‘Always look on the Bright Side’ ….

While we might not have set the world on fire on the football field in the overall scheme of things we can take many positives from the year.

1: It was a great year at under-age level from under-12 down. The Saturday morning sessions were superb and the buzz in Springfield was better than any stimulant.

2: The numbers involved in the top quality coaching, the involvement of parents and former players was wonderful to see.

3: The blitzes organised by the under-age committees were models of organisational excellence and reflected most positively on the club.

4: Our under-12s, under-11s and under-10s travelled far and wide to take part in blitz competitions and had their football experience enhanced.

5: Shamrocks had a brilliant Lá na gClub Day  … the mixed football match, the feast of young people’s games, the medal presentation to our past captains, the extraordinary parade behind the Mullingar Town Band and many other events made it a carnival occasion  in Springfield.

6: With a minimum of fuss, we carried out a major development of our facilities at Springfield with an intensive drainage programme of our juvenile field, lighted our walkway and secured the boundary of the pitch with the river Brosna. This was made possible as a result of the support received from the Sports Capital Fund.

7: Our Scór Figure Dancing team added another county title to the club’s Scór roll of honour, and then went on to secure the Leinster title but were again pipped in the All-Ireland title.

8: Our senior ladies football team retained their senior status first won in 2010 despite disadvantage of lining-out without some of their top players especially Karen Hegarty who was a victim of the dreaded cruciate ligament injury.

9: Our public relations system was made fit for purpose and Shamrocks had a strong presence in traditional and modern media outlets that provided a steady stream of information to our members and supporters.   

10:And then there was Grease, our major fund raising venture of the year; Jemma McNamee, Aaron Purcell, and Niamh O’Shea with the support of an amazing cast produced a superb show that incredibly sold-out for all six presentations and was a brilliant success for all concerned. The Patrons’ Night was the highlight of a week of highlights that reflected superbly on Mullingar Shamrocks as a community club in the broadest sense of the word.

None of this would have happened without the extraordinary voluntary commitment of many Shamrocks people.