Bective's resurgence delights Moran
November 27, 2011Even though he has been domiciled in London for the past 12 years, Noel is well up to speed with what's going on in his beloved Bective. "Thanks to my nephew, John Arran, who sends me texts during the games to keep me informed," he commented.
Left-corner back on the Bective team which shocked Skryne to win the 1997 Meath JFC on a 0-11 to 0-9 scoreline, Noel is managing director of Prepaid Financial Services which has gone from strength to strength since he set it up in London city centre in 2008. The company now employs 27 staff, including five Irish employees, and has just completed its second year as main sponsor to Bective GFC.
"I got a lot of enjoyment from playing for Bective over the years and this is my way of giving something back," he explains. "We won the junior championship in 1997 when we beat a much-fancied Skryne team in the final and we also won a Division 3 championship medal in '89 when we beat Kilmainham. I had the pleasure of captaining the team when we reached the intermediate semi-finals in '98, when we lost to Syddan. Syddan then went on to win the final. "It's great to see Bective coming back strong again after being out of the picture for a few years. They won the Division 4 league title this year and lost only one game all year, which is amazing. They're definitely a team to look out for in the next few years."
Noel's family has been involved with Bective since shortly after the club was formed in the 1960s. His father John continues to be a mainstay of the small club, situated on the outskirts of Navan, having served a variety of roles, including chairman, treasurer, secretary, selector and now current honorary president, over the past half a century. "My father was awarded the Meath GAA Hall of Fame award in 2010 which was a fitting award for his dedication to the GAA throughout his life. This was a very proud honor for my father and the family and fitting that he should follow in the footsteps of Mickey Morris who received the award just a few years earlier. I doubt there are many clubs in recent times who can boast two GAA Gaels who have received this prestigious award within a few years of each other".
"My father has been involved with Bective for nearly 50 years. He got involved soon after the club was founded by Mickey Morris, Joey Geraghty, and a few others. It was through him that Sean and I started playing. We played from under 12 up through every rank to the adult teams. Sean still plays the odd game, but Rurai Russell is the only member of the 1997 junior team who still plays with the first team. Rurai was captain in '97 and would have taken a lot of pleasure from winning another league medal this year. On a recent trip back home to Navan I noticed how the monument of the cow has now been cemented into the middle of the Square in Navan. I couldn't help but think how the Bective lads have contributed to the architecture of Navan over the years."
Under the guidance of former Walterstown star Ian Kearney over the past couple of seasons, Bective have come on in leaps and bounds. But despite being the most consistent team in junior football this year, they failed to reach the knockout stages of the championship. Drawn in Group A, their first three games ended in draws with Navan O'Mahony's, Kilmainhamwood and Moylagh. They beat Skryne and Drumconrath (who they put six goals past) in their remaining two fixtures, but lost out to their neighbours O'Mahony's for a place in the quarter-finals on scoring difference. The green and whites put that disappointment behind them to reach the finals of the Tailteann Cup and Division 4 of the league. They lost the Tailteann Cup decider to Kilmainham by a point, but made amends with a wonderful 0-13 to 1-9 victory over junior champions Ballivor in the league final at Dunsany.
In what was a close game throughout, Paul McCabe opened the scoring for Bective before Ballivor battled back to lead by 0-5 to 0-3 after 25 minutes. However, a Marty Mulhall point left the minimum between the sides at the break. After Mulhall levelled on the restart, Bective hit a purple patch which yielded further unanswered scores from Ciaran McConnell, Jack Grant and Mulhall. Sean Heavy and Adam Gannon pulled back points for Ballivor before Heavy was given his marching orders. Paul McCabe then made it 0-10 to 0-8 in Bective's favour before the 14-men regained the lead thanks to a goal from substitute Calvin Ryan. Bective refused to panic and replied with points from Mulhall and substitute Brian Kearns (two) to secure the spoils. It was the second piece of silverware claimed by the club this year after the Bective/Canninstown U16s won a league title at Ballinabrackey's expense.
"It was the least the lads deserved after the year they had," Bective's proud sponsor says. "As I said, they only lost one game all year and deserved to win something. The draws cost them in the championship, but they are a young team still learning their trade. Winning the league will have done wonders for their confidence and they'll know how to kill off teams next year. Ian Kearney has done a fantastic job over the past two years and hopefully they can go a lot further in 2012."
As well as being a former player with the club, Moran served as treasurer for eight years, during which time Bective purchased their grounds in Cannistown and built new dressing-rooms. "We had no money whatsoever, but still managed to buy a plot of land and develop it into the grounds you see today," reflects the 41-year-old, who married his Zimbabwean bride Valerie last April in Capetown. Valerie assists Noel in the running of Prepaid Financial Services (PFS), which he established to provide Prepaid Card solutions to consumers and businesses. "I would be lost without Valerie being involved in the business. I am not good at minding money, Valerie is".
Based in Mayfair in central London, the company provides MasterCard and Visa prepaid solutions to clients and companies globally. Prepaid Financial Services' software platform is integrated with multiple, globally certified, processing platforms, allowing them to accommodate a range of prepaid solutions across a number of sectors, including Business Expenses, Government Payout, Travel, Payroll, Virtual Cards, Instant Issue Products, Money Share, Gift Cards and much more. In short, PFS provides a flexible, industry leading solution quickly and cost effectively.
Bective GFC's greatest achievement was winning the 1997 JFC title and, not surprisingly, Noel remembers the historic victory over Skryne with great fondness. "We were totally written off beforehand. The Skyrne team was packed with players who had senior experience, but we turned in a terrific performance and came out with a two-point win," he recalls.
Despite losing their influential midfielder Davy Cahill with a rib injury after 20 minutes, the underdogs went into the break holding a 0-9 to 0-4 lead. John Sheehan had an excellent opening 30 minutes on the '40', registering seven points, including five from frees. Damien Cahill and Sean Moran also caused problems for the Skryne defence, while Bective's 20-year-old captain Ruairi Russell was outstanding at full forward. Bective were still five points to the good at the end of the third quarter. The Tara men piled on the pressure in the final quarter, but Bective defended heroically to land their first and only Matthew Ginnitty Cup to date.
Noel concludes by saying: "Hopefully it won't be too long before we win the junior championship again. With the young talent that's there, there is no reason why we can't win one in the next year or two."
"Finally I would like to pay tribute to a personal friend of mine and someone I looked up to in the GAA world. After a life of dedication to the GAA, Mickey Morris passed away last December. He was dedicated and committed to Bective and we shared many a drink in Bective Bar both celebrating and commiserating Bective and Meath matches throughout the years. Mickey was great with young lads and encouraging them to go to games and play football and hurling. I have no doubt he is trying to round up a team in heaven as we speak. Mickey will be sadly missed but never forgotten. RIP Mickey." Tweet
