<span class="postTitle">John Kelly - Cappawhite Player of the Past</span> West Senior Hurling Final Program, July 31, 2011

John Kelly - Cappawhite Player of the Past

West Senior Hurling Final Program, July 31, 2011

John Kelly recalls when growing up in Cappawhite in the fifties and sixties the belief that the only players from the West Division who made the county senior team were goalkeepers! Terry Moloney, Donal O'Brien, John O'Donoghue and Peter O'Sullivan immediately spring to mind but there were underage examples also. When he and Dinny Ryan were picked for Tipperary they showed that the division could produce backs and forwards as well.

John made his debut with the county minors as a panel member in 1964 and as a team member in 1965 and 1966. He was captain his last year. There was no success in any of the years, defeat in the Munster final in 1964 and 1965, and in the semi-final against Galway at Ballinasloe in 1966. This was a shock result, according to John, as Tipperary believed all they had to do was turn up!

John had revealed his hurling talent some years earlier with Cappawhite when he won two under-15 juvenile titles in 1962 and 1963. The former victory qualified the team for a trip, sponsored by John Player cigarette company, to the All-Ireland hurling final. Based on this rich vein of talent in the parish Cappawhite went on to become the first West team to win a county minor title in 1965 and John was unlucky not to win a second county minor title the following year when Cappawhite were defeated by Roscrea in a replayed final.

Cappawhite, fielding eleven of the victorious county minor team, won the county under-21 championship title in 1965 also, becoming the first West club to do so as well as being the first club in the county to do the double in the same year.

John had very respectable G.A.A. antecedents even though most of them were of the football inclination. He is a grandson of Dick Ryan (George), who was captain of Cappawhite 'White Caps' football team in the 1900s and also of John Kelly, who was a noted footballer from Donohill. Tradition has it that he helped Bohercrowe to their All-Ireland success in 1889. John is also a grand-nephew of Pat Furlong, who was a member of the Tipperary junior team the year of the Triple Crown victory in 1930.

John attributes the failure of the club to progress to senior achievement in the late 1960s to emigration. This is substantiated by a couple of sentences from his account of 1968 in the Cappawhite Club history: 'Since 1965, nineteen players, all promising ones, have left the parish. Five, it is interesting to record, became clerical students. Had they stayed in the parish Cappawhite would certainly have been a force in county hurling.' In a recent conversation John adds that the smallness of the farming community in the parish was a major contributory factor to emigration at the period.

Four Years at Under-21

If John didn't achieve much in the line of club under-21 honours, he enjoyed a long innings with the county team. He was involved for four years, in 1966 as a sub, in 1967, when he won All-Ireland honours, in 1968 and in 1969, when he captained the team. In the last two years Tipperary were beaten in the Munster finals.

It came as no great surprise in 1967 when John graduated to county senior status, making his debut in an Oireachtas semi-final game against Clare at Ennis on September 24, which was lost. He played during the league but wasn't retained in the 1968 championship and may have been lucky as there was a big clean-out of the team after the 1968 All-Ireland defeat. He was back for the Oireachtas and won the first of three Oireachtas medals, when Tipperary defeated Cork in the final on October 27. The other two medals were won in 1970 and 1972.

As a result of John's involvement with the team in the 1967/68 National League, which Tipperary won, when they defeated Kilkenny in the 'Home' final in May 1968, there was a trip to New York in June. It was an eventful trip. The first leg of the two-leg final was cancelled because of torrential rain. The postponed leg was called off again because of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and the two legs played on successive days, 15th and 16th of June. Tipperary won by an aggregate score of 6-27 to 4-22. The Tippeary party paid their respects to the remains of Robert Kennedy, who was lying in state in St. Patrick's Cathedral. When they arrived at the Cathedral they found a queue several blocks long and didn't have the time to wait. During consultation s about what to do Babs Keating recognised a New York cop, who came to their aid. He got them in a side-door of the Cathedral so that they avoided the queue and paid their rspects without undue delay!

The highlight of John's senior intercounty career was winning the All-Ireland title against Kilkenny in 1971 in the first 80-minute final. He still has the sliotar from that game, being the last man to catch it after the final whistle. He enjoyed the trip to San Francisco with the team the following March, as he did trips to Wembley in 1969, 1971, 1972 and 1973, with success on two occasions. He was also a Railway Cup medal holder in 1970..

Played with Three Senior Clubs

He continued to play with Tipperary until 1975, all the time in the full-back position, except in the latter year when he played left corner-back. He also played at full-back during his underage years and the only time he played in a different position was as a junior hurler with Cappawhite, when he turned out at centreback in 1982.

John played his early club senior hurling with University College, Cork rather than Cappawhite, turning out with the college for three years, 1968-70. In the first year they met Glen Rovers in the county quarter-final and the game ended up as a free-for-all. The inevitable investigation took place as a result of which the Glen Rovers full-forward was suspended for life and eleven players were given suspensions for from one to six months. Both teams were thrown out of the championship. Following this game Dr. Paddy Crowley, who was playing on the occasion, introduced helmets to Ireland for the first time.

The two sides met in the final in 1969 and the Glen won. U.C.C. revenged the defeat in 1970 when they defeated Glen Rovers on the way to the final. This is John's only county senior medal. Incidentally the trainer of the Cappawhite team today. Conor Ryan (Hanna) was later to win one with St. Finbarr's.

John returned to Cappawhite in 1971 and played at centre-back against Clonoulty-Rossmore in the West championship and lost the replay. They lost to Burgess in the Open Draw county championship and to Cashel in the Crosco Cup.

By now John was teaching at Borrisokane and living in Kilruane and he threw in his lot with the latter for two years, 1972 and 1973. He had no success, losing a North final and a county final, during his time with the club.

John was back with Cappawhite in 1974 and enjoyed no success at senior level. The club lost four senior division finals during these years, in 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1981, as well as four Crosco Cup finals, in 1975, 1977, 1979 and 1982. He was regraded junior for the 1982 championship and won the West championship. Cappawhite qualified for the county final only to lose to Roscrea by 1-5 to 0-5, the same club as had beaten him almost twenty years earlier in the replayed minor final.

Before John's hurling career came to an end he was already involved as a selector and in club administration. At the county level he was a minor selector in 1979 and a senior selector at two different periods, firstly for a year in 1978 and then from 1983-85. At the club level he was chairman of the club from 1981-84 and also a senior selector at different periods. Currently he is a Life President. His is the author of the History of Cappawhite G.A.A. Club 1887-1989, which appeared in 1989. He is working on a Cappawhite Parish History at present.

Married to Mary Regan from Moycarkey the couple have five children, two boys & three girls. The older boy Denis is playing today and his other son Daniel played minor football against Kerry in the Munster final some years ago. Catherine, the youngest of the girls, has played underage camogie and football for the county. She also had success in the athletic world being successful at underage at team and individual All Ireland level.

John Kelly was a tough, uncompromising hurler, who strove to give his best on every occasion. His hurling was very much a reflection of the man, straightforward and committed to whatever task was to hand. His commitment could be seen in a constant desire to improve his game. He was one of the most dedicated of players when it came to training. There is a story told that he was going so strongly at one training session in Thurles that Mick Roche, lacking some of his fervour, shouted at Tommy Barrett to give him a ball and send him to the outside field! The same dedication is probably reflected in his decision to throw in his lot with Kilruane for two years, regarding North hurling to be on a higher level than that in the West. Overwhelming every other consideration was a determination to improve his ability and be at his best whether playing for Cappawhite or Tipperary.

<span class="postTitle">Billy Hogan</span> October 2011

Billy Hogan

October 2011

Billy Hogan was 88 years old last February and as he sits in his kitchen in Derry, Rathcabbin he can look back at a life in which hurling played a major part. He isn't fit for any hurling now but he likes to recall the days he played for Lorrha and Tipperary.

He was born at Roden near the Pike on April 18, 1923 to James and Mary Ann , the third in a large family of eighteen children. Maisie was the oldest and Hubie was second. His father died at the relatively young age of 59 years.

Billy went to school in Rathcabbin to Mr. and Mrs. Bracken. The journey was across the fields, usually wet in winter, and the journey took a 'good half-hour'. There was very little hurling at school. In fact rounders was the game they played mostly. He stayed at school until he was fourteen years, having been confirmed in Rathcabbin Church by the famous Dr. Fogarty. Fathers Flynn and Moloughney are the priests he remembers.

Having left school he went working at home on the farm, following the horses and doing whatever tasks required to be done. Later on he worked for McAinches in their saw mill at the Ferry and at a later stage still for Miss Wellington at Derry. He eventually got a job with the North Tipperary County Council and he worked with them until he retired at 66 years of age.

He got married in November 1953 to Mary Ann O'Meara of the Lake, Lorrha, The wedding took place in Lorrha Church with Fr. Paddy O'Meara, C.C. officiating. The reception was held in Kennedy's Hotel, Birr and the couple went to Dublin on the honeymoon. Mary Ann had worked in Dublin before she married. The black and white photographs from the wedding day show a handsome couple.

Prior to getting married Billy had moved out of Roden and following their marriage Billy and Mary Ann moved into their new home in Derry, Rathcabbin, where they reared a family of five children, three boys and two girls.

Hurling Days with Lorrha

Billy started playing for Lorrha at junior level and there is a reference to the team beaten by Borrisokane in August 1940. Billy played at wingback that day, with brother Hubie in the centre. The next reference we have to Billy is in 1944. He played wing-back with the intermediate team that made good progress in the championship before going down to Toomevara.

Billy was a member of the Lorrha team that won the 1946 intermediate championship. They beat Kildangan, Shannon Rovers, Erin's Hope and Eire Óg to win the north final by 5-6 to 3-5. According to the match report the best for Lorrha were Eugene O'Meara, Billy Hogan, Paddy Guinan, Tom Lambe, Des Donoghue and Mick Brophy. The county semi-final wasn't played until November 16, 1947 and Lorrha defeated Galtee Rovers. In the final on the first Sunday of December, the club made history when they won their first county final, beating Moycarkey Borris by 4-2 to 2-4. The half-back line for Lorrha that day was Billy Hogan, Paddy O'Sullivan and Tom Lambe. It was a tough game and Billy had to get a few stitches in the mouth after it.

Up to now Billy played in the backs for Lorrha but in the first game of the 1947 senior hurling championship – Lorrha were promoted from intermediate – Billy is placed at left corner-forward against Borrisokane. There is a fine picture of a successful Lorrha seven-a-side in 1947 that won a suit-lengths tournament. Billy has a picture of himself in the suit won on the occasion.

If 1946 was a major breakthrough for Lorrha in achieving county intermediate honours, 1948 was to be greater still. In that year the club won their first north senior title in twenty-four years and qualified for the county final before going down to Holycross-Ballycahill. The campaign started against Borrisokane at Roscrea and in this game the two Hogans, Hubie and Billy, ' contributed much to the victory.' Playing at wing-forward against Roscrea in the next round, Billy had a fine game. Lorrha defeated Kildangan in the semi-final in which Billy was back at corner-forward, and defeated Borrisoleigh in appalling conditions before 8,000 people at Nenagh. Lorrha defeated Cashel in the county semi-final before going down to Holycross-Ballycahill in the final. This was a poor display by Lorrha. They led only once after four minutes when Billy scored a goal.

There was a lean time for Billy and Lorrha during the following years and not until 1956 did the good times return again. During these years Billy reverted to playing once more in the backs. For the second round of the 1952 championship, in which they were beaten by Kilruane, Billy was playing at full-back. He was also full-back in 1953, corner-back in 1954, centre-forward in 1955. Billy believes he changed back to the backs as a result of persuasion by Mick Brophy, who convinced him that he would make a better back to a forward. At the same time Brophy himself began to try out the forward position after traditionally being in the backs.

Billy won his second senior divisional medal in 1956, playing at left corner-back. After losing the first round of the senior championship to Kilruane, Lorrha came back with a bang defeating Moneygall, Toomevara in the north semi-final and Borrisoleigh in the final. The south champions, Pearses, were accounted for in the county semi-final before Lorrha went down badly against Thurles Sarsfields in the final.

Billy played senior hurling for one more year, turning out for the 1957 championship. Lorrha had victories over Borrisokane and Shamrock Rovers before going down disastrously to Eire Og in the north semi-final by 4-9 to 0-2. It wasn't the finish to a hurling career that one would like. Maybe the defeat made Billy decide to hang up his boots. He was 34 years of age.

Among the great memories Billy has in hurling one that stands out is a match against Roscrea at Borrisokane in 1946. According to his cousin, Noel Morris, Billy was the first man to do a solo run in that venue. He collected the ball about forty yards out from the Roscrea goals and, instead of striking it, took off on a solo run, beating several backs on his way to goal and eventually tapping the ball over the head of goalkeeper, Martin Loughnane, for a great goal. On his way out he received plenty of belts on the arse from the Roscrea backs. During the solo run he recalls Tom Duffy, who was a selector on the day, shouting at him: 'Are you going to go home with the ball, Billy?'

Playing with Tipperary.

Following victory in the county final of 1948 Holycross were given the selection of the Tipperary team for the 1948-49 National League. At the same time the previous year's champions, Carrick Swan, were given the selection of the team to play Cork in the delayed 1947-48 final. Only eight players were favoured by both sides and they included Tony Reddin and Billy Hogan. It does reflect the impact they had made in the 1948 championship.

Billy played against Offaly in the 1948-49 league during October. Tipperary won by 7-6 to 1-2 and Billy, playing at number 15 scored three goals. He was picked for the 1947-48 league final against Cork at Croke Park at the end of October. Cork won after a bad Tipperary display. According to one report 'the redeeming features of Tipperary's display were the splendid goalkeeping of Reddin, the sterling defensive work of Purcell and Devitt and the efforts of Paddy Kenny and Billy Hogan, newcomers to the forwards to break through a rock-like Cork defence.' The Irish Press stated: 'Hogan also caught the eye.'

Billy also scored Tipperary's only goal. According to the Tipperary Star 'The Cork goalie fumbled and Hogan was upon him like a terrier to net.'

Billy scored a further goal in Tipperary's next outing against Clare at Thurles. He was full-forward. (Incidentally, Brendan O'Donoghue came on as a sub in that game.) Tipperary won by 4-12 to 3-4 and Hogan was 'impressive' scoring a goal. Billy was on against Limerick in the next game and against Galway to win the group. He was a sub in the league final against Cork, beating them by 3-5 to 3-2. Billy recalls sitting on the bench that day beside John Doyle, who was winning the first of his eleven league medals. Billy won his lone medal that day and is very proud of it. Mick Moylan came down from Nenagh to present it to him.

In the months preceding the championship Billy seemed to lose favour with the selectors. He played in the Cusack Shield against Clare and in a couple of other tournaments but he didn't make the championship panel. His last outing with the county selection was in the Monaghan Cup on June 5 when Tipperary defeated Kilkenny in London by 5-14 to 2-4. That is another medal he can be proud of. Billy was very proud to play for Tipperary in London and he recalls his brothers, who lived there at the time, coming to support him on the day.

Hurling Skills

When Billy was at the height of his playing career he was a strong and effective hurler. As can be seen in the above account he made an impact as a back as well as a forward. One of his finest displays as a forward was against Fletcher of Roscrea one day when he scored three goals. It was as a forward that the Tipperary selectors picked him and it was in the forward position that he played all his county hurling.
He has the distinction of scoring a goal in Croke Park on the occasion of the 1947-48 National League final. On the other hand he played some fine hurling for Lorrha in the back position and his displays in that position in the 1956 championship were some of his best, even though he was then in the autumn of his career. Eugene O'Meara, who played with Billy over many years and who is a shrewd judge of players, sums up Billy's hurling with the statement: He was a good forward but a better backman.

When his brother, Hubie, took up refereeing, Billy used to act as umpire. Others who used to help out were Mick of Blakefield, Jimmy Kennedy, Sean Ryan of Toomevara and Tom Duffy. One of the most important matches refereed by Hubie was the 1953 All-Ireland hurling semi-final between Galway and Kilkenny.

When he stopped playing Billy tuned his attention to selecting teams and was a selector on the Lorrha senior team for a number of years.

In 2004 Billy was honoured with a Sean Gael award in recognition of his contribution to gaelic games. It was a fitting tribute to a man who contributed so much over so many years to the Lorrha club and the county of Tipperary.

<span class="postTitle">Sean (Johnny) O'Meara</span> August 2011

Sean (Johnny) O'Meara

August 2011

When one thinks back to Lorrha hurling during the fifties one player stands out as one of the most promising prospects ever to come out of the parish. He wasn't what you might call a big man but because of the size of his thighs, the strength of his body, the level of fitness he exuded and the skill level he brought to the game, he appeared something of a colossus. He covered the field of play from end to end, relieving danger in the backline and contributing to attacks up front. He had enormous energy, could keep going all day and was equally adept at hurling and football. His name was Sean O'Meara, more commonly known as Johnny, and he brought excitement to the game and the promise of success to Lorrha.

Johnny was born in October 1933, the second son of Jim 'the Private' and Margaret O'Meara. Brother, Paddy, was older and Kathleen and Seamus were younger.

He went to Lorrha National School, which his family bought at a later stage and where Paddy and family live today. At that time it was a mixed school for boys and girls with Mick Cronin as principal and holding sway with Miss Flynn and Mrs Mahon . Mick Cronin hadn't long finished playing with Tipperary but there was no hurling in the school. The amount of recreational space for the children wasn't much greater that a postage stamp. Usually at lunch time the boys went down to the local ball alley to play.

Johnny was only about three and a half years old when he went to school. As he describes it he used to sneak off with Paddy, who was a year and a half older. As a result he had to spend a year or two at the other end after completion of sixth class. He used get a chance to play hurling with his brothers and the Darcys in the field in front of the Parochial House. The Parish Priest, Canon Moloney, hadn't much interest in the game but he had no objection to them playing in his field. On one occasion he did get them to pull some weeds.

One vivid memory that Johnny remembers of the Canon was the morning he lost his finger. In the winter he used to take the car up the Line Road for a drive, especially in frosty weather. On this occasion when he turned off the engine the fan belt kept turning. He put in a forefinger to stop it and, off course, the top of his finger was whipped off! Rumours went round that the eminent man could never say Mass again. But, in the course of time, the finger healed and the Canon got over the embarrassment of the episode.

While at school he played for Lorrha for the first time. The year was 1943 and Lorrha entered a team in the juvenile (under-15) championship. They played Shannon Rovers at Kilbarron and were slaughtered. The man in charge of Shannon Rovers was Rev. John Cleary, C.C. and he was to take his team to four divisional titles between 1945-48 and one county title. Some years later he came to Lorrha as P.P. and took the juveniles to three county finals, winning in 1957 and 1958
 

Pallaskenry College

Johnny left National School at the age of fourteen years and went to Pallaskenry Missionary College, as it was then known. He was to spend five years there. During the first year they weren't allowed home and had to work on the college farm during the holiday period. There was no hurling in his section of the college but there was in the agricultural side. Because he was a promising hurler he, and a few of the better hurlers, used to be drafted in to play on the Agricultural College team. Fr. O'Mahony recognised his talents and wanted him to play with Limerick minors but he declined, on the advise of Fr. O'Meara, in the expectation of getting a run with Tipperary. However, nothing came of the latter. One of the things he excelled in while in Pallakenry was running. The prime competition annually was the mile race and he won it three years in a row.

Following his Leaving Certificate there was pressure on him to go the Salesian novitiate in Burwash, Sussex, U.K.. He stayed almost a year but changed his mind and left.

His next move was to Warrenstown Agricultural College in County Meath, where he spent a year. During that time he was part student, part staff member. He played senior hurling with Meath in 1954 and the team had the distinction of beating Carlow and Offaly before going down to Dublin in the Leinster semi-final. Johnny played centrefield and had as his opponents, Mick Ryan and Phil Shanahan of Tipperary, who were playing with Dublin that year. While in Meath he also got a trial for the Meath footballers against Cavan.

Johnny was back home in 1955 and played with Lorrha in the senior championship, losing out to Borrisoleigh in the North semi-final. In the same year he was selected with Tipperary hurlers for the championship, and he was also selected for the Tipperary footballers against Cork but couldn't play because of injury.

Later in the year he took up a job as an insurance agent in Banagher. The deal included a commitment to play with the local club, Shannon Rovers, so he transferred to Offaly. He played in the Offaly championship for two years, reaching the county final in 1957 only to be badly beaten by Drumcullen. At the same time he played football with Cloghan, the football end of the parish, and reached the county final in 1956, only to lose to Tullamore. Johnny, playing at centreback, and Garda Jim Rogers of Wicklow and Leinster, were the two outstanding players on the day.
Because of his commitment to Banagher he missed out of the divisional championship success with Lorrha in 1956. His presence with Lorrha that year would have been a huge asset and, even though the team performed badly in the county final, his addition might have made an impact on the result. He had started playing senior hurling with Lorrha in 1953.
 

Selected for Tipperary

Playing with Meath and Banagher had brought Johnny to the attention of the Tipperary selectors. He made his first appearance against Clare in the 1955 Munster championship, replacing Tommy Barrett at corner-forward. Tipperary were surprisingly beaten by Clare on the day. He played during the league campaign and partnered John Hough at centrefield in the league final at Croke Park on May 5th, 1956 when Wexford came back dramatically to defeat Tipperary after wiping out a fifteen-point half-time deficit. He was dropped in favour of Mick Ryan for the Munster championship semi-final, which Tipperary lost to Cork after leading by 2-6 to 0-1 at the interval.
Johnny was back with Tipperary for the 1956-57 league campaign and played at full-forward on the side that defeated Kilkenny in the final at Croke Park on May 12, 1957. He was in the same position for the Munster semi-final against Cork, a game that was lost by the unlikely score of 5-2 to 1-11.

As a result of his victory in the 1957 National League, Johnny got a trip to the U.S. with Tipperary in October. They played New York in the St. Brendan Cup, played four games in all, including one under lights. He decided to stay on in New York and was to remain for nearly ten years.
It was much easier then to get into the U.S. Up to then one had to apply for residence from abroad, which meant that you couldn't apply while on a holiday, but new legislation came in that year which allowed one to apply while on holiday. Johnny got a job with Johnson Wax as warehouse manager, applied for residence and got it quite quickly.
 

Playing in New York

It was understandable that a player of his ability would start playing there. He played with Cork in football initially as he had got his job through a Cork connection and won a championship with them. Later he played with Kilkenny and won a second football championship. But hurling was his first love and he won one championship with Tipperary in 1962.

Hurling was tough in New York. The smaller size of Gaelic Park provided little escape from vigorous physical encounters. Johnny could well look after himself on the field and revelled in the physical exchanges. However, some of the results were dangerous. He recalls a bad accident in one game. Soloing through in one game he was tripped by a chasing player. When falling his jaw collided with the opposing full-back's knee and it was broken in a number of places. It was one of his worse accidents as a result of which he spent weeks in a Yonkers hospital.

Johnny was part of the New York team which played Kilkenny in the St. Brendan Cup in the Polo Grounds on June 1, 1958. It was the last Gaelic match to be played in the historical ground and Johnny had an outstanding game, scoring 3-6 at full-forward over the hour. It gave him the unique distinction of having won St. Brendan Cups with Irish and New York teams and in consecutive years. He was to win his third later in the year, when New York defeated Wexford by 3-8 to 3-7 in another St. Brendan Cup final at Croke Park. The New York team was a star-studded lot at the time, including players like Ralph Prendergast and Kevin Long from Limerick, Jimmy Carney from Clare, Billy Duffy from Galway, Norman Allen from Dublin, Paddy Bermingham and Mick Furlong from Offaly, Paddy Fleming from Carrick-on-Suir and Paddy Dowling from Cork.
In 1960 Waterford travelled to New York and were beaten by a star-studded New York team on the scoreline of 7-7 to 3-4. Playing at full-forward, Johnny had an outstanding game and scored 3-2 off the great Austin Flynn, before an attendance of 29,000 people.

During his time in New York he made a number of hurling trips to Ireland, either with New York teams for league engagements or to play with Lorrha. For instance he played with the latter in 1965, when they were beaten a point by Kilruane

While in New York he married Peggy Egerton, originally from Oldcastle, Co. Meath, in May 1962. The couple have four girls, Margaret, who is married in the U.S., Marie, who is married in Naas, Olivia, who works in a hotel in Kilkenny, and Valerie, who is attached to St. Anne's in Roscrea. The latter two are twins. All the girls, with the exception of Olivia, have won All-Irelands in athletics and represented Ireland at international level. They were all good sprinters and Marie was a jumper as well. She held the Irish ladies' record for the triple jump at one stage.
Johnny returned to Ireland for good in 1966 and played with Lorrha in the senior hurling championship, winning a divisional title. Playing at centreback he was the central figure in a very effective line of defence, together with Liam King and Michael Gleeson. He was elected captain of the team for 1967 at the AGM later in the year. Lorrha were beaten badly by Moneygall in the 1967 North semi-final. In the same year he played county senior hurling and football league with Tipperary. Lorrha lost out to Roscrea in the 1968 championship. Johnny played at centreforward in 1969, which was the year of the beginning of the open draw senior hurling championship. He filled the same position in 1970. He played wing-forward in 1971. He was in the unlikely position of goalkeeper in 1972 and 1973, and at corner-forward in 1974. He replaced Michael Burbage at centrefield in the 1975 championship. He impressed at corner-forward in the 1976 championship. He was wing-forward in 1977 and centre-forward in 1978. and full-forward in 1979. He doesn't appear in lineouts after that. He appeared as a senior selector in 1980.
 

Also a Footballer

Having started playing senior hurling with Lorrha in 1953, he finished in 1979, a span of twenty-six years, omitting the years with Banagher and the years in New York. He is of the belief that he finished up playing junior hurling with the club and that they were beaten by Ballina. If that is the case the year was 1983 when Ballina defeated them in the quarter-final at Nenagh.

Johnny was also a keen footballer and had got a trial for Meath in that code as early as 1954. He was on the Lorrha junior football team that won the North title in 1966 only to lose the county final to Clonakenny. He won a county junior title when Lorrha went all the way in 1971, and defeated Moyne-Templetuohy in the county final. He was the outstanding man on the field in the North semi-final against Kilruane-MacDonaghs and got the Guardian Player of the Week for his performance. The citation read: 'No one expected top class displays or indeed fully fit teams but one could not help being struck, at the same time, by the fitness of Sean O'Meara, probably the oldest man taking part in that particular game. He was streets ahead of his colleagues and rivals and this fitness played a big part in the manner in which he repulsed several Kilruane attacks in the first half, when the white and black brigade were playing with wind advantage.'

When Johnny returned to Ireland he became sales representative with Johnson Wax and he remained with them until he retired in 1998. Having done so he returned to his first love, insurance, taking up a job with Canada Life, with whom he remained until he suffered his stroke.
Recalling his hurling years Johnny believes that centrefield was his favourite position. He played centreback regularly and in many positions in the forwards. Training was never a problem: he was always the first man to the field and never missed a training session with either Lorrha or Tipperary. In fact he was always running, having participated in sports all over the country from an early age. He took part in the first Dublin City Marathon in 1979, ran again in 1980 and has run once more since then.

Johnny was also involved in G.A.A. administration. He was registrar of the North board for seven years and a trustee of the county board for four years. Refereeing was another part of his life. He refereed at all levels, divisional, county, Munster and All-Ireland levels and had the unique distinction of refereeing five divisional hurling finals in the same year, senior, intermediate, junior, under-21 and minor. He served as Tipperary representative on the Munster Referees Advisory Council.

Comhaltas has long played a major part in his life. Ever since Paddy Madden, Canon Martin Ryan and Peggy Wilde started the Irish nights in the old hall in Lorrha in the sixties, Johnny has been involved. He used to travel from Nenagh with his daughters every Friday night and the entertainment played a major part in his and his daughters' lives. At one stage he was part of a half-set with Bernadette Turner, Tommy and Kathleen Houlihan and they won a number of Munster titles.

Johnny O'Meara has always been a most active man. During his sporting life he achieved a level of fitness that was exceptional in his time, when hurlers and footballers had a much more relaxed attitude to their physical preparedness. He was a robust player who revelled in taking on opponents in physical battle and not many enjoyed coming in contact with him. As a contemporary of his in New York, Johnny Murphy of Cashel, described him 'a man you wouldn't like to run into on the field of play.' Off the field of play the same energy drove him in his job and his recreational activities. He was never the person to loll about but was ever restless for new activities, new challenges. It was ironic, and very very cruel then that he should be struck down by a stroke six years ago which rendered him extremely limited in the kind of physical activity he so enjoyed. In spite of this he will always be remembered as the skilful bundle of energy on the hurling or football field giving his all for Lorrha, Tipperary or New York.

<span class="postTitle">The Playing Fields of Lorrha</span> August, 2011

The Playing Fields of Lorrha 

August, 2011

Two events in the past month or so have sparked thoughts of where Lorrha hurlers and footballers practised their skills and completed their preparations for championships and challenges against neighbouring clubs. These events were the death of Mick O'Meara of Blakefield on May 7, 2011 and the official opening of the Lorrha and Dorrha G.A.A. centre by the outstanding Tony Reddin on May 22,

The latter event completed the current development of St. Ruadhan's Park at Moatefield, which began in 1968 when renting the use of the field from Michael Killeen of Abbeyville, who had leased it from the Land Commission.

In 1970 the Lorrha club moved to purchase the field, but the Land Commission were reluctant sellers – they wanted to allocate the club a part of Shaw's Estate at Ballyoughter, Rathcabbin or a field below the National School at Redwood.

The club officials stuck to their guns and brought political pressure to bear on the Land Commission. Eventually five acres were acquired for £650, which amount was collected in one house to house collection in the parish. Trustees were appointed, including Fr. John Cleary, P.P., Paddy O'Meara, club secretary and Hubie Hogan, chairman of the North Tipperary Board, and a perimeter fence was erected. Lane's field in Carrigeen, Lordspark, opposite Lar Gleeson's, was used for 2 or 3 years while Moatfield was levelled.

In the years that followed the field was developed and dressing rooms erected. Two acres bordering the top of the field were purchased from local farmer, P. J. Mannion, for the sum of £7,000 in the nineteen-eighties. Later still further land was purchased across the road and developed into a third playing area, which caters for all sports as it is designated a community field.

Today the facilities available at St. Ruadhan's Park hold their own with the best available in the division and are a credit to the club and a tribute to the dedication and commitment of so many club members over many years.
 

Earlier Training Venues

The development of St. Ruadhan's Park was the culmination of a long search by the club for a permanent home. When the club transferred to Moatefield in 1968 they moved there from Blakefield, Abbeyville, where they had temporary residence for nearly a decade. This field was owned by the late Mick O'Meara. Many who played there at that period remember that John Joe Egan's dog was outstanding for finding lost sliotars, at a time when sliotars were scarce. In fact the dog was so highly appreciated that a member proposed at a club annual general meeting that the dog be rewarded for his services!

Prior to moving to Blakefield the club had spent some time in Moylan's field at the Pike. It is difficult to establish when they started there but the year 1945 has been mentioned. According to Eugene O'Meara, Fr. Paddy O'Meara was instrumental in moving there because he believed it was a more central place for training purposes. Tom Lambe has a similar story. He is convinced that the team for the 1946 county intermediate final trained in Younge's field, opposite the Nursing Home because Fr. O'Meara thought it was more central for the players involved on the team. They were there for a short time only and moved to Moylan's after that.

Before Moylan's the club was ensconced in Abbeyville from the middle of the thirties.It is generally believed that Blakefield was in use from 1934-45. Eugene O'Meara is certain that Jim Moylan's moor field near Kilcarron was also in use as a training field in the early 1930s for Abbeyville players.

Tom Lambe believes that the 1924 team trained in Reddan's of Cullagh, where O'Briens house is near the Pike. The field is on the opposite side of the road to Moylan's. Tom attended many matches in this field. Mick of the Hill has his memories of this field. He states that John Reddan 'couldn't keep a fence beside the road and he was trying to get rid of the hurlers for years. It was a lovely playing field then. So, when the County Council looked for a site he gave it to them. That still didn't shift the players. So he put horse loads of manure or top-dressing at intervals of 7 or 8 yards apart and never spread them. But the hurlers spread them over a few years! However, you couldn't have a match there so the players moved the Michael O'Meara's field in Blakefield about 1934 just across the road from John Joe Egan's house, a couple of hundred yards beyond the old railway bridge on the Cullagh Road. The club were to give him a half-ton of slag every year. Whether they kept it up or not I don't know. I doubt it. Slag was very cheap then.'

Mick continues: 'They moved down near the Pike again in the middle forties to a field across the road from the old field of John Reddan's to a field of Ger Moylan's, also Cullagh, and that's where they trained for the 1946 intermediate championship, as they had been regraded from senior the year following the bad mauling by Roscrea in 1938, 11-3 to 1-0,. A good few of the seniors had retired.'

Again, Tom Lambe is my informant and he thinks he remembers Con Sherlock telling him that the 1914 team trained in Danny Neill's, right beside the Birr road. Any confirmation?

I have found somebody to tell me where the 1905 team trained! According to Paddy O'Meara the team trained in 'Goosie Island' (O'Meara's of Curragha) just at the top of the New Line road, backing Kennedy's and King's houses. Several senior and junior championship games were played there in the early days of the Association. (This may also have been the venue for the trial game for the North Tipperary team to play South Galway, organised by Frank Moloney of Nenagh in January 1886. This game was played in the Phoenix Park on February 9 and won by North Tipperary. The silver cup they won became the property of Silvermines Parish later.)

Mick O'Meara was at a match in Goosie Island between Lorrha and Borrisokane in 1932. Lorrha had two county hurlers playing that day, Tom Duffy and Mick Cronin. The biggest gate of the championship, £27-10.0, was taken. It amounted to six and a half percent of the total gate receipts of the year by the North board. The 'Private' O'Meara played with Borrisokane that year while his brother Bill played with Lorrha. The final score was 1-6 to 2-2 in favour of Borrisokane. Lorrha got three close-in frees near the end of the game. Mick Cronin took the first two and drove them wide. When the third was given Tom Duffy called the length of the field from his full-back position that he would take it. He came the length of the field but drove it wide and Lorrha lost by a point! The following year Borrisokane went on to win their only North senior championship title.

Other Places Where Hurling was Played

There were other fields all over the parish which were used by locals in the days when transport was at a premium. In the fifties training used to be done in Palmer's field in the front of John Joe Madden's, Grange.

About the same time training was held at Gleeson's Cross. Other places in the Lordspark area were Lane's field, Pat Molloy's field and Houlihan's at Coolross Cross

In the mid-nineteen-twenties there was a parish league and Redwood had a team. The team practised in a field in front of Hogan's house (Cahalan's) in Ballymacegan every Sunday and it was possible to see as many as forty men playing with everything from a hurley to a crooky stick.
Clarke's field, beside Milne's Pub, was the more usual place for practice by the Redwood hurlers Some time in the late thirties a group of lads from Tirnascragh came across the Shannon one Sunday and, after their fill in Milne's Pub, went out to Clerk's field to play Redwood. During the game one of the Tirnascragh players hit Michael O'Meara, who was a clerical student, on the head. There was a bit of a row and the incident put an end to hurling there. Mick O'Meara (the Hill) recalls refereeing a match there in 1941.

Other places used in Redwood were the Shannon Callow down by Crean's and Neill's field at Grange

At Ballincor Loughmane's Field (later O'Donoghue's) was used. Johnny Larkin's field, opposite Curragha Cross, was used every summer for years in the 1940s and 1950s

In the Abbeyville area as well as Blakefield, Tim Heenan's of Lisernane and Quinlan's of Kilgask were used. There was a junior team in Abbeyville in the late 1930s. Paddy Gardiner was honorary secretary. He wrote a letter to Dan Donoghue, Derry, hon.sec. of the Lorrha Club, giving him notice that Abbeyville had acquired the use of Michael O'Meara's field at Blakefield for the following year and wished that the Lorrha Club would procure one elsewhere! According to Mick of the Hill Donoghue broke his heart laughing at the request. He had the letter worn out bringing it around in his pocket and reading it out for everyone. It had no effect whatsoever.

At Carrigahorig as well as (Hough's Field) Sammon's there was Carew's (Kilfada & Kilregane.) Mick of the Hill has memories of games in Carrigahorig. He recalls: 'We would have football games through the winter in our own field in Roughan. We used to play a team from Carrigahorig. We played in a field above the village on the Fortmoy road beside the river. I remember Des Donoghue and Bill Rigney clashed beside the river and Rigney shoved Donoghue into the water, but Donoghue held on to Rigney and pulled him in after him. They both climbed out and shook themselves and played away. Willie Russell, who organised the team, worked at Sammon's Pub.'
Mick O'Meara continues with his memories: 'The first championship match I attended was in Carrigahorig between Lorrha and Cloughjordan in the 1924 North championship. Lorrha won the championship that year. Cloughjordan had black and white vertically striped jerseys, although Fr. White, author of the Kilruane club history, said that the colours were Black and Amber. I told him they were black and white but he wouldn't listen to me.'

There was a team called Ballea in the late 1920s. They used to play a team from Graigue in Walsh's field in Coolross, which Tom Lambe has now. The return match would be in Graigue. Mick of the Hill, along with a few others, walked from Roughan to Graigue for the game. 'When we arrived in Graigue we were told the venue was changed to Derrylahan. So we set out for it and we found it was about a mile up from the road at the back of Duffy's, but we got there. Ballea won and it didn't go down too well with some of the Graigue supporters.'

The oldest reference to hurling in Redwood is taken from a letter to the editor of the 'Irish World', a U.S. Paper, on September 15, 1888. Signed by a Galwayman, it had this to say: 'Many readers of the 'Irish World', residing in this country (the U.S.), can call up pleasant memories of hard-fought games some 30 or 40 years ago between the men of Tipperary and Galway on the verdant sod of Shannon's banks, stretching from Portumna to Meelick, having for a background the ancient Castle of Redwood, standing out in bold relief against the green hillsides of noble Tipperary.' The matches were probably on both sides of the Shannon but we have no information as to the actual field they were played in at Redwood. At any rate the reference suggests there were stirring games there around the time of the Famine. It raises the question of the effect the Famine had in the Lorrha area.

Where championship games were played in the parish

1900 In the early part of the century there was a match in Hoctor's field (now Brown'e 7 acres) in Redwood between Redwood and Portumna. There was a big crowd at it and Jack Lambe, Tom Kennedy, the Creans, Larry Guinan, Paddy and Anthony Sommerville, the Sammons, James Kennedy and the Walshes of Ballymacegan played that day. After the match the crowd went up across Moatfield bog for porter.

There was another game played in Redwood in the twenties when the locals played the Pike in Loughnane's callow field. The field was as bare as a road and it was a great game.

1910 Toomevara won their first North title in 1910, beating Roscrea in the final played at Rathcabbin on October 8. On the same day they defeated Lorrha in the junior final. According to Tom Lambe the field was down Ballyoughter Lane, known as the 'Pea Field' and owned by Issac O'Meara.

1922 Games were played at Carrigahoig in this and other years. The 1922 final between Toomevara and Borrisokane may have been played there in Sammon's field.

Bracken's field in Rathcabbin was used as a venue for interclub games.

The first match Mick O'Meara of the Hill was at was a tournament in Coonan's field in Rathcabbin, now owned by Basil Kelly, on the Bonahum Road.

Coolderry won a set of medals in 1923 in Molloy's field, Rathcabbin

Other matches were played in Reilly's fields opposite Coolross Cross. One such game was played there against St. Vincent's, Dublin on Easter Sunday 1947. There were great expectations for the game but it took place in 'a miniature gale with short penetrating showers' and only 200 people turned up. St. Vincent's won by 2-0 to 1-2 and the Lorrha team was: T. Reddin, J. Brown, D. O'Donoghue, H. Hogan (capt.), J. O'Meara, T. Lambe, E. O'Meara, T. Ryan, D. O'Meara, B. O'Donoghue, M. O'Meara, M. O'Donoghue, P. Guinan, M. Brophy, J. Sullivan. It was Tony Reddin's first game for Lorrha

1932 O'Meara's field near the top of the New Line road was used for matches in 1932-33

1939 and later Mahon's field in Lorrha was used for divisional junior matches. One of my earliest memories of one of these matches, in 1947 approximately, was observing the bundles of the players' clothes placed along the ditch where they had togged out. They were folded tidy and regular and still remain vividly in my mind

1939 Borrisokane defeated Lorrha junior hurlers in Fitzpatrick's field, Abbeyville and Eugene O'Meara remembers the team that lined our for Lorrha that day: Joe Gardiner, Josie O'Meara, Joe Bergin, Matt Cahalan, John O'Meara (C), Peter Coughlan, Hubie Hogan, Ned Waters, Syl King, Johnny Deely, Mick Brophy, Seamus O'Meara, Pat Coughlan, Jimmy O'Meara (D), Billy Abbott.

1941 Lorrha made their first appearance in the football championship against Shannon Rovers in Mike Sammon's field in Carrigahorig. They were beaten by 0-5 to 0-3 after a robust game. On the same day there was a second game between Carrigahorig and Borrisokane, who were much too strong for the home side and won by 3-4 to no score.

<span class="postTitle">Mike O'Meara of the Hill</span> August, 2011

Mike O'Meara of the Hill 

August, 2011

One of the earliest memories of Mick O'Meara of the Hill goes back to the Civil War that followed the Truce and Treaty of 1921/22. He remembers a troop of Republicans camped in Newtown, Rathcabbin and being fed at their house in Roughan. He also recalls how badly the people took the news of the death of Collins at the time.

A very early memory has his grandfather sitting at the end of the kitchen table: 'I was standing on the rungs of the table gripping the edge with my nose just over it and trying to see what was on it for dinner. There was a big square, willow-pattern dish with a big square of boiled bacon and boiled turnips, and also a large white enamelled dish of boiled potatoes. It was in the early days of the Black and Tans. Three well-built policemen walked in the kitchen door looking for my father, who talked to them for a while and then went into the room. After he came out he spoke to them again and they went away. My father went out after the dinner and I followed him to the field. He picked up an old, used stake and told me he was going down across the fields to meet the Peelers, and that he was going to kill the three of them. He added that I was to run back into the kitchen. I remember running into the house and telling them all what he was going to do. Some years afterwards my mother explained the incident. She told me the policemen came to collect a fine of £3 or, to arrest him in the event of refusal, for not attending to jury service at a court in Nenagh. He paid the fine.'

Mick will be 93 years of age next August and while the body is somewhat laid up due to an injury to his back some months back, his mind is still active and racing with memories. He was the third of six children, three boys and three girls. He was born on August 5, 1917 to James O'Meara of Roughan and his wife Brigid (nee Hough). James was vice-captain of the 1905 Lorrha team that won the first North Tipperary championship for the parish. The midwife had to be brought from Birr to assist the birth but Mick had made his entry into the world before she arrived.

Mick's maternal grandfather, Michael Hough, who was born in Ballymacegan in 1835, had bought the farm in Roughan in 1878. He was twelve years old at the height of the famine in 1847 and had clear memories of it. The family sowed a variety of potatoes called the Riles's, which had some resistance to blight. The grandfather went to a hedge school, which was in the open air in good weather and in a derelict school in bad weather. Each student had to bring two sods of turf daily. He was a decent scholar and could write a nice letter. He had the farm twelve or thirteen years before he married at 56 years in 1891. He remembered the Big Wind on January 6, 1839. They were living in a thatched house on a hundred-acre rented farm in Ballymacegan. They had an old retired ex-sailor working with them at the time and he was pacing up and down the kitchen all night. He kept repeating: 'This bloody shack is going to blow down on top of us. Oh, if I was only on a good ship out on the ocean, I'd be safe'.

Mick went to primary school at Gurteen at the age of four and a half years in 1922. The day he went was Whit Monday and when he arrived there was nobody around. His parents had forgotten it was a bank holiday so he had a free day his first day. The school is called Rathcabbin today. Where the village of that name stands is really two townlands, Gurteen and Derry. The old school was in Gurteen and the new one is located in Derry. According to Mick, Dick Bracken was of the opinion that the name 'Rathcabbin' meant a fort in hollow ground and the fort was located behind Kelly's shop in the village.

The school was a two-storey building, divided into two sections with the girls on the top floor and the boys on the ground and two teachers in each. There was no division in the rooms and all classes had to be taught within earshot of the rest. His teachers were Nora Moran from Redwood, who used to cycle to school every day, and never missed a day, hail, rain or shine, and Richard J. Bracken (1890-1961), a native of Banagher, who had come to the school in 1920 after being in Woodford since 1913, and was in charge of the senior classes. He remembers him as a great gardener and a very good teacher of nature study.
 

Primary School

The two schools were strictly segregated with no contact allowed between the children. The girls got their break at 11 am before the boys and they also took their lunch at a different time.

This strict segregation was implemented until the schools were amalgamated in 1932. This came about as a result of a decline in numbers in the boys' school. An attempt was made in the same year to maintain the numbers in the school by keeping some of the boys, including Mick, back for six months after they reached the age of fourteen. However, this endeavour was given up after a half-year and the schools were amalgamated.

Mick missed no day from school during his first year and won the prize for the best attendance before going home for his summer holidays. The prize was the princely sum of 2/6 (approx. 16 cents), which was riches to a young lad at the time. It was the last year the prize was awarded.
The particular day Mick missed school was in 1922, when Tyquin was shot close to Rathcabbin.

Many of the schoolchildren saw his remains on their way to school where his body was abandoned. (Tyquin, a native of Lusmagh, was the grandson of a Fenian. He joined the Free State army and was shot when he came to Rathcabbin to visit his girlfriend.)

He received his First Communion in Rathcabbin Church. Miss Moran prepared the children and it was all a very serious business. She gave each of them a holy picture in honour of the occasion. There was no such thing as presents of money at the time. He thinks it was Fr. Delahunty who administered the sacrament.

A contemporary of Fr. Delahunty's was Fr. Hayes and Mick has good memories of this priest. He tried to promote the temporal as well as the spiritual welfare of his parishioners. He recalls hearing him preach about the dangers of milking in dirty buckets on one occasion! Fr. Hayes also promoted hurling in the parish and was very involved with the club at North Board level.

There was plenty of poverty around. Mr. Bracken advised all the students that there would be a school photograph next week and everyone was to be properly dressed wearing a proper shirt and collar. One of the boys was asked why he didn't wear a collar – did he not ask his father for one. The young fellow said he did ask his father and Mr. Bracken asked what did his father say? "Pease sir, he said that he's not even able to put a collar on the horse".

Mick remembers getting his confirmation from Bishop Fogarty. He was serving Mass at the time and he recalls that the children came up the aisle in twos to the bishop, who was sitting at the altar. When it came near the end of the line Mick was pushed into it by one of the priests in front of one of the boys, who resented his entry. As he made his way up to the bishop the boy kept pushing him and making him uncomfortable. He remembers it vividly.
 

Dunces' Class

His mother told him that in her time there was a 'dunces' class' at confirmation. The weaker boys were examined by the Diocesan Examiner rather than the bishop, in order to save everybody's blushes. Confirmation used to alternate between Rathcabbin and Lorrha churches, with the examination on the first evening in one and confirmation in the other, and vice-versa.

Mick's memory from the whole experience is that he knew the whole catechism by heart but nothing of the meaning.

Mick played for Lorrha for the first time while at Gurteen school. The year was 1927 and he was only ten and a half years old at the time. An attempt was made in that year to organise an interclub competition for under-16s. There was a trial game between Gurteen and Lorrha schools at Ballincor Cross and Fr. Moloughney, who was the first priest in the parish to own a car, carried eleven of them in the car to the match. Mick scored a goal and was picked on the team to play Borrisokane, but they were badly beaten and there were no more underage interclub games until the end of the thirties.

Because he stayed on for an extra six months Mick was fourteen and a half when he left school. During this period he got high praise for a composition he did on Modes of Travelling. It was posted up in the classroom. The only further schooling he did was to attend Birr Technical School for about eighteen months to study Irish and book-keeping. He used to cycle in two evenings a week but it was tough going and he gave it up after that time. With the establishment of the Free State Irish became a compulsory subject in the primary schools but most of the teachers were untrained for teaching it. They were sent on crash courses but Mick recalls that some of his teachers had to depend on English translations of what they did, pasted into their text books. Because Mick liked Irish he decided to continue studying it for a while after leaving primary school.
 

Working on the Farm

The most pressing thing for Mick was to help out on the family farm. His father died at the age of forty-six and a half years in 1925, while Mick was still at school. His mother was left with six children between one to ten years of age. The oldest boy, Eddie, had gone to secondary school in Birr for two years after finishing in Rathcabbin but was run down and became ill. No sooner did Mick finish in June 1932 than he started work on a cousin's farm for ten shillings (approx. 64 cents)a week. This income was used to subsidise Mick's home farm.

He worked in this way until 1934 when they began to plough more on the family farm. De Valera had introduced two major initiatives to help Irish farming. The growing of wheat was encouraged with a price of 23/6 (approx. €1.50) per barrel for it. As well Dev halved the rent on land that had been purchased under the Land Acts and abolished debts that were over two years old. These developments provided great savings for farmers.

Life was difficult during the 'Economic War'. Mick often walked cattle to the fair in Birr and frequently ended up walking them home again. He sold two cattle very early one day to a fairly big landowner and thought he was made up. This landowner asked him to "look after them for a few hours". The landowner came back several times during the day to inspect the cattle. That evening, he came to Mick and told him he'd been trying to sell them on during the day (hoping to make a quick profit). He admitted he had no money and wouldn't be able to pay for them. Mick ended up having to walk them home again.

But it wasn't all work and no play. Mick used to play hurling while at Gurteen school but there were no underage games organised in the club. When he started playing with the club in 1934 he played junior and they had one outing which they lost. He continued playing junior in 1935 and 1936 and played on the day of the big row at Ballingarry in the match against Borrisokane. He was promoted senior at the end of 1936. He continued playing senior until 1940 when Lorrha were relegated to intermediate. There was little success during these years. There is a club photograph of a 1937 seven-a-side parish league team in which Mick is prominent in the front row.
 

Inter-county Career

There's another photograph of a Lorrha seven-a-side team that played in the Woodford Gold Medal Tournament in 1939. Mick is included and he played so well that he was called for a county trial in Nenagh some time later. He hit great form in the trial. Playing at full-forward he was able to run on to the ball, pick it with one hand and score points over his head without looking. He impressed with the number of scores he got. As a result of this display he was picked to play against Limerick in the Sweet Afton Cup final in April 1940. He scored a goal but had a number of good shots blocked by Paddy Scanlon in the Limerick goal and Tipperary lost. Two weeks later he was picked to play against Clare in the Thomond Feis competition, which Tipperary lost. A week later he was on against Kilkenny in the Monaghan Cup, which was played at Carrick-on-Suir because of the war. Kilkenny were All-Ireland champions but Tipperary won by 6-6 to 4-5. Asked if he still had his medal he said he never got it! Presumably it was given to some other player who lived closer to Thurles as was occasionally the custom in those times!

Mick's displays were good enough to command a place on the bench for the first round of the Munster championship against Cork at Thurles on June 2. Tipperary gave a poor performance and were beaten by 6-3 to 2-6.

Mick was dropped from the county panel after that game and didn't feature again for some years. He was probably a bit green from playing intermediate hurling. Also, as a busy farmer the travel and the late returns from training at Thurles didn't suit him. There was another factor also.

Looking back to those years Mick believes the inter-county scene was too big a thing for him at the time. He lacked the confidence and ambition required to command a place on the county team. Lorrha is a long distance from Thurles, the centre of hurling in the county at the time, and not many Lorrha players made the breakthrough on the county stage. At the local level Mick felt pressurised to perform when selected. While some were quite supportive, others were waiting for him to fail.

He was picked on a North team for the Miller Shield in 1945 but didn't get a county call-up. In 1951 he was invited to play against Galway at Portumna but didn't bother as he was losing interest and was then thirty-three years of age. Had he been a few years younger he might well have made the full-forward position: Sonny Maher was the man in possession and he was ripe for replacement.
 

Mainly a Forward

When Mick started of playing with Lorrha he held numerous positions. We find him in the backline on one occasion, also centrefield, but gradually his ability as a forward was established. He was a natural forward who liked to score goals. He played wing-, centre-, corner- and full-forward but was most at home in the latter position. He had an outstanding shot and the ability to place it in the most effective spot in the goalmouth. Probably one of his greatest displays was in the Limerick LDF area final in 1944. Hubie Hogan, Tommy Ryan and Dan O'Meara were also on the team. He recalls that the full-forward line on the day was Martin Kennedy, Dinny Doorley and himself. They scored eleven goals between them, he himself getting five. He gives all the credit to Kennedy, who was absolutely brilliant: 'He laid on the ball and all I had to do was hit it into the net.' Kennedy said to him after the game: 'I'd love to have you hurling with me in my heyday.' Kennedy was about forty-six years old at the time and had already been dropped by Kildangan and he often told Mick that he cherished that LDF medal more than his All-Ireland medals, presumably because it was his last. Mick often regretted he hadn't someone like Kennedy with him in the full-forward line when playing with Lorrha.
 

Achievements with Lorrha

One of the highlights of his career with Lorrha was winning the 1946 county intermediate championship, the first county final to be won by the club. He played full-forward in the final against Moycarkey-Borris, with Paddy Guinan and Vincent Darcy on the two corners. It was also the club's first major victory since 1924 and after they won the North championship Mick Donoghue turned to him and said: 'We broke the witch's neck at last.'

(An interesting memory from 1946 was a motion to abolish the ban, which was passed at a Lorrha club meeting. Proposed by Fr. O'Meara, C.C., the recently arrived curate, it was seconded by Mick and created headlines in the local newspaper. Some of the more traditional members of the club immediately called a meeting of the club to have the motion reversed.)

Another highlight is the North senior hurling title in 1948 before going down to Holycross-Ballycahill in the county final. Mick was again full-forward with Brendan O'Donoghue and Billy Hogan on the corners. Mick believes the team adopted negative tactics on that day, standing behind their men and re-acting to their opponents' actions rather than going for the ball. Also, he is critical of the referee on the day, Jim Roche (Limerick), who wasn't the original appointment, who appeared to give free after free against Lorrha. The first two balls Mick got in his hand, he was penalised for no apparent reason. As well, Dan O'Meara, who was having an outstanding game on the day, was taken out of the game. Holycross might still have won but it would have been a different game.

Mick continued to play until 1954 without further success and was retired before the club won their next divisional title in 1956. He stayed away from the game for a few years before becoming a selector in 1960 with his namesake, Mick of Blakefield, and Tony Reddin. He was treasurer of the club from 1967 to 1978. During this time the club purchased nearly six acres from the Land Commission at Moatfield. The Land Commission didn't want to give a site in that place and offered a pitch in Ballyoughter, Rathcabbin instead. This was refused. The land had been leased to people before it was divided. Mick Killeen had the portion at Moatfield rented. So, Liam King and Paddy O'Meara, who was club secretary, rented a hurling pitch off Mick Killeen and put up goalposts. They refused to leave it. The Land Commission gave in after some time. The club held a house to house collection in the parish and paid for the land in one go. Later the field was fenced, two dressingrooms were built and the first section of the clubhouse, including toilets and showers as well as a septic tank were completed. It was the first time the club had its own field and Mick was delighted to be involved in the whole endeavour.

Mick's earliest memory of seeing Lorrha play was at Carrigahorig against Cloughjordan in the North semi-final at the end of August 1924. He travelled with his father in a pony and trap. He vividly recalls the Lorrha colours on the day. They were green with a gold sash. Interestingly the players in the 1905 photograph also wore a sash across their jerseys. In contrast there was no sash on the jerseys worn by the players in the 1914 team. Mick has a feeling that Lorrha wore blue before 1924 and then reverted to green and gold. When he started playing junior in the 1930s they wore the sash jerseys while the seniors wore the blue jersey. Then towards the end of the thirties the feeling developed that the blue jerseys were unlucky and that nothing was won with them so they reverted to the green and sash jersey for the beginning of the forties and they won the intermediate in the sash jersey. Extant photographs of 1937 and 1939 seven-a-side teams, however, don't show any sashes. It is impossible to say what colour the jerseys are. There's a 1947 seven-a-side team in what appears to be a new set of jerseys. Eugene O'Meara believes that Fr. Corcoran gave a set of blue and white jerseys to the club in that year and it was the first time they had numbers.

There was a new purpose about Lorrha in 1947, having been promoted to senior ranks. At the AGM of the club in February Fr. Paddy O'Meara was elected chairman, Fr. Comerford and Tom Duffy, joint vice-chairmen and R. J. Bracken as secretary and treasurer. A finance committee was set up and a card drive was organised to raise funds. A match was organised against St. Vincent's of Dublin for Easter Sunday.
 

A Talented Man

Mick married Carmel O'Meara (no relation) in February 1952. They were married by Fr. Michael O'Meara (Carmel's cousin) in Lorrha and Mick moved into Carmel's place in Curraghgloss. For six years beforehand he had been living at Watersons of Lisgreen, which he inherited. They have four children, Gerard, Declan, Emer and Deirdre.

Mick's talents weren't confined to the hurling field. He's a marvellous raconteur and is capable of regaling his listeners with a wealth of stories from a life full of exciting memories. He was a good comic actor and graced the boards in Rathcabbin Hall for many years. He was one of those who started the Rathcabbin Players in 1941 in order to raise funds for a Red Cross branch in the area. 'Troubled Bachelors' was the name of their first production and it was directed by R. J. 'Dick' Bracken, who had a tremendous interest in drama. Others involved in the production were Paddy Corcoran, Paddy Corrigan, Tommy Carroll and Kitty Kelly. In the following years they produced 'Roadside', a very funny play about tinkers and lords swapping places, and 'Still Running', a play about poitín. Later productions included the George Shields classics, 'Professor Tim' and 'Paul Twyning'.

With these productions their fame spread outside the parish and they received invitations to perform in Borrisokane, Cloughjordan and Shinrone. Other productions like 'Mrs Mulligan's Millions' and 'Grogan and the Ferret' followed, all directed by Dick Bracken. The plays were all produced in the primitive conditions of Rathcabbin Hall, working with candle or oil lamp. It didn't cost Mick much thought to make the round trip of seven miles from Curraghgloss to the hall. The choice of play was always made with good clean fun in mind, and all the money made went to such as the Red Cross, the FCA or the G.A.A. club

The plays were produced annually until 1959 when, through a variety of circumstances, the drama group ceased its operations and it was to be nearly thirty years before the smell of greasepaint permeated Rathcabbin Hall again. Mick never lost his interest and when Scór commenced in the early seventies, he became involved with Sheila Dillon in the production and staging of Novelty Acts. Eventually in 1985 he set about reforming the drama group. A number of people like Michael Hoctor, Sheila Dillon and Michael Houlihan rallied around him and the re-birth of the Rathcabbin Players soon became a reality. Mick was now director and under his guidance a number of one-act plays were produced before .'Paul Twyning' and 'Troubled Bachelors' were re-staged.
 

'The Field' in London

Success came quickly and their fame spread once again. Invitations from outside the parish arrived and eventually in 1997 they were invited to bring John B. Keane's 'The Field' to London, an event covered in detail by Gerry Slevin in 'The Guardian'. Not only did Mick produce but he donned the robes of the Bishop in the play and, in addition, doubled up as Dandy McCabe in the absence of Joe Cleary, giving a tour de force performance in two startlingly contrasting roles. The play was produced for two nights to packed houses

One of the most entertaining things he ever did was an act called 'The Blunder Brothers', together with Hubie Hogan, Vinnie Kennedy and Mick Brophy. He believes they could have developed it and, were it today, they might be a leading cabaret spot!

Mick's acting career continued until 2008, when he last appeared on stage as King George V in a pageant built around the people of the parish who fought in World War 1. Five or six years back he helped to form a variety group in Lorrha and produced a number of shows for them, as well as appearing on stage. The group continues to flourish as does the Rathcabbin drama group.
Mick's life has always been full of activity. At the farming end of things he served his time in the NFA and later the IFA. Before that he was involved in the formation of the Young Farmers Club in 1947 and 1948. Elected chairman, the club had an educational purpose and it eventually merged into Macra na Féirme in the mid-fifties. In the early fifties he was involved in the setting up of the North Tipperary Agricultural Wholesale Society, a properly constituted company with shareholders, which aimed to purchase manures and deeds for the members at wholesale prices. It had only a limited success because it depended on cash transactions and cash was in short supply among farmers at the time, who depended a lot on credit from merchants. He was also involved in the ploughing championships and acted as a judge for a good number of years.
Probably one of his keenest interests was the LDF and later the FCA, which replaced it in 1945. He played hurling with them but was a long time member of the shooting team. He joined the LDF in 1940 and continued in the FCA after 1945 right up to 1978. In 1941 Johnny Corcoran and himself won the Irish Press District Shield for .22 rifle shooting and repeated the victory in 1942. They represented the District in an area competition held in Limerick and won. As a result they were picked on the Limerick Area team in the All-Ireland. When the FCA came into existence after the war the areas were changed and Lorrha was in the Tipperary Area. The .303 rifle competition came into being in 1947 and a team of six from the county was entered in the All-Ireland. Mick came fourth in the individual All-Ireland and continued competing at the highest level for many years afterwards.

So, as he looks back on his life from the vista of nine-four years, Mick can be quietly proud of his achievements. Over this long span of years he has entertained a lot of people, whether on the field of play or on the stage in Rathcabbin Hall and further afield. Off both platforms he has entertained people he has met through his lively personality and intelligent mind. He has contributed significantly to the history of the parish and has been, without any shadow of doubt, a huge adornment to the life of the parish of Lorrha and Dorrha.

<span class="postTitle">Mike O'Meara (Blakefield) (1924-2011)</span> August, 2011

Mike O'Meara (Blakefield) (1924-2011)

August, 2011

The death took place on May 7, 2011 of Michael O'Meara, Blakefield, located in the townsland of Abbeyville, the parish of Lorrha. Born on January 15, 1924 he was the second oldest of a family of three, with a sister, Mary Jo, and a brother, Bill.

He went to Lorrha National School until he was 14 years of age. A bright pupil he never got a slap from the formidable Mr. Cronin. In later life he regretted he never got a chance to progress to secondary school. While still at school he became an avid reader of newspapers. He used get a penny a day to spend in Tommy O'Meara's shop in the village. Instead of buying the two slices of barm brack that was intended, he spent the penny on the daily 'Independent' and devoured the sports pages.
His passion for the daily read never left him and he consumed an amount of information on other sports as well as G.A.A. So great was his knowledge of information on sporting matters that he was given the name 'Hickey', after the famous G.A.A. correspondent in the 'Independent', John D. The dairy in his house was a storehouse for many old programs and newspapers. In later life, when there was a big expansion in the broadcasting and televising of sporting events, he was known to have a couple of radios and televisions on simultaneously as he followed the progress of numerous sporting events. His memory of sporting matters remained outstandingly good all his life and he was still able to to regale listeners with this knowledge during his later years in the nursing home at the Pike.

Having completed his education in Lorrha National School, he took up farming on the family farm and remained there all his life. He did mixed farming with a special interest in beet-growing.

Mick came on the Lorrha intermediate team in the early forties after playing minor for a couple of years. In one game played in 1943 or 1944 there were four Mick O'Mearas on the team and they had to be identified. Mick got the name 'Blakefield' and he was known by it ever after. He was on the team that won the county intermediate championship of 1946, when Lorrha defeated Moycarkey-Borris in the final, which wasn't played until the first Sunday of December in 1947. He went on to win two senior hurling titles in 1948 and 1956, losing out in the county finals, to Holycross and Thurles Sarsfields respectively. The club should have won another divisional title
after 1948 but failed to do so.

A very skillful hurler, he played at wing-forward, and in the corner on occasions. He was a very fit player and never smoked or drank. He delivered a good ball to the inside line and believed strongly in first-time, ground hurling. He was also a good free-taker.

He continued to play for a while after 1956 and was reluctant to retire from the game. He was a club selector in several grades for a good number of years and gave great service to the club. He was a county intermediate selector in 1952. He was with the Lorrha junior side of 1961 which won the North title and lost to Moyne-Templetuohy in the county decider. He was also a club selector in 1966 when Lorrha won the North senior title.

Mick umpired in ten North senior finals,6 with the late Hubie Hogan, as referee, in 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957 and 1958 and four when Sean O'Meara had the whistle, in 1968, 1974, 1979 and 1982. He acted as an umpire for a county senior hurling final in 1952 and also officiated in a county senior football final. He umpired, with the late Tom Duffy, Gerry Dillon and Jimmy Kennedy in an All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final between Galway and Cork, played at Birr, with victory going to the Rebels. He also had the honour of umpiring in an under-21 All-Ireland hurling final.
Mick also provided a training field in Blakefield from about 1960 until the club moved to Moatfield later in the decade.

Mick spent the last seven and a half years of his life in St. Kieran's Nursing Home, The Pike, Rathcabbin. He continued to live for hurling and to impart to his listeners a wealth of knowledge on Tipperary and Lorrha hurling from the 1940s up to the present.

His remains were escorted through the village to Lorrha Church by members of Lorrha G.A.A. Club on the evening of May 9. After the funeral Mass the following day he was buried in the adjoining cemetery, where the graveside oration was given by Paddy O'Meara.

<span class="postTitle">Eugene O'Meara(Lorrha) - A Fine Hurling Forward</span> August, 2011

Eugene O'Meara(Lorrha) - A Fine Hurling Forward

August, 2011

Probably the first game I ever attended at St. Cronan's Park, Roscrea was on May 16, 1948 for the first round of the North Tipperary senior hurling championship between Lorrha and Borrisokane. On a bright sunny day Lorrha had the wind in their favour in the first half and led by 2-3 to 1-1 at the interval. My father and I rambled on to the field for the break and got into conversation with Eugene O'Meara, who was playing centrefield with Hubie Hogan and had scored a couple of points. The talk was 'Would Lorrha hold out?' Eugene thought the lead was a bit precarious as they were facing the wind in the second-half. But hold out they did and won by double scores, on a scoreline of 4-4 to 2-2.

The victory impressed 'Line-Out', who saw further victories ahead for Lorrha, when he wrote about the game in the 'Midland Tribune'. He anticipated that they would make the final stages of the championship and his words were prophetic. They went on to win the North title and qualified for the county final in which they went down to a rampant Holycross-Ballycahill side.
Eugene O'Meara was a key player in Lorrha'a progress. Although he played at centrefield during the campaign he was a forward of note. At a time when it was possible to cut a back in any ditch in the parish, Eugene had a rare talent, a natural forward, completely at home in an attacking position.

In 1948 he was in his prime at twenty-six years of age, having been born to Patrick O'Meara and Alice Fogarty at Curraghgloss, Lorrha on October 20, 1922. He was the second oldest of four boys and his younger brother, Dan, was captain of the team.
 

Lorrha National School

Eugene was about five and a half years old when he went to Lorrha National School in May 1928. His brother Michael, who was a year older, went on the same day The two-storey building, owned today by Paddy O'Meara, was divided into a boys' and girls' school. It was built in 1835 and the toilet was a hole in the ground at the back of the school. The boys were downstairs and their teachers were Mick Cronin and Nora Flynn. Mick Cronin was a notable hurler and was on the Tipperary senior team at the time. He went on to win an All-Ireland in 1930 and was on the famous trip to the U.S. in 1931.

Eugene and his brothers used to walk across the fields to school, some of the journey taking place along the famous 'Stolen Railway' that used to connect Birr with the Ferry. During his first year he broke his arm in an accident and had his tonsils removed. He was out of school for some time and was held back a year.

It was an Irish-speaking school and all subjects were done through Irish. He recalls that many of the terms he learned in arithmetic, history and geography, were never clear to him in English. He got his First Holy Communion from Canon Maloney (d. 1954) and was confirmed by the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr. Michael Fogarty (1859-1955), who was bishop for all of fifty-one years. According to Eugene you needed to be a theologian to get through the catechism examination in connection with the Sacrament of Confirmation. He did the Primary Certificate before he left school in 1937 at the age of fourteen and a half years.

There was no hurling or football in the school. This may appear unusual today especially in the light of the Principal in charge. So, what did they do during lunch hour? They rushed down to the nearby ball alley, which was built into the ruins of the Church of the Augustinian Abbey. The left side wall had been plastered during the nineteen twenties but there wasn't sufficient money to do the right side until the forties. The result was a rough wall but that didn't deter the boys as the place gave them on outlet for their energy.

Eugene must have been a bright boy because he was brought back some time after leaving for a school inspection. This was a three-day inspection by an inspector, Connolly, and Mick Cronin wanted to make an impression. Eugene answered a couple of important question during the examination and justified his recall.
 

Birr Day Vocational School

He continued his education at Birr Day Vocational School. A number of boys travelled to this school from the parish. Others, including his brothers, went to the Presentation Brothers.
Eugene was to spend three and a half years in the school, during which he pursued a commercial course and well as studying academic subjects. He was to leave it at eighteen years with individual certificates in book-keeping, shorthand, etc.

There was plenty of hurling in the school and Eugene revealed his ability early on. He was spotted by the Birr minor mentors, picked on the team and won three Offaly county championships in 1938, 1939 and 1940. He could play with Birr because there was no minor team in Lorrha at the time. He got his place on the Offaly minor team in 1940 but they were defeated by Laois, who won the Leinster championship that year.

Having left school with certs in different subjects there was no job to be had. He went back to work on the family farm and he remained there until July 1943 when he got a job with D.E. Williams at Belmont, looking after accounts for £3 per month and a forty-eight hour week. The money was 'all found' as he had accommodation in a dormitory on the premises. He worked from 9.30 am to 8 pm, with two breaks of one hour and a half-hour.

He stayed at Belmont until 1951 when he went to Naas to work in accounts at Mulvey and Sons. He didn't stay long there, getting a job late in the same year with Irish Tanners Ltd. as senior book-keeper on £8 per week. He stayed until August 1962.

His next move was to Tyresoles Ireland Ltd where he was appointed accounts and credit manager. This company was taken over by Dunlop in 1963 and Eugene stayed with them until 1987, when he retired. During his time with them he was elected vice-president of the Irish Institute of Credit Managers.
 

Playing With Lorrha

Eugene started playing with Lorrha in 1941, when he played junior hurling and football, playing in goal for the latter. The following year he played intermediate with the club and also with the Redwood juniors. He was a member of the LDF from 1941-43, as were many others from the parish, and he played hurling with them. He continued playing intermediate until they won the county championship in 1946. They used to practise in Blakefield. Fr. Jim Clune was the curate to Canon Maloney, P.P. and he had some interest in hurling. He used also play golf.

The intermediate victory over Moycarkey-Borris in 1946 – the final wasn't played until 1947 – was a major victory for the club, the first adult county final to be won. To beat a Mid team made it special. Eugene likes to point out that when he played with Lorrha they were never beaten on Mid soil. As well as beating Moycarkey - and the venue was the old Boherlahan pitch at Gaile, which was as near as it was possible to get to the parish of Moycarkey-Borris, without actually being in it -Lorrha defeated Cashel at Thurles in the county semi-final in 1948, Galtee Rovers-St. Peacauns in the 1946 intermediate semi-final at Thurles and Wild Rovers of Cahir in the 1948 senior semi-final at Thurles.

For some reason – perhaps the lateness of the fixture which was played on the first Sunday in December – there was no report of the match published in any of the local papers. Lorrha won by a goal, 4-4 to 3-4, and there were no celebrations in the parish. Paddy O'Sullivan, who played centreback on the occasion, claimed that there were people in the parish who didn't know for years afterwards that Lorrha had won a county final! Eugene played centrefield with Hubie Hogan.

Going senior in 1947 Lorrha went down to Borrisoleigh in the North semi-final on a day they were short Mick Donoghue, who was suspended and Mick Brophy, who was ill. As well their famous goalkeeper, Tony Reddin, had an off day, conceding five goals. The final score was 5-4 to to 2-3. Eugene was centrefield with Hubie Hogan. Eugene featured regularly on Lorrha seven-a-side teams that played in many tournaments during these years.
 

North Senior Victory

Lorrha had their revenge on Borrisoleigh the following year when the sides met in the North final. It was played before 8,000 spectators in appalling weather. Lorrha were well up for the game but it was Reddin's goalkeeping that clinched the issue. His display will go down in the annals of the parish as the greatest ever of any man to appear in a Lorrha jersey. Also important was an outstanding display by Eugene, who dazzled the opponents with fine solo-running and superb striking. Lorrha led by 4-3 to 0-4 at the interval and held out in the second half to win by 5-4 to 2-5. The Borrisilegh forwards insisted on going for goals against a superb Reddin.
Having beaten Cashel in the county semi-final, Lorrha came up against an outstanding Holycross-Ballycahill in the final but had no answer against a superior team, going down by 4-10 to 2-4. Eugene partnered Paddy Guinan at centrefield.

Eugene was to win another senior divisional medal with Lorrha in 1956. Before that he played hurling in County Waterford. His job with Irish Tanners Ltd. took him to Portlaw from 1951-1962.
He transferred to the local club and played junior hurling with them from 1952-55. During the same period he played with the divisional senior team, Thomas Frances Meagher's, but was unsuccessful with either.

He was back with Lorrha in 1956. The team still had a residue of players from 1948 such as Tony Reddin, Billy Hogan, Hubie Hogan, Mick Brophy, Dan O'Meara, Paddy Guinan and Eugene, as well as a new crop of players. Having come through the loser's group Lorrha defeated Toomevara and qualified to play Borrisileigh in the final. They led by five points at the interval but Borrisileigh scored seven points without reply to go two ahead. Lorrha came back to draw, Borrisileigh went ahead again and in the closing minutes the sides were level. Eugene and Paddy Madden scored twice in the final minutes to give Lorrha victory by 4-8 to 0-18. Lorrha won the county semi-final against South champions, Pearse's, but lost the final to Thurles Sarsfields by 3-5 to 1-4, with Lorrha scoring only a point to 3-2 for Thurles in the second half.
 

No Further Success

Eugene continued to play with the club until 1963 finishing up on goals. He was then over forty years of age. They played Borrisileigh in the first round that year and won by a point on a scoreline of 2-5 to 2-4. However, they went down badly to Toomevara in the next round, losing by 10-6 to 5-7. Eugene decided to hang up his boots. He turned to baseball for a while and eventually played a bit of soccer in the Phoenix Park.

During most of his playing career Eugene lived away from the parish. Belmont was twenty miles from Lorrha, Portlaw was farther and Dublin was more distanced still. These distances made it impossible for him to come training with the other members of the team but being a conscientious club member he did his own training and kept himself well, neither drinking or smoking. He made his own way to games and never claimed for expenses.

Eugene married Grace O'Donnell, the daughter of an Irish Army Commandant stationed in the Curragh Camp, in 1970 and they have two children, a boy and a girl.

He had a brief intercounty career. Following the success of the intermediate team in 1946, Mick Brophy and himself were selected on the county junior team in 1947. They played Clare in the first round of the Munster championship at Nenagh on May 25 but went down by 4-7 to 4-3. Eugene was 25 years old at that stage, in his prime, and it is interesting to speculate had Tipperary progresses would he have made an impact at county level. Having gone senior the same year Lorrha would have needed to be successful in the 1948 county final for him to make a claim at senior level.

Eugene continues to take a great interest in Lorrha and Tipperary hurling. His memory of games is phenomenal and he can list lineouts at will. He may have lived away from Lorrha for most of his life but his interest in the parish remains undimmed.

<span class="postTitle">Tony Reddin</span> Opening of St. Ruadhan's clubrooms, Moatfield, Lorrha, May 22, 2011

Tony Reddin

Opening of St. Ruadhan's clubrooms, Moatfield, Lorrha, May 22, 2011

Chairman, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

It's an honour for me to be asked to say a few words about Tony Reddin at the opening of these impressive clubrooms. The fact that he will do the honours of the official opening is only right and fitting as no man or woman has put Lorrha on the map as much as he has.

From the time he arrived in Lorrha in February 1947 he got involved with the Lorrha club and he was a great addition to the senior hurling team that got to the county final in the following year. That was a great team with some outstanding talent around the field. We lost one of them recently with the demise of Mick of Blakefield.

Tony brought to the team his excellent goal-keeping talent and everyone on the team came to admire it and have confidence that he would never let them down. One of his greatest displays was against Borrisoleigh in the North Tipperary final of 1948. On a wet and miserable day he defied the best that Borrisoleigh could throw at him between the posts. The famous Kennys tried their best to breech his lines but he defied them all and Lorrha won. In his presentation address after the game Monsignor Boland described Tony's display as 'surpassing anything he had ever seen.'

This and other displays did not go unnoticed outside Lorrha and Tony was drafted into the county team at the end of the year. He went on to play for Tipperary for eight years and won many honours especially the three-in-a-row All-Ireland titles in 1949, 1950 and 1951.

These were dismal times in the country and hurling was a major escapism from the poverty of so many existences. It wasn't expensive to play the game and once you had the hurl and the gear, there were endless free nights' entertainments. Identification with club and county was strong and anyone growing up at the time got a huge lift from the success of Lorrha in 1948 and of Tipperary in subsequent years.

Heroes were important and Tony was the stuff of heroes. I have already mentioned his epic display in the 1948 North final. Another epic was with Tipperary in the Munster final against Cork at Killarney in 1950. The overflow crowd of 55,000 encroached on the field surrounding Tony's goal during the last ten minutes. Tipperary won and Tony had to survive by escaping the field in a clerical hat and coat after the final whistle.

These stories kept us alive and added to the status of Tony as a local hero. We were proud to be Lorrha men and when Micheal O Hehir read out the names of a Tipperary team before a Munster championship game and started off with: Tony Reddin, Lorrha, our hearts swelled with pride and importance. Lorrha was no longer an anonymous place, lost in the bogs of North Tipperary, but the place where the greatest goalkeeper of them all hailed from.

Radio did wonderful things. It is impossible to picture the world as it was then, so used have we become to multiple TV channels and numerous radio stations and to the huge coverage of all games today. Then it was one-radio, one match a week and little in between. But it did give the lineout and Reddin was always the first man for Tipperary.

On this day I want to refer to another aspect of this great man, his professionalism. Today it is common for professional players to spend hours practising and training for a sport. Tony was a perfectionist when it came to preparation. He was always fit and kept himself well. He didn't drink nor smoke. He trained for the position of goalkeeper as much as if he were a centrefield player. Running cross-country, jumping over hedges and ditches and building up his arms made him the strong player he was. But, he also prepared himself meticulously. The story of him practising against a rough stone wall is indicative. And, there were a lot of rough stone walls around! Could there have been any better way of sharpening up the reflexes, as he dived left or right to grab the returning ball.
Whenever I see a soccer player trap a fast ball still with his foot, leave it dead, I think of Tony. He had that sensitive touch, allied with the titling of the hurley's face at an angle, which enabled him to kill even the fastest ball dead so that it rolled down into his hand. No man is born with such skill. It can only come from endless practice and hours of work.

Tony was recognised in his time as a great hurler and he has been remembered as such since then. He was the choice of the people of Ireland when they picked the Team of the Century in 1984 and he was chosen again on the Team of the Millennium. His place is secure in the history books. There must be wonderful personal satisfaction in being thus remembered. He has been the recipient of so many awards and honours and to me and to all of us here absolutely deserving of so much.

This evening we honour him in his adopted club is asking him to officially open these clubrooms. Some day they will be called after him but for the moment because of his wonderful health and longevity cannot be. But, there is no rush, Tony, and we hope you can be with us for many years to come and make the century.

Two years ago his native Mullagh honoured him with a plaque on the clubhouse of his native club. I hope that in the very near future we can see a full size statue of him erected somewhere in the parish, something similar to the statue of Christy Ring that stands in the front of the sportsfield in Cloyne. Tony deserves such an honour. Such a statue would show him in goalkeeping mode, hurley held firmly across his body, his sharp eyes searching for the ball and his whole frame ready to clear it down the field. Such a statue would keep his memory before our minds and fill us with vicarious thrills.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh.

<span class="postTitle">Tim Crowe (1881-1962) – A Tipperary Hero</span> Clonoulty-Rossmore Vintage Club booklet for 11th Vintage Rally at Clonoulty

Tim Crowe (1881-1962) – A Tipperary Hero

Clonoulty-Rossmore Vintage Club booklet for 11th Vintage Rally at Clonoulty

Tim Crowe trained the Tipperary team on their tour of America in 1926. Forty-five years of age in that year, he carried 44 gold medals won on the track in a green leather belt and wore it on important occasions during the tour. He always slept with the belt under his pillow.
There are numerous pictures of him from the tour, which lasted twelve weeks. In most of them he is wearing the belt of medals and he was a figure of curiosity to most people he met.

This famous belt, which can be seen in Lár na Páirce, Thurles, contains the record of Crowe's athletic achievements throughout Ireland over a period of more than twenty years. The belt, which has suffered the ravages of time and movement, is somewhat depleted today with 33 medals and gaps where at least 9 more once rested. The belt and the attached medals are the work of Tim Crowe himself and an indication of the fine workmanship he was capable of.

Crowe may have been influenced by the Lonsdale Belt, which was introduced by the National Sporting Club, the body that controlled boxing in Britain, in 1909 as a new trophy for the British champion at each weight division. In contrast to Crowe's leather belt the Lonsdale belt was made out of porcelain and gold. Championship belts were also a feature of professional running and walking (known as pedestrianism). The earliest account that mentions a championship belt dates back to a race in London in 1851.

This practice of wearing a belt of medals in public might appear strange today but it wasn't out of place during Crowe's years. Many of us remember our fathers and grandfathers wearing a medal or two on the watch chain. Of course military men always festooned their chests with medals on formal occasions, and still do. So, what Crowe did wasn't extraordinary but perhaps more pronounced than what most people did.
 

Athletic Achievements

The medals represent Tim Crowe's athletic achievements and leads one to the record of the national championships he won. There is a major difficulty here because there is no accurate record of what he won. For example in the report of his death the Tipperary Star said: 'For 15 years he held the senior individual cross-country championship of Ireland.' Terry O'Sullivan in his On the Road column in the Irish Press, sometime in 1951, stated: 'He was never beaten in a cross-country race between 1907 and 1920, won hundreds of prizes for these and uncountable other races, and preserves still a collection of forty-five medals.'

It's very difficulty to establish the authenticity of some of these claims. Two dates are given as the start of Crowe's athletic career, 1903 and 1906. According to the information in the Register of Births in the Parish of Knockavilla and Donaskeigh, Crowe was born in September 1881. He was a half-twin to John and both were the last children to be born to their parents William Crough and Bridget Davern. He had five other siblings, James (1868), Mary (1870), Bridget (1872), William (1874) and Anne (1877). This would have made Crowe either 22 or 25 years old at the beginning of his athletic career. (As a matter of interest the censuses of 1901 and 1911 give Crowe's age as 16 and 26 respectively, which puts his year of birth six years later in 1885!). According to the report on the latter year he won the County Tipperary one-mile championship at Clonoulty in 1906. This victory so impressed members of the Galteemore Athletic Club that he was invited to join. He competed under its colours until 1919, winning many titles from a mile up to marathon distance. He severed his relationship with Galteemore in 1919 and joined Clonliffe Harriers in 1920.
Crowe represented Galteemore in the 5-miles junior championship in the National Cross-Country Championships, held in Clonskeagh on March 2, 1907. As well as winning the team event Galteemore had the first, Crowe, and the second, J. J. Howard (also from Dundrum) in the invividual event. This would be Crowe's first national championship.

In 1908 Crowe represented Tipperary at senior level. The team championship fell through and in the senior individual championship only three started. According to T. F. O'Sullivan's History of the G.A..A., it was won by 'T. Crough, Tipperary,' a form of Tim's name that was occasionally used during his earlier athletic career.

According to the accepted wisdom Crowe won every senior cross-country championship up to 1919, when he had a falling out with the G.A.A.. According to Huckleberry Finn, who wrote contemporary newspaper articles on 'Famous Irish Athletes at Home and Abroad', the reason for the falling out was over a little matter. Apparently Crowe was after running a ten mile marathon and, having started from scratch and doing well as usual, he was let hang around for a few hours waiting for his clothes to be brought up to him from the starting point, which could, and should, have been easily done by a cyclist. Instead he had to run back the ten miles to obtain his clothing!
As a result of this falling out Crowe threw in his lot with the Cross-Country Association of Ireland (CCAI) which was affiliated to the I.A.A.A. hoping to win the cross-country championship of this body and hold an unbeaten record in the two associations. He joined the Clonliffe Harriers and won the junior cross-country championship of Ireland, run at McGowan Park, Belfast. Having won this championship he now decided to go for the senior cross-country championship. Against a top class field of the best CCAI men in Ireland and the best Irishmen in England, Scotland and Wales, Crowe ran an outstanding race and beat them all by 300 yards.

These victories would bring to 15 the number of cross-country championships won by Crowe between 1907 and 1920, if we are to accept the claim that he was unbeaten in the period 1908-1919. But the records don't support the claim and the only definite record we have of senior individual cross-country titles is for the years 1908, 1911, 1912, 1914 and 1915. No race was held in 1909 or 1016. He didn't run in 1910 or 1913 and I can find no record of 1917, 1918 and 1919.
Crowe also won silver team medals in international cross-country championships in 1920, at Belvoir Park, Belfast on April 3, and 1921, Caerleon Racecourse, Newport, Wales on March 19. The break with the G.A.A. facilitated competing at an international level. There was no international competition under G.A.A. rules.

Other national titles won by Crowe under G.A.A. rules include the following track and field: 2 miles 1908, 4 miles 1910, 2 & 3 miles 1917, 4 miles 1919. He also won some road titles, 5, 10, 15 and 20 miles 1919.
 

London Marathon

Probably the race that got Tim Crowe the greatest publicity in Ireland was the Polytechnic Marathon from Windsor to Stamford Bridge, organised annually by the London Polytechnic Harriers Club for the 'Sporting Life' trophy worth £500. Crowe was one of 46 entries, that included one Swede and one Frenchman in the 1921 race and was 38 years of age at the time. He arrived the day before for the race and hadn't the time or the means to prepare for the race that his fellow competitors had.

'No hotels and no masseurs for me,' he used say when telling the story. 'I was my own trainer and I paid my own expenses. On the day before the race I crossed the boat to England and when I arrived in London I hadn't much time to look at the course because I had to go looking for lodgings.'

London was sweltering in a heatwave, which caused a number of the competitors to drop out, but Crowe kept motoring on and was in touch with the leaders for a long time. After 5 miles he was a little over a minute behind the leader, two and a half mins after 10 miles, five after 15 miles and approximately twenty after 20 miles. Then an unfortunate thing happened and he went off course for a while but eventually completed the race in 3-24-35 and seventh place, almost thirty-three minutes behind the winner. (He didn't actually finish the race, running 253/4 miles instead of the 26 miles 385 yards, because he was too far back and the track was crowded when he arrived at the Stadium.)

(The Polytechnic Marathon was one of the most prestigious marathons in the world until the late 1960s. It was won by Denis 'Sonny' O'Gorman, Thurles, in 1959 in a time of 2.25.11. He was honoured with the 2008 Knocknagow Award at the Annerville Awards in Clonmel.)

The picture that emerges of Crowe in accounts written of this event is of a hero, who took on the might of Europe in a foreign city and but for the hand of misfortune on his shoulder, which sent him in the wrong direction towards the end, he might well have come home with the spoils of victory. It is a marvellous picture of a great athlete, overcoming immense obstacles, one of the few to complete the race and disdaining all medical assistance at the end in spite of the sweltering heat.

As one newspaper account put it: 'Whilst the rest of the competitors fell down on the spot and were being fanned, refreshed with water and massaged – or else being carried off on stretchers – Tim trotted away, donned his clothes and straighway set off for a short holiday in France.' This was a lion-hearted hero, to cherish and be proud of and he was placed in the pantheon of the greats of Tipperary, with the likes of Matt the Thresher.

It appears that Crowe stopped competing after 1924. In that year he ran the Templemore to Milestone race for the second time and won it for the second time. Tommy Ryan, who started the Memorial Race in 1986, was fifth. (Crowe's winning time over the 1919 course, which was 3/4 of a mile short, converted to the full 20 miles distance run in 1986 would have still been good enough to place him 9th in that latter race.) There is a reference somewhere of him doing a run-out with Galteemore Athletic Club in 1931 at Thurles Sportsfield. There was also an episode with Arthur Newton, the English ultra distance runner, who was open to challenges from athletes to run him in 50 and 100 mile races during the twenties. The account is vague, the time was the spring of 1928 and it suggests that Crowe travelled to London to meet Newton. It came from the Tipperary Star's Cappawhite correspondent.
 

Crowe and the Olympics

Tim Crowe never took part in the Olympics and there is no easy answer why he didn't. The first Olympics in which he might have competed was in London in 1908. The Olympics at this stage of their development weren't as highly rated as they were to become. In fact the better athletes regarded the AAA championships more highly. Maybe Crowe was influenced by this attitude. There was also the fact that Crowe ran under G.A.A. rules and he and his fellow athletes did not look beyond the bounds of G.A.A. competition. Another factor was that Irishmen who did compete in the Olympics did so under the IAAA, and Crowe didn't come under this umbrella until he joined Clonliffe Harriers in 1919. He would have missed the 1912 games at Stockholm and, as there were no games in 1916 because of the war, had to wait until Antwerp in 1920 for the next games. By this stage he was over the top as an athlete though he could have been a competitor in the marathon. Yet, as his time in the Polytechnic Marathon in 1921 reveals he was way off the pace and would not have been a serious contender for a medal.
 

Sometimes a Difficult Man

Some people found Tim Crowe a difficult man to approach. At first acquaintance he appeared shy and diffident and it was difficult to get him to talk about his athletic past. Writing about him in the Tipperary Star in the seventies, 'Glen Rover' stated that Crowe told him before he died that he didn't care much for newspapermen and less still for some of the newspapers., and the reason was that they hadn't been fair to him in the past. He told 'Glen Rover' that in the old days he had a reputation for being crusty and quick-tempered and impossible to get on with, but he showed that he had good reason for his actions and his attitude. He met a good deal of jealousy and downright unfairness and underhanded treatment and there were times when he felt that he could trust no one. He admitted that he was quick-tempered and likely to be very cross and stubborn and that this turned people against him in the G.A.A. and, at one stage, left him on his own.

There was another reason for Tim Crowe's public attitude. In the days of his prime the G.A.A. and its teams and athletes didn't get much of a show in the newspapers. Admittedly, in time, Crowe did make the headlines but for a long time his phenomenal ability was underestimated. This caused him to resent the newspapers' casual attitude to him and their refusal to pay him the attention he deserved.
 

Ideas about Training

Crowe had fixed ideas on training.. He was convinced that there should be no such thing as an 'off' period for any athlete, hurler or footballer, or anyone whose success depended on top physical fitness. To get the best out of his efforts a man should get to the peak of fitness and stay there all the year round. This may explain why Crowe regularly issued challenges to all and sundry. For instance a picture of him appeared in one of the New York papers soon after his arrival with the Tipperary team in 1926. His belt of medals is emblazoned across his belly and in the caption he issues a challenge to meet any runner his age in a two or three-mile race. Any runner who would like to take him on could reach him at the Whitcomb Hotel.

Another theory he had was that an athlete should accustom himself to running at the same time of the day as the time on which a particular race was to take place.. For instance if a man was entered for a race at 3 pm on a Sunday afternoon he should get into the habit of running the same distance at that time in the days leading up to the race. Crowe held that it wasn't necessary to go the full distance in training and that his speed should be varied, with short fast bursts and slow jog-trots alternating.

At a cross-country meet at Harold's Cross, Dublin in 1915 Crowe expressed another of his running theories in a conversation with J. J. Ryan, Bansha, the man who was to succeed him as the leading cross-country runner in the country.. According to the newspaper report, Crowe said to Ryan: 'Start your race at a hundred yards' pace and keep going until you get out, and when you get your lead you have your race won.'

With the crack of the pistol Mr. J. J. Keane sent off the men in good order. Ryan sprinted gamely until he headed the field of 42 runners and at the half-mile was leading by 50 yards. At this stage Ryan was met again by the old veteran, who said: 'Let up, Jack, you have your race won already.'
He also had particular notions on diet. He claimed that what suited him best was porridge, brown bread, milk and eggs. He ate eight eggs a day and of these two were swallowed raw. He ate little meat. He wasn't a teetotaller but drank little, just a bottle of stout or beer from time to time. He disallowed smoking entirely, holding that cigarettes were deadly to an athlete.
 

Accomplished Musician

Tim Crowe was also an accomplished musician. He studied music under Frank Roche, Kilmallock, a well-known authority on Irish music and a member of a family prominent in nationalist and Gaelic cultural activities. Crowe was also a noted step dancer. He was taught by the well-known Mr. Hourigan of Bansha and he won a number of step-dancing competitions.

He made his own violin, played it and composed his own tunes. He had a book of these airs, written in his own artistic manuscript, and this he prized almost as much as his athletic trophies. It is claimed he won medals for violin playing and for step-dancing at the Thomond Feis in 1922
While he was in the U.S. he contributed to a program of Irish ballads and music on the Municipal Broadcasting Station of the City of New York,WNYC. One of the Tipperary players, James

O'Meara, sang a selection of Irish folk songs in his rich baritone voice and Tim Crowe 'wrested with talented fingers from his fiddle a number of Irish reels, jigs and hornpipes.' The two men repeated the program on Station WOR, Newark the night after.

He tried his hand at writing ballads, at least three of which have come my way. Success to Gallant Tipperary, sung to the air of Success to Dear Old Ireland has the following verse:

Some sing of those of lyric fame
While others praise the glorious name,
And other sing of wild demesne,
But let me sing of Tipperary.
I'll sing of Tipperary's athletic men
Kiely, Davin and Tipperary Tim,
Till echo sound from hill to hill
Success to Gallant Tipperary.

Another ballad is entitled The Final of Munster – Tipperary and Limerick and appears to refer to the 1922 final, played at Thurles on July 1, 1923, which ended in a draw. This was to be sung to the air of Kelly the Boy from Killane. A third ballad he wrote was called The Dear Irish Colleen Waiting for Me.

A Distinctive Figure

Tim Crowe was a distinctive looking figure. It wasn't that he was a big man, in fact people who remember him recall him as being about 5 feet six inches in height with an exceptionally strong pair of thighs. In the pictures that appeared of him in newspapers he cut a dapper figure with his hair parted in the middle and a moustache, wearing a waistcoat. ( Incidentally, it has been pointed out to me that two great, contemporary English runners Walter George (1858- 1943) and Alfred Shrubb (1879- 1964) both parted their hair in the middle and sported moustaches?) The belt of medals girded his belly and his often found with the hands in the trousers pockets, holding back the front of his coat better to expose the medals.

When he was in his cycling gear he wore knee-length knickerbockers with stockings coming up to just under his knees. The chain wheel on his bicycle was bigger that usual which allowed him to travel at a faster speed on the flat but which made climbing hills more difficult. He cut a curious figure on the roads and sometimes a group of cyclists he came across on his journeys would try to pace him but inevitably he overtook them and left them behind. According to a neighbour he had the habit of walking the bicycle out the lane from where he lived to the road and, if he were heading in Ballagh direction, he would continue walking up the hill halfways before mounting.

Tipperary Tim

Tim Crowe had the distinction of having a horse called after him, Tipperary Tim. Bred by John Ryan of Racecourse and rugby fame, the horse was sold to H. S. Kenyon in England and ridden to victory by Billy Dutton in the 1928 Grand National. The race was run during misty weather conditions with the going very heavy. As the field of 43 horses approached the Canal Turn on the first circuit, Easter Hero fell, causing a pile-up from which only seven horses emerged with seated jockeys. By the penultimate fence this number had reduced to three, with Great Span looking most likely to win ahead of Billy Barton and Tipperary Tim. Great Span's saddle then slipped, leaving Billy Barton in the lead. until he too fell. Although Billy Barton's jockey Tommy Cullinan managed to remount and complete the race, it was Tipperary Tim who came in first at outside odds of 100/1. With only two riders completing the course, this remains a record for the fewest number of finishers. At the time of the race John Ryan was travelling to the U.S. on the Cedric liner of the White Star Line. He found himself the centre of attention.

'I was sitting in the smoking room,' he said, 'when a man pokes his head in the door and says: 'Does anybody want to know who won the National?' and I said: 'I do', and he says, 'It's Tipperary Tim, and who are you?' 'I'm his breeder', says I, and then we had a bit of a celebration all around.'

Other Activities

In other activities, farming, stone masonry, boot making and repairing, he showed outstanding ability. Tim Crowe was brought up on a small farm at Bishopswood, Dundrum. He was an only child and went to the local primary school. Having left at 14 years of age he learned the skills of stone masonry and carpentry and was regarded as a very handy man with a great pair of hands. He worked as a stone mason locally but also further afield. He made his own violin and worked at jobs in the locality since the farm wasn't sufficient to provide a living.

Probably because of his interest in cycling he set up a bicycle shop at the Village Cross, Dundrum in the forties in a small house which had been previously a forge, run by Jim Crimmins. Here he sold and repaired bicycles at a time when the bicycle was a major means of transport for many people. His shop was choc a bloc with bicycle parts from floor to ceiling.

An incident from that time throws some light on Tim Crowe the man, illustrating the simple side of his character. He hung a bicycle up a tree and called it the 'flying bicycle'. He had the picture taken and it appeared in the newspapers. If it were today one could accept it as an advertising gimmick to draw attention to his business. But, it wasn't that. He expected people to believe it was a flying bicycle!
 

Tim Crowe the Trainer

Tim Crowe travelled to the U.S. In 1926 with the official title of trainer of the Tipperary team. In a report in a San Francisco newspaper the day after the arrival of the party in the city, the following appeared: 'The veteran Crowe, trainer of many a champion hurling team and one of Ireland's foremost exponents of the ancient pastime said he didn't see how his team could lose in such a glorious place as San Francisco. 'Of course,' he continued, 'at home we read a lot about California and our friends here send us your newspapers, which are always interesting, so it isn't like being in a strange place when we come to California.'

There's as good a chance of Crowe having said that as his dog at home in Bishopswood! The reporter obviously had a fertile imagination and never met the man. The only thing correct is that Crowe was the trainer. Why he was chosen as trainer is intriguing, since he does not appear to have had any experience as the trainer of hurling teams, and definitely not of Tipperary teams. It is suggested that he was regarded as an expert on physical fitness and preparation for athletic pursuits and what better man to have in charge of your team on an extended tour!

His choice may also have reflected the long standing connection between athletics and the G.A.A., which was broken with the setting up of the N.A.C.A. in 1922. The year 1926 wan't far removed from the days when athletics and hurling and football shared a common stage at G.A.A. events. There was still a hankering after these halcyon days. As well Crowe and his achievements were well-respected in G.A.A. circles. He was regarded as the outstanding athlete in the county
(As far as is known Crowe didn't train teams. He supported Tipperary and his ballad called Gallant Tipperary testifies to this support and admiration for the county. He also travelled great distances to support Tipperary. These journeys by bicycle were major achievements involving distances as long as 110 miles each way. And, these journeys were done in one day, there and back, no cycling to Dublin on Saturday and returning on Monday! He cycled to the finals of the 3-in-1-row All-Irelands , 1949-51. But he had no involvement with his native Kickhams or any other club teams. In fact he referred to these teams disparagingly as 'pig's head' teams!)

There was another possible reason for his appointment: Tim Crowe could play the fiddle, dance and sing a song. On a long trip like the Tour of America a bit of entertainment was vital and it's significant that Crowe was one of two of the travelling party who was invited to take part on the radio program in New York. There is a story, probably apocryphal, of Tim giving a rendition of When it's Springtime in the Rockies as the train traversed that mountain range on its way to San Francisco!

Tim Crowe is mentioned a number of times in the account of the tour by Thomas J. Kenny. On page 69 we are told: 'We have just passed Laguna Station. Tim Crowe is in humour and treats us to a few tunes on the violin'. Later, on page 71 we read: '7 pm and Tim Crowe is at the violin. His rendering of 'The Blackbird', 'Father O'Flynn' and a few reels has certainly been very fine.'
Crowe's musical talent was put to good use on the SS Cedric of the White Star Line as the party travelled back to Liverpool. There was a 'Grand Concert' in the Third Class Lounge on July 24, 1926. In Part One Tim Crowe gave some 'Violin Selections' and in Part Two he performed a dance. James O'Meara, mentioned above, gave a 'Song Selection' and Rody Nealon sang a song.
 

Later Life

Tim Crowe was predeceased by his wife, who was a Mary Ryan from Bishopswood. The couple had one daughter, Bridget/Biddy, who married Martin Heffernan and lived at Boherlahan. Biddy was also a musician and used to play in Gleeson's pub in Ballagh on Sunday nights.
Tim appears to have been a lonely man with no friends to call on or to visit him. About the only place he used visit was the home of local school principal, Micheal MacCathraigh. He went there about once a month and played the violin on these visits. Occasionally he did a bit of step-dancing. This was an important outlet for Crowe. In this house his talents were greatly appreciated. Micheal regarded him as a great fiddle player and a very good step-dancer and showed his appreciation. This appreciation of his talents and the adulation was helpful and beneficial to Crowe.

Otherwise it was a lonely existence. At some stage Crowe build two huts across the road from where he lived, described by Terry O'Sullivan in his 1951 article as painted 'vermillion and navy blue', and used to spend much of his later years playing the violin alone in it. He used the second for his bicycle workshop after moving from Dundrum. The huts were a tribute to his carpentry skills and caught the attention of people who passed on the road. When he became incapable of looking after himself, his daughter had him removed to St. Patrick's Hospital, Cashel but he wasn't content there and arrived home almost as soon as the people who brought him there.
Tim Crowe passed away in his home on November 11, 1962 at the age of 81 years. Following Requiem Mass at Knockavilla Church two days later he was buried at Clonoulty. The Tipperary Star reported an 'immense attendance of the general public from all stations of life present to pay the last tribute to a departed prince of the athletic world' and it would be right and fitting had this been the case. But the reality was very different. I have spoken to two men who attended the funeral and for one it was a 'small crowd' and the second described it as 'very few' in attendance. It appears that many people had already forgotten the athletic and cycling greatness of a man whose feats had captured the imagination of so many over many decades and who continued to impinge on people's consciousness through his well-publicised bicycle trips following Tipperary to distant places when his competitive days were over.

Tim Crowe remains mostly a forgotten figure. A recent search of Clonoulty Cemetery, where he was buried in 1962, failed to turn up a gravestone to his memory. On September 21, 1986 the Tim Crowe Memorial Race was run over 20 miles from Templemore to Milestone in memory of the 'Twenty Mile Road Championship of Ireland', which was run on the same course on September 21, 1919 and won by Crowe. The race was started by the late Tommy Ryan of Cashel, who had taken part in the original race. In his welcome to all involved, the chairman of the organising committee, Jacksie Ryan of Upperchurch, stated that: 'We intend that his [Crowe's] name and the names of many like him be kept in respectful memory.' Whether it was intended to make the race an annual event I don't know, but it wasn't run again.

However, he is not completely forgotten. Recently [2010] the organisers of the annual 10k Road Race in Dundrum, Crowe's native parish, were presented with the Tim Crowe memorial trophy by Dominic Moore of Upperchurch (who came third in the first running of the race in 1986) to be presented to the first Tipperary athlete to finish the 10k. Perhaps now, rather belatedly, it is time that some memorial, or at least some marker, be placed on the grave of Tim Crowe in Clonoulty Cemetery.

<span class="postTitle">Sean Barlow, Founder Member United Sports Panel - 1926-2010</span> United Sports Panel Presentation Dinner booklet, January 29, 2011

Sean Barlow, Founder Member United Sports Panel - 1926-2010

United Sports Panel Presentation Dinner booklet, January 29, 2011

When a number of sports enthusiasts got together in 1959, little did they realise that they were starting something that has stood the test of time 50 years later. Led by Sean Barlow and the late Sean Lyons the United Sports Panel was formed. The founders felt the time was right to have an Awards Scheme in the county to honour amateur sports stars in their chosen sports annually. In fact, one should note that these were the first such awards in this country.

When the original members of the United Sports Panel first met they had, in fact, no name. They met in the Slievenamon Hotel, Parnell Street on Saturday, December 12, 1959. When they gathered together a week later to pick their Stars it was unanimously decided on the proposition of Sean Barlow, seconded by Eddie O'Neill, to adopt the name 'United Sports Panel.'

It was only fitting that Sean Barlow should be involved in this initiative because he was an avid sports fan, particularly of hurling, soccer and boxing, and he particularly followed the fortunes of the Tipperary senior hurling team and West Ham soccer club. 

This love of sport was reflected in the choice of gifts presented as offerings at his Requiem Mass. These included the Liam McCarthy Cup which, to Sean's delight, was back in the Premier County after a lapse of nine years, the All-Ireland hurling final match program, which symbolised his love of going to matches – he was at every All-Ireland hurling final from 1934-2001 – and bringing the family with him, and Brian Cody's autobiography, reflecting Sean's fondness and great admiration for Kilkenny, both as a place and a hurling county. Kilkenny and it's people were nearly as good as Tipperary in his eyes!

Sean's interest in sport wasn't confined to hurling only. His son, Stan, spoke of this in his funeral tribute to his father: 'My first memories are of being brought to see Waterford play soccer in Kilcohan Park in the early 70s. Waterford had a great team then, I think they won 7 League of Ireland titles in 9 years. We would all head off every second Sunday, no matter what the weather was like. I have great memories of standing in the same spot in the stand each time. That was the start of my love affair with sport.'

Sean Barlow believed that sport could unite people and maybe he got the idea from the contribution the G.A.A. made in binding up the wounds of division after the Civil War. His father and uncles were involved with Dan Breen and Sean Treacy and his parents named him after the latter and his sister was called Treacy, more commonly known as Trass. At any rate it is significant that it was Sean who came up with the name of the new awards body, 'United Sports Panel'.

Stan referred to this in his tribute. Mentioning his first All-Ireland in 1971, he added: 'Who would have travelled with us that day were his life-long friends, Tom Carroll and the late Sean Lyons. Politically Da, Sean and Tom were different colours, but what brought them together was their love of sport, it was a bond that was far greater and mattered more than any political differences they may have had.'

Sean Barlow was the third chairman of the United Sports Panel, 1966-69. During his term in the chair the committee expanded the sports honoured to include ladies athletics, golf and rugby. He remained active on the committe until 2001. He informed the members at the September meeting of the Panel that he was resigning immediately 'as he was reducing his commitments generally and felt that more youthful members were needed.' Efforts to have him change his mind failed.

Sean Barlow will be remembered not only as a founder member of the United Sports Panel, which has stood the test of time and continues to serve an important function in the county, but also as a member who contributed significantly to the strength of the body over a period of of over forty years. He was delighted to see the United Sports Panel celebrate its Golden Jubilee in 2009 and to be able to attend the Presentation Dinner to renew old acquaintances. We were delighted he could celebrate the occasion with us. 
The United Sports Panel would like to extend sincerest sympathies to his wife, Aileen, his sons, Stan, Alan and Ivan, his daughters, Roma and Erma, his brothers and sisters and extended family. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

<span class="postTitle">The County Senior Hurling Championship 2010</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2011

The County Senior Hurling Championship 2010

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2011

Thurles Sarsfields justified their favourite's tag with a comprehensive win over Clonoulty-Rossmore in the county senior hurling final played in murky and damp conditions at Semple Stadium on October 31. The smallness of the crowd, the second lowest in twenty years, was an indication of how the general public expected things to go. Clonoulty had done nothing during the year to indicate that they would pose a serious problem to the star-studded Sarsfields side. The only hope for them was to produce the top class performance that the team seemed capable of but hadn't delivered during the year. As it turned out there was no inspirational performance and, apart from the ten minutes before half-time, Clonoulty did not threaten the Sarsfields, whose four county senior players delivered fine performances on the day. The game itself never reached any great heights of enjoyment and the subdued crowd were probably happy when the final whistle sounded.

Similar Format to Last year

The format of the county senior hurling championship remained essentially the same in 2010 as it had been in 2009. There were a number of voices raised against the increase in the number of senior teams in the county but they didn't carry much volume. The championship was divided into two competitions, the Dan Breen Cup and the O Riain Cup. All teams that made it to the divisional semi-finals qualified for the former while all the remaining teams took part in the latter competition.

There was a bit of variation on 2009 with thirty-two rather than thirty teams taking part, as 2009 intermediate champions, Carrick Davins, and new combination team, Galtee Rovers/Sean Treacys, were added. The voices raised against this format wondered where it would all stop as the number of senior teams increased every year and the number of intermediate teams declined. The option open to any senior team to relegate to intermediate level, which was allowed in the 2008 format, wasn't taken up by any club.

The granting of entry to the Dan Breen Cup to the finalists of the O Riain Cup continued. Nenagh Eire Óg and Loughmore-Castleiney were the two clubs involved. In order to accommodate them, they were allowed in at Round 2. Round 1 brought together the eight beaten divisional semi-finalists and the four beaten finalists in a playoff of six games. The six winners were joined by the two O Riain Cup finalists in Round 2 to produce four winners. The four winners played the four division champions in Round 3 to produce the semi-finalists.

As stated above thirty-two teams in all participated in the senior hurling championship 11 from the North, 8 from the Mid, 7 from the West and 6 from the South. The sixteen teams who didn't qualify for the divisional semi-finals entered the O Riain Cup, Round 1

The teams that qualified for Round 1 of the McCarthy Cup were the eight beaten divisional semi-finalists and the four beaten finalists. The losing semi-finalists were Kickhams and Galtee/Treasys from the west, Mullinahone and Carrick Davins from the south, Upperchurch-Drombane and Holycross-Ballycahill from the mid, and Burgess and Kildangan from the north.

Beaten Divisional Finalists

The beaten finalists in the south were Killenaule, who lost, 1-16 to 2-11, to Carrick Swan. The latter bridged a ten-year gap to claim their 22nd South senior hurling final in an exciting encounter at Fethard on August 22. Killenaule led by 0-8 to 0-7 at the break but the Swan had the greater reserves in the second half and deserved their two-point victory.

Eire Óg lost out to Clonoulty Rossmore in the West final, played at Sean Treacy Park on the same day. Clonoulty had nine points to spare at the end, having led by 0-8 to 0-5 at the interval, and thoroughly deserved their victory, which gave them a fourth-in-a-row title. Defending champions Drom Inch lost to Thurles Sarsfields by 1-16 to 2-11 in the Mid final at Templemore on September 19. Sarsfields led by 1-10 to 1-6 at half-time in a tight encounter, which went down to the wire before they could claim their 41st title.

Borris-Ileigh went down to Toomevara by 1-12 to 0-13 in the north final, played at Nenagh on September 19. This was a close game in which Borris-Ileigh held a one point lead, on a scoreline of 0-6 to 0-5, at the interval but Toomevara just about deserved their two-point victory in the end.

Round 1

Four of the Round 1 games were played on the weekend of September 18/19 and two on September 23. There was a double bill at Boherlahan on the 18th in which Galtee/Treacys defeated Carrick Davins by 1-13 to 1-9 and Upperchuch-Drombane had an easy win over Killenaule by 1-19 to 0-9. On the following day at Holycross, Kildangan defeated Eire Óg Annacarty by 3-13 to 1-15, while Burgess defeated Holycross-Ballycahill by 1-20 to 0-15 at Borris-Ileigh.

The two games on the 23rd were played under lights at Semple Stadium. In the first game Borris-Ileigh proved too good for Kickhams, defeating them by 1-20 to 0-8, while Mullinahone had a good victory over Drom Inch by 2-15 to 1-12.

Round 2

The six winners in Round 1 were joined by the finalists in the O Riain Cup, Nenagh Éire Óg and Loughmore/Castleiney, to produce four games in Round 2. These games were played on the weekend of September 26/27. The two games on Saturday were played at Templemore. Kildangan came out on top by 3-15 to 2-13 against Galtee/Treacys. Burgess got the better of Upperchurch-Drombane by 1-21 to 0-14.

The two games on Sunday were played at Semple Stadium. Mullinahone took another important scalp when they defeated Nenagh Eire Óg by 2-15 to 1-15, while Loughmore-Castleiney got the better of neighbours, Borris-Ileigh, by 1-16 to 1-13.

Quarter-Finals

All was now set for the quarter-finals of the championship with the four winners of Round 2 facing the four divisional champions, The four games were played at Semple Stadium on the weekend of 2/3 October.

On Saturday Carrick Swans played Kildangan. A 59th minute goal by sub Brian Kelly helped the North side to a 1-14 to 1-9 win over the south champions. Kildangan led by 0-6 to 0-3 at the interval and just kept in front during the second-half but a Danny O'Hanlon goal for the Swans in the 57th minute left only a point between the sides. However, in a dramatic finish Kelly turned a Tommy Connor delivery into the net to clinch Kildangan's place in the last four.

The second quarter-final was a much more one-sided affair. In this game a Timmy Hammersley inspired Clonoulty-Rossmore had an easy win by 2-21 to 1-13 over Burgess. Hammersley scored 1-11, 1-9 from play, as the winners recovered from a bad start to finish in style. Burgess led by 1-7 to 0-4 after Damien O'Brien's 17th minute goal. This score inspired Clonoulty rather than Burgess and goals by Tom Butler in the 19th minute and Hammersley five minutes later helped Clonoulty to a 2-9 to 1-7 interval lead. There was only one team in the second half with the outstanding Hammersley scoring eight points to help Clonoulty to a comfortable victory.

On Sunday Toomevara faced Mullinahone in the first of the remaining quarter-finals. Mullinahone came into the game with expectations on the back of impressive victories over Drom Inch and Nenagh Eire Óg. However, they were a disappointment on the day and failed to match Toomevara in most facets of the game. In the end Tommevara well deserved their sixteen point victory on a scoreline of 1-26 to 0-13.

Despite trailing 0-3 to 0-1 in the opening minutes, Toomevara upped gears and led by five points, 0-12 to 0-7, at the break. Within four minutes of the restart they led by double scores and even though Mullinahone fought back to trail by four, it was all in vain.

Toomevara raised the pace and struck ten points to Mullinahone's two before Willie Ryan sealed their victory with a fine goal in the 29th minute. One of the stars of Toom's victory was midfielder, Ken Dunne, who hit eight points in the course of the hour.

In the last quarter-final Thurles Sarsfields defeated Loughmore-Castleiney by 2-19 to 2-13. Sarsfields were four points adrift after five minutes but improved considerably after a slow start and led by 0-10 to 0-8 at the interval. Denis Maher was excellent, grabbing four points from play and he was ably assisted by and impressive Ger 'Redser' O'Grady.

Sarsfields hit the net within two minutes of the re-start when Lar Corbett finished off some good work by Pa Bourke. Loughmore hit back with a Liam McGrath goal but Sarsfields held a six-point advantage with ten minutes remaining, and the game appeared very much in Sarsfields hands.

A Johnny Campion goal gave Loughmore-Castleiney hope but then Sarsfields hit back quickly when Richie Ruth netted following a build-up involving Michael Cahill and Lar Corbett. In the end it was the winner's superiority in attack which was the difference between the sides.

Semi-Finals

As a result of the quarter-finals Sarsfields and Toomevara were installed as having the better chances of winning out so the draws were looked forward to with interest. As it was an open draw the two couldn't be separated and when the draw took place on the Monday after the quarter finals the two were drawn againt one another and Clonoulty-Rossmore and Kildangan were drawn in the second semi-final.

The semis were played at Semple Stadium on October 17 and expectations came to nought as the whole afternoon was a disappointment to the expectant crowd. Probably the only real excitement was reserved for the final minute of the second game, when Pa Bourke converted a controversial 20-metre free to give Thurles Sarsfields victory by one point over Toomevara, who were leading by two points at that stage. Following the score a melee erupted in the middle of the field as the tension between the sides, which had erupted twice in the course of the hour, found more ugly expression. It contrasted with the united euphoria which had enveloped the county following the double All-Ireland victory in September.

In the first game Clonoulty-Rossmore claimed the spoils by 1-19 to 1-16 despite having played second fiddle to Kildangan for long spells. The latter, All-Ireland intermediate champions in 2005, who had never won a senior title and had last qualified for one in 1938, raced into a 1-3 to 0-1 lead after five minutes, the goal from Eoin Gleeson Kildangan went further into the lead but were gradually hauled back to two points, 1-9 to 0-10, by half-time. Clonoulty had taken a long time to get into any kind of scoring rhythm but scored five crucial points during the last seven minutes of the half.

Kildangan resumed as they had during the opening of the first half and looked impressive as they went into a five-point lead. But Clonoulty dug deep and improved performances by John Heffernan and John Devane closed off Kildangan's route to goals. By the 48th minute Kildangan were still in front by 1-13 to 0-13 but then a super leap by Fiachra O'Keeffe in a crowded square, to grab a perfect delivery by John O'Neill, and finish to the net with a one-hand flick had the sides level. Building on that goal Clonoulty went on to win getting six points to Kildangan's three during the remaining minutes to leave the final score 1-19 to 1-16 at the final whistle. Clonoulty can thank goalkeeper Declan O'Dwyer who, following one slip, went on to perform extremely well making some key saves during the remainder of the game. Another major contributor to the victory was John O'Neill, who returned to some of his former glory with a dazzling display that produced four points from play.

Sarsfields Just Make It

Thurles Sarsfields qualified for the final by the minimum of margins over Toomevara on a scoreline of 1-17 to 1-16. Sarsfields were favourites going into the game and justified the tag with a good start, which saw them lead by 0-7 to 0-3 after the first quarter.. Four players contributed to Sarsfields total while Kenny Dunne had done all the scoring for Toomevara. The latter had the better of the second quarter, during which Dunne added five more points to Sarsfields two to leave only a point between the sides, 0-9 to 0-8, at the interval. It was a poor game livened up only by virtue of a couple of skirmishes, which resulted in several yellow cards.

Toomevara resumed better and had gone into a 0-11 to 0-9 lead within five minutes. The introduction of Eoin Brislane at full-forward improved their chances and they began to play long and direct ball up the middle. He was off target with a number of shots initially and during this period Sarsfields had re-established their momentum and retaken the lead, 0-15 to 0-13, by the 48th minute. At this point Brislane collected a long delivery from Benny Dunne before coolly finishing to the net. It put Toomevara back in front but crucially it led to the red-carding of Redser O'Grady as a result of an incident following the goal. Everything seemed set up for a Toomevara march to victory. However,Thurles retained their composure and with Pa Bourke, Michael Gleeson, Michael Cahill and Padraic Maher driving things on, they levelled matters twice in the remaining minutes. Then in the 59th minute John O'Brien gave Toomevara the lead point and Brislane landed another on the hour mark. Toomevara were denied a likely victory when in the 63rd minute Denis Maher was deemed to be fouled and from the resultant 20-metre free Pa Bourke grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat for Sarsfields and gave them the chance of retaining their title. Toomevara did have one final opportunity to rescue the game when Paddy O'Brien hit a wonderful sideline puck from fifty-five metres but Paraic Maher cleared the danger and the final whistle blew seconds later.

Thurles Retain Title

Thurles Sarsfields won back-to-back county senior titles for the first time since 1965 when they defeated Clonoulty-Rossmore by 1-16 to 1-7 at Semple Stadium on October 31. Sarsfields were out of traps very quickly and were six points to nil in front after thirteen minutes. Their forwards had the Clonoulty backs at sixes and sevens and it looked as if Sarsfields were going to win in a canter. However, Clonoulty eventually got their show on the road with the inspiration coming from captain and wing-forward, Tom Butler, who hit over a hat-trick of points. Timmy Hammersley added a point and, in the 29th minute, John O'Neill goaled from a twenty-metre free to leave just two points between the sides, 0-9 to 1-4, at half-time. It should have been closer but for poor free-taking by Clonoulty.

Any hope that Clonoulty were about to create a surprise evaporated early in the second half. A great block by Padraig Heffernan, denied Lar Corbett a certain goal. Denis Maher, who had moved in centreforward, began to impose himself on the game and hit three fine points. Aidan McCormack, who came on as a sub, added two more and then in the 46th minute, centrefield Gleeson, hit a pin point accurate shot into the hand of Corbett, who duly finished it to the net. The score put Sarsfields practically out of sight at 1-14 to 1-5. However, Clonoulty did not die easily. They created three goal-scoring opportunities in the final minutes of the game. A combination of good goal-keeping and great defence contrived to prevent a last minute shock and when the final whistle sounded Sarsfields had nine points to spare on a scoreline of 1-16 to 1-7.

Sarsfields have a good outfit with a lot of talent round the field and they will go into the Munster championship with the confidence to go one better than they have before. If they have a problem it's the tendency to go out of games in which they seem to have total control and they fail to put teams away when they're on top. It was a frustrating final for Clonoulty. They too have a lot of talent but they failed to deliver to their true potential during the year and failed again in the final.

Thurles Sarsfields: Patrick McCormack,Michael Cahill, Kevin O'Gorman, David Maher, Barry O'Dwyer, Padraic Maher, David Kennedy, Michael Gleeson, Alan Kennedy, Stephen Lillis (0-2), Lar Corbett (1-0), Denis Maher (0-4), Richie Ruth (0-2), Pa Bourke (0-4), Johnny Enright (0-2). Subs: Alan McCormack (0-2) for Johnny Enright, Jim Corbett for Alan Kennedy, John Joe Burke for for Richie Ruth, Michael O'Brien for David Maher, Patrick Leahy for Barry O'Dwyer. Others: Bill McCormack, Garry Mernagh, Stephen Maher, John Maher, Tony Ruth, Philip O'Dwyer, John Lawlor, Eoin Russell, David O'Dwyer, Michael Collins, Michael Russell, Pa Dunne, Rory O'Shea.

Clonoulty-Rossmore: Declan O'Dwyer, Liam Devane, John Heffernan, Kevin Horan, Joey O'Keeffe, John Devane, Padraig Heffernan, Sean O'Connor, John O'Keeffe, Tom Butler (capt.) (0-3), Michael Heffernan, Timmy Hammersley (0-3), Fiachra O'Keeffe, Thomas Butler, John O'Neill (1-1). Subs: Anthony Kearney for Liam Devane, Paudie White for Sean O'Connor, Conor Ryan for Michael Heffernan, Sean O'Connor for Fiachra O'Keeffe. Others: Diarmuid Cullen, Jason Forrestal, Micheal Coen, Martin Sadlier, Conor Hammersley, Brian Ryan, Paddy Ryan, John Heffernan, Andrew Quirke, Niall Shanahan, Donncha Ryan, Kieran Ryan, Aaron Ryan, Kieran Hammersley, Aidan White, Davy White, Jamie Moloney, Seamus Carew.

Referee: Keith Delahunty (Moyle Rovers)

Man of the Match Award: Padraic Maher (Thurles Sarsfields)

Attendance: 6,224.

Seamus Ó Riain Cup

Sixteen teams qualified for the Seamus Ó Riain Cup as a result of their failure to qualify for the semi-finals in their respective divisions. There were seven teams from the north, Roscrea, Monegall, Nenagh Eire Óg, Templederry, Kilruane-MacDonaghs, Lorrha, Portroe. The south had two qualifiers, Ballingarry and Ballybacon-Grange. There were four from the mid, J. K. Brackens, Loughmore-Castleiney, Boherlahan-Dualla and Moycarkey-Borris, and three from the west, Cappawhite, Cashel King-Cormacs and Golden-Kilfeacle.

As a matter of interest six of the seven north teams survived the first round, the only failure was Moneygall who were beaten by Loughmore-Castleiney. Of the four mid teams Loughmore-Castleiney was the only survivor. Neither of the two south teams made it to the second round and Cashel King Cormacs was the only team from the three from the west.

The first round games were played over the period July 16 to August 2. The eight teams that came through were Roscrea, Cashel King Cormacs, Loughmore-Castleiney. Nenagh Eire Óg, Templederry Kenyons, Kilruane MacDonaghs, Lorrha and Portroe. There was an open draw for the quarter-finals, which were played on Monday and Tuesday, 13/14 September. All the games were played at Semple Stadium.

Quarter-Finals

On a miserable Monday evening Templederry scored a comprehensive win over Portroe by 2-24 to 2-12. Star of the winner's performance was Eanna Murray, who scored 0-13 of his side's tally. It was an even game in the first half and Portroe led by a point at the interval, 1-9 to 0-11, but Templederry took over in the second half and deserved their comprehensive victory.

In the second game on the same evening Nenagh Eire Óg strolled to victory over an out-of-depth Lorrha. They led by 1-11 to 0-3 at half-time and blew Lorrha away in the second half, adding 3-8 to Lorrha's 0-1. Kevin Tucker scored 0-11 for the winners.

None of the newspapers carried reports of the remaining two quarter-final games, which took place on the following night. They weren't in time for the September 16 edition of the papers and since the semi-finals were to follow at the weekend they would have been appearing at the same time as the semi-final reports. So, a most unusual situation of two senior hurling games not reported. In the first of these Loughmore-Castleiney had a comprehensive victory over Cashel King Cormacs of 5-22 to 0-20 and, in the second, Roscrea surprised Kilruane MacDonaghs, defeating them by 2-19 to 1-11.

Semi-Finals

The semi-finals were played at separate venues on September 19. Loughmore-Castleiney defeated Roscrea by 2-13 to 2-13 at Toomevara. The winners were five points behind with fourteen minutes remaining but they put in a storming finish with goals from Noel McGrath and Cian Hennessy to claim a place in the final. Roscrea led by 1-7 to 1-6 at the interval and had pushed on to lead by 2-9 to 1-7 as a result of their second goal in the 46th minute, but they were outscored by 2-6 to 0-4 in the last quarter of the game.

The second semi-final between Nenagh Éire Óg and Templederry Kenyons, which was played at Dolla, was in no way as exciting. In fact Nenagh had a clearcut win by 0-24 to 1-6. Nenagh's victory was facilitated by the dismissal of the Templederry corner-back, Paudie Ryan, after twenty-six minutes. The winners led by 0-7 to 0-3 at half-time. Templederry got some hope when Matthew Ryan converted a penalty in the 48th minute but it was Nenagh who pushed on to a facile victory by fifteen points.

The Final

Some might claim that this competition was debased by giving the finalists entre to the Dan Breen Cup rather than allowing it to stand on its own strength. It was further debased by the decision of Loughmore-Castleiney to field a depleted side on the day, giving priority to their date with Aherlow in the senior football final the following Sunday.

As the curtain-raiser to the Dan Breen final it provided little in the way of entertainment for a sparse crowd as a rampant Nenagh Eire Óg easily overcame the feeble challenge of the Mid representatives. After a dominant first quarter, Nenagh Eire Óg relaxed a bit but still led by double scores, 2-8 to 1-4, at the interval. The supremacy of Nenagh was even more pronounced in the second half as they added 1-9 to Loughmore's 0-2 and finished a non-event on a scoreline of 3-17 to 1-6.

Nenagh Éire Óg: Willie Bolger, Daire Quinn, Shane Maher, Mark Flannery, Hugh Flannery, Richie Flannery, Noel Moloney, John Flannery Alan Kelly, Paul Ryan (1-4), Hugh Moloney (capt.), 0-2, Michael Heffernan (0-1), Kevin Tucker (0-3), John Slattery, Pearse Morris (2-1). Subs: Brian Quinn for Hugh Flannery, Thomas Heffernan (0-1) for Kevin Tucker, Mark Tuite (0-1) for Hugh Moloney, Eoin Fitzgibbon for John Flannery, John Brennan (0-1) for John Slattery. Others: Michael McNamara, Michael Hynes, Eddie Tucker, Brian Maxwell, Stephen Ryan, Sean Geaney, Sean Healy, David Cleary, Mark Grace, Donncha Heffernan, Joe Geaney, Edward Darcy.

Loughmore Castleiney: Shane Nolan, Kevin Johnson, Eoin Ryan, Martin Ryan, Dara Butler, John Meagher, Henry Maher, Paddy Moynihan (1-0), Eamon Connolly (0-1), Martin Gleeson, Seamus Bohan (0-4), Shane Hennessy, Darren Danagher, James Connolly Johnny Campion (0-1). Subs: Ger Morris for Darren Danagher, Pauric Egan for Johnny Campion, Brian McGrath for Shane Hennessy, Kieran Kiely for James Connolly. Others: Kevin Stapleton, Thomas Quinn, Richard Maher, Eamonn McGrath, Kevin O'Connell, Craig Cleary.

Referee: Phil Ryan (Kickhams)

Man of the Match: Daire Quinn (Nenagh Eire Óg).

Co. Senior Hurling Championship 2010 at a Glance

Round 1

18/09/2010 Boherlahan Galtee / Treacys 1.13 Carrick Davins 1.09 Denis Curtis

18/09/2010 Boherlahan Upperchurch Drombane 1.19 Killenaule 0.09 Ger Fitzpatrick

19/09/2010 Holycross Kildangan 3.13 Éire Óg Anacarty 1.15 Keith Delahunty

19/09/2010 Borrisoleigh Burgess 1.20 Holycross Ballycahill 0.15 Sean Bradshaw

23/09/2010 S Stadium Borris-Ileigh 1.20 Knockavilla Kickhams 0.08 Johnny Ryan

23/09/2010 S Stadium Mullinahone 2.15 Drom & Inch 1.12 Richie Barry Round 2

26/09/2010 Templemore Kildangan 3.15 Galtee / Treacys 2.13 Pat Ivors

26/09/2010 Templemore Burgess 1.21 Upperchurch Drombane 0.14 Noel Cosgrave

27/09/2010 S Stadium Mullinahone 2.15 Nenagh Eire Óg 1.15 Fergal Horgan

27/09/2010 S Stadium Loughmore Castleiney 1.16 Borris-Ileigh 1.13 Seamus Roche

Quarter Finals

02/10/2010 S Stadium Kildangan 1.14 Carrick Swans 1.09 Johnny Ryan

02/10/2010 S Stadium Clonoulty Rossmore 2.21 Burgess 1.13 Noel Cosgrave

03/10/2010 S Stadium Toomevara 1.26 Mullinahone 0.13 Richie Barry

03/10/2010 S Stadium Thurles Sarsfields 2.19 Loughmore Castleiney 2.13 Tommy Ryan

Semi Finals

17/10/2010 S Stadium Clonoulty-Rossmore 1-19 Kildangan 1-16 W Clohessy

17/10/2010 S Stadium Thurles Sarsfields 1-17 Toomevara 1-16 Seamus Roche

Final

S. Stadium Thurles 1-16 Clonoulty-Rossmore 1-7 Keith Delahunty

Seamus Ó Riain Cup 2010 at a Glance

Round 1

16/07/2010 The Ragg Roscrea 1.18 Cappawhite 2.10 Noel Cosgrave

18/07/2010 Holycross Cashel King Cormacs 3.16 JK Brackens 1.20 TP Sullivan

30/07/2010 Borrisoleigh Loughmore Castleiney 4.18 Moneygall 3.10 Sean Bradshaw

30/07/2010 Drombane Nenagh Éire Óg 4.30 Golden Kilfeacle 2.04 Tommy Ryan

01/08/2010 Templemore Ballingarry 1.14 Templederry 1.17 Richie Barry

01/08/2010 Templemore Kilruane MacDonaghs 4.20 Boherlahan Dualla 3.17 John O'Brien

01/08/2010 The Ragg Ballybacon G 1.13 Lorrha Dorrha 2.11 Martin Ryan

02/08/2010 Templederry Portroe 1.21 Moycarkey Borris 1.19 Ger Fitzpatrick

Quarter Final

13/09/2010 Semple Stadium Templederry Kenyons 2.24 Portroe 2.12 Seamus Roche

13/09/2010 Semple Stadium Nenagh Éire Óg 4.19 Lorrha 0.04 John O'Brien

14/09/2010 Semple Stadium Loughmore Castleiney 5.22 Cashel King Cormacs 0.20 Pat Gibson

14/09/2010 Semple Stadium Roscrea 2.19 Kilruane MacDonaghs 1.11 Phil Ryan

Semi Final

19/09/2010 Toomevara Loughmore Castleiney 3.13 Roscrea 2.13 Fergal Horgan

19/09/2010 Dolla Nenagh Éire Óg 0.25 Templederry Kenyons 1.06 Noel Cosgrave

Final

Semple Stadium Nenagh Éire Óg 3-18 Loughmore Castleiney 1-6 Phil Ryan

<span class="postTitle">Recent and Forthcoming Publications - 2011</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2011, pp 104-107

Recent and Forthcoming Publications - 2011

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2011, pp 104-107

Local G.A.A. publications are scarce on the ground this year. Jimmy Morris got the ball rolling with the launch of The Morris Code at the Hibernian Hotel, Nenagh on September 30 with no less an eminence that the president of the association, Christy Cooney, to do the honours. Born in Borrisokane, Jimmy immersed himself in the G.A.A. in his native parish, first as a player and later as an administrator before moving to Nenagh in 1964 where he continued his involvement with the Eire Óg club. Throwing in his lot with his new club was natural because, as he says in the book 'Nenagh would now be my home and I felt it only right and proper that whatever I had to contribute, be it little or great, should be given to the club attached to the town where I now lived.' This personal memoir is about Jimmy's attachment to the G.A.A. over many years – he is now 81 years of age – but it's also about what the G.A.A. has done for people and communities all over Ireland.

This book is a lively read, written in conjunction with Gerry Slevin, it started out as an article and evolved into a book and is on sale for €20. It is published by the Nenagh Guardian.

A significant publication is the history of the the Galtee Rovers/St. Peacaun's Club, which was launched on December 4. Too late to review for this publication, it is the work of Seamus McCarthy and Liam Bergin. The significance of this book is that it includes portraits of a number of national figures, such as St. George McCarthy, who was one of the founders of the G.A.A.. William Cullinane, who was an M.P. and an early referee in the G.A.A., Darby Ryan the Bansha Bard, etc. The club is also the home of the famous referee, John Moloney, and the recently retired Governor of Mountjoy Jail, John Lonergan. As well the model for the Tipperary Hurler, the famous painting by Sean Keating, is none other than Ben O'Hickey, also from the parish. We look forward to the book.

On Friday, 11th December, 2009, too late for the 2010 Yearbook, the Cahir G.A.A. Club held the launch of its club history entitled Memories and Achievements, 124 years of the G.A.A. in Cahir. The launch was performed by Sean Kelly M.E.P and former G.A.A. President. A large crowd of present and past club members supported the function. There was a special welcome for John F. O'Donnell who had played such an important role in the revival of the club in the 1940s and had as a player and officer of the club made a lifetime's contribution to the club. His fellow life president Willie Kiely was also present. Willie also had played a significant role in club administration over many decades. Tom Kelly who was on the club's first championship winning team, i.e. the minor footballers of 1943, was also present. Indeed every decade of the club's history was represented by former players from the late 1930s to the present. The night was kindly sponsored by Gerry Enright, of Eurospar, Dungarvan. Gerry was a former club player and had also represented Tipperary in all grades of football and indeed was a Munster Railway Cup player.

The book was compiled by Colm O'Flaherty and Mattie Hussey from a variety of sources e.g. press-cuttings, minute books etc. Extensive use was made of the Thurles library local-studies facilities, where extracts from past local newspapers were accessed. The book also contained almost 300 photographs. However, a unique feature of the book was the contribution from captains of county winning teams. This ranged from John O'Meara, captain of the county minor winning team of 1953 to Liam Meehan captain of the county minor winning team of 2008. All these contributions were unique in their style and content and gave an insight into life during each period recalled.

The McNamee Award

The value of the club's history was recognised at national level, with the award for "the best G.A.A. history publication 2009" As 2009 was the 125th anniversary of the founding of the G.A.A., there were significantly more entries in this category, so the award was all the more meritorious. The citation for the award was as follows

"As well as the men who wrote the background of the story of the presence of the G.A.A. in Cahir most recent decades were illuminated by the contribution of successive generations of players and officials."

From the lovely piece written by John O'Meara (who was born in 1936) to the brilliant funny gossipy contribution on the 2003 Tipperary senior football winning team, there is a wonderful chorus of opinions" it concluded.

Club representatives attended the awards night function in Croke Park, which was hosted by the G.A.A. President Christy Cooney. Club representatives were also guests of the G.A.A. at the inter-county games in Croke Park i.e. Dublin versus Louth and Kildare V Derry.

Secrets of Kerry . . . A Captain's Story: Celebrating almost a Century of Kerry All Ireland Triumphs 1903 – 2009 is a DVD rather than a book and that fact may make it all the more interesting.

For the past two and a half years, one of Ireland's most knowledgeable GAA experts, Award Winning Radio Kerry Broadcaster Weeshie Fogarty, together with close friend Christy Riordan, C/R Videos Caherciveen, have been working on a major project, the biggest GAA project of its kind, documenting the triumphs and near misses of Kerry's journeys to Croke Park since 1903, when Kerry won it's very first All-Ireland championship.

The project, a DVD set called Secrets of Kerry . . . A Captain's Story is now completed and was launched in Cáitíns Pub, Kells on Friday 22nd October and at The Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney Tuesday 26th October.

Each of the 36 Kerry wins and some of the near misses have been documented by the captains of the Kerry teams – in their own words – or in the words of their closest living relatives in a 4 hour documentary, that spans 2 DVD's of the highest quality production. The project includes some amazing stories with over 100 interviews in total – tales never heard before, well known legends brought to life and behind the scene dramas of the various journeys to the All Ireland, the battle on the pitch and what happened to the various captains after the cup was lifted, including the desolation of the near misses since 1903.

Fogarty and Riordan trace each of the 32 winning captains, 16 of whom are still alive. Of the captains that have passed on, their relatives recount their story after each of their famous wins.

Updating Club Histories

There has never been a better time for updating club histories. Many existing histories were written during the eighties and need updating badly. Toomevara are already engaged in updating their history which was brought out in 1986. So also are St. Mary's, Clonmel.

What makes the work so much easier today are the outstanding records that are available. Three of the divisions now have histories and they give the general picture of the story of Gaelic Games in their areas. They include the achievements of every club in a general way. The next important source are divisional reports, compiled by secretaries at convention time. They contain a wealth of information on games played in the division during the previous year. Of particular importance are the dates of games, which allow the researcher to go directly to the match report in the local newspaper. There are the local newspapers, whose coverage of games has expanded dramatically and, whereas every game won't be covered in detail, there will be some reference to every game. All adult games are covered in detail. Then there is the County G.A.A. Yearbook, which strives annually to give as comprehensive coverage as possible to all G.A.A. activity in the county.. Many clubs will have efficient secretaries who will keep a detailed account of what transpired during the year, but will also produce a comprehensive record of the club's achievements at convention time. Such reports can be another valuable resource. Since we live in a visual age any club history must include plenty of pictures. The club may be lucky to have a good snapper, who attends most of its games. If they are not so lucky we are blessed with many photographers in every division, who have comprehensive collections of photographs. Overall then the material for club histories is there in abundance. All that is required is someone with the ability to bring it all together in a decent club history. This might be the time to look around to see if you have such a person in your midst. There are many educated people around and some of them are unemployed.

Other Publications

One of the most important contributions to our knowledge of what is happening in the hurling world is The Agony and the Ecstasy by Damien Tiernan. This book provides an account of the emergence of Waterford as a major hurling force in the late 1990s and the endeavours of the county's hurlers to win an All-Ireland over the last decade. This is a tale of a team that produced outstanding displays, usually one a year, but were usually denied crucial victories by the narrowest of margins. Many may well believe now that some of the greatest hurlers of our generation may never win the elusive Celtic Cross. Tiernan's book recounts the many selectorial blunders, organisational cock-ups, misunderstandings, misfortune and inability to learn, which dogged the team. Because the book is based predominantly on the testimony of players, there are contradictory versions of events. What comes across is the sheer difficulty team management faces in melding into a single fighting unit the great variety of individuals who make up a county senior panel – people who differ in terms of age, experience, ability, personality, education, social background and urban/rural upbringing. The book seems to indicate that Justin McCarthy failed in this very task concentrating on what he regarded as his primary duty getting the players to master the skills of the game and performing them to the best of their abilities on the day of a match.

A related book is If you Don't Know Me, Don't Judge Me by Dan Shanahan. Dan Shanahan is a legend in modern hurling, a three-time All Star and winner of 'Player of the Year' in 2007. His time as an inter-county senior hurler coincided with the remarkable revival in Waterford's fortunes, which saw them win the Munster final four times in the last decade. He's probably best remembered for his refusal to shake Justin McCarthy's hand after being taken off in the Munster championship of 2008, though that episode me be eclipsed by his goal in extra time in the 2010 Munster final. The title of the book is taken from a tatoo on Dan's arm.

Another Waterford book is My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary by Conor Power. This is a biography of one of the greatest goalkeepers from one of the most golden eras of hurling, written from the perspective of his son, the journalist Conor Power. Many readers will recall seeing that great photograph of Ned Power overleaping Christy Ring to grab the ball in the 1959 Munster championship. Having played at the highest level from 1957 until 1966, Ned Power won one All-Ireland medal, three Munster medals, an Oireachtas medal and a National League medal with his native Waterford. But it was as a skills coach and motivator that he made a lasting impact on the hurling scene. From the very beginnings of formal coaching at Gormanstown in the mid-1960s, Ned was a revolutionary bringing change firstly and most dramatically to his native Tallow and then to many more places he visited.

More Books

Other books of interest include My Club by Christy O'Connor who followed St. Joseph's Doora-Barefield for a season in 2009 as they looked to re-establish themselves as force in Clare hurling. One of Clare's finest hurlers Tony Griffin tells his remarkable story and his gruelling charity cycle across Canada in Screaming at the Sky. 100 G.A.A. Greats by John Scally celebrates the most significant players the Gaelic games have brought us in their 125-year history. He selects those footballers, hurlers, managers and camogie players who have lit up Irish sport, becoming national treasures in the process, and highlights their remarkable skills.

For 16 years, Darragh Ó Se has worn the number 8 jersey for Gaelic football's most celebrated county. With six All-Ireland medals, he is the most decorated of the present batch of Kerry footballers. Darragh's name is synonymous with his county's unrelenting appetite for success, but throughout his illustrious career he has held his counsel, allowing his football to do the talking. He now claims to reveal all that his tight lips kept quiet over his playing career in Darragh: My Story.

Voices from Croke Park by Sean Potts is a series of articles by leading G.A.A. writers on great hurlers and footballers, who have exhibited their talents in the great arena. The emphasis is more on football and there is no Tipperary representative.

A special word of praise for Ger Corbett and company, who excelled themselves once again with their programme for the county senior hurling final. This publication gets better by the year and is a wonderful keepsake for the winners, Thurles Sarsfields.

Finally, many readers will be interested in GAA Gold, an important archive of All-Ireland hurling finals from the 1950s, which has been compiled by the Irish Film Institute from a series of films shot by the National Film Institute for distribution to cinemas.

The original films have been digitised and the sound clarified. The DVD will be of particular interest to Tipperary people as it contains four All-Irelands featuring Tipperary in the period covered, 1948 to 1959. This is the first of GAA highlights releases, and an equivalent DVD featuring football finals is due next year followed by similar discs covering the 1960s. GAA Gold is available from the IFI shop and all leading DVD retailers, priced €19.99.

A handy present for Dad or Grandad!

<span class="postTitle">Wild Duck and Their Pursuit - Douglas Butler (Book Review)</span> The Nationalist, December 9, 2010

Wild Duck and Their Pursuit - Douglas Butler (Book Review)

The Nationalist, December 9, 2010

There are many stimulating books that come one's way but one of the most satisfying to come into my possession for some time has to be Wild Duck and Their Pursuit by Douglas Butler. This lively and informative book looks at the natural history, the populations, the movements and the behaviour of wild duck in order to help the sportsman better to understand his quarry.
 
What makes this book special is the fact that the author is an enthusiast about his subject. Douglas Butler is a professional zoologist with a particular interest in wildfowl. His liftime interest in the subject began when he shot his first mallard at the age of eight and he has been an avid duck hunter ever since.

In chapter two he tells us everything there is to know about ducks. He is detailed about the difference in male and female plumage. We are taken through their nesting places, the nesting season and the number of eggs. We're also given a profile of the selfish drake who 'takes no part in the tedious business of incubation.' We're informed that there are in excess of 140 species of ducks, geese and swans on earth and the author here, as in other places in the book, gives us a European and American perspective on the subject. Since the duck is meant for eating the author tells us of its performance on the dinner table. He states that as a general rule 'the taste and texture of meat reflects the feeding habit of the animal from which it is obtained. The flesh of herbivores is more palatable than that of carnivores. . . .'

There is a fascinating chapter on 'Residents, Migrants and the Numbers Game' in which the distinction between resident and migrant is addressed and the migratory routes of wildfowl are described. The author emphasises the need for more accurate information on figures for wildfowl. From his experience he harbours 'a deep vein of cynicism when it comes to published figures.'. He is particularly sceptical of figures published on this side of the Atlantic but has considerably more faith in those for North America. The reason he wants accurate information is that 'As a hunter . . . I want to know the size of quarry populations so that I can then make an informed judgement about what is realistic in terms of taking a harvest.'

The author has a chapter highlighting lead poisoning as a mortality factor in wildfowl populations. The problem arises because when shot pellets are fired at a bird, only a tiny number of them hit the target while the rest are dispersed into the environment and those that fall in water may well be ingested by wildfowl. The evidence from America suggests that a considerable number of widfowl die off as a result while in Europe far fewer deaths are recorded. As a result legislation has been introduced in America, England and Scotland against the use of lead in these countries. The author would not agree with this prohibition because 'no one really knows whether the problem of lead poisoning is significant or not.' He is glad there is no such legislation in Ireland.

There's a whole chapter devoted to regulations in place for the shooting of duck. While the Americans have hours during which it is permissible to shoot wildfowl and the number of birds that may be killed in a day, no such restrictions exist in Britain and Ireland. Here, we can shoot ducks throughout the 24 hours. Dusk and dawn are the most favoured periods. 'Indeed it is more or less certain that the greater part of the annual bag is taken at the hour of dusk.'

A number of chapters in the book deal with the activity of shooting. One is on the subject of 'Walking Up Ducks', a term used to describe the shooting of game which the guns themselves have flushed with or without the assistance of dogs. Another deals with 'Flighting', which means lying in wait for the ducks, mainly in the twilight hours, as they go about their business. Here the author brings his lifelong experience to the subject and the chapters teem with information gleaned from long hours over many days and years: 'The man who knows his fowl will have spotted a few feathers washed into the edge or signs that pondweeds have been disturbed. And he will have spent the day in eager anticipation of the good things that may happen at dusk.'
 
The chapters are peppered with personal experiences across Tipperary and beyond, in England, Scotland, Europe and even further afield, bringing to the reader a wealth of experience gleaned from long hours in the open at dawn and dusk in the depths of winter, in all kinds of weather. Wildfowling is a largely solitary pusuit as the author tells us: 'Whilst all sports have a social element, hunting as much as any other, there are times when, selfishly, I much prefer to be on my own or with a single companion. Evening flight is one such time. Most of my flighting haunts are relatively small and can be adequately covered by a single gun. Since ducks can come in from any angle, sometimes with very little prior warning, it is much easier to be fully relaxed knowing that there is no danger to anyone else when one takes a shot. And, as every hunter knows, we only shoot really well when we are fully relaxed. I am personally very conscious of the fact that when I am shooting in close proximity to another gun, I shoot less well.'
 
This is the first book for many years to focus exclusively on duck shooting and it will appeal to ornithologists and conservationists, as well as those who shoot duck. Douglas Butler brings to the subject an impressive knowledge that comes not only from his academic background but also from the wisdom gained from a life of field experience. It's an unbeatable combination that has given us an instructive and lively publication.

The book was published by Merlin Unwin Books in September, contains 224 pages with many black and white illustrations most of which were supplied by the author himself. It retails for £20 and is available in most good bookshops.

<span class="postTitle">Mick Bennett (1924-2010)</span> Tipperary Star, April 22, 2010

Mick Bennett (1924-2010)

Tipperary Star, April 22, 2010

Mick Bennett of Rathordan, Cashel passed away on April 1 after a short illness following a car accident. He would have been 86 years of age on April 5, the day after he was buried.

Mick was a big man, who towered over most of us, and he had a personality to fill his huge frame. Tug-of-war was his game as a younger man, about which more later.

Mick, who was one of seven children, was born in Sleaveen, Clonakilty, where he farmed difficult land. There were a lot of hills and slopes on it and it made it unsuitable for tractor work. It was also beside the sea. At some stage he made a decision to sell and buy a replacement farm somewhere else. It could be inside Cork or in any county, he didn't mind.

He bid on a number of places but was unsuccessful. The place he eventually bought in Rathordan, on the Clonmel Road, he had bid for unsuccessfully two years previously. He eventually got it in 1981.

Mick was fifty-eight years of age at the time and it was a big decision to make at that stage in his life. However, because of his determination to leave, it didn't cause such a major wrench in his life.

His Family

The move involved not only himself but also his wife, Eileen (nee Coakley from Dunmanaway), and their five children, Mary, Ger, Eleanor, John and Therina, plus brother Finbarr. The oldest child, Anna, had died from leukemia in 1972. Mick and Eileen had married on November 25, 1963, the very day that President John F. Kennedy was buried. (Eileen passed away three years ago.)

Prior to coming to Cashel Mick had taken part in the sport of tug-a-war. Not for him the games of hurling and football but, from an early age, pulling the rope was part of his life. He was the perfect speciman of a man to anchor a tug-of-war team He continued in the sport until he was nearly fifty years of age. His son, Ger, remembers as a kid being bundled into a lorry to travel to some championship or tournament.

Tug-of-War

Mick obviously excelled in the sport and won four All-Irelands with Killbree in the 120 stone catagory between 1963-1966. There are eight members on a team and a game consists of three pulls. In order to win a team must pull the opposing side the distance of four meters.

On one occasion at a tournament in Tipperary Town Mick's team was defeated by a side that included many McCormacks of hurling fame from the Kickhams club. What was memorable about this contest was the length of time it took for one pull in the three-pull match, one and a quarter hours to pull the opposing side the equivalent of four metres!

Mick was well past his tug-of-war best by the time he came to live in Cashel. The farm he bought had been a stud farm and there was quite an amount of work converting it to a dairy spread. He was well received by the neighbours and soon established good relations with Jim Devitt and Dan Grogan, among others. Tom Horan, who came into the area in 1987 recalls being welcomed by Mick soon after arriving, a Cork man welcoming a Tipperary man to a part of Tipperary!

Sociable and Friendly

That kind of gesture was the essence of the man. Mick was a most sociable and friendly man and as helpful a neighbour you could wish to have down the road. He just loved meeting people and this desire took him to all kinds of meeting places, fairs, hurling and football matches, funerals, or just travelling around the country.

He had friends all over the country, not only Cork friends in Cork, but Tipperary friends in remote parts of Tipperary, Wexford friends, Waterford friends. Tom Horan recalls when he was canvassing for Michael Slattery for NFA office, Mick came along to Cork and other places to give them the lie of the land and the people to call on. He had contacts everywhere.

Mick was always a Cork man and a great supporter of Cork hurling and football. He was extremely well-informed on new players breaking on to the scene. His gospel was 'De Paper', which he bought daily and read from cover to cover. He always started at the back with the deaths, continued into sport and eventually got to the news.

Attending Matches

He was an inveterate attender at hurling and football matches of all descriptions. It is estimated he attended four or five games a week during the summer time. A match couldn't be bad enough for him to attend! It wasn't only the game he enjoyed, surveying the skills on display with a trained eye, but the camaraderie and sociability of the occasion.

In his moving address at the funeral Mass in Rosegreen Church, Fr. Jim Purcell, spoke of Mick's love of travel and his legendary knowledge of places, far and wide: 'Mick has been described as the original 'Sat Nav' - - - he loved to travel, and only last weekend he made the regular pilgrimage to his roots, completing the journey by stopping off with Mary in Middleton. As said, he lived in his car, the Vento'.

Mick had strong religious beliefs and the practice of his religion was as important as eating his dinner. He may have been disturbed with the recent developments in the Church but they didn't weaken his faith one jot.

Mick made his mark on life, whether pulling the rope with his tug-of-war team, farming in Cork and Tipperary, raising his family, being a good neighbour and bringing joy and fellowship to all he met. It was a privilege to have known him.

<span class="postTitle">Patrick Darcy</span> The Nationalist, February 18, 2010

Patrick Darcy

The Nationalist, February 18, 2010

Patrick Darcy may be slowing down on the legs but he's still very sprightly mentally. In fact for a man in his ninetieth year, having been born on February 12, 1920, he has a wonderful memory that can stretch back over the nine decades.

He remembers going to his first match at Thurles in 1928 at the age of eight years. Clare beat Tipperary that day but he remembers the treat he got from his father, a bar of 'Half-Time, Jimmy' which was made by Urneys at the time. His father and the 'Bear' Parsons retired to Mickey Bowe's pub for a couple of pints and they brought out the chocolate to Patrick, his brother, Danny, and Johnny Parsons.

Another long memory goes back to 1931 and the first minor hurling championship in the West. Cashel beat Arravale Rovers, Clonoulty and Annacarty along the way. Patrick, who came on as a sub in the final at the age of eleven years, believes the game was played at Cooper's field at Killenure. He is still bitter at the failure of the board to provide medals for the winners.

A Handy Hurler

Patrick must have been a handy hurler to get his place on the team so young and could have played minor for another seven years. Cashel minors didn't have much success in the following years and lost a number of matches because of overage players. There is a reference to a juvenile league in 1933 in which Cashel beat Fethard but lost the game beause of illegal players. Patrick was on the team. He does remember playing with the C.B.S. and beating Templemore C.B.S. but losing to Thurles in the final. As well as hurling they used to do gymnastics in the school and they put on a display in the hurling field once a year.

His hurling was curtailed when he emigrated to England in 1936 at the age of sixteen years. He was to remain there until the war broke out in 1939, when he returned to Cashel. He worked on the buildings and had his first drink there. Later in life he used to enjoy a drink in Lonergan's on a Monday night in the company of the 'Dasher' Lonergan.

When he returned from England in 1939 he resumed hurling and played junior for a number of years. He recalls the setting up of the Abbey Rangers in 1940 and believes the reason they broke from the Cashel King Cormac's was a perception among some players that they weren't getting a fair crack of the whip in team selection.

Divisional Senior Medals

Patrick was on the Cashel senior team that won the west final in 1945. He played in the full-forward line with Michael Burke and Charlie Power. They beat Kickhams by 4-5 to 1-3 in the final on a day when Jim and Pat Devitt were in sparkling form. They lost the county semi-final at Thurles to Roscrea. The only survivors of that team are Patrick and Jackie Corcoran.

The hurling field in these years was on the Ardmayle Road and Patrick believes the team was trained for one of the finals by Arthur Donnelly's brother from Boherlahan. They used to puck the ball about and have sprinting and running during these training sessions.

Patrick won his second senior divisional medal in 1948 when Cashel again beat Kickhams in the final. On this occasion the match was much closer. Kickhams led by four points at half-time but Cashel fought back to win by two points on a scoreline of 3-6 to 3-4. They lost by a point to Lorrha in the county semi-final. Again there are only two survivors of this team, Patrick and Jackie Corcoran.

He continued to play for Cashel for the next three years, losing to Kickhams every year, twice in finals and once in a semi-final. In January 1952 he emigrated once again to England and remained there until 1956. During his time in England he didn't play hurling.

Returning to Cashel he worked with the contractor, Paddy Murphy of Bohermore, and was involved in the building of the tower in Rockwell College. He used to walk to work there and had to be on the job at eight o'clock.

Board of Works

He went back to England once again for a couple of years in the sixties and when he returned he was involved in the building of the Cashel Motor Inn late in the same decade. He continued to work for local contractors until he joined the Board of Works in 1974 and he remained with them until he retired in 1986.

Today as he reminisces on his long existence he can look back on a life of variety that spans nine decades with a high level of satisfaction in the knowledge that he has enoyed a greater slice of life than many of his fellow men.

<span class="postTitle">A Team of All the Ryans</span> Clonoulty-Rossmore Vintage Rally brochure, August 2010, pp. 31-34

A Team of All the Ryans

Clonoulty-Rossmore Vintage Rally brochure, August 2010, pp. 31-34

Mike and Jack Ryan (Rockwell's Famous Internationals)

It was an unusual idea and it was used by Cashel Rugby Club to get their 1956/57 season off with a wave of publicity. A team of all the Ryans was to challenge a team of all the Rest, made of players of the non-Ryan variety from Cashel, Clanwilliam, Clonmel, Garryowen and Young Munster.

Since you could cut a Ryan in any ditch in Tipperary there was no problem in getting fifteen to fill the positions on the team. Although hurling was the predominant game in the county and many Ryans, such as Sweeper and his brothers, had become famous playing for Tipperary there were other Ryans who had excelled on the rugby field.

The most famous, Mick and Jack, came from the Racecourse, which was in the parish of Cashel

They were legends in their own lifetimes and the legend hasn't faded in the meantime. Mike was capped 17 times for Ireland between 1897 and 1904 and Jack 14 times over the same period. Mike was chosen in 1905 but refused to play because Jack wasn't picked. Mike didn't begin to play rugby until he was 24 years old and brother Jack was already playing. Both started off as backs but soon changed to the forwards. Both played on the Triple Crown team in 1899 when Ireland defeated England, Scotland and Wales for the first time. 

Press accounts of the Triple Crown matches gave prominence to the contribution of the Ryans. In every second line we find the same note. "Mike Ryan came through on a couple of occasions in grand style". "The Ryans put in a lot of work and were assisted by Ahern and McCoull". "Of the forwards Mike Ryan and Jack were far and away the best, the elder brother being always on the ball". "Mick Ryan's play was brilliant, especially in the second half, when he knocked the English backs about like nine pins. He was simply irresistible and the soft surface of the field bore a deep impression of many a Saxon's form that Mick laid low".

The Scottish Match

Against Scotland the well-publicised incident happened: Mike Ryan slung the biggest Scottish man, McEwan, into the spectators. "He was playing a great game. Now, from our twenty-five he meant to get through, I saw him coming, teeth bared, jaw set, determination written all over him. Five yards from me he hurled himself for me. I got one arm well round him, swung around with him and let go; he sailed out into the crowd. There was a great hush for a moment in which you would have heard a pin drop. It was looked on as a prodigious feat of strength, but it was his own size and speed that helped me. He resumed the game nothing the worse".

Only five players played in all three matches - Louis Magee, James Sealy, Billy Byron, and the two Ryans. "Jack and I returned home. At the Racecourse Cross we were held up by all Rockwell. To a man they had turned out to welcome us. They took the horse from between the shafts and insisted on pulling us all the way to the college we loved, though our hands ached from all the fierce handclasps we received."

Jakes McCarthy, an outstanding sportswriter of the time, once described a famous try by Mike Ryan with the memorable phrase "crossing the line, his frame festooned by Saxons". The Ryans dined in Rockwell twice a week and played rugby with the boys. They were known for their gentleness and never hurt a student. Mike was particularly popular and Jack was the orator. Jack is remembered starting a speech in his good Tipperary accent: "There are moments in life . .." and the crowd applauding so much that he had to begin three times. Mike played for Bective at the time because a player could play for two teams in different provinces. Bective was one of a small number of Catholic clubs.

Last Game

Mike played his last game of rugby 1912 for a wager. He hadn't played for years: "Mr. O'Flaherty, Science Professor in Rockwell, laid me a wager that if I played in Rockwell I would not score. I took him on. Rockwell boys on the touchline made almost as much noise as all the spectators at an international. I had put on a good deal of avoirdupois and did not feel quite up to international form. I am afraid that the winning of the wager did not seem a possibility. However I kept going. About five minutes from the end my chance came. One of our centres cut through nicely. I think he could have got over on his own, but he elected to send to me. I took the pass somehow and attained the line. It was the most memorable and, I think, the most applauded score of my life, but nothing would induce me to accept another wager".

From the time the Cashel Rugby Club was revived in 1952 there was a preponderence of Ryans on the team. These included six brothers, named Eddie, Gerry, Tony, Dick, John and Donie. It was no surprise then that someone came up with the idea of the Ryans versus the Rest. The idea was unique and investigations carried out in Ireland, England Scotland and Wales at the time, failed to find any team made up of fifteen players with the same surname. So, it was a great way of generating publicity for the club.

Ryans versus the Rest was played in the Cashel Club grounds at Spafield on September 9. The Ryan team was as follows. At full-back was Donal Ryan, Solicitor, Ladyswell Street, Cashel. The threequarters line included John Ryan, Fethard, Tony Ryan, Cashel, John Ryan, Cashel, and M. Ryan, Clanwilliam. The outhalf was Benny Ryan, Cashel and the scrumhalf was P. D. Ryan, Clanwilliam. The forward line included Paddy Ryan, Templemore, P. V. Ryan, Clanwilliam, and Jim Ryan Hanna, Clonoulty, Pat Ryan, Clanwilliam, Eddie Ryan, Cashel, Matty Ryan, Cashel, Denis Ryan, Cashel, John Ryan, Clanwilliam.

There were a further three Ryans on the sideline that day: Jack Ryan of Clonmel, Dick Ryan (C) of Cashel and Johnny Ryan, Cashel.

The Rest won by 12-11. Cashel had the first score, a penalty from 45 yards out, converted by a notable point scorer, Denis Ryan, who was also captain of the side. In the course of the game Denis had to retire from the pack to the three-quarter line with a knee injury. Shortly after the penalty, from a line-out near the Rest line, Paddy Ryan burst over for a great try, which Denis Ryan converted and, just on half-time the latter scored again from a penalty in front of the Rest posts, to give Cashel a half-time lead of 11-0.

If Cashel had the better of the exchanges in the first half, the Rest made up for it after the interval. Seven minutes after the resumption Timmy O'Dwyer landed a good penalty for the Rest. The play swung from 25 to 25 and, about midway through the half, O'Dwyer had another penalty for the Rest. The latter continued to harass the Ryan lines and a fine burst by Coffey from a loose maul sent O'Brien away to score near the corner about ten minutes from time. The conversion failed. There were now only two points between the sides and the Rest snatched victory near the closing stages when Kennedy, receiving from a set scrum on the 25, cut through a gap in the Ryans defence before sending O'Brien over to score again. At the final whistle the Ryans were trying desperately to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat but failed on the scoreline of 11-12.

The Rest: A. Ellard (Clan), M. Gilligan (Clan), J. O'Brien (Clan), D. Kennedy (Clan), J. O'Connor (Cashel), M. Thompson (Cashel), F. Dwyer (Cashel), S. Quinlan (Clan), F. Kent (Clonmel), B. Boles (Cashel), T. Dwyer (Clan), W. Burke (Templemore), D. B. Rodgers (Cashel), D. Spearman (Cashel), T. Coffey (Garryowen).

Referee: Tommy O'Connor (Cashel)

Revival of the Club

There was a report in the Nationalist in February 1952 of a general meeting of Cashel Rugby Football Club. It appears that the game was dead in the town for just ten years, the last report of activity having been defeat in the Mansergh Cup final on May 3, 1942.

The general meeting elected the following officers: president ˆ W. P. Ryan, vice-presidents ˆ Rev. Dean Wyse Jackson and James Phelan, treasurer ˆ Frank Rhatigan, secretary ˆ Benny Ryan, captain ˆ Tommy O'Connor, vice-captain ˆ Con Hewitt. The selection committee included Dan Devitt, Richie Ryan and Jim Hannigan.

The report on the meeting was as follows: 'After a lapse of several years, a rugby football club has been established in the town. Its immediate predecessor, dating back a score or more years, was able to hold its own with the very best in the county. Although the present season is well advanced and the remaining few weeks do not permit much time for training and practising, still the fact of renewing a link with the past should encourage the club members to emulate the very creditable record of those who originally intorduced the game to Cashel and set a fine example of sportmanship on and off the field.' 

The revived Cashel club's first outing was against Rockwell College on February 10 at Cashel. The result was 10-9 in favour of Cashel and more important than the result is the team that won. It was as follows: T. Ryan, B. Rogers, J. Ryan, T. McGovern, P. J. Davern, T. O'Connor, Con Hewitt, D. Dwyer, M. Davitt, L. Tuohy, D. Looby, P. Donoghue, B. Ryan, D. Ryan, D. Williams. Cashel's two tries were scored by Tommy O'Connor and Mick Devitt and both were converted by Denis Ryan. According to the match report he 'showed rare skill, especially on the second occasion, when he goaled from the sideline.'

Conditions Bordering on the Primitive

Denis Ryan, mentioned above, has vivid memories of the early days. 'None of us knew anything about rugby,' he claims but they took to it like ducks do to water.

Tommy O'Connor (Dal) was their trainer and their basic training was running out as far as Camas Bridge which Denis remembers as a great load of craic. Fr. Meaney, C.S.Sp. of Rockwell College used to give them some rugby coaching.

The ball at the time was a bladder enclosed in a case of laced leather, and it was very difficult to kick. Denis should know, being an outstanding kicker. His technique was a straight run-up to the ball, no coming at it from an angle. He scored 102 points in the 1954-55 season. The boots weren't very good either and he had to buy a new pair every year.

Players looked after their own jerseys to the extent of taking them home after the match and washing them, Washing after matches left a lot to be desired. No hot showers like the players of today enjoy. Instead they had a barrel of water put at their disposal to wash the dirt off them. They had no fancy towels either but usually dried themselves with their jerseys! Denis recalls having to break the ice on the barrel in Nenagh after one match.

Fields could be very bad during the season, areas of mud with water running through them. Cashel were extremely lucky to get the use of their Spafield venue from Jim Phelan. Their first clubhouse was a converted cowshed. Denis recalls spending time improving it. Involved in the electric side of things, he made an important contribution. Others helped out with cement, plastering, painting, etc.

Transport was anything but plentiful at the time. A number of players had cars and they helped with the transport. Joe O'Connor had his butcher's van and this was also drafted in to bring players to games. Denis recalls how it was used for poker games on longer journeys.

Plenty of Success

Cashel started out as a Seconds team and the won the Evans Cup their first year, beating Roscrea in the final at Roscrea in the 1952/53 season. They advanced to first level the following season and won the Garryowen Cup and were beaten in the final of the Junior Cup by Shannon. They retained the Garryowen Cup in 1955 and 1956, surely extraordinary success in such a short period of time. There were also a couple of Mansergh Cup victories.

Clonoulty Connection

One doesn't associate rugby very much with the parish of Clonoulty-Rossmore. An important connection with the Team of All the Ryans was the late Jim Ryan Hanna, for many years a stalwart of the hurling fields of West Tipperary, who completed his sporting life on the rugby pitch.In all he played for about eight years and was one of the few to wear a scrum cap. Other contemporaries from the parish who played rugby during this period were John Bourke of Clune, Eddie and Jimmy Fryday, and Tom Ryan.

There's another rugby connection with the parish from a somewhat earlier period. The Pikes were born in Srahavarrella, Clonoulty West in the beginning of the twentieth century, the sons of clergyman, William Pike, and his wife Harriett Florence. The older, Theodore Ouseley, was born in 1905 and was capped for Ireland 8 times. We know he played for Ireland against England at Twickenham on February 12th, 1927. He ended up a Governor of Somaliland from 1954-1959 and he died in Guilford in 1987.

The second son was Victor Joseph, who was born in 1907 and died in 1986. He played for Ireland but we're not sure how many caps he won. His position was hooker and he definitely played against England at Twickenham on February 14, 1931. He spent a long time as a chaplain in the British Armed Forces, rising eventually to become Chaplain General. He ended up as Anglican Bishop of Sherborne.

<span class="postTitle">The County Senior Hurling Championship - 2009</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2010, pp. 41-47

The County Senior Hurling Championship - 2009

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2010, pp. 41-47

The Dan Breen Cup

Thurles Sarsfields won their thirtieth county senior hurling title when they defeated Drom Inch by 0-14 to 0-5 in the final at Semple Stadium on October 18. Drom Inch, who were appearing in their third final, suffered their third defeat since 2005

It was expected to be a great final, with two Mid teams contesting it. Thurles Sarsfields may have been slight favourites, some of the thinking behind it based on their superior fire power. On the other hand Drom Inch were given a chance based mainly on their impressive defeat of Toomevara in the semi-final. As well it was their third final so any first-time nerves should be absent.It was expected to be a good game with free-flowing play and a feast of scores.

In stead it was one of the worst finals for years, a game that never sprang to life. Drom Inch were dreadful and Thurles Sarsfields not much better. Most of the players, bar Padraic Maher and Michael Cahill, seem to have been inhibited by the occasion. Sarsfields adopted the tactic of a hectic workrate that closed down the opposition and gave them neither time not space to hurl at ease. This was exemplified in the play of Michael Cahill, who stuck to Seamus Callanan like a leech and prevented him from performing. Since Callanan was the main hope on which a Drom Inch victory rested, preventing him from playing was the greatest contribution to a Sarsfields victory. On this basis Cahill probably deserved the Man of the Match, doing more than anyone on the field to prevent Drom winning.

At the end of the day the quality of the game didn't make a bit of difference to the Sarsfields players. Whereas playing the game and performing well may be the noble ideal, winning is why players go out to play and in the vast number of cases it doesn't make much difference to them whether it was pretty or not.

Winning captain Johnny Enright, touched on these matters in his speech afterwards. He had no argument about it being a poor final, but there was no apology either. 
He said: "It was, but I still felt our work-rate was phenomenal, we closed them down. We missed chances, they missed chances, but it’s all about getting that cup and taking the next step forward. We lost enough good finals – I remember one that finished 3-19 to 3-16, played great and lost. You win whatever way you can, and I thought our attitude and our work-rate was fantastic today. We felt if we could match them on work-rate we had the hurlers to come through, and that’s how it turned out. This one was huge for Thurles; everyone was talking about Drom & Inch having lost in 05 and 07, no title won yet, but we lost six finals this decade, four-in-a-row early on and then last year again, so this was as important to us as it was to them, though I know the pain they’re feeling now." 

Similar Format as in 2008

The format of the county senior hurling championship remained essentially the same in 2009 as it had been in 2008. It was divided into two competitions, the Dan Breen Cup and the Seamus Ó Riain Cup. All teams that made it to the divisional semi-finals qualifed for the former while all the remaining teams took part in the latter competition.

There was a bit of variation on 2008 with thirty rather than twenty-nine teams taking part, as 2008 intermediate champions, Templederry Kenyons, joined the senior ranks. Under the new structures brought in in 2008 any club had the right to enter the senior hurling championship. With the intermediate winners advancing to senior ranks every year there may come a day when there won't any longer be an intermediate grade! On the other hand any senior team had the right to be relegated intermediate if it felt it wasn't strong enough to be in senior ranks. As of yet there are no takers of this option.

Another change from 2008 was the granting of entry to the Dan Breen Cup to the finalists of the Ó Riain Cup. This was done in order to give greater stature to the Ó Riain Cup even though there was a belief in many quarters that the competition had proven itself in 2008 and Carrick Swans' success and the euphoria it generated had established the competition as capable of standing by itself, without the prop of qualification to the Dan Breen Cup.

As a result of this change it was necessary to find a way to bring the two Ó Riain Cup finalists into the Dan Breen Cup. In 2008 the eight beaten divisional semi-finalists played the eight divisional finalists in the first round of the Dan Breen Cup. The change made in 2009, in order to allow the entry of the Ó Riain finalists, was to give recognition to the divisional winners by excluding them from rounds 1 and 2 of the Dan Breen Cup. Round 1 therefore brought together the eight beaten divisional semi-finalists and the four beaten finalists in a playoff of six games. The six winners were joined by the two Ó Riain Cup finalists in Round 2 to produce four winners. The four winners played the four division winners in Round 3 to produce the semi-finalists.

As stated above thirty teams in all participated in the senior hurling championship 11 from the North, 8 from the Mid, 6 from the West and 5 from the South. The fourteen teams who didn't qualify for the divisional semi-finals entered the Ó Riain Cup.

First Round

The first round of the Dan Breen Cup was played on the weekend of the 12/13 September. Two games were played at Boherlahan on September 12 and resulted in victories for the two North teams over two from the South. Portroe defeated Ballybacon-Grange by 3-13 to 0-19 and Toomevara defeated Carrick Swans by 3-20 to 1-10.

Four games were played on September 13, two at Templemore and two at Cashel. At Templemore Upperchurch-Drombane defeated Cappawhite by 2-18 to 0-17, and Borrisoleigh defeated neighbours and rivals, Loughmore-Castleiney by 1-20 to 0-14. At Cashel, Killenaule proved too good for Golden-Kilfeacle on a scoreline of 1-21 to 0-11. while Thurles Sarsfields defeated Kickhams by 0-18 to 1-8.

Second Round

The six winners joined the finalists in the Ó Riain Cup, Kilruane MacDonaghs and Lorrha, for the second round and this produced four games. Two of these were played at Templemore on September 19. Upperchurch-Drombane defeated Portroe by 1-16 to 0-11, and Toomevara overcame Killenaule by 4-16 to 1-14. The other two games were played on September 20. At Dolla Thurles Sarsfields defeated Kilruane MacDonaghs by 2-22 to 1-10, and Borrisoleigh defeated Lorrha by 2-16 to 1-13 at Nenagh.

Quarter-Finals

All was now set for the quarter-finals in which the winners of round two played the four divisional champions. All the divisional finals were played on August 23. In the Mid final at Holycross Drom-Inch retained their title when they weathered a great challenge from Upperchurch-Drombane, who were appearing in their first ever senior final, to win by 2-11 to 0-14 in one of the best finals of recent times.

There was also a first in the North final at Nenagh where Portroe were playing in their first North senior final. There was no dream ending for them as Nenagh Éire Óg bridged and eight-year gap to take the title comfortably on a scoreline of 2-24 to 2-12.

In the South final at Kilsheelan, Killenaule were dreaming of a third-in-a-row but had victory snatched from them in the final minute when Mullinahone sub, Donal Cody, sent over the bar for the winning point on a scorline of 1-17 to 1-16.

In the West final at Golden Clonoulty-Rossmore completed a hat-trick of titles, when they defeated Cappawhite by 2-11 to 0-12 in a game that appeared to be going Cappa's way at the interval, when they led by ten points to four.

Only one divisional champion came through the quarter-finals, which were played at Semple Stadium on the weekend of September 26/27. On the 26th Thurles Sarsfields defeated Nenagh by 1-18 to 0-18, chiefly through the good marksmanship of Pa Bourke, who hit ten points, six from play. Nenagh Éire Óg had the better of the exchanges in the first half, leading by 0-10 to 0-5 at the interval and looked likely to win, but Thurles were the superior outfit in the second-half.

Drom Inch were the only divisional champions to make it through to the semi-finals. It didn't look likely after forty-five minutes when their opponents and near neighbours, Borrisoleigh, led by 0-15 to 1-9 and looked poised for victory. But Drom Inch levelled with a goal soon after and Seamus Callanan's ability to get points when they mattered, helped them on to a 2-15 to 0-19 victory.

Toomevara proved too good for Clonoulty-Rossmore in their quarter-final. In a classy display they led by 1-10 to 1-5 at the interval, went further ahead on the resumption, were hauled back to level following a couple of goals by Clonoulty, but then reeled off some fantastic points to win comfortably by 1-24 to 4-8.

Upperchurch-Drombane made no mistake when they defeated Mullinahone by 3-23 to 3-17 to qualify for their first senior semi-final in history. It did take extra time after the sides finished 3-12 to 2-15 in normal time but Upperchurch came on strongly in the second period of extra time to run out deserved six-point winners.

Semi-Finals

The county semi-finals were played as a double-header at Semple Stadium on October 3. Drom-Inch drew the county champions, Toomevara, and went into the game as underdogs, on the basis of the brilliance shown by the North side the previous Sunday. However, the mid champions, the only divisional champions still in contention, proved themselves powerful contenders for ultimate honours by taking the scalp of the Greyhounds.

They led by 2 points at the interval, 0-10 to 1-5 and put in a great performance in the second-half to keep the county champions at bay. They fully deserved their 4-point victory on a scoreline of 0-19 to 1-12. The major contributor to the victory, as he was the previous Sunday, was Seamus Callanan, who contributed twelve points of the total, five of them from play.

The second semi-final was less gripping as Thurles Sarsfields showed too much class for Upperchurch-Drombane, who had shocked them in the Mid semi-final. Sarsfields led by 1-7 to 0-4 at the interval and were well ahead by 2-17 to 0-10 at the final whistle. Pa Bourke, with nine points, played a leading role for the winners..

The Final

And so it was on to the final at Semple Stadium on October 18, 2009. A crowd of close to 10,000 turned up for the occasion. The day was fine but dull and there was an expectation in the air that this might be a special final, because of the number of talented players on the field.

The tension between the sides broke out in a bit of argy-bargy between two of the centrefield players even before the ball was thrown in. And, eventually the game was on its way.

It never really took off. Drom never got moving. By the twelfth minute Sarsfields were 5 points to nil in front. Drom got their first score in the fourteenth minute. They made something of a fightback in the second quarter if you could term three points a fightback, but Thurles had four themselves to lead by 0-9 to 0-3 at the interval.

The second half brought no great change. The sides shared two points in a very poor third quarter and another two over the next ten minutes. Ger 'Redser' O'Grady, whose year had been dogged by injury, came off the bench in the closing stages to grab two great points for Sarsfields and give a lift to a very flat game.

Thurles finished nine points to the good. They had two stars in Padraic Maher and Michael Cahill, while Johnny Enright, Pa Bourke and Denis Maher deserve mention. It was a game that Drom Inch will want to forget as there wasn't a single memory from it that they will want to remember.

Thurles Sarsfields: Patrick McCormack, Kevin O'Gorman, Padraic Maher, Barry O'Dwyer, Liam Cahill, Michael Cahill, Stephen Lillis, Alan Kennedy, Michael Gleeson (0-1), Pa Bourke (0-4), Shane Ryan, Denis Maher (0-1), Richie Ruth (0-1), Lar Corbett, Johnny Enright (capt.), 0-5. Subs: David Kennedy for Shane Ryan, Ger O'Grady (0-2) for Richie Ruth, John Lalor for Liam Cahill, David O'Dwyer for Alan Kennedy, Michael Collins for Kevin O'Gorman. Also: Bill McCormack, Colm Rourke, John Maher, Patrick Leahy, Eoin Russell, Tommy Collins, Stephen Mason, Wayne Cully, Jim Corbett, Tony Ruth, Garry Mernagh, John Connors.

Drom Inch: Damien Young, Matin Butler, Edward Costello, Michael Costello, Donncha Kennedy, Paul Stapleton, Micheál Butler, James Woodlock (capt.), Seamus Butler, Eric Woodlock, Seamus Callanan (0-2), John Kennedy (0-1), David Butler, Michael Long, Johnny Ryan (0-2). Subs; Eamonn Buckey for Paul Stapleton, Declan Ryan for Michael Long, Matthew Ryan for Eric Woodlock, David Collins for Declan Ryan, James Ryan for James Woodlock. Also: Ciarán Hassett, Liam Ryan, Paddy Kennedy, John Lillis, Shane Delaney, Paul Collins, Philip Looby, Enda Walsh, Michael Everard, Tom Cantwell, Padraig Butler, Matthew McGrath, Paul Connors, Brian Costello, Kevin Butler, Paul Ryan.

Man of the Match Award: Padraic Maher.

Referee: Sean Bradshaw (Kickhams).

Attendance: Approx. 10,000

Country Senior Hurling Championship

Round 1

12/09/2009 Boherlahan Portroe 3.13 Ballybacon G 0.19 John Ryan Bob

12/09/2009 Boherlahan Toomevara 3.20 Carrick Swans 1.10 Richie Barry

13/09/2009 Templemore Upperchurch D 2.18 Cappawhite 0.17 Ger Fitzpatrick

13/09/2009 Templemore Borrisoleigh 1.20 Loughmore C 0.14 Noel Cosgrave

13/09/2009 Cashel Killenaule 1.21 Golden Kilfeacle 0.11 John Cleary

13/09/2009 Cashel Thurles Sarsfields 0.18 Knockavilla K 1.08 Seamus Roche

19/09/2009 Templemore Upperchurch D 1.16 Portroe 0.11 Keith Delahunty

19/09/2009 Templemore Toomevara 4.16 Killenaule 1.14 Johnny Ryan

20/09/2009 Dolla Thurles Sarsfields 2.22 Kilruane MacD 1.10 Paddy Russell

20/09/2009 Nenagh Borrisileigh 2.16 Lorrha Dorrha 1.13 Seamus Roche

Quarter Finals

26/09/2009 S Stadium Thurles Sarsfields 1.18 Nenagh Eire Óg 0.18 Seamus Roche

26/09/2009 S Stadium Upperchurch D 3.23 Mullinahone 3.17 Tommy Ryan AET

27/09/2009 S Stadium Drom & Inch 2.15 Borrisoleigh 0.19 Sean Bradshaw

27/09/2009 S Stadium Toomevara 1.24 Clonoulty Rossmore 4.08 Noel Cosgrave

Semi Finals

04/10/2009 S Stadium Thurles Sarsfields 2.17 Upperchurch D 0.10 John Cleary

04/10/2009 S Stadium Drom & Inch 0.19 Toomevara 1.12 Seamus Roche

Final

18/10/2009 S Stadium Thurles Sarsfields 0.14 Drom & Inch 0.05 Sean Bradshaw

Seamus O Riain Cup

As stated above all teams that failed to make their divisional semi-finals qualified for the Seamus Ó Riain Cup, fourteen in all. Two teams, Moycarkey-Borris and Kilruane MacDonaghs, got byes to the quarter-finals, while the remaining twelve played first round games. These games were played earlier than in 2008 because of the need to have the finalsits ready to join the Dan Breen Cup in the third round.

Five games in the first round of the Ó Riain Cup were played on the weekend of July 18/19. Boherlahan-Dualla defeated Ballingarry by 1-16 to 0-10 at Cashel on the 18th. Two games were played at Templemore on the 19th. Moneygall defeated Holycross-Ballycahill by 1-16 to 2-8 and Lorrha defeated Cashel King Cormacs by 3-17 to 1-9. The remaining two games were played on the same day. At Nenagh Roscrea defeated Burgess by 1-10 to 1-7 and at the Ragg J. K. Brackens defeated Templederry Kenyons by 0-17 to 1-12.

The final game in the first round was played at Boherlahan on July 26 when Kildangan defeated Eire Óg by 1-15 to 2-9.

Quarter-Finals

Three weeks separated the quarter-finals. Two games were played on August 1 and were won by 1-point margins. At Toomevara Roscrea defeated Moneygall by 4-8 to 1-16 and Kilruane-MacDonaghs defeated Moycarkey-Borris by 1-13 to 1-12 at Templemore.

The remaining two quarter-finals were played on August 22. Kildangan defeated J. K. Brackens by 1-12 to 0-12 at Toomevara, and Lorrha defeated Boherlahan-Dualla by 0-26 to 2-4 at Moneygall.

Semi-Finals

The stage was now set for the semi-finals, which were played on the weekend of September 12/13. At Toomevara Kilruane-MacDonaghs had little difficulty in disposing of Roscrea by 3-14 to 1-8. Three first-half goals gave Kilruane a 3-9 to 0-6 lead at the break and though Roscrea fought back well in the second-half they found it difficult to get through the stout defending of Seamus Hennessy at centre-back.

There was a lot of tension in the second semi-final between Lorrha and Kildangan over a refusal by Kildangan to accede to a Lorrha request to put back the starting time in order to allow three of the panel to return from a family wedding in Spain. As it was they returned early and missed the wedding. Lorrha had the better of the exchanges in the first half and led by 1-8 to 0-5 at the break. Lorrha went further ahead in the third quarter but Kildangan fought back and only three points separated the sides at the final whistle, Lorrha 1-16 Kildangan 0-16.

Final

It was a case of second time lucky for Kilruane-MacDonaghs when they defeated Lorrha by 1-21 to 0-17 in the final of the Ó Riain Cup, which was played ar Borrisokane on October 11. In the previous year's final they lost to Carrick Swan. However, it was Lorrha who got off to the better start and were six points clear after ten minutes but some poor marking allowed Kilruane back into the game and they led by 1-10 to 0-11 at the interval. Kilruane confirmed their superiority in the second half, when Lorrha could only score six points. Many good point opportunities were wasted as players tried for goals. Kilruane thoroughly deserved their seven-point victory after a very impressive display.

Kilruane MacDonaghs: David Reddan, Brian Gaynor, Stephen Murphy, Gavin McAvinchy, Liam Gibson, Seamus Hennessy (capt.),0-1, Niall O'Meara (0-1), Mark O'Leary (0-2), Ray Moloughney (0-4), Kevin Quinlan (0-2), Brian O'Meara (0-6), Jonathon Cahill, Darren Killackey (0-1), Shane Quinlan (0-2). Subs: Diarmuid Cahill for Jonathon Cahill, Declan Barrett for Darren Killackey,, Denis Cahill for Shane Quinlan. 

Lorrha: Kevin Hough, Graham Houlihan, Rory Coen, Tadhg Nevin, Ciaran Hough, Stephen Hogan, Kevin Maher, Patrick Maher, Noel Hogan (capt.) 0-6, Michael Cleary (0-1), Ronan O'Meara (0-6), William Maher (0-2), Cian Hogan, Trevor Hogan, Ciaran Duggan (0-2). Subs: William Hough for Trevor Hogan, Donal Kennedy for Stephen Hogan.

Referee: Johnny Ryan (Boherlahan-Dualla).

Seamus O'Rian Cup

18/07/2009 Cashel Boherlahan Dualla 1.16 Ballingarry 0.10 Richie Barry 

19/07/2009 Templemore Moneygall 2.18 Holycross Ballycahill 1.16 Phil Ryan

19/07/2009 Templemore Lorrha Dorrha 3.17 Cashel King Cormacs 1.09 Tom McGrath

19/07/2009 Nenagh Roscrea 1.10 Burgess 1.07 Michael Cahill

19/07/2009 The Ragg JK Brackens 0.17 Templederry K 1.12 Keith Delahunty

26/07/2009 Boherlahan Kildangan 1.15 Eire Óg Anacarty 2.09 Martin Ryan

Quarter Finals

01/08/2009 Toomevara Moneygall 1.16 Roscrea 4.08 Willie Clohessy

01/08/2009 Templemore Kilruane MacD 1.13 Moycarkey Borris 1.12 Seamus Roche

22/08/2009 Toomevara Kildangan 1.12 JK Brackens 0.12 Seamus Roche

22/08/2009 Moneygall Lorrha D 0.26 Boherlahan Dualla 2.04 Paddy Russell

Semi Finals

12/09/2009 Toomevara Kilruane MacD 3.14 Roscrea 1.08 Sean Bradshaw

13/09/2009 Nenagh Lorrha 1.17 Kildangan 0.16 Johnny Ryan

Final

11/10/2009 Borrisokane Kilruane MacD 1.22 Lorrha Dorrha 0.17 Johnny Ryan

<span class="postTitle">Recent G.A.A. Publications</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2010, pp. 92-93

Recent G.A.A. Publications

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2010, pp. 92-93

First of all I should like to address publications within the county. The good news is that two more club histories are nearing completion. The most immediate is the Newcastle club history, which is due for publication at the Park Hotel, Clonmel on November 28. I haven't seen the book but understand it contains about 300 pages and is a comprehensive history of the club in the Newcastle area since it was founded in the late 1920s.

The second history is of the Cahir club and it isn't clear yet whether it will be ready this side of Christmas. Colm Ó Flaherty and Mattie Hussey have been working away on this work for some time. Mattie Hussey is a distinguished ex-patriate of the town, living in Dublin, and has numerous books to his credit so we can expect a high standard with this publication.

The county 125 committee exhorted clubs during the year to get working on their club histories where these didn't exist or, where they were written around the time of the Centenary Year, to update them. Sean O'Donnell is working away on an update of the history of St. Mary's. The original volume covered the first sixty years of the club, 1929 to 1989, and Sean is covering the next twenty years. He hopes to have it completed during 2010.

Another update is the Toomevara club history, which appeared first in 1985. Paddy O'Brien and a team of researches are working on this. The work involved on such updates is made easier by the availability of records and published material now, in contrast to the early years of a club. In some cases this ease is offset by the sheer number of competitions being played.

Work in Progress

Work is in progresss on a number of publications. Liam Ó Donnchú is hoping that the first volume of the Thurles Sarsfields story will see the light of day during 2010. Liam has been somewhat derailed from his task by the publication of the history of Pouldine National School, which is due for completion this year.

P. J. Maxwell, who has contributed so much to research into the G.A.A. in the county, is working on the Nenagh Eire Óg history. This is a big story and P. J. is hoping it will be published by the end of 2010. Ardfinnan G.A.A. Club have also started work on their history and have drafted in former South Board secretary, Micheal Ó Meara to write it up.The Galtee Rovers club are hoping their history will see the light of day next year, which will be the 125th year of the club's existence.

Martin Burke's monumental volume 2 of the Mid board pictorial history is due for publication at the Templemore Arms on November 21. Everyone familiar with volume 1 will know what a comprehensive visual record this will be. Martin has been an indefatigable researcher of pictures from the past and he has done the Mid and the county some service in this publication. The textual history of the board will be commenced in the New Year and is expected to take two years to complete.

On a much smaller scale but instilled with a lot of local pride and belief in one's club is a booklet entitled Celebrating the 125th Anniversary of the G.A.A. 1884-2009 and published by the Clonoulty-Rossmore G.A.A. Club. The club didn't get round to doing anything for Lá na gClub in May but had their own special Lá na gClub in October. They decided to produce a booklet telling about their achievements in the past and the present. And, because the club is so much a part of the parish and so many parishioners are part of the club, the achievements are as much about the parish as they are of the club. So, the booklet invites the people of Clonoulty-Rossmore to be proud of their achievements and with this in mind a copy of the booklet was distributed to every household in the parish. There is also a longer aim in producing the booklet, that it may whet the members' appetite for a fully-fledged history of the club. The booklet is available from the secretary of Clonoulty-Rossmore for •5 (plus postage).

Without a doubt The Gaelic Athletic Association 1884-2009, a collection of fourteen essays edited by Mike Cronin, Paul Rouse and William Murphy, is a major contribution to the 125th Anniversary of the foundation of the G.A.A.

Apart from the intrinsic worth of each essay and its contribution to the history of the G.A.A. over 125 years, the book brings together a collection of eminent historians, who turn their attention to an organisation, which has been a pivotal force in Irish life since its foundation, and yet has been ignored by cultural historians, who have always believed that the interests and pursuits of the hoi polloi in society are of more importance than the occupations of the masses, of which sport is an example per excellence.

It is not the intention of this review to give detailed comment on the essays. Suffice it is to say that Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh has a must-read piece 'The G.A.A. as a force in Irish Society'. If you want Michael Cusack in concise form, read Paul Rouse, who spoke at the Grangemockler weekend. American academic, Angie Gleason, has a challenging piece on 'Hurling in Medieval Ireland'. There are more, such as 'Gaelic Games and the Movies', most of them stimulating, and all of them readable. The book, published by the Irish Academic Press, retails at •29.95, but can be got for less.

A companion to the above work is The G.A.A.: A People's History by two of the above authors, Mike Cronin and Paul Rouse, together with Mark Duncan, and published by the Collins Press at •29.99. Containing over 400 pages it reflects the diversity, the passion and the sheer fascination of 125 years of G.A.A. history. Lavishly illustrated and including photographs that have never appeared in print before, the book outlines how Gaelic games and the scoial world which revolves around the Gaelic Athletic Association, has shaped the lives of generations of Irish people at home and abroad. From parades and ballads to epic journeys across land and sea, this history of the G.A.A. is as much about what happened off the field as what happened on it. As the cover sleeve caption puts it 'this book is about how generations pf Irish people have spent their time in the hours between work and sleep, in thrall to their games and the Association that organises them.'

Related thematically to the above and covering much of the ground is An Illustrated History of the G.A.A. by Eoghan Corry, published by Gill & Macmillan for •16.99. It traces the history of the Gaeilc Athletic Association in pictures from it foundation in the late nineteenth century through to its continuing success at the heart of sporting culture in Ireland. Again it includes some very rare photographs.

Serving its purpose in a different way is The Liam MacCarthy Cup by Sean Óg Ó Ceallacháin and Owen McCann, which deals with the famous cup from the year it was first presented to Limerick captain, Bob McConkey, after winning the 1921 All-Ireland, which wasn't played until 1923. Did you know that more goals were scored by Limerick in that final, eight, than by any other team in all the finals since? A number have scored seven, including Tipperary in their 1951 win over Wexford. Another point the authors are at pains to emphasise is that his name is MacCarthy and not McCarthy, which has been used for so long. As well as giving short accounts of each final (and O'Ceallaghan attended his first in 1932) there are a number of appendixes giving facts and figures, scorers and teams, the winning captains and winning rankings.

The only disappointing thing about the book is the use of the initials rather than the full first names of the players. In the light of the wonderful research that P. J. Maxwell has done in including the full christian names of all 17,000 players who have played for Tipperary in hurling and foootball championships in all grades, the omission of full Christian names is a glaring one. The book, which is published by Gill and Macmillan and costs €21.99, was launched in the old House of Lords in the Bank of Ireland, College Green, Dublin. It was ironic to see King Billy on horseback staring down on the proceedings from one of the fine tapestries on the wall.

It's been getting better by the year but this year's county senior hurling final program excels anything that went before it. A lavish production of sixty-four pages, it has everything and is a credit to programme editor, Ger Corbett. I would go so far as to call it a mini-Yearbook, including as it does even an obituary section! The quality of the pictures is outstanding, the amount of information is phenomenal. Nobody involved is forgotten and the previews of the two games are extensive. A lovely section is called County Final Memories in which players from different clubs recall their first county final. As a gesture to the 125 Anniversary of the G.A.A. there is a fine appreciation of the oldest surviving All-Ireland senior player in the county, Jimmy Butler Coffey by P. J. Maxwell, as well as some pitures out of the past. There's a six-page spread on the Borrisoleigh teams of 1981, 1983 and 1986, who were honoured on the day. Definitely deserving a McNamee Award!

There's an article in the Tipperary Historical Journal 2009 that everyone should read. It's a socio-economic profile of Tipperary Hurlers, 1895-1900 and its done by County Waterford man, Tom Hunt, who is a teacher at Mullingar and who has done similar studies of sports, including G.A.A. in County Westmeath. Players and officials from Tubberadora, Suir View Rangers, Horse and Jockey and Two Mile Borris were used in the analysis, 96 players in all.

It's not the usual kind of analysis we get in G.A.A. books as it investigates the social background, occupations and family ties of the men who played Gaelic Games in these clubs.

And what does the study tell us? The men who played hurling were 19-30 years of age and only 6% of them were married. Most of then, 83.3% were involved in agricultural pursuits with the vast number of them from the bigger farms. Farm labourers were under-represented. While they were represented 2-1 in rural society they were only 3.4 to 1 on the teams. Just as most of the players came from bigger farms, they also lived in the better houses. Houses were divided into four classes and most of the players resided in class 2 houses. Well worth a read. The report concludes:

'The G.A.A. in mid-Tipperary in the 1890s attracted its support mainly from the farming community but all classes of rural society involved themselves in the association. The G.A.A. thus provided those who were previously recreationally disenfranchised with an outlet for sporting involvement. No other sporting organisation of the day promoted a similar inclusiveness. The organisation gained its greatest strength from the more substantial farmers in the region.'

From across the border in Limerick comes a very controversial book which sets out to examine the inside story of Limerick hurling. One All-Ireland since 1940 is something that all true followers of the game in the county find it difficult to swallow. What is the reason? Unlimited Heartbreak by Henry Martin, published by the Collins Press for €19.95 looks for the answers through interviews with over 100 passionate players, dedicated mentors and officials, who witnessed everything first-hand and have a story to tell. The interviews provide a unique perspective on victories, defeats, controversies, rows and had-luck stories of what went wrong and where it went wrong. The prone form of Dave Clarke stretched on the gress at Semple Stadium after Limerick's shock defeat by Clare in the 1995 Munster senior hurling final, which illustrates the cover, says a lot about the theme of the book.

Finally I want to mention two more books, Brian Cody's and Donal Óg Cusack's autobiographies, both of which are immensely interesting. The Cody book is ghost written by Martin Breheny and retails at €19.95. The Cusack book has got huge publicity because of the revelation of his sexual orientation, while the book has so much more to say. It is ghost written by Tom Humphries.

<span class="postTitle">Celebrating the 125th Anniversary of CLG in County Tipperary</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2010, pp. 64-65

Celebrating the 125th Anniversary of CLG in County Tipperary

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2010, pp. 64-65

The Tipperary county board took seriously the request from Croke Park that each county celebratethe 125th anniversary of the foundation of the G.A.A. in a fitting manner. A committee was set up to investigate appropriate ways in which the event could be honoured. The committee consisted of chairman, Seamus J. King, secretary, Liam Ó Donnchú and committee members John Costigan, Ed Donnelly, Sean Nugent, Seamus O'Doherty and Denis Floyd. At different times county chairman, Barry O'Brien, county secretary, Tim Floyd, and county P.R.O., Ger Ryan, sat in on discussions. On a couple of occasions chairman of the National 125 Committee, Jarlath Burns, and chairman of the Munster 125 Committee, Jim Forbes, attended.

The committee drew up a number of planned events for the year, the first of which took place on Saturday, February 14 This day commenced with an historic meeting of Coiste Bainistí in Hayes's Hotel at 9 am. It was followed by an Árd Comhairle meeting in the Davin Room of the hotel at 2.30pm. The Davin Room was decorated with items from the Lár na Páirce Collection There was a reception for the visiting dignitaries in the Dome at Semple Stadium at 5 pm and this was followed at 6.45 pm by the official opening of the newly-refurbished Semple Stadium and the turning-on of the floodlights by An t-Uachtaran, after which the National Hurling League game between Tipperary and Cork was played. The Thurles Gospel Choir provided entertainment at half-time. It was a very successful event with close to 10,000 people in attendance enjoying the novelty of hurling under lights on a clear, crisp night.

Lá na gClub

The clubs in the county were exhorted to remember the 125 anniversary in their own way by holding events on Lá na gClub, Sunday, May 10. The day was left clear of any interclub engagements so that clubs could hold a special celebratory day for their members.

One club, Grangemockler, had flagged their intention from very early on to celebrate the event in a very special way. The home of Michael Hogan of Bloody Sunday fame, the club organised a series of events on the weekend of May 16/17. Included was a wreath laying ceremony, the unveiling of a memorial to Michael Hogan by Christy Cooney, a lecture by Paul Rouse and Mark Duncan, a Bloody Sunday exhibition and an inter-county tournament with a hurling game between Tipperary and Kilkenny, and a football game between Kerry and Dublin. Unfortunately the events, speerheaded by Mick Pendar and an enthusiastic local committee, were severely hit by most unseasonable weather. The unveiling ceremony was postponed but was eventually performed on November 1. A full house attended the lecture but the matches had to be called off.

As a result of the county board making successful representations to Munster Council to have the senior hurling final played at Semple Stadium, regardless of the teams involved, the 125 committee set about building a number of events around the weekend of July 10/12. Thurles Town Council hosted a civic reception for Munster Council and Tipperary County Board members in the Tipperary Institute on Friday evening and this was followed by an Historical Presentation, chaired by Dr. Willie Nolan, in which Seamus Leahy gave a Personal Perspective on the Founding Members of the G.A.A., Corkman, John Arnold, spoke of Different G.A.A. Rivalries between the Counties of Munster, and Damian Cullen spoke of the Treatment of Hurling in Film.

Night at the Dogs

On Saturday there was a juvenile hurling blitz, a long puck competition and a special Mass. As well there was a Night at the Dogs, which included four races with a Munster hurling flavour and an inter-county dimension. At the same time there was a gig rig in Liberty Square.

One of the most exciting events was a torch run from the home of Michael Cusack in Carron, Co. Clare which started on Saturday with the torch borne by club members through the parishes between Carron and Thurles. The Clare clubs handed over to Limerick at the edge of the city and they in turn passed it on the the Tipperary clubs when they reached the county boundary. The torch arrived in Liberty Square on Saturday evening and the run continued from Hayes's Hotel to Semple Stadium on Sunday afternoon, arriving at 3-15 pm and the torch was carried into the stadium by Jimmy Doyle. The Munster final followed, before which the captains of the winning teams of the past twenty-five years were introduced to the crowd. The Artane School of Music was in attendance and provided entertainment at half-time. Earlier in the day they had played in Liberty Square. It added to the success of the weekend that Tipperary won.

The Mighty Blue and Gold

One of the most unusual events planned around the 125 celebrations was a song contest to find a new song to represent Tipperary, not necessarily to replace the inimitable Slievenamon, but to give a greater choice to the Tipperary supporter. In conjunction with Fran Curry and Tipp FM a good interest was generated, the entries were aired on the station, a short list of nine songs was agreed and the grand final was held in the Premier Hall at Thurles. The Roscrea song, The Mighty Blue and Gold by Seamus Doran, a rousing ballad, was declared the winner of the special prize of •1,000.

Probably the most lasting project of the 125 committee was the setting up of the Tipperary G.A.A. Archives Website, www.tippgaaarchives.com <http://www.tippgaaarchives.com/> Three people were responsible for this outstanding contribution to the G.A.A. in County Tipperary, P. J. Maxwell, Ed Donnelly and Mark O'Leary. P. J. Maxwell compiled a list of over 17,000 players, who have represented the county at championship level in hurling and football in all grades since 1886. The huge merit of this compilation is that it includes full christian names and club identification of all the players involved. Ed Donnelly compiled a list of Club Champions and Captains, which includes the divisional and county championship Roll of Honour for all grades in hurling and football from minor C to senior since each competition began. The name of the winning captain is included for over 75% of all county champions. Mark O'Leary set up the website and supporting database to make all this information easily accessible. The use of modern technology will ensure that not only can the information be easily searched online, the website can be updated in real-time and includes all teams and champions for 2009 to date.

Sean Gaeil Awards

The concluding events of the year included a wreath-laying ceremony at the Archbishop Croke Memorial in Liberty Square, Thurles and a speech by G.A.A. President, Christy Cooney, on November day. This was preceded by a special Mass, celebrated by Archbishop Clifford at Thurles Cathedral, and a parade of dignitories to the Croke Memorial. The presentations to the 2009 recipients of the Sean Gael awards were made in the Dome with an t-Uachtaran as guest speaker. On the evening before the postponed football match, between Cork and Tipperary, from the Grangemockler weekend was played under lights at Semple Stadium.

The final event was the laying of a wreath at the grave of Maurice Davin on November 26. This was done in comjunction with the Munster Council and included an oration delivered by Jack Ryan, the son of Seamus, who wrote the acclaimed biography of the first President of the G.A.A. The Munster Council used the occasion to heolf their mionthly meeting in the town.

Other events during the year organised by the committee included a Primary Schools ground hurling blitz in the Spring.The 125 committee also encouraged every club in the county to set up its own website. At the beginning of the year twenty-nine clubs had websites and Ed Donnelly made a template available to the remaining clubs so that they could set them up. As well clubs were encouraged to include their information on the club database in Croke Park. Twenty-seven clubs had provided data and the remaining clubs were to be targeted. Finally clubs were exhorted to get their histories written and, where they already existed, to have them updated in 2009.

Conclusion

At the end of the year the committee looked back with a certain amount of satisfaction at the success of their initiatives to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the foundation of the G.A.A. Whereas it was difficult to assess the impact the events had on the public at large, there was a strong belief that most people in the county had at least heard of the 125th anniversary. The variety of events focused in different ways on the past, the present and the future of the Gaelic Athletic Association in the county. 

There was an understandable emphasis on the origins of the association with the Torch Run from Michael Cusack's home in Carron, through the reading of Croke's letter to Cusack by Maurice Davin's nephew, Pat Walsh, at the Croke Memorial in Thurles and the wreath-laying and oration at the grave of Davin at Churchtown, Carrick-on-Suir. The Grangemockler Weekend also looked back to the past and the place of their native son, Michael Hogan, in the history of the G.A.A. while the lectures and talks sought to put the G.A.A. into perspective in the context of Irish society.

The celebrations were also very much about the present in the switching on of the lights at Semple Stadium in February with the first National Hurling League game, the Primary Schools' hurling blitz, Lá na gClub, when each club celebrated their achievements in their own parishes, the Munster final and the events surrounding the weekend, the hosting the first round of the Munster Club hurling championship at Semple Stadium and the presentation of the Sean Gael awards in the Dome.

And the future wasn't forgotten. Towards the end of the year the county board were drawing up the strategic plan for the future of the G.A.A. in the county over the next decade.The setting up of the extended Tipperary G.A.A. Archives website ensures that the achievements of the past will not be forgotten but will be available through modern technology to be accessed in the future by the public at large. The creation of club websites and the writing or updating of club histories will ensure that the achievements of the past will be available to club members in the future and, the existence of the Mighty Blue and Gold , will allow us to express in a new way our loyalty to the county in the years to come. 

<span class="postTitle">Tom Lambe - A Hurler of Note</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2010, pp. 170-173

Tom Lambe - A Hurler of Note

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2010, pp. 170-173

Tom Lambe of Redwood, Lorrha was one of thirty-four recipients of Sean Gael awards from G.A.A. President, Christy Cooney, at the Dome, Semple Stadium, Thurles on Sunday, November 1. Ninety-one years of age, having been born on August 24, 1918. he walked up to the podium to collect his presentation without any of the afflictions to his body that one might expect so many years to bring: he was sprightly and moved with ease.

Watching him I recalled to myself a summer's day in 1948 or 1949 when I was bringing home a load of turf from Redwood bog.  I had a full load of black, stone turf and I was sitting on the top of the creel driving the horse and following my father who was on the front load.  As I was passing Lambe's, or Bill Kennedy's house as it was still called, Tom came out and stopped us.  He had a hurley in his hand and handed it up to me: 'Take that, it should suit you', he said, or something to that effect.

It was the first decent hurley stick I ever had.  It made a strong impression on me because I can recall the occasion sixty years later as vividly as on the day.  I can see us stopping, Tom coming out and reaching the hurley up to me.  I don't  remember what went before or after, the filling of the load in the bog or throwing it into the shed later.  It was a special moment in my life and the sun was shining also.

I suppose it wasn't only the hurl that made the occasion special but the man from whom it came.  Tom was a special player on the Lorrha senior team that won the North Tipperary senior hurling championship in 1948 and went on to lose to Holycross-Ballycahill in the county final.  Tony Reddin had made his name that year against Borrisoleigh in the North final and if he was my God, Tom Lambe was next to him, playing at wingback.

All these thoughts came winging back to me in the Dome and I got a great desire to have a decent chat with the man, when we had time on our side. There were so many questions I wanted to ask him about life in Redwood and his own background in hurling as he grew up in the shadow of Redwood Castle.  So I went to visit him in Coorless, Rathcabbin, where he has lived since he married Nancy Sherlock in August 1949.

Tom was the second of a family of six, four boys and two girls born to Bill Lambe and Margaret Kennedy.  His earliest memory goes back to the Civil War.  He recalls Free State soldiers crossing the fields to his home and inquiring for Sommerville's Pub.  Ned Mannion. originally from Portumna, was hiding out there and the Free State had got word of it.  Later in the day the soldiers passed back with the arrested Ned in tow.  They were heading back to the Shannon to board the boat that had brought them into the neighbourhood. Tom is of the belief that more of the people in the neighbourhood were Republican than Free Stater.

It was understandable that the Free Staters would have come into the area by boat. Not only were the roads dangerous for lorry loads of soldiers but the road around Redwood at the time wasn't much more than a dirt track.  The road as such finished at Loughmane's gate beyond Killycross at one side and at Bill Kennedy's house down from Redwood Castle on the other.  In between was a partly gravel track with plenty of potholes.  In fact the road at Bill Kennedy's used to continue down to the Shannon and was kept in repair by the County Council.  Local landlord, Trench, had land down to the river bank and the road provided access.

National School

Tom went to school at the age of five years to the local national school, which was beside Redwood Castle.  It was a two-storey building that had been converted to a school at some stage. Believed to have been a 'seat of learning' in the past, it later served as a police barrack, and eventually a school. Interestingly, Tom's father remembers four different schools in the area as he grew up. He went to a hedge school, which was located in Gleeson's field behind Redwood Chapel. The master was Brian Carroll from Curragha and the twelve scholars paid one penny per day to be taught. 

Tom's teachers were Miss Kelly in charge of juniors, who used to stay at Ryans in Ballea, and Mrs. Grogan, who came originally from Whitegate, Co. Clare, and who lived at Grange. She was extremely cross. Tom remembers getting lots of stick, plenty of beatings while in school. He believed Mrs. Crogan had a set on him though at the same time he admitted that he was a bit of a leader among the boys and up to all kinds of devilment. As a result it was many a time he got the stick, not only on the hands, but across the bare legs as well. On numerous occasions he went home with red weals to show for the beatings he received. He believed the teachers had favourites and that fact, plus the beatings turned him against school. His feelings were such that he recalls when Mrs. Grogan, who had been in ill-health, died in 1928, the children cheered!

The roof of the Castle school was in bad repair and began to let in the rain. It was decided to build a new school at Kilmurray, between the Castle and Redwood Church. The site of the new school had been a graveyard at some stage. (Kill, in the name suggests a church and it probably had a graveyard beside it.) At any rate Tom recalls bones being thrown up when the foundations were being dug. The boys and girls moved into the new two-teacher school in 1926.

It wasn't all bad memories for Tom at primary school. Hurling made him forget the worst aspects of schooling. There was a bit of a field in the front of the school where the boys played at lunch time and after school as well. They organised games among themselves. Tom remembers the great amount of talent at the time with the Sullivans, Kennedys, Brownes, Lambs and Guinans. They had no difficulty getting a team together. Major (He wasn't a real major but given the title because of his fine physique) Sammon, a farmer up the road, who had much more interest in hurling than in farming, used to come to the school to referee their games. Games were also organised with the other schools in the parish and played on a Sunday afternnoon. Tom recalls that they beat Rathcabbin and Lorrha schools for three years running. They had to negotiate a venue for the games with some farmer, usually halfways between the schools. Paddy Sullivan's field in the Lordspark was a venue for one of the games with Rathcabbin. They had no jerseys to wear and used a variety of hurleys, from crooked stick to the real thing. Interestingly there was no such thing as football.

According to Eugene O'Meara, who was a few years younger than Tom and attended Lorrha school, Tom was the star hurler in the parish as a juvenile. He was head and shoulders over all around him and dominated the middle of the field. There were no interclub juvenile competitions at the time and Lorrha didn't enter a minor competition until 1941. The result was that Tom had no platform outside the parish to show off his hurling skills

Tom had left school by 1939 when the present Redwood National School was opened. Asked why another new school was built so soon after Kilmurray, Tom said that Canon Moloney had sold the priest's field in Rathcabbin and decided to build three new schools in the parish with the proceeds and Redwood was the first.

In fact Tom stayed at school until he was fifteen years of age. He had to wait until then to get confirmed and Dr. Fogarty did the honours. While he was in the school he, and the rest of the boys and girls, had to bring a sod of turf a day to heat the school. Tom used to serve Mass for Fr. O'Flynn, who died in 1935. Fr. O'Flynn had a habit of hitting the boys on the altar whenever he wanted anything done. The result was that they gave him a wide berth. Asked what he did when he left school Tom said he went home to wheel turf in the bog. He had no more formal schooling but he picked up the ways of farming from his father and from him he also learned building skills, which stood him in good stead during his farming life.

Social Life

There wasn't much in the line of social activities for someone growing up in Redwood in the nineteen- thirties. The main recreation was hurling and with many young lads of the same age around there were plenty of opportunities. Tom recalls that Bonfire Night on June 21 was a big night in the area. The bonfire was lit outside Guinan's gate and Thomas Moran and Tom Kennedy used to provide the music with their melodeons.

Fair days also provided some relief from the monotony of daily life. There were fairs at Birr and Portumna. August 15 was a very big day in Portumna. Of course agricultural life was fairly depressed during the thirties with very poor prices for products. Tom recalls driving four cattle to Birr in 1932 and missing a sale at £7 each. The cattle were driven home, fed for the winter and sold to a butcher at the end of the spring for £8 each.

Of course it was cheap to live. Skerries Champions were the main potato and a great source of nourishment. Tom recalls his mother used to boil a pot of potatoes in the evening and turn them out on the the table with butter and salt. He remembers going to bed with a swoollen stomach on many occasions. They killed their own meat, made their own butter and had little resource to the shops except for a few things like tea.

Tom started dancing about twenty years of age and most of the dances were house dances. He remembers they used to go over to Thomas Moran's to listen to the gramaphone. He was one of the few who had one and it contained the big horn for the projection of sound. One great side effect of these visits was that Mrs. Moran used to make a pot of rice and they filled their bellies as well as listened to the music.

Hurling Life

Tom started playing senior hurling in 1938, following two unsuccessful years in the junior ranks. It wasn't a very auspicious start as Lorrha were beaten 11-3 to 1-0 by Roscrea with Tom playing at right corner forward. There's a picture of him on a seven-a-side team in the gold medal tournament at Woodford in 1939. There were a number of junior teams in the parish during this period, including one in Redwood. In fact there was a long tradition of hurling in Redwood, going back to the early days of the Association, and before. Teams from Redwood used to cross the Shannon to play Meelick and Tiernascragh, and vice versa. Rathcabbin had the pick of the parish team. There was general dissatisfaction with their picking method as they were very slow to pick anyone from Redwood. Lorrha were relegated to intermediate in 1940. 

Generally the parish was divided and failed to deliver on its true potential. It took the arrival oif Fr. Paddy O'Meara in 1946 to bang heads together and get a unified team from the parish. Before this happened Tom played intermediate and used to play wing- and centreforward. He reckons he played his best hurling at this time and he preferred playing in the forwards to the backs, where he was to end his career. The fact that there was no intercounty junior championship between 1942 and 1945 inclusive may explain why Tom never played with the county. Already during the thirties he started running cross-country which was a huge participatory sport at the time. He won a county junior title in 1944. He is of the opinion that such running wasn't much good for hurling, slowing you down rather than anything else.

Once the parish was united success came. Lorrha won the county intermediate title in 1946 after a tough encounter against Maycarkey-Borris at Gaile, and went senior. Divisional senior success followed in 1948 before defeat by Holycross-Ballycahill in the county final. Asked if Lorrha were overtrained for the final, Tom is very definite: 'No, not overtrained, but overpowered.' According to him they came up against a much superior team on the day. The Holycross forwards were very good and their backs, particularly John Doyle and Pat Stakelum, were much too good for them. He makes the interesting point that many of the Lorrha lads had gone past their best at that stage, were in fact thirty years and over. Also, some key players did not perform well on the day.

Tom, himself was thirty years old in that final. He married Nancy Sherlock, whose father had won two divisional titles with Lorrha in 1914 and 1924 ˆ he was captain in 1924 - , in 1949 and retired in 1951. Ironically, he got a call-up for a county trial the same year and went to Ennis for a match against Clare, but was never called off the bench. He made one return to the game, in 1959, as full-back on the junior team and had as company, three other oldies, Billy and Hubie Hogan and Mick Brophy, plus a number of good minors. They had some success and there's a photograph of the team in the Lorrha G.A.A. history. Tom served as a selector on the senior team will Billy Hogan for a couple of years around 1970 

Tom was one of the best hurlers ever in the parish. As a juvenile he was head and shoulders over the opposition. He was unfortunate to reach maturity at a time when Lorrha were relegated to intermediate level. Equally so, in the absence of an intercounty junior championship during the war years, he never got recognition on the bigger stage. Seven-a-Side tournaments were quite common at the time and Tom was always an automatic choice on the Lorrha side. As well as being a good hurler, he had a high level of fitness that resulted from life on the farm but also a life style that excluded smoking and drinking. He was always lean and hard, a formidable opponent and a courageous player, who stood back from nothing.