LEITRIM TO PUT GALWAY'S TWO-IN-A-ROW HOPES ON 'FREEZE' Says Gortletteragh's JACK COLREAVY When the hurlers of Clare claimed the Liam McCarthy Cup at Croke Park last September, the smaller GAA counties around Ireland breathed a collective sigh of relief. Under Ger Loughnane's magnificent leadership, the men from the Banner County had proven that nothing is impossible in sport, once the commitment and the support is forthcoming, regardless of a county's previous lack of prominence. Two years ago, Leitrim came close to making the same point to the country, with their success in the Connacht Football Championship. Despite their subsequent loss to Dublin in the All-Ireland Semi-Final at Croke Park, they had shown how the underdogs can come through their provincial competition and possibly go even further. The euphoria created by their success overtook the whole county and was only just matched by the Bannermen in 1995. One man who was very much wrapped up in all the excitement created by the Leitrim team at the time is Jack Colreavy. "It was an absolutely magnificent experience for everyone connected with the county and the experience that the team gained then should still stand to them this year", says the native of Gortletteragh, where Leitrim current full-back Seamus Quinn plays his club football. "Just winning the Connacht Championship was like an All-Ireland success and everyone got a great day out at Croke Park. We played well on the day but were beaten by a far superior Dublin team. "Last year's provincial defeat was quite disappointing on the tail of the success of the previous season. Despite that, however, I would still fancy Leitrim to do very well this year. They have a young team with a good mix of experienced inter-county players. They shouldn't really have lost last year and they will be much more determined this time around. I don't see why they can't progress out of Connacht this season". The first hurdle in that campaign comes on Sunday when they take on Galway in a repeat of last year's provincial final. Prior to their 1994 glory, Leitrim's footballers were fairly unaccustomed to any major success, but Jack's family are well associated with inter-county football. The father of three represented his county on a number of occasions in the early 1970's at senior level. "I wasn't a regular team member but I did play a few league games with Leitrim and also participated in a championship game against Roscommon. Packie McCarthy was just winding up his career at that stage, when Leitrim played in the lower reaches of the league." Jack's recognition by the county selectors arose from his role at centre-back on Gortletteragh's county championship winning team at the start of the seventies, the club's first big achievement in modern times. His uncle, Father Tom Colreavy, represented Leitrim in the twenties. Since then the family has kept up the tradition, with each of Jack's four brothers also having played for the county at various levels over the years. "Myself and my brothers Mick would have played on the Leitrim team at the same time. The others, Hugh and Seamus were county players at different stages, while my eldest brother Tom, played inter-county for Leitrim during the late 1950's when Stockwell and Purcell were prominent with Galway". Gortletteragh joined the senior ranks of Leitrim football in 1966 and after that the club began to develop their grounds. Jack was on the team which won the county senior championship in 1981, ten years after his first title with them. Last winter the club held a reception to honour that first title-winning team of twenty-five years ago. "It was great to see all the old faces at the special function held in our honour. All the team were present, except Noel McGarry, who has passed on. The club presented us with commemorative plagues for our achievement and everyone exchanged all the old stories". Since winning that senior county title a quarter of a century ago, Jack has worked most of the time in the capital city, and for the past twenty years has been employed by Novum, who manufacture domestic appliances. "I joined the company as a clerical officer and today I am Purchasing Manager at the Artane factory. We produce dehumidifiers, freezers and ice-cream cabinets for both Irish and international markets. Most of the 200,000 units which leave here every year are for use in retail outlets, in the display and storage of ice-cream and other frozen food products". The Irish company employs 250 people in Dublin, most of whom are semi-skilled workers, with other employees being graduates in engineering and refrigeration technology. "My job entails purchasing the whole range of raw materials for our production lines. This means a lot of travel throughout Europe and the Middle East. "We are the only manufacturers of these products in Ireland today and are among the bigger producers worldwide. Over the years the company has also set up plants around the world, including one in Libya in North Africa. "And of course, with the fabulous weather we had last summer and high hopes of a repeat this year, the demand for freezer cabinets is always high and we kept very busy". For the past ten years, Jack and his wife Mary Jo, from Carrick-on-Shannon, have lived in Ratoath in Meath with their three children, Michelle (13), Patrick (10), and Dermot (8). "Patrick has been playing with Ratoath for a couple of years. He really enjoys the football and I am involved with the training of some of the under-age teams myself. The club's under tens participate in the North Dublin league alongside the likes of Ballymun Kichams and finished up third in last year's competition. "Ratoath is a developing club with about 300 members and has recently bought a new pitch. The club now has 20 acres of ground, on which it is intended to expand the playing facilities. It is a good thing to see the GAA looking to the future, with the continuing growth of the population in areas like Ratoath. "I would really love to see the boys playing football for Meath one day, but is is good to know that they would also be eligible to play with my own native Leitrim as well". Of course, it would only be fitting that Patrick and Dermot should follow in the footsteps of Jack Colreavy and his family in joining the Leitrim football team, but for the moment the Gortletteragh man's hopes will be resting on his county side to reclaim the Connacht football Championship which they won two years ago. Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 15th June, 1996 Tweet

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