19 & 20 frank mckenna from humble beginnings 2 page

From Humble Beginnings Frank McKenna It probably really all started in the 'Halla' in the early 50’s. On the street with jumpers and schoolbags for goals, there was no organisation as such until John Mackey got his hands on a set of rules for soccer. When the “new” houses were built in Mill Street they moved to “The Plot” where Freaney’s house now lies. All went well until they broke Mickey Croke’s window and they were off again. This time to Col Butler’s field in the Minaun’s.

They next moved to the Green but were not particularly welcome there, second class citizens behind hurling. The Locke’s were on the crest of a wave having won the senior county final in ’57. The famous Ban was also in vogue and you could kiss your hurling career away if caught playing a “Garrison” game. Many good athletes suffered from this rule but in typical Callan fashion two very good soccer players were snubbed by their soccer managers one Sunday in the 70’s because they had played Gaelic with Coolagh that morning.

Despite this they entered a team in the McCalmont Cup each year from 1959 to 1961 wearing black jerseys financed by a collection from the good townsfolk of Callan. They got byes each time and on each occasion the team that beat them reached or won the final.

They called themselves Callan United but there was no club as such…no officers, no manager and no ground. They disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived. There was rampant unemployment in the country and it was a blessed family who did not have at least one family member in England or the US. Paddy Grace who organised the McCalmont sides left for the US and with him, for nearly eight years, went organised soccer in the town.

That was until a new youth club was set up in 1968 and the leaders observed that there was a basis for a good team. When they went to the Kilkenny and District League to officially, for the first time, enter an organised league they were miffed when the KDL suggested they start in the lower echelons of the Tipperary League. Maybe that was the motivation required because within five years the club had won two Division one Leagues and one McCalmont Cup, truly the halcyon period in the club’s history.

There were some other fruitful periods in the club’s history but none, to date, could compare with that team. The contrast between the early Callan sides and the current club set up could hardly be greater. The strides made of late in building up the club were recognised when they featured in a short list of eight in the 2015 FAI Club of the Year awards. Why? They are led by an ambitious management team with great plans for their home ground on the green. The money raised by this Lip Sync event tonight is earmarked for this venture.

This season, in excess of 350 boys and girls will call themselves Callan United players. They represent 25 different teams in the famous red and black hoops. They represent 13 different countries.

In the not too distant future the Green complex will be the envy of many towns.

We have indeed come a long way from the Halla.