Ensuring Rovers’ history is heard
SOME of the better known faces at Sligo Rovers over the years have been the volunteers.
Nowadays, these people are rightly getting a lot of well deserved praised. The Sligo Rovers Heritage Group produced a history book on the club at Christmas time - probably the most extensive League of Ireland history book one could find.
Compiled by the Sligo Rovers Heritage Group and edited by Aidan Mannion, Joe Molloy and Anthony Kilfeather, the book took years to put together in a voluntary capacity. Kevin Colreavy is one of the faces involved with the production of this book. He has been involved with Rovers as a volunteer since his teenage years.
“People around Sligo will recall those two great warriors and close friends, the late Packie McGowan and Brendan Byrne, who visited the pubs and housing estates in Sligo year after year selling tickets for the Rovers. Today fundraising is still a key priority, with Vincent Nally, Peter Henry and their colleagues continuing the tradition of doing invaluable fund- raising for the club,” he told The Sligo Champion.
He added: “Other volunteers preferred to work on the ground, and over the years teams of volunteers have transformed the Showgrounds into one of the finest league venues in the country. For many years there was scarcely an evening when the late Paddy Morahan wasn’t working in the ground, often alongside Ray Gallagher, who shared his deep love of the ground.
“My own experience around the club mirrors that of many other volunteers. I started in my late teens helping out with the match programme, and later joined the management committee as Secretary. I worked alongside a few Managers, Dermot Keely, Willie McStay, Lawrie Sanchez and Steve Cotterill, all had their own special qualities and I would argue all enhanced and developed the club in their own way.”
Having served on the management committee, Kevin was Secretary of the Development Committee. “I worked alongside Ray Gallagher, Noel Scott, Paraic Casey, Michael Toolan and others, especially my great friend the late Padraig Burke. Our first and largest project was the Treacy Avenue Stand, and the cooperation and support we received from the local community brought home to me how highly the club was regarded by the people of Sligo. That Committee also worked on other projects, including providing a car park, developing the all weather facility and constructing a new boundary wall.”
His own voluntary work covers a broad range, but like anyone else who gives their free time to the club, Kevin doesn’t want to take all the credit.
“These days my own volunteering work is being one of the turnstiles crew, a member of the lotto team on Monday evenings and a member of the Rovers Heritage Group.
“But the ‘ volunteers’ putting in the most hours and shouldering the greatest responsibility in any given week are the officers and members of the Management Committee, and I think they deserve great credit for this work.”