Malcolm Nealon

From the Town Tattler Vol 2 Issue 4.

This month we caught up with our Club Secretary, Malcolm Nealon, a proud Townie.

Growing Up

I’ve grown up in Clonboyne and have lived there since I was six years old apart from two years living in town in my early twenties. I moved home again when my parents moved out. My mother Trudy is from Shanahoe and my father Pat was from Limerick. I have one younger sister, Nanette.

My wife is Violet Dollard from John's Square. We were married on 23 March and have been married for 26 years. We have five children: Stephanie, Eoghan, Aidan, Colm and Brian. Home is still Clonboyne.

I went to school in the CBS on the Borris Road and then Tower Hill. I played a variety of sports growing up including GAA, soccer, basketball and snooker. Most of my friends were involved in those teams too. I got my nickname "Trudy", after my mother, in second class and I still get called it.

Earliest Memories of the Club

My earliest memories of the club were going to matches with my dad. He served briefly as secretary in the 1980s and we travelled the country following both Portlaoise and Laois. Sundays were match days.

GAA was not my first love and I was fairly average at both hurling and football, but I enjoyed playing. Away trips were great craic, with five or six lads squeezed into the back seat of a car and everyone hoping for a stop at the shop on the way home.

One memory I have is Bill Phelan sending me home from U14 hurling training after I accidentally knocked out a team-mate. He came in behind me while I was striking the ball. I never saw him. I swung back and bang, lights out. I never played hurling again after that.

I drifted away from GAA for a period and other sports took over. I returned later to play some junior football in my late teens and early twenties but eventually family life, work and other interests took priority.

Influences and Sporting Life

Friends were certainly an influence because many of them were mad into GAA, but my biggest influence was my father. He loved sport and never pressured me to play, but his attitude was always that if you could play then why not play.

The players who stood out for me growing up were John Taylor and Pat Critchley in hurling, while in football Tom Prendergast, Gerry Browne and Eamonn Whelan were the men everyone looked up to. Later came players such as Niall Rigney, Tommy Fitzgerald and Cahir Healy.

Snooker became a huge part of my life. I played at a high competitive level, winning numerous titles both individually and with Portlaoise Snooker Club. I represented Laois on many occasions and won the Laois Singles Championship in 1998. During the 1980s and 1990s I won four Laois club championships and three inter-county club titles.

There were some tremendous players around the county including John Rolo Egan, Ger McNamara and Dicey Reilly. In Stapo's there were Ollie Bartley, Daithi Lalor and Paul "Ging Gong" Greene, while Portarlington were always strong with Aidan Murphy and Sonny Flanagan.

When snooker faded locally in the late 1990s and early 2000s I stepped away, but about six years ago Noel O'Sullivan persuaded me to join Ryan's Pub Pool Team. Since then I have won Laois Pool League titles, competed in ranking events and reached number one in Laois.

I also played in the Kildare Pool League with The Venice in Monasterevin and won three county titles in a row. I represented Laois at All-Ireland level before family commitments and Covid interrupted that involvement.

While snooker and pool are individual sports, the best part is being part of a team. I have been fortunate to play alongside some outstanding competitors and great friends.

My Father

The biggest influence in my sporting life was my father. He was a proud Limerick man and a sports fanatic. He played soccer, rugby, GAA and anything else that came his way.

While working in England he was invited to attend trials with Wolverhampton Wanderers, but a broken leg ended that opportunity. He always said that if he had gone he would never have met my mother, and therefore would never have had his family.

After moving to Portlaoise he became deeply involved in the club, serving as a selector with numerous teams and briefly as secretary during the early 1980s. He followed Portlaoise and Laois all over the country.

He believed John Taylor was the finest Laois hurler he had ever seen and regarded Tom Prendergast as being in a class of his own as a footballer.

He took huge pride in watching his grandsons play and we spent countless hours discussing sport. Losing him in 2021 left a huge void in my life. I miss being able to talk to him about matches, the club and how the lads are getting on.

Getting Back Involved

I was drawn back into GAA through my own sons. It started with Eoghan and then Aidan, Colm and Brian. I began helping with Eoghan's U10 team and from there my involvement just grew.

Both Eoghan and Aidan represented Laois at underage level. Eoghan is now the club's senior goalkeeper. Aidan stepped away because of work and injuries, Colm plays junior hurling and Brian has other interests.

One of my proudest memories was the 2011 Féile campaign when we reached the All-Ireland Féile final in Galway. That group of lads played twenty competitive matches that year and were a tremendous bunch to work with.

Following that I worked with Phil Duggan and the intermediate hurlers, later taking the U16s with Noel Costelloe and then the Minor B hurlers who won a championship in 2019.

Since then I have remained heavily involved with adult hurling as Hurling Secretary, selector and manager. Looking back, getting involved because of my own sons was one of the best things I ever did.

Family Life

Without a patient and supportive family I could never have devoted so much time to the club. Violet keeps everything together. She is an amazing wife and mother.

I work with the Department of Agriculture in Portlaoise while Violet works as a school traffic warden at Holy Family Schools.

Stephanie lives at home and is completing an apprenticeship in accountancy. Eoghan is a teacher in Edenderry. Aidan is an apprentice aircraft technician with Aer Lingus. Colm is studying graphics in Abbeyleix and Brian attends Portlaoise College.

Our house is always busy and we are very proud of all of them.

2021 was a difficult year. My father passed away and shortly afterwards Covid had a major impact on both sides of the family. It reminded us all not to take family and health for granted.

Club Administration

I first became involved on the administrative side through juvenile coaching. Eventually I became Juvenile Secretary in 2014 under Juvenile Chairman Michael "Crocky" O'Connor.

I later became Club Registrar and then Club Secretary in 2018 while also serving as PRO and Registrar simultaneously. Thankfully others stepped forward to share the workload and I remain Club Secretary and Pitch Coordinator.

I have been lucky to work with many outstanding club people over the years and have seen the club rejuvenated by a new generation of volunteers.

I would encourage anyone with a passion for Portlaoise GAA to get involved. New people are always needed.

The Challenges

One of the biggest challenges is balancing home life and GAA. I am fortunate to have a supportive wife but it is important to maintain that balance.

Managing fixtures in a dual club can be difficult. Membership can also be a challenge. I firmly believe everyone should support the club by paying their membership and helping where they can.

Every child who comes through our gates should be encouraged to play both hurling and football. We need to embrace what it means to be a dual club and ensure our players are properly supported in both codes.

Pitch scheduling, facilities and managing expectations are constant challenges, but the aim should always be what is best for the club.

The Future

I am proud of what has been achieved but there is still more to do. My aspiration is to see Portlaoise back at the very top in both hurling and football.

That will only happen if everyone pulls together and supports both codes equally. High-quality coaching from juvenile through to senior level is essential.

I also hope that the physical development of the club continues and that we soon see our new clubhouse and dressing room facilities become a reality.

Most importantly, I hope more people who have Portlaoise GAA's best interests at heart become involved. We are one club and together we can bring Portlaoise back to where it belongs, competing for honours at every grade in every code.