John Lockes Callan GAA

Whatever fears there were about the future of the John Lockes GAA club were certainly put to bed last Saturday night when nearly 100 youngsters attended the registration and presentation night at Callan parish hall. Out of that number nearly 40 youngsters registered for the under six age group which is certainly a record for the club. One of the main reasons for such large numbers was the recent canvassing of all the housing estates in the town. There are so many new families living in Callan who are not aware of the facilities available. They wouldn’t be aware of the new development about to get underway at John Locke Park. This new facility will make the John Lockes Park area a huge attraction for everyone but most importantly the young people who will be able to make use of the new Astroturf hurling training area, which will help in enhancing hurling and ball skills.
With so many youngsters and parents attending last Saturday night the hall was packed to the rafters which created a wonderful atmosphere for the presentations. From U-6 to U-14 the players were presented with playing gear and medals. On hand to perform the duties were Kilkenny Hurlers Richie Hogan, Paul Murphy and Noel Hickey, who also brought along the McCarthy cup for all to hold and have their photograph taken with the famous cup. The most successful underage team in the club last year was the U-14 hurling team who reached the 2011 U-14 ‘A’ county final. Their opponents on the day were the mighty O’Loughlin Gaels who swept the boards in every competition last year including the All-Ireland Feile na Gael competition and were just that little too strong for the young Lockes lads that day.. Not since the heady days of the 1970’s had a Lockes team reached a county final at that grade, in fact it had been 32 years since they reached an U-14 ‘A’ Final, those were the days of John Power, Bosco Bryan the Comerford and O’ Dwyer brothers, James Quigley, Declan Wall and many more. Well when the history books are been re-written names like Kerwick, Kirwin, Bergin, Byrne, Burns, Vaughan, Murphy, Power, McGrath, Roche, Lynch will be remembered as some of the lads who are the future of the club. There are many more coming down the tracks so well done to all for a wonderful night, it’s not all about winning lads, it’s about being competitive and that is one thing the young fellows of the John Lockes have in abundance.