While Patrick Whelan died seventy years ago, in 1934, the passing years have not diminished his role in the administrative affairs of the G.A.A. both in Monaghan and Ulster in particular. If anything it has enhanced his role further given that the events he influenced happened almost 100 years ago when communications and travel was far from what it is today. By John P Graham. Patrick Whelan was born in the townland of Glassdrummond, parish of Killeevan, in the year 1871 and in his life he was to see troubled and turbulent times both socially, politically and economically. He was a mere 13 years old when the GAA was founded in 1884 and it goes without saying that he was deeply involved in the fledgling association from a very early age. In the early part of the last century there was a local GAA club in the area called Greenans Cross Tir na nOgs while at the other end of Killeevan parish there was a team called Ture Davitts and Patrick Whelan was one of the driving forces behind the amalgamation of those two teams into the present club that is Killeevan Sarsfields. A great lover of all things Irish particularly the music, song and dance, Patrick Whelan did whatever he could during his lifetime to promote these aspects of our culture and heritage. Patrick Whelan had lain in an unmarked grave for seventy years but that has now been put right with the unveiling of a memorial to him in Aghabog cemetery on Saturday September 18th last by Michael Greenan, President of the Ulster Council. He paid tribute to Patrick Whelan for his involvement with the GAA at provincial level and "the magnificent contribution that he made in helping to establish the Ulster Council on a firm footing after its somewhat faltering start." One man played a major role in bringing about the events of Saturday September 18th, John Connolly of the Aghabog club was the man who discovered the resting place of the Patrick Whelan and the wheels were set in motion. As part of the celebrations that day he outlined the Whelan/Glenn genealogy to as he said "put in context the relationship of Patrick Whelan with today's gathering, and the link with that family, that has been so beneficial to the Aghabog and Killeevan clubs to this day." To get to the early history of Patrick Whelan we will have to go back to the 1870's when Patrick Whelan's father married a McGinnity girl from Kilmore, Knockatallon. There were two children from that marriage, Patrick and his sister Mary. Unfortunately Patrick's and Mary's mother died some years later, and their father married again with Patrick and Mary subsequently having five stepbrothers, Willie, James, Tommy, John and Eddie and one stepsister Annie in Glassdrummond. Willie, John and Annie lived all their lives in Glassdrummond and were regulars here at Mass every Sunday. Tommy Whelan who lived in Castleblayney was represented by his son Fr. Seamus Whelan who served on the Killtegan Missions, James had a business in Monaghan while Eddie resided in Enniskillen. In a roundabout way the arrival of that McGinnity girl was to lead to future generations of players for Aghabog and Killeevan. Two more McGinnity girls came from Knockatallon to this area in successive generations, Roseanne came to work in Whelans, met and married local man Paddy Croarkin, In more recent times Una McGinnity, brother of Gene McGinnity of Kilmore married Sean Kilpatrick. With the result that the Croarkin and Kilpatrick families have contributed immensely to the Aghabog and Killeevan clubs respectively to this day. Patrick married a local girl by the name of Mary Glen. While there were no family from that marriage, direct descendants from the Glen family were present, Gene and Bridget Quigley, through Gene's mother, Susan Quigley, and Maureen and Alan Tavey from Aughnamullen through Maureen's father John Glen. Patrick's sister Mary had married a James Brady from Racane, grand mother to the present day Brady, Smyth and Campbell families. Without in any way diminishing the Brady influence, perhaps its reasonable to assume that the Whelan connection had a small part to play in the passion and love of the G.A.A. that Gerry, Pat and Brendan Brady and Sheeny Smyth displayed in their involvement with the Aghabog club down the years. If any of the succeeding generations is likened or compared to Patrick Whelan, it is Gerry Brady, a Dublin Central Council delegate for many years, and the G,A.A.'s top legal expert, Brendan Brady also showed the same kind of leadership when he captained Monaghan to an Ulster Senior Championship win 25 years ago. Regretfully not one item of memorabilia from that period as far as we know is to be found locally, and up to now the only acknowledgment of Patrick's place in history was left to former Aghabog and Co. Board official Michael McPhillips who commissioned a plaque in his memory in the early 1970's for the winners of a senior tournament. The plaque, no longer competed for is now on display in the Aghabog Clubhouse. The Ulster Council of the GAA was formed in 1903 and Patrick Whelan became a member of the Council, representing Monaghan, the following year, 1904, then going on to be elected president in 1909. These were difficult times for the GAA in Ulster but Patrick Whelan worked tirelessly to develop the Council and to get things on an even footing particularly from a financial point of view. In those years financial problems were a constant threat to the association in Ulster and Patrick Whelan was the man who on many occasions made representations to Croke Park for funds to keep the Ulster Council ship afloat. The opinion has been expressed that Patrick Whelan was not particularly active politically but certain information that has come to light would indicate otherwise. He was made a Justice of the Peace which even in those times was a political appointment and he was actively involved with the National Volunteers, marching at the head of parades in full military regalia. By trade Patrick Whelan was a shopkeeper and for a time he also worked as manager of the local Greenans Cross Creamery. His shop located just across the road from the creamery and in an advert for his business in a County Monaghan Directory for 1910 he was listed as a "Grocer and General Merchant who sold tea, flour, meal, bran, delph and china ware, paints, oils, boots and shoes, leather, hardware etc and with the assurance that all were of the best quality and that his business was an "Irish Manufacture Warehouse". At that time the village of Killeevan was listed as having 100 inhabitants while Newbliss was listed as having a Catholic Club, a Literary Society, Protestant Young Men's Society, Gaelic League and GAA, Pioneers, Good Templars, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Masonic and Orange Lodge as well as crochet and lace classes. Later Patrick Whelan moved from Dooskey when his business failed to live in the townland of Aughnaskew and older people who remembered him would have described him as a well dressed man in a hard hat. A feature of the increasing nationalist feeling at that time were the Arbour Days or Arbour Week which was a time when the movement of "plant a tree for Ireland" became very popular which could indicate that it was part of the National Foresters movement. Patrick Whelan observed the Arbour days and there are two trees at Greenan's Cross which were planted by him and which now have a preservation order on them. When he moved to his new residence he used an old barn that was adjacent to it to promote Irish nights of music song and dance and to raise funds for these and many a good night was had in Whelans Loft. Another custom that he had was when he along with a number of friends would visit the local Mass Rock in Killykespin at a set time each year. They would arrive by sidecar, sing Erin Go Brath, throw their hats in the air and then move on. But back to the Ulster Council, Patrick Whelan first became a member of the Ulster Council in 1904 and it would be fair to say that he went on to be a tower of strength of the GAA in Ulster over the next ten difficult years. Later he was elected president at an Ulster Convention that was held in the Hibernian Hotel in Clones and in that capacity helped lay the foundations for the strong, vibrant organisation that we have today. He donated a cup called the Croke Cup and a set of gold medals that was to be used in a competition to generate funds for the Ulster Council. The competition later became known as the Whelan Gold Medal competition. The first Whelan Gold Medal competition and was won by Cavan who beat Antrim in the final by 2-3 to 0-4. Many years later the Ulster Council gave a grant of ten pounds to the Aghabog club to purchase a trophy for a local club tournament which was know as the Whelan Shield but the whereabouts of that trophy at present is unknown. As well as his administrative duties Patrick Whelan was also an active referee and he was the man who through his commitment to the Irish language and culture who was responsible for the decision and that meetings of the Ulster Council be conducted as Gaeilge. He was also responsible for the appointment off Eoin O'Duffy as secretary of the Council and a man who, in his own right was to go on to have a major impact not only on GAA affairs but on national affairs as well. O'Duffy went on to represent Ulster on Central Council and at a later stage became Commander of the 5th Northern Brigade of the IRA during the war of Independence. Later still O'Duffy became a TD for Monaghan and also became Chief of Staff of the Free State army in 1922 as well as chief commissioner of the Garda Siochana. Patrick Whelan also served as a member of Central Council and is recorded as playing a major part in the purchasing of the Jones Road Ground in 1913, the ground that is now Croke Park. 1913 was also the year that saw teams reduced to 15 players and County colours registered for the first time. The following year 1914 saw the setting up of the National Volunteers in which Patrick Whelan was deeply involved and one contemporary source says that "he could be seen in full military regalia carrying a rifle with a bayonet fixed as he paraded at the medal tournament final between Cavan and Derry on May 31st 1914. For the first time since the Ulster Council was set up there was a full attendance from all nine counties at the 1917 Ulster Convention something that was the realisation of a long standing ambition of Patrick Whelan's although he along with O'Duffy were accused at times of having too much influence at Central Council level. 1917 also saw the move to set up Colleges Council for the first time and at a meeting in Clones on October 24th 1917 Patrick Whelan was elected chairman pro tem until Convention which was held in January 1918 in Portadown and which set up the first Ulster Colleges Council with the Reverend P. Rodden St. Patrick's College Cavan as first president. These were years of the imposition of the Amusement Tax by the British authorities but despite this and the restrictions on special trains and motor transport at that time the GAA in Ulster functioned as well as ever but finance continued to be a problem. Figures for the 1917 Ulster championship show receipts of just ten pounds one shilling and two pence for the Ulster final of that year with things going downhill somewhat the following year, 1918, when the final realised a mere five pounds 17 shillings and four pence. The following year 1919 was one of the most momentous in the history of Ireland with the outbreak of the War of Independence on January 21st 1919. Donegal took part in the Ulster senior football championship for the first time that year but due to the political scene at that time it was not unusual for stormy confrontations to happen on the football field as "political clubs" took the place of established clubs and their were areas where football ceased completely between 1919 and 1922. This was the year too that saw the decision made that ultimately caused the demise of Patrick Whelan in the GAA with the question of the Oath of Allegiance by civil servants and national teachers being a cause of great controversy throughout the year. Central Council at a special meeting in Dublin on December 7th 1918 unanimously cast a resolution declaring that all members of the GAA who had taken the Oath of Allegiance were declared suspended pending a definite decision at the 1919 Annual Congress. Feeling ran high in many counties and particularly in Ulster on this subject which for a while seemed liable to split the association but the regulation was ignored in Ulster where it would have been catastrophic to exclude national teachers who had been for a long time the backbone of the Association. Cavan voted solidly against the Central Council decision and the Ulster Council suggested that the regulation be deferred for a year although it was even rumoured at Central Council level that there was a schism in Ulster over the regulation, which would not have been far from the truth. However, despite the countrywide opposition Congress supported the resolution by 50 votes 31. Ulster apparently ignored the Congress decision as the only casualty was the Ulster president Patrick Whelan, that formidable figure who had been such a tower of strength to the GAA in Monaghan and Ulster since 1904. As a Justice of the Peace he had come directly under the Congress regulation as he had taken the Oath of Allegiance but there is not the slightest reference to the whole furore in the Ulster Council minutes. The 1919 Ulster Convention was held in St. Patrick's Hall, Waterside, Derry on March 16th and was presided over by Mr P Cleary, Antrim, one of the vice-presidents. Eoin O'Duffy the secretary, was also present along with delegates from Antrim, Cavan and Derry and the hall was crowded with GAA enthusiasts from Derry and Donegal. O'Duffy in his report dealt mainly with the serious financial position of the Council. Income in 1919 had fallen to 144 pounds 14 shillings and five pence and expenditure was 246 pounds, 17 shillings and three pence with the only bright spot being that Central Council had waived 15 pounds owed to them by the Ulster Council and Forty pounds owed by Derry County Board. However despite this further financial assistance was urgently needed from Central Council, Leinster and Munster Councils if Ulster was to survive. Despite all his work Patrick Whelan was declared ineligible for nomination as president because of the Oath of Allegiance controversy and Seamus Dobbyn of Belfast, only recently released from internment was elected in his place. Sadly the minutes of that Convention do not contain one word of tribute to the retiring president. If ever a man deserved the appreciation of the Gaels of Ulster it was Patrick Whelan who during his 15 years membership, 11 as President had worked might and main for the welfare of the association and had not spared his time, talents or his pocket in pursuit of this and the hope was expressed that what was happening on September 18th would make up in some way for that sad end to such an illustrious career. In paying tribute to Patrick Whelan that day the Gaels of Ulster were saying, thank you for what you have done in the past and for what you have passed on to us, an association that is based on loyalty, on strength and commitment and one that was built on the foundations that you laid. Go raibh cead mile maith agat a Phadraig agus go ndeanaingh Dia trocaire ar do anam dilis. Patrick Whelan 1871 - 1934. Tweet

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