College and Club Pitch Alliance Off to a Flying Start

Ann O’Rourke is pictured with: John Mitchell, Seán Gallagher and Cllr. Bobby O’Connell at Thursday’s Castleisland Community College / Castleisland AFC All Weather Pitch Information Evening at the River Island Hotel. ©Photograph: John Reidy

At Thursday’s Castleisland Community College / Castleisland AFC All Weather Pitch Information Evening at the River Island Hotel were: Hugh O’Connell, Chairman of Castleisland Community College Board of Management; Seán O’Keeffe, Chairman and joint treasurer of the Kerry District League; Patrick O’Rourke, Chairman of Castleisland AFC and event MC and Carmel Kelly, Principal of Castleisland Community College. ©Photograph: John Reidy

The Splice Girls: It’s only the working title for this group of Lip Synch hopefuls as they head for rehearsals from Thursday’s Castleisland Community College / Castleisland AFC All Weather Pitch Information Evening at the River Island Hotel. Included are from left: Cathy Murphy-O’Shea, Bríd Devane, Cateriona Dennehy, Sneih Brennan and Mary Lenihan. ©Photograph: John Reidy

The function room at the River Island Hotel filling up for Thursday’s Castleisland Community College / Castleisland AFC All Weather Pitch Information Evening. ©Photograph: John Reidy

David McCarthy with dad, Joe at Thursday’s Castleisland Community College / Castleisland AFC All Weather Pitch Information Evening at the River Island Hotel. ©Photograph: John Reidy

Castleisland AFC Chairman and event MC, Patrick O’Rourke (left) pictured with: Pádraig Harnett, Secretary, Kerry Schoolboys and Schoolgirls League with former senior team manager Edward Hartnett at the Castleisland Community College / Castleisland AFC All Weather Pitch Information Evening at the River Island Hotel on Thursday night. ©Photograph: John Reidy

Castleisland AFC founder member, Georgie O’Callaghan looking over the plans with: Aidan Ward, Hubert Turkiewicz and Aaron O’Connor at the Castleisland Community College / Castleisland AFC All Weather Pitch Information Evening at the River Island Hotel on Thursday. ©Photograph: John Reidy

At the Castleisland Community College / Castleisland AFC All Weather Pitch Information Evening at the River Island Hotel on Thursday were, from left: Dan Maunsell, John Coffey, Neil O’Sullivan, Kevin Moran and Paul Carmody. ©Photograph: John Reidy

I have sat and stood on soccer-field sidelines on several big occasions for the Castleisland club in recent years.

More than once in the course of my hours there have I seen, albeit through a lens, Patrick O’Rourke slip easily into the role of club and team hero.

In more recent years, as his serious playing career winds down, he has taken on the role of super-sub. Always dangerous, often deadly.

Professionalism and Purpose

On Thursday night at the River Island Hotel I was on the sidelines again as the same Patrick O’Rourke took on a new role. The dangerous and the deadly now replaced by professionalism and purpose.

As chairman of Castleisland Athletic Football Club he took on the important role of spokesman and master of ceremonies to explain to the invited members of the public how and why they could and should support the club in its plans for the future.

The club’s current aspirations are to take a giant leap in its now 44 year long history. In the realisation of those plans he stands shoulder to shoulder with Castleisland Community College Principal, Carmel Kelly.

Solid Allies

They’re solid allies in a commitment to the realisation of a dream which the community is now buying into as the well advanced plans are being fleshed out.

If slaps on the back, moral support and well meaning words of encouragement could be cashed in they would be opening the pitch this summer.

The reality, however is that there is a cap-in-hand element to be considered. That too is being met head on.

A team of women at the meeting had to leave soon after Patrick and Carmel finished their cúpla focal.

They were having a coaching session elsewhere in the hotel for the club’s up coming and opening fundraiser, the Castleisland Lip Sync Battle.

Wide Community Support

This will be held at the local community centre on Friday, March 31^st. and you’ll hear a lot more about it as the time approaches.

You’ll hear more because it’s drawing in the kind of wide community support which the Desmonds GAA Club’s dancing and boxing extravaganzas attracted last summer.

All the invited, top table guests: Pádraig Harnett, Secretary, Kerry Schoolboys / Schoolgirls; Seán O’Keeffe, Kerry District League and Brian O’Sullivan, Castleisland Chamber Alliance fell into supporting cast roles.

They shared the table with Georgie O’Callaghan and the afore mentioned Ms. Kelly and Mr. O’Rourke.

In Safe Hands

For a code in which hands are largely redundant, this game plan is in safe hands. The support of a community, which has never been found wanting for any project yet, will again be forthcoming and vital.

Patrick O’Rourke emphasised how the prevalent self help mentality here will attract matching funds and grants from a variety of sources and he and Ms. Kelly agreed that the summer of 2018 could well see the project up and running.

They dispensed the information at their disposal and sated the curiosity of the public so well that there was ne’er a question to be asked after.

Benefits of Sport

There were graphs on tables and on screen and indisputable arguments on the benefits of sport to the health and well-being of a community.

Stephen McCarthy did a great job with drone footage of the field as it is now. He also eased the 80 plus attendance into a realisation of what it can be with a fly-over of the Kerry District League all-weather turfed facilities at Mounthawk Park in Tralee.

Talking about flying: there are kites being aired already about what the new facility should be called – or, maybe more to the point, called after.

It’s no surprise to anyone that Georgie O’Callaghan’s name is flying far higher that any other. That’s a matter for another day. It’s enough for now that the project is off to a flying start.

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