Every club has them so we thought we’d let them get some praise for a change
They are the people that make everything tick. Without them jerseys wouldn’t be washed. There would be no nets. There would be no post-match food. Simply put – your club would not exist without the unsung heroes that every team takes for granted.
Well it’s time for these men and women of GAA clubs across the country to emerge from the shadows.
Mullagh are just days away from appearing in their first AIB GAA All Ireland Senior Club Camogie Championship final for over 20 years against Oulart The Ballagh. Key to their journey to Croke Park is a woman who has never pucked a single ball in a game for the club as they won through Galway before beat Milford in the All-Ireland semi final.
Club secretary and player Cathy Bowes tells us about Mullagh’s unsung hero – Treasurer Ann Marie Dolphin.
Ann Marie is the woman that just keeps everything going in the club. She’s on the board with me and serves as treasurer and I’d have a lot of dealings with her but so much of her work goes unseen. She is just brilliant at keeping on top of everything really. She does her actual job brilliantly but it’s all the other work that makes her so special.
She organises all the pre and post match food and anything that needs to be done for the team. She’s always there with soup or sandwiches, tea or coffees and to feed everyone when they go. Then at championship time or for challenge games she’s always organising the refreshments for everyone involved and to organise help on big days. It might seem like something small but we have so many girls travelling from all parts of the country and when you leave at maybe four or five in the afternoon it can mean so much when you see Ann Marie and she has tea or coffee or whatever ready for you.
I think people forget that not only is she so involved with the club but she does have regular job too. She’s a childminder but sometimes that’s forgotten because she gives so much to the club. Multi-tasking is definitely her strong point. I think her job lends itself to what she does for the club too. She’s a real mammy for want of a better word. She’s always there to  meet you with a word or console you when it hasn’t gone well but then she’s always one of the first people out on the pitch when you get the win, jumping and leaping around the place.
The rewards for any efforts behind the scenes in any club can be very very small. Â It’s not easy to be involved so much like she is and it’s not that we aren’t grateful but sometimes you feel that your thanks isn’t almost enough to show how much we appreciate her.
You would almost wish you could do a little more to show her how important her role is. It’s so important for players to know that someone like Ann Marie is there. The club feels secure and the club is going places. I know clubs can fall back without enough support from the top table and it can be difficult to keep things going and keep momentum but the players appreciate everything she does.
I think she’s passionate about Mullagh and she has a sense of belonging to the club and a feeling she is doing something for the community. It helps as well that her daughter Claire is involved. I think she’s trying to give something back. The club means so much to her,a nd I’m not sure what exactly what she gets out of it but it’s very positive I’m sure.
Apart from what she does for us as a team around training and matches she’s brilliant at her official role as well. Trying to make money to keep various teams going, sorting out lights and pitches and providing gear means she has loads on her plate. She’s full of new ideas to try and squeeze a few extra euro from different groups with bake sales and table quizzes and we did a ‘Let’s Dance’ night that was fantastic too. Simply without her we just wouldn’t have the money to be where we are in an All-Ireland final and competing for this title.
I don’t think the club would survive without her. She spearheads everything. She’s involved in everything. If she wasn’t there it would be so difficult to replace her. The gap would be enormous, we’re so lucky to have her.
If I was to reveal her favourite phrase it would probably be along the lines of ‘Can you check that, can you double check that, can you triple check that?‘ Anything that needs to be done and she’ll give you a long list of things that need to be done and she’s always the one to ring you about ten times a day and ask did you check that. That’s her favourite phrase I’d say.
I think she’s the prefect candidate if you were searching for an unsung hero. She never looks for praise or puts her self out there where people can applaud her. She does it and gets on with it and never looks for anything afterwards. She’s the unsung hero in that respect in that she’s so good she doesnt even realise it herself.
