Royal County meets Martin Donnelly who finds time out from a hectic schedule which sees him treble up as sponsor of the Clare footballers, the Poc Fada and St. Paul's. In the person of Clare native Martin Donnelly, St. Paul's are most fortunate to have the backing of a very generous sponsor and concerned supporter. A hands-on sponsor if ever there was such a thing, the Banner County man has the very best interests of the club at heart. Not content to just throw a few quid into the club's coffers at the start of each financial year, Martin makes it his business to put his mouth where his money is . . . and vice-versa, of course. And, so successful has the enthusiastic Clare Gael been in the world of commerce that all associated with the Clonee club are only too glad to listen to what Martin has to say. As, indeed, is Royal County Yearbook! So, it's agreed. St. Paul's are lucky to have Martin Donnelly on their side . . . but where did they get him from? He hails from the gaelic football stronghold of Cooraclare in west Clare. He played football at U14, U16, minor and U21 levels with the local club - winning a couple of underage championships - before emigrating to England at the age of seventeen, in 1969. At that time, Cooraclare would have figured prominently on any list of the strongest clubs in Clare and were regularly winning senior championships. It was a wrench for Martin to turn his back on the club - but the stagnancy of the local economy at the time dictated that England was the place to be if you wanted a job that paid anyway well. He didn't give up football altogether, though, but played a little with the Four Masters club in Coventry on Sunday mornings. "It was more a means of keeping in touch rather than anything serious," he reflects. When he returned from England for a couple of years to work with CIE in Ballina, he played with the Ard Na Ri club there. He went back to England after getting a job offer there and stayed cross-channel until 1978. Then, he came home to live in Clonsilla. There, he was a founder member of the St. Peregrines club with whom he subsequently played for six or seven seasons. Martin has been living in Clonee for the past fourteen years. "When I arrived in Clonee, I helped set up and then played with the Peregrines for a couple of years but was nearing the end of my playing days at that stage," he notes. Still involved with St. Peregrines as President, Martin was delighted to see the club contest the Dublin JFC final for the first time in 1998. Donnelly played with St. Paul's for a while and became club sponsor five years ago. "I'll be staying with them for as long as I'm wanted," he confirms. "They had a reasonable year in '98 and only just missed out on a place in the championship semi-finals. There's a lot of development in Clonee at the moment and hopefully the club will get the benefit of that." Martin set up M Donnelly in 1980. His first venture into sponsorship was in 1992 when he agreed to become patron of the Clare senior football team. The Banners won the Munster Championship that year - Martin has been their official sponsor ever since! "I'm staying with them until the year 2000 at least and hopefully they'll win another Munster by then," he says. "They've brought in Tommy Curtin as manager and he's the first Clare man to take charge of the team since I became involved. Perhaps he can make a connection there and do what Ger Loughnane did for the hurlers." For the past three years, Martin has also sponsored the annual Poc Fada competition which takes place in the Cooley Mountains. "It's a unique competition which I really enjoy," he notes. "This year's contest was very good. Albert Kelly from Offaly won it and he looks like a guy who could dominate it for a while. He seems to be of the same class as Ger Cunningham. We also ran a veterans competition for the first time in '98 . . . who knows, we might get Sean Boylan up next year!" Martin attends the Long Poc competition every year. "It's a grand day out," he attests. "Traditionally, it's on the Bank Holiday in August but we might get them to have another look at that because there tends to be a Leinster final on that weekend which means that some of the top players are unavailable. It's a competition with great potential and its profile has been raised over the past two or three years." As with Clare and St. Paul's, Martin gets actively involved and puts his own ideas forward as he likes to see things pass off as well as possible. Reflecting on 1998, Martin was most disappointed when the Banner County exited the Munster Championship race at the semi-final stage - at the hands of Tipperary: "Without taking from Tipp, I think the fact that we had no competitive game from the time the league finished at the end of March until the end of June - during which time Tipp had three championship outings - meant that they were naturally much sharper. The ironic thing is that if we had got over that game, we could have shook Kerry! We had just beaten Cork the previous year for the first time in the best part of fifty years and fancied our chances. "In 1999, with a Clare man in place, maybe it's time the players looked inwards and did a bit of soul searching because the talent is there and it's a young panel. I'd be optimistic. I think a lot of teams will take heart from what Galway achieved this year. Clare played them in a few challenges early in the year and were on a par with them. It's amazing how much progress a team will make in a matter of months once they make the initial breakthrough." Amazingly, since he became sponsor of the Clare football team, Martin has attended all of their matches - be it league, championship or challenges. He's a great supporter! St. Paul's is one of those small clubs where everybody helps out and does their bit. "They're struggling a little at the moment and may have to look at possible solutions," advises their sponsor. "They really need an injection of new players. There are a number of clubs in the area in a similar position. It's a very difficult situation to be in because they don't seem to have the youth coming through. Given a choice between St. Peter's or St. Paul's, most of the young lads are obviously opting for the more successful club - and the same goes for any player with ambitions coming into the area. St. Paul's will have to have a look and see where their future is going." So, what's the answer? Amalgamation? "That's almost a dirty word here and it's something they're very reluctant to do, but it will have to be considered. It's getting more competitive, the average age is on the increase and we aren't getting the young players through. Then, there's our proximity to Dublin. It's the teams from the towns that seem to be developing at a much faster rate and perhaps St. Paul's will have to look at amalgamation if they're not going to lose touch altogether." Martin's company, M Donnelly is a nationwide distributor of power tools, accessories and fixings to the construction industry and builders providers. Martin has also recently opened a hire business in Ennis, Co. Clare. His rep for the northern counties is none other than Donegal's Martin McHugh. Martin Donnelly's great passion for gaelic games is something that will never leave him. He loves to be involved and to contribute. "It's easy to contribute money and put names on jerseys, but you also like to try to contribute something positive. You like the teams you sponsor to be winners. It's not about names on jerseys - I can put my name on anything. But you like to be associated with successful teams." Martin says he'll always be a Clare supporter first and foremost . . . but Meath are a clear second now! Within the Royal County, it's St. Paul's all the way! Tweet

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