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The Buckley Financial Team of The Year Awards
03/03/2011
The Buckley Financial West Cork GAA awards banquet on Saturday night last in the Maritime Hotel in Bantry again proved to be a gala occasion as the cream of West Cork GAA, past and present, graced the event with their presence. The banquet began on a high note when Cork football captain, Graham Canty, arrived with the Sam Maguire Cup, to thunderous applause from all those present, and the announcement of the various award winners heightened the sense of excitement as the night progressed.
Special guests were the players and selectors of the Carbery senior football team of 1971 who had won the county title and, as this was the first occasion on which the team had come together since that triumph 40 years ago, it was indeed a great night of nostalgia and reminiscing. There was great expectation as to who would win the West Cork âClub of the Yearâ and the âTeam of the Yearâ awards, while the awarding of the âBuckley Financial Hall of Fameâ award to past Castlehaven and Cork footballer, Larry Tompkins, and the âBuckley Financial Distinguished Servicesâ award to long-serving Barryroe rúnaÃ, Paddy Murphy, was greeting with great enthusiasm.
Other special guests at the function included Seán Kelly M.E. P., ex-president of the GAA; Bob Ryan, vice-chairman of the Cork County Board and John Corcoran, vice-chairman of the SW Junior Board.
Following the welcome arrival of the Sam Maguire Cup, the 1971 Carbery team paraded into the banquet room to a standing ovation from all those present and it was, indeed, thrilling to see all these former great players coming together again to be honoured by the present generation of GAA people.
Paudie Palmer, C103, acted as Fear an Tà for the function and the first speaker introduced was John Corcoran, who spoke as Gaeilge and Béarla. He recalled attending the 1971 county final between Carbery and UCC as a young, if not very small, boy and he reminded the listeners of the great encounters between Carbery and a star-studded Millstreet side, games that had engendered a love of Gaelic games in many young lads of that generation. Those Carbery players had done the division proud and it was great to be able to honour them at the function.
Mr Corcoran, on behalf of the SW Board, thanked Tim Buckley of Buckley Financial for introducing the very popular âTeam of the Monthâ awards and referred to the uniqueness of the awards being given out as they were confined to West Cork clubs. They were a huge boost to the association in West Cork. In these tough recessionary times he had no doubt that the GAA would be instrumental in leading the country out of its present gloomy position.
Mr Corcoran made special reference to the two deceased members of the 1971 teams, Diarmuid Mawe of Dohenys and Tony Murphy of Carbery Rangers and he was delighted to see their families present. Describing the GAA as the cornerstone of Irish society and the binding force that kept Irish communities together, he finished by saying that while the three letters, IMF, greatly influenced this country at present, it would never match the influence that the three letters, GAA, had.
Bob Ryan, vice-chairman, Cork County Board, congratulated Buckley Financial for its initiative, especially as the various awards were aimed at clubs, which were the foundation stone of the association. He praised the work of the various clubs in West Cork whose facilities were now topclass and a credit to all their members. While there would be great pressure on the GAA because of the recession, he had no doubt that the association would again survive this testing time and grow in strength again, if we all stuck together.
Tim Buckley, Buckley Financial, addressed the large gathering, congratulating Larry Tompkins and Paddy Murphy as award winners. He also thanked the various clubs that he had visited during the year, as monthly award winners, and was always delighted with the reception he received. It was a privilege to be able to honour the team of 1971 and having spoken to many of the players, he knew the night would be full of great stories and memories.
Mr Buckley was also delighted that the gala banquet had raised over â¬10,000 for CoAction during the past few years and this year the proceeds would go to the Cope Foundation in Skibbereen who were moving to a new premises, their old premises having been flooded last winter. He also announced that his company was launching a new insurance scheme for GAA clubs, full details being circulated to all clubs soon. John Dineen, former Board officer, would be the schemeâs coordinator.
Mr Buckley went on to thank all those involved in the Buckley Financial Awards scheme, including the County Board and the SW Board, the media, including the Southern Star and C103, the five judges who had selected the various winners and the monthly club winners, Margaret Young who had provided the video show on the night, Con Tringle, the photographer who had accompanied him on his visits to the clubs, Michelle Moloney of the Maritime Hotel, the Buckley Financial staff and, especially, his wife, Mags, and Mr Seán Kelly, who had accepted the invitation to attend.
Mr Kelly gave a most interesting and varied address, concentrating totally on GAA affairs despite the present political situation. He was delighted to see the success of the Buckley award scheme as it was aimed at clubs and it was unusual to see companies promoting award schemes at club level. He praised the GAA for its ability to unite people all over Ireland and in other countries, praising the association for its response to the Mikaela Harte tragedy in recent weeks. Having praised Cork on their great Sam Maguire cup victory he stated that the big challenge facing the team in 2011 was not in winning back to back titles but in fulfilling their undoubted potential as a team, something that had been questioned in 2010.
Mr Kelly congratulated the 1971 Carbery team, saying how hard it was for a divisional side to win a county title, especially when you had such talented teams as Millstreet and UCC to cope with. He was delighted to see great players like Declan Barron involved and recalled the vital part the Bantry man played in the classic 1976 Munster final, admitting that Kerryâs winning goal that day was definitely illegal. On that vein he strongly advocated the trial use of the Hawkeye technology in modern games.
Having congratulated Fachtna Murphy, also a member of the 1971 team, on the great job he had done as Garda Commissioner, and the part the Gardaà played on and off the GAA fields, he said he was delighted to see a nephew of the late, great Eamon Young, John Young, on the team as it was the marvellous GAA writings of Eamon that had inspired him to carve out a GAA career that had taken him to the highest office in the association.
Finally, in this time of recession and emigration, he strongly advised players who went to other countries to join GAA clubs there as they supplied a great social scene and a network for all emigrants.
Miss Irene Mawe, daughter of the late Diarmuid of Doheny fame, won the special competition for a weekend at the Maritime Hotel.
The presentation of the various awards were the highlights of the banquet with the announcement of the âClub of the Yearâ and âTeam of the Yearâ creating huge interest.
Buckley Financial Hall of Fame Award
Larry Tompkins, the great Castlehaven and Cork footballer, was the recipient of the âBuckley Financial Hall of Fame Award.â Having listened to Paudie Palmer detailing his fabulous career during which he won two All-Ireland senior medals, a record six Munster medals, three All-Star awards, two county senior football medals and three Munster club medals, Mr Tompkins was called to the stage where he was interviewed by Mr Palmer. The ex-Kildare man admitted that the Hall of Fame award was very special to him as it was a West Cork award and he always regarded West Cork as the home of football in West Cork and had really enjoyed his playing career with Castlehaven.
Mr Tompkins was delighted to see the Sam Maguire Cup being brought back to its natural home in West Cork by Graham Canty and he said that just like his Cork team in the late 80âs, the present Cork team had to suffer the heartbreak of defeat before winning the title. You learn something from all these defeats, he stated, and he was thrilled for his former team-mate, Conor Counihan.
Paying tribute to the 1971 Carbery team, Mr Tompkins said it was great that the players could meet again and mingle after such a long time and he also spoke passionately of the recent Harte family tragedy which had shocked the entire country. Once again the GAA had stood by its own and come to the fore when most needed.
Buckley Financial Distinguished Services Award
Recipient of this prestigious award was the popular Mr Paddy Murphy of Barryroe, who has served his club as rúnaà for 46 years. Mr Murphy was genuinely delighted with the award because it is good to feel appreciated now and again. He served his club because of his great love for the GAA and even though there had been tough years and lean years, there had also been highlights which made it all worthwhile. He specifically mentioned the winning of the county junior football title in 2002 and the county junior hurling in 2007 as the main highlights of his 46 years in office. He could never speak highly enough of the great spirit in the club and the great supporters.
Mr Murphy was delighted to see the 1971 Carbery team being honoured and he recalled going to school with some of them. The GAA is what kept us all together, he said, and it is by far the greatest organisation in the country. Every parish now had its own fine grounds, many with floodlighting, and the backbone was the community, the people themselves. Sunday after Sunday, the GAA was the life of the country and he had no doubt that it would last forever.
Buckley Financial Club of the Year Award
Five clubs were in the running for this award and having outlined the achievements of each club, Mr Palmer called a representative of each to the stage. Representing Bantry Ladies Football Club was John McCarthy, chairman; representing Carbery Rangers GAA Club was newly appointed chairman, Kevin âBabsâ Santry; representing Diarmuid à Mathúna GAA Club was chairman, Tony OâDriscoll; representing Kilbrittain GAA Club was chairman, Tom Brennan and representing Newcestown GAA Club was chairman, Matt Kelly. The suspense was tangible as the official envelope was opened and the name of Newcestown GAA Club was greeted with a great cheer. During the past season they had won the county premier intermediate football title, the SW U.21 hurling title, the SW U.14 hurling title and had done great work on their facilities as well promoting a very strong camogie club. Their work with the local school was highlighted as was their communications with their supporters all over the globe.
Buckley Financial Team of the Year Award
With the monthly team awards being the central focus of the Buckley awards, the team of the year, picked from the monthly winners, is a highly prestigious award and always causes a great deal of discussion. It was no different this time as a number of clubs had equally strong claims for the award. The monthly award winners included Carbery Rangers, senior football, winners of the Tadhg Crowley Cup and Liam Grainger Cup; Clonakilty Community College, winners of the All-Ireland Vocational Schools senior A football title and senior B hurling title; Castlehaven U.21A footballers, winners of the SW and county titles; St. Maryâs U.21B footballers, winners of the SW title; Rosscarbery Ladies football intermediate team, winners of the county title; Kilmeen junior B footballers, winners of the SW title; Bantry Ladies junior football team, winners of the SW and county titles; Gabriel Rangers junior A football team, winners of the SW title; Kilbrittain intermediate hurling team, winners of the county title and the MÃcheál Holland cup; Newcestown premier intermediate football team, winners of the county title and Diarmuid à Mathúna junior A hurling team, winners of the SW championship and league titles.
The winner of the award was the Clonakilty Community College and the award was accepted on behalf of the school by the team captain, Rory OâSullivan, who had not only captained both the football and hurling teams, but also captained both Cork county vocational schools teams that had won the All-Ireland football and hurling titles in 2010, an amazing four All-Ireland medals in one year. Among those present from the college were Val Lynch, teacher, who has trained so many college football teams down the years, and MÃcheál OâSullivan who trained the winning team.
Carbery 1971 Football Team
The highlight of the banquet was the presentations made to the members of the outstanding Carbery senior football team of 1971, who had won the county title forty years ago, beating a star-studded UCC team in the final, a college team that included some great Kerry players such as the Lynch brothers and the late, great Moss Keane. Captain of the team was Noel Crowley of Bandon, whose late father, Seán, was a selector on the team. Players present on the night to accept their awards were Bertie Smith, Argideen Rangers; Fachtna Murphy, Ger Holland, Teddy Holland, Paddy OâFlynn, Ballinascarthy; Noel Crowley, Denis McCarthy, Brian Desmond, Jimmy Gabriel, Bandon; Declan Barron, Bantry; John Young, John Crowley, Brendan OâRourke, Seán Crowley, Johnny Carroll, Derry Carroll, Dohenys; Dermot Kehily, Newcestown; Bobbie Evans, OâDonovan Rossa.
Also present were surviving selectors Leo Meade of Ballinascarthy and Bill Harte of Carbery Rangers while deceased selectors Liam Grainger, Jack Casserley and Sgt. Jim Downing of Dohenys and Denis OâDonovan and Seán Crowley of Bandon, were represented by family members Mary Grainger, Con Downing, Jerry OâDonovan and Padraig Crowley. Players unavoidably absent were Denis Crowley, Castlehaven (represented by Niall Cahalane); Pa Harrington, Bandon (represented by Jimmy Gabriel), Kevin Kehily, Newcestown (represented by Dermot Kehily) and Donal Hunt, Bantry (represented by Declan Barron). There were standing ovations for the family representatives of the deceased players, Diarmuid Mawe, Dohenys (son David) and Tony Murphy, Carbery Rangers (son Colin).
Ger Holland, Ballinascarthy, suitably replied on behalf of the team.
Tom Lyons
Special guests were the players and selectors of the Carbery senior football team of 1971 who had won the county title and, as this was the first occasion on which the team had come together since that triumph 40 years ago, it was indeed a great night of nostalgia and reminiscing. There was great expectation as to who would win the West Cork âClub of the Yearâ and the âTeam of the Yearâ awards, while the awarding of the âBuckley Financial Hall of Fameâ award to past Castlehaven and Cork footballer, Larry Tompkins, and the âBuckley Financial Distinguished Servicesâ award to long-serving Barryroe rúnaÃ, Paddy Murphy, was greeting with great enthusiasm.
Other special guests at the function included Seán Kelly M.E. P., ex-president of the GAA; Bob Ryan, vice-chairman of the Cork County Board and John Corcoran, vice-chairman of the SW Junior Board.
Following the welcome arrival of the Sam Maguire Cup, the 1971 Carbery team paraded into the banquet room to a standing ovation from all those present and it was, indeed, thrilling to see all these former great players coming together again to be honoured by the present generation of GAA people.
Paudie Palmer, C103, acted as Fear an Tà for the function and the first speaker introduced was John Corcoran, who spoke as Gaeilge and Béarla. He recalled attending the 1971 county final between Carbery and UCC as a young, if not very small, boy and he reminded the listeners of the great encounters between Carbery and a star-studded Millstreet side, games that had engendered a love of Gaelic games in many young lads of that generation. Those Carbery players had done the division proud and it was great to be able to honour them at the function.
Mr Corcoran, on behalf of the SW Board, thanked Tim Buckley of Buckley Financial for introducing the very popular âTeam of the Monthâ awards and referred to the uniqueness of the awards being given out as they were confined to West Cork clubs. They were a huge boost to the association in West Cork. In these tough recessionary times he had no doubt that the GAA would be instrumental in leading the country out of its present gloomy position.
Mr Corcoran made special reference to the two deceased members of the 1971 teams, Diarmuid Mawe of Dohenys and Tony Murphy of Carbery Rangers and he was delighted to see their families present. Describing the GAA as the cornerstone of Irish society and the binding force that kept Irish communities together, he finished by saying that while the three letters, IMF, greatly influenced this country at present, it would never match the influence that the three letters, GAA, had.
Bob Ryan, vice-chairman, Cork County Board, congratulated Buckley Financial for its initiative, especially as the various awards were aimed at clubs, which were the foundation stone of the association. He praised the work of the various clubs in West Cork whose facilities were now topclass and a credit to all their members. While there would be great pressure on the GAA because of the recession, he had no doubt that the association would again survive this testing time and grow in strength again, if we all stuck together.
Tim Buckley, Buckley Financial, addressed the large gathering, congratulating Larry Tompkins and Paddy Murphy as award winners. He also thanked the various clubs that he had visited during the year, as monthly award winners, and was always delighted with the reception he received. It was a privilege to be able to honour the team of 1971 and having spoken to many of the players, he knew the night would be full of great stories and memories.
Mr Buckley was also delighted that the gala banquet had raised over â¬10,000 for CoAction during the past few years and this year the proceeds would go to the Cope Foundation in Skibbereen who were moving to a new premises, their old premises having been flooded last winter. He also announced that his company was launching a new insurance scheme for GAA clubs, full details being circulated to all clubs soon. John Dineen, former Board officer, would be the schemeâs coordinator.
Mr Buckley went on to thank all those involved in the Buckley Financial Awards scheme, including the County Board and the SW Board, the media, including the Southern Star and C103, the five judges who had selected the various winners and the monthly club winners, Margaret Young who had provided the video show on the night, Con Tringle, the photographer who had accompanied him on his visits to the clubs, Michelle Moloney of the Maritime Hotel, the Buckley Financial staff and, especially, his wife, Mags, and Mr Seán Kelly, who had accepted the invitation to attend.
Mr Kelly gave a most interesting and varied address, concentrating totally on GAA affairs despite the present political situation. He was delighted to see the success of the Buckley award scheme as it was aimed at clubs and it was unusual to see companies promoting award schemes at club level. He praised the GAA for its ability to unite people all over Ireland and in other countries, praising the association for its response to the Mikaela Harte tragedy in recent weeks. Having praised Cork on their great Sam Maguire cup victory he stated that the big challenge facing the team in 2011 was not in winning back to back titles but in fulfilling their undoubted potential as a team, something that had been questioned in 2010.
Mr Kelly congratulated the 1971 Carbery team, saying how hard it was for a divisional side to win a county title, especially when you had such talented teams as Millstreet and UCC to cope with. He was delighted to see great players like Declan Barron involved and recalled the vital part the Bantry man played in the classic 1976 Munster final, admitting that Kerryâs winning goal that day was definitely illegal. On that vein he strongly advocated the trial use of the Hawkeye technology in modern games.
Having congratulated Fachtna Murphy, also a member of the 1971 team, on the great job he had done as Garda Commissioner, and the part the Gardaà played on and off the GAA fields, he said he was delighted to see a nephew of the late, great Eamon Young, John Young, on the team as it was the marvellous GAA writings of Eamon that had inspired him to carve out a GAA career that had taken him to the highest office in the association.
Finally, in this time of recession and emigration, he strongly advised players who went to other countries to join GAA clubs there as they supplied a great social scene and a network for all emigrants.
Miss Irene Mawe, daughter of the late Diarmuid of Doheny fame, won the special competition for a weekend at the Maritime Hotel.
The presentation of the various awards were the highlights of the banquet with the announcement of the âClub of the Yearâ and âTeam of the Yearâ creating huge interest.
Buckley Financial Hall of Fame Award
Larry Tompkins, the great Castlehaven and Cork footballer, was the recipient of the âBuckley Financial Hall of Fame Award.â Having listened to Paudie Palmer detailing his fabulous career during which he won two All-Ireland senior medals, a record six Munster medals, three All-Star awards, two county senior football medals and three Munster club medals, Mr Tompkins was called to the stage where he was interviewed by Mr Palmer. The ex-Kildare man admitted that the Hall of Fame award was very special to him as it was a West Cork award and he always regarded West Cork as the home of football in West Cork and had really enjoyed his playing career with Castlehaven.
Mr Tompkins was delighted to see the Sam Maguire Cup being brought back to its natural home in West Cork by Graham Canty and he said that just like his Cork team in the late 80âs, the present Cork team had to suffer the heartbreak of defeat before winning the title. You learn something from all these defeats, he stated, and he was thrilled for his former team-mate, Conor Counihan.
Paying tribute to the 1971 Carbery team, Mr Tompkins said it was great that the players could meet again and mingle after such a long time and he also spoke passionately of the recent Harte family tragedy which had shocked the entire country. Once again the GAA had stood by its own and come to the fore when most needed.
Buckley Financial Distinguished Services Award
Recipient of this prestigious award was the popular Mr Paddy Murphy of Barryroe, who has served his club as rúnaà for 46 years. Mr Murphy was genuinely delighted with the award because it is good to feel appreciated now and again. He served his club because of his great love for the GAA and even though there had been tough years and lean years, there had also been highlights which made it all worthwhile. He specifically mentioned the winning of the county junior football title in 2002 and the county junior hurling in 2007 as the main highlights of his 46 years in office. He could never speak highly enough of the great spirit in the club and the great supporters.
Mr Murphy was delighted to see the 1971 Carbery team being honoured and he recalled going to school with some of them. The GAA is what kept us all together, he said, and it is by far the greatest organisation in the country. Every parish now had its own fine grounds, many with floodlighting, and the backbone was the community, the people themselves. Sunday after Sunday, the GAA was the life of the country and he had no doubt that it would last forever.
Buckley Financial Club of the Year Award
Five clubs were in the running for this award and having outlined the achievements of each club, Mr Palmer called a representative of each to the stage. Representing Bantry Ladies Football Club was John McCarthy, chairman; representing Carbery Rangers GAA Club was newly appointed chairman, Kevin âBabsâ Santry; representing Diarmuid à Mathúna GAA Club was chairman, Tony OâDriscoll; representing Kilbrittain GAA Club was chairman, Tom Brennan and representing Newcestown GAA Club was chairman, Matt Kelly. The suspense was tangible as the official envelope was opened and the name of Newcestown GAA Club was greeted with a great cheer. During the past season they had won the county premier intermediate football title, the SW U.21 hurling title, the SW U.14 hurling title and had done great work on their facilities as well promoting a very strong camogie club. Their work with the local school was highlighted as was their communications with their supporters all over the globe.
Buckley Financial Team of the Year Award
With the monthly team awards being the central focus of the Buckley awards, the team of the year, picked from the monthly winners, is a highly prestigious award and always causes a great deal of discussion. It was no different this time as a number of clubs had equally strong claims for the award. The monthly award winners included Carbery Rangers, senior football, winners of the Tadhg Crowley Cup and Liam Grainger Cup; Clonakilty Community College, winners of the All-Ireland Vocational Schools senior A football title and senior B hurling title; Castlehaven U.21A footballers, winners of the SW and county titles; St. Maryâs U.21B footballers, winners of the SW title; Rosscarbery Ladies football intermediate team, winners of the county title; Kilmeen junior B footballers, winners of the SW title; Bantry Ladies junior football team, winners of the SW and county titles; Gabriel Rangers junior A football team, winners of the SW title; Kilbrittain intermediate hurling team, winners of the county title and the MÃcheál Holland cup; Newcestown premier intermediate football team, winners of the county title and Diarmuid à Mathúna junior A hurling team, winners of the SW championship and league titles.
The winner of the award was the Clonakilty Community College and the award was accepted on behalf of the school by the team captain, Rory OâSullivan, who had not only captained both the football and hurling teams, but also captained both Cork county vocational schools teams that had won the All-Ireland football and hurling titles in 2010, an amazing four All-Ireland medals in one year. Among those present from the college were Val Lynch, teacher, who has trained so many college football teams down the years, and MÃcheál OâSullivan who trained the winning team.
Carbery 1971 Football Team
The highlight of the banquet was the presentations made to the members of the outstanding Carbery senior football team of 1971, who had won the county title forty years ago, beating a star-studded UCC team in the final, a college team that included some great Kerry players such as the Lynch brothers and the late, great Moss Keane. Captain of the team was Noel Crowley of Bandon, whose late father, Seán, was a selector on the team. Players present on the night to accept their awards were Bertie Smith, Argideen Rangers; Fachtna Murphy, Ger Holland, Teddy Holland, Paddy OâFlynn, Ballinascarthy; Noel Crowley, Denis McCarthy, Brian Desmond, Jimmy Gabriel, Bandon; Declan Barron, Bantry; John Young, John Crowley, Brendan OâRourke, Seán Crowley, Johnny Carroll, Derry Carroll, Dohenys; Dermot Kehily, Newcestown; Bobbie Evans, OâDonovan Rossa.
Also present were surviving selectors Leo Meade of Ballinascarthy and Bill Harte of Carbery Rangers while deceased selectors Liam Grainger, Jack Casserley and Sgt. Jim Downing of Dohenys and Denis OâDonovan and Seán Crowley of Bandon, were represented by family members Mary Grainger, Con Downing, Jerry OâDonovan and Padraig Crowley. Players unavoidably absent were Denis Crowley, Castlehaven (represented by Niall Cahalane); Pa Harrington, Bandon (represented by Jimmy Gabriel), Kevin Kehily, Newcestown (represented by Dermot Kehily) and Donal Hunt, Bantry (represented by Declan Barron). There were standing ovations for the family representatives of the deceased players, Diarmuid Mawe, Dohenys (son David) and Tony Murphy, Carbery Rangers (son Colin).
Ger Holland, Ballinascarthy, suitably replied on behalf of the team.
Tom Lyons
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