Club Volunteer Profile: : Maura Kelly

Club Volunteer Profile:

Name: Maura Kelly

Club: Con Magees Glenravel & Brídíní Óga,

Club Role: Club shop co-ordinator

How long in this role: 4 years (since the shop opened)

What do you enjoy most about the role:

I really enjoy the buzz around the shop at matches. The shop brings people (young and old) together and has a very strong social element to it. We now have a large group of volunteers who help out since we have home games virtually every day of the week. I love the fact that the shop brings us all together and fosters a real feeling of belonging.

It resonates in many ways with the recent GAA branding “Where we all belong”.

What has been your most memorable moment?: There have been many. Our current shop started life as a small store.

Pauline Mulholland and myself came up with the idea of a converting it to a shop 4 years ago, and it started of with a table at the front of the store. It is now fully fitted with sink, boiler, kitchen units and fridge freezer and that makes us all feel proud to be part of the success. If I had to single out one memorable event it would have to be the Feis na nGleann in 2016. Con Magees were hosting that year due to it being our centenary year.

The buzz the entire day was absolutely fantastic and the commitment of our team of volunteers, including our families was amazing. The event brought everyone together and having a very busy second shop open under the scoreboard, just confirmed the need for a club shop is there.