The president of The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), Paul Flanagan, has been a lifelong supporter of the GAA as he explains to Hogan Stand. Hailing from the Meath hurling stronghold of Killyon, it's hardly surprising to hear that the new president of the SIMI, Paul Flanagan, is an avid follower of Gaelic Games. Paul, who took over the chain of office from Ian MacNeill on May 14 last, hurled with Killyon up until minor level when work commitments forced him to bring a premature halt to his playing career. He continues to follow the club's fortunes closely, however, and is delighted that his three children have followed in his footsteps by lining out for the South Meath club in hurling and camogie. "Killyon has a long and proud tradition in Meath hurling and it is a big regret of mine that I didn't play for them longer than I did," he says. "I won under 14, 16 and minor medals with them before my work commitments took over. I got into sales in 1985 and because of the amount of travelling involved, I just wasn't able to give the commitment to the hurling and I had to give it up. "But I'm very proud of the fact that my children are now playing for Killyon and I'm delighted to be able to help out with the juvenile coaching every Saturday morning. They love the game and hopefully they'll getting a longer run at it than I did." Married to Dublin lady June, Paul's three children are Adam (14), Dylan (11) and Emily (seven). Adam is a member of this year's Meath under 14 team, and the family travelled to Waterford at the end of August to see him play in the Tony Forristal Festival of Hurling. The young Royals were drawn in the same group as Antrim, Kildare and Carlow, and despite giving an excellent account of themselves, failed to progress to the Division 2 final where Antrim were defeated by Laois. Killyon have been one of the most successful clubs in Meath hurling down the years, having seven senior championships to their name. They won their first senior title in 1919 and after many barren years, the foundations for a return to the summit was laid in the 1970s when they amassed a remarkable total of 31 hurling titles between 1972 and '80 from under 13 up to senior. In 1979, a gap of 60 years was bridged when the red and greens defeated Boardsmill to bring the Jubilee Cup to the Hill of Down for the first time. Following their victory in the 1991 final, Killyon had to wait until three years ago to win their seventh senior title. But a disappointing 2008 campaign has left them facing a battle to preserve their 30-year stay in the senior ranks. Killyon's junior team had a successful run to this year's Division 2 hurling championship final, only to lose to Kildalkey by 2-7 to 2-13 after a replay. Paul moved back to South Meath in 2001, having lived in Celbridge for nine years before that. He says it has been a great move for his children in particular, who as well as playing hurling with Killyon, play football with Clonard. "It's a great little community and I have no regrets about moving back there. The football club in Clonard is making huge strides at underage level and a lot of this is down to the great work that's being done by Kevin Foley, the former Meath football star," explains Paul, who played a small bit of football himself during his days as a boarder at St. Anthony's Franciscan College in Clara, Co. Offaly. Paul has been elected president of The Society of the Motor Industry (which is an honorary position) for a one-year term. The SIMI is the official voice of the motor industry in Ireland. Its 1,700-strong membership includes vehicle distributors, dealers and repairers along with petrol stations, parts wholesalers and retailers, and many other important operators within the industry in Ireland. SIMI plays an important role in representing the views of the industry to the Government, state bodies, the media and the motoring public. Membership of the Society requires companies to operate to high standards of business ethics and integrity. Motorists should look for the SIMI logo as a symbol of reassurance. The SIMI's offices are located at 5 Upper Pembroke Street, Dublin 2. Paul admits that the motor industry has been greatly affected by the slowdown in the economy with new car sales well down on last year, despite received a temporary boost following the introduction of the VRT and Road Tax changes in July. He feels there has been much confusion among customers regarding these changes, but points out that consumers have never been in a better position to get real value for money from the quality used car market. He says: "While much of the talk about the economy is negative, it is important to point out that business is still being done and there are great opportunities for consumers in the second hand market. New car sales are down 18 per cent, but I have every confidence that the dealers will ride the storm, clear their second-hand car stocks and readjust their trading which would enable them to come back stronger in 2009." Flanagan's day job is as workshop sales manager for Castrol Ireland Ltd, a position he has held since the company's acquisition of BP in 2001. He joined Castrol from Campus Oil in 1995 as a commercial representative covering the Midlands and North Leinster and was promoted to Consumer Sales Manager for Castrol Lubricants two years later. Castrol was founded in England in 1899 by Charles 'Cheers' Wakefield and has since become known the world over as the leading supplier of motor oils and automotive lubricants. The Castrol brand is synonymous with premium quality and high performance. Castrol was the chosen motor oil for breaking world speed and endurance records on land, on sea and in the air. The Land Speed Record alone has been broken an amazing 21 times by cars using Castrol automotive lubricants. With more than one hundred years of experience in satisfying its customers' needs, Castrol remains as committed today to providing the most technically advanced motor oils, automotive lubricants and related services as Charles 'Cheers' Wakefield was when he founded the company. Tweet

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