Martin Murphy, the secretary manager of St Finbarrs GAA club in Cork, has opened up about his love for the club and his job.
Martin has worked in this role for 13 years, and he really enjoys being part of the fabric of the club. He’s also carrying on a proud tradition, as generations of his family have been involved with Barrs.
“I am responsible for the day to day running of the club. The pitches, allocation of pitches, the bar, the hall, renting our facilities, I am the man that’s hands on, day to day.
“I have been involved with the club all my life. My father was a Barrs man, born in The Lough parish, his father before him was Barrs as well. It’s a tradition here and there’s a lot of families that are part of the club.”
Every day is different for Martin, as Barrs has a big premises. “There’s always different things going on, not just the games, but there’s a bar and a function room, and we hire our facilities out.”
Martin says he loves to see families gathering in Barrs’ facilities. “That’s the key of it, but it also comes back to the sport at the end of the day.
“Barrs is an institution in the south side of the city. We provide teams in hurling, Gaelic football, camogie and ladies’ football. We compete at every grade within the system. We cater to kids under four all the way up to senior adults. People play at different grades, but we are a club that caters to everyone.”
While the club has its all-stars like Jimmy Barry-Murphy, Brian Hayes, and William Buckley, Martin says everyone is welcome and all members are valued. “Everyone is a Barrs’ person.”
Speaking of catering to everyone, the club has a long-standing association with Dinos family chip shops.
“Denis [Dino] Cregan has been a Barrs supporter all his life,” Martin says. “He’s not a businessman who just wants to promote his business through the club. He has always been available to help us.
“Dinos has donated money to us in the past and they never wanted publicity for it. They are currently sponsoring our scoreboard. Dino understands, as a Barrs man, what the club is all about. We really appreciate everything they have done for us.”
What’s Martin’s go-to Dinos order? “I vary my order every time I go, and I am never disappointed.”
Cork runs on Dinos – at the heart of Cork since 1970. Visit dinostakeaway.ie for more.
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