Mary Kelly’s Ardara life will continue in a back-up role

The decision of Mary Kelly (McHugh) to step down from the officer board of Ardara at their recent AGM severed a link that goes back to the mid 1980s.

When Mary made her decision to relinquish the secretary position, it came as a big surprise on the day of the AGM as she had only told some of her closest friends on the morning.

Known throughout the length and breadth of the county for her involvement at all levels of the GAA, Mary first became involved at club level in Ardara in 1985 and after being part of a Lord Mayor of Ardara fund-raising venture, she took over as club treasurer in 1987.

“That was my first involvement in the Lord Mayor campaign. After that the late Bosco McGill, who was buried only at the end of last year, asked me to take over from him as treasurer as he was stepping down.”

Ardara GAA Club members outside their new club rooms George Doherty, Hugh G. Gavigan, Mary Kelly, Columba Diver and Stephen McCahill

That was the start of an involvement that continues to the present day. The officer CV is impressive. Mary was treasurer from 1987 to 1992; then assistant secretary until 1998; she took on the PRO role in 1999 and continued until 2006. She was back as assistant secretary in 2007 and Oifigeach na Gaeilge in 2008. Alongside that, she was Southern Minor Board PRO for 2008 and 2009.

Mary was elected club secretary in 2010 and held that important role until the recent AGM - 13 years which included an involvement in the day to day running of the club and also being club delegate at Co. Committee.

“I made the decision as I felt I was long enough there and possibly that we needed a wee bit of change. I also felt there was an opportunity for other people to step up,” she said. “After 13 years involved on the line at matches, there will be a huge void for me personally.

“It is a big job now, I refer to it now like NowDOC. It’s eight in the morning to 12 at night with messages, emails, telephone calls. Somebody is always looking to get something done, injury claims, tickets, membership, daily correspondence, fixtures. It is a very modern position today. Everything is email, WhatsApp, high tech.

“I was one of those secretaries that was hands on. I knew what was happening at underage, at southern board and at county level and I was involved in fixtures. I felt it was all or nothing,” said Mary.

Mary McHugh pictured with the late Charlie Bennett. They were the two candidates for the Lord Mayor of Ardara fund-raising campaign in 1985 for the club.

With well over 30 years involvement, for much of the early part of her time she was one of few women on officer boards. But that has changed dramatically and she is very happy about that.

“I think Netty Gibson of Termon was the first woman chairperson but now you could have up to 70% of an officer board being women. It is a great change and clubs now depend on women to do a lot of things. I have always been a big advocate for it. I have nothing against men or that, but women do add a lot to a club as they are good workers and great at selling tickets,” said Mary, who added that it is becoming a requirement now to have gender balance in order to get grants.

Mary Kelly was also heavily involved when Ladies football was first organised in the county in 1992. She was the first secretary with Aidan Doherty as chairman.

“I remember going to the Convention in Bundoran trying to get a platform for Ladies football and I know some of them thought I had horns on me. I think I was the only woman at the Convention apart from the county secretary, Noreen Doherty.
“There were only small pockets of ladies football at the time. Ardara were playing Glen; Jackie Furey in St Naul’s and Grace Meade in Ballyshannon.

“I was talking to Noreen and Aidan Doherty recently on the 30th anniversary and Aidan was saying: ‘Hasn’t it come a long way since’.”

While Mary Kelly is no longer secretary of Ardara GAA club, she will not be severing the link with the club and there is no chance of a lucrative transfer to St Naul’s, the club of her husband Sean.

“I will be at all the games and I'll help out in the shop. It is going to be a void because I gave the job more than it required. I was more or less involved in everything in the club, all the development, purchase of land and building a new field.

"I was involved in new clubhouse, toilets, hosting Comortas Peile na Gaeltachta in 2015."You have to be involved hands on, especially today. I had good support from everyone, from Seán (husband), living in the Four Masters area and always travelling to games. I never had a home game as such. There is a lot to be organised on match days.

"We are lucky now to have Frank McGhee there. Before that I would always be there hours before the game to make sure that everything is in place. Then liaising during the week to arrange matches. That takes up a lot of time because nothing is ever straightforward.

"The secretary's job is very big. I was lucky that I took over from John Martin Byrne in 2010; we have been very lucky to have great administrators down the years. I could have gone after 2015 after the All-Ireland Gaeltacht, but there was no one there.”

Mary says she will not be turning her back on the club and will be available to new secretary Mairead Mulreany to give any advice that is needed. She has plenty of memories, especially from the early years, watching some of the club’s best footballers.

“I remember the likes of Damien Diver as an U-10 and he is now long retired. Brendan Boyle the same. I remember Edward Molloy when he was club secretary doing his notes in Diver’s after Mass on Sunday morning. And then he would be in the coin box across the street making his phone calls. No one else could get near the coin box at that time,” she says.

But for Mary personally, the biggest change is the involvement of women in her own club and in every club in the county.
Stepping away from the officer board is a big decision but she says she has “done it for the sake of the club.”
And it won’t be a huge surprise if we see Mary back in an officer role again in the Ardara GAA club.