Football

Club winner Clonduff setting the standard in Irish News awards

Clonduff field 32 teams across camogie, Gaelic football, hurling and ladies' football
Clonduff field 32 teams across camogie, Gaelic football, hurling and ladies' football Clonduff field 32 teams across camogie, Gaelic football, hurling and ladies' football

AFTER reading last year’s application from Clonduff GAC, one member of the judging panel noted how the club “couldn’t do a lot more”.

The county Down outfit’s outstanding submission - which outlined it’s dedication to promoting Gaelic Games and Irish culture - was enough to earn it the Large Club of the Year title in The Irish News School, Club and Volunteer awards.

It was fully deserved recognition for all the efforts of the Hilltown-based outfit and long-serving club secretary Anita Brannigan says it meant a lot to all ‘Clonduffians’: “We were delighted to win the award last year and it meant a lot to everyone at the club.

“We worked very hard, no doubt about it, and we are proud that we do.”

Last year, Clonduff had 895 members, 390 of them aged under 18. The club is at the very epicentre of the local community and Anita says the good work is continuing.

“We’re working away and we’re still continuing to implement our underage structures,” Brannigan said.

“We still have a good community ethos and this year we have a new chairman and vice-chairman in and we have started a monthly quiz for a local charity - we ran it in March and the proceeds went to the local Lourdes committee. In April, it went to the Comhaltas club and, next month, it’s for the Gateway Club.”

On the field, Clonduff have 32 teams across Gaelic football, hurling, camogie and ladies’ football, while handball is also very popular: “I don’t think it’s any more difficult to get people involved now than it ever was,” said Brannigan.

“We are a very busy club, we have 32 teams and we get people involved to take the teams, we do handball as well and we are a big Scor club - we won two county titles in Scor Sinsear this year. We have people who are interested in those aspects as well as the games.”

Clonduff’s success has been based on its ties with its local primary school, the club’s community focus and the attention to detail in coaching and player welfare. The club put together a five-year plan in 2014 and a football review committee was established to produce a unique coaching structures model that ensured consistent coaching across all age groups.

Mentors working with the U6-16 teams underwent a practical four-week ‘coaching the coaches’ course which was recognised by the Down County Board. After completing the course each coach was presented with a club top and a copy of Clonduff’s coaching manual and there were three follow-up sessions with guest coaches. Last year, the football review committee organised two pre-season parish leagues (U14-16 and U10-12) and almost 100 boys took part over three weekends.

To enter your school, club or volunteer for this year's awards simply email clubawards@irishnews.com for an application form. So get cracking today and let us know what makes your school or club different and why? In what ways does your school or club make a difference in your community? What makes it special to you?

Let us know your story for a chance to win a coveted Irish News Club & Volunteer Award. All winners and highly commended applications will be announced at a gala lunch at the Wellington Park Hotel in Belfast next month.