From Ballivor to New York ...
November 27, 2010Despite having spent more than half his 50 years in New York, Pat Murtagh has never lost touch with his Ballivor roots or his love for the GAA.
Like many of his generation, Pat left these shores for the Big Apple in search of employment in the mid-1980s. He was actively involved with the GAA there for the best part of a decade before family and work commitments took centre stage in his life.
"When I moved over here first, I lived in Long Island and then in the Bronx," he said from his Westchester County home where he is now happily settled with his Irish American wife Margaret (nee Reilly; her parents hailed from Tullamore and Bantry) and their four children Thomas (15), Rory (13), Julie (11) and Patricia (eight).
"I left Ballivor at the end of 1984 and didn't get involved with the GAA again until about 1987 when the Meath club was set up. You had massive emigration at the time from places like Ballivor, Navan, Dunboyne, Duleek, Dunshaughlin and Ratoath, so the numbers were there to start a new club. And with Meath winning the All-Ireland that year, there was plenty of interest.
"Because Meath were junior, I was also eligible to play senior with Leitrim at the same time. The likes of Barry McCormack, Richard Fox, Denis Curtis and Martin Megan were also in the same boat."
Pat continued to play for both clubs until the birth of his first son Thomas in 1995. He lost a senior final with Leitrim in 1993, but made amends for that disappointment the following year when he helped Meath to a junior championship success.
"I'll never forget the '93 senior final between Leitrim and Donegal. That was played during a time when it was the norm for clubs to fly out the best players from Ireland for the big games. As a result, you had what were essentially two All-Star teams going head-to-head. We lost on that occasion, but I was delighted to see Leitrim winning the senior this year."
Prior to moving to New York, Pat had helped his beloved Ballivor to an intermediate championship success in 1981. Unable to start the final due to injury, he came off the bench to score a point in Ballivor's defeat of Wolfe Tones. His brother Gerry, who is a former Meath underage star, also starred for the club.
"Gerry would have been a lot better known than me in Meath football circles at the time," remembers Pat.
"He was on the same Meath minor team as Colm O'Rourke that lost to Kildare in the 1975 Leinster final, lining out at centre forward. He later helped Ballivor to a famous victory over Skryne in a county under 21 final. To beat a football superpower like Skyrne in a county final was a huge thing for Ballivor. Had Gerry not moved to Clare after that, I think he would have made it with the Meath seniors."
Pat recalls how emigration had a devastating affect on the Ballivor club in the years after their '81 intermediate triumph.
"Within the space of a few years, most of that team had emigrated," he explains.
"I remember returning home for Christmas one year and meeting up with lads who were scattered all over the world. Needless to say, Ballivor couldn't sustain such losses and their stay in the senior championship was short-lived. It was a case of history repeating itself as the club had also lost a lot of players through emigration after losing the 1973 senior championship final to Navan O'Mahony's."
A lifelong Meath supporter, Pat continues to keep a close eye on how the Royals are faring, and hopes that Seamus McEnaney's historic appointment as manager will bring closure to what has been a controversial year for the county.
"Meath has got a lot of negative publicity since the Leinster final, but hopefully things will settle down now that the new manager is in place. As someone from a part of the county that wouldn't be considered to be a football stronghold, I welcome 'Banty' McEnaney's appointment. I think players from the so-called weaker clubs will get a better crack of the whip with an 'outside' manager than they would have with a manager from within the county.
"Having said that, it hasn't been easy for any of the managers since Sean Boylan's time. He set very high standards for his successors to follow."
Despite the huge controversy that surrounded Meath's Leinster final victory, Pat believes the Royals were right not to offer Louth a replay.
"While Louth were perfectly entitled to feel aggrieved, the decision to award Joe Sheridan's goal was the referee's and had nothing to do with Meath. If a replay was ordered, it would have opened up a real can of worms for the GAA.
"The most disappointing aspect of the whole controversy for me was the fact that the final decision (on whether to offer a replay) was left up to the players. They should never have been put in that position. The county board should have taken responsibility straight away and not let it drag on for three days afterwards."
Pat joined Brooklyn-based construction management and renovation company Interior Alterations Incorporated (IAI) in 1986 and became a partner in the firm a year later. After the company's founder Robert Helenius retired in 2007, he teamed up with a new business partner Pat Whetzle.
Interior Alterations Inc has been specialising in townhouse renovations and high quality construction projects since 1975. The firm, which has extensive experience of working on landmarked buildings, emphasises teamwork with clients and architects. Each project is approached with the existing building's integrity in mind. Structural stability, mechanical upgrades and new designs are given balanced consideration through the renovation process, resulting in buildings that are both elegant and viable.
Interior Alterations Inc employs 35 staff, including project managers, site supervisors, foremen, carpenters, masons and labourers. Most of these employees have been with the company for five years or more.
In 2005, Pat formed a second company, Heights Historic Window and Doors, which compliments Interior Alterations Inc.
In conclusion, Pat says: "I would like to take this opportunity to mention some of the people I admired in Ballivor GAA. Gerry Dempsey had a huge influence on my career as a footballer and continues to do so.
"MJ McGearty was a driving force in the club until his retirement. And I had huge respect for the late Pat Martin. I was thrilled to see his son Conor become a huge success between the sticks for Meath and feature prominently in their 1996 All-Ireland success." Tweet
