Kilruane celebrate at launch of new kit

Friday night week last saw great excitement descend on the Kilruane MacDonagh’s GAA & Camogie clubhouse in Cloughjordan as the club and the community came together to celebrate the launch of the new club jersey and shorts, and their sponsorship initiative ‘Friends of MacDonagh.ie’.

Damian Lawlor, proud Kilruane MacDonaghs supporter, RTÉ broadcaster and author, was on hand to launch the jersey in the company of Ms Michelle Drysdale and family, great-granddaughter of Thomas and Muriel MacDonagh.

With a proud tradition stretching back to before the establishment of the GAA in 1884, Kilruane MacDonaghs is a club that is deeply embedded in the communities of Cloughjordan, Ardcroney and Kilruane. 2024 will herald a new dawn for Gaelic Games in the parish following the passing of motions at the GAA and Camogie AGMs last year, which will see both clubs amalgamate on January 1 2024.  There has always been a very close and harmonious relationship between the clubs, and this latest move is viewed as a natural progression. Both clubs have been working together on a very exciting development plan, to be published later this year after extensive consultations across the community, which will include very ambitious targets for the development of the club’s facilities.

TRIBUTE

Speaking on the night, GAA Club Chairman Dave Carroll paid tribute to all those who had worked so hard to make the night the success that it was, and in particular the members from both the GAA and Camogie Clubs who had come together to design the new jersey.  Dave made particular mention of Gary Kerley from the Clough Inn, who had been the club’s main sponsor over the past number of years, including the particularly tough period during the Covid crisis. “Gary was never found wanting in his support for the club and it was wonderful that he was still involved as our main sponsor when we delivered the Dan Breen back to the parish in 2022 after such a long wait,” said Dave.

The club is now moving towards a new model of sponsorship and support, with the launch on the evening of the ‘Friends of Macdonaghs.ie’ initiative. Dave explained: “Friends of MacDonaghs.ie’ is aimed at enabling supporters of the club to contribute to the ongoing success and development of our club and teams. We have devised a number of options for our ‘Friends of MacDonaghs’ including Silver, Gold, Diamond and Platinum packages; all aimed at making the initiative accessible to businesses and individuals across our community, and further afield.  One of the key features of this new initiative is that we will, as a club and as a community, be ‘backing ourselves’. Our jerseys, and all club gear, will be re-branded with the ‘Friends of Macdonaghs.ie’ logo, and with our new club motto ‘One Club, One Community’.

WALL CABINET

Also unveiled on the night was the ‘Friends of MacDonaghs’ wall cabinet at the entrance to the playing field in Cloughjordan. The cabinet will contain the details of all those ‘Friends’ supporting the initiative on specially commissioned individual sliotars within the cabinet.

Kieran Nevin, Chairman of Kilruane MacDonaghs Camogie Club, spoke about the opportunities that the amalgamation of the two clubs presents, and also spoke about the ‘MacDonaghs Means Business.ie’ initiative which is planned for launch later in the year. “MacDonaghs Means Business.ie’ is aimed at creating a business community within the club and wider community.  The network will serve as a platform for connecting business people in the area and showcase the innovative and enterprising spirit of the area.  We are hopeful that this network will also offer some employment opportunities for our young players and students as they come through the club and on into the workforce,” said Kieran.

Presentations of the new jersey were made on the night to Damian Lawlor and to Michelle Drysdale with Damian commenting: “The design of the new jersey, and in particular the Friends of MacDonaghs initiative, marks a very exciting time for the club, and I want to wish Cronan Casey and Declan Souch the very best as the newly appointed management team of our senior hurlers.”

PRIDE

Michelle Drysdale went on to speak about her family’s pride that the memory of Thomas MacDonagh lived on so strongly in the club, and was particularly delighted with the news of the amalgamation of the GAA and Camogie clubs. “To see boys and girls of all ages come together under the one club is wonderful and a credit to all those concerned,” she said. “Equal status and opportunity for all those playing our games is key to keeping children involved in sport and I can see that this is foremost in the minds of Kilruane MacDonaghs.”

Raffles were held on the night with top prizes being a number of the new club jerseys. The new jersey and shorts went on sale the following day in local sports retailer, ‘A Sportsman Dream’, and sales were reported as being very brisk, with all juvenile jerseys selling out before midday.

For those interested in becoming a ‘Friend of MacDonaghs’, you can find details on FriendsOfMacDonaghs.ie, or alternatively contact any member of the committee.