Interview with "Mickey Noone"

When did you join Athenry FC, When did you leave Athenry FC:
- 1991, the great Johnny Delaney had the first juvenile training session in Raheen, I was under 13, there are still photos of that day going around, lads like Paddy Quinn, Mickey Quinn, Gary Coffey, Phili Somers, Paulie McCarthy all were part of the large group that joined that day.

Always played for Athenry.

Finished up in 2012, being away in Dublin with work made it difficult make training and put the time in, still like to think I could play if they brought back the great B Team but the body might disagree.

Who was your biggest influence on you?
- Johnny Delaney definitely started it all off for a lot of us by setting up the Juvenile club, we were on the end of some good beatings all the way up to Under 18 but by then we knew how to play, a bit! Timmy Holian along with Tommy & Peter, then took a group of us into the senior squad in 97/98 in Division 2A, and it took off from there.

What did you achieve in your time at the Club?
- We achieved promotion eventually from 2A and the league Cup in 99/00 , won Div1 the next year with the Joe Ryan Cup.
After losing a Michael Byrne cup final in 03 & a few premier league playoffs against Mervue, we eventually won the 1st premier in 2006/07, along with Connacht cup and Michael Byrne cup, that was a great year for us. Another premier league and Connacht cup in 09/10.

What are your 3 most memorable moments with Athenry FC?
- Winning promotion to the premier, scored a winner against Loughrea in the 90th min to get us up, Paul Cullen nearly killed me on the pitch celebrating.
Winning the first Premier league in Drom after all the work and near misses over the previous 5 years.
The general team spirit and craic with all the squad, supporters and families when we went from Division 2A right up to winning the premier league, Spanky and Mernagh are some dancers and they done a great version of westlifes “we got a little world of our own"

What 3 things did you enjoy most about playing for Athenry FC?
- The craic we had was unreal even in training. We knew how to have fun but on the pitch everyone done their job and it paid off.
The away days in the FAI Junior Cup & Connacht Cup were always brilliant, even the train home from beating Dublin Bus in Dublin, was like a nightclub.

All the support we got, Noreen Quinn, Willie Killeen & Terry Nolan were always there too, along with our number one supporter, the great Conor T McNamara, we had brilliant days & nights, and usually great results.

Who was your toughest opponent you ever played against?
- Willie Grant's West Utd sides in the swamp were always a good battle and Mervue FC in Fahy's Field was another very tough one. Always black and blue after matches in Mervue but we usually got a result in there to their surprise, which was sweet after years of underage trouncing’s.

In all the squads you have been name the following:
Funny Guy – Spanky of course
Tough as nails – Emmet Byrne, Ronan Kinneen , (always felt sorry for the striker going up against the two lads at center back, he was in for a tough day) and Kevin Quigley
Fastest player – Merman ( Johnny Mernagh)
Most Skilful – Gary Coffey, Ollie Keogh & Seamie
Most Grumpy – Adrian Cronin (He loved the attention really)
Best player –Jamie O Driscoll & Seamie

From all the players you have played with name the strongest five a side team!
Goalie: Adrian Cronin
Defender: Davey Crimmins / Emmet Byrne
Midfielder: Jamie O Driscoll
Striker: Johnny Mernagh
Manager: Timmy Holian

Thank you.
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