Celts Hail their new County President

3^rd February 2012

Taken with kind permission from The Anglo Celt

By Kevin Carney

From 1967 till 2004, Cootehill Celtic stalwart John Fay served, at various times, on Cavan GAA's Fixtures Committee and also on the County Board's Breffni Park Development Committee and Games Administration Committee.

To the initiated then, it was hardly jaw-dropping news when word spread that Tom Reilly, outgoing Chairman of Cavan GAA, announced that the Campstown resident would be his nominee as Honorary President of Cavan GAA for 2012.

After all, John had been Vice-President of the Association locally for the previous seven years and, as they say in the vernacular, 'his time had come.'

In being confirmed as the latest President of Cavan GAA County Board at the most recent County Convention, the now 75 years young Fay became only the second ever Cootehill club person to occupy the position, following in the footsteps of the legendary Hughie O'Reilly.

Ironically, it was in tandem with Hughie's brother Tommy, that he cut his teeth as one of Cootehill Celtic's county board delegates in the early sixties.

John reflects on his innings with Cavan GAA hierarchy and is pleased to report that he was never anything less than energised by what was required of him over the years.

"I was surprised but delighted to be made President", he explains, "but I never got involved in the GAA to get awards or to benefit financially."

"I didn't set out 40 years ago to become President of Cavan GAA but I have to say that I enjoyed every minute of my time over in Cavan and I'd do it all again".

Despite being in the autumn of his years, John remains a mine of information, dates and facts and recalls how he was elected onto the Fixtures Committee decades ago after being proposed at a county board meeting by Paddy Newman (Ballyhaise) and seconded by Redhills clubman JJ North.

In the intervening years, he had also had stints on the Breffni Park Development Committee and, most especially, the Games Administration Committee.

All down the years, he has been an ever-present when it counts at Cootehill Celtic GAA.

He remembers way back in 1968, when Tommy Gilroy, Tommy Hughes and Jim McDonnell from the Cavan Gaels club visited Cootehill Celtic's brains trust to give them some tutoring.

"They (the Gaels) came over and advised us about setting up bingo in '68. They said that if things went badly, the club could be down 500 pounds".

"But Tom Farrell, Kevin Carney and Sean Gallagher came forward as guarantors and put up the money and we went ahead with it and luckily it took off."

For all his gra for the Celts, John admits his extended time on the GAC provided him with arguably his most enjoyable and intriguing hours on the GAA front.

"You had the likes of Johnny Joe Brady from Mullahorn who was great craic," John points out, "and around the same time, the current Primate of All-Ireland, Sean Brady was on the GAC too as was Tom Dowd of Crosserlough who was a great character as well."

"You had to listen to a lot of lies from players who were sent off. There were some rare 'ould stories as fellas would fight against their suspensions."

"You could nearly predict the excuses you were going to hear before you even got the referee's report."

"There was one well-known Mullahorn clubman who, no matter how bad the row was, would always say it was just 'a little bit of a shemozzle'."

John recalls sitting at meetings in Cavan which would last in the region of four hours but he says when you were surrounded by ace administrators like Thomas McDermott (Killeshandra), the late Patsy Barry (Bailieboro), the late Paddy O'Brien (Ramor United), Peter Brady (Kilnaleck) and Gerry Soden (Laragh United), job satisfaction was always assured and the return trip to Cootehill, sometimes in the early hours of the morning, wasn't so daunting.

Meetings were often plentiful as well as lengthy, depending on the time of the year or upcoming important match or competition.

"I remember in the run-up to the county final in Ballyconnell. I think it was in 1984. We had a meeting in Cavan nearly every night."

"There was a dispute on at the time between the two teams in the final about who they wanted to referee the match."

"The disagreement about the ref went on right up 'till the Saturday night before the final but we had to make a stand and come to a decision and that's what we did and the referee that was appointed by us went on to take charge of the final."

Inveigled into joining the GAA's administration ranks by the late Kevin Carney back in the late 'fifties, John - a brother of former Cootehill star of the 'sixties Tommy Fay - has become one of the most recognisable faces at the coalface of Gaelic Games in Cavan over the years.

He is proud to say that in all his time on county board sub-committees, politics never raised its head and he re-iterates that he enjoyed every minute of his time deliberating on matters disciplinary and constitutional in Cavan.

He pulled the plug on his trips to the county town when he reached 70, nearly six years ago.

"I always maintained that when you get to that age, it;s time to call it a day cause you'd only be in the way of younger ones coming through."

Those in Cavan GAA's inner circle though will tell you that Fay's boots are proving big ones to fill.