Mum Dawn is Number One

Mum Dawn is Number One

26 August 2015

A FOOTBALL mad mum from Killyleagh is the province’s No. 1.

Dawn Murray has been named Northern Ireland’s McDonald’s Football Mum of the Year.

Dawn is a full-time general manager of two doctor surgeries during the day, but at night and at the weekends she devotes all her spare time to the youth of Killyleagh YC.

She is vice-chairwoman of Killyleagh YC, the club’s youth co-ordinator, a coach and manager, fundraiser, fixtures secretary, child protection officer, club bartender, BBQ chef, a qualified referee and events organiser.

If all that wasn’t enough, Dawn also turns out for the club’s senior ladies’ team, but insists that she is hanging up her boots at the end of the season after 12 years.

Unfortunately Dawn, who was nominated by Catherine Brown, a parent at the club, missed out the chance of a trip to Wembley and to meet Coleen Rooney, wife of England and Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney, who announced the regional winners of the competition.

Dawn was described at the ceremony as possibly the busiest and most dedicated football person in Northern Ireland.

“When I was young and my dad David was driving past The Showgrounds he would slow down to see what was going on at the pitch,” she said.

“Years on I am doing the exact same thing myself. When it is in your blood there is not a lot you can do about it.”

Dawn has spent years going out of her way to make football fun for both her own children and those in the wider community — whether it’s holding team BBQs in the summer or taking a van full of players to games in the middle of winter. She just loves what she is doing.

“I enjoy being involved in sport with my own children and it has been so rewarding to see the number of kids at junior level at the club grow from 40 players to almost 130,” she said.

“The structures are firmly in place to provide expert coaching for all the kids in the area and I have to pay tribute to all the local businesses who have gone out of their way to support us.

“I would also like to thank my mum and dad for all the babysitting they do and for supporting me in all the work I am involved in at the club. I really couldn’t do it without their help.

“It came as a huge shock when I was told that I was named as McDonald’s NI Football Mum of the Year, I just didn’t believe it.

“I enjoy immensely my role as youth co-ordinator and look forward to seeing the children from today pulling on the shirt of Killyleagh in the future.”