3 in a Row after a 32 Year Gap County Senior Hurling Final program., October 8, 2017

February 7, 2017

3 in a Row after a 32 Year Gap

County Senior Hurling Final program., October 8, 2017

In winning the county senior hurling title of 1992, Toomevara ended a great famine that had lasted thirty-two years. They won the title in a replay with Thurles Sarsfields at Semple Stadium on November 8, the same opposition they had defeated in their previous, 1960 victory.

The celebrations were mighty immediately after the victory and later in the village. One of the speakers at the homecoming was Neil Williams, who had played a major part in the revival of hurling in the parish, and he had some prophetic words on the occasion: ‘There was a warrant out for the arrest of Dan Breen and Toomevara executed the warrant. We’ll keep him in captivity for quite some time. He’s home to stay!’

The victory in 1992 was followed by two more in subsequent years to make it three-in-a row. Nenagh Eire Óg, Boherlahan-Dualla and Clonoulty-Rossmore intervened during the next three years, but Toomevara came back with a bang in 1998 to win four-in-row and dominate the senior hurling scene in the county. Mullinahone spiked their guns in 2002 but they came back for a double in 2003 and 2004, and finished off a great period by winning again in 2006 and 2008, for a grand total of eleven victories in seventeen years, eliminating any vestiges of the famine.

1992

Having lost to Cashel King Cormacs in the 1991 county semi-final, Toomevara made the breakthrough in 1992. They started the year well by winning the league, with victory over Borrisilegh and this victory was to prove important as they had to rely on it to get into the knockout stages of the county championship.

They didn’t do well in the North championship, losing to Borrisileigh in a replayed first-round game. This put them into the losers group. They beat Kilruane-MacDonoghs and Portroe to win the final and qualify for the semi-final proper. It took three games to decide the tie against Lorrha and Toomevara came out on the wrong side of the verdict.

This is where the league victory came into play. As winners Toomevara had earned the right of a play-off with the championship runners-up for the right to represent the division as the second team in the county championship. Ironically, Lorrha were again their opponents. After a very poor start Toomevara found themselves eleven points in arrears at the end of the first quarter. However, the team rose to the challenge and eventually won by four points and qualify for the county championship.

County Championship

Four days after the victory over Lorrha on September 13 and won by 2-9 to 0-10., Toomevara played Ballingarry in the quarter-final at Semple Stadium. Four weeks later they played Loughmore-Castleiney in the semi-finbal. The mid side were hot favourites to win this encounter but Toomevara hung in and scored four points without reply in the final quarter to reach the county final for the first time since 1961 on a scoreline of 0-11 to 0-9.

Their opponents in the final were Thurles Sarsfields and the sides clashed in Semple Stadium on November 1. An uninspiring game saw the sides level on a scoreline of Thurles Sarsafields 1-10, Toomevara 0-13 at the end of sixty minutes and the teams had to meet again a week later. On this occasion Toomevara came out on top by 0-12 to 1-6 in a great game to win their eleventh county senior hurling title.

The county champions were as follows: Jody Grace, Pat Meagher, Rory Brislane, Michael O’Meara (capt.), George Frend, Declan O’Meara, Philip Shanahan, Pat King, Tony Delaney, Tommy Dunne, Michael Murphy, Terry Dunne, Liam Flaherty, Liam Nolan, Tommy Carroll. Subs: Michael Nolan for Liam Flaherty, Kevin McCormack for Tommy Carroll. Also: Sean Nolan, Kenneth McDonnell, John Ryan, Jimmy Dunne, Brendan Spillane, Kevin Delaney, Owen Cuddihy.

Selectors: Fr. Michael Casey, Jim McDonald, Frank Ryan. Coach/selector: P. J. Whelehan.

Referee: Tommy Lonergan (Kilsheelan)

The win qualified Toomevara for the semi-final of the Munster Club championship. On a day on which they played great hurling but drove twenty-three wides, they lost by two points on a scoreline of 2-7 to 0-11.

1993

Toomevara failed once again to win the North championship. They came through the league when they defeated Roscrea in a replay by 1-11 to 1-7. They lost the first round of the championship to Nenagh Eire Óg by 1-9 to 1-8 on a day when Toomevara had two men sent off. Taking the losers group route, they defeated Newport and Borrisokane, before overcoming Borrisoleigh by 1-10 to 0-11 after a dramatic finish, during which they scored 1-1 to grab a semi-final spot.

Toomevara’s opponents were Nenagh Eire Óg, who were in outstanding form on the day and their dominance was reflected in the scoreline of 5-13 to 1-10. Nenagh went on to defeat Moneygall in the final and Toomevara’s entrée to the county championship depended on defeating the runners-up. They made easy work of the task, defeating Moneygall by 1-17 to 1-7 at Cloughjordan on August 29 and qualifying for the county championship.

County Championship

Toomevara’s opponents in the county quarter-final at Templemore on September 12 were Cashel King Cormacs. They gave a very impressive performance in hammering the West champions by 1-17 to 1-4. Their opponents in the semi-final on September 25 were Thurles Sarsfields. This was a most disappointing game in which the champions outshone a poor Sarsfields performance and won by 0-18 to 0-9, having outscored their opponents by 0-6 to 0-1 in the final quarter.

Toomevara’s opponents in the final were Nenagh Eire Óg, a team that had defeated them twice in the North championship. Yet, Toomevara went into the game as favourites on the basis that they hadn’t their act together when they went down in defeat. They justified their favourites tag in the first half leading by 1-8 to 0-3 approaching the interval. While Michael Cleary hit three points to improve Nenagh’s position just before the half-time whistle, Toomevara were still favourites to win. However, Nenagh were transformed after the interval and midway through the second half they went into the lead by 1-11 to 1-9. Toomevara rallied again and with ten minutes to go it was anybody’s game. In a very exciting ending Toomevara went ahead by two points, Nenagh brought it back to one and in a welter of excitement Toomevara survived to win by 1-14 to 1-13 and produce a tremendous ending to a year that hadn’t started off too promising.

The county champions were as follows: Jody Grace (capt.), Pat Meagher, Rory Brislane, Declan O’Meara, George Frend, Michael O’Meara, Philip Shanahan, Tony Delaney, Pat King, Michael Nolan, Michael Murphy, Liam Flaherty, Tommy Carroll, Kevin Kennedy, Tommy Dunne. Subs: John Ryan for Michael Murphy. Also Kevin McCormack, Terry Dunne, Liam Nolan, Michael Delaney, Sean Nolan, Jimmy Dunne, Aidan Maxwell, Brendan Spillane, Noel Kenneally, Michael McCormack.

Selectors: Fr. Michael Casey, Jim McDonnell, Frank Ryan. Coach/selector: Sean Stack.

Referee: Paddy Lonergan (Galtee Rovers).

Toomevara went closer to winning a club All-Ireland in 1993 than in any other year as county champions. Two weeks after winning their second senior championship in a row, they faced Patrickswell at home in the first round of the Munster championship. Before a large crowd they won a comprehensive victory on a scoreline of 5-15 to 1-10.. They also drew a home venue for their semi-final encounter with St. Finbarrs on November 7 and won again, this time by the much narrower margin of 1-10 to 0-12. The final was played at Limerick against Sixmilebridge, which had the awkward predicament that the Toomevara coach, Sean Stack, played centreback for Sixmilebridge. Toomevara came through by 0-15 to 0-7 to bring the Munster Club title to the parish for the first time. The All-Ireland semi-final against Ballycran was played at Croke Park on February 28, 1994 as a curtain-raiser to a NFL game between Dublin and Down and Toomevara came through by 1-13 to 1-5. They were now in the All-Ireland final and their opponents on St. Patrick’s Day were the Galway champions, Sarsfields. Toomevara played with the wind in the first half and led by 2-4 to 0-4 at half-time. However, corner-back, Pat Meagher, was sent off in the twenty-third minute, which meant that the team had to play with fourteen men for most of the hour. It proved too great a task and they were beaten in the end by two points, on a scoreline of 1-14 to 3-6.

1994

Toomevara looked form horses for a third county final in 1994. They were the team to beat, Their performance in the club championship was a signal to all that they were a powerful hurling force once again. They won the league for the third year in a row, beating Nenagh Eire Óg by 0-13 to 0-11 in the final.

They also accounted for Nenagh in the first round of the championship, winning by the same margin of two points. They drew with Lorrha in the second round, but won the replay. They overcame Moneygall by 1-13 to 0-8 in the North semi-final and set up a meeting with Kilruane MacDonaghs in the final. This match was played at Nenagh on August 14 and Toomevara easily overcame the opposition by 1-16 to 0-7. The twelve-point margin of victory was a good indication of their superiority.

County Championship.

Toomevara’s opponents in the county quarter-final at Templemore on August 27 were Thurles Sarsfields. Two goals between the tenth and thirteenth minutes effectively killed off the mid side’s challenge and Toomevara went on to win by 2-16 to 0-9. They played Clonoulty-Rossmore in the semi-final and although Toomevara had a player sent off after only eight minutes, they went on to dominate the game in the second half and win by 4-17 to 1-12.

Toomevara were two to one favourites going into the final against Cashel King Cormacs. They got an early goal, led by 1-6 to 0-4 at the interval, were ahead by 2-9 to 0-6 entering the final quarter and in the end were worthy champions by 3-11 to 1-9

The county, 3-in-a-row, champions were as follows: Jody Grace, Pat Meagher (capt.) Rory Brislane, Declan O’Meara, George Frend, Michael O’Meara, Phil Shanahan, Terry Duunne, Pat King, Kevin Kennedy, Michael Murphy, Tony Delaney, Liam Nolan, Tommy Dunne, Tommy Carroll. Subs: Liam Flaherty for Rory Brislane, Rory Brislane for Liam Nolan. Also: Justin Cottrell, Kevin McCormack, Aidan Maxwell, Joseph O’Meara, Denis Kelly, Michael Bevans, Ray Hackett, Damien o’Meara, Ken Dunne.

Selectors: Fr. Michael Casey, Jim McDonald, Frankie Ryan. Coach/selector: Sean Stack

Referee: Michael Doyle (Holycross-Ballycahill).

Toomevara set out to retain the Munaster Club title they had won for the first time the previous year. They easily overcame Ballyduff by 1-18 to 1-6 at home in the first round. They followed up with victory over Clarecastle at Ennis by the minimum of margins, 1-12 to 1-11 in the semi-final. Their final opponents were Kilmallock. Played at Thurles, Toomevara gave a rather flat performance before going down by 2-11 to 1-11.

By winning their three-in-a-row, Toomevara confirmed their domination in senior hurling in the county and established themselves as one of the great teams in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Not since the 1970s, when Kilruane MacDonaghs won the previous three-in-a-row, was there a team of equal dominance. In winning the three-in-a-row Toomevara equalled a club record achieved in the period 1912-14

Toomevara Club Officers 1992-1994

President: Matt Hassett

Vice-President: Tom Shanahan

Chairman: Fr. Michael Casey, C.C..

Secretary: Matt O’Meara

Treasurer: Bernard O’Neill

Registrar: Neil Williams

P.R.O. Kieran Grace/Philip Shanahan

Player Profiles

Jodie Grace (Coolkereen) was a commanding presence in the goals for the three county final victories and captain of the 1993 side that won the Munster Club title as well. He won junior & senior All-Irelands with Tipperary in 1989 and 1991 respectively.

Rory Brislane (Ashgrove) was Toomevara’s ever-present fullback all through the nineties. He captained Toome to their breakthrough North final win in 1991. A winner of Harty and Croke Cup medals with St. Flannan’s, he represented the county at minor and under-21 levels.

Pat Meagher (Grennanstown) was corner back on all three winning teams and was captain of the 1994 side that also won North senior league and championship.

George Frend (Barnagrotty) was a vital member of the defence on all three winning teams. He won an All-Ireland under-21 title with Tipperary in 1989 and captained the county to a National Hurling League title in 1995.

Michael O’Meara (Ballintotty) was captain of the team for the first of the three-in-a-row county titles. He won a senior All-Ireland with the county in 1991 and captained to county to Munster final glory in 1993.

Pat King (Killowney) was a key centrefield player on the three teams. Earlier in his career he won county intermediate and under-21 titles. In 1995 he won a National Hurling League medal with Tipperary.

Tony Delaney (Chapel Street) was one of the most versatile and durable players on the panel, successfully playing in many positions. A winner of county minor and under-21 medals, he is the holder of an astonishing eleven county senior medals.

Michael Murphy (Millview) was an aggressive centreback. He won a county intermediate medal in 1984 and county inder-21 titles the following two years.

Philip Shanahan (Coolederry) was a classy and skilful defender. He won an All-Ireland under-21 medal with Tipperary in 1995 and, in 1998 captained Toome to a county senior title.

Tommy Dunne (Curraheen) won a North senior title with his father, Tony, in 1991. A winner of an All-Ireland under-21 title in 1995, he captained Tipperary to a senior All-Ireland in 2001. He has three All-Star awards and was named Texaco Hurler of the Year in 2001.

Terry Dunne (Curraheen) was a commanding presence on the field. He won an All-Ireland under-21 medal in 1995 and a senior medal with Tipperary in 2001. He finished his career with eleven county senior hurling medals.

Ken Dunne (Curraheen) was a notable free-taker and became the third member of his family to captain Toome to a North title in 2002. In 2006 he displayed nerves of steel to land the winning point in the Munster Club final.

Michael Nolan (Kilnafinch) was an accurate forward during this era. In 1986 he captained Toome to their first ever county minor title. He won an All-Ireland under-21 title with Tipperary in 1989.

Liam Nolan (Kilnafinch) was a forward with a devastating shot. He won county under16, intermediate and under-21 titles, and scored a goal in the All-Ireland Club final in 1994.

Sean Nolan (Kilnafinch) was the oldest of the three Nolan brothers. He won a county intermediate title in 1981 and was fullback on the Toome team that won the breakthrough North final of 1991.

Micilin Delaney (Chapel Street) won a county minor medal with Toome in 1986 and an All-Ireland Colleges B medal with Nenagh CBS. A year later he won another county minor medal, and a Munster minor medal with Tipperary

Kevin McCormack (Church Street) was a very fine goalkeeper, but he also played out the field. He won an All-Ireland Vocational Schools title in 1988, when he scored three goals in the final at Croke Park. He also won a Munster under-21 medal in 1990.

Kevin Delaney (Clonolea) won a North minor hurling title in 1985, and North and county minor titles the following year. He also has junior A and junior B North titles to his credit.

Owen Cuddihy (Grawn) was a highly regarded goalkeeper. He won a North junior A title in 1991 and North and county junior B titles in 1995.

Joe O’Meara (Roscordagh) won the Corn Mhic Ruain with St. Joseph’s, Borrisoleigh in 1992, a North minor title in 1993, and North and county under-21 titles in 1995.

Denis Kelly (Borrisofarney) won North minor titles in 1993, 1994 and 1995, when he captained the side. He won an All-Ireland Colleges B title with Our Lady’s, Templemore, and North and county under-21 titles in 1995.

Noel Kenneally (Millview) won North and county junior B titles in 1995, and North and county junior A titles in 1997. In 2000 he won North and county junior B titles.

Justin Cottrell (Templedowney) was an able goalkeeper, who played for the county at under-21 and senior level. He won North and county under-21 titles in 1995. In 2001 he captained the first Toome team to win four county senior titles in a row.

Ray Hackett (Grawn) won North minor titles in 1993 and 1994. He won North and county under-21 titles in 1995 and North and county junior A titles in 1997.

Aidan Maxwell (Glenaguile) was a fine defender. He won North and county titles at under-12, under-14 and under-16 levels. In 1995 he captained the Toome under-21 team to North and county titles.

Mikey Bevans (Ballymackey) captained Toome to county senior final wins in 2003 and 2008. In 1995 he won North and county under-21 titles. In 1999 and 2000 he won Fitzgibbon Cup medals with Waterford IT

Jimmy Dunne (Curraheen) RIP, the younger brother of Tony, won a North junior football title in 1982, and North and county intermediate titles in 1984. He captained Toome to North and county junior A titles in 1997.

Brendan Spillane (Lissaniskey), a tight marking corner back, he won North and county intermediate titles in 1984, North and county under-21 titles in 1985 and also has junior A and junior B titles to his credit.

Kevin Kennedy (Chapel Street) was a very effective full forward. He won North and county minor medals in 1987, and North and county under-21 medals in 1990, and a championship medal in New York.

John Ryan (Curraheen) was a fast and elusive forward, who won North and county under-21 titles in 1985 and 1986

Liam Flaherty (Barnagrotty) was a hard working forward, who won North and county under-21 titles in 1985, and North and county junior A titles in 1997.

Kenneth McDonnell (Blakefield) captained Toome to a North minor title in 1985 and was a member of the county under-21 panel in 1988.

Tommy Carroll (Blean) was an astute corner forward who won North and county minor titles in 1987, and a county under-21 medal in 1990.

Declan O’Meara (Ballintotty)won North and county minor medals in 1986 and 1987 and was a superb defender on the three-in-a-row teams. He won a Munster minor medal in 1987 and captained the Tipperary minor team in 1988.

Michael McCormack (Church Street) won North and county intermediate medals in 1984 and a North junior A title in 1991.

Damian O’Meara (Woodlands) was one of the minors drafted into the senior panel in 1994. He captained the minor team to a North title that year, and added North and count under-21 titles, as well as another minor title the following year.

Treasures of Lár na Páirce Munster Senior Hurling quarter-final, Cork v Tipperary at Thurles, May 21, 2017.

February 6, 2017

Treasures of Lár na Páirce

Munster senior hurling quarter-final, Cork v Tipperary at Thurles, May 21, 2017

In an effort to inform people on the exhibits to be seen on a visit to Lár na Páirce, the Museum of Gaelic Games in Thurles, we have started a weekly post on our website, larnapairce.com called the Treasures of Lár na Pairce.

We started with Pat Madden’s hurley. Pat, as you know, was the Meelick man, who captained Galway in the first All-Ireland. Recently, a very impressive monument to a hurler was erected in Farrell’s Field, Birr, where the game was played. Pat’s hurley is anything but impressive, a roughly-hewn piece of timber that would probably be disallowed today on health and safety grounds!
Incidentally, Thurles Sarsfields are re-enacting the first All-Ireland at the Thurles Sports Fest on July 1. The two teams will be suitably outfitted in the playing gear of the period and there will be a vintage parade as well.

Another ‘treasure’ posted was the Tubberadora Cap. Part of the playing gear of the famous Tubberadora team of the end of the 19thth century was a cap. The navy blue caps bore the embroidered letters T H C, Tubberadora Hurling Club, in gold. The caps were part of the playing gear presented to the Tubberadora team by Tipperary Grocers’ Assistants, residing in Dublin. The players wore the caps not solely for the team photograph but also wore them while the game was in progress.

What was regarded as the first inter-county hurling game under G.A.A. rules, was played in the Phoenix Park, Dublin on Tuesday, February 9, 1886. The teams involved were North Tipperary and South Galway. Tipperary won by 1-0 to nil, the only score got by Charles McSorley of the Silvermines club. Michael Cusack organised the game and had a cup sponsored. It is regarded as the oldest G.A.A. trophy and it’s on permanent loan to Lár na Páirce, courtesy of the Silvermines Club, where the cup ended up and got its name.

The dress of the early camogie players in 1904 aped the Victorian dress fashions then in vogue. The players wore long skirts and a blouse and one of the rules stated that ‘Skirts to be worn not less than 6 inches from the ground.’ One of the curious rules at the time stated that ‘intentionally stopping the ball with the skirt was a foul’! When one looks at the dress in Lár na Páirce today one’s immediate reaction is: How was it possible not to stop the ball with a dress so long?

To date there have been eight posts of the treasures and it is intended to continue to post one a week or, as often as time constraints allow. Of course, you can see all the treasurers mentioned as well as many more by visiting the museum.

Ned Treston’s Photograph

One of Michael Cusack’s efforts to promote the game of hurling soon after the foundation of the G.A.A. was an exhibition match in the Phoenix Park, Dublin on February 16, 1886. The teams came from South Galway and North Tipperary and they travelled by train to Dublin on the previous day. They were greeted by Cusack and marched to the Clarence Hotel, where they stayed.

Following a meal, Cusack held a meeting with both sides in which the rules of the game were discussed and agreed. These were the days when most hurling rules were local and the new common set hadn’t yet been widely accepted.

The next item to be discussed was the sliotar to be used. The Tipperary side introduced their sliotar, which was larger than that used in Galway, and it wasn’t well-received by the Galway players. The latter were then invited to show theirs and it was only then they realised they had left it at home in Gort!

This was where the Galway captain stepped into the breach. Ned Treston was a saddler by trade and he decided to make the Galway ball. Before he retired for the night he made the cork core of the sliotar and waited until morning to find a harness maker to cover it with leather.

As soon as businesses were open he did the rounds of the streets in the neighbourhood of the Clarence. There were quite a number of harness makers but five of them refused his request to cover the cork core with leather. The sixth man he came across said to him: ‘Maybe you could do it yourself?’ which Ned did. It was the forerunner of the modern sliotar, based on the design of the cupped hand.

The teams marched from the Clarence Hotel, four deep, with their hurleys on their shoulders to the Fifteen Acres in the Phoenix Park. According to Galway G.A.A. historian, Padraic Ó Laoi ‘The substitutes carried the goalposts.’ The field was marked with the players’ coats. There was no charge to see the game, which had been billed by Cusack as ‘The Championship of Ireland’.
It was nearly three o’clock before the teams lined up with Cusack as referee. Before the game started Dan Burke objected that the Tipperary team wasn’t properly dressed, as they wore neither shoes nor short pants. In the invitation to the teams Cusack had requested that the teams wear a distinctive dress. Cusack agreed with Burke that the Tipperary players were breaking the rules, yet he allowed them to play.

The Galway men got a great reception when they stepped on to the field dressed with green caps, white jerseys. knickerbockers and shoes.

The Tipperary ball was used in the first half and the sides were level at halftime. The smaller Galway sliotar was used in the second half but it didn’t do Galway any favours. Ten minutes from the end Charlie McSorley of the Silvermines scored a goal for Tipperary and the only score of the game gave them victory.

Ned Treston’s ball, which became the prototype of all subsequent sliotars, no longer exists but his photograph holds pride of place in Lár na Páirce with the Silver Cup, which was presented to the Tipperary captain after the victory.

Sean O’Meara (1933-2017) Nenagh Guardian, May 6, 2017

February 1, 2017

Sean O'Meara

Nenagh Guardian, May 6, 2017.

The death of Sean O’Meara of Lorrha on March 18 saw the passing of an outstanding athlete and hurler. Born in October 1933, he was the second son of Jim ‘The Private’ and Margaret O’Meara, and one of four children with Paddy older and Kathleen and Seamus younger.

He first played for Lorrha against Shannon Rovers in the under-15 championship at Kilbarron in 1943. Lorrha were slaughtered on the day by an opposition superbly trained by Rev. John Cleary, C.C. Sean as a nine-year old played on goals but gave such an exceptional performance that when Fr. Cleary spoke to the defeated side after the game, he singled Sean out as the only player he would select on the Shannon Rovers side!

After national school in Lorrha, Sean went to Pallaskenry Missionary College, as it was then known. He spent five years there during which he played with the college team. He impressed enough to be invited to play for the Limerick minors but he declined in the hope of getting a call up for Tipperary, which never came. One of the other things he excelled in while in Pallaskenry was running. The prime competition annually was the mile race and he won it three years in a row.

Played with Meath

Following his Leaving Certificate Sean spent a year in the Salesian Novitiate in Burwash, Sussex, U.K. following which he went to Warrenstown Agricultural College, Co. Meath for a year. His hurling ability was recognised when he was selected on the Meath senior hurling team in 1954, which had the distinction of beating Carlow and Offaly, before going down to Dublin in the Leinster semi-final. Playing at centrefield, Sean had as opponents Mick Ryan and Phil Shanahan of Tipperary, who were playing with Dublin that year. In the same year he got a trial with the Meath footballers, who defeated Cavan in the All-Ireland semi-final, before going on to beat Kerry in the final.

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

The Offaly Dimension

Later in the year he got a job as an insurance agent in Banagher on condition that he play with the local club, Shannon Rovers, so he transferred to Offaly. He played in the county hurling championship for two years, reaching the county final in 1956, only to be badly beaten by Drumcullen. He also played football with Cloghan, the football end of the parish, and reached the final in 1956, before losing to Tullamore.

Playing with Meath and Banagher brought Sean to the attention of the Tipperary selectors. He made his first appearance against Clare in the 1955 Munster championship, when Tipperary were surprisingly beaten. He played in the subsequent league campaign and partnered John Hough at centrefield in the final at Croke Park, when Wexford came back from the dead after half-time to defeat Tipperary. 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.

National League medal

Sean was back on the team for the 1956-576 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.
The winning of the league led to a trip to the U.S. in October. Tipperary played New York in the St. Brendan Cup, playing four games in all, one under lights. Sean decided to remain on in New York and was to remain there for ten years.

It was understandable that emigration wouldn’t bring an end to Sean’s playing career. He played with Cork (New York) in football initially, as he had got a 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 a championship with Tipperary in 1962.

St. Brendan Cup

Sean 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 historic ground and Sean 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 final at Croke Park.

In 1960 Waterford travelled to New York and were beaten by a star-studded New York team on a scoreline of 7-7 to 3-4. Playing at full-forward, Johnny had an outstanding game and scored 3-2 off the great Austin Glynn before an attendance of 29,000 people.
During his time in New York Sean made a number of hurling trips to Ireland, wither with New York teams for league engagements or to play with Lorrha. For instance, he played with his native parish in 1965, when Lorrha were beaten a point by Kilruane in the North final.

Marriage

While in New York Sean married Peggy Egerton, originally from Oldcastle, Co. Meath, in May 1962. The couple had four girls, Margaret, Marie, Olivia and Valerie. All the girls, with the exception of Olivia, have won All-Irelands in athletics and represented Ireland at international level. They were good sprinters, and Marie was a jumper at well. She held the Irish ladies’ record for the triple jump at one stage.

Sean returned to Ireland in 1966 and was on the Lorrha side that won the North senior divisional side that year. He continued to play with the club until 1979, twenty-six years after making his first appearance as a senior with the club. During the same period he won two divisional junior football titles in 1966 and 1971, going all the way to a county title in the latter year.

He remained an athlete all his life, participating in sports all over the country. He took part in the first Dublin City marathon in 1979 and on two later occasions.

G.A.A. Administration

He 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, Minster (Munster Club final 1977) 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 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 1960s, Sean was 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.

An Active Man

Sean O’Meara was always 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 preparations. 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 a person to loll about but was ever restless for new activities, new challenges.

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2017, pages 61-63

Thurles Sarsfields won their thirty-fifth county senior hurling championship when they completed a hat-trick of titles by beating Kildangan by 0-27 to 1-15 at Semple Stadium on October 16. The winners were strong favourites to win the title but some fancied that Kildangan had a chance on the basis of their retention of the North title and an impressive display against Drom Inch in the county quarter-final.

As events transpired this was a no contest final. The losers were hit by an avalanche of scores in the opening minutes as Sarsfields ran riot in a ‘Croppy, lie down’ display and led by nine points to one after as many minutes. Kildangan did their best to salvage some honour during the rest of the hour but they had no answer to a rampant Sarsfields side that confirmed the opinion of many that they are well ahead of any challenge that can be thrown at them within the county.

No Change

Thirty teams contested the senior championship for the Dan Breen Cup, sixteen of them in Roinn 1 and fourteen in Roinn 2. There was only one change in the running of the championship from 2015. Any team that qualified from the group stage had to do so on its own merits and could not qualify through backdoor methods. Under this rule the teams that came first and second in Roinn 1 groups and first in Roinn 2 groups qualified for the play-off stage of the competition. Divisional winners , if they hadn’t already qualified, were given recognition by playing off against the Roinn 2 winners in a round before the preliminary quarter-finals

The groups in Roinn 1 were as follows: 1. Killenaule, J. K. Brackens, Drom Inch, Upperchurch-Drombane; 2. Eire Óg, Thurles Sarsfields, Roscrea, Borrisileigh; 3. Kilkdangan, Nenagh Eire Óg, Mullinahone, Templederry Kenyons; 4. Clonoulty-Rossmore, Kilruane MacDonaghs, Portroe, Lorrha.

The groups in Roinn 2 were as follows: 1. Burgess, Moyne Templetuohy, Holycross-Ballycahill, Toomevara; 2. Carrick Swan, Moneygall, Moycarkey-Borris; 3. Loughmore-Castleiney, Borrisokane, Kickhams; 4. Ballina, Silvermines, Ballingarry, Clonakenny.

Qualifiers

The qualifiers from the group stage were as follows: Roinn1 – In Group 1 Killenaule won and Drom Inch got the runners-up spot; in Group 2 Thurles Sarsfields came out on top with Borrisileigh in the runners-up position; in Group 3 Kildangan got top spot with Mullinahone in second place; in Group 4 Clonoulty-Rossmore won and Kilruane MacDonaghs got the runners-up spot.
In Roinn 2 only the winners qualified and they were Burgess, Carrick Swans, Loughmore- Castleiney and Ballina respectively.

In the meantime the following teams had won the divisional championships, Loughmore-Castleiney (Mid), Kildangan (North), Mullinahone (South) and Clonoulty-Rossmore (West).
As all four teams had already qualified for the play-offs there was no need for another round between them and the winners of Roinn 2.

Preliminary Quarter-Finals

The preliminary quarter-finals pitted the runners-up in Roinn 1 against the winners of Roinn 2. These games took place on the weekend of September 25. Kilruane MacDonaghs showed no mercy when destroying Carrick Swan by 5-26 to 0-6 at Holycross. It was a closer affair between Mullinahone and Ballina at Templetuohy with the South champions coming through by 0-19 to 0-16. Borrisileigh got the better of Burgess by 1-17 to 1-13 at Dolla. Drom Inch had to minimum to spare over Loughmore-Castleiney at Holycross on a score line of 1-16 to 0-18 in a match that ended in controversy because of the paltry amount of added time allowed.

Quarter-Finals

The quarter-finals were played on the weekend of1/2 October at Semple Stadium. Killenaule, who had been defeated by Mullinahone in the South final gave a fine display and held out against a late charge by Kilruane to win by 2-20 to 1-20. Their display was capped by a superb performance from John O’Dwyer, who contributed thirteen points of their total, seven from play. In the second game on Saturday Borrisileigh were no match for Thurles Sarsfields, who cruised to a 2.22 to 0-13 victory.

The major talking point after Sunday’s games was the shock delivered to Drom Inch by a very determined, highly motivated and pacey performance by the North champions. Kildangan were in control of the game from early on and never let it slip from their grasp. In fact they probably deserved better than their four point margin of victory on the score line of 2-18 to 1-17.

In the fourth game Clonoulty-Rossmore had a comfortable 1-18 to 1-10 victory over Mullinahone in a rather pedestrian encounter. The South champions suffered the loss of Eoin Kelly during the first quarter and this didn’t help their cause, but they were overall well off the pace in the game.

Semi-Finals

The semi-finals were played at Semple Stadium on October 9. Thurles Sarsfields proved too good for Clonoulty-Rossmore and won easily on a score line of 1-22 to 0-15. The West champions kept pace with Sarsfields for the first twenty minutes but then the eventual winners took off and scored six of the last seven points in the half to lead by 0-13 to 0-8 at halftime. By the end of the third quarter the contest was decided. A Richie Ruth goal in the twelfth minute and a missed Timmy Hammersley penalty effort put paid to Clonoulty’s chances of a fight back and when Sean Maher was re-carded six minutes from time, it was the end of the road for them.

In the second game Kildangan came through with nine points to spare on a score line of 2-16 to 0-13. Much was expected of this contest but it was a very lacklustre performance. The winners were no way as impressive as they were in the quarter-final and the performance of some of the Killenaule players seemed at times to verge on the disinterested. The winners led by 1-9 to 0-8 at the break and the contest was still open entering the last quarter with only three points, 1-11 to 0-11, between the sides. Joe Gallagher got Kildangan’s decisive second goal in the fiftieth minute and they had the better of the exchanges in the final minutes for their eight-point victory.

The Final

The final contest was a David versus Goliath affair, with Kildangan striving the win their first county senior title and Thurles Sarsfields chasing their thirty-fifth. The bookies didn’t expect the contest to be anything but an uneven one and installed Sarsfields as red-hot favourites to make it three-in-a-row. The sides had met once before at this stage of the championship on the only occasion when Kildangan got to the final in 1938. Sarsfields won easily by 7-7 to 2-2 on that occasion. That was a long time ago and Kildangan took encouragement from a more recent meeting during the group phase of the 2015 championship when they registered a 3-15 to 0-12 win over the favourites.

It is probably fair to say that Kildangan didn’t do themselves justice on the occasion. Whether they were overawed by the occasion or not is difficult to decide but they appeared transfixed during the opening quarter as Sarsfields took off in a blitz of high-powered, top-quality hurling that was well nigh impossible to cope with. By the time they found their feet the game had gone past them and they spent the remainder of the match trying to catch up.

The did fight back and came within seven points of their opponents at one stage, but Sarsfields were always able to motor ahead once again and one felt that if danger threatened from a Kildangan revival, they could always lift their performance to a new level to offset the danger. The winners led by 0-15 to 0-6 at the interval and were comfortably on top by nine points at the final whistle on a score line of o-27 to 1-15.

Thurles Sarsfields: Patrick McCormack, Stephen Maher (0-1), Ronan Maher (0-2), Michael Cahill, Stephen Lillis (0-1), Padraic Maher, Denis Maher, Stephen Cahill, Billy McCarthy, Tommy Doyle, Aidan McCormack (0-6), Pa Bourke (0-9), Conor Lanigan (0-2), Lar Corbett (0-1), Richie Ruth (0-5). Subs: Rory Dwan for Denis Maher, John Maher for Conor Lanigan, David Kennedy for Lar Corbett, Kevin O’Gorman for Richie Ruth. Also Kevin Smith, Cian Treacy, Pa Dunne, Mikey O’Brien, Jack Derby, Michael Russell, Kevin O’Gorman, Barry O’Dwyer, Cathal Moloney, John Lawlor, Kevin Dunne, David Corbett.
Team management: Tommy Maher, Paddy McCormack, Connie Maher.

Kildangan: Barry Hogan, James Quigley, Hughie Flannery, Fergal Hayes, David Sweeney, Alan Flynn, Darren Moran, Johnny Horan (0-1), Martin Minihan, Joe Gallagher (1-1), Darragh Egan (0-6), Ruairi Gleeson (0-2), Willie Connors (0-3), Paul Flynn (0-1), Tadhg Gallagher (0-1). Subs: Jack Loughnane for Martin Minihan, Eoin Kelly for Johnny Horan.
Also Paddy Coen, Andy Loughnane, Gary Byrne, Jim Minihan, Shane Seymour, Eoin Meagher, Ciaran Kelly, Tommy Connors, Eanna Gleeson, Kian Hayes, Dan O’Meara, Gerry Slattery, Eoin Gleeson.
Team management: Dan Hackett, Sean Treacy, Martin McLoughney.

John Quirke Jewellers Man of Match Award: Ronan Maher (Thurles Sarsfields.

Referee: John McCormack (Kickhams), Standby Referee, Fergal Horgan (Kickhams), Linesman, Sean Bradshaw (Kickhams), 4th Official, Padraig Skeffington (Cashel K.C.), Umpires, Adrian Crosse, Pat McCormack, Paul Ryan, John Hadnett (all Kickhams).

Results at a Glance

Preliminary Quarter-Finals
25/09/2016 Holycross Kilruane MacDonaghs 5.26 Carrick Swans 0.06 Fergal Horgan
25/09/2016 Templetuohy Mullinahone 0.19 Ballina 0.16 Sean Everard
25/09/2016 Dolla Borris-ileigh 1.17 Burgess 1.13 Ciaron Timmons
25/09/2016 Holycross Drom & Inch 1.16 Loughmore Castleiney 0.18 Johnny Ryan

Quarter Finals
01/10/2016 Semple Stadium Killenaule 2.20 Kilruane MacDonaghs 1.20 Kevin Jordan
01/10/2016 Semple Stadium Thurles Sarsfields 2.22 Borris-ileigh 0.13 John O’Brien
02/10/2016 Semple Stadium Clonoulty Rossmore 1.18 Mullinahone 1.10 Philip Kelly
02/10/2016 Semple Stadium Kildangan 2.18 Drom & Inch 1.17 John McCormack

Semi Finals
09/10/2016 Semple Stadium Thurles Sarsfields 1.22 Clonoulty Rossmore 0.15 John Cleary
09/10/2016 Semple Stadium Kildangan 2.16 Killenaule 0.13 Fergal Horgan

Final
16/10/2016 Semple Stadium Thurles Sarsfields 0.27 Kildangan 1.15 John McCormack

G.A.A. Publications 2016 Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2017, pages 50-52

February 1, 2017

G.A.A. Publications 2016

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2017, pages 50-52

A number of club histories were published during the year. One of the most impressive was Kilruane MacDonaghs 1970-2013 – Heirs to a Proud Tradition by Gilbert Williams. Canon Whyte published the club history in 1985 and brought the story up to 1970 so this work takes the story almost to the present.

It’s a big book of almost 550 pages and is produced in hardback, retailing at €30. It was printed by the Nenagh Guardian.

It covers that great period in the club’s history, which saw it win four senior hurling titles between 1977 and 1985 as well as an All-Ireland club title. The latter success becomes an even bigger achievement as the years go by. Kilruane club stands with Roscrea and Borrisileingh as the only Tipperary clubs to achieve the highest honour in club hurling and no other club in the county has emulated their achievement since the eighties.

Also in the period covered by the book is the senior football title won by the club in 1975, a rarity in North Tipperary and, perhaps, not among the priorities of the club, but a nice addition to the club’s escutcheon.

The book is a detailed account of club activity in hurling and football during the years covered. There is a logical progression in each chapter, starting with the club AGM and giving an account of the fate of all teams from senior down to under-12 in hurling and football. It is easy to follow and the information can be clearly sourced.

There is a good Roll of Honour section at the end of the book, which includes not only championships won but also individual honours won at county level in every grade, and an impressive list it is also.

I understand there are 400 pictures in the book and the author has recognised the importance of the visual in including so many. It will give people the chance to see how they looked at the club dance thirty or forty years ago!

Gilbert Williams has done his club a great service. His article on Christiaan de Wet, the Boer general after whom the club was named in 1901, is an interesting addition to the publication. The book is a valuable record of achievements over the period and will be an importance reference work not only for members of the Kilruane-MacDonaghs club but for outsiders as well.

Betwixt the Arras and Lough Derg: A History of Gaelic Games in Portroe 1884-2015 by Seamus J. King was launched in the Parish Hall by Fr. Seamus Gardiner on October 30. A large book, extending to 600 pages, it was printed by Guardian Print and Design and retails for €20.
The parish is a small place with one church and one school but the Portroe G.A.A. Club makes up for lack of size with a huge dedication and commitment to success. As the author says of the club players ‘When they wear the green and gold they are lifted to a higher plane and driven to greater heights of endeavour.’ And the supporters are no less passionate.

The book traces the successes and failures of the club over 130 years and gives prominence to two major years in that history, 1990, when they achieved senior status after many years, and 2012, when they won their first North senior hurling championship.

As well as an account of club activities in hurling and football, the book gives generous coverage to juvenile games, Scór and camogie, as well as to an interesting athletic involvement in the 1950s.

There is also a comprehensive statistical section in the book as well as a number of articles on the industrial past of the parish. In fact quite a bit of the social history of the parish is covered, making the book much more than a sporting record. There’s a good selection of pictures and thirteen profiles of prominent individuals and families who contributed significantly to the story of the G.A.A. in the parish of Portroe.

Another Update

St. Mary’s, Clonmel have updated their club history. The original volume was published in 1990 and the updated version, which was launched in the G.A.A. Centre, Clonmel on November 12, includes the untouched earlier volume of 244 pages plus an additional 200 pages covering the years 1990 to 2015.

The title of the book is St. Mary’s Hurling & Camogie Club 1929-2015. It is printed by Naas Printing Ltd and it retails for €25. The author is Sean O’Donnell, who was also author of the original book and who is also the author of two historical works on the town of Clonmel.

The original work opens dramatically with the arrival of Charles Stewart Parnell to Clonmel on 21 January, 1891 ‘only two months since the O’Shea case came to court, six weeks since those M.P.s in Committee Room 15 had ousted him from party leadership and less than a month since the crushing defeat of his candidate in the North Kilkenny by-election.’

The rest of the story isn’t quite so dramatic with more triumphs than failures rising to intermediate success in the early seventies. The seniors had a period in the limelight in the early eighties but they were desperately avoiding relegation at the Millennium. The following extract gives the flavour of the time as well as the author’s succinct style:

‘We lost to Cashel at New Inn at the end of October and the following Sunday we travelled to the Ragg more in hope than confidence. Our players dug deep, however, and to the surprise of many, we played with great resolve and beat Kilruane, who only a few years earlier had been All-Ireland club champions, by 3-10 to 1-13. For the second year in succession we had avoided relegation by a whisker.’

Probably the best part of the story is in the final chapters, the titles of which give one the flavour. There were Signs of New Growth between 2008-2010, Better Times 2011-2013 and New Heights 2014-2015. Unfortunately the cut-off point is the end of 2015 with the result that the retention of the county title by the minor hurling A team couldn’tt be included. Also deprived of mention is Seamus Kennedy’s winning an All-Ireland senior medal in September, when he joined Donncha Fahey, who won in 2001, in the winner’s enclosure.

One of the great strengths of this book is the inclusion of club panels of club teams in senior, junior, under-21 and minor, as well as juveniles, in addition to mentors between 1990 and 2015, Also included is a list of St. Mary’s players, who were on Tipperary hurling teams for championship matches from 1930 onwards. As well as the year and grade, the position played in is included and the outcome (win, lose, draw). This section includes those who served on the club committee during the period of the book, as well as club players who featured in teams outside the county.

Sean O’Donnell has done a great service to the club in bringing the St. Mary’s story up to the present. He has brought to the work his renowned historical skills and all players, mentors and supporters of the club will be grateful to him for the result.

At the end of 2015 the Kildangan G.A.A. Club published A Centenary History, too late for inclusion in last year’s article. It appeared in its centenary year and told the story of the club’s ‘humble origins its growth to maturity, its triumphs and its failures.’ It also gave recognition to now defunct junior teams in the parish, Ballycommon, Carney and Lahorna, ‘teams that operated on the lowest rung of the hurling ladder but nevertheless brought immense pleasure and satisfaction to many people.’

The most successful period in the club’s history occurred since the Millennium when they won three North intermediate titles, plus a county in 2004, and three North senior titles. However, the county senior remains elusive.

Among the club’s county senior medal holders are two of the best forwards to ever play with Tipperary, Martin Kennedy, who was an outstanding goal-getter and who, according to one rival ‘never scored the same goal twice.’ and Jimmy Kennedy, one of the greatest point-getters that ever lined out for the county.

In chapter 3 we read about the birth of Kiladangan Club, the form of the name preferred by the authors, Danny Grace and Seamus Hogan, to the more common, Kildangan. The event took place in Kiladangan Boys School on November 18, 1915 and a list of the people associated with the foundation is given. We are told that ‘King (Ned) McGrath was the last surviving founder member of the club’ and he died in November 1984 at the age of 87 years.

In their account of the earlier years the authors give a list of Kiladangan players, who played in senior championship matches over a period of five years, rather than giving an account of individual matches. This system does have its advantage as it enables to reader to see at a glance how many games a player played over a period of time.

Overall the authors have given and extensive account of the story of Gaelic Games in the parish over the period covered, with the information given in the later years the most comprehensive, An important addition are the lineouts given in Bord na nÓg finals, with the townslands of the players included. An important record for the future.

The book was printed by Guardian Print and Design.. It contains 400 pages in flexicover and retails for €20.

Just barely arriving in time for mention is Dermot Kavanagh’s, The Story of Interprovincial Hurling. This is a great addition to one’s G.A.A. Library, being the history of the now dead, and waiting to be buried,Railway Cup competition, but also the long disappeared Railway Shield and Tailteann Games provincial competitions.

The strength of this publication is its record section, containing as it does the dates, scores, and teams that participated in the competitions. The pictures are fascinating particularly that of Munster, Railway Cup champions 1976 with the tall Noel O’Dwyer, dwarfed in the back row by the likes of Pat Hartigan, Joe McKenna and Ray Cummins. The book was launched in Langton’s Hotel, Kilkenny on December 8 and retails at €20

Annual Publications

A few clubs publish annual accounts of their activities. These can vary in size from simple newsletters to more ambitious productions.

Roscrea Club have produced A Year in the Red for a good number of years and this year feature the Spooner brothers who gave distinguished service to the club.

Liam Hogan produces and ambitious account of activities in the Shannon Rovers Club, called the Shannon Rovers Review and thgis year’s production has 56 pages.

Moycarkey-Borris Club produce an annual newsletter.

Seamus J King Laochra Gael Award 2017 Video from the event

February 1, 2017

Seamus J King Laochra Gael Award 2017

Tipperary G.A.A. 2017

Michael F. Cronin (1901-1982) The Lamp, 2016-17, pages 56-60

January 28, 2017

Michael F. Cronin (1901-1982)

The Lamp, 2016-17, pages 56-60

Michael Finbar Cronin was born in Lorrha on the 26th September 1901. Seventeen years previously his father, Felix, had come to the parish as a National Teacher, all the way from Kilgarvan, Co. Kerry, where his parents had the Post Office.

Three years after arriving at Lorrha Felix married a girl called Mary Dalv from Kenmare and they had ten children, eight boys and two girls. Michael was the seventh son. One of his brothers, Felix, became a Major General in the Irish Army. Another brother, Tom, lost his life in a shooting accident while out fowling. Two other brothers made their names on the hurling field: Gerard hurled for Clare and played against Michael. Phil played for Dublin. Michael was to make his name playing with Lorrha and Tipperary, the highlight of his hurling career winning an All-Ireland senior title in 1930 and being part of the American Tour the Tipperary team made in 1931

Michael was educated in his father's school in Lorrha and went to secondary at De La Salle, Waterford. After completing the secondary course, he transferred to the Teacher Training College. He got a fine gold medal in recognition of his position as De La Salle hurling team captain, 1922.
On completing his teacher training he got a job at Lorrha and succeeded his father, almost immediately, as Principal. This was a controversial appointment as the practice was for a teacher to need five years’ teaching experience before becoming a Principal. The school manager, Fr. Gleeson, ignored the controversy, claiming that Michael was the best man for the job. The result was that when he retired in 1969, Michael Cronin must have been the longest serving National School Principal in the country. Later, he studied for his B.A. by driving to Galway after work. He was conferred in 1932 and received his Higher Diploma in Education the following year. He received an M.A. in 1935. He was also a fluent Irish speaker.

In an earlier article (Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook, 1983), I gave a detailed account of Michael Cronin’s hurling life. On this occasion I want to concentrate on his political life, which involved being one of the early members of Clann na Poblachta in Tipperary, a member of North Tipperary County Council from 1950-1967, and being a candidate for the Dáil in the 1948 and 1954 General Elections.

Party Established 1946

Clann na Poblachta was established in July 1946 as a radical alternative to the Fianna Fail party, which at that point had been in office continuously since early 1932. Many of those associated with the Clann were disaffected Fianna Fail supporters and the party appealed to disillusioned young urban voters and republicans, who were tired of de Valera and Civil War politics. Some of the members of the new party came from the ranks of the Irish National teachers Organisation, whose Dublin members had engaged in a protracted strike with the government on the issue of pay.

The Clann set out to challenge Fianna Fail on economic and social policy in particular. The country was in a mess following the deprivations of the Second World War, suffering from emigration, economic stagnation, poor health and terrible housing conditions. For instance, over 4,000 people a year were dying of tuberculosis.

The new party’s primary purpose was to establish complete national independence and provide a decent living in a free Ireland for every citizen, who was able to engage in useful activity. It also claimed to stand for the ideals of the men of 1916.

The party got a great chance in 1947 when there were three bye-elections, in Dublin, Waterford and Tipperary. Clann na Poblachta decided to contest the three and won in Dublin and Tipperary.
The Tipperary candidate was Paddy Kinane of Upperchiurch, who had played a prominent part in the fight for freedom and was a strong supporter of Irish language and culture.

The bye-election was held on 29th October 1947 and it was the last election to be fought in the county as one constituency. It was called following the death of Clann na Talmhan T.D., William O’Donnell.

There were five candidates in the election and Kinane caused a sensation when he won the seat, even though he was well behind the Fianna Fáil front runner after the first count.

Sean Hayes (Fianna Fáil)               17,169
Paddy Kinane (Clann na Poblachta)       11,471
Col. Jerry Ryan (Fine Gael)               11,341
Denis O’Sullivan (Labour)               7,201
Michael Fitzgerald (Clann na Talmhan)       6,323

Kinnane caught up with Hayes in subsequent counts and was elected on the fourth with 23,265 votes to the Fianna Fáil candidate’s 21,647.

De Valera and Fianna Fail immediately recognised the threat caused by the new party and called a general election for 4th February 1948 in the hope of stymying the Clann’s progress. The result failed to reach their expectations.

His Political Beliefs

Michael Cronin worked for Paddy Kinane in the bye-election and when the General Election was called, was selected as a running mate for Kinane in the North Tipperary constituency.
In the course of the election he spoke at many political rallies and at Thurles on January 17, he elaborated on what the party stood for and what it would do for the Irish people.

He called Clann na Poblachta ‘a peace-loving, Christian, democratic party, whose political aim was the complete independence of Ireland and a 32-county republic.’

Economically, the party ‘would strive to develop their land and natural resources and their industries so that there would be a decent living for every citizen and a substantial volume of goods for export in order to pay for the materials, which they must necessarily import.’
He continued in the following vein: ‘They had a fertile land and a virile people and with full production and full employment there was no occasion for this proud nation to seek loans or charity from any other country. Must they go with hat in hand to beg for money or alms when they had the full means of production in their own country, good arable land, and willing workers to produce the bulk of their own requirements? Full production and full employment at a Christian family wage and related directly to the cost of living, would be assured if the people rallied around Sean McBride and Clann na Poblachta in the election.

‘Clann na Poblachta had a plan and a policy which would bring back to the Irish people their national self-respect, their complete political freedom, their economic opportunities and their cultural inheritance. Under the leadership of Sean McBride. Ireland would march forward to complete nationhood and to a fuller life for all its citizens,’

Cronin went on to describe the role of agriculture in the Irish economy: ‘Agriculture was their principal industry: it was the primary child of the nation and needed to be fostered and developed. Millions of acres, capable of producing excellent crops, but now flooded and incapable of yielding their best, must be drained and reclaimed and put to the best possible use.

The farmer must be encouraged to grow the crops best suited to his land and must be paid a price, which would be guaranteed over a number of years so that he could purchase in the certainty that he would be in a position to dispose of his products at a remunerative price and be enabled to pay the agricultural worker a proper wage for his labour. It was the first concern of Clann na Poblachta to ensure that the people of the land would have a decent honest livelihood in their own country.’

General Election

The 12th Dail was dissolved on January 14, 1948 and polling day was February 4. The electoral landscape was changed as a result of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1947. This had increased the size of the Dáil from 138 to 147 seats. Another important change was the increase in the number of three-seat constituencies from 15 to 22. Under this change Tipperary was divided into two constituencies, Tipperary North with 3 seats and Tipperary South with 4 seats. Critics of the change claimed that the increase in three-seaters would enhance the chances of the bigger parties.

There were eight candidates in the new North Tipperary constituency for three seats. Four of the candidates, Mary B. Ryan, F.F., Andrew Fogarty, F.F., Paddy Kinane, C. na P., and Dan Morrissey, F.G., were outgoing T.D.s, so one was going to lose out. As it happened Andrew Fogarty was the one, falling between two stools in the political divide of the county.

Election Results

The result of the first count was as follows in a total poll of 28, 217 with a quota of 7,055:

Dan Morrissey, F.G. 5656 (20.04%)
Mary B. Ryan, F.F. 4601 (16-31%)
Paddy Kinane, C.na P. 4502 (16.31%)
John Murphy, Lab. 4408 (15.62%)
Andrew Fogarty, F.F. 4377 (15.51%)
Thomas McDonagh, F.F. 2227 (7.89%)
Michael F. Cronin, C. na P. 1638 (5.81%)
Joubert Powell, F.G. 708 (2.51%)

Kinane, Ryan and Morrissey were elected in that order. A second Clann na Poblachts candidate, Timoney, was elected in South Tipperary. However, at national level the result was frustrating with only 10 T.D.s elected, in spite of receiving 13.3% of the national vote. A total of 93 candidates had stood for the party across the country but 51% lost their deposits.

Michael Cronin was disappointed but realistically it was never going to happen that Clann na Poblachta would get a second seat in a three seat constituency.

In his concession speech he said that Clann na Poblachta were idealists. They were a new party and had got a fine vote. Paddy Kinane eventually headed the poll and it was great that Sean McBride had done so in Dublin also. The party gave the lead in idealism. They had the youth of the country behind them. It would take some time before the youth had the majority. Clann na Poblachta stood for a sovereign Irish republic and he believed Sean McBride was the only man to achieve that result.

‘They owed allegiance to no one and never would and it would be the men who believed in Ireland Gaelic and free, who would achieve an independent republic, . . The party would get what they wanted by democratic means and they would one day rule the country, when the people would get freedom, democracy, prosperity and independence.’

The new Dáil met on February 18 to form a new government. De Valera was defeated by 75 votes to 70 for Taoiseach and a compromise candidate from Fine Gael, John A. Costello, was elected by 75 votes to 68. Four Independent T.D.s voted for de Valera in the first vote but two of them abstained in the vote for Costello.

The new government under Costello was known as the inter-party government. Clann na Poblachta became part of it following intensive debate and the decision was poorly received by a large minority, especially on the republican side, who found it loathsome to be political bed-fellows with Fine Gael. The party got two prestigious ministries with External Affairs going to Sean McBride and Health going to Dr. Noel Browne.

Decline of the Party

It has been said of Clann na Poblachta that the party reached the zenith of its power in the bye-elections of 1947 and that its decline began when it joined the interparty government in February 1948. As already stated the decision to go into power was not well received by many in the party. The party’s central organisation was weak and it became riven by disputes and personalities. The fact that the leader was away much, as Minister for External Affairs, didn’t help matters either. And, then the fate of Noel Browne in the Mother and Child controversy led to the party’s terminal decline. Many T.D.s resigned in sympathy with the Minister for Health.

The result of all this was that they lost eight seats in the 1951 General Election. Three were returned in 1954 and they supported the second interparty government but withdrew their support in 1956 because of the government’s I.R.A. stance. The party won one seat – John Tully in Cavan – in 1957 and he retained it in 1961 and 1965. Eventually, having struggled on to the latter year, the party was dissolved following a special Árd Fheis in July.

The decline of the Clann na Poblachta is reflected in the party’s share of the national vote between 1948 and 1965. It peaked at 13.3% in 1948, declined to 4.1% in 1951, to 3.8% in 1954, to 1.7% in 1957, to 1.1% in 1961 and to 0.8% in 1965. Decline in North Tipperary

This decline in North Tipperary was equally dramatic. From 22.1% in 1948 the percentage of the vote for Clann na Poblachta dropped to 9.2% in 1951. There was a slight recovery to 10.00% in 1954 but further decline to 5.7% in 1957. The party didn’t contest the 1961 election in the constituency.

Michael Cronin didn’t run in the 1951 election. The three T.D.s elected were Dan Morrissey, F.G., John Fanning, F.F. and Marty Ryan, F.F. Paddy Tierney, Lab., contesting for the first time came fourth and Paddy Kinane came fifth with 2,601 votes as distinct from a combined vote of 6,140 for Clann na Poblachta in the 1948 election

Michael Cronin went forward again in the 1954 election and the combined vote of the party increased slightly. The three outgoing T.D.s, Morrissey, Ryan and Fanning, retained their seats. Paddy Kinane received 1898 votes or 6.72% of the poll, and Michael Cronin received 935 votes or 3.31% of the poll.

The party’s final fling was in 1961. Dan Morrissey, F.G. didn’t stand and the party failed to get a seat. Fianna Fail retained their two seats with John Fanning and Mary Ryan and Paddy Tierney, Lab. got elected for the first time.

Neither Paddy Kinane or Michael Cronin stood for Clann na Poblachta. Daniel Kennedy was the party’s candidate and he received 1537 votes or 5.7%. The party didn’t contest the constituency after that.

Local Elections

Michael Cronin was one of four councillors elected to North Tipperary County Council for the Borrisokane Area between 1950 and 1967.

In the 1951 local elections the electorate in the Borrisokane area was 6751, the turnout was 3637, the valid poll was 3601 and the quota was 721.

The results of the First Count were as follows:

Paddy Tierney, Lab. 913 (25.4%)
William Brennan, F.F. 816 (22.7%)
Martin Collins, F.G. 570 (15.8%)
Michael Cronin, C.na P. 523 (14.5%)
John Cahalan, F.F. 478 (13.3%)
James McGrath, C.na P. 188 (5.2%)
Michael Carroll, REP 113 (3.1%)

Michael Cronin was elected on the 5th count without reaching the quota.

The electorate in the 1955 local elections was 6,400, the turnout was 4235 and the quota was 836.

The results of the First Count were as follows:

Martin Collins, F.G. 1017 (28.7%)
Paddy Tierney, Lab. 895 (23.5)
John Cahalan, F.F. 868 (22.8%)
William Brennan, F.F. 526 (13.8%)
Michael Cronin, C.na P. 500 (13.1%)

Fifty transfers from Collins brought Cronin past Brennan in the second count and he got plenty of transfers in subsequent counts to be elected on the fourth count.

In the 1960 local elections the electorate was 6024, the turnout 3619, the valid poll was 3591 and the quota was 719.

The results of the First Count were as follows:

Paddy Tierney, Lab. 1068 (29.7%)
John Cahalan, F.F. 613 (17.1%)
Pat Cleary, F.G. 486 (13.5%)
Liam Whyte, F.G. 459 (12.8%)
Michael Cronin, C.na P. 435 (12.1%)
John Donoghue, F.F. 313 (8.7%)
Seamus Ó Slatarra, S.F. 217 (6.0%)

Tierney, Cahalan and Whyte were elected in that order and Croinin was elected on the Sixth Count

The next local election didn’t take place until 1967 and Michael Cronin stood as a Non-Party candidate on this occasion. The total valid poll was 4,110 and the quota was 823.

The results of the First Count were as follows:

Paddy Tierney, Lab. 863 (21.0%)
John Cahalan, F.F. 826 (20.1%)
Liam Whyte, F.G. 761 (18.5%)
James Darcy, F.G. 709 (17.2%)
John Cashen, 552 (13,4%)
Michael Cronin, Non-Party. 399 (9.7%)

Tierney and Cahalan were elected on the First Count and when Cronin was eliminated in the Second Count, his votes were distributed as follows: Whyte 146, Darcy 60, Cashen 90.
Whyte and Darcy were elected to the remaining seats. Following the count the remaining candidates sympathised with Cronin ‘who was a very good councillor and had served the area well.’

End of Political Career

This was the end of Michael Cronin’s political life. He was well got by all who knew him in politics and was noted for his loyalty. He was a member of the Library Committee and the Vocational Education Committee. His family- he married Madge Hoctor of Sharragh in 1938 and had three children, Clare, Felix and Mairead, who was tragically drowned in 1954- relate how avid a reader he was and how he enjoyed his membership of the Library Committee.

The Story of Martin O’Meara The Lamp, 2016-2017, Journal of the Lorrha & Dorrha Historical Society, page 51

January 28, 2017

The Most Fearless and Gallant Soldier I Have Ever Seen.
The Story of Martin O’Meara

The Lamp, 2016-2017, Journal of the Lorrha & Dorrha Historical Society, page 51

The above is the title of the first full length biography of Martin O’Meara, ‘Australia’a only Irish-born Victoria Cross recipient of the First World War’. Written by Ian Loftus, an Australian journalist, and published by himself, it fills many of the gaps in the life of arguably the most famous Lorrha man who ever lived.

The basic facts of Martin O’Meara’s life are clear. Born in Lissernane, Lorrha of farming stock he left Ireland circa 1911, first to Liverpool, later to Australia, where he worked in the timber business. Following the outbreak of World War 1, he enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force, was shipped to France, fought with extraordinary bravery on the Western Front, won a Victoria Cross, eventually got back to Australia in November 1918, was hospitalised in a mental institution soon after and died there in 1935, following which he was buried with full military honours at Karrakatta Cemetery near Perth.

The book is a fine example of investigative journalism. The author, as anyone who has researched the life of O’Meara will have found out, had vey little to go on when researching his subject. The amount of information on his early life is minimal excepting his baptismal record and the 1901 census. There is no information on his voyage to Australia. There is little information on his work life in Australia. He left little or nothing from his years in the army behind him with the exception of a badge and the Victoria Cross. Probably the most information available on him comes from the hospital records of the last sixteen years of his life in Claremont Hospital.

And, in spite of this paucity of source material, Ian Loftus has put together a very credible account of his life in a publication of over 270 pages. In the context of what was available on the subject, he has written a comprehensive account of the life of Martin O’Meara, and his family, the people of Lorrha and others farther afield, who believe in the great personal qualities of the Victoria Cross winner, will be happy with the result.

There are many things that stand out in the account. I was delighted with the details of O’Meara’s life in south and west Australia that were discovered by the author through a diligent search of contemporary newspapers and documents. There is a lot of information on the role of scouting in which O’Meara was involved on the Western Front. He uses quotes from officers to describe O’Meara ‘s actions: ‘I saw O’Meara on a number of occasions attending to or bringing in wounded men from the area over which the Battalion had advanced to and from No Man’s Land. I estimate that the number of men rescued by him is not less than 20.’ And: ‘I saw O’Meara on many occasions on the 10-11-12th Aug. searching the ground for wounded to whom he rendered first aid and whom he subsequently brought in or assisted to bring in.’

The author has also sourced a lot of information on O’Meara’s relationship with Mary Murphy of Kilmacow. He also quotes from an interview which O’Meara gave after receiving the Victoria Cross, revealing the modesty of the man: ‘I am lucky, while others have gone unrewarded, because either their deeds were not seen, or their officers had fallen before they could make a recommendation.’ The author reproduces the grainy newsreel of the presentation of the Victoria Cross by King Ceorge V on July 21, 1917, one of twenty-four presented that day. According to the account Martin spoke briefly to the King ‘before saluting him and then marching away’.

There’s a detailed account of O’Meara’s involvement in the war and a lengthy presentation of medical reports from his time in Claremont Hospital. Some of the latter make sad reading. He was no sooner back on Australian soil than he suffered a serious mental breakdown which was probably the result of the traumatic conditions he experienced during the war. The result was a deterioration in his behaviour which led to him being placed in a straight jacket in the evenings and he remained in it until 11 o’clock the next day.

The author has a chapter on the two wills that Martin made during his life and how their differences were resolved. There is a chapter entitled ‘Remembering Martin O’Meara’ on how he is remembered in Australia and Ireland. There is also a collection of all the extant photographs of the man reproduced in an appendix.

This book would make a great Christmas gift for and is available to purchase by clicking here. It is also available from the Army Museum of Western Australia at Fremantle, the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, and from Boffins, Perth’s best specialist bookshop. The book can also be purchased directly from me – I have a small stock myself – and I welcome inquiries – feel free to contact me directly at ianloftus@gmail.com

Laochra Gael Awards 2003-2016 West G.A.A. Convention Handbook, December 7, 2016

January 28, 2017

Laochra Gael Awards 2003-2016

West G.A.A. Convention Handbook, December 7, 2016

The Laochra Gael Awards, originally known as the Sean Gael Awards, were inaugurated at a meeting in Hayes’s Hotel, Thurles on April 23, 2003. The attendance included John Moloney, Noel Morris, John Costigan, Pat Moroney, Seamus J. King and Michael O’Meara. Seamus McCarthy was unable to be present. At the outset John Moloney, who had initiated the idea, was unanimously appointed chairman and Michael O’Meara secretary.

The chairman outlined the aims of the group, which were chiefly to honour annually persons over 70 years of age, who had given significant service to the Gaelic Athletic Association in whatever capacity, player, official, groundsman, , jersey carrier, tea maker, referee, umpire, etc

Initially it was decided to present 40 awards annually, 10 per division, in order to catch up with a backlog of deserving persons. The number was reduced to 32 in 2008 and to 24 in 2014. To date 472 awards have been presented.

The awards presentation took place in Brú Ború, Cashel up to 2008, when they were transferred to the Dome, Semple Stadium. The guest of honour is usually a distinguished figure in the G.A.A. The guests of honour at the early presentations, were Past Presidents, Joe MacDonagh, Jack Boothman and Sean Kelly.

West Division Recipients

The following persons in the West Division have received awards to date.
Aherlow: Mgr. Christopher Lee, Tom O’Shea, Philly Kiely, Billy Kiely, Hannie Hanley, Jack Ivory, Jackie Bourke,
Arravale Rovers: James O’Donoghue, Hugh Kennedy, Richard Meagher, Sean Hayes, Liam O’Dwyer, John Cleary (Tipperary H.C.), Seamus O’Donoghue,
Cappawhite: Willie Walsh, John Treacy, Joe O’Carroll, Jerry Creedon, Paul McCarthy, Tom Joe McGrath, Anne Holmes, Francis Grisewood.
Cashel King Cormacs: Mickey Murphy, Pat Donoghue, Willie O’Gorman, Michael O’Dwyer, Pat O’Donoghue (Cashel H.C.), Paddy O’Sullivan, Peter O’Sullivan, Albert Carrie (Cashel H.C.)
Clonoulty-Rossmore: Fr. Roger Kinane, Philip Maher, Jack Gleeson, Tom Ryan (Casey), Joe Tuohy, Michael O’Dwyer, Philip Maher, Tom Ryan, Michael Coen.
Eire Óg: Thady O’Carroll, Mick Gleeson, Pakie Joe Ryan, Martin ‘F’ O’Dwyer, Michael Ryan ©, Liam O’Dwyer, D. J. Gleeson, Don O’Mahony,
Emly: Jimmy Ryan, Paddy Clancy, Mick Frawley, Patsy Dawson, Sean McManus, Mike Dawson, Martin Condon, Michael Burke.
Galtee Rovers: Jim Byron, Jim Doocey, Jerry Whyte, John Moloney, Jimmy Quirke, Nicholas Bergin, Larry Roche, Roger Roche, John Marnane,
Glengar: D. J. Treacy, Harry Bradshaw, John Ryan (Luke), Michael Ryan.
Golden-Kilfeacle: Tommy Landers, Con Cash, Jack Leamy, John Bargary, Arthur Landers, John Stapleton, Alice O’Carroll.
Kickhams: Jimmy Hennessy, John Farrell, Tom McCormack, Maurice Ryan, Paddy Ryan, Bill Hayes, Joe Lonergan, Billy Shanahan.
Lattin-Cullen: Jimmy Hannon, Ned O’Neill, Jackie Hannon, Liam Leahy, Johnny Slattery, Michael Maguire, Sean Crowe, George Ryan
Rockwell Rovers: Val O’Dwyer, Tim Curran, Andy O’Dwyer, Paddy Hally, Philip Heaney, Tom Buckley,
Rosegreen: Paddy Cooke, Willie O’Grady, Teddy Gould, Oliver O’Donnell,
Sean Treacys: T. J. Caplis, Michael Ryan, Mick Caplis, Bill Quigley, Jerry Fahey, T. K. O’Dwyer, Fr. Christy O’Dwyer, Michael O’Brien, Michael Ryan (W),
Solohead: Bill Stapleton, Donie Nolan, Dick O’Connor, Con Ahearne, Michael Cunningham, Paddy Verdon, Lar O’Keeffe.

The total number of West recipients is 117, of whom 3 are women. Hannie Hanley broke the mould in 2008, when she was nominated by Aherlow. Anne Holmes was nominated by Cappawhite in 2015 and Alice O’Carroll by Golden-Kilfeacle in 2016.

The 2016 awards were presented at the Dome, Semple Stadium on November 20 with Tipperary senior hurling manager, Michael Ryan, Guest of Honour.

The current organising committee is as follows: chairman, John Costigan, secretary, Seamus J. King, Seamus McCarthy, Sean Nugent, Noel Morris, Michael Bourke

My 1916 The Irish Times, Jan 30th 2016

January 28, 2017

My 1916

The Irish Times, Jan 30th 2016

I can’t get excited by the 1916 centenary celebrations. I have tried to approach Rebellion with an open mind but I find it difficult to stay with it. It seems to be far removed from any empathetic appreciation of the rebels’ actions or achievements. The re-enactment of the events of 1916 appears contrived and lost in a time warp.

This feeling has little to do with my attitude to the Rising. I was brought up on the historical menu that the event was the culmination of a long line of physical force events commencing in 1798 that eventually lead to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. I never doubted that the Rising was necessary to expedite the departure of the British.

I suppose the leaders were always plaster cast figures in my imagination, similar to the religious statues in the local church. They were pictures, some like Pearse and Clarke and Connolly, making a bigger impact on my imagination than the others, but all difficult to put flesh and blood on.

When they were remembered on television in 1966, particularly in Seachtar Fear, Seacht Lá, and an attempt was made to make them living men and women, they weren’t a success. They were artificial creations, badly realised and had no semblance to the figures in my imagination.

The argument propounded then that they had no mandate from the public, that they were the minority of a minority, didn’t influence me in any way. They were revolutionaries and such are always a minority. It’s the few who initiate change because the majority are invariably satisfied with the status quo.. The rebels were no different.

The other argument, that their actions brought about Partition and prevented the smooth passage to a united, independent Ireland had the Irish Parliamentary Party been allowed to pursue their path to Home Rule, was, in my mind, irrelevant because we don’t know what might have transpired had the Rising not taken place.

Probably the big question that the centenary celebrations pose is how our Ireland of today compares with that envisioned by the rebels. Probably there is no relation. But, what relationship has the U.S. or the Russia of today with the aims and intentions of the Founding Fathers or the Bolshevik Revolutionaries? Or compare the hopes and aspirations of Nelson Mandela with the mess that President Zuma has made twenty odd years after the fall of the Apartheid regime? No revolt lives up to the expectations of the revolutionaries.

The men of 1916 said nothing about the type of Ireland they envisioned. The Proclamation summoned all Irish men and women to the flag of the Irish Republic to strike for freedom from the British. It demanded the ownership of the country for the Irish and the allegiance of all Irish men and women and it placed their effort under the protection of the most High God.

The Democratic Program was a later attempt to provide an economic and social vision of an independent Ireland, The rebels were concerned with getting rid of the British and their concentration on this subsumed all thought of the type of Ireland they envisioned.

In last analysis the Rising started another process, which included the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Economic War, The Program of Economic Expansion and E.E.C. membership and which brought us to the state we in at today. The men who led it were idealistic and self-sacrificing and deserve to be remembered and honoured, whatever about being imitated.

Clean Ireland Recycling County Senior Hurling Championship 2015 Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2016

January 16, 2017

Clean Ireland Recycling County Senior Hurling Championship 2015

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 2016

Click here to view article

Tom Lambe (1918-2016) Appreciation, Nenagh Guardian, Dec 2016

January 2, 2017

Tom Lambe (1918-2016)

Appreciation, Nenagh Guardian, Dec 2016

The death last week of Tom Lambe severs another link with the great Lorrha senior hurling team of 1948 that won the North divisional title that year before going down to Holycross-Ballycahill in the county final.

My earliest memory of the man goes back to 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 we were 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 nearly seventy 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 that Lorrha team that won the county intermediate title of 1946 and was regraded senior.

Promising at an Early Age

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 went to primary school at Redwood Castle, where the school was located at that time and his passing sees the last of the pupils of that school to die. The school was abandoned in 1926 for a new one at Kilmurray, which was situated halfway between the Castle and the current school.

He remembered the teachers as being fond of the stick but hurling made him forget the worst aspects of life as a schoolboy. 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 afternoon. 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 halfway 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.

Also an Athlete

Tom was a noted athlete as well. Like many in those years he took up cross-country running during the winter. There’s a lovely picture of him with the Lorrha cross-country team that became the county champions in 1944. He was lean and fit and remained so to the end of his life. When he turned 90 years he complained to me that he had pains in his legs and when I said to him that he shouldn’t expect anything else at his age, he didn’t agree. He was always fit and agile and saw to reason why he shouldn’t continue so.

Tom played senior hurling with Lorrha from 1938 to 1951. Ironically he got a call-up for the county trial the same year and went to Ennis for a match against Clare, but was never called off the bench. Seven-a-Side tournaments were all the rage during his hurling years and he was always an automatic choice on the Lorrha side.

As well as being a good hurler, Tom 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.

Tom was one of the 1948 team to live to a great age. Tony Reddin passed away in March 2015 at 96 years. Billy Hogan will be 94 next birthday. Eugene O’Meara will be 95 next year and the oldest of them all, Michael O’Meara, will reach the century the next birthday he celebrates!

Tony Brennan (1916-1965), Clonoutly-Rossmore & Tipperary Clonoulty Rossmore Vintage Club Program, August 21, 2016, pp 75-79

January 1, 2017

Tony Brennan (1916-1965), Clonoutly-Rossmore & Tipperary

Clonoulty Rossmore Vintage Club Program, August 21, 2016, pp 75-79

Click here to view article

Memories & Reflections, Twenty Five Years Later Strictly Come Dancing Program, Halla Na Feile, Cashel, June 5th 2016

January 1, 2017

Memories & Reflections, Twenty Five Years Later

Strictly Come Dancing Program, Halla Na Feile, Cashel, June 5th 2016

Click here to view article

Cashel King Cormac’s club president, Willie Ryan (T), (the man with the cap), watching proceedings during the presentation of the cup at Cappawhite.

Twenty-five years on from what was probably the club’s greatest year, Cashel King Cormac’s are remembering the glorious year of 1991 when the senior hurlers climbed to the summit in winning the county senior hurling championship for the first time. They went on to take the Munster title and narrowly missed out on All-Ireland honours.

They were accompanied to county honours by the junior and under-21 teams, an achievement unmatched up to then by any club in the county. In fact, earlier in the year on January 13 to be exact, Cashel won another county final, albeit for 1990, when they defeated Commercials in the under-21 football championship final at Kilsheelan. Three players, Seanie Barron, Seanie O’Donoghue and Joe O’Leary, were members of all four panels giving them a unique personal distinction.

The senior success was the most celebrated because it was a first for the club. The King Cormac’s reached the final the previous year only to lose out to Holycross-Ballycahill on a miserably wet day. Three earlier final appearances, in 1937, 1939 and 1940, also ended in defeat.

A Long Wait

M. Quinn (Referee) about to throw in the ball before the Munster Club final at Mitchelstown, December 1991. Cashel King Cormac’s captain, Colm Bonnar, and Midleton captain, Ger Fitzgerald.

So, when victory eventually came at the final hurdle in 1991 it was long-awaited, greatly savoured and much celebrated. In fact my memory is of outstanding occasions in O’Reilly’s Pub, later O’Sullivan’s, Chief’s, Campion’s, Penny Lane and currently McCarthy’s. It was a wonderful pub for celebration, having three entrances to facilitate access on crowded occasions!

It was also a time of unprecedented support for the club with great crowds attending the games, plenty of financial sponsorship – Garveys Supervalu was proudly displayed on the jerseys
- and support. The level of that support was reflected in the turnout for the club social after the 1991 victory when 330 sat down to dinner at Dundrum House Hotel. I remember the extensive display of silverware that night, all shining brightly following hours of work by Tricia Fitzell.

Another memory from these years was the excitement of club president, Willie Ryan (T) as victory followed victory. He walked on air!

There were signs in 1988 that the hurling prospects of the club were improving. Although beaten ultimately by Borrisileigh in the county semi-final, Cashel’s performance in the final quarter of that game, which produced goals from Peter Fitzell and Sean Slattery, gave the supporters hope that there was a future for the team and made the public look up at a new hurling force.

Another development that year was the success of the minors in winning the county championship. This was followed up in 1989 with a further success in that grade and, while the seniors stumbled and fell badly against Cappawhite in the West championship, there were a number of recruits from the minor sides, like Ailbe Bonnar, T.J. Connolly, Raymie Ryan, Timmy Moloney and Seanie O’Donoghue, who were bursting to get into the senior ranks.

Outside Help

The following year, 1990, was a crucial one. There was the promise shown in 1988 and the influx of young talent from the minor champions. Something extra was required to drive the team to a higher level. This came with the appointment of Justin McCarthy as coach.

Justin brought to the team a number of very important things. Probably the first was an immense experience from years of managing not only club but county teams as well and the respect that this generated in the players. Then there was his total dedication to the cause of Cashel King Cormac’s. The club became the only one that mattered to him and he thought about it and planned for it not only when he was in Leahy Park but when travelling to or away after a training session. There was also his totally professional approach, one aspect of which was his emphasis on how every hurley had to be an individual piece of equipment for each player and he spent many hours shaping and repairing hurleys to meet individual requirements. There were also his man-management skills which facilitated good individual rapport with each player. In fact the team became a family and Justin’s family became part of that family.

The victorious Cashel King Cormac’s panel of 1991 Back row, left to right: Seanie O’Donoghue, James O’Donoghue (RIP), Ramie Ryan, John Ryan, Pat O’Donoghue, John Grogan, Seanie Morrissey, Seanie Barron, Don Higgins, Joe Minogue; Middle row, left to… — The victorious Cashel King Cormac’s panel of 1991

Back row, left to right: Seanie O’Donoghue, James O’Donoghue (RIP), Ramie Ryan, John Ryan, Pat O’Donoghue, John Grogan, Seanie Morrissey, Seanie Barron, Don Higgins, Joe Minogue;
Middle row, left to right: Pa Fitzell, Willie Fitzell, Sean Slattery, Tommy Grogan, Ailbe Bonnar, Colm Bonnar (capt.), Cormac Bonnar, Conal Bonnar, Timmy Moloney;
Front row, left to right: Joe O’Leary, Ger Slattery, Michael Perdue, Declan McGrath, Liam Devitt,
T.J. Connolly, Tony Slattery, Peter Fitzell.

The result was that he developed the players not only into a better bunch of hurlers but into a better team as well. He raised the bar of their performances and the result was qualification for the 1990 county final.

Other Contributors

Cashel King Cormac’s first aid man, Pearse Bonnar, dispensing aid to son, Conal, with Justin McCarthy looking on.

It would be an omission not to mention two other people who played an important part in the preparation of the team, Dinny Keating and Paddy Greaney. Dinny looked after Leahy Park and had it perfectly prepared for every training session, even to the extent of having tea in the dressing-rooms – the milk supplied by Tommy Moloney – after training sessions! He may be an unsung hero but anyone who remembers his many years of contribution to the park, will agree that any praise of him is well-deserved. Paddy’s contribution was in another area. As well as being the club’s greatest promotor of the County Draw with over one hundred subscribers, Paddy was the person who gave the team their supper in the splendid surroundings of the panelled Vincent O’Brien room in the Cashel Palace Hotel, a place not normally associated with hurling. This was an innovation inspired by Justin following the last training session before matches. The food was always top class and the place conducive to the pep talks given by the selectors, Brendan Bonnar, John Darmody and Aengus Ryan, as well as contributions from the players.

Paddy Greaney, Tommy Grogan and Dinny Keating

The rising graph of success was temporarily halted with defeat in the 1990 county final. This was a finely balanced game throughout. Holycross led by 0-6 to 0-4 at the interval on a day when the weather made good hurling difficult. In fact Tommy Grogan had the ball in the net eight minutes before half-time, only for the referee to call back the play for a foul on Jamesie O’Donoghue. With eight minutes to play the sides were level but it was Holycross’s, Tony Lanigan, who got the winning scores, three unanswered points in the final minutes.

Cashel King Cormac’s, West senior hurling champions 1993 Back row, left to right: T.J. Connolly, Joe O’Leary, Donal Ryan, Pat O’Donoghue, John Ryan, Seanie O’Donoghue, Joe Minogue; Front row, left to right: Michael Butler, Ramie Ryan, Ailbe Bonnar,… — Cashel King Cormac’s, West senior hurling champions 1993

Back row, left to right: T.J. Connolly, Joe O’Leary, Donal Ryan, Pat O’Donoghue, John Ryan, Seanie O’Donoghue, Joe Minogue;
Front row, left to right: Michael Butler, Ramie Ryan, Ailbe Bonnar, Colm Bonnar, Conal Bonnar, Cormac Bonnar, Willie Fitzell (capt.), Michael Perdue.

Holycross had lost to Clonoulty- Rossmore in 1989 and the mantra was that a team had to lose one to win one. Would Cashel’s time come in 1991?

A Team of Brothers

At the last meeting before the 1991 county final, the selectors and Justin McCarthy went into conclave in the Cashel Palace Hotel to pick the team. This piece of paper, supplied by Aengus Ryan from his job as office manager in O'Connors Vets, was us… — At the last meeting before the 1991 county final, the selectors and Justin McCarthy went into conclave in the Cashel Palace Hotel to pick the team. This piece of paper, supplied by Aengus Ryan from his job as office manager in O'Connors Vets, was used for writing out the team, and the handwriting was by Aengus

One of the contributory factors to the strength of the Cashel team in 1991 was its brotherly composition. Over half the panel, fifteen out of twenty-seven, was made up of bands of brothers.

The Bonnars contributed Cormac, Colm, who was also captain, Conal and Ailbe. In mentioning them one has to include Pearse, the father of them all, who was the first aid man to the team and who was a familiar figure rushing in from the sideline – belying his years - with his case of aids for the injured. And, there was also Brendan, one of the three selectors, making it an overwhelming family affair, which was manifested in the sign erected on the Cahir entrance to the town: ‘Welcome to Bonnar City’!.

The other bands of brothers were the Fitzells, Pa, Peter and Willie, the Grogans, John and Tommy, the O’Donoghues, Pat, Jamesie (RIP) and Seanie, and the Slatterys, Tony, Ger and Sean. Needless to add the remaining twelve members of the panel, who included cousins T. J. Connolly and Raymie Ryan, also contributed significantly to the team’s success.

Used to Success

Any reflection on this team has to question why it took so long to achieve success. Some of the panel had achieved county success as long ago as 1969, when Cashel under-13s won the county final in football and were beaten by Ballina in the hurling final with virtually the same panel of players. The team included John and Tommy Grogan, Tony Slattery, Joe Minogue, Don Higgins, Brendan and Cormac Bonnar, Pa Fitzell. Guided by the coaching and management of Brother Noonan the club enjoyed further unprecedented success during the early seventies, culminating in successive county minor successes in 1974 and 1975. Progress stalled after that with West senior titles in 1975, 1976 and 1980 and, as mentioned above, in 1988, but no progression to county titles that the successes between 1969 and 1975 might have anticipated.

Cashel King Cormac supporters after county quarter-finals at Golden in 1991 Left to right: T.J. Connolly, Jim O’Leary, Brendan Bonnar, Denis Fitzgerald. — Cashel King Cormac supporters after county quarter-finals at Golden in 1991
Left to right: T.J. Connolly, Jim O’Leary, Brendan Bonnar, Denis Fitzgerald.

The management team in 1991 Back row, left to right: selectors, Jack Darmody, Aengus Ryan and Brendan Bonnar; Front row, left to right: club chairman, Seamus J. King and coach, Justin McCarthy — The management team in 1991
Back row, left to right: selectors, Jack Darmody, Aengus Ryan and Brendan Bonnar;
Front row, left to right: club chairman, Seamus J. King and coach, Justin McCarthy

The victory over Holycross by 2-8 to 1-5 in 1991 final was belated then as the expectation created by the victories in 1969 and the years following was only then realised. However, these thoughts were far from the mind of Colm Bonnar , when he became the first Cashel player to receive the Dan Breen Cup from county chairman, Michael Maguire. Neither did they dim the excitement of Raymie Ryan, as he received the man-of-the-match award, his third time to be so honoured on county final day, having twice accepted similar honours following the minor deciders in 1988 and 1989.

Whenever players and supporters look back to the early nineties they remember a time when it was great to be alive, when the King Cormac’s reached the summit and when it was such pleasure to follow them.

At the launch of Justin McCarthy’s book ‘Hooked, at Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork on April 22, 2002 Back row, left to right: Seamus J. King, John Grogan, John Ryan, Tommy Grogan, Raymie Ryan, Cormac Bonnar; Front row, left to right: Michael Perdue, Ja… — At the launch of Justin McCarthy’s book ‘Hooked, at Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork on April 22, 2002
Back row, left to right: Seamus J. King, John Grogan, John Ryan, Tommy Grogan, Raymie Ryan, Cormac Bonnar;
Front row, left to right: Michael Perdue, Jack Darmody, Mattie Finnerty, Ger Slattery.

Knocknagow United Sports Panel Presentation Booklet for the Annerville Awards, Clonmel Park Hotel, Jan 23rd, 2016

January 1, 2017

Knocknagow

United Sports Panel Presentation Booklet for the Annerville Awards, Clonmel Park Hotel, Jan 23rd, 2016

I love you, Tipperary dear, for sake of him who told
The tale of homely ‘Knocknagow’ – its hearts as true as gold –
For sake of ‘Matt the Thresher’s’ strength, and Nora Leahy’s grace,
I love you, Tipperary, tho’ I never saw your face.

The words are by Brian O’Higgins and the poem includes five more verses outlining all the places of beauty in the county that he loves as well as ‘one dear friend, Within whose eyes your smiles and tears forever meet and blend.’

O’Higgins was born in County Meath in 1882 and took part in the Easter Rising. He was present in the GPO during the rebellion. Elected MP for Clare in 1918, he was re-elected to the Dáil in 1921, 1922 and 1923. He opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty and lost his seat in the 1927 election. Active in the Gaelic League, he started a successful publishing company in the late twenties. He was an ardent lover of Ireland, its history, culture, language and freedom. From 1935 to 1962 he published the Wolfe Tone Annual in which he presented Irish history from a republican viewpoint. He died in 1963.

O’Higgins gave the background to his poem: ‘I always had a special love for Tipperary as my mother, God rest her, told us the stories of Kickham and recited the poems for us even before we were able to read, and when I did read them my love for Tipperary grew. It was far back in 1903, when I was a patient here in a Dublin hospital, that I wrote ‘I love You, Tipperary.’ While convalescing I amused myself and the other patients by composing poems. One day, a Tipperary man said to me: ‘It’s a pity you don’t write something about Tipperary.’ ‘But I have never seen Tipperary,’ I answered. ‘What matter? Haven’t you read Kickham?’ I composed this poem that day.’

Charles J Kickham

And, of course, as most people know, it was Charles J. Kickham who created Knocknagow, when he wrote his great novel, entitled Knocknagow, or the Homes of Tipperary. Published in 1879, it was an instant success and ran to seven editions between then and 1887. In it the author presents an idealised picture of the contemporary peasant as ‘simple-minded, honest-souled, high-spirited, animated and inspired by two noble passions, love of his religion and his country.’

This love of country finds expression in one of the most memorable incidents in the novel, the sledge throwing contest between Captain French and Matt the Thresher. The Captain has just delivered a huge third throw and most of the spectators doubted if Matt could possibly beat it. The account continues:

‘The captain is a good fellow,’ thought Mat Donovan, ‘and I’d like to lave him the majority – if I could do it honourable.’

He looked on the anxious faces of those around him; he looked at Bessy Morris; but still he was undecided. Some one struck the big drum a single blow, as if by accident, and, turning round quickly, the thatched roofs of the hamlet caught his eye. And, strange to say, those old mud walls and thatched roofs roused him as nothing else could. His breast heaved as, with glistening eyes and that soft plaintive smile of his, he uttered the words: ‘For the credit of the little village!’ in a tone of the deepest tenderness. Then, grasping the sledge in his right hand, and drawing himself up to his full height, he measured the captain’s cast with his eye. The muscles of his arms seemed to start out like cords of steel as he wheeled slowly around and shot the ponderous sledge through the air.

His eyes dilated, as, with quivering nostrils, he watched its flight, till it fell far beyond the best mark that even he himself started with astonishment. Then a shout of exultation burst from the excited throng; hands were convulsively grasped, and hats sent flying into the air, and in their wild joy they crushed around him and tried to lift him upon their shoulders.

‘O boys, boys,’ he remonstrated, ‘be ‘asy. Sure ‘tisn’t the first time ye see me throw a sledge. Don’t do anything that might offend the captain afther comin’ here among us to show ye a little diversion.’

For the Credit of the Little Village

‘For the credit of the little village’ has become a mantra of exhortation for all sporting endeavour in the county since then. Wherever the Tipperary sportsperson finds himself, he is exhorted to give his all, just as Mat did, for the honour and glory of his native place.

The mythical name of Knocknagow, with its broad vowels and solid sound, is synonymous with the county. It reflects great love for home and hearth, for friends and neighbours, for one’s native place, however small and insignificant it may appear to others.

The kind of inspiration that lifted Mat’s achievement to such heights came from the sights and sounds of the people around him, the people of his own kith and kin. He was their representative, their saviour, their champion against the forces outside Knocknagow.

This kind of endeavour is extraordinary and drives people to greater heights of achievement. One does it for one’s community and there is no nobler cause than the protection of and championing the cause of one’s community.

Of course the whole episode presents an idealised picture. There is a nobility and decency about Mat’s motives that are almost saint-like.. The captain is a guest in the community and the laws of hospitality have to be observed. These laws demand that you don’t do anything that might offend your guest and that is where Mat is torn, between his desire to champion his community and yet not beat the captain. The sound of the drum helps to make up his mind but when he has delivered his winning cast, he tries to prevent his supporters from being too triumphal.

Although it presents an idealised version of Irish peasant life in nineteenth century Ireland, it does show the importance of local loyalty in driving people to greater endeavour for their communities. The G.A.A. recognised this when they made the parish the basic unit of the new Association, which came into existence only five years after the publication of Kickhams’s novel.

It is appropriate that the most prestigious of the Annerville Awards, which recognise athletic achievements, is the Knocknagow. Introduced in 1962, three years after the awards were initiated, the Knocknagow award is a unique and special honour for an athlete from the past. It recognises the pinnacle of achievement and the high level of excellence reached through dedicated commitment..

SJK Articles