1986 Jimmy McEvoy
Jimmy McEvoy a local painter by trade spent most of his lifetime promoting and assisting the development of Gaelic games in Castlewellan. ‘Pilot’ as he was known by nickname was the goalkeeper on the team after if reformed in 1940, and played in the team’s very first competitive game against Gargory. The 40’s were the only barren decade in the Club’s history as far as winning any County titles was concerned. But during the war years the town club was very successful in the many local competition that were organised, and Pilot was the keeper for many of the town games
But it was as a dedicated committeeman that Pilot is best remembered and for the enormous contribution that he made to the development of underage football in the Club. In 1953 the first under-16 championship was established and Castlewellan, organised by Jimmy McEvoy Cyril Wells, (Hall of Fame), Paddy O’Donoghue (Hall of Fame), and Dan Rooney (Hall of Fame) reached the final against Downpatrick. The first two matches were drawn and Castlewellan emerged victorious in the third game. Out of that young team emerged some of the finest and most dedicated players ever to wear the green jersey for the town such as Pat Rice, Johnny and Frankie Rooney, Dermot (Chum) McCabe, Eamon. Magorrian, 0liver Brannigan, Mickey Doran, Jim Rice, Eamon (Squeak) Toner, Brian Magorrian, and Tom McGrady.
Jimmy spent most of his active life in the 40’s/50’s/60’s on the club committee. When the club purchased their first bus in 1954 Jimmy was one of the loyal band of drivers ferrying teams throughout the County, as well as private-hire trips the length and breadth of Ireland, all of course on a voluntary basis. When the first bus arrived Pilot placed his painting skills at the clubs disposal and with a few others helped to hand paint ‘EVA’ (the bus was christened Eva because this was the 3 letters of the number plate) in the proud club colours of green and white. Jimmy McEvoy was a tireless worker for the Club during the three decades that he served on the club committee and was always on hand to volunteer for the less clamorous tasks of draining the large puddles that were a feature of the old meadow, putting up the nets before games and marking the pitch. When the annual parish sports came around and the popular seven aside competitions which were a feature of the sports day in the 50’s and 60’s, Jimmy was always on hand to help in the preparation of the field. This involved grass cutting and erecting temporary post and wire fencing around the perimeter of the soccer pitch. The soccer pitch that ran across the Gaelic pitch was used for the sevens as it was somewhat shorter than the Gaelic pitch and uprights were simply nailed to the goalposts converting them into rather crude if somewhat out of dimension Gaelic goals.
Jimmy was also involved in many of the innovative fundraising ventures of the club, and one of the last tasks he performed in this area was during a fund-raising events week in the old meadow in the mid-sixties. On the final evening of the week’s events, gas filled balloons were sold for five or ten bob (about fifty pence) and the name of the purchaser attached on a card with a return address. The idea was that the balloon that travelled the furthest and card returned to the club received the sum of £10, as did the finder. Pilot’s job was to fill the said balloons with the gas from the big dispenser that he stood guard over at the bottom of the meadows and release them all together at the close of the evening. As youngsters then we watched in awe as these large rubber balloons were released by a chuckling pilot who got as much fun out of his task as we did watching them float off into the summer sky until they were just little dots disappearing over the Mourne mountains. Come to think of it I cannot recall if any of the attached cards ever were returned, probably most of them ditched into Dundrum bay and the club saved itself the prize money of two ten pound notes.
Pilot’s only son ‘Bronco’ played minor football for the club in the sixties before emigrating as a young man to London, and sadly Jimmy passed away in the late eighties having being predeceased by his wife. Jimmy lived all his married life in the labourer’s cottage next to Paddy Rice (father of Pat and Jim). Jimmy’s cottage too is long since gone, demolished in the late sixties, along with Sarah Quinn’s cottage, and next to that Charlie Walsh’s, to make way for modern Housing Executive housing.
Until his death Pilot remained a loyal follower of the town team’s, and will always be remembered as a dedicated and tireless worker for the town club.
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