Inside Track: Séamus O’Hanlon shows there’s much more to football than just playing

It’s always good to see players giving something back to the game in which they enjoyed success when their playing days are over. It happens in all sports.

Some become coaches, looking after teams all the way up from underage to adult level, while others take on club roles, chairman, secretary, etc.

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Séamus O’Hanlon enjoyed an excellent career with Clan na Gael and Louth; his performances for the county winning him recognition from the Leinster Railway Cup selectors. He’s the holder of five county medals, and others won in leagues.

After hanging up his boots, he and a long-time county team colleague of his, the late and lamented Stephen Melia, joined with manager Éamonn McEneaney on the Louth management team.

They had a significant win, guiding their team to league Division Two success almost two decades ago, beating Donegal in the final.

On relocating to the Tullyallen area, O’Hanlon got involved with the local Glen Emmets, helping with underage coaching.

In more recent times, the former Louth senior team captain has moved to a different role within the GAA fraternity.

For the past five years, he’s been the prime mover in a venture designed to annually give recognition to deceased GAA members, and at the same time raise funds for worthy causes.

He heads the Louth GAA Past Players Group, which each year organises a walk, among other things. Fair to say, the number of people, including former county players, supporters and members of the commemorateds’ families, has grown substantially since the first walk was staged.

The initial outing was in the name of the aforementioned Stephen Melia. The list since then includes Benny Reilly, Colin Quinn and Padraig O’Neill, all who wore the county jersey prior to their untimely deaths.

Upwards on 100 gathered on the Saturday before last for this year’s walk, which took in a coastal route from Clogherhead to the beach at Termonfeckin.

Less arduous than last year’s over the Cooley Mountains, maybe, but still a test for the 40 former Louth players and a large number of members of the late Marie Claire Rogers’ family.

Marie Claire was a Naomh Finbarra and Louth footballer who died suddenly in April of last year while on holiday in Australia. Her father, Andrew, who also wore the Finbarra colours, took in the walk along with her sisters Frances, Grace and Heather. Also, there was another Togher stalwart, Anne Marie’s uncle, John Osborne.

The sand dunes negotiated by the walkers in this year’s trek wasn’t foreign territory to Séamus O’Hanlon, maybe just a wee bit less intimidating. He’d have been up and down them in pre-season training in his time as a footballer, taking instructions from county team managers, Mickey Whelan and Frank Lynch.

He and his colleagues have chosen the excellent Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust as recipients of the funds raised this year – and with very good reason.

It was the Trust that did played a major part in bringing Marie Claire’s body home from Australia. Its work was very much appreciated by the Rogers family.

The footballers’ group is not resting on its laurels. Word from Séamus O’Hanlon is that a golf classic is being held in Greenore on Friday, August 28th.

“The craic will be good – it always is,” he says. “We had a great turnout for the walk; hopefully it will be as good for the golf.

The yarns seem to get taller at every gathering, and I don’t suppose it will be any different in Greenore. It’s part of the day when old friends and foes come together.”