The Community Games played a large part in a lot of Irish people’s lives and they continue to do so to this day, so JOE is going to take a look at how the games started along with some of our favourite memories from back in the day.
We’re sure a lot of you will have fond memories of the Community Games from when you were a (good) bit younger. Triumphant wins, bitter losses and scraped knees were all part and parcel of the games back in our day. They still are to this day and it's all thanks to a man called Joseph Connolly.
Mr Connolly mobilised a handful of adults back in 1967 who came together and formed a committee to deal with the problems of lack of leisure time activities for young people. The games have grown in popularity over the years, spreading to areas all across the country and this year saw around 500,000 young people taking part.
Back in our day, qualifying events took place in community halls and local parks throughout the year, but the finals took place over the second weekends in May and August in Mosney, Co. Meath, and for a lot of us it was like going to the Gaeltacht for two days without having to learn the lingo.
There were all sorts of games and activities to choose from including Athletics, G.A.A., football, swimming, pitch & putt and basketball just to name a few, and there was still plenty to do if sports wasn’t really your thing. There were various art classes, music lessons, quizzes and other activities (like the choir) to keep you busy for the entire weekend.
Most of us competed in our area games and the lucky ones would move on to the county games and sometimes even the provincial finals. It was always a great feeling beating your mates in different events and progressing through the competitions, but nothing felt like making it to the finals in Mosney.
Going to the finals of the Community Games felt like going to a mini-Olympics. You were one of the best in your county, and the country for that matter, at whatever it was that you were doing. So you made sure to go out there with pride, even if you knew you were going to get hammered by the lads from Cork and Kerry who were built like brick-sh*t houses, but that didn’t matter because you were in the finals.
They were great times had by all and even the scrapes and bruises you picked up along the way would later serve as battle scars that you could use to impress your mates, especially if they weren’t there to see what happened.
These days the games are held in the Athlone Institute of Technology, Westmeath, but we’ll always remember the good times and uplifting summers we had in our local areas and in Mosney thanks to the Community Games.
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