Local Faces: Barbara O’Malley

AS PART of The Echo celebrating 45 years, we’re celebrating local faces and places. We share the stories of local people, and remind ourselves of the great community spirit across local areas.

This week Ken Doyle talks to Glenanne Hockey Club member Barbara O’Malley, recently named President of Hockey Ireland.

Hockey Ireland has a new president. And she’s one of our own.

Born and raised in Inchicore and now happily ensconced in Tallaght, Glenanne Hockey Club’s Barbara O’Malley recently received her Presidential pin at a small ceremony at Hockey Ireland’s AGM.

As she settles in for her two-year term in office and gets to grips with her new workload, Barbara was kind enough to discuss her life in the sport with The Echo.

Barbara first got involved with hockey as a young girl.

“When I was young, I went to school at the Model School in Inchicore and then to Sandymount High School.”

Sandymount was a big hockey-playing school and that’s where Barbara was first exposed to the sport that would shape her life.

“Sad to say, my playing career was reasonably undistinguished. I played as a goalkeeper first for the school and when I started working I played for Crumlin Hospital in the Inter-Hospital Cup – that was a big deal back then.”

“I came from a very sporting family and I played a lot of football in those days too. I’m a lifelong Shamrock Rovers fan and I remember attending games at Glenmalure Park with my Dad when I was very young.”

“That interest in sport has continued on in my family now, and when they’re not playing, our television is constantly tuned into some sport or other.”

Whilst playing with Crumlin Hospital, Barbara and some of her teammates heard about a team called Glenanne who were looking for players, so they decided to go along. It’s fair to say she hasn’t looked back since.

“Glenanne Hockey Club actually began life as the Brown Thomas Social Club in 1943,” Barbara tells me.

“When I joined, we played at some pitches owned by the Leinster Hockey Union in Firhouse. They were great days, even though I, as a goalkeeper played the game before the advent of proper protection for the old last line of defence. I took my life into my own hands week after week with nothing but a pair of cricket pads for protection. Luckily I made it through my playing days without any significant injuries,” she says with a laugh.

In 1975, the club moved to Tallaght Community School and stayed there until 1983 when it moved to their present home at St Mark’s Community School.

“Two men were key to that move. Gerry McNamara who was a teacher who went on to become a coach with us, and school principal Frank Murray, who was very keen on introducing the game to the school.”

In Barbara’s second year, she was asked to be captain for the club’s second team, thus beginning her stellar career in sporting administration.

“In the subsequent years, the club went from strength to strength with the multiple ladies and men’s teams making their mark nationwide.

‘We also started a Fillies and a Colt’s division to encourage youngsters to take up the game with us.”

“All of this would lead to our first major honour, the Leinster Cup in ’96, which was soon followed by victories in just about everything else.

‘We achieved so much, including European Qualification a couple of times resulting in a silver medal in the Hockey equivalent of the Cup Winners’ Cup.”

Meanwhile Barbara had taken up a Herculean workload for Glenanne behind the scenes. She had been Social Secretary, coach of the Ladies senior team (for 16 years) and had volunteered for a million other things around the club.

In 1990, Glenanne laid their first 2G pitch at their Tallaght base and the then newly-elected President of Ireland Mary Robinson came out to open it. “I believe it was the first sporting engagement she had as President,” Barbara adds.

Speaking of pitches, in 1996 she became pitch-booking secretary, a position she still holds, and President of the club.

“I was President in 2000 when we won the All-Ireland Hockey Championship, which was the highest domestic honour a club could win. That was a great moment.”

Naturally, Barbara ensures that I thank everyone else on her behalf, attempting to shun the spotlight being shined on herself.

She firmly states, “I would not have achieved what I have without the support of my wonderful family or without the many great people I met through Glenanne who have helped to shape me along on the way.”

Whilst Barbara considers Glenanne to be her second family, she has a very active family of her own at home, all sports mad, and all Glenanne players.

“My husband Eddie, whom I met at the club, plays for the Grandmasters over 65s team.

‘My sons Edward, Kevin and David (a former Echo contributor) all rose through the ranks at the club. I now have three grandchildren, so we’ll see if they pick up the hockey stick in the future.”

“Glenanne is very much a family-type organisation and we often have multiple generations of the same family turning out for us. We’re a welcoming and inclusive club and we’re always interested in bringing new people in.”

She adds with a whisper, “We’re also always looking for sponsors too, but that’s another story.”

Barbara’s formidable administrative skills were noticed by Leinster Hockey first and she became Vice-president of the Leinster Ladies Hockey Union in 2007, subsequently playing a major part in the unification of the game under the Hockey Ireland banner.

“I must admit, when I left that role, I had decided I was retiring. I felt a bit burnt out and my grandchildren were arriving so I thought it was a good time to bow out gracefully, whilst staying involved with Glenanne to a more minor extent.”

“I was then, out of nowhere, approached by Hockey Ireland to take over as President and after a consultation with the family, decided it was too big an honour to turn down.”

“It’s lovely to be in a position to promote and help shape the future of the game in Ireland. One of my main briefs is to make hockey accessible to as many people as possible.

‘We had the Irish ‘Hockey ID’ (standing for intellectual disabilities) honoured recently and it was amazing to see how much it meant to them. It was the most rewarding thing I think I’ve ever done in hockey.”

We’ll leave the last word to the Tallaght sporting powerhouse, Barbara O’Malley, and we at The Echo congratulate her on the fantastic honour and wish her well in her presidential term.

“I am just honoured and proud to be President of the progressive organisation that is Hockey Ireland.”

For more information on Glenanne Hockey Club, visit their website.