New chairman steeped in Royal hurling traditon

Over the past 40 years or so there have been some great days in Meath hurling.

Days such as when the Royal County won the Christy Ring Cup at Croke Park last September - and when captain Sean Geraghty raised the trophy Martin O'Halloran savoured the moment more than most.

 When Meath hurlers are playing, O'Halloran -  the newly elected chairman of the Meath Hurling Committee - will invariably be there, supporting the boys in green and gold. His county.  It's much the same for his beloved club, Rathmolyon, he tries to see them playing as often as he can.

When O'Halloran was a youngster growing up in the village, hurling was the main game. That's just the way it was. Still is - and the game's rich tradition in the area left his mark on him.  

One of his earliest - and you suspect - fondest memories from his youth was back in the mid-1970s when he closely tracked the progress of Rathmolyon.

In the eyes of the youngster they were a team of "giants in green" as they worked their way through the IHC to eventually reach the summit, defeating Donaghmore in the final. He followed them every step of the way in what was to turn out to be a significant milestone for the club - and a fascinating, life-altering, journey for him. 

"I was only eight or nine when Rathmolyon qualified for the intermediate hurling final against Donaghmore as they were known back then, that was the start of it really for me, that's when my love of hurling all started, that year, 1975, when the final was played in Trim. 

"Donaghmore had a big reputation as a team with a lot of very good hurlers. Rathmolyon were the underdogs going into that final, but there were a lot of big performances from players on the team.
"My father (Martin senior) was also part of that team. They won that day. A great victory, great times. For me it all started there." 

"I was always around Meath hurling, I'm a big fan of the game, when you are brought up virtually beside the pitch in the village, you took out the hurling stick and sliotar and went for a puck around, that's what youngsters around the village did.

"There's a wonderful tradition of playing the game in the area. Some went on to serve as officials. I have followed now in the footsteps of the great Billy Byrne, a Rathmolyon man who also became chairman of the Hurling Board.

"It's a great honour for me to follow in the path of people like him. It was a great honour to be asked, as I was the other week,  to chair the Hurling Committee by new Co Board chairman John Kavanagh."
O'Halloran, who works in marketing,  says he didn't have to think twice. It had been a post he had hoped to occupy at some stage in his career as a GAA official; a career that has, so far, seen him fill roles at both provincial and county levels. 
He had spells as PRO and vice-chairman of the Hurling Board (before it changed to the hurling committee). He was later elected as PRO of the Co Board, a position he filled for five years, before moving on to occupy the same position with the Leinster Council for three years.

In December he put himself forward as a candidate for the position of assistant-secretary at the Meath GAA Co Board convention but lost out, although he garnered a very respectable 72 votes. 
Losing out in an election is something of an occupational hazard for those who wish to serve as GAA officials - and it can be painful too.

"Nobody likes to lose, you just have to take it on the chin. I sometimes wonder about elections to be a volunteer, should that be the way? When you lose you feel disappointed, of course, but you get on with it."
Then the call came. Would he be interested in taking over as chairman of the hurling committee? 

"When John Kavanagh, who I think will be a great Co Board chairman, gave me the call I was delighted. When you get the call to serve your county I think you have to answer yes if you can." He pays tribute to those who served before him.  He has a vision of what he would like to achieve.

"Hurling is a wonderful game and it would be wonderful to see it being played in pockets of the county where it is not usually played," he said warming to the subject.

"I go to certain places across Meath and I see young lads with hurling sticks in their hands, but they wouldn't be from hurling areas. That would be a great challenge for everyone in Meath to see hurling played right across the county. 

"You hear, for instance, of north Meath hurling. You see young lads from Nobber and Castletown playing for O'Mahonys in the u-20 and u-18 competitions.

"There's people looking to promote the game in areas like north Meath and we would like to work with them and see if there is anything we can do promote the game further in those areas."
He is encouraged by what he describes as the "sustainability and growth" of hurling in other, more traditional areas.

He points to the way clubs like Kiltale and Kildalkey have continued to steadily develop, to how the game has underwent a surging revival in places like Ratoath. In Dunboyne too hurling continues to grow and he would love to see the club end their long famine without winning a SHC.

"Our neighbours Na Fianna are going great in camogie and hurling, Trim are getting stronger, a lot of young players emerging there, Kilmessan are developing pitches, there's a lot to be happy about."

He knows that in a county where Gaelic football is dominant those in the hurling fraternity can be overshadowed by the big-ball game, but he doesn't necessarily see this scenario as a negative - O’Halloran doesn’t deal in negatives.

"We are a very strong football county, but I don't see that as an obstacle to hurling, I see that as an opportunity, athletes are athletes. We have to try to get those who might consider playing hurling to see how they can fit into the GAA schedule.

"We could, for example, work closer with the CCC so that hurling championship matches don't compete with football championship matches."

O'Halloran was also delighted to see SHC games fixed for venues such as Rathmolyon and Clonard in 2019.

This, he saw, as a further spreading of the gospel. Spreading the hurling gospel is something O'Halloran has spent much of his time doing ever since that life-defining event over 40 years ago now when he saw his beloved home village team defeat Donaghmore and win the IHC. Since then life has never quite been the same.