OPINION: Our sporting greats should be honoured, publicly and permanently

Inspired by a discussion on our Facebook page this week, Paul Fitzpatrick gives his two cents on a topic he has written about many times in the past.

Readers of this column are, I'm sure, sick of hearing about Cavan's football glory days, back when cups over-flowed, when men were men and shorts were shorter. 

Visitors to the county, though, could pass through and know nothing, really, of that time when we were kings. They'd think Cavan Town was just another urban stopping point in a rural heartland, where the guard of honour along the dreary main drag is peopled by bookies' shops and fast food joints, the ubiquitous high street chains that push bets and burgers and little in between.

Now, the arts scene in Cavan is one of the liveliest in the country. It's a treasure. The depth and breadth of talent, on stage, writing, making music, is extraordinary.

Yet there is not a single public art installation honouring the greats of Cavan football or, indeed, any sport, that I know of. It's as if a hundred years of history has been washed away in the rain and in its place stands modern art and faded relics that are of more interest to pigeons than passers-by.

In fact, there are relatively few club grounds even named after the GAA greats, although admittedly local politics plays its part there.

Carried the flame
There is a mural in the county town, on a gable wall at the bottom of Main St, and it's fine – a lovely job by a talented practitioner. There are other bits and bobs, some of them put in place at the time of the Fleadh Cheoil. Some of them are lovingly crafted and there is a place for them all.

But there is nothing, barring a plaque in honour of Willie Doonan at the entrance to Kingspan Breffni and another recalling John Joe O'Reilly at the rear of the stand, remembering the legends who carried the flame for our place all those years ago.

Imagine if that wall on Main St, opposite the cathedral, the primest real estate for this sort of thing, was dedicated to one of the most modest superstars in sport, Catherina McKiernan, over a quarter of a century on from her silver medal in the snow in Boston at the World Cross Country Championships.

This is a figure who remains an inspiration through her clinics and talks and her annual Run With Catherina around the county town, a person synonymous with Cavan who made her dreams a reality through sheer desire and belief.

Or the men of the Polo Grounds, 73 years after they made the impossible possible. There are others deserving of such an accolade, too, people who brought pride to the county and added an inch to the step of Cavan people at home and abroad.

What does it say about us that they have been ignored? All over the country, towns and villages are dotted with lasting monuments to their own greats. But not here.

What better impression could we give off to outsiders than to say that we are proud of our sporting heroes, that we write their names in large print and hope that the next generation follow suit.

All high-achieving sportspeople stand on the shoulders of giants. Mick Higgins, the prince of pigskin who was the greatest footballer of his era, was inspired by a Cavan player of the 1920s and 30s, Jack Smallhorne, who would practise his frees with the young Higgins scampering behind the goals to return the ball.

There are many similar stories. We saw it at the Anglo-Celt Sports Awards last Friday night; top sportspeople are inspired by those who went before. As an example, at that event, Cootehill athlete Catherina Mullen, McKiernan's namesake, spoke of how the legendary Cornafean lady was a role model.

And of course those who do well in sport tend to achieve similarly well in other areas of their lives, as county GAA chairman Kieran Callaghan stated at an event in Croke Park on Monday last when he spoke about how footballers, in his experience, have the drive, team ethic and commitment to be excellent employees. Sporting achievement is a good thing and should be treasured and highlighted, not just to honour the feats in themselves but to nurture the next wave of aspirational youngsters.

And while nothing will beat living, breathing heroes such as those for inspirational value, there's a permanency to what I'm talking about – a statue, a sculpture, a mural maybe – which would be of intrinsic value, too. This is our heritage, it would say, and we're proud of it.

Would it inspire some wide-eyed kid to say that, one day, that could be them? What a great thing that would be, for some athlete from Cavan in 20 years' time to be interviewed and to say “I used to walk past that every day and it made me want to train harder and strive to be just as good”.

Maybe I'm off the mark and the smartphone generation don't care, or notice, that sort of thing. 

And perhaps the greats who have gone before should be left where they are, as sepia-tinted memories of bygone days and little more. As the song says, glory days, they'll pass you by and all that...

I don't mean to denigrate what's there already and I accept that I am coming to this debate form a biased position. 

But sport, along with the arts, is a thing we do well in this county. They need not be mutually exclusive.