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<span class="postTitle">Tribute to Martin O’Meara, VC</span> Display of his Victoria Cross in the Parish of Lorrha on August 13, 2022

It is a great honour for me to pay a tribute to Martin O’Meara on the occasion of this brief display of his Victoria Cross in his native parish of Lorrha & Dorrha.

The World War 1 hero, who served with the Australian Imperial Force in France in 1916, revealed extraordinary courage in the battle of Pozieres Heights as he retrieved the wounded from no-man’s land despite intense artillery and machine-gun fire. He showed throughout an utter contempt of danger and undoubtedly saved many lives.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross as a result of eye-witness accounts of his heroism by four officers. They vouched that Private O’Meara did his work while being severely shelled, carrying the wounded to the dressing station with the utmost fearlessness and returning to No Man’s Land repeatedly in pursuance of his duties as a scout. They estimated that in the course of the time he rescued not less than twenty men.

Martin O’Meara returned to London to receive his Victoria Cross from King George V on July 21 1917. It was the most important investiture of the war at which 32 V.C.s were awarded. The newspapers gave the occasion plenty of pictorial coverage on July 22 and ‘Private O’Meara of the Australian Infantry’ is given due prominence on the front page of the Sunday Pictorial.

This was the high point in the life of a modest and unassuming man, born in the townsland of Lissernane, the second youngest of eleven children, on November 3, 1885. His parents, Michael O’Meara and Margaret Connors, farmed twelve acres. We don’t have much information about his childhood, where he went to school, when he got his first communion or was confirmed, except that he is listed as a ‘scholar’ in the 1901 census. We learn that he got a job as a tree feller. The 1911 census has him living in South Kilkenny, occupied as a wood worker. His prospects of earning a living may not have been great so he decided to go to Australia late in 1911, when he was aged 26 years.

This must have been a major decision. Having lived a quiet life in an isolated rural setting it must have taken enormous courage to leave his roots and travel 15,000 kilometres to Perth. He didn’t have the fare to travel the distance so he went first to Liverpool, where he worked for a short time and found a ship that was about to sail to Perth. The ship needed a stoker and the quickest way to get there was to work his passage. ‘The hardest task in my life,’ he was to say later, ‘was shovelling coal to the boilers on that three-months’ voyage.’ It probably prepared him for the abnormal conditions he worked under later at Pozieres. Having spent a couple of years in South Australia, he moved to the Perth area in 1914 and worked as a sleeper-cutter on a new line of railway through the bush at Collie, east of the city.

The next big decision in his life was to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force in August 1915. He joined the 16th Battalion with the rank of Private. We get more information on him from his application form. He stated he was Catholic and single. He was of dark complexion, 5’ 7” in height and 10 stone weight with a chest measurement of 40 inches. He gave his occupation as a sleeper-hewer. His parents were dead, his mother had died the previous April, and he gave his next of kin as his sister, Alice O’Meara, Rathcabbin.

The 16th Battalion of the AIF embarked from Freemantle on December 22, 1915. After training in Egypt in early 1916, the Battalion proceeded overseas from Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force in France. They disembarked at Marseilles on June 9 and immediately marched through the city to the railway station for entraining to the Front. This journey lasted nearly 60 hours, punctuated with stops at which they were greeted by a very friendly French population, who showered them with food and drink. We have no account of how Martin responded to this adulation. As soon as they arrived at the Front they began to prepare for combat as preparations were already in hand for the Somme offensive.

Commander-in-Chief, General Haig, hoped that by bombarding the German lines for a week beforehand with heavy artillery, the allied forces would destroy all the defensive fortifications of the enemy. Then it would be a simple matter of the soldiers coming out of the trenches and crossing ‘No Man’s Land’ to mop up any of the enemy still alive. In fact the artillery shells had no effect on the German concrete bunkers and the barbed wire just blew up in the air and came down a more tangled mess that before. As the Allied soldiers advanced in straight lines across No Man’s Land they were mercilessly raked with machine gun fire. Twenty thousand men were killed and fifty thousand taken prisoner on the first day. This was the hellish theatre in which Martin O’Meara had to operate and from which he was lucky to survive. As a result of his heroic efforts he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

News of Martin’s Victoria Cross was reported in the Nenagh Guardian on September 16. On the previous day the members of the North Tipperary County Committee of Agriculture passed the following resolution: ‘That we, the members of the County Committee of Agriculture wish to express to Martin O’Meara, V.C., our great admiration of his bravery and to congratulate him on gaining the VC, the highest honour that can be offered to any soldier. We, as Tipperarymen, are proud of him and hope soon to give him a suitable welcome and show our appreciation of the honour he has won. We hope that he will soon be recovered enough to return to his native county.’

The wish for Martin’s recovery by the Committee of Agriculture refers to a wounds he received during the hectic exploits in August, which led to his VC award. Following this injury he spent a couple of weeks in hospital in London He was to be wounded on two further occasion. In April 2017 he received a shrapnel wound to his face, and later, in August, he received further shrapnel wounds to the buttock, right thigh and back . These were all physical wounds from which he recovered. Unfortunately, the mental injuries he suffered from his exploits were to have much more lasting effects.

Following his release from hospital at the end of September he got a fortnight’s leave in the middle of October and availed himself the opportunity to return to his native place. One writer describes his homecoming in this manner: ‘The modesty of the man is to be seen in the mode of his homecoming. His family expected him but did no know the exact date of his arrival. He got off the train at Birr Station and walked home – about five miles -along the disused Birr-Portumna railway line, which passed near his home. No one recognised him at the station or along the way. He opened the door of his home and walked in, surprising his brother and sister inside. At the end of his leave he returned almost as quietly as he had come.’

Martin attended a meeting in Borrisokane on October 24, called for the purpose of making a suitable presentation to him. According to the newspaper report he thanked the committee for arranging the presentation on his behalf.

He stated that he entered the war in the belief that it was his duty to answer the call and assist the Allies in their great struggle, and any distinction he had won was in the discharge of his duty to his country, and he would be delighted to divide that distinction with each and every one of them. There were other Irishmen who had gallantly distinguished themselves and he hoped and trusted that ere long the war would be brought to a close with a triumphant victory for the Allies.

The presentation to Martin O’Meara took place on November 24. A platform was erected in the Lorrha ball alley and a big crowd turned up. But the V.C. winner failed to arrive. The reason given was that he had already returned to London, having fully recovered from his wounds and he eventually rejoined his battalion in France on December 22. The meeting was chaired by Benjamin Trench. The presentation was made to Martin’s sister and brothers. General Hickie presented a gold watch to Alice O’Meara and announced that there was a balance over from the £150 collected from the public. It was against the regulations to give money to a soldier on active service but the money would be placed in the hands of trustees.

As already stated Martin O’Meara was wounded a couple of times during 1917. Following his shrapnel wounds in August he ended up in Bath War Hospital from which he was granted furlough in October. He used the occasion to return to Lorrha for a couple of weeks. His experience was much different to that of twelve months previously. This was due to two factors. The political climate in Ireland had changed during 1917 and Martin’s exploits in the war were looked at askance in the new nationalism. Also, he was beginning to show some of the signs of insanity, which was eventually to rule his life. He insisted on wearing the AIF uniform and the famous slouch hat and the locals came to regard him as an oddity and an outsider. Eventually he got the message that he wasn’t part of the community anymore and returned to his battalion earlier than intended.

There is little joy in the remainder of his story. Martin got promotion to Corporal in March and to Acting Sergeant soon after, but reverted to permanent grade of Corporal at his own request on April 15. He was promoted Sergeant on August 30. As well as the Victoria Cross he won a British War Medal and a Victory Medal. He commenced his return to Australia on September 15 and disembarked on November 10. Soon after he was admitted to hospital and diagnosed as ‘suffering from Delusional Insanity, with hallucinations of hearing and sight, as extremely homicidal and suicidal and requires to be kept in restraint. He is not hopeful of his recovery in the near future.’ He was admitted to Claremont Mental Hospital as an insane patient on January 3, 1919, He was discharged from the army on November 30 of the same year and died on December 20, 1935 after a harrowing sixteen years in hospital.

There is a detailed report in the newspapers of his funeral to Karrakatta cemetery, near Freemantle, on December 23, 1935. Old comrades, representatives of various military units and members of the Federal and State Parliaments gathered to pay tribute to the late Sergeant Martin O’Meara, VC, whose remains were buried with full military honours. The coffin was draped with an Australian flag and on top of it were placed the dead soldier’s hat, decorations and side arms. The only Irish dimension was provided by the officiating priest, Father John Fahey, from Glenough, Clonoulty, who had himself served in the war and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for gallantry under fire. After a short service he spoke of Sergeant O’Meara’s heroism in battle and his long period of suffering since his return from active service. At the conclusion of the service three volleys were fired and a bugler sounded the last post and reveille.

And such, briefly, are the important facts in the life of this extraordinary man. For many years after his death his heroic life and deeds were forgotten in the changed political climate in Ireland. Because his extraordinary courage and superhuman exploits were revealed under a foreign flag, they were not only forgotten but frowned upon. Happily this has changed in the past decade and this people of Lorrha have made great efforts to have Martin’s achievements recognised and honoured. The outstanding bravery and heroism in the face of danger and the risks he took to save the lives of his fellow soldiers are now getting the recognition they deserve. The symbol of his greatness is the Victoria Cross and it’s wonderful and fitting to have it in the parish of his birth, for however brief a period. Thank you.

<span class="postTitle">The Story of Education in Redwood</span> Speech by Seamus J. King at the official opening of the new extension to Redwood School on June 16, 2022

The Story of Education in Redwood

Speech by Seamus J. King at the official opening of the new extension to Redwood School by Minister for Education, Ms Norma Foley, T.D. on June 16, 2022

Chairperson, Minister for Education, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.


It is a pleasure for me to say a few words on the story of education in Redwood on the occasion of the official opening of this new extension. It brings the Redwood school buildings up to the most modern level and it provides the teachers with all the facilities required to carry out their professional duties to the highest standard. It creates a comfortable environment in which the children can learn in a stress free manner and enjoy their years at school.


How different the facilities are to those I experienced in September 1942, eighty years ago, when I attended this school for the first time! The school was new then, having been built in 1939 but it was primitive in comparison with this splendid structure. The heating system was a small fire in the corner of the room that was fed by the sods of turf the children brought with them to school. On cold days the teacher would bring three or four children at a time to warm their frozen hands over the fire. The toilet facilities were down the yard and were dry closets with no locks on the doors. The play sheds were open to the wind and the rain. Whoever planned it didn’t have any interest in the game of hurling. The playground was between the chapel and the school, each building with large windows, and hurling was disallowed to protect them. We played a game of peg ball. The ball was a bundle of rags sown together and we had lively matches daily as the teachers looked out the windows to make sure we were well-behaved.


Was I happy here? I don’t think the idea of happiness came into it. One accepted that this was what school was about with little tender, loving care. One of the few joys was getting out at 3 o’clock and racing home across the fields, I lived in Ballymacegan and across the fields for two and a half miles was the route. It was glorious in summertime as we fled through the fields, crossed hedges and ditches and even lay on our bellies to drink from a stream as we made our way home.


In the winter of 1947 the fields became so wet, we had to find an alternative way. My father got an ass and cart and it became our school bus during that winter. The ass was useless, it took us ages to travel the four miles by road. I dropped my sisters off at the school gate and took the ass to Jim Sammon’s for untackling. There was one perk involved: I had to leave school fifteen minutes early in the afternoon in order to tackle the ass and have it at the school gate when my sisters came out.


The school in Redwood replaced one located down the road at Kilmurry. This school was built in 1926 and the site appeared to be ideal. It was a piece of land owned by the parish, so there was no cost involved. It was adjacent to the previous school at Redwood Castle so there wouldn’t be any great difficulty for the school children getting there. There was about one acre of land attached to the site and this would provide a playground. However, it was the site of an ancient graveyard and Tom Lambe, who lived nearby, recalls seeing bones being thrown up when the foundations were being dug. The school was occupied for only 13 years and the new one built here. Why it was abandoned is a mystery. One theory was that the light in it was very poor. The windows were small and the school was surrounded by trees, which meant that, in winter particularly, little daylight got into the classrooms, and there was no electric light in the area in the 1920s! Miss Margaret McCormack became principal in Kilmurry in 1930 and transferred here, where she continued until 1952. She purchased the Kilmurry school as her residence after it closed and lived there with he sister, Agnes, who ran a shop.


Kilmurry replaced the earlier school at Redwood Castle. There was a letter to the Education Office (the predecessor to the Department of Education) in Dublin from Rev. James Meagher, P.P. on September 8, 1879, reporting the opening on that day of a new school in Redwood House, which was situated beside Redwood Castle. The letter stated that the school had been ‘so nobly given for that purpose by Mr. Henry Trench of Cangort Park, Roscrea’. The letter continued: ‘I have appointed Miss Winifrid Carroll, former assistant in the female school in Lorrha, as teacher and respectfully request the sanction of the appointment. There is no school within four miles of it. The attendance (today) was over 50.” He looked for a ‘free stock’ (of books) and ‘all the help in your power for the new school.’


As a result of Fr. Meagher’s request for recognition of the new school, the premises had to be inspected and Form A 121 completed. The inspection was carried out on October 8 between 11.40 am and 3 pm. It involved answering a list of 82 queries and this was completed by a Mr. Dugan, District Inspector of National Schools, and returned to the office on October 24, 1879.


The information contained in the document is of great interest at this remove. We are informed that the school was situated in one of 15 rooms of the two-storey Redwood House. It was a large room, 30’ x 18’ by 11’, and was ‘fitted up as a classroom.’ On the privy situation there was one for the girls, but the boys’ wasn’t yet ready. There was a separate play area for the girls.


The school was to be kept in repair with the manager’s and local funds. The schoolmistress occupied two rooms in the house. There was no teacher’s desk on the day of inspection but it was being made by a carpenter.


The teacher, Winifrid Carroll was a Roman Catholic and 22 years of age. She was trained in 1874 and had been assistant in the female school in Lorrha. She was granted a salary of £25 plus whatever would accrue to her from results. The ‘results system’ was as follows. At the end of every school year every pupil in the school, who had attended at least 100 days, was examined individually by the Board’s inspector and was awarded a mark, 1 or 2 denoting a pass, or 0 denoting a failure. Each subject carried its own pass value, which ranged from one shilling for spelling to five shillings for agriculture. Results fees were paid annually in one lump sum.


Virtually all the children paid fees but the manager had the right to absolve some children from paying. As well as her salary Miss Carroll’s free residence was worth the equivalent of £5 and school fees amounted to £12.


The school day commenced at 9.30 and finished at 3.30 in the summer and 3 pm in the winter. Religious instruction was given for 3 to 31/2 hours per week in the summer and 21/2 to 3 in the winter.


School inspections were regular and thorough. A report from November 1882 was anything but favourable. Class 1 with 8 pupils was weak at tables. Class 2 with 10 present was weak at reading. Class 3 with 10 present was weak at grammar and geography. Class 4 with 8 present was middling at reading, poor at spelling and grammar, and defective at maths, Classes 5 & 6 with 8 present were poor in deduction and bad at grammar. He believed the pupils were prone to copy from one another and this would account for the low proficiency in arithmetic. The girls worked without thimbles in needlework.


While the school at Redwood Castle was the first official primary school in the area, the boys and girls of Redwood did have schooling before its establishment in 1879. Hedge schools, as they were called, were in existence before that.


Timothy Sullivan of Lordspark contributed the following to the Folklore Commission in the nineteen-thirties. According to him an old hedge school existed in Redwood parish at one time. The hedge master’s name was Brian Carroll and he was a native of the parish. The hedge school was conducted in the open air during fine weather and in Carroll’s house on wet days. An old iron seat marks the spot where the master sat. It is at the back of Tom Quinlan’s old house and in the field beside Redwood Church. Slates and slate pencils were used. English reading, writing and arithmetic were taught. School was taught at night for the men, and during the day the boys and girls attended. Sometimes the master travelled around and taught in the farmers’ houses. He was lodged free and given compensation sometimes. When out of doors the children sat around the master on large stones or on blocks of wood. A big slate served as a blackboard. The teacher remained about three years in a place.


The hedge master received 10 shillings a quarter for his work. Those who could not afford to pay him in money gave him potatoes, and other kinds of food. Also, they sent him turf.


Probably the high point of learning in Redwood was in the seventeenth century. The MacEgan family were well known around Ireland for their knowledge of the Brehon Law, an indigenous form of laws, which governed Ireland until the introduction of English Law in the seventeenth century . The Brehons were the upholders of this ancient law and settled disputes between the Irish clans. The MacEgans were one of only seven Irish families to practise the ancient Brehon Law and were the chief advisors of many Irish Lords and chieftains.


There are many famous books associated with the MacEgans. For instance, the Leabhar Breac contains the geneology and origins of the MacEgan family. Other books, such as The Black Book of the MacEgans, the Red Book of the MacEgans and the Spectacled Book of the MacEgans, have been lost over the centuries.


The MacEgans set up a school of law and Irish history in Redwood together with a house of hospitality for scribes, poets and musicians, which attracted many scholars to the area. The family had a sister academy at Ballymacegan.


There is a suggestion that Ballymacegan was the place where the monks transcribed ecclesiastical texts and the Redwood school was for the secular Brehon Laws.


The importance of these places of learning can be grasped by the visit to the place from one of the greatest scholars of the age.


When Brother Michael O Clery, one of the famous Four Masters who compiled the Annals of Ireland, wrote the last words of the Annals on August 10, 1636, it was the completion of four and a half years work, which had begun on January 22, 1632. The intention was to send the work to Louvain for printing.


Before this could be done Brother Michael had to seek approbation for his work both from learned Irish historians, whose views would inspire confidence, and from some of the Irish hierarchy, whose imprimatur would be a guarantee of orthodoxy.


The historians chosen included Flann Mac Egan of Ballymacegan in Tipperary and Connor Mac Bruaidedha of Thomond.


This fact establishes an important link between the Annals and the Parish of Lorrha and Dorrha, and Brother O’Clery had also spent some time with Flann Mac Egan during his research work for the Annals.


Before the beginning of November 1636, Brother Michael travelled to Ballymacegan to receive the approbation of Flann Mac Egan. The old historian was glowing in his approbation. He had already censored and approved two previous works of Brother Michael’s, the Reimh Rioghraidhe and the Martyrology. For the Annals he judged it likewise to be the best book of its kind he had ever seen, although he had seen many. He stated:


‘Whereas the poor friar, Michael O’Clery came to show me this book, I, Flann, son of Cairbre Mac Aedhagain, of Baile-mhic-Aedhagain, in the County of Toibrat-Arann, do testify that though many were the books of history of the old books of Ireland which I saw . . . , I have not seen among them all any book of better order, more general, more copious, or more to be approved of, as a history and annals, than this book. I think also that no intelligent person whatever, of the laity or clergy, or of the professions, who shall read it, can possibly find fault with it.’


The bishops also, who included Malachy O Queally of Tuam, Boetius MacEgan of Elphin, Ross Mac Geoghegan of Kildare and Thomas Fleming the Archbishop of Dublin, gave their approbation.


This concludes my short overview of learning and education in the Redwood area. It may be a small part of the parish, of the county and the wider world but it is a place to be proud of, an area where the things of the mind were always to the fore and where this extension to the school will carry on that tradition and protect it for posterity.

<span class="postTitle">History of Hurling before the G.A.A.</span> First heard on KCLR Radio, June 2021

History of Hurling before the G.A.A.

First heard on KCLR Radio, June 2021

Hurling is an ancient game stretching back into pre-history. The earliest recorded reference to the game is the Battle of Moytura, Cong, Co. Mayo. The Tuatha de Danaan arrived in Ireland and took on the Firbolgs looking for half of Ireland. A four-day battle started on June 11, 1272 AD. At some stage the sides took time out for a game of hurling.The Firbolgs won the game but lost the battle. We have little knowledge as to what kind of game it was except we are told that three times nine Firbolgs took on the same number of Tuatha de Danaan.


Later in mythology we learn that Cúchulainn hurled the ball to shorten the journey to his uncle, Conor Mac Nessa, in Eamain Macha. He came across a crowd of youth hurling and joined in the game, beat the lot of them and scored a goal by carrying the ball through a loop. It appears the goal was a looped stick with the ends stuck in the ground and the goal was scored by running through the loop. Other than that we don’t know how large the field was, how many players were a-side, what kind of a ball was used.


Our next stop is the eighteenth century, which is known as the Golden Age of Hurling, when the game reached an almost professional level. The landlords became the patrons of the game and organised teams from among their tenants to play other landlord teams for substantial wagers.


One of the most extraordinary of these hurlers was Dudley Cosby of Stradbally, Co. Laois. How many attending the Electric Picnic there will realise that an ancestor of the owner in the seventeenth century was described thus:


He danced on the ropes as well as any rope dancer that ever was. He was a fine tennis and five player, a most extraordinary fine hurler and very fond of all these things, and practised them very much when he was young and able.


Lord John Cuffe of Dysart, Co. Kilkenny kept an excellent hurling team, colourfully turned out and took an active part in the ‘great hurlings’ of the mid-18th century. He and other landlords and gentry in Kilkenny and Tipperary, notably Butlers, Smiths, Williams, Campions, Longs and Purcells, patronised the game.


Baron Purcell of Loughmore, Thurles had a team of hurlers. His castle can be seen from the train near Templemore as one travels towards Dublin . There is a field near the castle where games of hurling are reputed to have been played. On one side there is an artificial mound that is believed to have been built to facilitate viewing of the game.


It is difficult to imagine the game that was played at the time. The sides had 21 players, divided into three groups of seven, the culbaire that protected the goal, the phalanx of heavier men, who moved the ball forward, and the whips & flies that gathered the ball and soloed through the goal. It was in many ways similar to the modern game of rugby.


There was no goalkeeper and a goal was scored by carrying the ball through the loop that formed the goal. There was no ground hurling as we know it and no rising of the ball. It could be caught in the hand from the air.. The team that scored the first goal won the game. Often the match was decided by the team that won two of three games.


The Golden Age of Hurling assumes a favourable relationship between landlords and tenants, far removed from the stories we learned at school of life under the penal Laws during the same period. This good relationship came to an end at the end of the 18th century.


There were a number of reasons for the dramatic change. One of these was the European phenomenon of the abandonment of popular culture by the nobility. One authority gives a vivid account of this development:


The nobles were adopting more ‘polished’ manners, a new and more self-conscious style of behaviour, modelled on the courtesy books . . . Noblemen were learning to exercise self-control, to behave with a studied nonchalance, to cultivate a sense of style and to move in a dignified manner as if engaging in a formal dance. . . Noblemen stopped eating in great halls with their retainers and withdrew into separate dining-rooms . . . They stopped wrestling with their peasants, as they used to do in Lombardy, and they stopped killing bulls in public as they used to do in Spain. The noblemen learned to speak and write ‘correctly’ according to formal rules and to avoid technical terms and the dialect words used by craftsmen and peasants.


One can imagine the change in Ireland – a Cosby or a Purcell coming to the conclusion that they were superior persons, and their need to avoid contamination from the ‘people’. Mixing with retainers in a game of hurling was no longer possible. Even riding up and down the field wielding a whip during a game and keeping the yokels in check was no longer the done thing. Placing wagers and sharing the barrell of ale after the game would be completely detrimental to the new image.


Another reason for the change was that such gatherings for hurlings, as advertised in the newspapers, might be suspected of seditious undertones in the changing political climate of the last years of the century. This had come about as a result of Whiteboy activity and later the United Irishmen and the Rising of 1798. The developments in Wexford and the south-east destroyed the political relationship between landlord and tenant. Another aspect of the events was the great slaughter of thousands of men of hurling age in the south-east. The Act of Union and the Napoleonic wars altered the way of life of many landlords, turning them into absentees and bringing to an end the great days of barony hurling and landlord patronage.


All of these changes and developments left the game of hurling without the leadership and patronage it required. The spread of Sunday Observance was another damper on the game. Gradually the Catholic Church adopted the Sabbatarianism of the Protestant churches and began to frown on games on Sunday as something frivolous and a waste of time. As a result the clergy, who might have taken up the leadership abandoned by the landlords, left the people to fend for themselves.


The Great Famine was another disaster for the national pastimes. The drop in national morale and the destruction of a rural society in many areas, caused a dramatic decline in traditional pastimes. The Kilkenny Young Irelander, J. T. Campion, deplored the passing of the old sports in 1857. Twenty years later A. M. Sullivan, the Home Rule M.P., recalling the effect of the Famine on the ordinary people, wrote:


Their ancient sports and pastimes everywhere disappeared and in many parts . . . have never returned. The outdoor games, the hurling match are seen no more.


Michael Doheny offers other reasons for the decline of the game: ‘first, the introduction of the dance drew down on the hurling the opposition of the priest. In some instances, too, of late, family and faction fights are renewed in hurling, which still more imperatively called for the reprobation of the clergy. And finally, . . . the disinclination of the farmers to allow the hurling on their grazing lands.’


And finally P. F. O’Brien wrote this on the eve of 1884: ‘The most of the hurlers are now beyond the Atlantic wave and the remainder go whistling vacantly around the roads at home. Our schoolboys have permanently settled down to cricket, but our farmers sons no longer interest themselves in the rounding of the boss or the feel of a hockey.’


We have to thank Michael Cusack for recognising the perilous state of the game in the early 1880s and the need to do something about reviving it. It wasn’t by any means extinct and there were places where is continued to be played. The Killimor Rules are testament of its strength in some places. But overall it was declining and unless it was organised and regulated it was in danger of disappearing altogether.

<span class="postTitle">Early Memories of School</span> First appeared in mooscealta.ie in April 2021.

Early Memories of School

First appeared in mooscealta.ie in April 2021.

As far as I know I went to school for the first time in 1942. I was four years old in August of that year and it was only logical that I should get my first introduction a month later when the schools opened after the summer holidays. My sister, Maura, two years older, was already there and my mother was teaching infants, first and second classes in the two-teacher school at Redwood.

Born in Ballymacegan, Lorrha, Co. Tipperary the school was four miles away, whether one turned left outside our gate and went via Redwood or took a left and went via Grange and Ballinacor. The alternative was to go across the fields by which route the journey was about two and a half miles.


My mother had a car but rationing had come in in June 1942 and petrol was available only to people engaged in essential services and even for them the allowance was miserly. And teaching wasn’t regarded as an essential service. My mother would have normally cycled to school but with Maura, and now me, travelling across the fields, she came along to take care of us.


That journey was a very pleasant one in the summer time. It was by a long-established Mass path that stretched from Ballymacegan to Redwood Chapel. It commenced closer to the River Shannon at Paddy Hough’s house over a mile into Wellington’s farm. There were seven children in the Hough family and they used the same path to go to Mass and school. Paddy was a great man to forecast the weather for the day, better than the Radio Eireann Met report. If he carried the coat on the carrier of the bike, it was certain to rain.


We joined the Mass path a couple of hundred yards from our house and it went across seven different fields until it reached the road, where the church and school were located side by side. Along the way we went through gates, across small bridges and climbed over styles. We crossed a small stream in one place in which the water flowed clearly over a gravel bed. It was a favourite stopping place for a cold drink as we made our way home on sunny afternoons. We lay on our bellies and lapped the water like dogs or cattle. Further along the way as we crossed a style from Glennon’s field into Kenny’s, we stepped on a Mass rock. This was a large granite rock, probably a couple of ton weight with a recognisable cross carved on it. It remained there until the 1980s, when Fr. Martin Ryan, P.P. had it removed to a new location beside the altar in the church. The removal was carried out, according to him, to preserve it from the elements and to make it more visible to the congregation.


As we went through the last of the fields we could see the Kenny mansion on the right hand side. It was a house of many parts with a lot of valleys linking the parts together. Rumour said it was a damp house. For us it had one great asset, a bamboo grove, from which we cut our fishing rods. It also had a fine garden, where my mother used to get gooseberries and blackcurrants for making jam. The garden also had a glass house where tomatoes were grown, a fruit that generally wasn’t part of the ordinary fare at the time. Victor Kenny and his wife had two daughters, who were good horsewomen. One of them caused a bit of sensation one Sunday morning when she rode past the church in full regalia as the congregation came out of Mass.

Travelling by Ass & Cart

As I grew older I remember racing home after school at 3 o’clock in summertime and never stopping until I got there. In winter time it was a different experience as the fields were wet, cart tracks had to be traversed and overflowing streams walked through. And this was the time before the advent of rubber boots, or Wellingtons as they were known. Our best footwear was untreated leather boots that let in the water and left us with wet feet. I remember Tilly Nevin, a woman who used to work for us, drying out the boots by the fire in the evenings and putting creosote or some blacking liquid on the leather in order to try to seal them.


One winter, it must have been 1947, the fields were so wet as to be impassable. An alternative way of getting us to school had to be found. The cars were still off the road so we borrowed an ass and cart and we – Maura, Marjorie and myself – travelled in style to school for a couple of months! Now, the ass was a disaster. My father would give him a few belts of a stick as we set off in order to frighten him along the way but as soon as we were gone a few hundred yards he forgot about the beating and reverted to his slow pace. We got one bit of relief on this painful journey. If we were lucky that our journey coincided with that of Johnny Nevin at Grange Cross, as he travelled to work at Watters of Ballinacor, we got some relief. Whatever Johnny shouted at the ass, he used take off like the hammers of hell as if the sound of his voice exposed some primeval fear . But, as soon as Johnny left us the ass reverted to his tortoise pace. I remember one evening trying the gee him up on the way home and getting down on the shaft of the car to give him a few kicks in the stomach, and tearing my trousers in the process, but I might as well be kicking a wall. Anyway we eventually got to the school and having let off my two sisters I drove down the road to Jim Sammons house and untackled the ass for the day there. I was allowed to leave the school at 2-45 pm to tackle him and have him ready for the journey home. When I think back I wonder how long did the journey take but I suppose none of us was in a great hurry at that time.


Redwood school had been built in 1939 and it replaced one that had only been built in the 1920s, which itself had replaced an earlier one at Redwood Castle. It was a two-teacher, mixed, school built in the style of so many of them at the time, three big windows in the front of each room, flooding the place with light and air. It was located about 100 metres from Redwood Chapel, which also had equally big windows. Whoever designed and located the school gave little consideration to the popular game in the area, hurling. From the time it opened, the game of hurling was banned because of the fear of breaking windows. The game that was played was called Peg ball, a game I never heard of since. Instead of using hurleys to hit it, the ball was pegged or thrown to one another and the game was played as a hurling game might with goalies, backs and forwards. The ball itself was a makeshift thing made out of cloth and sewn together into a ball-sized object. We had matches every day of great intensity and a final on the last day of term. There was no reward except bragging rights for winning but we always wanted to win. I lost one final and, as the winning captain roared down the field in jubilation after the call to come in, I couldn’t take it, ran after him and tripped him. He got up balling, ran in and told the teacher, and I got four of the best. But, it was worth it! Well: At the time!

Description

The rooms were big and airy, looking out onto sunny days. But they could be cold in the winter. The only heating was a small fire grate in one corner, near which was the teacher’s desk. We all had to bring sods of turf to school to keep the fire going. On really cold mornings the teacher would bring up three or four of the children at a time and have them warm their hands in the front of the fire even though it was small and gave out little heat. There was no electricity in the school so it wasn’t possible to plug an electric fire into a power supply. There were cloakrooms for coats etc but the toilets, which were dry closets, were down the yard, There was no such thing as toilet paper and the closets were shovelled out during the summer. My sister recalls that at a certain time of the year the closets crawled with worms and she was scared they would climb up to greet her as she completed her toilet actions. The girls’ cloakrooms, toilets and yard were separate and the boys and girls had no contact with each other outside of the classroom


The school yard was concreted but the builders must have skimped on the cement because already it had cracked and ravelled and was covered in small stones and bits of concrete, quite dangerous of you fell on it. At the bottom of the yard was an open shed, which provided the minimum protection from rain or shelter from cold.


It was in this shed that I had my first real fight during my later years. I can’t remember what started it but I remember standing up and facing my opponent quite confident of putting him away. However, before I was well into position I got the belt of a fist on each side of the face and was flummoxed. I pulled back but was egged on by the boys and rushed in for revenge. As I did I got two more smackers, one on each side of the face again, which put an end to my enthusiasm and I conceded defeat with a bruised face and a greatly injured ego.

Teachers

Corporal punishment was the accepted form of punishment. I got no special treatment from my mother. I often thought that she was more severe on me than the other children. Perhaps it was for my good but I believe that she had a fear she might be accused of being partial to her own and was stricter with us.

Later, when I got to third class I went to the next room to a Miss Margaret McCormack, who came from County Roscommon. She was unmarried and lived nearby with her sister, Agnes, also unmarried. Miss McCormack was always in poor health and missed many days through illness. In fact she had to retire early because she had used up all her sick days. She suffered from a severe case of bronchitis, She used to come to school all wrapped up, particularly in winter. One of her usual protections against the cold was a sheet of brown paper covering her chest inside her coat. She was always coughing and sometimes went into spasms in trying to get up phlegm, which she collected into rags rather than dainty hankies.. And, of course she was always cross as a result. Her one good point was the lovely cocoa she made for us at lunchtime during winter.


We had substitute teachers regularly and one of the most frequent was a Miss Quinn from County Down. Her IrIsh was very poor and the classes suffered as a result. We all had to do the Primary Certificate at the end of sixth class, when we were examined in Irish, English and Maths. I recall getting the full 200 marks in Maths but only 80 in Irish. When I went to St. Flannan’s College, Ennis for secondary school, I was at a disadvantage as many of the classes were taught in Irish.


At the time few children went to secondary school.. Many of those who did went boarding as I did to St. Flannan’s, which was the Diocesan College for Killaloe, the diocese we were in. The girls went to convent boarding schools. My sister, Maura, went to the Sisters of Mercy in Loughrea. There was no day-secondary school nearby. There were Vocational Schools in Portumna, Birr and Borrisokane and some children went to these.


Was I happy at Primary School? I don’t really remember. I think most of us put up with the experience as part of growing up like working on the farm or doing chores around the house. There was little change in the yearly routine. I remember we all got injections at some stage. We were prepared for First Communion and Confirmation. For the latter we were confirmed by Dr. Fogarty, the oldest bishop ever in the Irish Episcopate at 51 years, who made this confirmation in the parish his final one as a bishop because of his friendship with Canon Molony, P.P. Confirmation was a big occasion, taking place every three years, and it stretched over two days. On day one the candidates were examined in their catechism by the Bishop, if you were one of the bright ones, and by the Diocesan Examiner if you were less so. It was an expensive time for the parents, especially of girls, who had to have two outfits, a coat and hat for the examination and a white dress and veil for the confirmation. During Lent we went up to the Church every day for the Stations of the Cross. At another time we were screened for T.B. A photographer came for a day and took all our photographs. Most of us got trained to be altar boys to serve Mass at 9.30 am on Sundays in the church nearby. And the priest used to visit us once a week and check our catechism. These were little changes in a fixed , unchanging, school routine.

<span class="postTitle">About One Minute to get Rid of the G.A.A. Ban 50 Years Ago!</span> First Published April 2021

About One Minute to get Rid of the G.A.A. Ban 50 Years Ago!

First Published April 2021

‘The Ban passed away at 11.45 am in the Whitla Hall, Queen’s University, Belfast yesterday. Only one voice, that of one of the oldest delegates, Mr. Lar Brady of Laois, was raised in protest after the president, Mr. Pat Fanning, formally declared that Rule 27 had been deleted from the G.A.A. Rule Book.”


So reported Raymond Smith on the front page of the Irish Independent on Monday, April 12, 1971. He went on to add that ‘A show of hands was not taken as representatives of 30 of the 32 counties, at their county conventions, already had indicated clearly that they wanted the rule to go and, as Mr. Fanning said, he did not believe there was any need for discussion. The process took about one minute. Far from the electric and explosive atmosphere that some outside G.A.A. circles had anticipated, the Ban died quietly and with dignity.’


As well as Rule 27, which was abolished on the proposition of Con Shortt of Armagh and seconded by Tom Woulfe, Dublin (who for many years had advocated the abolition of the rule), went Rule 28, vigilance committees, and Rule 29, which prevented G.A.A. clubs including foreign dances at social functions. Rule 26, which prevented members of the British forces and police from being members of the G.A.A., also on the clár remained. The motion calling for its abolition wasn’t even moved, perhaps because of the escalating trouble in Northern Ireland at the time.

Tipperary in Agreement

At the Tipperary county convention at Thurles on January 31 under the chairmanship of Seamus Ó Riain, the delegates decided to abolish the Ban. John O’Grady (Moycarkey-Borris), who for many years had called for its abolition, proposed the abolition of Rule 27, which debarred G.A.A. members from playing or attending soccer, rugby, hockey or cricket games, and Rule 28, which set up vigilance committees to enforce Rule 27. The motion was seconded by S. O’Dwyer of Thurles Fennellys. There was little debate and only two opposition speakers, and a show of hands revealed a majority of 134 to 57 in favour of abolition. The abolition of Rule 29, which forbade G.A.A. clubs from running non-Irish dances, was proposed by Michael Ryan of Arravale Rovers and passed by a large majority. Another motion from Arravale Rovers to abolish Rule 26, which debarred members of the British forces from membership of the G.A.A., was withdrawn.


Delegates representing the county at congress in Belfast on the weekend of 10-11 April were as follows: county chairman, Seamus Ó Riain, and county secretary, Tomás Ó Baróid,


North division, Hubie Hogan & Martin O’Connor, South division, Phil O’Shea & Jimmy Collins, Mid division, John O’Grady & Michael Small, West division, Michael Maguire & Jimmy Hennessy. While most of them travelled to Belfast by car or train, the North delegates flew from Shannon Airport to Belfast. Jimmy Collins drove to Dublin and took the train from there. He recalls getting up early the first morning and going for a walk down Sandy Row, without incident! He remembers a great concert on Saturday night, which included the Chieftains.

Abolished with Ease

The ease with which the Ban was abolished at the congress came as a major surprise to most people but the public attitude towards it had changed dramatically in the three years since it last appeared on the congress clár in 1968. It was defeated by 220 votes to 80 on that occasion but, though it wasn’t realised at the time, it was the beginning of the end for the Ban. The congress did make a gesture to those who wanted its removal by setting up a committee to examine it but since the members were chosen from the pro-Ban central committee, it was regarded with a certain scepticism. Former secretary of Down County Board, Maurice Hayes, commented that the composition of the committee was ‘rather like the Unionist Party appointing a committee of ex-Grand Masters to discuss the validity of the Orange order.’ During the years leading up to 1971 in spite of some strong defence of the Ban, the general trend was for its abolition. The committee set up to examine the Ban reported in November 1970 and agreed that the Ban should stay, that ‘it was an outward sign of the association’s exclusively and national motivation’ and that it should be retained for practical and idealistic reasons: ‘If Rule 27 were removed this would weaken the idealistic motive which inspires so many people to give voluntary service to the G.A.A. By its demand for exclusive allegiance to a National course, the G.A.A. claims an attribute that no mere sporting organisation can claim. This puts its games above other sports – games with a mission – and it would be foolish to allow that patriotic motive to be reduced.’


However, fewer G.A.A. followers were willing to subscribe to such lofty ideals. In the same year as the committee reported, there were demonstrations against the South African rugby team in Dublin and the G.A.A. Ban was compared with apartheid on the Late Late Show. The Ban was seen as discriminatory as the practices in some Dublin golf clubs against Jews and women. It was also likened to the Berlin Wall. All-Ireland footballer and Government Minister, Sean Flanagan, expressed the opinion that that G.A.A. would become ‘an empire without citizens’ if it didn’t remove the Ban. There were protests against the Ban outside Croke Park for the Leinster football final of 1970. A motion passed at the 1970 congress called on all clubs and county boards to put forward their views on the Ban before the next congress. If the pro-Ban people were hoping that the grass roots would come down in favour of the status quo, they were badly disillusioned. A substantial majority of clubs and counties came out in favour of removing the Ban and thirty out of the thirty two counties had motions in favour of removing Rule 27 at congress. As if anticipating the outcome of the congress a picture appeared in the Irish Independent some months before the event showing Mick O’Connell standing in a crowd at a soccer match!


The expectation was best expressed by Mitchel Cogley, sports editor of the Irish Independent in an opinion piece on the front page of the newspaper on the Saturday morning of congress weekend: ‘The matter has been comprehensively threshed out at club and county level over the past few months, with an overwhelming majority at all levels for the removal of the Ban . . . it would appear that the Ban must go! . . . If it is not then what price DEMOC(K)RACY?’

Evolution of the Ban

The Ban didn’t spring full blown into existence but the first intimations of the rule came as early as 1885 when the G.A.A. decided that ‘any athletes competing at meetings held under other laws than those of the G.A.A. shall be ineligible for competing at any meetings held under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association.’ Until then athletes competed under the rules of the English AAA, which rules themselves were exclusionary.

The first instance of the exclusion of games and persons associated with them came at the reconvened convention on February 27, 1886, when it was decided on the proposition of John Cullinan of Bansha and seconded by D. H. Ryan of Limerick ‘that affiliated clubs be requested not to play football or hurling matches against any club which is not a properly organised club playing under Gaelic Rules.’ According to Mac Lua this was aimed at insistence on proper affiliation and the ostracism of rugby clubs. The exclusion idea was further developed at the executive meeting on September 27 when Maurice Davin suggested that persons playing under rugby or other non-Gaelic rules should not be eligible for membership of the association. When the revised constitution of the G.A.A. was adopted at the second annual convention at Thurles on November 15, 1886, the Ban appeared as Rule 12: ‘Any member of a club in Ireland playing hurling, handball or football under any rules than those of the G.A.A. cannot be a member of the Association, and neither can members of any other athletic club in Ireland be a member of the G.A.A.’ The exclusion rule was further expanded at a special convention on January 4, 1888, when the following resolution was proposed and adopted: ‘That no member of the Royal Irish Constabulary, including the Dublin Metropolitan Police be eligible for membership of an affiliated club, or be allowed to compete in any Gaelic sports.’

The G.A.A. went into decline in the early 1890s because of internal difficulties and as a result of the Parnell Split. Only three counties attended the 1893 convention and only five at the 1894. The 1893 convention removed the Rule that excluded the RIC. The 1896 convention discarded the Ban. It arose from an appeal by Tom Irwin against his expulsion by Cork county board for having played rugby. The executive ruled that members of the association were entitled to play any game they liked. It also ruled that the G.A.A. ‘shall be strictly a non-political and non-sectarian association.’

According to Mac Lua it was a desperate attempt by the G.A.A. not to offend any more people and to win back those that had been lost in the post-Parnell Split, as well as by the Ban and the RIC rule. The G.A.A. was in a state of flux for a while.

Revival

The celebrations that took place around the country in connection with the 1798 Centenary revived the national spirit and the G.A.A. was reborn. Another important development was the election of Michael Deering of Cork as president at the 1898 annual congress. The new national fervour gradually led to the revival of the Ban. At the annual convention of 1900 Michael Cusack protested against the presence of RIC bands at many G.A.A. sports meetings and called for a re-affirmation of the separatist spirit which motivated the founding fathers of the association.


At the 1901 convention T. F. O’Sullivan proposed ‘That handicappers holding licences from the Association be prevented from officiating at police sports meetings under penalty of having their licences cancelled and that no permits be granted to the promoters of athletic meetings under the auspices of Dublin Castle.’ The motion was seconded by Michael Cusack and carried. The new national fervour found further expression in a second motion by T. F. O’Sullivan at the reconvened convention. He proposed ‘That we the representatives of the Gaels of Ireland in convention assembled hereby pledge ourselves to resist every means in our power the extension of English pastimes to this country, as a means of preventing the Anglicisation of our people: that County Committees be empowered to disqualify and suspend members of the Association who countenance sports which are calculated to interfere with the preservation and cultivation of our own national pastimes: that we call on the young men of Ireland not to identify themselves with rugby or Association football or any other form of imported sport which is likely to injuriously affect the national pastimes which the G.A.A provides for self-respected Irishmen who have no desire to ape foreign manners and customs . . .’ The motion was seconded by Denis O’Keeffe of Thurles. In the same year James Nowlan was elected president of the association and was to have an important influence on the direction of the G.A.A..


O’Sullivan’s motion, which was listed as Rule 28, was amended at the 1902 convention as follows: ‘That any member of the Association, who plays or encourages in any way rugby or Association Football, hockey, or any other imported game which is calculated to injuriously affect our national pastimes, be suspended from the Association and that this resolution apply to all counties in Ireland and England.’ The Ban as we know it today had arrived. The same convention also sanctioned the setting up of Vigilance Committees for athletic purposes. The idea was put forward earlier in the year at a central council meeting at Thurles, proposed by T. F. O’Sullivan and seconded by J. D. O’Brien of Tipperary. Counties were requested to appoint committees ‘to report illegal meetings and detect illegal practices in connection with athletics under G.A.A. laws’. The police rule came back at this time as Rule 28A: ‘That police, soldiers, sailors in the British Navy, pensioners from the British Army or Navy, be prevented from playing hurling or football or competing at athletic meetings under G.A.A. laws.’ By 1916 the Ban was firmly established.

Mixed Views on the Ban

Following the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the Civil War motions on the Ban appeared again. Supporters of the Treaty were of the opinion that the Ban was no longer required with the departure of the British. In contrast the republicans were for its retention. The debate on the Ban was really a reflection of the political divisions rather than opinion on the Ban. However most motions to abolish the Ban failed and the vote to retain it at the 1926 convention was passed by 80 votes to 23. In the same year a motion was passed that votes on the Ban would in future be taken only every three years.


In fact the Ban was strengthened when a decision was taken to have Gaelic games the only sports played in the Free State Army. Vigilance Committees were also reactivated. Hockey was disallowed at the Tailteann Games. The Ban was extended in the 1930s to prevent G.A.A. members from organising any form of entertainment with ‘foreign dances’. This was extended in 1932 to include the banning of G.A.A. members from attending any ‘foreign dance’. G.A.A. members were also prohibited from writing on G.A.A. matters for any foreign newspapers from 1940. The Free State Government favoured the G.A.A. In 1927 the Association was the only sporting body exempted from income tax on profits it earned. The Ban was given impetus in 1932 when the IRFU, which up to then used to fly the Union Jack when Ireland played at Belfast, and a Rugby Union flag, which included the coats of arms of the four provinces, when playing at Lansdowne Road, was forced to fly the National flag at the Dublin venue. The Ban against things foreign was given further support with the passing of the Public Dance Halls Act of 1935, which made it impossible to hold dances ‘without the sanction of the trinity of clergy, police and judiciary’.

Foreign Dances

There is a classic example of the implementation of this act in Cashel. Dean Innocent Ryan, a powerful figure in the town at the time was out for a stroll on a Sunday night in the summer of 1935 when he overheard a hullaballoo in the upper portion of the City Hall: ‘ I went to see how matters stood. The place was packed. I must say that the class of dance being indulged in was most objectionable. There was nothing Irish about it’. The Dean, not believing what he was watching, ordered his parishioners to go home at once. Most of the rabble obeyed him. The Dean was horrified to see the influence of foreign dancing creeping into the ballrooms and the likelihood of corrupting the innocent youth of the town. He called an urgent meeting of the Urban District Council and told the councillors that ‘This Hall has become a centre of immorality and a source of pestilence to religion and country.’ The Council took the side of the Dean in his war against what he called ‘dirty dancing’. It was agreed the hall would be used only for the purpose of ‘Old Time Dances’. A list of 15 rules was drawn up as to how to behave in a moral way at such dances and they were printed in the local newspapers. Rule 3 stated: ‘The jazz and what is known as ‘slow motion’ dances shall be taboo in the Hall.’ Rule 5 stated ‘There shall be no dancing after midnight.’ Rule 9 stated ‘Indelicacy in dress on the part of women dancers to be instantly reproved by persons in charge; extravagance in dress on the part of our girls – especially of working class – to be discouraged. All women dancers recommended to use Irish-made materials rather than flimsy, foreign silks and satins.’

Implementation of the Ban

It’s difficult to measure how the Ban was implemented. There were so many aspects to it, not to play foreign games, not to attend foreign games, not to organise foreign dances, etc that the vast number of G.A.A. members must have faithfully obeyed the rules or else the Ban was poorly enforced. The main implementation arm of the G.A.A.. was the Vigilance Committee but not every county had one. There is the well-known story of Mick Mackey, the outstanding hurler of the 1930s, who was a great lover of rugby and an alleged frequenter of rugby matches. The Limerick county board were fearful that he might be caught so they made him a member of their Vigilance Committee!. On the other hand not every county had such a committee and if they had and if they were active one would expect many more members of the G.A.A to have been suspended.


There is an interesting case study from a North Tipperary G.A.A. Board meeting, as reported in the Nenagh Guardian on July 11, 1936. The meeting was called to hear an objection by Bawnmore-Eglish to Ballingarry being awarded a junior hurling championship game, which they won by 10 points to 8 points on June 14, the same year. The grounds for the objection were that two Ballingarry players, John McKenna and Dan Treacy, had attended a rugby dance in the Oxmantown Hall, Birr on December 26, 1935. The chairman, S. F. Gardiner, quoted the rule under which the objection was made that any member of the G.A.A. ‘who plays or encourages in any way rugby or Association Football, hockey or cricket, or participate in dances under the patronage of British soldiers, etc suspends himself from membership of the G.A.A. for 2 years.’


Mr. Kelly, Eglish presented the case for Bawnmore-Eglish. Edward Horan, a witness for club, stated that he saw McKenna go into the hall on December 26, 1935. The chairman asked why the witness hadn’t reported the matter before then.


Mr. Kelly intervened to say it was the duty of the Vigilance Committee to do so. The chairman replied that they had enough to do in North Tipperary without going into Birr. He went on to say that it looked bad that the witness hadn’t reported the matter and added: ‘It seems to me now you did it in the interests of the club and not in the interests of the G.A.A.’


Mr. Cronin, a member of the board, said the witness wasn’t in the hall and couldn’t see the man. The chairman asked if the person could go into the hall and not to the dance. The witness replied: ‘I do not see what other business he would have in the hall.’


At this stage another witness, William Shanny, stated he was at the dance. The chairman said he couldn’t accept his evidence because he had automatically suspended himself by being there and his evidence could not be accepted!


Mr. Kelly stated that if the chairman wanted further witnesses he could ask the Offaly county board as one of their Vigilance Committee was present. The chairman replied it was that person’s duty to report the matter to the Offaly county board, which in turn would have reported the matter to him.


In further discussion Mr. Kelly asked if the chairman would accept the evidence of a band member. When there were further refusals to accept the evidence given, Mr., Kelly suggested that the board investigate the matter further and give the club a chance to bring forward some more witnesses, The chairman refused and in his summary he said that the only evidence produced was that of the driver of the car (Horan), who stated that he saw McKenna going into the hall and questioned why he didn’t report the matter until now. He left it to the members to decide. When the vote was taken the number voting for the objection was 9, those against 16 and abstentions 14.


It is difficult to know if this was the usual way breaches of the Ban were dealt with. Every effort was made by the powers that be to belittle the evidence of the Bawnmore-Eglish club and to cast doubt on the motivation of it. It is important to know that John McKenna was a high profile figure, having won an senior hurling All-Ireland with Tipperary in 1930. Also a fellow member of the team was Mick Cronin, who contributed at the board meeting!

A Momentous Year

The year 1938 was to be a momentous year for the Ban with a number of high-profile cases, particularly the suspension of President Douglas Hyde. The first case had to do with a Munster Council game. Tipperary played Clare in the Munster hurling championship semi-final on June 26 and won by 3-10 to 2-3. However, the result was objected to on the grounds that one of the players, Jimmy Cooney, was ineligible and Tipperary lost the game on a Clare objection to the result. Cooney had attended a rugby international at Lansdowne Road the previous February, was reported and suspended for three months from the date of the match, February 12. His suspension was removed on May 14. Because the player resided outside the county, he had to make a declaration to play for his county every year. Ten days before attending the rugby match he sent a signed declaration form to the Tipperary county board. For some reason it wasn’t forwarded to Central Council until shortly before Easter. President P. McNamee ruled that the declaration was invalid since Cooney was debarred from all G.A.A. activities, even making a declaration, while suspended. He was, therefore, ineligible to play for the county. When the Tipperary county board disputed the ruling by stating that Cooney’s declaration was made on February 2, Central Council replied it was on the date the declaration was received that mattered. The county board refused to accept this ruling and played Cooney in a Monaghan Cup game in London on June 6. On the night before Tipperary were due to play Clare in the Munster semi-final, President McNamee ruled Cooney ineligible on the grounds that his declaration was received during his term of suspension and as such was not eligible, and he was illegal to play in London and as a result had suspended himself for another six months!. Tipperary county board persisted with their claim that Cooney’s declaration was in order and played him against Clare. They won the game well but were objected to. Chairman of the Clare county board, Rev. M. Hamilton, stated that the objection was not vindictive on the part of Clare Gaels, inasmuch as they considered themselves to have been squarely beaten by Tipperary, but as there seemed to be a challenge to the authority of the association, they felt bound in the interests of the public name of the G.A.A., and the high sense of discipline it stood for, to make the only protest at their disposal against what seemed to be an apparent illegality. Having lost the game some players disagreed with the playing of Cooney against Clare. According to them there was no need and the matter ought to have been cleared beforehand. The team would easily have beaten Clare without Cooney and, as All-Ireland champions might have gone ahead and made it a double. The Tipperary county board’s persistence in playing Cooney had a certain pig-headedness about it. On the other hand the episode appeared to many ‘that the G.A.A. was being overly pedantic as well as being completely intransigent.’

G.A.A. Patron Suspended

These qualities were revealed to an even greater degree in the association’s treatment of President Douglas Hyde in the same year. Douglas Hyde (1860-1949) was elected first President of Ireland in June 1938. He was already a Patron of the G.A.A. On November 13 he attended his first soccer match, an international between Ireland and Poland at Dalymount Park, which Ireland won by 3-2. Also present at the game was Eamon de Valera, Minister Oscar Traynor, the Attorney General, Alfie Byrne, the Lord Mayor of Dublin and 34,000 spectators. The President’s attendance was widely reported in the media and sparked off a lot of debate. Sinn Fein held its Árd Fhéis the same day and the President was criticised for his attendance. It re-opened the debate on the Ban and the question was asked, If the President could get away with it, why have a Ban! The debate resulted in the Patrick Pearse G.A.A. club in Derry putting down a motion on December 4 to remove him as Patron of the G.A.A. The discussion claimed that the same rules should apply to the President as well as to everyone else. Against this it was argued that it was a discourtesy to the President to propose his expulsion and that the man should be distinguished from his office. Other G.A.A. clubs and county boards followed the Derry club’s lead. The discussion of the President’s action was the main news leading up to the Central Council meeting on December 17. At the meeting President McNamee moved, with little debate, that President Hyde had ceased to be a patron of the G.A.A. by his action of going to the soccer match. He argued that the rules were absolute and no one could breach them regardless of their station in life. The Ban was the G.A.A.’s most potent tool in its war against the Anglicisation of Ireland. The reaction of the public was generally one of outrage and condemnation. President Hyde remained silent on the matter and remained so up to his death. The matter remained in the news and it was discussed at club, county and provincial conventions and at the G.A.A. congress in April 1939. The G.A.A. made no attempt to contact the President for the entire duration of his office. It was believed that he should have been contacted and informed of the reasons behind the decision.

Widespread Reaction

The reaction to the removal of President Hyde varied across the country. In Ulster, with the exception of Tyrone, it was well received. In the eyes of Northern Gaels the Ban was seen as paramount to ensuring that they retained their Irishness and as a weapon to oppose the authorities in the North. In Connaught Roscommon G.A.A. supported Hyde and was one of three counties that brought forward a motion to the annual congress calling for his reinstatement. In Mayo the G.A.A. decision was severely criticised. There was much criticism of the G.A.A. failure to implement its own rules on foreign dances. Also, there was the case of Guard George Ormsby, a noted Mayo footballer. He attended a soccer match in Sligo on February 6, 1938. Sligo county board suspended him for being in breach of the Ban rule on foreign games. When it transpired he was at the match in his line of duty as a guard, he was re-instated. As this happened early in the year that President Hyde was suspended, he could equally have been absolved as he was attending the soccer match in his line of duty as President of Ireland. There was a big divide in Munster on the matter. Clare, under the influence of Canon Hamilton, supported the central council. The Canon later claimed that De Valera and Kevin Barry weren’t one hundred percent Irishmen because they played rugby! Kerry supported his reinstatement. Waterford supported central council. Cork were against the suspension. At the mid-Tipperary convention the chairman, Fr. Fogarty maintained that the Ban was ‘making the G.A.A. a source of humiliation for its friends and a laughing stock of its enemies.’ Later, as county chairman, he became a strong defender of the Ban. In Leinster opinions were divided among the counties.

Reconciliation

Following the election of President O’Kelly in 1945 the G.A.A. president, Seamus Gardiner decided to pay a courtesy call on him. This was the first time there was communication between the association and the Government since 1938. Nothing was heard until De Valera contacted the G.A.A. president. requesting a meeting with him and the general secretary. De Valera explained that the President could not ignore the slight which had been offered to Dr. Hyde by the G.A.A. in December 1938 and that precautions should be taken to prevent any similar recurrence in the future. He added that he believed that the patron should not be bound by the ‘foreign games ban rule’ and that he should be invited to important G.A.A. events regardless of whether he attended other sporting events. Following this meeting the central council was called and agreement was reached on De Valera’s requests. Following this development President O’Kelly decided to go to the 1945 All-Ireland finals at which he was received with suitable fanfare. As usual not everyone was happy with the new arrangement. Wexford G.A.A. county board decided to boycott the President on a trip he made to Wexford, for attending ‘foreign games’ in May 1946. It may have been at the same meeting between De Valera and Seamus Gardiner and O’Caoimh that the President requested the G.A.A. to re-instate President Hyde as a member of the G.A.A.. Gardiner is alleged to have agreed but Canon Hamilton was so annoyed that he didn’t speak to Gardiner for a year afterwards!

Progress to Removal of the Ban

In the 1947 congress a motion to remove the Ban was defeated by 180 votes to 5. In 1953 the Lord Mayor of Waterford, Alderman Martin Cullen was suspended from the G.A.A. for attending a foreign game even though he attended in an official capacity. In 1954 Radio Eireann caused consternation in Gaelic Ireland circles by broadcasting a soccer match on St. Patrick’s Day in spite of strong protests. An interesting case was the suspension of Eamon Young of Cork in the early fifties for writing for a Sunday newspaper. This wasn’t allowed since about 1940 and the decision by the Cork county board was ostensibly to uphold the spirit of the G.A.A. In fact it is believed the real reason was Young’s stance on the personnel to travel with the Cork football team, as league champions, to New York. The board included Jim Barry as ‘trainer’ instead of the real trainer, Corporal O’Brien of Young’s club. His appeal against the suspension to the Munster Council was lost with only Kerry supporting it. There is a further interesting episode from Moycarkey sometime in the 1950s. Fr. Dinny O’Meara from the club got Mutt Ryan and Paddy Maher to go into the county convention and vote against a Ban motion, despite the fact that the club voted 80 – 2 the other way. Sean Barry and Der Shanahan, the official club delegates, were refused admission to Scoil Ailbe and told that the club was already represented inside!


The Nationalist reported in February 1956 on the application by Eamonn O’Duibhir, Main Street, Clogheen for re-instatement in the G.A.A. According to him he was automatically suspended for playing rugby with Rockwell College but that he had been compelled to play rugby at the school, where the game was compulsory.


The Ryans of Cashel were a famous sporting family in the fifties and most of them played rugby as well as hurling. The Cashel team that played Thurles in the Munster Junior Cup in March 1958 had six brothers on the team, Donal, Gerard, John, Eddie, Dick and Tony, Ger was in line for a place on the Tipperary minors but was suspended for playing rugby, but never got his notice. Apparently he was listed on the team as J. Ryan, and the suspension was sent to John by mistake!


Michael Dundon, former editor of the Tipperary Star, has an interesting account of his suspension under the Ban. He was one of seven members of a local soccer team in Thurles that was going well in the second half of the sixties, four of them from Thurles Sarsfields and three from Kickhams. They were suspended at a county board meeting in 1967. Dundon was at the same meeting as a reporter for the Tipperary Star but only heard of the suspension afterwards, because it never came up at the meeting! Having contacted the county G.A.A. secretary he was informed it had come up and the seven of them suspended! At any rate none of them was ever officially notified of their suspension nor informed when they could return. It seemed to be a case of finding unimportant victims to show that the board was serious about the Ban. In their case their suspensions didn’t make much difference as they all played junior hurling. When it came to dealing with the county’s star hurler, Jimmy Doyle, the treatment was different. Jimmy was reported for attending a rugby match and summoned to a board meeting. He attended and explained that when taking the dog for a walk along the Brittas Road he saw a rugby match in progress and wandered in to see what was happening. ‘And did you watch the match’, he was asked. ‘I did,’ replied Jimmy. So the board was in a pickle. He was guilty and would have to be suspended but you couldn’t have the county lose its best forward for six months! Eventually they found a solution. ‘And did you pay to get in?’ ‘’’deed I didn’t!’ replied Jimmy. ‘Ah!, you’re okay, so!’ he was informed.

Tom Woulfe

One of the great proponents of the abolition of the Ban was Kerryman, Tom Woulfe, the chairman of the Dublin Civil Service G.A.A. Club. According to Cormac Moore ‘His personal motivation stemmed from an incident in 1948 when he was involved in a Vigilance Committee for Dublin county board, where a person was suspended for playing a foreign game and that person subsequently took no further part in the G.A.A. Woulfe was disgusted by the experience and refused to act as a vigilante again’. Instead he set about campaigning for the abolition of the Ban starting with an investigation into the usefulness of the Ban by his own club. He kept the Ban high up in the agenda at congresses during the 1960s. The division between the two camps became entrenched and the debate more and more acrimonious during this decade. The motion to remove the Ban was defeated by 282 votes to 52 in 1965. The World Cup and its television coverage in 1966 gave a great boost to the spread of soccer. In the same year Tomás Ó Fiaich claimed that the Ban didn’t help the G.A.A.’s aim to end Partition. Minister for Education, Donagh O’Malley came out strongly for its removal. In 1967 there was talk of removing Jack Lynch from the G.A.A. because he attended a rugby match. The following year he spoke out against the divisive nature of the Ban. In spite of these arguments the official G.A.A. stood solid behind the Ban as indicated by the vote for its abolition in 1968, defeated by 220 votes to 80. In the light of that vote it is incredible the transformation in opinion over three years to the extent that it was abolished by acclamation in the 1971 congress.!

Bibliography

The most comprehensive history of the Ban, ‘The Steadfast Rule’ by Brendan Mac Lua, was published by the Cuchulann Press in 1967. It traced the evolution, extension and retention of the Ban from the beginning of the G.A.A. There is a substantial amount about the Ban in Cormac Moore’s, ‘The G.A.A. v Douglas Hyde: The removal of Ireland’s First President as G.A.A. Patron’, which was published by the Collins Press in 2012. A fine account is to be found in Paul Rouse’s ‘Sport and the Politics of Culture: A History of the G.A.A. Ban 1884-1971’, which was his UCD Master’s Thesis. For individual instances of the Ban in operation a survey of contemporary newspapers is very revealing.


There were some very strong supporters of the Ban. Canon Hamilton (1894-1969), who was chairman of the Clare County Board for twenty-five years from 1920 and was responsible for having the 1947 All-Ireland football final played in New York, was a staunch advocate of the Ban, though he held the opposite view for some time after the Treaty, gave a lecture on the Ban, which was produced in booklet form by Club Camán Peil in 1955. In the same publication the Listowel writer, Bryan Mac Mahon, has a supplementary article giving nineteen reasons for the Ban. The most prominent G.A.A. official in support of the Ban was Pádraig Ó Caoimh, who was general secretary of the association from 1929 to 1964. According to Cormac Moore he was ‘an unbending advocate of the Ban . . . who firmly promoted the Irish-Ireland movement and he saw the Ban as the cornerstone of that movement.’ During his time in office he worked hand in hand with Padraig McNamee, who was president form 1938-1943 and who moved with little debate in 1938 that Douglas Hyde had ceased to be a patron of the G.A.A. by his action of going to a soccer match.

<span class="postTitle">The Premier County</span> The Brehon, Jan 2021

The Premier County

Most of us grew up with the idea that the Premier County tag re­ferred to Tipperary's prowess and success in the game of hurling. Sure, the G.A.A was founded at Thurles, four of the seven founders were from the county and we won the first All-Ireland! And we were first in the Roll of Honour for senior hurling titles for decades until the Stripy Men from Kilkenny went ahead of us in the twenty-first century. This was galling to most of us when we recall the long period from 1922 to 1967 when they failed to beat us in a decent match!

But the Premier tag is a recogni­tion of our superiority in many other areas of human activity. It sug­gests leadership qualities and bravery in the face of opposition. A good exam­ple of this was shown by St Ruadhan from my own place. Diarmuid, the High King of Tara, tried Ruadhan for giving sanctuary to the King's alienated foster son. Noth­ing fazed, Ruadhan cursed Tara: 'Desolate be Tara forever!' He also forecast a terrible death to the King, which came true. He was stabbed by his foster son. Wounded, he fled to a house, which was set on fire. Seeking to escape the flame, Diarmuid scrambled into a vat of ale and was finished off when a burning ridge pole fell on his head! You don't mess with a Tipperary man!

Many reasons are given for the county getting the Premier tag. The farmers of the Golden Vale will credit it to having the best land in the coun­try. The Butlers arrived with Henry II, owned most of Tipperary and re­mained the premier Anglo-Norman family. There are less-noble reasons. The Premier County had an unri­valled reputation for lawlessness in the nineteenth century. A return of all crimes and outrages from July 1836 to December 1837 yielded ratios per 1,000 of the population of 1.52 for all Ireland and 2.85 for county Tipperary. In fact, there is a view that the proc­lamation of two counties in Tipperary in 1838 was based on law and order needs. Another argument, attributed to a Christian Brother in Thurles, who used to tell his class that Tipperary was the Premier County for supply­ing recruits to the British army! There may be substance in this as eighteen men, either from the county or con­nected with it, were awarded the Vic­toria Cross.

I have failed to find information on who or when the tag Premier was given to the county. It has been attributed to Thomas Da­vis, who was editor of the Nation newspaper in the 1840s. As a tribute to the nationalist feeling in Tipperary he said that 'where Tipperary leads, Ireland follows.'

The first use of the tag has been found in the Nation on October 8, 1864. It appears in a report of an aborted boxing match. The con­temporary sport of boxing was for­bidden at the time because it was un­regulated and cruel. Boxing matches were organised in remote parts of the country and attracted large crowds not only for the spectacle but for the betting opportunities. Such a match, between two English boxers, Coburn and Mace, was organised to take place between Gouldscross Railway Station and Cashel but was post­poned because of a failure to agree on a referee. In the meantime, the Constabulary became aware of it and drafted in large number of police into the area, determined that the match wouldn't take place. Because of the failure to agree to a referee the match was abandoned anyway. However, the newspaper atbibuted its failure to take place to the vigilance of the po­lice and the determination of the peo­ple of Tipperary, the premier county of Ireland, that 'such a debasing and in­human spectacle of English customs and English sport was prevented.'

I'll leave the final word to the Nationalist. In a report on the visit of John Redmond to Tipperary on April 8, 1910, the newspaper commented on the impressive reception he re­ceived: 'It is only frtting that he should make his appeal in the heart of the great fighting county, which is regard­ed as the pulse of Ireland by reason of the prominent and strenuous part it takes in every struggle for Irish rights.'

The Stonethrowers

Tipperary has a seoond tag, The Stonethrowers. The origin of this is difficult to find. Tradition has it that it was a cross-country hurling match between Tipperary and Kilkenny that took place in the vicinity of Fenner long before the GAA was founded and finished with Tipperary losing the day and, having failed to beat the Cats fair and square, threw stones at them, thereby gaining the unenviable title of 'Tipperary Stone Throwers.' This would put the rivalry between the counties as much older and pre-dating the strong and determined loyalty and pride in parish and county that came with the foundation of the GAA.

If the tradition is true, it's a bit of a blot on ihe character of the men of Tipperary, depicting them as people who are unable to take their beating. Stonethrowing is also associated with anti-police activity and there is anoth­er suggestion that the tag originated following an altercation with the Brit­ish army at some stage. The activity also suggests a kind of helplessness against superior forces and the last throw of the dice for a beaten peo­ple. Not a very good image and in stark contrast to the opinion of people outside the county who believe that Tipperary people 'have a superiority complex and feel that they are the best at everything.

[Ed. Note: On an apparently unrelated but like-named note, ‘The Stonethrowers' moni­ker shows up in America, and is also tied to Tipperary (though, perhaps, for less 'auspi­cious' reasons).

After the Erie Canal was finished, many Irish people settled west of Syracuse, New York on a hill overlooking the canal. This area became known as Tipperary Hill. When the city first installed traffic signal lights in 1925, they placed one at a major intersection in the main business district on Tipperary Hill, at the comer of Tomp­kins Street and Milton Avenue. Local Irish youths, incensed that the “British" red appeared above the “Irish” green, threw stones at the signal and broke the red light. John "Huckle" Ryan, then alderman of the Tip­perary Hill section, requested that the traffic signal be hung with the green above the red in deference to the Irish residents. This was done, but soon New York State stepped in, and city officials reversed the colors.

The red fights were again broken reg­ularly. Members of a group called Tipperary Hill Protective Association addressed the town rulers. On March 17, 1928, Commis­sioner Bradley met with Tipp Hill residents, who told him that the light would continue to be vandalized. The city leaders relented, and green was again above the red light, where it remains. It is said to be the only traf­fic light in the U.S. where the green light is on top. At the site is a statue commemorat­ing the Stone Throwers.]

<span class="postTitle">Tribute to Tony Reddin</span> Renaming St Ruadhan's Park to Tony Reddin Park, Dec 7th, 2019

Tribute to Tony Reddin

On the occasion of re-naming St. Ruadhan’s Park to Tony Reddin Park & Community Centre, December 7, 2019

Cathaoirlach, Uachtaran Cumann Luthchleas Gael, John Horan, Maura and members of the Reddin family, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I consider it a great privilege to be asked to say some words in tribute to Tony Reddin on the occasion of the renaming of St. Ruadhan’s Park as the Tony Reddin Park and Community Centre. It is right and fitting that the survivors of the 1956 team, which won the North divisional championship with Tony in that year, should be present along with his family and friends to celebrate this very important occasion.

When Tony came across the bridge at Portumna in February 1947, he was twenty-eight years of age and had already quite a bit of hurling done for his club Mullagh, for Galway and for Connaght without achieving much in the line of honours. The one exception was a county juvenile medal, which he was to cherish for the rest of his life. Travelling to Lorrha was to start a new chapter in his life.

His reputation as a goalkeeper had preceded him and he got his first opportunity to show his prowess when Fr. O’Meara went to him in Holy Week and asked him to play on Easter Sunday. St. Vincent’s of Dublin were coming to Rathcabbin to play Lorrha in a challenge game that was to be the beginning of a long friendship between the two clubs, inspired by the Drumgoole connection – Noel was to captain Dublin in the 1961 All-Ireland, that Tipperary narrowly won and Noel’s mother was a Corcoran from Ballymacegan. At ant rate Tony turned up, had a good game and the visitors won by a point. It is interesting to record that this was Tony’s first match in Tipperary, in the quiet backwater of Rathcabbin. His last match for Tipperary was to be in the bustling city of New York in October ten years later.

Tony didn’t do anything spectacular during 1947 but he made up for it the following year, particularly in the North final against Borrisileigh at Nenagh on August 22. With a gale force wind in the first half Lorrha ran up a lead of 4-3 to 0-4 by half-time. In the second half Borrisileigh had a downpour behind them and they attacked the Lorrha goal with everything in their arsenal in an attempt to get back on top. They tried for goals again and again, when points went abegging, and Reddin stopped the ball with mechanical ease and flung it back in their faces. Borrisileigh scored twice, early and late in the half, but it wasn’t enough. Lorrha had won, scoring 1-1 on top if their half-time tally, for a final scoreline of 5-4 to 2-5, and the parish and further afield sung the praises of a new goalkeeping star. Lorrha won the county semi-final against Cashel but went down heavily to Holycross-Ballycahill in the final. In both games Reddin’s contribution was way above that of average men.

In a fine nostalgic piece in the 1981 Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook, Seamus Leahy recalled a visit from his uncle Paddy and Jimmy Maher after Lorrha's defeat by Holycross in the county final. He produced an autograph- book and his uncle Paddy wrote: 'Sensation: Holycross won county championship 1948. Tipp will win All-Ireland championship 1949. Signed: P. Leahy.' Then he handed the book to Jimmy Maher, who wrote: 'Jim Maher, Boherlahan.'

'Identify yourself!, urged Paddy. 'Jim Maher, Boherlahan could be anyone. Write 'Tipp goalie.'

'Not after today,' said Jimmy, sadly but signing, just the same. 'Didn't you see your man, Reddin, today? He's your goalie now.'

Jimmy was right. After eight years as Tipperary's senior goalkeeper, Jimmy was to give way to this 'unknown' who had shown unusual ability during the North championship.. There hadn't been many players from Lorrha who had achieved county status but Tony Reddin was to be an outstanding representative for the next nine years.

It's not possible to give a detailed history of Tony’s achievements with Lorrha and Tipperary in the course of this short tribute. I’m going to mention one of many outstanding performances, the Munster final against Cork at Killarney on July 23, 1950 ‘the toughest match I ever played’ according to Tony. The last ten minutes of that game remained vivid in his memory years later. The outcome of the game hung in the balance. The overflow crowd of 55,000 had encroached on to the pitch so that the referee, Bill O’Donoghue of Limerick, had to stop the game for ten minutes until the pitch was cleared. No sooner had the game restarted than the encroachment resumed around Tony’s goal and became so bad that, as he looked left and right, he found himself in the horn of a half-moon. Bottles, cans and sods were raining on his goals. Anytime a ball came in he was teased, barracked and even pushed. He was caught by the jersey as he ran out to clear the ball. There was much more.

When the final whistle sounded with Tipperary victorious, Tony had to escape from an angry crowd of Cork supporters. He found himself under the protection of a number of priests. Fr. O’Meara have him a hat and a short coat and covered him up as best he could, but he was unable to leave the field until well after the game, as fitting a tribute as there could be to the quality of his play!

I believe that this performance plus his heroic display in the 1948 North final established Tony as an outstanding goalkeeper, a player of heroic proportions, a man apart. He became a folk hero, not only in the parish of Lorrha and throughout Tipperary. He was great in the days before television when it was impossible to see the player in action unless one attended the matches and one had to depend on the voice of Micheal O’Hehir to bring us the information of his play, to describe his goalkeeping performances and relate his brilliant saves. And O’Hehir did it so well that radio on a Sunday afternoon with him at the microphone was a memorable experience.

I remember at that time the pride I felt when the lineout for a Munster game was relayed by O’Hehir on radio and the first man on the list was in goals, Tony Reddin of Lorrha. In the days before TV and Social Media, etc, etc this was brilliant to hear. Tony put Lorrha on the map just as Lorrha put Tony on the map. He brought the parish pride and fame and the parish as well as the county gave him a platform to express his genius. That genius was recognised when he was an automatic choice for goalkeeper on the Team of the Century and the Millennium Team

His Genius

Why was Reddin so brilliant? It may be a good place to analyse the quality of his greatness. Many people remember Reddin as a big man going high for the ball, catching it securely and bursting out amid a welter of hurleys, to clear well up the field. It will come as a surprise to learn that Tony is not a big man. He stood 5'9" and, at the height of his career in the early fifties, never weighed more than eleven and a half stone! He was a very fit man. He trained for the position as keenly as another might train for centre-field. Running cross-country, jumping over hedges and ditches and building up his arms made him the strong player he was. He had the eye of a hawk, some might even say of compensatory quality, for defects in his oral and aural senses. Neighbours have commented on how sharp that eyesight was and his ability in spotting someone at a distance. He was no mere ball stopper but a player who completed the act by clearing the ball down the field. He was equally good on the right or the left side and this again came from constant practice. He sharpened his reflexes by belting a ball against a rough stone wall from short distances and catching the ball in his hand as it rebounded in different directions. Prob¬ably his greatest ability was a sensitive touch allied with the tilting of the hurley's face at an angle which enabled him to kill even the fastest ball dead so that it rolled down the hurley into his hand as if by the genius of a master magician. Finally, Tony used no 'half¬door' of a hurley to stop the ball. His was of ordinary size and he had the same stick for most of his hurling career, a heavy, many hooped, ugly llooking affair.

Tony Reddin's list of achievements is impressive by any standards. As well as winning three All-lrelands, six National League, two Brendan Cup medals and one Oireachtas, he also won six Railway Cup medals and four 'Ireland team' cups. He travelled to London on nine occasions and played on the winning Monaghan Cup team on eight occasions. His ninth visit was as a sunstitute in 1957 when Tipperary were bffccfc fg eaten. He won two North divisional titles with Lorrha.

There is nobody to deny that he was one of the greats of hurling history. He was great in the days when a goalkeeper's fate was to be bundled into the back of the net if the backs gave the forwards sufficient leeway. Tony's greatest asset was, to stop the hall dead so that it rolled down to his chest or his feet. He would leave the ball on the ground until the last moment and then, with the forwards rushing in, he would take it, sidestep them and have loads of space to clear. He claimed to know which side of the goal a ball would come by watching which foot a forward was on when he hit the ball. Whatever the reason for his greatness his stopping prowess was the bane of forwards and a joy to supporters for many a year.

<span class="postTitle">The Corn Mill at Carrigahorig</span> The Lamp, 2020, pp 18-20

The Corn Mill at Carrigahorig

The Lamp, 2020, pp 18-20

A stone over the entrance to Carrigahorig Mill, Lorrha, Co. Tipperary used to state that the structure was built in 1805. A fine building of four storeys, it was demolished in 1994. According to the Bassett’s County Tipperary Guide and Directory, which was published in 1889 ‘the village of Carrigahorig consisted of eight houses and a mill. Mrs. A. Flynn was the village grocer, and three others, Martin Hough, Thomas Joyce and Michael Salmon, were publicans and grocers. The Postmaster was Michael Joyce and the miller was Edmond Doolan, who was also a farmer and Justice of the Peace. The mill was known as Santa Cruise.’

As mentioned above, the stone over the entrance stated that the mill was built by Thomas Going in 1805. It was an impressive building of four storeys with different grinding stones on each floor. The Goings were originally from Lorraine in France. In 1713 Richard Going leased premises in the Barony of Lower Ormond from Francis Heaton. Philip Going of Moneyquil, Nenagh died in 1820 in his 79th year and was buried in Ballymackey graveyard. He married Grace Bernard in 1767 and the couple had one son, Thomas, and three daughters. It appears that Thomas, whose address is given as Santa Cruz, Sherragh, Barony of Lower Ormond, was born in 1769. He married his first cousin, Rebecca, in 1803 and died without issue in 1815, before his father, at the age of 46 years.

The building of the mill at the time may have been the result of the Inland Bounty Act of 1758. This act was passed to ensure an adequate supply of corn and flour to the capital, Dublin by offering premiums to enterprising millers in the provinces. It led to a big expansion in the milling industry.

We don’t know who succeeded Thomas Going as the owner. A man by the name of Thomas P. Ferman is reputed to have owned the mill during the 19th century. His family suffered a misfortune, when his son was shot accidentally. Apparently there was a party in his house and one of the boys picked up a pistol and pointed it in fun at the son, not realising there was a bullet in it. He pulled the trigger and the bullet went through the son, killing him instantly. The father was so disillusioned he leased the mill and became an absentee landlord. One of the people who leased it was a man by the name of Samuel Palmer, who had associations with Portumna, Palmerston. He was the occupier of the mill in 1850.

A Flourishing Enterprise

The mill was a first class one, on a par with the best in the country. It produced top class flour with its silk screen. It also produced wholemeal, pollard and bran. It purchased wheat from the neighbouring farmers and dried it in a kiln before extracting the flour. The kiln was a major one and was heated by turf, which was also supplied from neighbouring bogs. Suppliers were paid sixpence a box for the turf. It is unclear what volume of turf the box held. The place was a hive of activity when it was at the height of production at the end of the nineteenth century and was reputed to employ over one hundred people. There was a row of houses in Ballyquirke, where many of the workers resided.

It appears that a man called Joyce, probably from the village, was the head man for Palmer. The story goes that at one stage the price of wheat rose by sixpence a barrel. Joyce refused to pay it and the farmers refused to supply grain to the mill. There was danger it would have to close but Joyce tried a ruse. He announced one day that the price of grain would drop by sixpence a barrel the following Monday. According to the story there was a traffic jam at the mill the following days as the suppliers struggled to get the wheat in before the price went down!

As stated above the miller in 1889 was Edmond Doolan. At some stage it came into the possession of Edward (Ned) O’Donoghue. He died on April 16, 1906 at the age of 74 years and is buried in the Old Cemetery, Terryglass. It is said that his remains were brought to the church the evening before burial, the first remains to be thus treated in Terryglass church. Up to then the dead were waked in the home and brought to the burial ground the following day. One of the reasons for changing the practice was what we would call today, health and safety matters. Wakes in small houses were conducive to the spread of disease because of the crowded conditions. A son of Ned O’Donoghue’s, John C, died two months later at the age of 38 years, and a second son, James, died in October, 1909 at the age of 36 years. It appears the mill was then taken over by another son, William.

William O’Donoghue

William O’Donoghue married Teresa Sammon in Lorrha Parish Church on November 13, 1912. The witnesses were Paddie Sammon and Mai Sammon and the ceremony was performed by Fr. John Gleeson, P.P. The couple had six sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Michael Raymond, who was born in January 1914, became a priest, and the older of the two daughters, Mary Josephine, who was born in November 1916, became a nun.

In 1920 Bill O’Donoghue’s name appeared in an advertisement in the Irish Independent looking for a miller ‘to dress stones, make oatmeal and grind corn.’ The candidate must be a T.T., the job was indoor and the applicant was requested to state his age and wages. The address given was Santa Cruise Mills, Carrigahorig. A similar advertisement appeared in the same paper on October 14, 1926.

As part of the safety measures in the mill, there was a timber wheel attached to the grinding stones, which came into use if there was interference with the stones, in order to prevent them from being damaged. On such occasions the wheel shattered and brought matters to a halt. The wheel had then to be repaired and put back in working order before milling could resume. During Bill O’Donoghue’s time the carpenter who used to repair the wheel was Bill Loughnane from Lorrha.

Bill O’Donohue carried on an extensive business of grinding corn and making oatmeal. In the forties and fifties all the local farmers used the facility to have their grain ground and neighbours from that time remember it as a bustling, busy place with plenty of traffic in horses and carts travelling into and out of the mill. Interestingly it wasn’t the only mill in the place. O’Donoghue had another mill further up the river on the Aglish Road and it was leased to Grubbs. They specialised in making oatmeal. Later, this mill was converted to the generation of electricity and the Grubbs supplied light to the village for a number of years before the coming of Rural Electrification.

Bill O’Donohue’s sister was married to a Boland of Boland’s Mill , Dublin fame. During World War 1, Bolands used to supply Carrigahorig with pollard, which Bill sold to the local farmers.

After Raymond, who became a priest, the O’Donohue boys were Wilsy, who was a farmer and he married an O’Meara, who had a drapery business in Birr, Cyril, who was born in 1919, Des, in 1920, Charles in 1922 and Brendan in 1925. The second girl was Teresa Kathleen, who was born in 1918 and married Nicholas Cunningham. Wilsy, Des and Brendan played with the Lorrha senior hurling team beaten by Holycross in the 1948 county final. Theoretically, they should have played with Shannon Rovers, born, as they were on the Terryglass side of the Carrigahorig river. Des and Brendan ended up in the United States and Charles in Africa.

Athlete of Note

Bill O’Donohue was an athlete of note. Cycling was his great interest. He started a race that went from Carrigahorig to Borrisokane and back by Kilbarron and Terryglass. Bill put up a clock for this race and won it himself every year. Eventually a man, who worked at McAinch’s at the Ferry beat him, kept the clock and that put an end to the race.

Bill travelled all over the place taking part in cycle races. The story goes he used to keep his good clothes in the Little Mill on the Aglish road, later owned by the Grubbs, so that he could get away to races without his father knowing. He was a successful cyclist and won a lot of races. There is a story that he had cups all over the house, some of them holding up windows!

Bill was a good swimmer and used to go to Galway for a week at the time of the races. He usually travelled with John McIntyre. The latter had a very fast pony and they travelled in a trap to Galway during the Emergency.

An advertisement appeared in the Nenagh Guardian on August 3, 1963 from Desmond O’Donohue offering for sale Santa Cruise House, Lands and a Corn Mill. The land included 84 acres and the sale also included a ‘magnificent residence’ with five bedrooms.

The sale must have gone through because another advertisement appeared in the Nenagh Guardian on October 5, 1963 for a clearance sale at the mill. The sale consisted of livestock, machinery, furniture, outdoor effects and a motor car. The sale was to take place on October 12 and the auctioneer was Wm J. Kennedy, Borrisokane.

Demolition of Mill

The new owner was Colm Keane from Carney. When he took over he tried to continue the business of grinding corn in the mill but some accident happened to the water wheel, which was regarded as one of the biggest in Ireland. The wheel was never repaired and was later dismantled and sold.

Keane sold the mill to Peter Gibbs in 1987 while retaining the dwelling house and the land.. The mill had fallen into disrepair by this stage and the new owner couldn’t get grants to restore it. He demolished it in 1994 and sold off the stone and the other effects. He started a fish farm, which he still runs. The dwelling house, described as a magnificent dwelling in the 1963 sale, has deteriorated much in the meantime.

The demolition of the mill was carried out by P. J. Downey of Terryglass, who pulled the building down by attaching cables to parts of it. By this stage a large crack had appeared in one of the gables. The stone and effects were purchased by an architectural salvage firm.

On one occasion , it must have been the early fifties, I brought grain to the mill to be ground, I had to wait an age before my turn came. It must have been well into the afternoon. I was ravenous with the hunger and Bill must have taken pity on me. The next thing his wife appeared with a jug of hot sweet tea and some brown bed lightly buttered. It must have tasted beautiful because I can still remember the pleasure it gave me!

Of course there is no such place as Carrigahorig! It is made up of four townslands, Ballyquirke, Firmount, Garryclohy and Roran. Carrigahorig, Carraic-an-chomhraic, means the rock of the meeting, in this case the rock of the battle-meeting. It is reputed to be a place famous for its fights. The Mearas of Firmount, three brothers of them, were notorious for fighting, They fought all over North Tipperary, and challenged groups from near and far.

<span class="postTitle">Moyaliffe House</span> Clonoulty-Rossmore Vintage Club, 19th Annual Vintage Rally, Clonoulty Village, Co. Tipperary, September 1, 2019

Moyaliffe House

Clonoulty-Rossmore Vintage Club, 19th Annual Vintage Rally, Clonoulty Village, Cashel, Co. Tipperary, September 1, 2019

Moyaliffe House is a large house, built over several periods. It is situated within a mature garden, beside the River Clodiagh and within the grounds of a ruined castle. The approach to the house is between a stately avenue of lime trees, planted over one hundred years ago. Nearby is Moyaliffe Hill, which rises to over four hundred feet above sea level, from the top of which are fine views of the Rock of Cashel and the Devil’s Bit.

The name ‘Moyaliffe’ or ‘Mealiffe’ is a derivation meaning ‘field of Olaf’. As far as is known, Olaf was the reigning King of the territory in 900 AD, when he fought a fierce and defensive battle on the banks of the River Clodiagh, losing two hundred men.

The ruins of a castle, which was built about 1100 AD, can be seen to the south of the house. The castle was one of a series built by the Butler family to preserve law and order over their vast domain granted by King John of England. In 1500 AD it was besieged by Turlough O’Brien, when one hundred Kilkenny men with Robert Shee, the sovereign of that city, marched out to the assistance of Sir Piers Butler at Moyaliffe, but were defeated and left a great number of their men dead on the field, including Shee.


The House

The oldest wing of the house at one time adjoined the castle. The middle wing was added in the 17th century, while the newest wing, which made the house the fine structure it is today, was built in 1810. All the walls of the house are of exceptional thickness. Behind panelling, in the thickness of one of the outside walls enclosing a passage on the first floor, is what might have been a secret closet, in which a man could have hidden. In the courtyard is a deep well which assured a water supply, which was important in such houses in case of attack.


The Armstrongs

The owners of Moyaliffe since 1695 were the Armstrongs when Thomas Armstrong (1671-1741) purchased the townland and the ruins of a towerhouse, which had been built there by the Butler family in the early fourteenth century. Thomas was the younger son of Captain William Armstrong of Farney Castle, who had come to Ireland to fight for the royalist cause in the Irish Confederate Wars. The Armstrongs were of Scottish origin and are said to have derived their name during the Battle of the Standard (1138), when a warrior of the clan lifted a fallen king back onto his horse by using just one arm. The family motto, vi et armis Invictus maneo (by force and arms I remain unvanquished, reflects the fearless and warlike nature for which the clan was famous.

The Moyaliffe branch of the family was rather more peaceful in its inclinations than the motto might suggest. While many men of the family continued in the tradition of serving in the army, equally many took to the cloth and served as clergymen in parishes in Tipperary and elsewhere. William ‘Billy’ Carew Armstrong (1752-1839) served as rector of Moyaliffe from 1789 to 1797. He also held the rectorship of Moylough in the diocese of Tuam and the chancellorship of the diocese of Cashel. Billy’s marriage to Catherine Beresford in 1789 was not only good for his career but brought money into the family, allowing him to improve the holding at Moyaliffe. He extended the modest family home by the addition of a Georgian wing, planted a parkland of oaks and beeches and established a beech walk overlooking the Clodiagh River. As a result of this prosperous marriage, many subsequent generations carried ‘Beresford’ as their middle name.

Billy’s eldest son, John Armstrong (1791-1846) also married well. His wife, Catherine Somers, was the only surviving child of Thomas Somers of Chaffpool, County Sligo. Through this marriage, the Armstrongs came into possession of estates in Mayo and Sligo, and for many decades the family abandoned Moyaliffe House in favour of Chaffpool House. Apparently John was a much-liked landlord and highly respected magistrate, and the local community were devastated to hear the news of his premature death during the famine from typhus fever he had contracted while working tirelessly to ease the suffering of the poor and starving.


End of the Family Connection

Eventually the Moyaliffe estate came to Captain Marcus Beresford Armstrong and, following the death of his only son, he made the decision to pass the state to his second daughter, Jess (1891-1949). (The Mayo and Sligo estates had been sold to the Congested Districts Board in 1904.) She was married in 1927 to Captain William Daryl Olphert Kemmis (1892-1965) of Ballinacor, County Wicklow.

She and her husband divided their time between Moyaliffe and Ballinacor until the death of Captain Kemmis in 1965, when, through a series of events, Jess Kemmis lost ownership of Ballinacor, which was inherited by her husband’s maternal cousin, Major Richard Lomer, and Moyaliffe, which was offered for sale to the Land Commission. She was later able to regain possession of Moyaliffe House and 12 acres of the demesne, but not the surrounding farm.

As Jess had no children, and he younger sister was also childless, Jess Kemmis bequeathed Moyaliffe House and grounds to her distant relation, Robert George Carew Armstrong (1911-1983) of Natal, South Africa. Following Robert’s death, the property passed to his eldest son, Graham Carew Armstrong (b. 1946). It remained in the hands of the Armstrong family until July 1999, when it was sold to John Stakelum.


Life in Moyaliffe

In his comprehensive Life of Tom Semple and the Thurles Blues, Liam Ó Donnchú gives an interesting picture of life at Moyaliffe in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Many of the workers on the estate were brought in from Scotland. Tom Semple’s grandfather, James, was one and worked as a servant at Farney Castle, where the father of the first Armstrong to take over Moyaliffe, was established. Tom’s father, Martin, is recalled locally as being a coachman and butler at Farney Castle and later at MoyaliffeI

It is clear, from the following account of a celebration at Moyaliffe, that Martin Semple was held in high esteem by the Armstrongs and could be trusted with a position of responsibility. ‘In October 1878, Captain Edward Armstrong celebrated the annual ‘Harvest Home’ at Moyaliffe Castle. Invitations had been sent to his tenants, labourers, tradesmen and their families and the celebrations began at about 4.00 p.m. for the assembled gathering of all ages, numbering about one hundred and fifty-five. They assembled in the vicinity of the farmyard, in an area specially built for such festivities, where a dance-floor had been laid and the area decorated with evergreens, corn sheaves and appropriate slogans, some in the Irish language. Fiddle music filled the autumnal air and the tables were ‘full and plenty’ and well-decked with a selection of meats including roast beef and a selection of hot smoking puddings. Captain Armstrong arrived with his wife and her companion, Miss Bagwell, about 8.00 p.m. amid welcoming cheers. The flowing bowl followed with plenty for all and the Captain drank to the health of his tenants, labourers and his invited friends from Farney Castle and Templemore. At 10.30 p.m. the Captain and his entourage retired. Tea, punch and porter were liberally distributed during the remainder of the night, under the supervision of Mr. Semple (Tom’s father), Mr. Hogan, Mr. Harrington and Mr. Aduett, all appointed by Captain Armstrong to act in his absence. Celebrations continued until 7.00 a. m., when all wished each other good-bye in friendship.’

<span class="postTitle">Royal Irish Constabulary Barracks in the Parish of Lorrha & Dorrha at the end the 19th Century</span> 2018

Royal Irish Constabulary Barracks in the Parish of Lorrha & Dorrha at the end the 19th Century

2018

There’s a fascinating book called Devia Hibernia: The Road and Route Guide for Ireland of the Royal Irish Constabulary. Written by George Dagg, who was a member of the RIC, it was published in 1893 and when I went looking for it in the Tipperary County Library, they didn’t have a copy and I discovered there were copies in only four libraries in the country. One of these was the Dublin City Library, Pearse Street Branch. I consulted it there.

So, why my interest in this rare tome? I have been trying to establish the number of RIC barracks there were in the parish before we got our independence. I thought there was a study in existence of RIC barracks, giving the date of the foundation of each one, how long it was in use and how many RIC personnel were in occupation.

No such study existed but I was directed to Devia Hibernia as a source of the information I was looking for. It was partly satisfactory and included information on the other facilities that existed in the place it the time..

The Guide included all the RIC barracks in Ireland at the time, including those in the Parish of Lorrha and Dorrha in 1893, but it doesn’t include information on barracks that may have existed in the parish before that date.


The RIC Barracks

The Guide tells us that the population of Lorrha was 122, which must be just the immediate village. There was a telegraph office which functioned from 8 am to 8 pm. The Post arrived at 9 am and was despatched t 3-30. There was a Port Office in the village and one post car available. The sergeant’s name was Thomas O’Rorke but there’s no information on the number of constables he had under him. The Petty Sessions were held there every four weeks.

There was another RIC barracks at the Pike. The Sergeant’s name was James Murphy. The nearest Post Office was in Rathcabbin. No other information is given.

I include Riverstown, even though it was outside the parish. It also had an RIC barracks and the sergeant’s name was John Watson. The population of the village was 102 and it included a Post Office.

There was no RIC barracks in Rathcabbin but there was one in Annagh, close to the R438. The sergeant’s name was T. Malynn. The nearest Post Office was in Derrinsallow, which appears to have been a place on importance at the time. There was a mill these beside the River Brosna.

Another RIC Barracks existed in Portland. I’m not quite sure where the location was. The sergeant’s name was David Lavelle. There was also a Post Office in the place.


Not Included

I was interested in three other places where there’s supposed to have been RIC barracks in the parish. One of these was in Joe Corcoran’s in Grange. When the land was divided in the area the Corcoran family was given as residence a building which had once been a barracks.

Another place is McCormack’s pub in Abbeyville. There is a strong belief that the building was once a barracks and it includes features that seem to confirm that, including a central room that looks like a cell. Close by near Ashpark House is where a barracks existed at the time the Ordnance Survey Map was made. Opinion has it is that when it closed down a new barracks was built where McCormack’s pub now stands.

There is also a strong belief that a barracks existed on the hill behind Carrigahorig village. Rumour has it there was a barracks there as late as the 1920s, when Sean Treacy and Dan Breen were hiding out in the area.


Strength of RIC in County

However, none of these latter places are mentioned by George Dagg in his Guide. The book also gives information on the strength of the Royal Irish Constabulary in County Tipperary in September 1891. In the North Riding there were 1 County Inspector, 6 District Inspectors, 6 Head Constables and 257 Sergeants and Constables. In the South Riding there were 1 County Inspector, 7 District Inspectors, 10 Head Constables and 454 Sergeants and Constables.

The total cost of running the force in the country that year was £1,425,530 of which Horses and Forage cost £19,056.

<span class="postTitle">GAA Presidents Award</span> Croke Park, Feb 9th 2018

GAA Presidents Award

Croke Park, Feb 9th 2018

On February 9th, 2018 in Croke Park, Seamus King was a recipient of one of the prestigious annual GAA President's Awards.  The award was in honor of Seamus's  ‘outstanding voluntary contribution to the GAA over a prolonged period’ and was presented by Uachtarán Aogán Ó Fearghail.

Seamus J. King receives a GAA President's Award from Uachtaran Aogán Ó Fearghail

Seamus J. King receives a GAA President's Award from Uachtaran Aogán Ó Fearghail

From left to right; Pádhraic Ó Ciardha, Leascheannasaí TG4, Patrick Farrell, Head AIB Area South, Seamus J.King, Uachtaran Aogán Ó Fearghail.

From left to right; Pádhraic Ó Ciardha, Leascheannasaí TG4, Patrick Farrell, Head AIB Area South, Seamus J.King, Uachtaran Aogán Ó Fearghail.

A happy gathering of friends of Seamus J. King, Cashel King Cormacs, at Croke Park on Friday night, February 9, 2018.Back row, left to right: Michael Perdue, Mick Mackey, Paul Hogan, Sharon Perdue, Shirley Hogan, Ruadhan King, Teresa Connolly, T. J.…

A happy gathering of friends of Seamus J. King, Cashel King Cormacs, at Croke Park on Friday night, February 9, 2018.

Back row, left to right: Michael Perdue, Mick Mackey, Paul Hogan, Sharon Perdue, Shirley Hogan, Ruadhan King, Teresa Connolly, T. J. Connolly, Paddy Moloney, Pat Dunne, Tim Floyd, Liz Dunne, Liam King, Ger Slattery, Aodán Wrenn, Joe Regan;

Front row, left to right: Martin Cummins, Kathleen King, Uachtarán Aogán Ó Fearghail, Seamus J. King, Margaret King, Mattie Finnerty.

 

A video highlight of the event can be seen below.