By Damien Ahern

Be a Hero, run with us to Zero!

It’s official. We can confirm that Covid – 19 has not killed the community spirit, or indeed the generous spirit of the Athea Community. Last weekend witnessed over 400 people visit our club to take part in our collective journey to Croke Park, the brainchild of Michael Reidy. We not only made one return journey to Croke Park, but we in fact made three journeys clocking over 1500km in total. The Club was a hive of activity throughout the weekend where uplifting music blasted from a speaker providing welcoming encouragement to our participants together with the cheers from the club house. The AtheatoCrokePark run was not just an important event for Athea GAA Club, but it was also an important event for the community, acting as a catalyst for people to emerge from lockdown and begin to safely and slowly return to outdoor gatherings. At the time of writing over €8,000 has been donated by generous individuals and businesses from all over the world. It is now looking likely that our track will have a permanent surface in the not-too-distant future, providing top class facilities at Páirc na nGael. However, we’re not going to stop there. Last weekend also provided us with an opportunity to discuss the development of our club with the community, and our heads are now full of innovative ideas and potential projects to further enhance our facilities. Our gofundme page will remain open over the coming days for anyone else wishing to support our cause. The link can be found on any of our social media platforms.

Athea GAA are indebted to the support of two local heroes, Johnny Mullane and Billy Collins, who have invested hugely in our Club. On Sunday we were delighted to receive a visit from these men and to show them our thanks and gratitude in a small way. We enjoyed listening to their stories about their many years of involvement in Gaelic Games and the joy it brought to their lives. Wishing Johnny and Billy many more years of good health and happiness.

Our club would like to offer our thanks to Cormac Hayes and Chris Grainger for working diligently on some drone footage and video editing to showcase our development project which attracted much attention. Thanks also to Pat Sullivan of Bewleys for providing Tea & Coffee which was greatly appreciated by all – especially those who braved the elements. A word of thanks also to our kind neighbours for putting up with our loud music and traffic throughout the weekend. Eamon and James (TUS & RSS workers) must also be thanked for having the field and facilities in top condition for us always, which were hugely complimented by all over the weekend. Finally, thanks to you, the public for trusting in us and supporting us and for joining us for a ‘laugh and a lap’.

Name our Heroes Competition

Congratulations to Daniel Hunt who has successfully named our two superheroes! Mighty Maroon and Captain Gale were the most popular names chosen following public vote. Thanks to everyone who took part in the competition and for voting in our poll. Daniel has now won himself some club gear!

Billy Collins and Johnny Mullane
having a chat after the Athea to Croke Park Run at the weekend.

Timmy Woulfe on the Athea to Croke Park Run