GAA club founder Des is rewarded on 90th birthday

AN Edenmore resident and a founder of St Monica’s GAA Club was recently awarded a plaque at his 90th birthday celebrations, in respect of the work he has put into the club since its inception in 1964.

Des O’Neill was born in Kilmessan, County Meath, in 1926. He played hurling for the local GAA club through to his early ‘20s. He moved to Dublin in 1955, where he met his beloved late wife Teresa O’Neill. The pair moved to Rutland Street before setting up permanent home in Edenmore.

Des was in his garden one afternoon when he met his new neighbour Tom Mallow. 

“He asked me was I involved in the GAA and if I would be interested in forming a club,” Des said. “I would love it and from there on in we started.”

From there, the process of setting up a club moved quickly. The two men worked to put a committee together, which comprised Des O’Neill and seven other local men.

Des noted that when the club was first founded, the local parish was yet to be built and the club could not be named after it. The committee subsequently decided on the name Edenmore Gaels. The parish was built in 1966 and the club name was changed to follow suit, St Monica’s GAA Club.

“When we started first we had no place to play, that was the main issue,” Des said. 

In the early days, matches were played at the side of the site of the newly built church. Without a real pitch to their name, Des took on the role of lining the pitch markings. 

“For years, what my dad did, when there was any match on, he just had to have a roller to line the pitch. That was his job over the years,” said Ciaran O’Neill, Des’ son. 

Around this time, another of Des’ sons, Mark, spent time in Clontarf Orthopaedic Hospital. Throughout his regular visits, Des met Terry Monaghan, who became a key figure in the club in later years. Des and Monaghan decided that it was essential to own a pitch. The pair approached the Parish Priest, Father Foley, about using the land surrounding the church and were told that “possession was nine tenths of the law”. 

“We had goalposts up on the land that evening,” Des said. “We’ve had it ever since.” 

From there on, the hard work and commitment of the committee including key members Des, Terry Monaghan, Tony O’Reilly and Harry Kavanagh, oversaw the construction of St Monica’s GAA clubhouse. 

Des has always been at the forefront of the Edenmore community. He worked hard raising money for the parish and the children’s summer project. In 1996, Des was elected Lord Mayor of Edenmore and still holds the chain of office.

Above all, Des O’Neill is a dedicated family man and raised six children, all of whom, along with the greater community, cherish and admire his love and care for Edenmore.

REPORT: Hayley Halpin