Portaferry looking to the future says outgoing chairman

PORTAFERRY chairman Colum Conlan says it’s time to pass on the baton to younger members of the club as he wraps up his final week at the helm of the committee.

Of course, that’s not this week’s main event. The Portaferry hurlers are honing their preparations for Sunday’s Ulster Senior Championship final showdown against Sleacht Néill, their first appearance on provincial final day since annexing the Liam Harvey Cup back in 2014.

A potted history: Portaferry, located, as you’ll well know, is located on the southern end of the Ards Peninsula and it’s long been associated with the strength of its hurling teams.

The depth of the club’s hurling tradition can be gauged from the fact that the game was first played on the Peninsula as early as 1900.

But it was Ned Purcell, an agricultural inspector from Tipperary, who laid the real foundations between 1912 and 1917, and – eureka! – that’s why they play in the blue and yellow of Tipperary.

They’ve won 24 Down Senior Championship titles, vying for supremacy on an annual basis with neighbours Ballycran and Ballygalget. Portaferry have won four of the five last titles, a factoid that speaks for itself.

Their outgoing chairman Colum Conlan has two sons on the Portaferry starting XV, midfield partners Shane and Matthew (Matthew, by the way, is team captain). Colum has a particular interest in the club’s youth structures and gives us a lowdown on their structures.

“We cater for every age group starting from the fundamentals. We’ve coaches looking after every team and we have a Juvenile committee which is chaired by Conor O’Prey and Fergal Rogers. Fergal’s wife is there as well, Justin.

“They’re a breath of fresh air to be honest with you. They’ve made the Juvenile committee their own and they’ve arranged coaching courses for all the managers.”

Portaferry field three teams at adult level, the purpose of which is ensuring everyone gets a chance to take to the field as well as streamlining the influx of younger players onto their flagship senior team.

“We have what we call three senior teams. There’s the Junior team, which is the minors that are coming to the end of their juvenile years. There’s a mixture of young lads and fellas who have semi-retired.

“If the young lads play well, they move on to the Intermediate team. It seems to be working well for us – for example we had a group of minor lads who moved up into the seniors and now four or five of them are important players at senior level. Tom McGratttan, Ciaran Savage, Ciaran Milligan and Finn Turpin should all be taking part this weekend against Sleacht Néill.”

While he’ll no doubt play an important role in years to come, Conlan is bidding adieu to the chairmanship of the club.

“I’m finishing up this week, it’s time for young blood to take over. If you look at the boys who played against Sleacht Néill a couple of years ago but have now retired, they’re coming back into the club to coach and join the committee. It’s good and they have young families as well which is also encouraging to see.”