Westmeath's loss was certainly Offaly's gain in the case of Aidan O'Halloran who, after earning a reputation as a brilliant colleges footballer with Carmelite College in Moate, went on to savour Sam Maguire Cup glory with the Faithful County in 1982. Moate has produced many outstanding footballers down the years and foremost among them was Aidan O'Halloran who was the undoubted star of Carmelite College's maiden Hogan Cup success in 1976. But despite his sterling displays for Carmelite College, Moate and Westmeath, O'Halloran fell out of favour with many Lake County supporters when he controversially transferred to arch rivals Offaly, with whom he won an All-Ireland medal in 1982. "There are fellas in Westmeath who still haven't forgiven me," smiles Aidan, who was believed to be the first footballer to transfer between the neighbouring counties. "Even though the counties were going in opposite directions at the time, it was still a very tough decision to make. After Offaly approached me, I mulled over it long and hard, and I even spoke to Paddy Collins about what I should do. Needless to say, he didn't want me to go, but he wished me well in whatever decision I made." He continues: "Having tasted success with Carmelite College, I wanted more and I suppose that's what made up my mind for me in the end. It wasn't a popular decision, but I was young and ambitious and saw it as an opportunity to further my career. I qualified to play for Offaly through birth and worked in Tullamore at the time, so it wasn't as if I hadn't any links with the county." O'Halloran's decision was vindicated when he got his hands on a coveted Celtic Cross in 1982 after Offaly's sensational All-Ireland victory over five-in-a-row chasing Kerry. But part of him wished he could have achieved a similar feat with his native county. "I would love to have had success with Westmeath, but it wasn't to be. Even though club football was strong, the county team was in the doldrums. What frustrated me was the lack of commitment from players. You had eight or 10 guys like Seamus Conroy who were extremely dedicated, but the rest weren't prepared to put in the effort. Offaly, in contrast, were fully committed and that was reflected in the success they achieved." Now happily settled with his family in Clifden where he is manager of the local Bank of Ireland branch, Aidan's football skills first came to notice during his days at Carmelite College. An outstanding midfielder and prolific scorer from both frees and open play, he played for the senior team for four years, during which the famous Moate football nursery contested three Hogan Cup finals, winning one in 1976. Under the tutelage of Fr Michael Cremin, Carmelite achieved a major breakthrough in 1975 when they defeated holders Gormanston in the Leinster semi-final before going on to beat St. Joseph's, Fairview in the provincial final. O'Halloran scored 0-16 over the course of two All-Ireland semi-final clashes with Colaiste Iognaid Ris, Cork but despite notching up a further 1-1 in the final against St. Colman's, Newry at Croke Park, couldn't save Carmelite from going down to a 2-3 to 1-7 defeat. But the Moate boys made amends the following year when they defeated traditional giants St. Jarlath's of Tuam by 1-10 to 0-11 at Roscommon to claim the first of three All-Ireland titles. Once again, O'Halloran was to the fore, scoring 0-8 in an emphatic semi-final victory over Tralee CBS and 0-6 in the final itself. Carmelite reached the All-Ireland final again in 1977, which was Aidan's final year in the school. But they were left disappointed after losing to St. Colman's, Claremorris by 1-10 to 1-11, again in Roscommon. "They were great times, even though we were beaten in two All-Ireland finals. Fr Cremin, who had been involved with the Westmeath minors when they reached the All-Ireland final in 1963, ran a very professional set-up and got the best out of every player," he recalls. "Our success captured the imagination of the local community and the people of Moate followed us everywhere. It was often said that there would be no one left in the town on match-days. With the county team going poorly at the time, they were craving any kind of football success and we were able to give them that." As well as Fr Cremin, former Moate and Westmeath star Sean Heavin was a big influence on Aidan's career. "Sean was somebody I always looked up to," he explains. "He was a class act, one of the best centre backs in the county and how he never got greater recognition is beyond me." O'Halloran played alongside Heavin and other famous Moate stars of the time such as Larry Gillivan and Eamonn Coughlan in the All-Whites' senior football championship triumphs of 1975, '76 and '78. He also won three under 21 championships and one minor championship with the South Westmeath club. Aidan first represented Westmeath at under 14 level before making his senior debut as a 17-year-old in the 1975/76 National League. He continued to line out for the Lake County until 1979 when Offaly manager Eugene McGee came knocking and persuaded him to throw in his lot with the Faithful County. O'Halloran, who played for the tricolours from 1980 to '86, remembers not having too much trouble settling in with his new team-mates. "Initially, I was nervous but I settled in quickly enough and it probably helped that I was playing well at the time. It was an exciting time in Offaly GAA with the football and hurling teams both going well. Offaly were fortunate at the time to have a group of dedicated and strong footballers who, believe it or not, were supported and admired by a lot of Westmeath people at the time." O'Halloran featured prominently on the Offaly team that won a three-in-a-row of Leinster titles between 1980 and '82. He lined out at left half forward in the 1981 All-Ireland final defeat to Kerry, which Offaly avenged in some style 12 months later when Seamus Darby's famous late goal stopped the Kingdom's five-in-a-row bid. Sadly for Aidan, he suffered a broken nose in the time between the Leinster final and All-Ireland semi-final against Galway, and failed to make it back in time for the final. "I rue that injury to this day. I resumed training in the lead-up to the final, but there was fierce competition for places and I didn't get my place back," he says. O'Halloran, who by then was playing his club football with Tullamore, was nominated for All-Star awards in 1980, '81 and '82, and travelled to Gaelic Park, New York as a replacement All-Star for Ger Power in early '81 where he played in an exhibition match against Kerry. Following their 1982 success, Offaly declined as a football force and Aidan partly attributes this to the road accident which ended star player Matt Connor's playing career in 1984. "Matt was a gifted footballer and for his career to be cut short like that, it was difficult for a lot of the players to come to terms with. Offaly football still hasn't fully recovered from that tragedy in my opinion." Work took O'Halloran to Abbeyleix, where he played with the local Ballyroan club, before he returned to Tullamore in 1990. He then had a stint in Dunmore, where he played for the famous Dunmore MacHales, before arriving in Clifden in 1999. Before he hung up his boots, Aidan won an All-Ireland Masters (Over 40s) medal with Galway in the late 1990s. During his time in Tullamore, O'Halloran began playing rugby and is currently involved with the Connemara All-Blacks as a team coach. Indeed, his youngest son, Tiernan, who is studying for his Leaving Cert in Cistercian College, Roscrea, is currently a member of the Ireland rugby schools team. Tiernan also plays football with Clifden and was a member of last year's Galway minor panel. Married to Maire, Aidan has two other children - Cian (22) and Evanne (20). Cian is studying science in NUIG, while Evanne is a psychology student at the same university. Aidan has maintained a keen interest in Westmeath football, and rejoiced in their historic Leinster championship success of 2004. "It's wonderful to see Westmeath football where it is now. They are now a top-10 team, something that was unimaginable in my time. The attitude of the players has changed completely and I was delighted to see a Leinster championship finally coming to the county. "But Westmeath isn't the only county where attitudes have changed. Every county is now putting in the same effort in training. You have to ask yourself how long can these guys continue as amateurs? There has been a lot of talk about the game turning professional, but I don't think the GAA could sustain that," he concludes. Tweet

Most Read Stories