Intermediate Football Champions for 1993 Player, selector, coach and now president, Dunmore football legend Bertie Coleman has served Galway's oldest club with distinction The Dunmore MacHales club in Galway is traditionally one of the strongest football clubs in the county, if not the country and is also the oldest. Bertie Coleman has served them for many years as a player, selector, coach and now president and last Sunday week saw his beloved team take the county intermediate title, beating Kilkerrin/Clonberne in the decider. It was a new experience for the Dunmore footballers to have to go through the intermediate championship, following their drop down from senior level last April for the first time ever. As Bertie confirms, the step down in class was a bitter pill to swallow for all the GAA supporters in the club who were around in its heyday when the Dunmore outfit was making a habit of winning senior championships. "It was a huge blow to our pride for a number of reasons. We're the oldest club in the county and celebrated our centenary in 1987 and we also have a long tradition of supplying players to the county team." Dunmore's last senior championship came ten years ago and indeed, three seems to be a lucky number for the club as they won it in 1953, '63, '73 and '83 and now in 1993 have annexed the intermediate crown. While this may not seem like a very significant feat, the club's president is unequivocal in his feelings about the victory. "It was just an intermediate final but it meant a lot to the club, I feel it was probably the most important game we've played in the last 40 or 50 years. We had to put in a big effort to get back up to senior level again. If we didn't get back up this time we could have started to drift around in the lower grades." On te way to the intermediate championship final, the MacHales, managed by Marty Reddington who had the unique distinction of winning county minor, under 21 and senior championships in the same year of 1973, had to overcome Oranmore and St. Michaels and both encounters were very tough, with Dunmore having just one point to spare against each team. In the final on Sunday week, Bertie's club led from an early stage and at one time were six or seven points to the good, but had to withstand a late rally by Kilkerrin/Clonberne. "We were the better team alright," says Bertie. Indeed, last Sunday proved to be a particularly good day for Bertie, as in addition to the football victory, he celebrated his 70th birthday and the 37th anniversary of his wedding. In the 40s and 50s the young Coleman played himself and won various honours with Dunmore teams. In 1940 he helped the minor team to victory in the county championship and six years later was a member of the successful junior side. By 1953, Dunmore hadn't won a senior county title for 41 years, a long barren spell by any standards, but it finished that autumn and Bertie was one of those on the team which ended the Dunmore famine. He also played for the Galway junior team at the time but never made the senior championship panel. However, inter county success did come in another fashion as Bertie was a selector with the great Galway team of the 1960s, which won three All-Irelands in a row. The Dunmore club had several representatives on that panel and the man who lifted the Sam Maguire in 1964, John Donnellan, was a native of the parish. "That first one in '64 was the best because it was a great breakthrough." However, it was also tinged with sadness as John Donnellan's father, Mick, died in the Hogan Stand just before half time. The tribesmen went on to retain their All-Ireland crown in 1965 and '66, so they were good times for Bertie Coleman. "It was tremendous because Galway were having a good run at the time and Dunmore were on top in the county." In 1968 Dunmore were county champions and they took the first steps along the road to setting up a club championship between representatives of different counties when they took on Ballyshanon of Donegal, in what was dubbed the 'unofficial' All-Ireland club championship. Dr. Mick Loftus, later to become president of the GAA, refereed the game in Tuam, a clash that turned out to be a classic with the footballers of Donegal, with Brian McEniff in their ranks, winning by two points. In the late 60s, delegates from Galway at GAA Congresses were raising the issue of a formal All-Ireland club championship but it was always rejected until 1970, when the Congress was held in Galway and the motion was passed by 92 votes to 75. "We felt that the club should get more of an emphasis," recalls Bertie. "We started to get it off the ground in '67 and '68 and when people saw the first unofficial club final in 1968 they knew it was the way to go and it proved to the Connacht Council that it was a good thing. It's been a huge success but the ironic thing about it is that we never got to the final!" To prove his theory about how successful the competition has been, Bertie points to the thrilling finals of 1993 which were shown on television. "This year was one of the best years. The two games were tremendous and the whole thing has turned out to be a huge success." That's only part of what the Dunmore MacHales club has contributed to GAA in their county and province over the years, as they always enjoyed a tradition of supplying footballers to the Galway team and officials to the administration boards. Brendan Nestor was corner forward on the All-Ireland winning Galway team of 1938 and was president of the Connacht Council some time after that. Jack Mahon played on many Galway sides, winning a senior medal in '56 and is currently PRO of the Galway Football Board after a successful stint as Chairman, and Fr. Paddy Mahon was Chairman of the County Board when Galway won their three in a row. Even in these not so successful times at senior level, the north Galway outfit still had players on this year's under 21 inter county panel which reached the All-Ireland under 21 semi final, Francis Keenan, David Cronin and John Dooley. "Both officially and player wise, we've been very successful and we've contributed a lot to the GAA." The full story of the club can be traced in Michael Leydon's excellent book 'Dunmore MacHales', which is highly recommended by Bertie. Bertie himself has certainly given plenty to his club. After quitting the playing scene, he wasted no time in finding a new role for himself and has been a selector with the minors, under 21s or seniors right through the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s and currently is a selector with the under 21 team. He was also secretary and treasurer of the club for 28 years before taking up the position of president, which he now holds. At inter county level, the Galway team of 1993 are nowhere near the dizzy heights of the mid 60s when they were considered by all as the team to beat. Another former player, Bosco McDermott, has taken over as manager of the senior team, after bringing the under 21 team to Connacht glory this year. Bertie Coleman believes that if anybody can lead Galway back to the Promised Land, Bosco can. "He will have a lot of work to do but he certainly has the expertise and knows what it takes to win an All-Ireland championship. If the players listen to him and play how he tells them to, Galway could be on the way back. On the day he can't go out and kick the ball over the bar for them, so it's up to the players themselves." This year in the Connacht championship, Galway were beaten by lowly Leitrim, who in turn fell to Roscommon. Mayo then overcame Roscommon in the Connacht Final before being hammered by the Munster champions Cork in that infamous semi final. So it doesn't seem to be just football in Galway that's below standard when compared to the rest of the country, the whole province of Connacht seems to be going through a lull. "Connacht football is certainly lagging behind at the moment. The scene here at the moment just doesn't appear to be too good." But Bertie believes that if it is to recover, it will be men like Bosco McDermott and Tony Regan, new manager of the Connacht team who will be behind the recovery. "Things have gone down a lot but there isn't a great deal of difference between the top and the bottom. If anybody can put a bit of heart into it, Tony Regan can." Since the days when Bertie was playing, the game has changed a lot with the emphasis being placed on different aspects of the game now. "Football has changed a lot," Bertie opines. "In the60s the idea was to get the ball out of the back line and into a scoring position. Nowadays there's too much short passing and teams are trying to emulate the Kerry and Dublin teams of the 1970s. I always say to teams that I've never seen a man who can run as fast as a ball that's been kicked." The president of the Dunmore MacHales club believes that it is the traditional catch and kick skills which should be relied on by teams and this is certainly the way which he would coach any team which he is involved in, or has been involved in during his long career working for his club. Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 8th October 1993 Tweet

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