*Some of Ruan’s youngest hurlers. Photograph: Rachel Lyons Photography
LIFETIME volunteer awards were presented to four stalwarts of Ruan GAA.
As the club marked the start of a fundraising drive to raise €100,000 for their 3G 60×30 astro turf and wall ball facility, Ruan GAA also took time to honour the contribution of long-standing members, John O’Sullivan, Michael O’Regan, Francie Lyons and Christy O’Connor.
Christy O’Connor is Ruan’s longest serving officer. He is the current President of the club and has given a lifetime of service as groundsman, secretary, treasurer, County Board delegate, trustee, minor club chairman and a selector on teams from underage to adult. Over fifty years ago, he was responsible for bringing Brendan Shine and all the Showbands to the Ruan Marquees during his time as treasurer.
A winner of a Clare SHC with Ruan in 1962, Frankie Lyons also won intermediate and junior honours with the club in a career which stretched over two decades. After playing, he became involved with teams as a mentor, kit man and repaired hurleys. He served as club chairman on three separate occasions and takes great pride in his role as groundsman at Páirc na nGael. His commitment extends to serving as a steward in Cusack Park throughout club and inter-county championship games.
One of Cusack Park’s most familiar voices is Michael O’Regan who is heard on the public address, such is his pride for Ruan that he famously said there was a substitution on the Ruan team when Robin Mounsey was entering the fray for Clare’s senior hurlers. Michael joined the club’s intermediate team when he moved to Ruan in the 1980s with his late wife Margaret. After injury ended his playing days, he became a selector of club teams before moving into administration where he acted as Chairman, PRO and is presently County Board delegate. The O’Regan family donated the Margaret O’Regan Cup to Clare Camogie following her untimely passing.
Since moving to Ruan from Meelin in Cork in the mid 1970s with his wife Agnes, John O’Sullivan has immersed himself in the club. He lined out at intermediate and senior level for over a decade before moving into coaching for many underage sides. He has held the roles of secretary, PRO and County Board delegate. He was the maintenance man for Páirc na nGael and remains centrally involved in capital projects and on the Club Executive. He is an IT officer with Clare GAA and was part of Davy Fitzgerald’s backroom team when Clare won the All-Ireland SHC in 2013 and National League in 2016.
President of the GAA, Jarlath Burns was the guest of honour in Ruan and he presented the quartet with lifetime volunteer awards on behalf of the club. Burns was no stranger to Páirc na nGael in Ruan and was a visitor in 2010 where his club Silverbridge were hosted during the Féile na nGael.
Indeed it was one of the recipients O’Sullivan who first pitched the idea of the Armagh man making a return visit before he was elected President of the GAA as he canvassed a Clare GAA County Board meeting seeking their support.
Officials in the club are hopeful the new facility will be opened by the end of August. Lighting connections have to be complete along with netting and some footpaths around the new astro turf.
For the €250,000 development, the club secured funding from the Sports Capital Grant and received a loan of €100,000 from Croke Park which they are now in the process of paying back.
To assist in their efforts, they are appealing to the local community to assist in a voluntary donation scheme which they said will result the creation of a multi-sports facility for the community to enjoy and offer year-round training for sports teams, community games and fitness classes, an aesthetic enhancement of the village and aiding the environment by cutting down on the need to travel long distances to access similar facilities.
Chairman of Ruan GAA, Ger Lyons explained, “a financial ask is not asked lightly of anyone but the success of this exciting new development depends on the raising of a significant portion of the funding through our community members and friends of the club who understand the importance of sport in the life of a community”. He is among the key officials in driving the latest project along with secretary Patricia O’Donnell and fellow club officers, Shane Ryan, Niall O’Connor, Vincent O’Halloran and Marie O’Connor.
Under Irish revenue rules, an approved sports body such as Ruan GAA can claim tax relief on donations greater than €250 made in relation to a project certified by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media. Their astro-turf project has been approved for this scheme and the club is deemed a tax-exempt sports body.
All photographs by Rachel Lyons Photography
