If you want something done around the Belcoo O’Rahilly’s club then you go to one person and one person only, Paul McGrath.
Currently McGrath plays for Belcoo Senior football team in Division 2 of the Fermanagh Senior football league, he also manages the Girls U-13, U-14 and U-16 teams, he is also manager of the Boys U-15 and U-17 teams in his beloved club, while he has now also taken on the role of training the Belcoo Senior Ladies.
When you also throw into the admin side of it McGrath who is 32 years of age also acts as the Club Youth Officer and Public Relations Officer, while also just finishing off stints as Club treasurer and Club secretary in the last couple of years.
In the month of May just past, McGrath was either at the training field, away with a team at a match or playing for the Seniors himself in 28 of the 31 days of the month.
McGrath, who is an accountant with Gerard O’Brien Accountants in Derrylin is hugely modest and thinks nothing of the work and the countless hours that he puts in for his club, “there’s not a whole pile else to be at in Belcoo and the football club is most definitely the heartbeat. I get an awful lot out of coaching the next generation of boys and girls here, to see them develop, improve and grow is hugely rewarding, we’ve some great characters among our youth setup”
He continued, “I enjoy the club hugely, there are a lot of good people in it and I’ve a great support network around me, winning the Intermediate Championship last year was a huge thing for the club and for many of the Youth members it’s the first time they seen the adult mens team lift a trophy. It brought a good buzz to the area in what was our centenary year.”
McGrath was involved with Fermanagh Seniors for one year back in 2011, while he is a key attacker for Belcoo Senior football side as they aim to make it back up to Division 1 for the 2019 season. McGrath really enjoys all aspects of the game, “As I edge towards the end of my time playing I suppose the years don’t me long going in, the 2007 league title success doesn’t seem that long ago but it actually is. I really enjoy the hard yards in training, you can always get better, the work done during the week seems worth it with a win on match days, there is no excuse for not working hard and you do what you can in the hour you play for the lads round you in the same sky blue jersey.”
The well-spoken McGrath is also a keen admirer of Social media and the Belcoo O’Rahilly’s club website is one of the most clicked on websites in all of the Fermanagh clubs. “Yeah I always try to get a few pics of each game that takes place and then get a match report up on the website. It’s nice at Youth Presentation times to look back through the slide show and I’ve done a few end of season review Booklets as a keepsake. Its good too for people who aren’t around Belcoo anymore and its great for people to be able to see images and read up on a game that they might have missed.”
The talented McGrath is also a keen golfer and an excellent soccer player for Lisbellaw United, he agrees that sport is a great social event, “I suppose sport is a great way of bringing people together and even if you aren’t taking an active playing role there is so many other roles from health and well being, coaching, committee and social media for people to take up nowadays.”
Paul McGrath has volunteered endless hours for Belcoo O’Rahilly’s, his drive and enthusiasm for the game and his club sets him apart from countless other people.
