Mick McEnroe was one of Athlone and Westmeath's top footballers in the early 1980s. Nowadays, he is managing director of Harmac Medical Products in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon and is involved with his local club in Sligo, Coolera-Strandhill. Back in the early 1980s when the Westmeath senior football team didn't enjoy anything like the profile it does today, one of the team's leading performers was Athlone's Mick McEnroe. Mick, who captained the side in 1981 and '82, is one of a select band of players to have represented the county in goal and outfield. He made his debut in goal in a National League game against Derry at Magherafelt in October 1979 before taking up an outfield position two years later. When Westmeath won Division 4 of the National League in 1983, he played mostly at right corner back, but also featured at full back and wing back. "I started off as a goalkeeper for both club and county, but when Matt Scally came on the scene I was moved out the field," he remembers. "Matt was a club colleague of mine and I was happy enough to make room for him in goal. Once I was on the team, I didn't mind where I played." Mick's involvement with the Westmeath senior squad, which spanned from 1978 to '84, coincided with a particularly lean spell for the county. The Division 4 success in 1983 apart, supporters didn't have much to cheer about. "There wasn't the same interest in it then as there is now," explains McEnroe, who was thrilled to see his nephews Dessie and Gary Dolan play key roles in the Lake County's breakthrough Leinster championship triumph of four years ago. "There was no real harmony or consistency which was a shame because we had some very good footballers at that time. In the 1981 Leinster championship, we beat Longford by six points in Pearse Park before losing narrowly to Offaly in the next round at Cusack Park. "We missed a late penalty and Offaly went on to reach the All-Ireland final which they lost to Kerry. And, of course, the same Offaly team came back the following year to deny Kerry the five-in-a-row." By contrast, Mick enjoyed much success with his club Athlone. The 47-year-old won under 14, under 16, minor, under 21 and senior championship honours in a glittering career with the Shannonsiders and was awarded the Westmeath underage player of the year award in 1978. He is the holder of two minor, three under 21 and three senior championship medals, which he won in 1979, '82 and '84. Athlone defeated Mullingar Shamrocks by 1-10 to 0-5 in the '79 final, St. Malachy's by 0-7 to 0-4 in '82 and Moate All-Whites by 2-9 to 0-7 in '84. Mick also played in the 1978 and '81 deciders which Athlone lost to Moate and St. Malachy's respectively. "We had a very talented team in those days and it was a great time to be involved with Athlone. Dessie Dolan Snr was the player/manager until his knees gave up, you had Ken and Frankie Dolan as well, Niall Lynch and Eamon Coleman, who sadly passed away last year. Athlone haven't been as successful in recent years, but the club's great tradition means they are always a threat," says Mick, whose list of honours also includes a Gaelinn medal he won in New York in 1980. Mick transferred to Coolera-Strandhill shortly after the 1984 county final win over Moate, having spent the previous three years travelling back and forth from Sligo to training and matches. "I moved to Sligo in 1981, but continued playing with Athlone for three years after that. Eventually, all the travelling began to take its toll and I decided to throw in my lot with Coolera-Strandhill. "Fr Liam Devine, who is now ironically based in Athlone, was the parish priest in Strandhill at the time and he insisted that I join them. I played with them for a few years, but the club was starved of success up until three years ago when they won the Sligo senior championship for the first time." Married to Yvonne, Mick still lives in Strandhill with his wife Yvonne and two sons Carl and Ryan, who have followed in his footsteps by lining out for Coolera-Strandhill. Mick continues to have an involvement in the club and coached the under 16 team to win a county championship a few years ago. A graduate of Athlone IT where he studied Polymer Science for four years, Mick is now head of Harmac Medical Products' Irish division in Castlerea which he helped to set up a decade ago. Harmac is the biggest employer in the Co. Roscommon town, with a staff of 180. Harmac Medical Products is a full service contract manufacturer that produces a wide range of products, laboratory devices, sub assemblies and components for the medical, automotive and aerospace fields. Its key customers include Abbott Laboratories, J&J, Bausch & Lomb, Boston Scientific, Smith Medical and Holliste. Harmac has the ability to take a product from concept through design, development and prototype all the way to full-scale production manufacturing. Core competencies include engineering product design and development, prototyping, assembly, insert and injection moulding, RF-welding, ultrasonic and heat sealing, packaging and sterilization. As a world-class manufacturer, Harmac recognises the need to meet and exceed new international quality standards. With that in mind, the company is certified to ISO9001:2000 and ISO 13485:2003 standards. Harmac is dedicated to providing its customers with world-class products and services. This means that from initial contact through product launch, Harmac's team will work with its customer to provide the outstanding quality and service it needs to get its product to market on time and on budget. Harmac's headquarters, which are based in Buffalo, New York, contain engineering and manufacturing resources to bring any product to the market. Over the years, Harmac has manufactured a wide variety of medical products, including custom blood sets, biopsy needles, infusion sets, catheters and artificial organ extracorporeal devices. Utilizing its experience in design, automation, process validation, sterilization and regulatory assurance, Harmac's managers, engineers, supervisors and manufacturing operators are all committed to doing whatever it takes to provide its customers with the best products at competitive prices. With manufacturing facilities in the US, Ireland and Mexico, the company is well positioned to meet its customers' needs quickly, efficiently and profitably. For the record, the Westmeath team that beat Louth to claim the 1982/83 NFL Division 4 title was: M Scally; M McEnroe, P McGowan, P Murray; E Tynan, M Lowry, M 'Spike' Fagan; T McCormack, C Flanagan; S Coyne, W Lowry, R Fahy; P Brady, F Tone, M Greene. Subs used: M Clarke and S Conroy. Tweet

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