Top appointment for Joe's man
December 30, 2009Local man Gerry Kinahan made a small piece of history last June when he became the first mortgage broker from outside Dublin to be elected president of the Independent Mortgage Advisors Federation (IMAF).
A staunch GAA man who served nine years as St. Joseph's club chairman in the 1980s and 1990s, Gerry has worked in the mortgage brokerage sector for over 25 years and established his own business - Kinahan Mortgage Consultants - in 1990.
"At the time, it was the first specialist mortgage brokerage in Dundalk," he explains.
"We have seen a lot of change in those 19 years. But we are still working hard in these difficult times for our loyal customer-base."
The Independent Mortgage Advisors Federation represents over 60 brokers nationwide, including Kinahan Mortgage Consultants which has offices at 17a Clanbrassil Street, Dundalk and Main Street, Carrickmacross (opened in 2003). The Federation's members generated EUR7.1 billion in mortgages last year and accounts for more than 60 per cent of the business generated by all mortgage brokers.
All IMAF members must have a minimum of five lending agencies to offer their clients, thereby giving both choice and independent advice to their customers. IMAF members must also operate on an independent basis for life insurance and pensions. An IMAF broker must have the necessary experience, qualifications and insurance cover to offer the best advice.
On his election as IMAF president, Gerry says: "It was a great honour for me to be appointed to this position. I have been heavily involved on the IMAF committee since 1992 and when the presidency came up, I was asked to go for it and the rest, as they say, is history."
The Dromiskin man admits these are tough times for the mortgage brokerage sector.
"After a few great years, the recession is really biting hard now. There is an awful lot of uncertainty out there and people are generally holding off on buying houses. If NAMA is a success, things should pick up but there's an awful lot riding on it.
"IMAF is committed to getting the sector moving again. We're working from the bottom up and hopefully we'll be able to get ourselves out of this hole we're in at the minute."
Between his two offices, Gerry employs seven staff. A qualified financial advisor, his business prides itself on its independent advice, holding agencies with 13 different lenders, as well as being appointed with 11 different life assurance companies and even dealing with Health Insurance, Home Insurance and Commercial Insurance.
"We deal with a wide number of lenders which we have built up over the years. We were the first company in the North East to specialise in mortgage advice and mortgage lending.
"The strong and long-standing relationships we have with the various lending institutions is definitely a help in getting mortgages approved in the current climate," he says. "Our qualified and experienced staff are also a great asset in getting the best deal for our customers from these lenders."
"Whilst the mortgage business has slowed down, this has given us more time to dedicate to our Financial Services Division. We have always operated the financial services, but we have expanded our expertise in this area in the last three years. We independently advise our customers on all aspects of life assurance, serious illness cover, income protection, inheritance tax planning, funding for retirement and investments.
For anyone who wants to know more about the range of services that KMC provides, they can check out the website www.irelandmortgageonline.com
Outside of work, Gerry's great passion is the GAA. He represented St. Joseph's with distinction as a player before going on to serve as chairman from 1987 to '95. He was left corner back on the first St. Joseph's team to win the Christy Bellew Cup (JFC) in 1971, and 12 years later, he won an IFC and JFL double with the Joe's. His youngest son Philip was a member of the 2006 Senior Championship winning squad and is now a firmly established regular in the Joes defence (often wearing the Number 4 jersey that Gerry himself wore so often).
Like his father before him, Gerry became chairman of the club, during which he was one of the driving forces behind the development of St. Joseph's clubhouse. When the clubhouse was upgraded in recent years, Gerry was one of the chief fundraisers. He is also the sponsor of the club's website www.thejoesgfc.com. He is still heavily involved in the club as a committee member, as are two of his sons, Michael and Sean.
On the field, St. Joseph's won the IFC title in 1990 and reached the SFC decider in '94, only to lose to Stabannon Parnells after a replay. A year after Gerry's term as chairman ended, the Joe's finally got their hands on the coveted Joe Ward Cup when exacting revenge on Stabannon on a historic day for all in the 'Joes'.
They won their second SFC title in 2006 when former county star Stephen Melia captured his first county medal at the ripe old age of 45.
"St. Joseph's was formed in 1961 with the amalgamation of the Dromiskin Unknowns and the Darver Volunteers to provide one club to represent the whole parish," Gerry explains.
"Our first major success was winning the 1971 junior championship and many years of hard work came to fruition in 1996 when we won our first senior championship. In the two years before that, we had lost a county final to our neighbours Stabannon after a replay and a semi-final to St. Mary's, again after a replay. So we were going to make the breakthrough sooner rather than later."
After winning the JFL last year, the Joe's endured a disappointing 2009 when their IFC interests were ended at the quarter-final stage by eventual finalists Na Piarsaigh. But that disappointment was quickly forgotten about when the club's magnificent minor team upset the odds by beating the Geraldines in the championship decider at Clan na Gael Park. It wasn't the first time for the Fr Larry Murray Cup to come to the parish, with his eldest son Michael playing at right wing back on the other Joes team to achieve this success. "We were joined with St. Mochta's when we last won the minor title in 1994, so it was a fantastic achievement to win it this year without help from anyone else. The Geraldines were going for three-in-a-row and had beaten our lads all the way up from under 12. But we came out on top in the one that really mattered," Gerry enthuses.
On an ideal day for football, the Joe's set out their stall by opening up a 0-8 to 0-3 interval lead. The defending champions, who were managed by former Louth boss Eamonn McEneaney, came out with all guns blazing at the start of the second half and hit the Joe's for 2-3, turning a five-point deficit into a four-point lead in the process.
But showing tremendous character, St. Joseph's responded with points from Alan McKenna and Lorcan Doyle and a brilliant Alan Quigley goal to seal a famous 1-12 to 2-6 victory.
Gerry adds: "We have had a fantastic year at underage level, with success at U10, U13 and U16 to go along with the U18 victory. We also have a very strong U21 team. The minor win augurs well for the future of our club and the plan next year will be to blood a lot of these young fellas at adult level. Our objective for 2010 must be to get back up to senior and re-establish ourselves at that level."
Gerry is also well known for two other roles that he is charged with for the Joes. He is normally the master of ceremonies at most of the club's social events and commentator in chief at major finals, having carried out this task in both the 1996 and 2006 senior final successes and the recent minor victory. Videos of Alan Quigley's goal from the recent minor final and Ollie McDonnell's goal from the 96 senior final can both be seen on the Joes website and apart from the fact that they are both excellent goals, they should be checked out for Gerry's exuberant commentary. You might even see Gerry feature in them himself!
Breda, his wife of 35 years next year, won a camogie championship medal with the local St Margaret's club in her tender years. Breda's family background was steeped in GAA, her three brothers all played for the Joes, and the youngest - Aidan Gorham, managed the Joes to win their first senior title in 1996.
Gerry and Breda have five children, Michael, Sean, Sheena, Anthony and Philip. They were all brought up in the tradition of training on Tuesday/Thursday and dinner early on Sunday to get off to a match. As a family we followed the Louth team all over the country. Sheena played basketball and was good at cross country and the lads all played football.
Gerry's dad Jackie, currently unwell with Alzheimers, won a Junior championship with the Unknowns in 1955. "Best wishes to him and my mother Alice. "
Gerry and Breda have two grandchildren,who live in Navan. "Sadly I think they will grow up supporting the Royal - ah well," laughs Gerry.
Gerry has been going to football since he could go on the bar of a bike, or in a car with his dad - and a great Joes man Nicko McCarthy.
"The GAA, gave us all a sense of community - bound us. Long my it continue.
"The Joes club are fortunate to have so many great people on/off the field in recent years to make it such a successful club - Up the Joes." Tweet
