The decision by husband and wife PJ and Maureen Fulham to resign from their positions on the Westmeath camogie board last November marked the end of an era. However, both remain deeply involved in the running of the sport at Leinster Council level. It was the end of an era for Westmeath camogie last November when two of the best known figures in the sport, PJ and Maureen Fulham, stepped down from the positions they had held on the county board for over a quarter of a century. Many tributes were paid to the Rathowen couple who had been synonymous with the camogie scene in Westmeath since the late 1970s. PJ had been chairman of the camogie board for 27 years and is acknowledged as having revived the sport in the Lake County in 1977. During his time as chairman, he received tremendous support from Maureen who served as secretary for 25 years. "It was not without a little sadness that we stood down," PJ admits. "Westmeath camogie had been part and parcel of our lives for so long that it feels very strange not to be involved anymore. But we had made up our minds before convention to stand down and we have no regrets about doing that. "It must also been remembered that Marie McCormack stepped down at convention as well after serving 13 years as treasurer. We enjoyed our time on the board and take a lot of satisfaction from the progress that has been made over the past 25 years or so," he adds. The origins of Westmeath camogie date back to 1906 when three clubs were formed in Athlone - Athlone Ladies, Athlone Woollen Mills and Athlone Town. However, these clubs only existed for a short time and several years passed before the first county board was formed in 1933. Though there was plenty of interest shown by clubs initially, camogie continued to struggle and by 1968, had disappeared from the Westmeath GAA landscape altogether. But nine years later, the sport was revived by PJ Fulham and has been going strong ever since. Having served as Westmeath minor board chairman from 1973 to '80, PJ realised from his travels around the county that while there were lots of games made available for boys, the girls were actually being short-changed. "I remember parents, particularly mothers, coming up to me and saying that there wasn't any games for girls so I decided to arrange a meeting to get camogie off the ground in Westmeath," he recalls. "A committee was subsequently set up and with the help of GAA clubs throughout the county, the game blossomed." Initially, eight clubs were affiliated to the county board and, according to PJ, the playing standards were high from day one. "A lot of the girls who first played camogie in Westmeath had brothers playing hurling, predominantly in the north of the county, so they were very familiar with the hurl and sliothar. "I think the standards were at their highest in the 1980s when I trained the county team to win the Leinster League in 1981 and '82. We also won a National League junior title in 1983 following a great victory over Dublin at Cusack Park." While Westmeath camogie remains in a healthy state, PJ regrets that there has been a decline in playing standards. "We're not nearly as strong as we were 20 years ago. We had some fantastic players back then who gave everything to camogie. But, regretfully, the same commitment isn't there now. The coaches are trying their best, but it's getting harder all the time because camogie is now competing against so many other sports," he notes. Long before he immersed himself in the promotion and development of camogie, PJ was a highly prominent figure in Westmeath GAA circles. After completing his term as minor board chairman, he served as senior board chairman for two years, 1980 to '82. He also served as county board youth officer, was chairman of the St. Fintan's club in Streete for a couple of years and had a stint as Longford hurling manager, guiding them to a National League Division 4 title in 1988 "I still have a huge interest in Westmeath GAA, even if camogie is my number one sport now," he says. "One of my best memories is of training the first Westmeath under 16 football team to win the Fr Manning Cup in 1978. I can still see the captain of that team, Frank Tone, being carried shoulder high around Pearse Park in Longford after we beat Cavan in the final. "Like all Westmeath people, I was absolutely thrilled to see the senior footballers finally win a Leinster title last year. Westmeath had been building towards that moment for 10 years or more, but it took Paidi O Se to get them there. Those responsible for bringing Paidi to Westmeath deserve all the praise they can get because I don't think it could have happened without him." After becoming involved in camogie at local level, PJ's interests quickly extended to the provincial and national scene. He was Leinster Council chairman from 1986 to '89 and has served nearly 20 years as PRO. His wife Maureen has had an even longer involvement with the provincial body, being secretary for the past 24 years. Maureen was also chairperson of the National Feile committee in 2003 and 2004 when the Feile was jointly hosted by Westmeath, Meath and Kildare. PJ is perhaps best known from his eight-year stint as National PRO from 1992 to 2000. He first became involved at national level in 1983 when he was appointed secretary and treasurer of the National Administration Committee. The Rathowen man had a spell as vice-president of the Camogie Association in the 1980s and briefly served as president - the only male to hold the position. "I was stand-in president for a weekend because the president at the time, Mary Callaghan from Cork, was unavailable to fulfil her duties at the National Feile competition," he explains. 2004 marked the centenary of the Camogie Association and both PJ and Maureen played key roles in organising activities at both local and provincial level. But despite the strength of camogie in so many counties, PJ feels it continues to undersell itself. "There is no doubt that the sport has come a long way in the past 100 years, but it could be doing an awful lot better," he claims. "When you see the great strides ladies football has made over the past five years, it makes you wonder what might have happened to camogie if a couple of brave decisions had been taken a few years ago. "After the game went 15-a-side, we had the opportunity to go after a big sponsor but we didn't bite the bullet. With no disrespect to Foras na Gaeilge who have been very good sponsors, we should be looking for a bigger sponsor. But that ambition doesn't seem to be there. "I would also be concerned about the amount of sub-committees in camogie. It would be better if they were all under one umbrella." The Fulhams hope to remain involved at provincial level for a few more years yet and PJ could also have a major GAA project on his hands. "I've been asked if I would be interested in updating the Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games which the late Raymond Smith last brought out in 2000. "I was involved in compiling that edition with Raymond and I'm considering doing it again. But it will be no easy task," he concludes. Tweet

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