Ballykelly GFC celebrate their heroes of the past

Ballykelly GFC celebrate their heroes of the past Ballykelly GFC celebrated a number of their successes over the last 50 years on Saturday night at a Dinner Dance on Saturday night, at the Keaden Hotel.

The club recognised their 1974 Junior men’s football side that won the Kildare Junior football championship on Saturday. This side went on to win the Kildare Intermediate football championship in 1975, the Intermediate winners were also recognised on the night. The club’s Junior Ladies’ football Championship winning side of 2005 were also recognised on the night.

According to club PRO Ian Holligan, Saturday night’s event was a huge success for the club and acknowledged how much of a special achievment it was for the club to win back to back titles in 1974 and 1975.

“It was brilliant to recognise those teams. We had 250 people there on Saturday night. You could see the guys from 1974 and 75, high fiving each other and all. It was like a history lesson for us all. It also I suppose showed to our senior players in the club that we have that tradition and history. We had 30 people there on the night from that team in the 70’s. I’d some of them were ready to get togged out again. The evening brought club together and brought the community together. ” 

Holligan also paid tribute to those who organised the dinner dance. Holligan stated that it took a lot of organisation to make the dinner dance a success.

“Ya I'd like to thank the committee. I’m sure a lot of them don’t want to be named but I suppose as a group it’s important they are acknowledged. I suppose Samantha Ryan our treasurer, really pushed the event and she was brillant. Also, our chairman Gerry Byrne was hugely influential. We had Johnny Doyle as a special guest, and we would really like to thank Johnny for attending and for his kind words on the night”.

Holligan believes that Saturday night’s event can be used as something to build on for Ballykelly in 2025. The club has huge tradition and despite dwindling numbers in the last two decades or so, the club is starting to see a growth in numbers at underage level. Holligan also hopes that the 1974, 1975 and 2005 sides can inspire and motivate current players in the Ballykelly club.

“We want to build on this. We have put a huge emphasis on our underage academy for the last few years. We had 30 under 6’s last year that have gone onto to play u7 and u8 this year. It’s been a long time since we had that. Last year with the thanks of sponsorship from local businesses, we gave every child in the club from u12 down a half-zip and a training jersey. It was a brilliant initiative by the club. We want to make sure we’re not just one focus and about our senior men. Last year our senior ladies’ team entered competition for the first time in a while. That’s hugely important”.