IT’S impossible to imagine a better historic account of a GAA club than the flawlessly produced tome by Con Magee’s GAC, Glenravel.
Celebrating their 100th birthday [1916 to 2016] the 372 pages, entitled ‘One hundred years of Gaelic culture in an Antrim glen, are magnificent.
Some of the photography in the book is stunning – from the panoramic air shots of the club’s grounds to the story of the Club’s Parliament, known as Oliver Hall, built in 1832, illustrates Glenravel’s sense of place.
Everything happened in the Club Parliament.
The book says: “Two debates stand out [there], one in 1957 about a change of name and there three proposals (a) to keep the name St Mary’s (b) to change to Kevin Barry’s or (c) Con Magee’s.
“After four hours of debate, the Con Magee name won the day.”
The Club’s Parliament was the hub of the Glenravel community. Some years ago the building was converted into a substantial dwelling.
After acquiring a pitch they could call their own in 1975, the Antrim club has gone from strength to strength.
The commemorative hard-backed book celebrates every aspect of Gaelic life in the glen – from sports days to Scor successes to the club’s first camogs back in 1932.
It celebrates the ‘golden years’ of its footballers, 1960-70, and the burgeoning underage teams in all codes and the state-of-the-art facilities its members built with their own hands.
Every Con Magee member who contributed to this peerless body of work should take a bow because it is an absolute triumph and reminds us of all that is good about the GAA - and the value of hard copy.
