PJ Buggy elected as President of Aodh Ruadh, Ballyshannon

PJ Buggy was elected as the President of the Aodh Ruadh GAA Club at their annual general meeting on Saturday evening in Aras Aoidh Ruadh, Ballyshannon.

The long-standing club member succeeds Owen Roe O’Neill, who sadly passed away on March 1st earlier this year. Owen Roe had been Aodh Ruadh President since 2014.

PJ Buggy’s elevation will be universally celebrated as his contribution to the Aodh Ruadh club straddles almost all of his adult life. Thanks to his coaching, communication and administrative skills the Ballyshannon club were dining at the top table for the 1980s and 1990s.

Those skills were also to the fore at county level, especially at underage where he served as administrator and coach.

Like most young males growing up in Ballyshannon, his love of all things Gaelic Games were nurtured by the De La Salle Brothers. He would win county medals at underage in hurling and football and played minor hurling and minor League football for Donegal in 1963 and minor league and championship in ‘64. 

He was a committee member of Aodh Ruadh and briefly played with St Joseph’s and won a Donegal Senior Hurling Championship medal with Erne Valley before work took him to Dublin where he joined Ballymun Kickhams, playing hurling and football for the Dublin club.

Work also saw his journey take him back to Ballyshannon in the mid-1970s via Cavan Gaels and it was at the Cavan club that his exceptional administrative skills began, taking the post of club secretary there for a time.

But once back in Ballyshannon he quickly became engrossed in Aodh Ruadh, taking the reins of the senior team and then setting up Bord na nOg to look after underage affairs, something that became a blueprint for the rest of the clubs in the county.

He managed the Aodh Ruadh senior team to back-to-back Donegal senior titles in 1986 and 1987 but that was just one of the many roles he took in hand. A mentor with the victorious Donegal minor team of 1985 managed by Jimmy White, which bridged a gap back to 1956, he was also a mentor with U-21 teams managed by Michael Oliver McIntyre and Hughie McClafferty. Simultaneously, he remained the backbone of the Aodh Ruadh underage structure and also served as Donegal Minor Board secretary.

He would return as club chairman of Aodh Ruadh in 1999 and 2000 and was inducted into the Aodh Ruadh Hall of Fame in 2008.

Amid all of his behind the scenes work he was deeply involved in the general Ballyshannon community, especially Community Games. He also had a great interest in Scór, part of a team that reached the All-Ireland final and in 2002 he coached a young team to All-Ireland Scór na nOg victory.

His family have represented the club and county at all levels with Donal winning Ulster minor championship, Ulster minor club and Ulster U-21 championship medals as well as winning Donegal senior club medals in Donegal, Cavan (Cavan Gaels) and Wexford (Kilanerin).

Never one to hide his passion for his native area, the new President retains a great interest in all sports and is proud of the club that he contributed so much to in so many different ways. His elevation as President is a fitting reward for that wide-ranging contribution which always had participation as the most important factor.

Should PJ want any advice regarding the role of President he can contact his first cousin, Danny Dowds, who is presently Joint President of the Burt GAA club.