AN HISTORIC NIGHT
The Parish hall was festooned in the Saffron and Blue on Friday night last the 28th September for one of the greatest nights in the history of John Lockes GAA club. The club are at present in the middle of a very ambitious development and the Lockes wanted to tell the world about the facilities they were going to create and make available to the community of Callan Parish. That was the theme of the presentation on Friday, being about community. Former GAA president Nicky Brennan had the honour of officially launching the ambitious project and said that the GAA was the corner stone of all the communities around the country and it is where most people migrate towards for the games and of course culture. It was very heartening to see much interest in the new project and that was reflected by the large attendance on the night. Religious, locals, GAA people and politicians alike gathered to hear and read about the new plans. One of the clubs honorary presidents and Callan man Bishop Seamus Freeman was one of the first to arrive and was accompanied by Parish Priest Fr. Willie Dalton. Parliament members John McGuiness of Fianna Fail and John Paul Phelan from Fine Gael were there as was local Fianna Fail Councillor Matt Doran who has worked so hard in the background to help with smoothing the path for John Lockes. Chairman of the County Board Chairman Paul Kinsella, the clubs own and Country board treasurer Barry Hickey, John Comerford from the county board and Chairman of Southern Board Dan Kenny.
Master of ceremonies was the one and only Barrie Henriques who introduced all the speakers to the stage. To kick the night off Barrie introduced Callan man Joe Kearney whose wonderful speaking tones are more recognisable on ‘Sunday Miscellany’ on RTE Radio 1 on Sunday mornings. Joe captivated the audience with his wonderful stories of Callan in his youth and especially around the times of All-Ireland finals. He really set the tone to a wonderful night as each speaker related their own stories and experiences. Chairman of the club John Walker welcomed all and outlined what the John Lockes were setting about and paid tribute to the clubs sponsors, Callan Co-Op, Callan Credit Union and John O’Dwyer Golf. Secretary Declan Roche outlined how the building would progress and indicated the Lotto funding the club had secured and the hopes for further funding. Treasurer Sean Hogan told of the fundraising plans and how the club lotto in conjunction with the Kilkenny County board has been so successful and has been set aside towards the development. He also mentioned the help of the Lotto as well as the county board who were very helpful in the club securing a €100,000 from Croke Park. He also acknowledged the help of Seamus Reide of Bank of Ireland Callan who worked tirelessly to secure a €250,000 term loan. John McGuiness was full of praise for the club and its officials and said that as a group of club officers they were the best he ever had the pleasure of meeting as they knew what they wanted and were focused on achieving their goals. Paul Kinsella Chairman of the county board said he was delighted to be associated with the John Lockes Project and the county board having strong links with Callan with their lease of the CBS grounds. He said he had great memories of Callan and John Locke Park as his club Saint Martin’s won their All Ireland Club semi final at the park in 1984 and went on to win the All-Ireland title. Barry Hickey got a great welcome home and the former club secretary regaled us with stories of the Lockes bringing senior club hurling back to the Fair Green and also of the work of great people on the building of John Locke Park. Men like the late Jack Lyons was such an asset to the Lockes as was John Vaughan who gave hours drawing filling in his own truck from the old cinema site where Super Valu stands today to form the banks that surrounds the park today. He said he was excited by the new project and wished the Lockes Well. Parish Priest Father Willie Dalton said the amount of money the Lockes have to raise pails into insignificants in comparison to what it cost to refurbish the parish church and he knows the community of Callan will get behind this project for the betterment of all. Bishop Seamus told stories of how they had to tog out in a ditch for games and of the ‘league of nations’ that formed Coolagh football teams. He said the people of Callan will support the project and wished the club well, quoting Cardinal John Henry Newman “To live id to change and to perfect is to have changed often”. Yes a fitting quote for the Lockes to follow. Nicky Brennan formally launched the new project and wished everyone well going forward. He said others will watch what the Lockes do and will be inspired to also do the same. Later people gathered to purchase the wonderful commemoration book the John Lockes have produced and chatted as they enjoyed some wonderful refreshments.