Ballinora GAA celebrate turning 100

SATURDAY, April 20 was a special day for Ballinora GAA club as they celebrated their 100th birthday with a series of activities in their splendid Ballymah grounds.

The warm weather brought a large crowd out with the action-packed day getting underway at 11am which was the Ballinora U15s playing a very competitive challenge match against divisional side Beara, which Ballinora won 5-16 to 5-8. Two hours later it was the centenary ceremony where the chairman of the centenary committee Pat Lane, vice-chairman of the club Michael Twohig and president of the club Michael O’Connor all spoke before the raising of the flag at 1.15pm.

There was a fantastic rendition of Boys of Ballinora by Mens Shed before a lone piper led the locals v blow ins match at 2pm in an encounter with no quarter asked or given. The locals won 1-4 to 1-3. The presentations took place at O’Shea's pub in Waterfall at 5.30pm, which was after the Kerry v Cork SFC match.

The day couldn’t have gone any better for Ballinora GAA club, who play intermediate A football and junior A hurling, a milestone in the club and those present will never forget the day. The president of Ballinora spoke emotionally and passionately to the big gathering. 

“100 years on the road means an awful lot,” says Michael O’Connor.

“Everyone uses volunteer, fair enough, but in my book, it doesn’t tell the full story. It’s not something that flirts in the wind. This wonderful stuff that’s inside us and inside in all of the people over the last 100 years and I know it will be in the people for the next 100 years. You have to ask, what is in us? In my own view, it’s something that steals its way into our feelings.

“In a way, it’s an unrecorded virtue. You can’t just say these volunteers go to meetings in the middle of November and December and the players do all the training. It’s definitely deeper than that, and the fact that Ballinora GAA have turned 100 years of age, the passing of time has done nothing to abate this novel feeling. I guarantee you, in 100 years’ time, Ballinora will continue to have the same values, which separates us from the rest.” O’Connor concluded.

The vice-chairman of the Muskerry club touched on the community effort that has made Ballinora GAA into the club it is today. A thriving one.

“I am sure if the founders of the club were here today they would be very proud of what they started 100 years ago today,” says Michael Twohig, who was standing in for chairman Mick O’Regan.

“As we look back, we can be proud of what the club has achieved. While it’s always nice to have success on the field, it’s even more important that we play our part in developing the community in which we all live. We have to remember all those great people gone before us and sadly passed. We thank them for their contributions that they made in building this great club of ours.

“It costs €80,000 to run this club and I would like to thank the people of the parish who have given contributions to support the club on an ongoing basis but also supporting the centenary celebrations. Today is a day of celebration and I hope you can reflect on what you can do to make the next 100 years even better than the last. Hope inspires courage, courage inspires action and action inspires progress.” Twohig concluded.

Ballinora’s motto is that they never lose, they either win or learn. Something that holds water. The chairman of the centenary committee sums it up perfectly.

“We have Bishopstown, Ballincollig, Éire Óg and Ballinhassig around us. We are squeezed into a very small area but the people we are, the determination we have, I think in the years ahead we will be as good if not better than those clubs in both codes.” Pat Lane concluded.