Family and community driving Kilmore Rounders Club forward

Amidst the hustle and bustle of the increasingly congested football, camogie and hurling seasons, it is easy to forget that other sports within the GAA are continuing apace.

One of those is rounders, with the sport currently enjoying a renaissance within County Roscommon after surviving the pandemic.

Kilmore and Elphin rounders clubs are both in their infancy and alongside the ever-successful Michael Glaveys, more options than ever are available for Roscommon’s rounders enthusiasts.

Ruth McElhone, secretary of the Kilmore Rounders Club, believes that the club’s formation, which occurred less than a year ago, is a feelgood story built on community and family.

There has been success too, and only last weekend the club was crowned All-Ireland Junior Nationals champions for the first time.

“Back in October, Nicola Hunt and John Paul Murray came up with the idea and sent a text out into the community WhatsApp group that they were thinking of setting up a rounders club. On the first day we had 50 people turn up with adults between the age of 25 to 60,” recalled Ruth.

“There is a legacy there. John Paul’s late mother Teresa Murray would have coached all the children in rounders. When we were growing up, she was the main coach and she set up rounders in Kilmore about 30 years ago because there was no sport for girls in the area, so she set up rounders for boys and girls.

“We all grew up with it and then it just stopped. It became the brainchild of Nicola Hunt and John Paul Murray and it has been a lovely thing. The Murrays are such a well-known family in the area and everyone is so happy to see rounders back in Kilmore. It is special to have it back and for John Paul to be one of the coaches of it. It is a good news story,” she explained.

For any newly-established sporting organisation to find its feet and eventually flourish, support is paramount. Ruth states that Kilmore GAA Club has provided valuable assistance in terms of the use of its facilities.

Meanwhile, Michael Glavey’s have lent a helping hand with Seán Bailey and Craig Davis, in particular, helping Kilmore find their feet.

Within the rounders club, Seán Boland serves as chairperson while Clare Connellan and Trevor Hunt are also working hard behind the scenes.

Aidan Carr, Ana Carr and Siobhán Carroll coach the juvenile teams, and the club has already reaped the fruits of their labour.

The club is currently fielding a U-12 team that recently competed at a Go Games blitz, which was hosted by Michael Glaveys. Meanwhile, the U-14 girls’ and boys’ teams produced great showings at the Connacht championships and subsequent All-Ireland Series, which saw the best U-14 teams in the country travel to Clann na nGael GAA grounds in South Roscommon.

“Both of our U-14 teams progressed through to the All-Irelands. The U-14 boys won the Connacht final while the U-14 girls were runners up in Connacht. Both teams got to the All-Ireland semi-finals, so they did really well.

“We welcome all ages and all levels. We have U-14s and U-12s but we have a few eight and nine-year-olds in there too. It is a great sport for all kids. Rounders uses lots of different skills and it is a great inclusive sport,” she noted.

The sport is growing within the province, with Michael Glaveys the reigning men’s intermediate champions.

Breaffy and Kilmeena are holders of the senior ladies and junior mixed All Ireland titles. Ruth points out that the support system within the province is helping the game grow.

“There has been a massive boom factor in the whole of Connacht. Mark Jennings is the Connacht GAA Rounders representative. He is doing a lot of work to build on the interest because there does seem to be interest there. It has really taken off in Roscommon.

“Mark’ goal is to keep that momentum going and work with clubs, particularly new clubs. There is that push and for ourselves there is an interest on the adult side of things but it is important for us to keep working hard and develop at the grassroots level,” stated Ruth.

As in other GAA sports, rounders at adult level operates a senior, intermediate and junior system. Kilmore will compete in the latter with the club still in its infancy.

Rounders allows men and women to compete on a mixed team. The secretary hoping to see the club produce strong showings in the All-Ireland Series, which is just around the corner. She also hopes they can build on the framework established at underage level.

“We would love to do pretty well in the upcoming junior championships. We are entering a ladies, men’s and mixed teams, so it would be great to do well in them. It would be great to continue on with the juvenile and get an U-16 team if we could.

“The goal would be to see our teams do well and if we won some games and were placed somewhere, we would be thrilled,” concluded Ruth.