Mr Charleville enjoying the final feeling

For more years than he cares to remember, Martin Condon was Mr Charleville GAA.

He was even more, though. To every club and society, the company of which he was managing director, Cavanagh’s of Charleville, was the first port of call in search of sponsorship and aid. He donated generously to Newtownshandrum when they were enjoying their golden era and was the main sponsor of Kilmallock when they reached the All-Ireland club senior hurling final in 1993.

Now, however with Charleville in the All-Ireland Club JHC final on Saturday, Martin can finally smile.

“I was secretary of the club for 14 years but I certainly never saw myself as Mr Charleville,” he begins. “I came to Charleville in 1969 and got involved more or less straight away. I’m from Ballinacurra originally, a small village, but I was born in Cloyne, Christy Ring country. For me and for all the fellas like myself, who’ve been involved for so many years, this is fantastic. I’ve always said, you didn’t get involved with Charleville to get your photo in the paper anyway, that’s for sure! If you were involved with the likes of Newtown that might happen, but not in Charleville.”

Though Charleville was always a strong hurling town, last year was its first junior county title.

Condon smiled: “It used to be in Charleville that in The Four Winds pub and places like that the county title was won in December or January, before a ball was even pucked in the North Cork championship, though as it happened last year we did win the county before we played the North Cork final. But there was always too much talk here. When Churchtown beat us in Ballyhea in 2010 it was one of the lowest points in the club since I got involved. Winning the minor championship shortly after that made a big difference — I think the recovery started there, the foundation for this success. The promotion of several of those minors to the junior team also made a difference, it got people following the team again and now there’s a great buzz. John Brudair and the management team have done a great job in controlling the hype.”

They now have a much tougher job to do though, says Condon — cutting the panel. “That’s giving the selectors a major headache; you have a panel of nearly 40 in full training all through the campaign, guys who never got a game but who put other lads under pressure. But that panel has to be cut to 24 for the All-Ireland final, no easy job and I feel sorry for the selectors.”

All in all though, happy times for a man who has given so much to Charleville over four decades. “We’ve put in a lot of money, yes but it’s not about the money. We have a very strong bond with the club, we’ve always been very supportive of the GAA generally but of Charleville in particular. To us now, after all the years of trying, this means everything.”