Connacht Council Secretary meets the Queen

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II pictured at Croke Park on Wednesday.Pic: Maxwells

The Queen, the GAA and the Ballyhaunis lotto


Daniel Carey

WHEN Queen Elizabeth II visited Croke Park last Wednesday, Connacht Council Secretary John Prenty was one of the 70-plus people to meet her at GAA HQ. As excuses for asking somebody to call back later, “I’m just coming out of Croke Park, I invited the Queen to Ruislip” take some beating.
So first things first, Mr Prenty … did you invite the Queen to Ruislip for the Connacht Championship game between London and Mayo?
“Well, I invited her to do the Ballyhaunis lotto anyway!” says the provincial secretary with a laugh.
“We got on grand. She’s a remarkable old lady … when you think she’s 85 … Tadhg Meehan is the [GAA] secretary in Britain, and she had a great chat with him about the work they’re doing over there.
Her visit was a big occasion for the GAA, and we’d be annoyed if she was somewhere else!”
John and Mary Prenty weren’t the only Mayo people introduced to the special guest at Croke Park last Wednesday. Knockmore man Paddy Naughton was there through his involvement with Connacht Council, while Ballyhaunis native Bernie Keane, president of the provincial GAA council of Britain, also made the journey from England.
Prenty had the role of introducing Queen Elizabeth to the ten people in his group, which also included Joan O’Flynn, Pat Quill and Walter O’Connor - leading figures in camogie, ladies football and handball respectively. The Queen and Prince Philip were entertained by the Artane Band and were shown a video of GAA sports on the big screen before going inside to meet the guests.
“She had a word with everybody,” said Prenty.
“The visit recognised the importance of the GAA in the community, so from that point of view, it was a big occasion for the GAA.”
And who knows? Maybe Her Majesty will be in Ruislip … or win the Ballyhaunis lotto!