The Forties
From 1905 till 1940, the Castlewellan club had operated in fits and starts, and in 1940, although the Meadow was as crowded as ever with potential players, there was no club and no team. A meeting was announced and was held in the Meadow after second Mass. Peter King was the moving spirit, and when it was decided to re-start the club, he became Chairman, with Tom Fitzpatrick as Secretary, Pat Savage, Treasurer - (Hall of Fame) and Teddy O’Hare as Captain. The Club had enthusiasm, but lacked experience but it was this beginning in 1940 which was the forerunner of many achievements. Gradually the more experienced men returned from other clubs, and John O’ Hare became Secretary. - (Hall of Fame). John was a legendary figure even then-an outstanding athlete, a County team regular, and almost an automatic choice as Ulster goalkeeper until he retired. John had the distinction of being the first Down man to play on an Ulster railway Cup winning team. He was not the first town man to play for Ulster however; that honour had already been achieved by his fellow townsman, Tom McCann - (Hall of Fame) who was a member of the 1943 Ulster team.
Frank Lennon a member of the successful Town championship team of 1934 and 1936 had moved to Aughlisnafin when the team broke up in 1937. Frank was one of the few town players whose loss to the town was another teams gain, as he remained with his native ‘Finn where he gave many years service. It was to be another generation before another Lennon would play for the town, when Frank’s late son Pat donned the green jersey in the late 60’s. Another member of the famous 1937 team that left the town for another club after the town break up was James Maginn (see Hall of Fame). James was a Ballymartin man born and bred and he had played for the ‘Lily Whites’ before joining the town club fter he acquired the now well known Maginn’s Bars in Castlewellan’s Main street. Like Frank, James never returned to the town team after it reformed and remained with his native Ballymartin team for the remainder of his playing career. In 1937 James won a 3rd SFC medal with Ballymartin. James is the father of Club members Gerard, Patrick and Brendan (Brendan is the present proprietor of Maginn’s Bars) all of whom played their Gaelic Football with town teams in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Under the guidance of John O’Hare the Club began to find its feet, and its players began to receive County recognition, reaching two
SFC finals in 1945 and 1946, only to fall to Clonduff and to Newry. In 1946 when Down won their first All-lreland in junior football, town players Willie McKibben, and Pat Rodgers were two of the successful squad. P. F. McCabe, who had been associated with previous teams became treasurer, a post he held for over 20 years. P.F.’s role in the Club’s development cannot be overestimated. In times when less attention was paid to club organisation, the treasurer’s "book" was made up every Monday night, and the club knew exactly where it stood- usually in the "red", but here again the overdraft was often "carried" by the treasurer. P.F. sons played for Castlewellan and Dermot was a member of the town senior team that won the League in 1964 and the SFC in 1965. His grandsons Paul, Ciarán and Cormac played senior football and hurling for the Club fom the early 1990’s into the new millenium. Ciarán has won two SFC medals with the town in the famous back to back double of 1994/95. Ciaran also was a member of the 1994 All-Ireland winning Down team.
Another Club stalwart, of the period was Tom Ward of Lower Square. The Club was Tom’s only interest. On one occasion when he had a bout of sickness, and was unable to attend the weekly meetings, the meetings were transferred to his house, at his request, until he recovered. Tom was a much-loved patriarchal figure – solid and unflappable. By contrast another famous local character Dan McCartan was a colourful official, who thrived on controversy, and was at his best when defending "the town." Dan’s barber shop in the town’s main street was the scene of many an argument, and it was he who, secured the Club’s entry into the first All-County Senior League in 1950. Another famous Castlewellan barber, John Ward, took over Dan’s shop when he retired, and he too loved nothing better than to argue about the towns fortunes and misfortunes. His shop in the Upper Square (where Yvone’s barber shop is in the year 2001 and previous to that in the premises used by ‘Town Cars’ in the town’s Main Street) was the meeting place for all the town players in the 60’s and early 70’s before the opening of the new clubrooms,. It was the scene too of many a lively argument, and many a hand of poker was played late into the night. No physios then, an hour under john’s ancient lamp and a rub cured all player injuries.
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