Ballivor memorial fun run to remember local club heroine

A SPECIAL charity event to raise funds for the Ballivor GFC Pitch & Clubhouse Development is being organised in memory of its assistant secretary who was the ‘heartbeat of the club.’

The Pauline Grundy Memorial 5k Fun Run/Walk takes place on September 7th in tribute to a local woman who was an integral part of the club for many years. Pauline passed away suddenly the evening before a club final for Ballivor, a club she became immersed in since moving to the area from Dublin with her family 20 years ago.

Chairman of Ballivor GFC, Diarmuid McCloskey describes how important Pauline was to Ballivor GFC,

“The walk is in recognition of Pauline’s contribution. She was a massive part of the club, she was the one who did everything and did it with a smile on her face. She moved to the area 20 years ago. She wouldn’t have had much of a background in the GAA but she got involved with the club and with coaching.

“She would have been involved in coaching with most of the current generation of players. Pauline was the heartbeat of the club, she ran the lotto more or less on her own, she did a lot of the admin, she went to every game, every ref in the country would know her. She died suddenly before a club final last October. It was a huge loss.

The club was keen to do something to honour her commitment to the club as Diarmuid explains.

 

Pauline immersed herself in the GAA club when she moved to Ballivor from Dublin with her family 20 years ago

“We were very anxious to commemorate her contribution to the club. She was a big supporter of everyone, she would have known everyone in the club. She was very community orientated and gave a huge commitment to the club with her time and energy.

The proceeds of the charity walk will towards the development of the clubhouse and facilities,

“We have opened a new astroturf and a new pitch and we have upgraded our facilities so all funds will go towards that. The club is central to the community, it’s a small village and a huge amount of young people in the area are active in the club. It will be used by the local primary school too.

Pauline’s son Martin is also involved with Ballivor GFC and is looking forward to the event in memory of his mother.

“My first training was with my mam coaching the under-10s. If she wasn’t coaching she was making tea and sandwiches for after training, she thought it built camaraderie in the club because the younger and older lads could mix. During the game she was always there taking scores, she was so involved with everything that was going on. After she died people came up to me and said, the GAA club will miss your mam, but your mam loved GAA as much as the GAA loved your mam.

 

The 5K walk takes place this Saturday 7th September 

“It’s a lovely gesture to hold the run in her memory. When she took ill on that Friday she was still in high spirits saying I hope I’m ok for the game on Sunday, that’s all she kept saying. She passed away the next day and on Sunday of the final, the lads went out and as the captain, Dylan Heavey said it was like they were playing with a 16th man.

“A lovely letter was published in the Meath Chronicle from a Scottish lady who was visiting friends in Navan and happened to attend the final. In the letter, she said she was touched by the tributes to mam from the Ballivor players and supporters and the respect shown by everyone. That gave my dad, George an awful lot of solitude reading that, it meant an awful lot and showed from an outsider’s perspective how much mam was thought of.”