Last August a unique and novel GAA Stickers Album was blessed by Croke Park chiefs. And, guess what, an Aughnamullen man is the brains behind the project. Kevin Carney reports Stick 'em up was a common-as-garden-muck catchphrase of young Jesse James wannabes in years gone by. No decent game of cowboys and indians was complete without one or a hundred such commands. But now if Aughnamullen clubman John Sheridan gets his way, that old refrain will have a GAA hue about it. For with the launch of "The Official GAA Stickers Album", John is hoping that sticking pictures of the finest exponents of Gaelic games into albums will be a pastime that'll catch fire over the coming months and years. John Sheridan has a good team around him but it is clear that he is the driver of the engine which could yet see names and faces of GAA players driven into the hearts and minds of young Gaelic games followers around the globe. The GAA Stickers Album 2004/2005 is the vehicle which has the potential to alter the mindset of young sports followers in this country and further afield with regard to the world of acquiring and collecting visages of iconic sportspeople. "We're basically offering an alternative to what's already out there in the market to young boys and girls in Ireland and beyond. "We're in the business of trying to promote Gaelic games and we see the GAA Stickers Album as a vehicle with which to do that," John explains. Like all great innovations and market leaders, the product that is GAA Stickers Album is simplicity itself. However the fact that it is unique as well as simple forms the core of its appeal. Essentially the idea is that children purchase "The Official GAA Stickers Album" and they then proceed to fill the album with photographs of county players from the world of Gaelic games. Since early August last when the album was launched, the 'stickers' have been on sale in packs of seven and already there are a host of children who are on the cusp of having their albums filled to the brink. It is envisaged that children will get bags of fun acquiring, collecting and swapping their stickers with their friends at school and in their GAA clubs. In addition, the product is supported by a website which will keep participants up-to-date with news and other items of interest. Of course, we're not talking just those sports aficionados in Ireland. "We are in talks with interested parties in England with a view to getting the album on the market there. "The plan would be to liase with those working at juvenile level within the GAA in Britain. "Before 2005 is out, we'd like to have explored the market in the U.S. as well," John informs us. Aimed at the six to twelve age bracket, the first edition of the Official GAA Sticker Album was launched in a blaze of publicity and with the full backing of the powers-that-be at Croke Park. John - arguably better known for his days as an athlete with the famed Monaghan Phoenix athletic club - has been hugely enthusiastic about the project from day one. But where did he get the idea from? "I have five sons and most of them were busy collecting Premiership stickers and swapping them with their pals. "I was astonished by how knowledgeable they were about the soccer players that were featuring in their album. "But when I showed them a picture of the Monaghan senior team and asked them to name just three or four of them, they found it very difficult to do so. "It's a big pity that youngsters in this country can identify the pictures of so many soccer players from various countries and yet they get it hard to recognise the GAA stars who are playing and living among them. " It was around the time that the idea came into my head that we had Tommy Freeman down with us in Aughnamullen helping to improve the skills of the club's juveniles. "He was out on the pitch before the youngsters came along and I remember them asking me who he was. "That's the sort of thing I'd like to see being turned around to the extent that youngsters will recognise our own GAA stars just as quickly as they'd recognise a Premiership star from some magazine." No easy task John. "I know. Soccer is a professional, worldwide game with all the exposure that goes with that. "When you consider all the publicity it gets through the papers and television, it's no wonder youngsters know so much about the sport. "But we're optimistic that the stickers will grab the attention of a lot of young Gaelic games followers who are interested in all kinds of sports. "The stickers were distributed via Newspread, Easons and WNS in the North to over three thousand shops since the launch and the feedback has been really good over the last few months. "We are happy that we have made some inroads into the sports stickers market but there's a lot more scope for development and a lot more percentage of the market to be won," enthuses John whose sons Sean, Alan, Kevin, Keith and Martin are already hooked on the novel stickers album which was designed and printed by the McGovern brothers Anthony and Gerard. The whole process from a veritable brainwave to getting the Stickers Album on the shop shelves involved, firstly, phone calls to County Chairman Gary Carville and Padraig Duffy (former chairman of the Games Admistration Committee). Contact was then made with officials in Croke Park. "Last April Martin McGinn, Nudie Hughes, Tom Ryan and myself met with Dermot Power and Rebecca Horking from Croke Park to discuss the idea of the Sticker Album. "The meeting was positive and we got the green light to go ahead with the idea. "Everything has progressed since and anyone who wants to get in touch with us about books or anything else about the product can do so by ringing our office in the Castleblayney Community Enterprise Centre at 042-9754950 or they can log onto our website at www.gaastickers.ie." Like any award winning product or championship winning side, John's Stickers idea is supported by a fine team which includes, among others, Anita Finnegan, well known Aughnamullen and Monaghan county board official. "We worked for quite some time to get the concept up and running and we were lucky enough to receive a lot of help and advice from a lot of people. "People such as photographer John McAviney, was very helpful in terms of us acquiring the photographs of players from all 32 counties while Declan Loughman, Edwin Murphy, Joe Kernan, Justin McNulty, Ciaran Tavey and Dermot McArdle all attended the launch of the album. "The efforts of those are greatly appreciated. "We did apply to the Leader Programme for some funding but it didn't qualify so the whole project has been privately financed." Looking to the future development of the Stickers Album, John says he and his team may proceed next year to oversee the distribution of the book with no charge attached. "A situation might also arise whereby we could liase with clubs around the country whereby the sale and distribution of the albums could be used as a possible fundraiser for the clubs. "There is definitely a big untapped market out there and we are prepared to work hard and stick at it to make inroads into that market," John insists. The Aughnamullen native says that while the stickers are proving to be popular countrywide, they are selling particularly well across the Six Counties and down south in Cork and Wexford. It appears that more and more youngsters are hell bent on acquiring all 918 stickers. "At the end of the day, we are anxious to promote Gaelic games and the players who play the games. It's a business adventure but the promotion of the GAA is a big motivation for us. "Why shouldn't our own homegrown players be just as popular as players who play international, professional sports?" Point well taken John! Tweet

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