‘Golden’ era for Grove is delayed by virus
THE Covid-19 pandemic has wiped out competitive sport in every club across the country, but the timing of the lockdown is especially unfortunate for Grove Rangers FC who have had to curtail their Golden Anniversary celebrations.
It’s 50 years ago this summer that Brendan Gregory and Frank Farrell together formed Grove, who began life based in Ballsgrove before relocating to bigger facilities at Rathmullen where they remain today.
Brendan’s own remarkable contribution to the club was recognised when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at this year’s Drogheda Independent Coca-Cola Sport Star Awards, but within weeks Grove Rangers’ plans to mark half a century in the town were throw into disarray.
A disappointed Brendan, who remains chairman of Grove, said: ‘ We were planning a bit of fund-raising this year, another book to mark 50 years and also a special night with a cake which old members of the club would have been invited to.
‘It’s very unfortunate that all this happened to put a stop to our plans, but it’s the same for a lot of teams and we will hold them at a later stage, maybe in 2021.’
In the shorter term the focus is on getting back training and, eventually, playing matches, but Brendan isn’t sure when that’s going to happen.
‘We’re anxious to get back and do a bit of training, even without the contact, maybe in July, with leagues starting up in August, but it just depends on how things go with the virus.
‘I just miss the hustle and bustle and the training and arranging games, stuff like that. Everything is too quiet.
‘It definitely will affect the young players too. Normally they can’t wait to get out and play soccer or Gaelic and all of a sudden it was all cut off and we can’t even do a bit of training.
‘In the winter time when the weather gets bad, sometimes games get called off for a couple of weeks, but that’s all.
‘It’s tough for the managers as well. They are desperate to get back, but there’s one of them who has four girls playing for Grove in different age groups and he’d be worried about the schools going back.
‘Then you look at the situation with our Under-17s who play in the Dundalk League, and they have to get a bus together to Dundalk for matches.’
It remains to be seen when exactly competitive soccer will return, but on the bright side Grove Rangers are in a relatively healthy position.
‘We’ve about a hundred players spread across our teams - Under-8s, 10s, 11s, 13s, 14s and 17s,’ Brendan reported, ‘There’s a lot of competition around the town because there’s so many clubs, so it’s good to have the younger ages coming back and the numbers [in the club] have improved a bit.
‘I just want to thank all our past players and their families, and also our current players and their families, for their support.
‘We look forward to getting back to training again and hopefully then matches, but of course it all depends on our Government/ HSE regulations. People’s health and safety must come first.’
Anyone interested in joining Grove Rangers can contact Brendan Gregory at 087-6958126.