"There's no greater sight than seeing 100 plus children being put through their drills"

Those of you who know Con O'Donnell will not be surprised by the following anecdote. The Moville GAA club stalwart was enjoying his daily stroll along the shore in Greencastle when his mobile phone went.

"I love to be walking along the shore when the sea is rough," he said. "It was particularly choppy that day and the wind was really blowing when my phone went.
"They said they were from TG4 and that they'd like to do an interview with me about me being awarded the President's prize. Well, I thought they couldn't possibly mean me, and I said 'I'm afraid you have the wrong number' and hung up."

But TG4 didn't have the wrong number, and three hours later they rang again and assured the modest Con that yes, indeed, he was being recognised by the GAA for his services to culture within the organisation.
The Moville culture officer, a native of Dunlewey in the parish of Gweedore, had his big night last Friday, in a glittering ceremony in Croke Park's Hogan Suite.

"The night itself was absolutely beautiful," he said. "My own family and siblings were there, and it's an evening I will never forget.
"The award is in the form of a pin that goes on your jacket, a gold Celtic cross, and I'll wear it on special occasions.

"I'm a great hoarder, and have a load of things going back to 1959 - all kinds of stuff to do with GAA, music and other areas that interest me, so this will be the latest addition.
"My wife Eileen says it's all going into the box with me when the time comes!"

There was a huge outpouring of affection throughout the county and beyond when news of Con's award got out.
Members of the Moville club he helped start up in the late 1960s, along with Brendan Keaveney and Paddy McGroarty, have especially been bursting with pride, and rightly so.

Over 50 years, Con has made an invaluable contribution to the development of the club, both off the pitch and on. He has been at the forefront of every development, from getting the first senior men's team up and running to ensuring Irish language and culture has been at the heart of everything at Carrick Field.

"My main focus has always been on the young people within the club," he said. "It's all about the youth, and we have had some great times, in the sporting sense, but there has also been great success in the Scor, and things like getting the Joe McDonagh silver medal.

"There's no greater sight on a Saturday morning than seeing 100 plus children all being put through their drills, and a good lot of them speaking in Irish too.
"It's a joy to see 5,6,7-year olds speak to me fluently in Irish - even the postman speaks a bit of it to me now."

The President's Prize is one of the greatest accolades a GAA person can get, yet there is absolutely no danger of the honour going to Con's head. There isn't a single ounce of vanity in the man, and his sense of humour is much too finely tuned to have his head turned by all the attention.

He said: "It's great to get recognition for something you do and don't pay attention to yourself, but now it's back to business with the everyday things like the club lotto, the ceilidh dancing and the scor - just a typical week in the life of a volunteer.
"There'll be no more word about the President's award, it's just move on now to the next thing and that's the way we live our lives.

"And it's been a great life. Sure what else would I be doing? I have so many things that interest me, and so many things that give me joy, I didn't even notice my own retirement."

The Moville club composed a citation for Con that was read out at Friday's ceremony, and the following extract underlines just how loved he is by his GAA family:

"Con has made an indelible impact upon many lives through his work in the GAA. Always able to bring people with him through his sheer force of will, can-do attitude and bright burning passion, we are truly blessed to have counted him amongst us in Moville.

"His legacy is clear throughout the club today - from over 100 children training every Saturday morning; to the wealth of county players that we currently have across all age groups; and in our ongoing success at Scor.

"We can only thank Eileen, Conor, Catriona and Maria for their generosity in sharing him with us. A thousand thank yous Con – you have made a huge difference in our parish and in our hearts."