‘No Name’ Cathal is the perfect host

South Galway’s Cathal Broderick won Host of the Year at the No Name Club’s National Youth Awards in Kilkenny recently.
More than 1,000 members of the organisation from all over Ireland gathered in the Lyrath Hotel, Kilkenny for the final of its Host and Hostess of the Year competition, with both awards eventually going to the west.
Sixteen-year-old Cathal, a member of Gort No Name Club, was named Host of the Year, while Eadaoin Ni Mhaicin from Claremorris No Name Club in Mayo, was named Hostess of the Year.
There was a large crowd at the event with members of clubs around the country supporting all 10 finalists. Cathal was backed by a vocal contingent from Gort No Name Club, as well as his proud parents Eamonn and Marian. The finalists were interviewed on stage by RTÉ’s Damien Tiernan before entertaining with a party piece. Cathal sang a very impressive rendition of Ed Sheeran’s Give Me Love. Prior to joining the local No Name Club, Cathal wasn’t a confident performer.
“I only started doing music, singing and acting this year. We had a musical at school, Back to the 80s, in January and that was my first time ever on stage. I loved it and I have been doing it since. I have been really doing a lot of singing and I didn’t think I would enjoy it but I love it,” he told The Clare Champion.
The finalists were all also recently interviewed at length by the National Youth Awards adjudicating panel and its chairman, Michael Browne, told the audience at the finals that “the competition was very close and the standards extremely high”.
The Host and Hostess of the Year awards are presented to the No Name Club members who, in the opinion of the adjudicating panel, have made outstanding contributions to their own personal development, their No Name Club and the wider community during the past year.
“The calibre of these finalists representing the calibre of young people in this room and in No Name Clubs throughout Ireland is astonishing,” said No Name Club CEO John Donovan.
Eadaoin Ni Mhaicin was presented with the newly inaugurated Jo Hannon Perpetual Trophy for Hostess of the Year by Tommy Hannon, from Portlaoise, who along with his late wife spent over 20 years as an adjudicator for the No Name Club’s Youth Awards.
Cathal was presented with the newly inaugurated Bobby Kerr Perpetual Trophy by the late Kilkenny man’s children Bobby and Suzanne, while their mother Moya was also in attendance.
Mr Kerr, who owned Kilkenny’s Newpark Hotel, made a significant contribution to the No Name Club during its formative years.
“It was a very special organisation to him and he told great stories about it,” his son Bobby told the audience. The businessman, now well-known as one of the Dragons on Dragons’ Den, recalled that in 1978 his job was to set up the room for the No Name Club in his father’s hotel.
Following the presentation of the awards a huge party got underway, with Mr Kerr stating his intention to keep pace with the huge number of young No Name Club members at the disco. “I haven’t been invited to an all-night party for a long time – bring it on!” he said.
Cathal, from Newtown, just joined Gort No Name Club this year.
“Usually people join the No Name Club in Gort after they do their junior cert. I am in transition year now so I joined this year. From then you can stay in it as long as you want. Most people leave after Leaving Cert but then they can come back as junior leaders and when you grow up you can come back as an adult leader. You can be in it as long as you want, for life if you want to,” he explained.
Cathal said he joined the club after he saw how much his older sister enjoyed it.
“My sister was in it and she recommended it. It is a natural transition too in Gort from the youth club to the No Name club. We meet every Friday night at the VEC building in Gort. Some nights we just meet up, other nights we do things like have a movie night or a card night and we have a cookery night coming up. We arrange bigger events too, like we are having a fun run in Coole Park at the weekend,” he outlined.
The No Name Club is one of Ireland’s largest and most vibrant voluntary youth organisations. No Name Clubs are run by and for young people aged 15 years and over, who come together with their peers in a safe environment for fun, friendship and to enjoy a wide range of activities and outings free from the pressures associated with alcohol or other drugs.
Gort No Name Club consists of 70 members. As well as organising events for themselves, members also volunteer with local charities, take part in national talent competitions and host teenage discos in Labane Hall where the club’s hosts and hostesses take responsibility for all aspects of running the event, except security.
No Name Clubs around the country embody a lifestyle in which the use of alcohol or drugs is recognised as unnecessary to the enjoyment of a happy and fulfilling social life for young people.
“Alcohol is a big part of Irish culture,” Cathal recognises.
“Once you hit 16 everyone is doing it so it is like people think you are not able to have fun if you don’t. If your friends are doing it, you want to do it too maybe so that you can keep them as your friends. What the No Name Club tries to do is get people to have fun without alcohol.
“If you spend your time with people who are going drinking all the time you are more likely to go and do that too whereas if your friends are in the No Name Club, you are surrounding yourself with people who are not interested in alcohol and you don’t feel like you need it either,” he concluded.