<span class="postTitle">Tony Reddin</span> North Division S.H. Final Program, Aug. 19, 1984

Tony Reddin

North Division S.H. Final Program, Aug. 19, 1984

In a fine nostalgic piece in the 1981 Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook, Seamus Leahy recalls a visit from his uncle Paddy and Jimmy Maher after Lorrha's defeat by Holycross in the 1948 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 he was to give way to this 'unknown' who had shown unusual ability during the North championship.. There hadn't been many players from that remote northern parish who had achieved county status but Tony Reddin was to he an outstanding representative for the next nine years. 

Lorrha had qualified for that county final game against Holycross when they defeated Cashel in the semi-final at Thurles on September 19. On that day Tipperary lost to Cork by 6-10 to 1-7 in the Thomond Tournament. Paddy Fleming of Carrick was on goal. In the previous summer they had gone down to Limerick in the championship by 8-4 to 6-4. According to one report of the game: 'Maher did not. bring off his usual spectacular saves'. There was obviously.a place for a new goalie and Reddin seemed to be the obvious choice for the position. 

He was picked for the first league game against Offaly at Birr on October 24 and had a fine game on goal when Tipperary won by 7-6 to 1-2. The next match was the 1948 league final, which should have been played the. previous spring. Cork won by 3-3 to 1-2 despite ,the 'splendid goalkeeping of Reddin'. Tipperary had three more league games before the final at Thurles on February 27, 1949 when they reversed the. previous October verdict and defeated Cork by 3-5 to 3-2 on a day that Reddin saved brilliantly between the sticks. It was Tipperary's first major victory since 1945 and they had scored 22 goals 31 points and conceded 8 goals and 18 points in the series of games.

Tony did not appear full-blown on the hurling scene in 1948 but had a long apprenticeship to the game which began when he won his only county final medal, -a juvenile wi th Mullagh in 1933. Later he played with Galway juniors and seniors and with the Connaght Railway Cup team. In fact he played full-forward with Galway against Tipperary in the Monaghan Cup game in London in 1946, the year before he came to Lorrha. He also won a Connaght junior hurling medal in 1940.

However, it wasn't until he. crossed the Shannon that his true potential was realised. Probably the man who most helped him to realise that potential was Fr. O'Meara, who arrived in the parish not long before Tony. He first met Tony at Ned Wells' of Derrylahan and established an important rapport with him. Tony was then timid and shy and a little unsure of himself and Fr. O'Meara nurtured and developed his confidence. His influence on Tony was such that he travelled with him regularly to matches and acted in a supportive role as Tony found his feet. lt was Fr. O' Meara who covered Tony in a clerical hat and short coat in order to protect him from disappointed Cork supporters after the Munster final at Killarney in July 1950. 

Tony's innate genius blossomed under this protection. Tipperary played seventeen major games in 1949 with Reddin between the posts. Six of the games were championship, three were league and the remainder were major tournaments. One game. was drawn and the remainder. won and the· total score was 68 goals 167 points for Tipperary and 31, goals 90 points against. During the course of his entire career with the county he played approximately one hundred major games and was. on the winning side eighty-seven times. Whereas this success rate was a tribute to the standard of Tipperary hurling during the period, it was also in no small way due to the brilliance of the man between the posts. 

Another interesting aspect of Tony's career in hurling was the regularity with which he turned out. From the first game he played with the county in October 1948 until he was dropped for the Monaghan Cup after the league defeat in May 1956, I can find only one match, a league game against Limerick at Kilmallock on Fehruary 6, 1955, when he didn't turn out. Having lost his place for the 1956 championship he showed a final flash of brilliance in the county championship of that summer. He was recalled for the league campaign and played three matches, the last of which was in February 1957. He won a league medal that year as a sub, when Tipperary defeated Kilkenny, and played his last game with the county, when Tipperary travelled to New York the following October. 

Reddin's last appearance with Lorrha was in 1958 when the team lost to Roscrea in the championship. One report on the game stated that 'Tony Reddin showed he was by no means a has-been goalkeeper'. He played his first game for his adopted club on Easter Sunday 1947 against St. Vincent's. A month later he won his first tournament, for suit-lengths, at Portumna. It was a seven-a-side competition and Lorrha defeated Kilruane by nine points to one. Eugene O'Meara scored eight of the points and Tony got the other from a goal clearance. On the same day Reddin won the long puck competition with a drive of 106 yards. During his time with the Lorrha team he failed to turn out on only one occasion. That was in a tournament at Borrisokane in June 1951 against Ahane, who included Mick Mackey and Sean Herbert in their lineout that day. During his twelve years with Lorrha Reddin won North championship medals in 1948 and 1956. 

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 heaten. He won one Oireachtas medal.

There is nobady 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 leaway. 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">Hurling in the Eighteenth Century</span> National Hurling League program, Tipperary v Antrim, Cashel, February 12, 1984

Hurling in the Eighteenth Century

National Hurling League program, Tipperary v Antrim, Cashel, February 12, 1984

Looking through the records of some hurling matches of the eighteenth century, we find that hurling in Ulster is not a modern sport. Two centuries ago Antrim had hurlers. It is recorded that in the severe winter of 1740 there was a hurling match in the ice on Lough Neagh.

We find, however, that about this period the game was more extensively played outside of Ulster. Records exist of strenuous contests like the "grand match of hurling in May 1748, on Crumlin Commons between the Provinces of Leinster and Munster', in which the former came off victorious. Munster unsatisfied with the result sought a replay, and about a week later they met on the same grounds. Keen on winning Munster picked "a chosen set" but "their utmost efforts were all to no purpose, for Leinster after about an hour's struggle, gained a complete victory." Not yet satisfied, Munster asked a further trial, and "the greatest match of hurling ever played in this Kingdom" was promised, but after the necessary preparations were made, "Munster thought it proper to decline the combat."

In September, 1775, there was a match between Co. Tipperary and the Lower Ormond "band of hurlers" on the Commons of Ballingarry, near Borrisokane, when after an hour and fifteen minutes. trial the "invincible Lower Ormondians, according to their usual methods, put out a fair and undisputed goal." It was computed that there were 10,000 spectators at this match "who quietly separated in the evening without the least accident or irregularity, except a few hats that were lost in the huzzaing."

In September, 1755, there was a hurling match at Lyons, Co. Kildare, between the gentlemen of Kildare and Dublin, at which the Marquess of Hartington (then Lord Lieutenant) and "a most brilliant appearance of nobility and gentry were present'. Yes, the Gentry played the game of hurling then, for it is recorded that in a match about this period between the Counties of Kilkenny and Tipperary the teams were mainly composed of "gentry of the highest respectability from both Counties."

"In honour of their illustrious country, and to encourage reward and honour, bravery and hardihood from whatever part of Ireland they might come." a hurling match was played in July, 1814, on Kensington Commons, London, by some gentlemen of Ireland, the teams (18 a side) being named St. Giles and Wapping. The Duke of Wellington and staff formed portion of 20.000 interested spectators. Gentlemen on horseback acted as stewards, and the dexterity of the players amazed the onlookers. The match was for 200 guineas, and the result was a draw.

In July, 1792, a cricket match, held in the Phoenix Park, was described as a form of I rish hurling, but the latter "was much more strenuous." It was not safe to be a spectator at these strenuous matches, for in September, 1756 a woman got her eye knocked out at Crumlin, and another got her leg broken. Nor was it advisable to interfere between players, for at a match at Glounanere, near Cashel, in 1774, James Raighelly (was he the referee?) in attempting to make peace between two players, was killed with a stroke of a hurley.

In July, 1779, complaints were made "that a mob of people assemble on Sundays in the Phoenix Park, adjoining the residence of Mr. Gardiner, High Sheriff, to play football and hurling matches, and most horrid profanement of drunkenness, riot, and fighting are practised, and these Sabbath breakers are permitted to remain unmolested in defiance of the law, divine and human:'

A century and a half has passed since these complaints were made, and the conduct of the game has greatly altered, but if some of those spirits could return to life and hear the "huzzaing" on an All-Ireland Final day at Croke Park, they would conclude that during their long retirement those "wild Irish" had become even more enthusiastic over their national game. 

<span class="postTitle">A Tipperary-Antrim Encounter</span> National Hurling League program, Tipperary v Antrim, Cashel, February 12, 1984

A Tipperary-Antrim Encounter

National Hurling League program, Tipperary v Antrim, Cashel, February 12, 1984

On Saturday, December 1, 1928, the first Tipperary team ever travelled to Belfast to play Antrim in the All-Ireland junior hurling semi-final. Tipperary had qualified for this game by earlier victories over Limerick and Waterford in the Munster final. On their way to the semi-final Antrim had a walkover from Cavan and victories over Donegal and Down.

The Tipperary team left Thurles railway station at 9 o'clock on Saturday morning and travelled to Dublin where they had a break for lunch before continuing the journey to Belfast. On arrival at their destination they checked into their hotel and had a meal. No sooner was the latter over than they headed downtown to see what this 'notorious' city was like. As they wandered around looking at the sights some of the lads spotted a policeman who they recognised as a Black and Tan from earlier days in County Tipperary. He had been stationed at Sheverie, near Upperchurch during the 'Troubles'. They became friends and he invited them to his Orange Lodge club where 'a decent attempt was made to set them drunk'. The wag with the team said the attempt failed because there wasn't sufficient whiskey in the Lodge!

The encounter doesn't seem to have had any bad repercussions, The following morning the team were taken for a three hour sight-seeing to the Glens of Antrim. The match was played at Corrigan Park in the afternoon and Antrim gave the visitors a good match. There was only a point between the teams at half-time on a score of 2-1 to 1-3 in favour of Tippeary. The latter added three goals in the second half and then Antrim came with a great rally that was better than the final score of 5-1 to 2-3 would give them credit for.

The teams were: Tipperary - A. Foley (Capt.), W. Matthews, P. Guiry, R. Dwan, P. O'Keeffe, E. Walsh, M. Wright, D. Walsh J. Maher, J. Lowry, J. Heeney, J. Maher, J. Stapleton, T. Smith.
Antrim- J. Hunter, G. McDermott, P. Butler, D. Armstrong, J. McKeown, H. Reid, A. Thornbury, J. McNally, W. Mulvenna, F H. Hill, J. Tuohy, P. Cunning, J. McGarry.

The happiest feature of the Tipperary team's visit was the enjoyable Ceili held in the evening in St. Mary's Hall. The visitors, headed Johnny Leahy, received a tremendous reception from the Gaels of Belfast. A thoroughly Irish-Ireland atmosphere surrounded the function, which was most successful and enjoyable for the merry throng. Many of the visitors were fresh to the North and pre-conceived ideas of their possible reception were happily shattered. They left, after an entertainment in which they were made at home, to carry back the tale of the strength of the Gaelic spirit in the North. They departed for home on Monday morning. In the All-Ireland final at Dungarvan at a later date Tipperary lost to Kilkenny by two points. 

<span class="postTitle">Tom Duffy of Lorrha</span> County S.H. Final Program, Thurles, Oct. 14, 1984

Tom Duffy of Lorrha

County S.H. Final Program, Thurles, Oct. 14, 1984

Cheering on Lorrha last Sunday, in the county semi-final at Nenagh, was Tom Duffy. He followed the play and gave the players plenty of support and much advice as Lorrha's fortunes rose and fell. In the end when the North men had beaten Drom-Inch he was delighted and full of comment. Today, when Lorrha take the field against Moycarkey­Borris in the final, he will be there to cheer them on to victory with as much enthusiasm as any man from the parish. 

It's a safe bet that Tom will be the oldest man in Thurles today. He's on the verge of ninety years and, if the flesh has failed and a walking aid has become a must, the spirit remains un­dimmed. This spirit was seen in his attendance at the launching of the club history at Redwood Castle earlier this year: Tom had to be manhandled up four flights of stairs to the Great Hall but he endured the discomfort to be present. 

Record 

Lorrha have won seven divisional senior hurling championships to date and Tom has the unique distinction of having attended all of them. When it is realised that the time span covered is from 1905 to 1984 the extent of his longevity becomes apparent! He shouldn't have gone to the 1905 final, played against the famous De Wets at Terryglass on April 8, 1906, because he was too young. But he hid up the road from the house and was smuggled aboard the brake that was carrying the team from Rathcabbin. Later he was present at the priests' house in the village when the photograph of the team was taken. 

It's his wife, Emily, who has the better memories of the 1914 championship. Her brother, Bill Harding, was on the team and she remembers the semi-final against Borrisokane, also at Terryglass: 'I travelled in a horse and sidecar with my father. There were a lot of flags and banners and a band played the Borrisokane team on the field. Breege O'Meara­ - she was Lack's sister- she was with me and as the band passed us, she shouted at them: 'You'll play them in but you won't play them out'." And they didn't. Lorrha won and went on to defeat Templederry in the final and give Tom his first North medal. The team didn't play very well and one report had this to say: 'Lorrha played a much better game against Borrisokane but probably since then the players suffered from swelled heads and failed to attend practices." 

Tom won his second medal in 1924 when Lorrha defeated Nenagh in the final. Again, the team travelled by brake. Willie Egan in Birr provided it and it carried twenty-four passengers and was pulled by two horses. Tom remembers someone playing a melodeon and they had a good sing-song. They carried their own sandwiches and had a feed after the game. Nenagh weren't much good and Lorrha won by 7 -3 to 0-3. 

County Finals 

Another memory from those times was a tournament in Shinrone. Lorrha had a shortage of hurleys and when Tom had three broken there was none left. He got a lath off a timber rail, paired the handle with a penknife and, in his words, played as good a game as he ever did. 

Lorrha never won a county final but Tom won three in his time! This might appear strange but there's a simple enough explanation. Toomevara won the north championship in 1923. On their way to victory they had a very difficult time overcoming Lorrha in the semi­final. It was a game in which Tom had an outstanding performance. Later, when Toomevara picked their selection for the county semi-final Tom was included and won a county medal when the team defeated the south selection. 

He won another county medal when Mountshannon defeated Newmarker-on­Fergus in the Clare championship at O'Callaghan's Mills. He's rather vague about the date and he didn't get a medal. He was invited to play by McNamara, who had a pub in Mountshannon. He travelled by motorcar, driven by Bill Smith of Connaght Street in Birr. Nicky Forde also travelled. After the victory they returned to Mountshannon and 'I was barman in McNamaras until six o'clock in the morning'. 

Tom's third medal came from Co. Galway and was won with Tynagh. Ignatius Harney was the contact man. Before the game they were pucking about and Tom was striking very impressively. Harney rushed in and said to him: 'Stop Tom, they'll notice you'. There was an interesting sequel to this game. Tom, alias Joe Hynes, an egg-buyer for the Clanrickarde estate, was picked to play for Galway. He was referred to in despatches as the 'Hen­man for Clanrickarde' and word was sent back to the selectors that 'The hen man is gone away'. 

Ah! them were the days! And surely the memories will come flooding back today as Tom looks out on the blue and white. The scene will be changed by the comforts of modern developments. But the spirit and enthusiasm for the game will be the same that took Tom over fence and style, by brake and bicycle to places familiar and unfamiliar down all those years.

<span class="postTitle">The Lorrha and Dorrha (Davin) Club - A Brief History</span> County S.H. Final Program, Thurles, Oct. 14, 1984

The Lorrha and Dorrha (Davin) Club - A Brief History

County S.H. Final Program, Thurles, Oct. 14, 1984

Not many people know that the Lorrha and Dorrha (Davin) Club is the full title of what is more generally known as the Lorrha G.A.A. Club. Lorrha is included in a list of thirty-four clubs founded in County Tipperary in 1885. There is no record of the foundation meeting or of the people who founded it. Within a short time there were a number of teams in the parish and during 1886, a meeting was held to decide which team should represent the parish. There was a chance of a split and Frank Maloney and J. K. Bracken visited the parish on two occasions to sort matters out. It was decided to amalgamate the clubs and to call the parish club, the Lorrha and Dorrha (Davin) Club. Mr G. O'Brien and Rev. R. Kennedy of the parish are recorded as having attended the meeting. 

There were two Lorrha players, Messrs P. Meara, Snr and P. Meara Jnr, on the North Tipperary team that played South Galway, for nothing less than the "Championship of Ireland", in Dublin, on February 9th, 1886. Lorrha played in the county championship for the first time in 1889 and defeated Hollyford in a most exciting contest at Wakefield, Templederry, On the victorious team were Paddy "The Champion" O'Meara, Tom Carroll of Newtown, Dan Carroll and Dan Donoghue. During the nineties, football was organised and there are reports of games in which Carrigahorig figured prominently. In 1889, there was a big dispute in the correspondence columns of the "Nenagh News" as to whether the Lorrha or the Toomevara clubs produced the better hurlers. 

When the North Board was formed in 1900, Lorrha were one of seven senior hurling teams to affiliate for the first championship in 1901 and they made their first breakthrough when they won the North championship in 1905. There is a record from these years, which was kept by the club treasurer, Tommy O'Meara, and shows the total income of the club in 1902 as £6. 8s. 2d. There were about seventy paid-up members, at one shilling each, and they included one woman, Miss M. Nevin. The hire of brakes for team transport was one of the biggest items of expenditure. 

Lorrha's next championship victory came in 1914 and the team included Tom Duffy, who is still alive and touching ninety years of age. The first Lorrha man to win an All-Ireland was Felix Cronin, who played with the victorious county junior hurling team in that year. The club won another championship in 1924 when they defeated an understrength Nenagh team by 7-3 to 0-3. Jim "The Private" O'Meara played with Nenagh that day and his brother Bill, played for Lorrha. Two other players on the team were Tom Duffy and Mick Cronin. Both were to win All-Ireland senior hurling medals with the county in 1925 and travel to the U.S. on the American tours of 1926 and 1931. Another All-Ireland medal winner from that period was Hugh Burke, who won with Dublin in 1917. 

There's a long break to the next senior championship win in 1948, when the great hero of the hour was Tony Reddin. During the thirties there was little success recorded. The period saw the growth of junior teams like Redwood, and the regrading of Lorrha to intermediate status. The greatest hurler of the period was Christy Forde, who played in goals for Dublin in three All-Ireland and three National League finals. He won one All-Ireland and one League medal. The period culminated in Lorrha's first county championship victory, when they defeated Moycarkey in the 1946 final by 4-4 to 3-3. The match was played at Gaile, on November 22nd, 1947. Admission was one shilling and the sideline was sixpence extra. This team was the basis of the victorious 1948 team. 

The fifties saw another senior championship victory, in 1956, but the high-point of the decade must surely be the success of the juveniles, who won three divisional and two county championships between 1956 and 1958. These players formed the core of the teams of the sixties and saw the club win four divisionc al championships in 1966, in senior, junior and u/21 hurling and in junior football. The junior hurlers also won a championship in 1961 and the footballers were to go one better in 1971 and win the county final.

The u/21 team which won the divisional championship, in 1965, went on to win county honours the following year. Noel Lane and Michael O'Meara figured prominently on the county u/21 team that won the inaugural All-Ireland in that grade in 1964. There was a great lot of hurling talent in the parish during this period and it may not have got the success it deserved. 

The seventies saw two Lorrha men, Liam King and Noel Lane, contribute to the county's last senior hurling championship win. The seventies were marked by many near misses. A number of players achieved county status and won All-Ireland honours: Seamus Kennedy in minor in 1976, Brian Mannion in u/21 in 1979, Joe Kennedy in 1980, John Mclntyre in 1981 and Ken Hogan in minor 1981. At present this talent is coming into its own in the shape of a senior team that is attempting to prove today that it is the best in the county. 

One of the present team, Michael Brophy, whose father before him gave sterling service to the parish, won a National League medal with the county in 1979. Another Lorrha man, Mick Cronin, was on the team that won the first National League for Tipperary in 1927. In between Tony Reddin won six finals, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955 and 1957. Sharing that success with him in 1950 was his clubmate Billy Hogan and another Lorrha man, Sean O'Meara, was on the successful 1957 team. 

Finally, a short account of the history of Lorrha club would be incomplete without a mention of Hubie Hogan, who was North chairman for seven years and never missed a meeting and went on to guide the affairs of the county from 1976 to 1979. He was associated with G.A.A. affairs in the parish for over forty years. 

<span class="postTitle">Bill Ryan Laha</span> County Senior Hurling Final Program, Cashel, Oct. 30, 1983

Bill Ryan Laha

County Senior Hurling Final Program
Cashel, Oct. 30, 1983

There are only two players left from the last team to win an All-Ireland football final for Tipperary They are Mick Tobin of Grangemockler and Bill Ryan of Laha. Bill is now eighty-nine years and lost his wife only recently. He played right-back most of his life on the team with the exception of one occasion against Sligo in an All-Ireland semi-final when he played centrefield. On the same day the Tipperary hurlers were beaten by Kilkenny. It was the 1922 championship played in 1923.

Bill was on the Tipperary team for twelve or thirteen years and won three Munster football medals! The other two were in 1918 when Wexford beat them in the final and 1920 when they went ahead to win their last All-Ireland football championship.

His first success was with Castleiney when he won a senior football medal in 1914 when they were combined with Templetuohy. The combination beat Nenagh Institute in the final at Thurles. There were only two drinking on the team. Bill recalls they were taken in to John Maher's after the match by some Gael and there were only two alcoholic drinks in the round. They were beaten in the county final in 1915. They didn't have the full team as some were injured and one of the players had a death in the family. They broke up with Templetuohy after that. A few went with Templemore. In 1925 they beat Fethard in the final at Carrick-On-Suir. Three years later they won the Mid but were beaten by Fethard in the final.

Bill remembers the Munster championship of 1918. Tipperary beat Cork and Waterford and met Kerry in the Munster final in the Cork Athletic Grounds. The result was 1-1 to 0-1 in favour of Tipperary. They beat Mayo by a point in the semi-final and trained at Dungarvan for the final, which wasn't played until February 1919. They spent two weeks in collective training. For the final they were missing three forwards, including Bill Barrett of the Commons, an uncle of Tommy's, because of flu. They got three fifties in the second half and failed to score. At full-time they were a point behind, five to four in favour of Wexford, who made it four-in-a-row on that day. Bill remembers that his Wexford opponent that day, Reynolds, was one of the most elusive players he ever came across.

Tipperary were beaten by Kerry in the 1919 Munster final but they reversed the result in 1920. They overcame Mayo by five points in the semi-final. The All-Ireland against Dublin was played in June 1922. The team trained in Mullinahone, staying in houses for the fortnight. Those from around the area went home at night. Every day there was a regimen of football, running and sprints. There was no compensation for being away from the farm. The final result was 1-6 to 1-2 in favour of Tipperary.

Bill has vivid memories of 'Bloody Sunday' in Novenber 1920. The occasion was a challenge match between Dublin and Tipperary to raise funds for the I.R.A. The team went up on Saturday evening. Bill got the train at Templemore. There were fourteen English soldiers on the train and there was nearly an incident between them and the players on the train. When the train arrived at Kingsbridge there was a large military presence and Bill and his fellow-players expected to be arrested on some pretext. Instead the soldiers were arrested. Seemingly, they had done some damage at the station at Templemore before leaving and the station-master had wired Dublin.

The players stayed at Barry's Hotel. When the team lined out on the Sunday, Mick Hogan was playing behind Bill. They had a discussion about changing positions because the Dublin corner-forward, Frank Burke, was a great forward and a bit of a handful for Hogan. However, they didn't change. Tipperary were defending the Canal End and the game was on about twelve minutes when the attack came. The soldiers came in at the Canal End and there was pandemonium when the firing started. The field also was surrounded because Bill made two attempts to get away and was turned back by the military on both occasions. Eventually, somebody gave him a coat and he made his way back to the hotel where the team had togged out. There was no score at the time of the military incursion and the match was replayed for a set of medals the following year and Tipperary won. Two other members of that team were shot later: Jackie Brett went with the column and was shot and Jim Egan got shot in the Civil War.

Bill was not a big man. In fact he was only 5' 8" and weighed only 11-8 at peak fitness. He relied on speed, which he had in abundance, and high fielding to make up for his physical limitations. The two best footballers he ever saw were Tommy Murphy of Laois and Larry Stanley of Kildare. Bill's I ife wasn't all football. He started hurling with the Clonmore junior team. Later he played with Templetuohy juniors and won a Mid final with them in 1923. He won another medal with Castleiney juniors in 1925 on a team that included, Martin Whelan of Toomevara, who was working on the Council in the area at the time. The team had to go senior as a result of this victory and Bill won a Mid senior medal with them in 1928. He stopped playing in 1932 when his knee went and became a club officer. Himself and Jim Ryan of Loughmore carried the team along for many years after that. Bill is eighty-nine years of age to-day and is still remarkably fit and lively. He's looking forward to a Loughmore-Castleiney victory today with as much enthusiasm as he did to his own great victory in the Mid Senior final in 1928.

<span class="postTitle">Sean Kenny</span> County Senior Hurling Final program, September 30, 1983

Sean Kenny

County Senior Hurling Final program, September 30, 1983

Some commentators would centre the golden age of Borrisileigh hurling around 1950. This was the time of the Kennys, Sean, Paddy and Phil, the Ryans, Eddie and Timmy, Jimmy Finn and that grand old man himself, Philly Ryan. The latter has the distinction of winning two All-Ireland medals with a gap of fourteen years between them, 1937 and 1951. Borrisileigh made a major contribution to the three All-Irelands in a row that Tipperary won in 1949, 1950 and 1951. In the first year Sean Kenny was the sole representative on the team, with Paddy a substitute. The following year the club had four representatives in Sean and Paddy Kenny, Jimmy Finn and Eddie Ryan. Sean was also captain. In 1951 Jimmy Finn was captain as Sean was unable to play because of cartlidge trouble. He came in as a substitute during the game. Also on the team was his brother Paddy, and Eddie and Timmy Ryan. 

Sean Kenny had the unique distinction of winning a Dean Ryan and Harty Cup medal in the same year. That was in 1941 and the team was Thurles CBS. Nearly forty years later two more Borrisileigh youths, Michael and Bobby Ryan, won Harty Cup medals with Templemore C.B.S. Sean was captain of the Tipperary minor team that went out to Cork in the Munster final, played in October of that year because of the foot-and-mouth epidemic. As well as winning two All-Ireland medals Sean won two interprovincials. In 1949 he partnered Vin Baston at centrefield and he captained the team the following year. He also won one Oireachtas and three National League medals. 

He was captain of the Tipperary team that went to the States in 1950. At the same time the team arrived in New York there also arrived another Sean Kenny, who was very much in the news at that time: he had successfully completed the crossing of the Atlantic with three comrades in a small boat called the Ituna. The two Seans stayed at the Henry Hudson 'Hotel in New York and they normally sat at the same table for meals. A hurling captain was regarded with much more importance in the U.S. than in Ireland with the result that Sean of Borrisileigh was in nearly as great demand as Sean of the Ituna. When they were paged during meals they had to decide which of the Sean Kennys was sought and they invariably made the wrong decision. 

The team got a marvellous offer from Schaefer's Beer while they were in the city. The company wanted to promote their beer and were interested in using the Tipperary team in an advertisement. The proposal was that the full Tipperary team would stand holding bottles of Schaefer's Beer and over the photograph would be the slogan: 'This is how the Tipperary team train'. In return for obliging the company, each player would receive one hundred dollars. Naturally, the team were mad for the idea as it was a fine lot of money at the time. Team mentors Phil Purcell and Paddy Leahy said it couldn't be done without consulting the county board They said they would have to ring and whether they did or didn't the idea was knocked on the head and the players went without the hundred dollars each. Whereas the team travelled to the U.S. by plane they returned by boat, the S.S. Washington. This was her last trip, not, by the way, because of any kind of untoward behaviour on the part of any of the players. 

Borrisileigh won three county finals in these years,1949, 1950 and 1953. One of the greatest championship matches ever played in County Tipperary was that between Borrisileigh and Boherlahan in 1949. Borrisileigh beat the county champions, Holycross, in the first round, thus reversing the result of 1948 when the two teams had also met. In the match against Boherlahan the latter were leading by 2-1 to 0-1 with about ten minutes to go to half-time. Borrisileigh got a free from about thirty yards out and Sean and Paddy went to take it. They pretended to be fighting and after sufficient altercation Paddy strode away in seeming high dudgeon. Sean also seemed angry when he took the free and belted it against the ground as if in disgust. Paddy was about fourteen yards away and ran in, collected the ball on the hop, and lashed it into the net. The goal made an awful difference at that point of the game and Borrisileigh went on to win. 

Because of his knee injury Sean finished hurling at the early age of twenty seven. His usual position was centrefield or centreforward. He wasn't a big man, measuring about five feet nine inches and weighing about twelve and a half stone. The greatest men he came across on the hurling field were Jimmy Finn and Bobby Rackard. 

He married in 1951 and they had four children, three boys and a girl. Two of the boys played with Borrisileigh and Brendan played minor, under-21 and senior for the county as well. His wife died in 1959 from heart disease and Sean married Dr. Joan Power in 1972. He was a selector for a number of years of the Borrisileigh team and was selector-manager of the club team that won the All-Ireland 7 - aside on two occasions. A few years ago he took up golf and at the present time he has the honourable title of Lord Mayor of Borrisileigh.