A tribute to Drumaness sportsman Roly Hanna

A tribute to Drumaness sportsman Roly Hanna

8 April 2020

“ARGUABLY the best known and most liked character ever to have played for Drumaness Mills. No matter where you go or who you are talking to up and down the country, they always ask about Roly. There is always someone  who knows him or has played with or against him.”

The above paragraph was taken word for word from Drumaness Mills’s 75th anniversary booklet in 2004. It captures brilliantly the essence of Roly ‘The Man’.

Roly died on Wednesday, March 25, sparking a deluge of tributes on social media. True gentleman, one in a million, what a lovely man, one and only Roly, top man, a legend — these tributes, among many others, appeared again and again.

Roly was an integral part  of village life in Drumaness, dandering to the bookies or the shop. He would make multiple stops to say hello to everyone he met, discussing the issues of the day.

I have known him for a!most 60 years. He worked in Sam Bell’s egg factory across the road from St Joseph’s Primary School in Crossgar. The workers would kick a ball about the road during their break and even to my untrained eye he was different class. It was my introduction to Roly ‘The Footballer’.

Some years later Roly and his brother, John, knocked on our door in Crossgar. They wanted me to play for the Mills in the Newcastle Summer League and I was more than happy to do so.

Playing with Roly was a great education for a young player. He made football look easy, was stylish and talented, possessing the rare gift of keeping the game simple.

Small wonder then that when talk comes around to the Mills’ greatest ever player, Roly is always in the conversation, despite competition from the likes of Robbie Strain, Osie Gelston, Conor Walsh and Davy Mills.

Legend has it that in those days boys were born with boots on in Drumaness because this was a village where sport was king. So it was that Roly also excelled at billiards and cricket, reaching a very high standard in both.

But football and the Mills were Roly’s first loves and he rarely missed training or matches. Inevitably his talent came to the notice of Irish League managers and he enjoyed spells with Portadown and Cliftonville in the early seventies. Nevertheless, Roly was a home bird and sooner or later he would pull on the Mills shirt again.

By now I was playing for the all conquering Downpatrick Rec team of that era and we pitched up to a Border Cup final early in 1978 to play the Mills. We had just won the Steel and Sons Cup and had our eyes firmly on the double, but Roly and Osie Gelston had other plans  and proceeded to inspire the Mills to a famous 1-0 win.

Roly had reached the twilight years of a glorious footballing career, but there was still time to lead the Mills reserves to another giant-killing act, beating Castlewellan in the Bobby Dalzell Cup final in 1981.

After such a stellar playing career, Roly was expected to become a manager. He did dip his toes in the managerial waters once or twice, but with no offence intended to the managerial fraternity — myself included — Roly was probably too nice to be a manager. In all the years I have known him I can’t remember him raising his voice. He was just so easy going, decent and level-headed.

As a result people liked Roly and this popularity unsurprisingly proved to be an asset in his working life. After Sam Bells he spent a number of years working in the Co-Op shop in Drumaness before taking up employment with well-known butcher Vincy Doran.

He was a familiar sight in Vincy’s van, delivering to hotels and restaurants, but it was his weekend door-to-door run which played to his strengths and further cemented his popularity.

He became known as Butch or Butcher — a nickname he loved — and Vincy to this day has nothing but good things to say about Roly’s eight-year stint with him.

Roly’s next stop was with Jimmy Quinn, who owned a bakery in Downpatrick. Jimmy shrewdly returned Roly to the door-to-door market and with people still finding it difficult to say no to the personable Roly, their successful liaison continued for 15 years.

Jimmy likes nothing better than relating Roly stories,none of which can be repeated here, and like the rest of us he will remember Roly with the utmost fondness.

Unfortunately Roly wasn’t immune to the ups and downs of life and deteriorating health curtailed his working life. He managed to fight and beat prostrate cancer a number of years ago, but this time around the ‘Big C’ has claimed this lovely man.

Ironically it was during these latter years that he seemed to be ever present on the streets of Drumaness, allowing him to befriend a generation entirely unaware of his past sporting prowess.

Roly married Betty Rice on October 10, 1966, and together they brought Noel, Pauline, Betty, Carol and Christine into the world. After almost 60 years together as a couple they remained best friends, as well as husband and wife.

Apart from my football connection to Roly, I have been his neighbour for 37 years and since his passing I have heard him described as ‘Mr Drumaness Mills’, but for me he was Mr Drumaness full stop. This village will never be the same without him.

Roly’s family should be immensely proud of his impact on those who knew him and how sad it was to see coronavirus rob them and Roly of the fitting send-off he deserved.

However, the good news is that I know there are plans afoot to have a celebration of his life when normality returns. Nobody deserves it more. RIP Roly.

Roly Hanna 1944-2020