February 2022

The Late Billy Horan RIP

  Yesterday (15 February 2022) the locality of Ballinrobe learned of the sudden passing of Billy Horan.  Billy was much loved within the community and will be sorely missed. Billy Horan was born in Partry and was the eldest of 6. He was educated in St Jarlath’s College, Tuam, and UCG (now NUIG) and went on to complete a H Dip.  After teaching briefly in Ballygar, Co. Galway, he spent the remainder of his career in Ballinrobe, first in the CBS from the early 1950’s and then the Community School when it opened in 1990. When teaching in the CBS he promoted Gaelic football and was involved in coaching teams in the Colleran Cup and Flanagan Cup competitions.  English, History and Latin were his subjects and he engendered a love of the written and spoken word among his pupils, some of whom went on to become reporters and many more to become teachers.     GAA Billy’s love of Gaelic football started from a very young age and his father (Joe) won an All Ireland Junior Football medal with Mayo. He was involved in Ballinrobe GAA Club from the very start of his time in Ballinrobe.  He played corner-back for Ballinrobe in the South Mayo Junior Championship.  From an early age, he was involved in the coaching teams.  Throughout the course of his involvement in the club, he was Chairman, Secretary, County Board delegate, South Board delegate, Public Relations Officer (a post he held for many decades) and Scor Officer, He was heavily involved in the committee that bought and developed Flanagan Park in the early 1960’s. He was also involved in Ballinrobe GAA Club fundraising through the weekly bingo in the old Town Hall and various other initiatives.  Billy was President of the Club and only stood down as President at our AGM last November. Just last month, the club marked his retirement from the position with a special presentation at the launch of our five-year Strategic Development Plan. Billy served as Chair of South Mayo GAA Board and was PRO of the South Mayo GAA Board for several decades.  He also served as President of Mayo GAA. Billy was deeply involved in, and had a great grá for, scór in our club. He  was also involved in Scór at divisional, county and provincial levels.  Ballinrobe were very strong in Scór in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in set dancing and Question Time, and in fact he competed with success in Question Time for Ballinrobe. Billy had a great belief in preserving Gaelic traditions though, as a Latin scholar and noted teacher, he had broad interests. He was also a selector for the Mayo Junior team for a time and also served as a referee for a period. Billy was recognised by Mayo GAA / The Green Above the Red Trust and by the GAA nationally with a President’s Award for his dedication to the GAA. “Billy and the Horan Family have been synonymous with Ballinrobe GAA Club.  Only a few short weeks ago we made a presentation to Billy to honour his long and loyal contributions to our Club.  We will miss his wisdom, advice and leadership, but above all we mourn the passing of a good man whose integrity and vision leaves a strong legacy for us and the next generation of GAA members, a true Gael,” said John Flannelly, Club Chairman.   Reporting Billy started writing the Ballinrobe Notes in Mayo News in 1952. His philosophy was that “a key part of games is promoting games” and that was how he got involved in reporting on matches for all the local papers and being PRO for Ballinrobe GAA Club.  Long before match reporting became such a staple element of the local papers, Billy was an assidious chronicler of matches.  And not just Ballinrobe games, but at all levels, from south Mayo up to national level.   The first time a lot of young people got their names in the paper was either in Billy’s local notes or match reports. Many of those players went on to play for Mayo, the likes of Vincent Nally (Garrymore) and our own Tommy O’Malley, Peter Ford and Fergal Costello, to name but a few.  He was unbiased in his match reports and was very well regarded throughout Mayo for that attribute. Billy did insert pieces for Ballinrobe GAA Club – Club Radio and while a talented reporter, he shied away from broadcasting unless press-ganged into action.  He chronicled both Ballinrobe GAA Club tours to London. While his primary interest was the GAA, he was very good at promoting and reporting on other sports in the locality. Ultimately, the people of Ballinrobe and south Mayo mattered greatly to him, and he afforded coverage to all sorts of sporting, cultural and community events. His Balinrobe Notes for Ballinrobe are in this week’s Mayo News and on Monday, the day before his sad passing he submitted his notes for the Connacht Tribune, which included some GAA Notes. In 2015, the Mayo News honoured him by inducting him into The Mayo News/O’Neills Club Stars ‘Hall of Fame’.   Other interests He loved music, in particular country music, and was an avid radio fan, listening to radio and picking up match commentaries, reports and inteviews from around the country through internet radio.  He loved local radio in Mayo and around the country and followed GAA where people he know were involved very closely.   He watched football religiously, and right up to last weekend was watching with great interest the televised National Football League matches.  Billy loved horse racing and followed it closely. He was a member of the Ballinrobe Race Committee and thrilled to the buzz of the Racecourse on Raceday, meeting and conversing with trainers and jockeys.  He didn’t bet much, but on occasion, after watching a horse that caught his attention over 7 or 8 race meets, he’d have a calculated flutter, often with spectacular success though the wager might be modest. Billy

The Late Billy Horan RIP Read More »

Ballinrobe GAA Club Launches its Strategic Development Plan 2021 – 2022

  ‘New goals and aspirations’ as Ballinrobe GAA Clublaunches its five-year plan Past glories, current hopes, and future aspirations all blended together on Saturday night last (January 29th), as Ballinrobe GAA Club celebrated the launch of its Strategic Development Plan 2021-2025. You can view the plan HERE Delayed in its finalisation due to COVID-19, the plan was finally unveiled at the first formal indoor gathering of club members in almost two years, at Ballinrobe Racecourse. The chairperson of the Steering Committee that oversaw the development of the plan, Denise Horan, remarked that the lifting of COVID restrictions provided the ideal backdrop to the launch of the plan. “Its a time of joy and hope – a perfect time to start a new chapter in our club, to set out new goals and aspirations,” she said. Developed over an 18-month period by five sub-committees led by chairpersons Colm Jennings, Declan O’Loughlin, Donal McCormack, Paul McElarney, Mike Finnerty and Elaine O’Donnell, the plan sets out ambitions across all areas of the club, from coaching and games development, to finance and fundraising, and facilities development. Though the ‘thinking, research and consideration of ideas was broad and deep’, Denise Horan noted, a deliberate decision was made to condense the initial long list of recommendations to a set that was ‘small, but meaningful; aspirational, but clear and simple’. The 24 final recommendations that made the plan reflect this considered approach. The event, hosted by Liam Horan and broadcast live to over 400 followers on the club’s Facebook page, traced the proud history of the club from its early days (recalled memorably byclub historian Mike Coyne), through to its successes of last year, in boys’ and ladies’ underage competitions. Newly-appointed intermediate team manager – and former Mayo full-back – Peter Ford, a native of Ballinrobe, also spoke, recalling his playing days with the club, the highs of his previous stint as manager over 20 years ago and his excitement about the season ahead. “I wasn’t involved with any team last year and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be again. But when I was approached about the Ballinrobe job and when I started having conversations with some of the guys involved, it was like a drug that took hold again,” he said.   The long and loyal service of club stalwart Billy Horan – who recently marked 70 years covering Gaelic games for the local papers – was also recognised on the night, with club chairman John Flannelly making a special presentation to a man who ‘has been a leader within the club since the 1950s – as player, coach, chairman, PRO, President and South and County Board delegate’. Encouraging everyone to get behind the new club plan, John highlighted that there is ‘a role for everyone in Ballinrobe GAA Club’. “Sometimes people think they have nothing to contribute, but there is something everyone can do. No matter how small it seems, it all matters because it takes the whole community to keep the club going,” he said. Entertainment was provided in the form of traditional music and sean-nós dancing, ably performed by underage club members Rachel Gallagher, Ethan Tierney, Roisin and Katie Yates, Jamie and Billy Donnellan and Aoibhinn and Caitlin Cummins, under the tutelage of Chloe Feeney of the Chloe Feeney School of Music

Ballinrobe GAA Club Launches its Strategic Development Plan 2021 – 2022 Read More »

Former Ballinrobe club secretary bereaved

  Well-known political figure Noel Treacy, Clough, Gurteen, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, who passed away this week, was a brother of Marian Treacy, secretary of Ballinrobe GAA Club for several years during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Marian, a member of the staff of the Bank of Ireland in Ballinrobe, was deeply involved in the club’s activities and built many enduring friendships in this locality. The club extends heartfelt sympathy to Marian and the Treacy family. The former Fianna Fáil TD was a junior minister in several departments over his three-decade career. He also served as chairperson of Galway GAA. During his younger days, he worked as an auctioneer in Ballinrobe Livestock Mart each Wednesday. Mr Treacy is survived by his adoring wife Mary; his heartbroken children Joan, Emer, Lisa and Rory; his grandchildren Juliet, Ciarán, Saoirse, Dáithí, Sadie, James and Jack; sisters Marian and Nóirín Byrne, his sons-in-law Paul Hogan, Kevin Lally and Gareth Roddy, Rory’s fiancée Maria, nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law, extended family and his many great friends. He was predeceased by his sister Carmel Lambe and his parents Martin and Margaret. Full funeral details are published HERE Ballinrobe man Declan Varley, Editor of the Galway Advertiser, pays a tribute to Noel HERE, and mentions Marian’s time in Ballinrobe.    

Former Ballinrobe club secretary bereaved Read More »

Registration 2022

Ballinrobe GAA registration will go live on Wednesday 2nd February at 9am via https://returntoplay.gaa.ie/. For New Members we have information below on how to set up your account, create a profile and complete registration. Existing Club Players and Members already have an account with Foireann and can complete their registration via their account. All underage Players must be registered under their parent/Guardian account. Please note the youngest Players we will be welcoming this year will be children born in 2017. LGFA Membership: Please select LGFA for all underage Girl Players, Ladies Players and Coaches involved with our Ladies Teams. If you have any further queries, please email ballinrobegaa@gmail.com Membership 2022 Adult Player GAA/LGFA €100 Adult Student Player GAA/LGFA €60 Adult (Non-Player) €50 Youth Player U18 First child €60 Youth Player U18 Second and Subsequent children €50 each Club Family Membership 2 Adults and up to 5 Children     €230 * 1 x €100 Ticket for Mayo GAA Development Draw   * Entry into Weekly Club Lotto Draw Club Individual Membership Adult Non-Player Player GAA/LGFA €150 * 1 x €100 Ticket for Mayo GAA Development Draw   * Entry into Weekly Club Lotto Draw     New Club Members New Club Member: If you are new to the Club you will need to set up a Foireann account via https://returntoplay.gaa.ie/ . Click on video below which outlines the steps involved in setting up an account. (Please ignore the Covid 19 information at end).     Once you have registered a Foireann account you are now in a position to create a profile. We understand that you may be the parent of a member, and not registering yourself.  That is fine, however you still need to complete a profile as a Parent/Guardian and just follow the steps that work for your household. The first step is to register all those who want to be members. Adding Child: As the account holder, you are covered through the Profile Section. You then need to add your son/daughter and create their Profile to register. Once their profiles have been completed you proceed to membership options. Payment:  You will see a number of Membership options on the screen. Please select the membership option which best suits and make the relevant payment to complete the registration process.

Registration 2022 Read More »