabe were about the only three experienced hurlers, although many of the others had played at college, so knew something about the game. The club wasn’t as big then as is today so most of the new hurlers also came from the ranks of the senior and junior football teams (has anyone out there got a photograph of this team). Trixie Dougherty was the team goal-keeper and also on the team was Brendan (Bengy) Steele, Mickey and Danny Keown, Colm and Ciarán Crilly, Eamon, Donagh and Fergal O’Kane, Dessie and Colm McGreevy and Michael Nugent (Strand Bakery). The team did enjoy some success but unfortunately our inexperience led to multiple injuries and fractures, so much so that it left our junior and senior teams greatly depleted for important games and regretfully we had to withdraw from the league in only our second or third season. But not before knocking holder’s Kilclief out of the championship in 1975 in a memorable game in the old meadow (the last game of hurling ever played in the meadow). The club decided then to concentrate on juvenile hurling and to progress with the young lads to junior and then senior hurling. It took a number of starts and stops before this goal was achieved. But under the guidance of men like Dermot McCabe and Mickey McCann in the 1990’s hurling eventually began to flourish culminating in the junior hurling team winning the league in 1999 and gaining promotion to the higher Division (click here for a photo of the winning team)
In 1993 three of our senior hurling team made Club history as the first members to win ALL-IRELAND Hurling medals when they played on the Junior Down Team that beat London in the All-Ireland final. The players were Gary Cairns, Peter Jennings, and Neil McVeigh.
BACK 