The Fermanagh and Western Football League and Association held a highly successful Merit Awards dinner at the Killyhevlin Hotel on Friday when three stalwarts of the game were the latest to be recognised by the local footballing authority.

Referee Cecil Givan and player, coach and administrators Tony McGourty and Davy Wheeler were joined by their families as details of their long serving and highly successful contributions to local football were laid out.

And impressive contributions they were making all three very worthy recipients of their Merit Awards.

Take Tony McGourty, the Lisbellaw legend who won everything in a playing career that spanned six decades during which he won the Mercer League five times and the the Mulhern Cup five times as well as the Irish Junior Cup in 1978.

Tony played until he was 59, appearing in Reihill Cup finals for Lisbellaw Reserves and winning a Division Four title in a one year sabbatical from the ‘Law with Derrygonnelly United.

Tony has not rested on his laurels since retiring from the game and he was never going to remain inactive, and instead he purchased running shoes. Since 2007 he has completed no fewer than twelve marathons, all over Ireland and as far afield as Malta. Even more impressively and importantly he started and inspired the MacNean Runners, the Oisin McGrath Running Club.

Some career then Tony who is his six decades playing football was only ever booked twice with his undoubted skills matched by a respect for players and officials alike.

Referee Cecil Givan has been a fixture in refereeing circles in the Fermanagh & Western for 42 years, having been persuaded to take up the whistle by George Parkinson, the founder of the Fermanagh & Western Referees’ Association in 1975.

Cecil has officiated at 914 games, each match carefully chronicled in the same 10p notebook that contains his first outing.

Although Cecil has been a Lisnaskea man since his arrival in 1970 to take up a teaching post at the High School, his roots are in Aughnacloy and this is where his first interest in the game was nurtured. Cecil played regularly for Aughnacloy United who played in the Greystone & District Summer League, continuing the association after taking up his teaching post. During his time at the school, Cecil served as a Youth Club Leader for 40 years along-side ex Enniskillen Rangers great Tom McFarland and the late Bob Jardine.

Cecil’s easy manner and temperament have made him a popular and respected figure amongst the league’s member clubs. Cecil stated that he prepares the same way for each game, mindful that the two teams have also prepared and planned for the match and that he enjoys each and every outing in its own right.

Cecil, a committed Christian who holds a Phd in Theology, put his faith into practice when, after reaching the significant mark of 500 games, he took the decision to donate all his match fees to charity. In so doing, it is estimated Cecil has raised close to £10,000 to charities primarily working with disadvantaged and vulnerable children in developing countries.

Approaching his 70th year and still refereeing, Cecil was indeed a very worthy recipient of the Merit Award.

Player, coach and administrator Davy Wheeler has dedicated his life in football to home club Lisnaskea Rovers.

Davy’s association with Lisnaskea Rovers began in 1969, when attempts were being made to re-invigorate the club following the emergence of a rival team, Lough Erne Rangers.

Rovers continued through the seventies as a mid-table first division teams, their most notable success coming in 1978 when they defeated Irish Junior Cup winners, Lisbellaw United in the Coffey Cup Final; at the time, one of the most prestigious summer competitions featuring teams from Dungannon to Monaghan. However, fortunes changed and the end of the 1981-82 season saw the Rovers relegated to Division 2.

Having completed his IFA Prelim Coaching Badge in 1981, the current equivalent of a UEFA B Licence, one of the first in the area to do so, Davy was persuaded to move into a management role and took up the position of First Team Coach along with the new manager, the late Bob Jardine.

Success followed in winning the Fermanagh Shield, remaining unbeaten and making the Mulhern Cup final, only to lose to Lisbellaw in a replay.

Davy took the manager’s role in the following season continuing in that position for a number of years. At the same time, many of his efforts were being channelled into setting up a viable youth structure and in the late 80’s Castle Park Youth developed, fielding teams at all age groups in the then Youth Section of the Fermanagh & Western.

Davy’s acknowledged prowess as a coach was further confirmed when in 1992, he was selected as the first manager of the Fermanagh Milk Cup side, who at that time only competed at U-16 level.

Davy’s contribution to the Rovers continued unabated through the 90s, combining coaching duties with administrative roles including that of secretary. The start of the new millennium witnessed the greatest achievement in the history of Lisnaskea Rovers, when a team consisting almost entirely of graduates from the Youth system defeated holders Enniskillen Rangers 4-3 in the first all Fermanagh & Western Irish Junior Cup Final. Following the untimely death of Brendan Keogh in 1999, Davy took on the role of Chairman of the Fermanagh & Western Youth League which had been formed the previous year, fulfilling this role for almost 10 years, a challenging period for a new organisation. However, Davy took it all in his stride and established the renamed Brendan Keogh Youth League to the respected position it now holds in local football.

Davy’s contribution to football is ongoing, currently occupying the role of Chairman at Lisnaskea Rovers and acting as co-ordinator for the Youth Section which continues to flourish and expand.

An impressive list of achievements for Davy thereby making him a fitting recipient of the Fermanagh and Western Merit Award winner.