Carr wins first ever Quid Game for Shandonagh

The inaugural Quid Game event, ran by Westmeath GAA in the Mullingar Park Hotel on Sunday last, October 29 proved an outstanding success.

Conor Moore, renowned comedian and proud Mullingar man, was the MC for the evening and carried it off superbly, entertaining the crowd with some of his famous sketches, including impersonations of President Michael D Higgins and Olympic and world boxing champion Katie Taylor.

Westmeath County Committee chairman Frank Mescall paid tribute to the collaborative effort of county committee members and those from Club Iarmhí, the county’s official supporters club, who joined forces for the venture. He said there is a great deal of satisfaction at how successful the ClubSpot event proved.

“The final figure will be close to €160,000 and it’s brilliant; nothing to be sneezed at. To everyone who made that possible, we are so thankful,” he said on the night.

It also proved a lucrative evening for Shandonagh GAA Club, who won €10,000 when Gareth Carr scooped the top prize.

It was evident from an early stage in the evening that there would be a great crowd at the event as people slowly took their places in the fine venue. In the end approximately 900 people took their seats for the event.

“It is very successful and we are delighted with it. The crowd that has turned up is fantastic; it was the one thing we couldn’t guarantee,” remarked Mr Mescall.

Each of the contestants from the 47 clubs in the county, referees, Club Iarmhí and underage sponsors MJS Building Development, were introduced by Conor Moore.

“All our participants, including those from each of our clubs have done absolutely fantastic. We are really delighted with them,” said Mr Mescall.

“To everybody who gave ads, we are grateful; we really done very well with that also. We are delighted with the overall event and how it has worked out.”

The huge attendance on the evening exceeded expectations.

“It’s wonderful; we are extremely grateful to those people who have came out in force this evening,” said the chairman.

As the cost of running the county continues to increase, the fundraiser was a welcome and much-needed boost to Westmeath GAA coffers. Not only are all of the county teams to be catered for, but building a fund to help develop a centre of excellence, which will cost around €5m, continues to be a challenge.

“We are under pressure. It’s just getting more expensive every year. We want to develop things in the county as well and we have to keep up with everybody at the same time. But our clubs have responded fantastically; fair play to them,” enthused the chairman.

“We will keep working; as we get the response from our clubs, we will keep driving on. We need it for our county teams as well as for the infrastructure. Overall, this has been a great success.”

Gareth Carr, the inaugural winner, speaking immediately after his victory, said he was thrilled with the outcome.

“I’m delighted and I am looking forward to seeing how the money will be spent. I just want to say thanks a lot to the county board and ClubSpot for what was a really well run event. It was a great initiative, so hopefully it stays going and gets even bigger going forward. To win is a bonus,” he remarked.

Recalling how he got involved, he revealed he just responded when the call came from the Shandonagh club.

“Someone just texted me a couple of months ago and I didn’t really know what I was signing up for. But I’m happy I did. It was a brilliant format; I liked the fact that people were rewarded for fundraising more at the start; getting the bye in the first few rounds. After that it was all to play for.”

Being a competitor, Carr showed his determination to win the top prize as the rounds progressed. Unlike his final opponent Karl Henson of Garrycastle, who raised more than the target and thereby got a bye to third game, Carr was in from the very start and had to progress through ‘Sort Your Balls’, ‘Wacky Roses’ and ‘Tower of Tension’.

He went on to deny Derek Heffernan (referees) in the semi-final, a testing game of ‘Red Light, Green Light’ where speed and reaction were key components.

The final saw Carr and Henson compete separately in the ‘Cash Cube’, where they had to grab as much money as possible as it swirled around an inflated, transparent cube. Carr went first and bagged more money than his opponent, tactically concentrating on grabbing as much as possible on the ground during his 45 seconds inside the ‘cyclone’.

“When the chance came to win the €10,000 it started to get competitive. People began to focus that little bit more. But it’s all good,” admitted the proud winner.

It completed a wonderful year for the Shandonagh club, who defeated Garrycastle (0-15 to 1-11) in the senior championship as they consolidated their position in the top flight.

Good to beat Garrycastle? Carr was asked. “That’s two out of two this year,” he smiled.

That competitive edge is in the genes and his proud dad Tommy, mum Mary and brother Simon, a professional tennis star, were there to cheer him on to victory.