Fáilte chuig gaa.ie - suíomh oifigiúil CLG

Football

football

Westport GAA club go from strength to strength

Westport's Kevin Keane vaults a bench before the 2017 AIB Intermediate Club Football Final. 

Westport's Kevin Keane vaults a bench before the 2017 AIB Intermediate Club Football Final. 

By John Harrington

Back in 2012, Westport GAA club began the process of implementing an ambitious strategic plan.

Their stated aim was to become the most successful underage club in the county and be in a position to challenge for a county senior football title, all in the space of five years.

Six years later, it’s fair to say what once seemed like lofty goals have proven to be realistic ones.

All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Champions in 2017, they’ve been hugely impressive so far in this year’s Mayo senior football championship and will go into Saturday’s Quarter-Final against Breaffy confident of causing an upset.

Lee Keegan and Kevin Keane are their two most famous and experienced club-men, but they’re backed up by an emerging generation of very talented young footballers.

Six of them featured on the Mayo U-20 panel that reached this year’s All-Ireland Final and have come through club underage structures that are by now a reliable conveyor belt of skilful footballers.

Westport were County U-14 ‘A’ champions this year and have also won county titles at U-16 and minor in recent years to establish themselves as one of the standard-bearers of underage football in the county.

Ladies football, hurling, and camogie are all thriving in Westport too, and club chairman Charlie Lambert attributes their upsurge in fortunes to a huge collective effort.

“There's no magic formula, it's all down to hard work,” he told GAA.ie. “It's about a group of people having a vision and being willing to roll up their sleeves and get the basics right.

“We've gotten a huge contribution from volunteers and that's been the key to it all.

“Not only from coaches, but from administrators, those on grounds committees, stewards, everyone. A huge amount of work has gone in from an awful lot of people.

“Even just the boys underage section, we could have up to 60 coaches and that's just at the Bord na nÓg level.

“There would be a coaching team with a head coach over each age group. We've put a lot of work into it and we're making sure they have their coaching badges and their child protection training done.

“We'd have club guidelines in place that the coaching teams all follow. It's not ad hoc and it's not people looking after their own independent republic. Everything is done from an overall club perspective.

“And the emphasis is on the skills of the game.”

The Westport U-12 footballers that reached the final of the Comortas Peadar MacCanna tournament on Sunday.  

The Westport U-12 footballers that reached the final of the Comortas Peadar MacCanna tournament on Sunday.  

Westport’s status as one of the rising powers of Mayo club football was given an added boost this year when former county team manager James Horan agreed to take charge of the club’s senior team.

So far, the marriage of a very talented young panel with one of the canniest managers in the country has been a fruitful one.

“He was interested in being part of this new team,” said Lambert. “He's doing a coaching masters degree down in UCC so he was very interested in bringing a young team forward and seeing how they would develop and maybe challenge for a county title.

“We're very happy with the work that he's done.

“We're on top of Division Two of the League and in the quarter-final of the county championship. That's all very positive progress for us, we're moving in the right direction, and we'd be hoping that he'll stay on beyond this year.

If Westport could beat a Breaffy team that has qualified for two of the last five county finals it would really send out a message that they’re arrived on the scene as genuine contenders.

“To be honest, we'd be seen as the underdogs,” said Lambert. “Breaffy are a lot longer at senior level than we are and have been knocking on the door there at county semi-final stage and even county final stage, challenging Castlebar Mitchels.

“We make no bones about it, we're up against it. Look, listen, on any given day. We have hungry players who are willing to get out there and give it a shot.

“They don't have any baggage and they are winners. So we'd be hoping we can give a good account of ourselves.”

Former Mayo manager, James Horan, is managing the Westport footballers this year. 

Former Mayo manager, James Horan, is managing the Westport footballers this year. 

Regardless of how Saturday’s match against Breaffy goes, GAA in Westport is healthier than it’s ever been.

For a long time Gaelic Games would have arguably played third fiddle in the sports-mad town to soccer and rugby, but now Westport GAA club is very much the market-leader.

A new club-house that was built two years ago when Austin Groden was club chairman testifies to the strides they’ve made off the field as well as on it.

Such has been the growth of the club in recent years that further expansion is now required in terms of infrastructure in order to satisfy demand.

“In 2012 we would have had a membership in the whole club of 600, and now we're looking at a membership of 1,400,” said Lambert.

“We have 30-plus teams. It's not a case of having one U-12 team anymore, we now have four U-12 teams. And it's the same in all other sections of the club, such as ladies football, hurling and camogie, they've all grown.

“We're challenged for space and facilities. That's a big challenge for us now and it's something that we're starting to work on.

“We're already well underway. We've had meetings about setting up a business plan to try and move that side forward.

“I suppose we have to be careful to keep our eye on the ball in relation to the development of football and the other sports, ladies football, hurling, and camogie, keep our eye on that and ensure we don't get side-tracked.

“Look, the most important thing is that it's all down to hard work and input from volunteers and people on the ground.

“The next stage for everyone is to push on and look at maybe revamping and developing a new plan over the next five years.”