Kilrush man takes the helm of ladies football

Newly appointed Clare Ladies Football County Board chairman Alan Copley has immersed himself in most aspects of the game in recent years.
When his three daughters showed an interest in the sport, the Ennis-based Kilrush man became involved with Banner Ladies. Since then, he has helped out with virtually every underage team from U-10 to minor and has devoted equal time and effort to many underage county development squads.
“We don’t know too much about camogie because I’m from Kilrush originally,” Alan joked.
“My eldest daughter went into the Banner and the other two are there at the moment too. I started off with the U-10s and U-12s, right at the grassroots. It was great craic and was something I was longing to get into,” he added.
He liked the fact that the club’s priority was to ensure everyone got a game, whatever their level of ability.
“They had and still have a great philosophy. For example in 2011 we had three teams at U-12, two in division 4, rather than have girls standing on the sideline. That’s what I loved about it and then we went up the ages with the teams I was involved with. We’d a great team as well. They won everything around them,” he said.
A few years back, Alan was roped in to help with the under age county development squads.
“I got a call then from Michael Edwards Murphy to come and help out with the county squads about two or three years ago. We were all over the place but mainly back in West Clare,” he recalled, citing Kieran Harvey, Joe Downes, Johnny Hayes, Áine Kelly and Eimear Considine as amongst those he has worked with on the player development side.
In his role as county board chairman Alan is hoping to establish a base for underage squads in Ennis and in West Clare. This approach would definitely cut down on travelling.
“We’re going for the two training centres model. Training is hard enough besides driving for two hours back to West Clare. So the plan would be to keep our West Clare centre and also have one around Ennis. Keep it handy for the parents and keep the parents involved. North Clare people have an awful distance to travel but less travel will bring more players in,” he maintains.
Regarding his county board involvement, Alan Copley first worked under the wing of adult PRO Mary Keane. 
“I took up the role of juvenile PRO. That was great because Mary Keane knows the ropes and she’s so open and welcoming. I also enjoyed doing the PRO job for the club and that was a springboard,” he added.
Succeeding Johnny Hayes as county board chairman is an onerous task. The Ballyea man has made a huge contribution to ladies football as a mentor, referee and an administrator over the last few decades.
“You couldn’t compare yourself to him. He has a lifetime given. One thing I learned during the year, he’s so well regarded. He has done everything from coaching, to reffing, everything. I couldn’t compare myself to him but all you can do is think about the future. Johnny is the vice chair, which is a big thing. I certainly didn’t want to go in there and have a bit of a vacuum. That’s one of the big reasons I was happy to go in there,” Copley revealed, noting that he intends to focus on fundraising as well as maintaining his involvement with development squads during his stint as chairman.
Away from football, Alan has felt the chill wind of the economic meltdown as much as anyone. However he is currently studying part-time for a masters degree at NUIG.
“I’ve been made redundant twice in the last eight years. In the last two years I’ve tried to change things. What I’ve been doing for the last year and a half is working on a project of my own. The other thing I’m doing is a Masters in Technology Management. I did an MBA about eight years ago,” he revealed.
When in employment Alan was an operations manager in manufacturing.
“The bottom has fallen out of the manufacturing side of it. I used to be a hard core company fella at one stage. I spent three years in Dublin on my own with the family in Ennis. I spent another year in Cork doing the same thing. Electronics manufacturing would have been my background but it’s almost gone completely,” he sighed.
The county board chairman can therefore identify with the upsurge in emigration, which is adversely affecting several Clare ladies football clubs. This has resulted in the possibility that Kilmihil, Fergus Rovers and Coolmeen may be re-graded to intermediate status this year.
“It’s a sign of the times, we have a top flight club in Kilmihil who are considering applying for intermediate status. It’s been well known that we’ve a high proportion of teachers in Clare ladies football and that sector has taken a very hard hit. It’s well known that players are suffering as well,” the chairman acknowledged, having learned first hand how badly the economy has stalled.