THIS NEW SECTION WILL PROFILE PROMINENT CLUB MEMBERS, BOTH PAST AND PRESENT. IT WILL ALSO INCLUDE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE CLUB:

A PROFILE OF THE JUNIOR SQUAD AS PROVIDED BY DERMOT MC MAHON.

BARRY, SHANE (Nickname: Moan) A fearless warrior type player. Shane would not be the biggest in stature but his heart is immense. A regular player for years for Ballymun and the dressing room wouldn't be the same without him. Has knocked competition aside every year to keep winning his place and strives on the competition.

BOLGER, TREVOR (Nickname: "Army Big Boy") Trevor has played for Ballymun now for a long time. Has grown in stature over the past year or two and maybe this year will be his year to fulfill his full potential. We have yet to see Trevors best this year but hopefuly over the next few weeks he will come up trumps.

CAMPBELL, DAVID (Nickname: "Dave") The gentle giant of junior football Dave has been around for a couple of years but that hasn't stopped him from being the pillar of our attack. Dave is the man we like to hit with the ball and has caused defences many a headache already this year.

CLANCY, KEVIN (Nickname: - Various - "Mobile", "Mobileless", "Clangers" "HairOil" etc) A gifted left footed player who's dead ball accuracy can win games for us at any level. Our first choice penalty taker and left side free taker Kevin does a lot of unnoticed work during a game and tirelessly runs and runs covering more ground than a midfield player.

COLLINS, ALAN (Nickname: - "Sporty Spice") Alan has just rejoined the Mun and his energy and constant running is an extremely important ingredient in the juniors team. An excellent player who if he puts his mind to it will be joining the senior side in the not the too distant future.

DALY, KEVIN ( Nickname: "Lagan") Kevin is another new signing for Ballymun. He transferred this year from Cork and his beautiful Munster tone can now be heard in the heart of Ballymun. His midfield prowess can sometimes be awesome although he needs to wok on his fitness level. Loves to go back for a pint and a chat even though no-one can understand a word he says.

DINNEGAN, GARY ( Nickname: "Dino" / "Boooooooo") Gary's job as a Chef has hindered his progress this year with the junior squad. Unable to train yet he never misses a match early or late when he is available. A determined and hard battler Gary makes every corner backs day one to forget.

DUNNE, GARY (Nickname: "Space Cadet") Gary is a sibling Junior player. Still under 21 and was on the U21 championship Team this year. Trying his best to break into the squad at an early age. Training is a must for Gary when he is on this planet !!!!!!!!!!

DUNNE, PAUL (Nickname: "Worzel") Many people may gasp when they hear that Paul is still playing. Yet Paul has been the most consistent of all the Junior players this year. Fast, strong and determined are the words which best descibe Paul. Yet like every experienced player the old training ground isn't his favourite place.

DOLAN, NIALL (Nickname: "Nest") Another U21 footballer trying to break into the team. An important member of the squad and one of the young guns who still go upstairs in the Autobahn. Trains hard and plays hard, truly one to look out for the future.

EUSTACE, DEREK (Nickname : "Knobbly") Derek Eustace another younger member of the squad. fantastic footballer who has been with the Juniors for a few years now. Hasn't kicked a ball with us in a year due to knee problems but still comes to training and every match. A dedicated footballer.

HARGAN, GERRY (Nickname: "All-Star") Gerry Hargan still fights on and his battling and courage has helped bring about the Juniors success so far. To play beside him is an education in itself. To watch him block , tackle and catch is nothing short of inspiring.

KILMARTIN, DECLAN (Nickname: "Carslberg") Declan has to be the most improved player in the past year or two. Declans constant determination to improve his fitness and skill is a lesson a lot of more experienced players should heed. KAVANAGH. BARRY (Nickname: "Assault & Vinegar") Barry's broken leg has meant tha he hasn't played at all in the champo this year and is unlikely to recover in time to see any action. He has been with us for many a season and I'm sure once recovered, will be back into the scene again.

LAWLOR, SIMON (Nickname: "Stan") Simon dropped down form Intermediate level to provide the juniors with a depth in their Championship squad. Simon's height and leg strength are a huge asset to the squad and his versatility shows he can play anywhere from full back to full forward.

LYNCH, JOHN (Nickname: Jack) One of the old school Jack has come from managing the Juniors to becoming a fighting corner forward. Jack has proved his worth and is now a regular corner forward with the champo team.

LYNCH, PADRAIG (Nickname: Nelly) Padraig, brother of Jack, is fast becoming one of the best half backs in the Junior squad. Living down in Cork he has to undergo the extra torment of training alone but it seems to be working as he is one of the fittest on the team.

MCAULIFFE, JIM(Nickname: Senior) Jim is a highly talented footballer who is trying to break through into the senior squad. Jim who has opted to train with the seniors has been a huge figure in the champo so far and we hope that he can prove his worth again.

MCCARTHY, CATHAL (Nickname: Cal) Cal has joined up onto the junior team after a coming back form injury. Another one fighting for a place in the Senior squad Cal is a great catch for us juniors. Strong fast and accurate Cal is a great hope for point scoring.

MCMAHON, DERMOT (Nickname: Macker) Dermot took over the management after last years champo and has had all the lads training hard. Wing back by nature his attacking skills have been brought on over the past few years and he is now seen as the Ultimate attacking half back

MCNAMEE, CORMAC (Nickame: Aussie) Cormac is the 'keeper of the net for the Juniors. Just returned fron down under he has recently got his confidence back and his shot stopping ability is second only to that of Davy Byrne. If he keeps going the way he is Byrner could be gettign worried.

O HARA, GEORGE (Nickname: Georgie) George came back into the fold with Alan Collins this year. Corner forward by nature, can turn on a six pence and slot a ball over the bar from almost any angle.

PLUNKETT, KEITH (Nickname: Skinny) Keith Plunkett quickly finding his fitness and from this season. Started training larte and is currently waiting for his big break into the the champo team.

RICHARDSON, EOIN (Nickname: Yosser) Eoin is a remarkable young talent who has a great future ahead of him. For my mind he is a senior standard player and is just finding his feet. An integal part of the champo team when he plays well, the team plays well.

ROCHE, CATHAL (Nickame: Rochie) Cathal has trained hard this year and his height and strenght make him a very strong feature of the champo squad. a great team motivator and his leadership skills help push eveyone along.

EOIN ROCHE (Nickname: Gloves) Eoin was doing splendid this year, training hard and battling for a corner forward place. Then he got married and we haven't seen him since. Throws a good party though ( sorry Claire).

RYAN, PAUL (Nickname: Ryaner) Paul, last years Player of the Year is this years captain. Playing an inspirational role for the first half of the season, Paul suffered a re-occurrence of an old injury which has kept him out of action for months. Battling his best to get back for champo.

STAUNTON, GERRY (Nickname: Sick note) Gerry has been one of the hardest trainers this year and has proved his worth throuhout the season. Having a good battle with other members of the squad for a place in corner back for the champo team.

TAYLOR, GARETH (Nickname: Tom Cruise) Gary is back after a few years in the wilderness. His fitnesss is improving and his agility on and off the ball is quickly coming back to him. Gerry Stauntons favourite player !!!

WALSH, SEAMUS ( Nickname: Shemo) Shemo was out for a while with a broken finger but is now back in action. Well trained and a good fielder of the ball Shemo makes an excellent third midfielder in times of trouble.

YOUNG, ALAN (Nickname: Lazy) Alan, despite his nickname has come on leaps and bounds in the past few months. Barely missing training and pushing himself into the champo team Alan has proved that his skill and eye for the target aRe worth us constantly harassing him.

THE MANAGEMENT MC MAHON, DERMOT (AS ABOVE)

SMITH, DAVID (NICKNAME Shankley) Dave came on board last year and his intimidating appearance has put the shakes up both teams and official. Great mind for the game and likes to speak it !!

Neil O Connell ( Nickname: NOC) Premature retirement after a bad injury has meant that NOC has teamed up witht he Juniors. A gret footballing mind with a great eye for making changes NOC can win a match just from the sideline.

A LOOK BACK AT THE EVENTS OF 1999 BY CLUB SECRETARY GERRY ALCOCK

Ballymun Kickhams had a reasonably quiet 1999 on the playing fields. Our senior team is currently lying mid-table in Division One of the league and are hoping for an improvement for the coming year. At the beginning of the league, we drew three out of the first four games and if these games had gone our way we would have been in contention for league honours. However our championship campaign produced one of the main talking points in Dublin football for years. In the first round we beat Naomh Barrog by 2-20 to 0-7 in May. This victory then set us against St.Brigids in the next round. The match was not played until August and the game finally went ahead on August 8th in Parnell Park. Ballymun Kickhams were winning by 1-8 to 1-5 with just two minutes remaining when to the astonishment to everyone who attended the game, the referee awarded a penalty to St Brigids. The decision was both puzzling and unbelievable, as no one, bar the referee, knows what the penalty was for. The referee informed our Manager Anto Mc Caul after the game that the penalty was awarded our goalkeeper for barging when in fact he was fouled in the small square. St Brigids duly converted the penalty and then scored the winning point well into injury time to clinch victory by one point. The executive of the club appealed the decision by the referee to award St Brigids the penalty, but the Dublin County Board threw out our appeal on the grounds that it cannot change the referee's final report. We feel that the decision deprived our Senior team of certain victory, scant reward for the personal sacrifices the Senior panel made since last January when they spent up to three nights a week training for the championship. Our Intermediate football team, under the management of Pat Mannion and Gerry Alcock, are also currently lying in a mid-table position in Division Two of the League. The team is going through a transition period at the moment and are hoping to improve our panel with some Minor and Under-21 players next season. Our Junior team, managed by Dermot McMahon, are struggling in Division Two of their league and hopefully we can retain our status in Division Two for the coming season. Both teams made first-round exits from the championship this year. The Intermediate team drew with Fingallians (3-9 to 4-6) in mid-June in a magnificent game of Football, a credit to both teams. Fingallians were far to strong for us in the replay, running out easy victors on a 0-10 to 0-4 scorline. The junior team was unfortunate in their championship game. Despite having two players sent off, we lost by only two points (0-11 to 1-6). Our under-21 team were beaten by a very good Naomh Mearnog team a couple of weeks ago in the second round of the championship. The team never really got going on the day and hopefully the players will not be to dis-heartened and look forward to next season. The Minor team finished in a good position in their league and were well beaten by a strong Craobh Ciarain team in the championship. The team is managed by Mick Shelley, Shane Mc Kean and our Clubman of the year, Johnny Mahony. Our Juvenile section is not in a healthy state at the moment. We currently are in need of mentors and drivers, including parents to look after the players on Saturday mornings and afternoons. This would entail only two or three hours a week of your time and it would make things a lot easier for club members who are sometimes managing two and even three teams at the weekends. Our clubhouse is situated on Collinstown Lane, a fine structure completed in 1997.We have two pitches situated alongside and are at the moment installing floodlighting for training in the long dark evenings. At the moment, we also looking into improving the clubhouse with some necessary modifications which are vital. These improvements come at a cost and we need all players and members to assist by selling Lotto envelopes every week to help with the running costs of the club. Finally, we would like to thank all our sponsors who have helped financially Ballymun Kickhams, especially The Autobahn Roadhouse, The Towers and Blanco.

JOHNNY MAHONEY-CLUB MAN OF THE YEAR 1999 AND AGAIN FOR THE YEAR 2000

Johnny Mahoney joined the Club in 1986, He drove the St. Joseph's National School sports teams bus to and from matches. He always had a great interest in the youth of his area and saw that Gaelic games were a way of keeping the young people of Poppintree occupied. He started going to matches on Saturday mornings and although he did not know the first thing about the game he took a great interest in it. He became part of the coaching team for the then under 12's. A team that included Ian Robertson, Daren Ducie and David McCarthy, all now prominent members of Ballymun's current senior side. With the purchase of the club mini bus in 1987 Johnny's experience as a driver was used more and more. He became a familiar sight at all Kickhams juvenile games. As his knowledge of the game increased he took on the responsibility of managing his own teams. Today he is co-manager of the minor team. He also assists in the running of the clubs weekly lotto.

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