Martin Collins An Appreciation – “Not all Club Heroes Wear Football Boots!”
It can be all too easy to overlook the vital work carried out by club officers to make our Club the hugely successful club that it is. Our players are lauded as local legends and we get to show our appreciation for their efforts from the stands and terraces, but what about those volunteers working diligently behind the scenes to ensure that our teams are supported in every possible way off-the field. While they’ll be deeply respected by many within the Club, but just as many will have little idea of how much work they do.
Martin Collins, who will step down as Austin Stacks GAA Club PRO at this Sunday’s Club AGM, knows a thing or two about volunteerism. It was a lucky day for us when Martin brought his young son, Brian, up to Connolly Park in 1988. From that day and ever since Martin has fine-tuned his exceptional Club PRO and Secretarial skills and has held a variety of roles for the club. The go to man for all the club stats has some serious stats of his own:
- Juvenile Club PRO – 1988
- Juvenile Club Secretary 1989
- Senior Club Secretary 1990-2009 (19 years)
- Senior Club PRO 2010-2023 (13 years)
No tribute will do Martin’s contribution to Austin Stacks GAA Club over decades justice. We can only thank him for every team sheet, subs slip, match report, club tribute, obituary notice, his weekly club notes, club milestone reports, referees, match tickets, meeting minutes, his famous annual player and team stats, match fixtures, church collections, social media pieces, his tremendous contribution to our Centenary book in 2017, card nights, lotto draws, the list could go on and on but behind it all was Martin; the gentleman wearing the flat cap, writing on the tiniest of notebooks on every Stacks sideline, quietly going about his business professionally, meticulously and always with the ability to keep a cool head while everyone around him was sometimes losing theirs. Martin providing the management teams of the Stacks hurlers, B and C football teams with the exact same exemplary service as he would to a Co. Championship winning Senior team.
The sort of person who volunteers their time to do the unseen but vital work is also generally the type who isn’t too bothered about public acclaim. For them the quiet satisfaction of a job well done is all the reward they seek. That is Martin in a nutshell.
We conclude with one more insight into Martin’s character; amongst the thousands of match reports he has written no report has ever featured the naming of a red card offender – Stacks were simply reduced to 14.
Enjoy your retirement Martin, we look forward to seeing you in a supporter’s role for many days to come and enjoying your card nights in the club.
