Andrew Boylan has been at the coalface of affairs at Butlersbridge GAA for more years than most club members can remember. However he has re-positioned himself for the coming year. Kevin Carney reports Andrew Boylan junior is quite happy to take on the role of backbencher. After six years in the post of joint-treasurer, it's time to re-charge the batteries, take a step back and go with the flow. The Annual General Meeting at the 'bridge in 2006 saw a raft of officers slip away from the club's peleton. The ushering in of new blood was sign-posted a long way off. There's a real socialist feel about the way Butlersbridge gaels do their business and nobody was in the least bit surprised that Andrew and a bevy of other officers released themselves without fuss from the harness. The change in the line-up among the chief decision makers at the club had the words 'bloodless' and 'coup' stamped all over it. Simply said, the whole transition process had the seal of approval from the rank and file as well as those at the top table well before the date for the year's most important meeting had been pencilled in. Over the six years of his tenure with one hand on the purse strings, Andrew worked glove in (the other) hand with Michael Reynolds and Sinead Gilsenan. All the permutations involving Andrew worked to a tee. And he enjoyed his time as an integral part of the equation. "There are a lot of good workers in the club which makes life easier for everyone and you try and play your part," Andrew says. "I only tried to do as much as I could." In 2006, Andrew and Co. raised a massive 102,000 euros courtesy of a very successful draw for a car and other prizes. The plan to build new dressing-rooms (with the aid of national lottery funding also) couldn't have got a better leg-up. Planning permission has been obtained by the club and it is anticipated that the new dressing-rooms, incorporating meeting rooms etc will be completed by the tail end of '07. Brother of Matthew, Fergal, Gerard and Brid - all renowned players/supporters of the 'bridge - Andrew was born and reared in a household which had Gaelic games very close to its heart. But how did Andrew become involved at the coalface of the club's administrative engine-room? "I always tried to attend as many matches as I could when I was growing up and especially when my brothers began to play at the various grades," Andrew replies. "I enjoyed watching the games and there's a great social aspect to being involved with the GAA. "Anyway, one year the then chairman Paul Henry invited me - along with the outgoing committee - to go on the committee." One wonders did Andrew have any apprehensions about taking on such a responsible and onerous position within the club, especially considering his problems due to spina bifida? "No, I hadn't any apprehensions at all. I knew a lot about the club and I could guess the kind of workload that was involved in helping to run the club and I was glad to make a contribution. "I was never one just to sit in the corner and not make myself useful. "I always had a natural inclination to follow sport and although I wouldn't be big into taking part in the post mortems that usually follow matches. "I liked talking about the games just as much as anyone but my attitude mostly was that when they were over, they were over and everyone should move on and look towards the next game. "Gaelic football is only a game and sometimes it can be taken too seriously by players, spectators and everyone involved. "There's a balance which needs to be found between wanting to win at all costs and winning in a sporting manner. "Everyone has to go to work the next day and sometimes that can be forgotten when a game is on and things begin to get out of hand." Matters on the field for Butlersbridge in recent years have tended to mirror the positive nature of the club's plans off the field of play. Over the course of the recent past, the club has annexed two JFC titles. It seems that every way the club turned, it was winning. "You have to hand it to the players because they have done very well over the last few years and they can be proud of their efforts," Andrew enthuses. "You have to have a certain amount of luck on your side on the way to winning titles but the players, managers and trainers were very good each year we won the championship." Despite no longer helping to hold the purse strings, Andrew expects to be pretty busy in the coming year in his role as a member of the club's fundraising committee where he will be joined by quite a few of his erstwhile officer colleagues. He accepts the workload in 2007 will probably not match that which he has been used to but he assures us that in running a GAA club these days, it's a case of 'all hands on deck' in meeting ever-increasing costs and general expenses. The 'bridge, he says, exists within a small catchment area and hence the need for the club lotto tickets to be sold not only in the viscinity of the village but also in Cavan town and Belturbet. He is content in the knowledge though that an increasing population base in Butlersbridge will present further opportunities for growth on several fronts. "There has been a substantial growth in the population locally over the last few years but a lot of the people who have come to live in the area haven't yet got involved in the club and that's a big challenge to everyone (in the club) to make them aware of the club and what it has to offer them. "I think it's important the club gets as many new members as possible because new blood is what helps a club to thrive. "Getting new blood on the committee was one of the reasons why I stood down and hopefully the new officers will stay on for three years," says Andrew, son of Andrew Boylan TD and wife Margo. Reflecting on 2005 as a leading member of the Butlersbridge administrative team, Andrew jnr cites the "fantastic success" of the aforementioned car draw as arguably the stand-out feature of the past season for him personally. "The draw was very satisfying for the whole committee," confirms 37-year old Andrew. "We weren't expecting to make anyway near that sort of profit so it was a credit to everyone who went out and sold tickets and those also who bought the tickets." Of course, nothing works like clockwork all the time for even the most well-run organisation and Butlersbridge GAA has had its lowlights as well as so many credits to its name in recent times. Relegation reared its ugly head and playing in division three of the All County Football League isn't something which ever came into focus when JFC title triumphs were being celebrated not that long ago. "The club has had to take the knocks on the chin and the players, in particular, have to pick themselves up and make things happen again on the pitch," Andrew avers. "That's the nature of sport and we're not the only club to fall on hard times after being on the up and up for a while." Andrew agrees that 2006 was a difficult year on the field of play for the 'bridge but he's hoping that the iminent provision of new, improved facilities at HQ will provide just the inspiration and incentive for Butlersbridge's players to dig deeper and reap a greater harvest. "Relegation wasn't what was imagined at the start of the year but our luck deserted us in a few games which cost us dearly," Andrew laments. Under the management of Dessie Cahill (initally) and later on Gerry McPhillips, Ronan Flanagan and Sean Henry, the 'bridge's finest certainly didn't repeat their JFC displays of yesteryear in '06 but Andrew is pretty optimistic that the players can turn things around in the coming season. "There's quite a good mix of young and old in the current panel and I'd be surprised if the team didn't win promotion straight away. "I think everyone at the club would agree that playing at the highest level is what we should be after and, with no disrespect to any other team, we need to be at least playing intermediate league and championship if the club is to progress." And the state of play at the club at the present time? "There's a good feeling within the club for the coming year and hopefully the players will build up a good momentum from early on in the year and keep it going. "The players are well capable of winning something in 2007 and it would be great if we could get everything we want done in terms of the new facilities and have a cup to show off by the time the work is finished." A decent, realistic prospect, don't you think? Tweet

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