Donnelly, Tom
May 05, 1995
FORMER FERMANAGH AND
BROOKEBOROUGH STALWART
TOM DONNELLY
CONFIDENT THE ERINSIDE COUNTY CAN REWRITE THE HISTORY BOOKS
In Ulster the stigma of being the only county in the province never to have won a Senior provincial crown rests cumbersomely on the broad shoulders of the good Gaels of County Fermanagh. Talk of the Anglo-Celt Cup is far from a taboo subject in Fermanagh however; all associated with the game in the lakeside county are content to bide their time and play a waiting game, happy in the inevitability but one day Fermanagh will rewrite the history books. They may be a long way off the pace at the moment, but persistence and hard graft can alter this dramatically. And what better way to get the ball rolling than with creditable performance against Tyrone in the forthcoming Ulster Championship quarter-final clash!
Former Fermanagh and Brookeborough stalwart Tom Donnelly appreciates only too well the enormity of the task at hand when Terry Ferguson's men enter the Irvinestown cauldron for battle on June 4th next. "It won't be an easy game, but I'm looking forward to it. Fermanagh are going to have to play very well to stay with them though," he notes.
Brookeborough man Tom Donnelly's playing days began with the local Heber McMahons club at Under 14 level, circa 1963. Something of a late developer to the ways of gaelic football, Tom ascended through the club's various age groups before breaking into the adult team. "I missed out on a lot at underage level," he recalls. "Fermanagh won the All-Ireland Vocational title in 1966 but I didn't make that team. I also failed to make the Fermanagh Minor team who reached the final of the Minor Ulster Championship in 1967 and were beaten by Tyrone, and the Ulster 21 teams who were beaten All-Ireland finalists in 1970 and 1971, but went on to represent the county both at Junior and Senior levels."
A strapping midfielder with his club, Tom Donnelly lined out mostly in the half forward line when donning the county colours. 1972 was the year in which Tom broke onto the Fermanagh Junior team. "We beat Donegal in our first outing but were then defeated by Monaghan in the Ulster semi-final," recalls the Managing Director of the thriving Northern Ireland business that is Farm Health Products - sponsor of the Division Two and Division Three Leagues in Fermanagh this year.
Fresh from his exploits with the county Juniors, Tom Donnelly broke onto the Fermanagh Senior panel that very same year. He stayed on the panel until the end of 1974, enjoying his fair share of League, Championship and Dr McKenna Cup fare. "I remember we were beaten by Derry in the League quarter-final in 1973 and we then lost to Tyrone in the Ulster semi-final. That was the year Tyrone won the Ulster title only to be hammered by eventual champions Cork in the semi-final."
Tom Donnelly gave a lifetime of service to the Heber McMahons club in Brookeborough, which was formed in 1955. "My father was one of the founding members and served as Treasurer for almost 20 years. I played my first adult game for the club in 1967 and represented them faithfully for the next twenty years," Arguably the club's greatest achievement during Tom's stint in the Senior ranks was in reaching the Fermanagh Senior Football Championship decider of 1971. Ironically, this feat was also to coincide with the Brookeborough man's greatest disappointment. Teemore - with former GAA President Peter Quinn in goal - provided the opposition in the final and, as it turned out, were too strong on the day for the men from Brookeborough. "Losing that final has to rate as one of the biggest disappointments of my career," a rather rueful Donnelly recalls.
Tom Donnelly managed the Heber McMahons club for a total of about ten years on and off, his most recent stint as manager being 1991-94. Altogether he helped the club to four Intermediate Championships - as a player in 1981 and '82, as player/manager on three occasions, 1980, 1982 and 1983 and as team manager in '93. "I suppose to win three Intermediate Championships in four years, two back to back, 1982 and '83 was quite unique. This was made possible because in Fermanagh winning a Championship doesn't necessarily guarantee promotion. Which Championship a team plays in is determined by their performance in the League," Tom explains.
A former Chairman and Secretary, Tom Donnelly has also sat on various club committees. His son Kieran captained Fermanagh's Minors in 1994 - his third year as a county Minor! Kieran was also captain of the St Michaels, Enniskillen side which lost out to St Colman's of Newry in the McRory Cup semi-final. Kieran has obviously inherited his father's love for the national game.
During the course of his own playing career Tom Donnelly rubbed shoulders with some five players, a couple of whom stand out from the rest: "The most consistent player I played against on a regular basis was Peter McGinnity who used to play at midfield for Roslea. Another great player from the Fermanagh team of '73 was Kieran Campbell from Tempo who was one of the best players I ever played against. But I have many fond memories of tussles with less well known, but good club players. Some who spring to mind are Ermhill Gillheany (Derrylin), Benny Fitzpatrick (Teemore), Seamus McCusker (Tempo), Jim Allen (Newtownbutler) and Brian Monaghan (Ederney)."
Tom Donnellly set up Farm Health Products from his home in Brookeborough in 1972 to distribute animal health products, mineral mixtures, farm sundries etc directly to the farmer. The company started off doing van sales but now boasts two shops in Enniskillen and two more in Omagh. Tom explains the progression from the days of van sales. "I got married in '75 and went to live in Omagh. I set up a small shop there in 1978. I then bought a property in Enniskillen in '81 and moved to live there. The business has grown substantially and there are now two Farm Health Products outlet in each of Enniskillen and Omagh."
Farm Heath Products is servicing a very strong agriculture tradition which exists not just in Tyrone and Fermanagh, but throughout Northern Ireland. The business also attracts a sizeable volume of cross-border business and has built up a great reputation for providing veterinary equipment to farmers from all over the west of Ireland - Mayo, Leitrim, Donegal, Cavan, Sligo, Roscommon etc. "I am assisted in running the business by my wife, Anna and three full times sale staff, Anna (nee Connolly), who played camogie with distinction for her local club Roslea and Fermanagh. During the 1970s she won several County League and Championship medals when Roslea dominated camogie in the county; Pat Shields, who is from Clogher, manages the Omagh branches and is closely involved with his local club, with whom he won a Junior Championship medal in 1978, but also played under his present boss with Brookeborough club in the early eighties and won two Intermediate Championship medals in '82 and '83, when he resided in the Cooneen area after his marriage to local girl Ann Treanor. However his spell in Erne County failed to dilute his support for the Red Hand of Tyrone and there is no doubt what side he will be on come the 4th June," Tom added.
In 1993 and '94 Tom Donnelly and Farm Health products sponsored the Fermanagh Minors - purchasing a set of jerseys for the players and also making a contribution towards their expenses. "They got past the first round both years," Tom points out. "In '93 they beat Armagh in the first round but then lost to Tyrone who went on to win the Ulster Championship."
Currently Farm Health Products is sponsor of the Fermanagh League Division Two and Division Three. "The Fermanagh County Board set up a special committee this year to secure sponsorship for them. They approached different companies, including myself, and have a complete package of sponsorship this year."
A sign that they are really starting to get their act together at organisational level in the Ernside County? You better believe it! And the performance of Fermanagh's Under 21s in annexing the Ulster Championship last year perhaps an indication that the fortunes of the Senior county team are about to take a turn for the better. And with former Meath star Terry Ferguson at the helm, who knows?
"The Under 21s were very good last year and perhaps lost their nerve in the All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo. For this year's game against Donegal they were missing Raymond Gallagher who was a very big loss. The county team could be very good in a few years time when the bulk of those players came through. Hopefully they'll be ready to take an Ulster title within the next couple of years. There is a lot of great coaching work going on here but we have a very small population to draw from. The population of players would be much smaller than in counties like Tyrone," Tom observes.
So how will Fermanagh do when they clash with Tyrone at Irvinestown early next month? "It'll be a very difficult game for them. Eugene McKenna and Art McRory are two exceptionally good managers and they have a great pool of players at their disposal. To have any chance, Fermanagh will have to be right on top of their game."
A former GAA referee at various levels in and around his native county, Tom Donnelly is tipping Derry to win the All-Ireland this year. "I certainly think Derry are the most likely team in Ulster this year. They look very good - but you can't overrule Down. Of all the Ulster teams I think Derry have the best chance of winning the All-Ireland. It would be a great achievement which seems to be on the cards too!
Taken from Hogan Stand magazine
5th May, 1995
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