<span class="postTitle">Congress ’96 in London</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1997, pp 57

Congress ’96 in London

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1997, pp 57

The 1996 Congress of the G.A.A. was held in London. Lancaster Gate and the leafy environs of Hyde Park was the setting and the Royal Lancaster Hotel with its extravagant central London hotel prices was the location. The Irish Post set the scene in its report on the event: 'On Friday afternoon they started to arrive, a procession of Pioneer pins and paunches, official ties sloping down well-fed bellies. Those that were called to the bar returned with faces as long as a Yorkshire beef farmer .... £3.50 a pint, not much less for a cup of tea. The delegates voted with a two-thirds majority to repair to an adjacent (much cheaper) hostelry.'. And, over the course of the weekend, two other hostelries with Tipperary connections, Johnny Barrett's in Cricklewood and Tom Milne's British Queen on Uxbridge Road, did good business. 

The reason for holding Congress in London was to recognise the foundation of the G.A.A. in Britain. The year 1896 is regarded as the foundation year even though it is fairly certain that the earliest English club to affiliate to the Association was Wallsend and Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1885. The first London club to affiliate was Hibernian A.C. in Clerkenwell and soon after that Exiles of Erin. This was in 1895 and at the November meeting of the Central Council the clubs were congratulated on being the pioneers of the G.A.A. movement in Great Britain. 

Soon afterwards a club was established in Manchester and the governing body of the Association decided to send over teams to London to give exhibitions the following year with a view to spreading the movement in England. Perhaps the centenary marks this first formal connection as there was quite an influx of players and athletes from Ireland to London at Easter 1896. 

The Tipperary delegation included Sean Fogarty, chairman; Tomas O'Baroid, secretary; Tom O'Donnell, treasurer; Michael O'Brien, Silvermines; Sean Nugent, Kilsheelan; Noel Morris, Borrisokane; Michael Frawley, Emly; Liam Hennessy, Moycarkey-Borris; John Ryan, Holycross-Ballycahill; Jimmy Coliins, St. Mary's Clonmel; Seamus King, Cashel King Cormacs; Matty Connolly, Boherlahan-Dualla. Also present was Donie Nealon, Burgess, Munster Council secretary. 

Hurling Proposals 

Probably the most memorable event of the Congress was the sanctioning of the hurling proposals. These, which allow the losers of the provincial senior and minor finals in Murister and Leinster a second bite of the championship cherry, had generated quite an amount of heated debate in the run-up to Congress and still more when they were debated before being put to the delegates. In general, however, they were happy with the decision to experiment in the face of the challenges facing the game. It was a mood most urgently expressed by former president, Pat Fanning of Waterford 'Marking time is the inevitable prelude to decline', he said, before adding: 'If change is needed, resistance to change is unacceptable'. When the vote came it was overwhelmingly in favour, receiving more than two-thirds of the over 300 delegates. 

Perhaps, equally memorable was the election of Joe McDonagh as the youngest ever president-elect. It was enthusiastically received as was the confident and exuberant oratory which marked his acceptance. In getting elected, he defeated an excellent candidate, Sean McCague of Monaghan, by 214 voted to 103. He will bring to the presidency a great belief in the efficacy of coaching as an engine for the promotion and progress of hurling. 

Allied to this are impressive communica­ion skills and comparative youth which must be good for the image of the Association. 'More than that', as Sean Moran wrote in the Irish Times, 'in his sense of history, pride of place and command of language, he portrays a cultural joie de vivre that is sometimes lacking within the G.A.A. Joe McDonagh's love of Irish language, sport and music came naturally and unselfconsciously to him. He s a great spokesperson for the culture because his embrace of it is unforced and presents itself as a celebration of his identity rather than as an assertion of what he isn't. His enjoyment of that culture makes him what he is; he's not pursuing it to prove a point." 

Liam McCarthy 

The arrangements for Congress were in the hands of the London County Board, whose chairman, John Lacey, called the decision to hold it in London 'a message of unification and co-operation as the way forward into the next millennium'. All were agreed that the arrangements went very well. From a London perspective one of the highlights of the historic weekend was the unveiling of a headstone at the grave of Liam MacCarthy, the most famous son of the G.A.A. across the Irish Sea. This ceremony took place in the Old Dulwich Cemetery after twelve o'clock mass in St. Thomas Moore Church on Lordship Lane on Easter Sunday. 

The unveiling was a fitting reminder to delegates of the immense contribution made by the son of Eoghan and Brigid MacCarthy of Ballygarvan, Co. Cork to the G.A.A. in London. Born in 1853 in London, Liam MacCarthy married well and was 43 years old when the Association was formed in his native city. He was the first treasurer of the London County Board and later became president or chairman. He was also involved in the Gaelic League, Amnesty International and the I.R.B. In the latter he worked with Sam Maguire and Michael Collins. When the Provincial Council of Britain was formed he became its first secretary. He is best known for having provided the eponymous trophy for the All-Ireland hurling championship in 1922, for which he paid Edmund Johnson Ltd. of Grafton Street £50. He was a man of great character, proud of his Irish roots and Catholic upbringing, never smoked or indulged in alcohol. It is understandable that his compatriots should honour him with the title of 'Father of the London G.A.A.' 

It was fitting, therefore, that his memory should be honoured appropriately in this the Centenary Year of the London G.A.A. before a representative gathering of Gaels from many parts of the world and that it should be done at Easter, a symbolic time for Liam MacCarthy's religion and patriotism.

<span class="postTitle">The 1895 All-Ireland Double Centenary</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1997, pp 44-45

The 1895 All-Ireland Double Centenary

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1997, pp 44-45

The centenary of the first All-Irelands played in Croke Park was celebrated on March 15. The day was chosen because it was exactly 100 years since the hurling and football All-Irelands of 1895 were played. On March 15, 1896 teams from Tubberadora and Tullaroan contested the hurling All-Ireland while teams from Arravale Rovers and Pierce (Navan) O’Mahony’s played in the football All-Ireland. It was only right and fitting that representatives and teams from the four clubs should be invited to Croke Park to commemorate the event one hundred years later.

Only eight years after the inauguration of the All-Ireland championships, the governing body of the G.A.A. was facing a crisis in regard to finding suitable venues at which to stage important fixtures.

By 1895 it was clear that something would have to be done in the wake of the recent debacles at major games - the Phoenix Park fiasco when the venue for the two All-Irelands had to be changed at virtually a few minutes notice; the 1894 All-Ireland football final replay at Thurles, which was unfinished and the lack of crowd control at the Dublin-Meath game in the same year at Clonturk Park in Drumcondra. The latter ground had served reasonably well in its day but, with the rapidly growing support for Gaelic games, it was imperative that the use of grounds capable of housing much larger crowds than heretofore be acquired.

The problem was that the G.A.A. was not in a financial position to embark on any expensive acquisitions. Renting suitable pitches was the only option and the grounds of the City and Suburban Racecourse and Amusements Company at Jones’s Road had been used with success for the 1895 Leinster semi-final and final. With this experience behind them the Central Council had no hesitation in fixing the 1895 All-Ireland finals for March 15, 1896 at the venue.

Success

Under the astute direction of President Frank B. Dinneen and the General Secretary, R.T. Blake, no effort was spared to make the move to this new location and the staging of the first All-Irelands there was a huge success. For a week before the games the two sets of medals which were to be awarded to the winners were displayed in the window of Messrs Moore and Company, Grafton Street and tickets were on sale ‘all over the city’.  According to a newspaper report the price of tickets was 6d (2.5p) to the trotting track and 1/- (5p) to the stands up to the Saturday before the finals.  On Sunday the prices would be increased to 1/- (5p) and 1/6 (7.5p). The programme could hardly have been more attractive as, apart from the two games, the long puck and long kick championships were also down for decision.  The events were timed thus: football final at 11.45am; hurling final at 1.00pm; long kick at 2.15pm and long puck at 2.30pm.

There was a delay in getting maters under way as the train carrying the Tipperary teams arrived late with the football game eventually starting at 1 pm. Only the football match lived up to expectations. Against the breeze Arravale Rovers failed to score in the first half during which Pierce O’Mahonys scored three points. However, the Tipperary side improved in the second half, scoring four points without reply from Meath.  Willie Ryan notched the winning point seven minutes from the end to give Arravale Rovers victory by 0-4 to 0-3.

The Arravale Rovers team was as follows: Paddy Finn (capt.), Willie Ryan, Bob Quane, Jim Riordan, Mick Finn, M. ‘Jerry’ McInerney, Paddy Glasheen, Jack Carey, Mick Conroy, Dick Butler, Willie Ryan, Jack Heffernan, Jerry O’Brien, Paddy Daly, Batt Finn, Phil Dwyer, John Carew.

The hurling final, despite a brave showing by Kilkenny, especially in the open stages, gradually became a one-sided affair. Tipperary led by 1-6 to 1-0 at the interval and at the finish were easy winners by 6-8 to 1-0. One of the stars of Tubberadora’s success was Paddy Riordan, a Drombane man, to whom is attributed the distinction of scoring all his side’s total of 6-8 on the day. This score should give him the record for an All-Ireland final but, because it was never authenticated, the record is claimed by Michael ‘Gah’ Aherne, who scored 5-4 in Cork’s 6-12 to 1-0 win over Galway in the 1928 final. Paddy Riordan’s brother, Jim, played with Arravale Rovers on the same day. Mr. J.J. Kenny (Dublin) refereed both games and though there was no official figure issued, most estimates put the attendance at about 8,000. The size of this figure can be placed in context by the fact that the Ireland-Wales rugby international, played the previous day at Lansdowne Road attracted a crowd of 7,000. In fact the entire Welsh rugby panel were in attendance at Croke Park on the day.

The successful Tubberadora side was as follows: Mickey. Maher (capt.), E. Maher, Phil Byrne, W. Kerwick, John Maher, Denis Walsh, John Walsh, Peter Maher, T. Flanagan, Jas. Flanagan, Paddy Riordan, Jas Gleeson, Fergus Moriarity, John Connolly, John Maher, E. Brennan, Will Devane.

Sequel

The proceedings of the historic afternoon at Jones’s Road concluded with the presentation of medals to the winning teams and to the individuals who had won the long puck and long kick competitions.

In a letter to the Irish Daily Independent on the Tuesday following the finals, the referee, J.J. Kenny, stated that the result of the football final was incorrect.  According to his letter, he stated he should have disallowed one of the Tipperary scores for an infringement following a kick out from the Meath goal and that the correct result was a draw.  However, no action was taken on the foot of this disclosure and, though there was a lengthy discussion at the next meeting of the Central Council, with Pierce O’Mahony’s reluctant to press the matter, the result was allowed to stand. At a later stage the Central Council presented a special set of medals to the Meath side with the inscription ‘Virtual Champions of Ireland, 1895’.

A Century Later

The commemoration on March l5, 1996 began with a luncheon for the officers of the four clubs involved in Croke Park.  After the meal, which was attended also by G.A.A. officials and the Press, the President of the Association, Jack Boothman, addressed the group.  He paid tribute to the men of the past whose endeavours helped set in motion two of the most exciting and cherished field games in the world, hurling and football.  He had a special word of praise for famed Tubberadora, the home of so many great hurling names.  On hand to receive the presentation of a framed commemorative scroll from Mr. Boothman was vice-chairman of the Boherlahan-Dualla club, P.J. Maher.  In his words of thanks, the latter said the presentation would always have a special place in the hearts of his clubmen.  The presentation to Arravale Rovers was accepted by club chairman, Tom Richardson, who spoke in praise of the men who gave a lifetime of service to the club. Tullaroan chairman, Ger Doheny, and Pierce O.Mahony chairman, Liam Currane, also received scrolls and spoke of the momentous occasion enjoyed by their respective clubs.  The Tullaroan chairman remarked on the coincidence that he and the Tubberadora chairman were contemporaries at Pallaskenry College.

After the meal a limestone plaque was unveiled at the back of the Hogan stand inscribed thus:

Unveiled by Sean Boothman
Uachtaran Cumann Luthchleas Gael
15 Marta 1996
to commemorate the first All-Ireland finals
played in Croke Park 15 Marta 1896

Iomaint
Tubberadora V Tullaroan
Peil
Arravale Rovers V Pierce O’Mahony’s
1896 - 1996

(With the life of the Hogan Stand under threat with the new development of Croke Park, some of the spectators wondered would the plaque have a much shorter life than the event commemorated.)

Exhibition Games

After the unveiling of the plaque, two exhibition games, fifteen minutes aside, took place to mark the occasion. The results of a century earlier were reversed when the hurlers of Tullaroan and the footballers of Pierce O’Mahony’s claimed victory. In the hurling game there was an exciting finish.  Tullaroan were in front by 0-6 to 0-4 with about three minutes to go.  In the course of two minutes Boherlahan went ahead with a goal and a point but, in the dying minute of the game Tullaroan forced a penalty from which a goal was scrambled and this score gave them victory by 1-6 to 1-5.  The football was a much more one-sided contest with the Pierce O’Mahony players much fitter and more prepared than Arravale Rovers, running out easy winners by 2-6 to 1-1

After the games the teams were feted at a function and the contestants were presented with a fine commemorative medal to mark the occasion. The respective captains, Seamus Dunne of Tullaroan, Brendan Murray of Pierce O’Mahony’s, Philip Ryan of Boherlahan and Larry O’Donnell of Arravale Rovers, introduced the players and they received their medals from President Jack Boothman.

Overall then, an enjoyable afternoon and a fitting tribute to the men of one hundred years ago, who became the first to play All-Irelands in the famous venue.  Although the latter would not be recogniseable to the ghosts of these men, with the dramatic Cusack Stand dominating the scene, the games of hurling and football would be easy to identify even if they are played at a faster pace.

<span class="postTitle">The County Senior Hurling Championship 1996</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1997, pp 35-39

The County Senior Hurling Championship 1996

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1997, pp 35-39

They said it wasn't possible, that it couldn't be done, that Boherlahan-Dualla didn't have the talent, that Toomevara had too strong a panel and were fully focused on reversing last year's result. Although the mid men had annihiliated Cashel King Cormacs in the semi-final, the pundits and the experts had honed in on the clinical way the North team had despatched Thurles Sarsfields at the same stage of the competition.

Even though Boherlahan-Dualla had beaten them in last year's semi-final, that defeat was regarded as nothing more than a blip on all otherwise ascending graph to county honours. In fact with the talented team and the strength in depth right through the squad, Toomevara were predicted to go right through to contest the honours on St. Patrick's Day!

And, all that certainty was sanctioned by the betting men: in a two-horse race the boys in the green and gold were certs at 9/4-on and the minions from Boherlahan-Dualla didn't stand a chance.

That was, of course, outside the parish of Boherlahan-Dualla. Within the confines of this historic place the supporters believed in their chances and their mentors plotted and planned for victory. They did not consider anything less than victory. In fact, manager Martin O'Dwyer expressed disappointment on Sunday night at their margin of victory: he had forecast a five-point margin!
And the supporters were equally optimistic. One such, Eddie Bennett, on his way home from the pub through the wind and rain of the previous night, was positive he met the ghost of Dan Breen in Boherclough and he was headed for Boherlahan! There was no doubt it was an omen: Boherlahan would win!

And they did. In the end the margin was the minimum but there was no doubt that the Boherlahan boys deserved their victory. They had to endure setbacks and difficulties in the first half but they overcame them and the breeze in the final 30 minutes, and when Liam Maher hit the final winning point there was no supporter outside of Toomevara - who wasn't willing them to win.

When Philly Ryan received the Dan Breen cup on behalf of the team, he was doing something that no Boherlahan man had done for 55 years. The last man from the parish to receive the cup was Philly O'Dwyer in 1941, when Boherlahan had won their 13th and last senior county final. They had made another unsuccessful final appearance in 1953, when they were beaten by Borrisileigh.
That team was captained by Tom Kevin and included George Studdard, Andy Fogarty, Johnny Callanan, John Ryan (T), James O'Meara, Sean Leahy, John Walsh, Jack Doherty, Eamon Leahy, Sonny Maher, Paddy O'Dwyer, Michael O'Reilly, Philip Ryan, Mick Leahy.

When 1996 dawned there were a number of of serious contenders for county honours. County champions, Nenagh, were hoping to expand on their 1995 victory. Toomevara had very definite aspirations, feeling they had been ambushed the previous year. Cashel King Cormacs believed they had left it behind in 1995, when losing a seven-point lead to Nenagh, and intended to make amends.

Boherlahan had gained enormously in confidence a a result of making the breakthrough the previous year and saw no reason hy they couldn't go one better. And there were other teams who felt that 1996 could be their year.

Divisional Champions

The west division were first with their senior final and it was played for the first time in Rockwell Rovers' newly developed venue at New Inn on August 18. Cashel King Cormac's went into the game very hot favourites but they came a cropper against a very purposeful Clonoulty Rossmore side. On a windy afternoon. Cashel, who were going for four-in-a-row, had no answer to an opposition which played with determination and cohesion right through the hour and had a thirteen- point winning margin at the final whistle on a scoreline of 2-13 to 0-6.

The defeat left Cashel with the Crosco Cup final to play against Kickhams in order to decide on the second team for the county championship. When this game, which was, in fact, a replay, the sides having drawn on July 21, was played on September 8, Cashel came through by 2-11 to 1-10. Had they been beaten, the sides would have had to play once more because Kickhams would then have been Crosco Cup winners and Cashel would have been runners-up in the championship!

So much for the west. There were three divisional finals on September 8. In the south, the venue was Monroe and the, teams were Ballingarry and Killenaule. What had been billed as a potential thriller and a repeat of the 1992 final turned out to be a damp squib in which Killenaule had no answer to the opposition and Ballingarry won in a canter (2-17 to 1-10). Highlight of the game was the display of young star, Liam Cahill, who scored six points of the winners', total.
In the mid there was no doubt about Thurles Sarsfields' supremacy on the day. Inspired by Brendan O'Carroll, they put in a powerful performance to beat the holders, Boherlahan-Dualla, by 3-13 to 1-13 to take their 36th divisional title. This six-point margin of victory was achieved in spite of conceding 1-2 in the first four minutes of the game.

Matters were more complicated in the north. The final brought together the most unlikely pairing, Lorrha and Newport. Neither side seemed likely prospects in the beginning of the year. But then Lorrha put Nenagh out in the first round and Newport gave Toomevara their marching orders in the second round. The two sides eventually made it to the final at Nenagh on September 8.
For Newport it was a very special occasion as the club hadn't found itself in that position since as far back as 1931. There was a great atmosphere about the final, which was added to by the similarity between Newport's and Wexford's colours. The sides ended level at 0-12 to 1-9 with Lorrha's John Madden getting the last minute leveller. The replay was the following Sunday and a very exciting occasion saw Newport span a 61 year gap to become North champions by 2-13 to 3-6. In a welter of excitement, the Newport captain, Connie McGrath, received the cup from divisional chairman John Joe McKeogh.

As championship losers, Lorrha had to play league winners, Toomevara, to decide on the second team for the county championship. This game was played at Cloughjordan on September 28 and the league winners didn't have much difficulty in ousting a Lorrha side badly depleted by injury, on a scoreline of 1-16 to 2-7.

Quarter-Finals

In the quarter-finals the Mid played the South ann the North played the West. The first encounter was between Thurles Sarsfields and Killenaule, at Littleton, on September 21. The margin of victory of nine points by Thurles Sarsfields was comfortable but it flattered the Mid men somewhat and didn't do justice to Killenaule. The latter were much improved on their south final performance and could consider themselves unlucky to be behind by 2-13 to 1-7 at the final whistle.

The remaining three quarter-finals were played off on the weekend of October 5/6. In Clonmel on Saturday, Boherlahan- Dualla bounced back from their defeat in the mid final to record a comprehensive defeat of south champions, Ballingarry. They were in command of the game from the third minute when Michael Ferncombe scored a goal from long range and were well on top at the interval, when they led by 2-12 to 0-4. In the 7th minute of the second half, Liam Cahill goaled for the south side but it did not unduly worry Boherlahan, who went on to win comfortably by 2-18 to 1-8.

The two remaining semi-finals were played at Templemore in fine conditions on the following day. The first game, between Cashel King Cormacs and Newport, was very exciting because of the closeness of the scores and the doubt about the result until the final minutes. In fact, right to the end, Newport might have got the goal to draw but Cashel defended well and a combination of determination and luck kept their opponents at bay until the end and a scoreline of 2-11 to 1-11 in their favour.

The second game was a big disappointment. Clonoulty-Rossmore were only a shadow of the side that had impressed so well in the west final. Right from the start Toomevara had matters under control. They got the scores and their tight defence prevented the West champions from responding. It seemed as if the team was inhibited by the jerseys they wore, playing in the old Rossmore colours for the occasion. In the end Toomevara were comfortably in front by 2-17 to 0-9.

The Semi-Finals

Semple Stadium was the venue for the two semi-finals on October 13. In the first game Mid champions, Thurles Sarsfields, were pitted against North league winners, Toomevara. The Mid men, showing promise in the past few years and having given an impressive display in the Mid final, believed they had the material to upset the North men.

They opted to play against the wind in the first half and could have had a goal from Johnny Enright early on but it was stopped by Jodie Grace. This failure to score epitomised their play all through the match: they never really got going and had to work inordinately hard for the meagrest of rewards.

In contrast, Toomevara could do things effortlessly, could send over points at will and controlled the game right down the centre. The second half and the breeze brought no change in proceedings and the game dragged its slow length along to the final whistle without any prospect of a Sarsfields' revival. The final score was 1-17 to 0-6 with no less than eight players contributing to Toomevara's winning account.

In the second game, Boherlahan-Dualla gave a stunning performance, which demolished Cashel King Cormac's and destroyed any chance they had of making up for the county semi-final failure in 1995. The West men went into the match with reasonable expectations. In fact some of their more fervent supporters gave them more than reasonable expectations. And yet, there had been a large number of question marks about this Cashel side in the course of the year.

They were struggling to succeed. They were waiting for the good display to arrive. They did not recognise that things were going as badly as they were. And the day didn't change anything. Cashel got an ideal start with T.J. Connolly's goal but as if to confirm that the weakest time in a team's defence is immediately after it scores a goal, Boherlahan struck almost immediately with a Philip O'Dwyer goal.

Then when Cashel appeared to have absorbed the storm from Boherlahan, O'Dwyer struck again with another goal in the 21 st minute. This was followed by a third from Michael Murphy five minutes later. The Mid men led by 3-5 to 1-6 at half-time and any signs of a Cashel revival were shattered by another O'Dwyer goal nine minutes into the second half.

However, Cashel reduced their deficit to five points midway through the half and for a short while things looked more hopeful. But, just as the sun was about to come out, O'Dwyer struck agan with his fourth goal in the 17th minute. This put an end to Cashel's hopes and expectations and left Boherlahan-Dualla convincing 5-11 to 2-8 winners.

Whereas 0' Dwyer's performance grabbed the headlines, this was a great team effort in which every member grafted for everybody else and many players revealed high levels of skill. Boherlahan-Dualla showed a great level of hunger and commitment and a tremendous self-belief.

The County Final

The pairing for the county final was unusual. Neither team had won divisional honours. Toomevara had been beaten in the second round of the divisional championship by the eventual winners, Newport, who, in turn, had been beaten by Cashel at the quarter-final stage. The latter were beaten by Clonoulty-Rossmore in the west final, who were then beaten in the quarter-final by Toomevara, who defeated Thurles Sarsfields in the semi-final after they had beaten Boherlahan-Dualla in the Mid final.

And in the second semi-final, Boherlahan-Dualla beat Cashel, who had overcome Toomevara's earlier victors. It was really difficult to understand the way things were going.

Just under 10,000 spectators came to Semple Stadium on October 27 to watch the fare in reasonably good conditions. Although Boherlahan-Dualla had the breeze in their favour in the first half, it was Toomevara who got the breaks and the scores which gave them a five point lead at the interval.

The north men got a goal in the 14th minute from Kevin Kennedy, which was deflected into the net by William Hickey. Five minutes later Michael Murphy got through for the Mid men but failed to score.

In the final minutes of the first half, Toomevara got three points without reply from Boherlahan, who, in fact, had two scoreable opportunities driven wide by Aidan Flanqgan.

As the teams went in for the interval break the signs were not good for Boherlahan. Only the optimists might claim that the goal should never have happened and Flanagan might have scored the two points. Had both these things happened the sides would have been level at that stage. For Toomevara there was the loss of Bevans after 15 minutes, a player who had been giving a lot of trouble to Tommy O'Dwyer. On the positive side his replacement, Terry Dunne, was playing well and had scored two great points during the second quarter.

Boherlahan-Dualla resumed well and had two points in three minutes. But, when their spirits were beginning to rise, Toomevara came back with a point from Liam Nolan and then the finest score of the hour, a goal by Kevin Kennedy, to put the Greyhounds 7 points ahead and seemingly in an unassailable position. But the goal acted as a spur to the Boherlahan boys.

They responded swiftly with three ponts by J.J. McGrath, Ger Flanagan and Aidan Flanagan. Then, in the 11 th minute, a goal by Philip O'Dwyer. The game was now wide open. Boherlahan had a new lease of life. Points were exchanged. The sides were level and, in the dying minutes of the game, Liam Maher sent over the bar to give Boherlahan-Dualla the lead for the first time and victory when referee Willie Barrett sounded the final whistle.

It was a time to remember! After so many years in the wilderness, Boherlahan-Dualla had arrived in the promised land.

A jubilant Boherlahan captain, Philly Ryan, received the cup from county chairman Sean Fogarty as Semple Stadium became a sea of euphoric blue and gold. While this ecstatic celebration was taking over the field, Toomevara were left with the sadness of defeat and the query as to what had gone wrong. They had come up against a greater hunger but must have felt that they had left victory behind them.

The teams were as follows:

Boherlahan-Dualla - Philip Ryan (capt.), William Hickey, T.J. O'Dwyer, Tommy Dwyer, Seamus Hickey, Conor Gleeson, David Ryan, Michael Ferncombe, J.J. McGrath, Ger Flanagan, Michael Murphy, Brian O'Dwyer, Philip O'Dwyer, Liam Maher, Aidan Flanagan.

Toomevara - Jody Grace, Pat Maher, Rory Brislane, Aidan Maxwell, George Frend, Michael O'Meara, Phil Shanahan, Tony Delaney, Pat King (Capt.), Kevin Kennedy, Tommy Dunne, Ken Dunne, Michael Bevans, Kevin McCormack, Liam Nolan. Subs: Terry Dunne for Bevans, Liam Flaherty for McCormack, Bevans for King.

Referee: William Barrett (Ardfinnan). Man-of the Match: David Ryan (Bohrlahan-Dualla).
Boherlahan-Dualla selectors: Martin O'Dwyer,. Kieran Maher, Willie Joe O'Dwyer. Donagh O'Donnell (trainer). Toomevara selectors: Sean Stack, Dinny Haverty, Matt O'Meara.
 

COUNTY SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP 1996 AT A GLANCE

County Final: October 27, 1996, Semple Stadium, Thurles - Boherlahan-Dualla 1-16, Toomevara 2-12.

County semi-finals: October 13, 1996, Semple Stadium, Thurles - Toomevara 1-17, Thurles Sarsfields 0-6. Referee: Tommy Lonergan (Kilsheelan).
Boherlahan-Dualla 5-11, Cashel King Cormacs 2-8. Referee: Michael Cahill (Kilruane-MacDonaghs).

County Quarter-finals: September 21, 1996, Littleton - Thurles Sarsfields 2-13, Killenaule 1-7. Referee: Michael Cahill (Kilruane-MacDonaghs).
October 5, 1996, Clonmel - Boherlahan-Dualla 2-18, Ballingarry 1-8. Referee: Richie Barry (Cappawhite).
October 6, 1996, Templemore - Cashel Ki ng Cormacs 2-11, Newport 1-11. Referee T.J. Corby (Clonmel).
Toomevara 2-17, Clonoulty-Rossmore 0-9. Referee: Willie Barrett (Ardfinnan).

<span class="postTitle">Donal O'Donoghue</span> North Tipp senior hurling final program page 27, September 8, 1996

Donal O'Donoghue

North Tipp senior hurling final program page 27, September 8, 1996

Playing in his sixth divisional final today, Donal O'Donoghue has given long and dedicated service to Lorrha. Since he made his first senior debut in 1979, the thirty-six year old Rathcabbin farmer has played in every championship. This year is his eigh­teenth and this makes him the longest serving member of the team and a player who had played longer than most in the his­tory of his club.

His hurling ancestry is impeccable. His father, Danny, and his uncle, Mick, gave long and distinguished service to Lorrha. When Donal came to the senior team in 1979 he slotted into the full back position in place of Felix Cronin. In the following year he was at corner back and, during his long career, he has played in every position on the field with the exception of goals. He has been one of the most ver­satile of players, always willing to play where requested. In latter years he has reverted to the fullback position and has made a good job of the position despite his low stature.

Although he has given away height and weight to many opponents, he has more than compensated with guts and determination. A lion-hearted player, he is noted for his swashbuckling style of dashing runs and daredevil abandon. His do or die spirit has often inspired his fellow players to lift their game. His skill level has always been quite good. He is a good reader of the game and a hard, fast tackler especially on the ground ball. His com­mitment to training has always been first class and his attendance at training sessions has been an example to all.
Perhaps it can be said that Donal's return from the game after so many years and so much commitment has been meagre, but it reflects the fortunes of Lorrha over the period. Of the five North finals in which he has played he was successful in 1984 and 1989 but unsuccessful in 1983, 1987 and 1992.

The highlight of his career was winning the divisional final in centenary year and one of his greatest regrets is defeat in the county final of the same year. In fact, he is of the belief that there were more low than high points in his playing career. Another great regret is los­ing the North semi-final to Roscrea in 1985. He hoped to go all the way that year and make up for failing at the final hurdle in 1984. Still another disappointment was the loss to Holycross in the county semi-final of 1989. He reckons Lorrha could have got to the coun­ty final that year but for some refereeing decisions and some injuries which saw him retire after only five minutes of the game and Ciaran Hough also injured.

Hurling has been his life and now in the twilight of his career nothing would please him better than to win a county final. Before that can be achieved victory has to be won today. After hurling, football has been a lesser interest in which he has .won divisional honours at intermediate and senior level. His favourite player at the inter county level has always been Nicky English. He has had his share of injuries in the course of his career, including a broken leg on two occasions and a broken ankle also. To an extent the nature of these injuries reflect the courage and determination of the player, a spirit and a heart that has always put his team and his club above any other interest.

<span class="postTitle">Tarmstedt and North Germany</span> Farmers Journal, July 1996

Tarmstedt and North Germany

Farmers Journal, July 1996

One of the highlights of my recent visit to Germany was a trip to Tarmstedt and surrounding villages in north Germany. Tarmstedt is predominantly rural and is situated about 25 kilometres to the east of the city of Bremen. The reason for my trip was to visit Willi Walter Dei and Wilhelm Evert, both of whom were on the German delegation that visited Cashel for the EC meeting of Rural Communes in June 1995. 

Tarmstedt is the chief village in a group of 17 rural villages. It is mainly a farming area and, in typical German style, all the farmhouses are concentrated in the village as opposed to the single habitations one gets in Ireland. The landscape and village scapes are well ordered, showing the results of generations of care and attention. For instance the roads are perfect. All the villages are linked by bicycle lanes. The street signposts are clear and easy to read. Every place is perfectly clean. I saw one woman sweeping up the street outside her farmhouse. It may come as a surprise to listeners to learn that a German householder is responsible for the footpath in the front of his/her house, to keep it clean or, in the event of frost and snow, to keep it clear. 

I stayed with Willi Dei for two nights. He was the translator for the group in Cashel and he is fluent in English and French. He is a teacher in the secondary school in Tarmstedt, which is the educational centre for the 17 villages. All the children to primary and secondary school are bussed to Tarmstedt. Some people have regrets about this development and believe the loss of the village school was a retrograde step. With the loss of the school some of the other infra-structure in the villages will disappear.

In Hepstedt, the village of Wilhelm Evert, these fears are real. While I was there there was a story in the local paper about the fate of the village inn. This famous Gasthaus, which was in the same family for ninety years is today without an owner. The couple who owned it and the son who succeeded all died within a year. The place was put up for sale but as of now there are no bidders. There are fears that nobody is interested because the future of the village would not justify the purchase. The strange thing is that the inn was doing a good trade in the past. Wilhelm Evert, who has been living in the village since 1956, coming originally from the east of the country and who taught with his wife in the local school until he retired, is somewhat pessimistic about the future of the place. 

Some of you are familiar with the name of Hepstedt because it is with this area that Cashel Community School have established an exchange. The school, as I said above is actually located in Tarmstedt, but it serves the community of Hepstedt. The local papers this weekend carry a report by Sean Hill about the exchange.

Farming under Threat 

I suppose the best way of grasping how things are going is to take a look at farming, the main occupation in the area. Wilhelm took me along to visit Helmut Hartmann, one of the local farmers, who farms 30 hectares and leases another 20. He pays between 320 and 400DM per hectare, approximately £140-£174 per hectare for the leased land. On the basis of 2.47 acres to a hectare this works out at £56-£70 per acre, rather cheap by Irish standards. 

However, there is a points rating for land in Germany, which must be somewhat equivalent to the system applied by Griffeth, when he worked out the valuation of land in Ireland in the last century. Under the German system the best land is rated at 100 points and is to be found in middle Germany, particularly around Hanover, where there is a good loemy soil. I am not too sure of all the criteria for deciding on the points rating of land. The land Helmut owns and leases rates between 25-40 on the German scale. Much of the land in the area was original cutaway bog and has been rehabilitated over a long time. If his land were the good loemy kind around Hanover he would pay double the price to lease it. And there would be a similar discrepancy if he went to sell. In that event his land would sell at 10,000 DM for pasture land - about £1,760 per acre - and 12,000 DM for arable land - about £2,112 per acre. In contrast to buy a hectare in Hannover would cost one 50,000 DM, about £8,800 per acre. 

Helmut milks twenty cows and carries about 50 young stock. His cows average 6,500 litres per year, about 1450 gallons. He has a quota of 80,000 litres, about 18,000 gallons, per year. His yield would put him well over quota, unless there is an extra quota with the leased land. He didn't indicate any difficulty with the quota and reckoned that quotas were not being filled in Germany since many of the producers in the former East Germany were failing to make quota. And, he added, quotas can be sold for 1.20 DM per litre, about £2.40 per gallon. Milk prices are 55 phennings per litre plus a 5 phenning subsidy from the government, which, in total, works out at approximately £1.17 a gallon, plus bonuses for butter fat etc. 

In order to get that yield Helmut feeds his cows 7-8 kilos of of meal per day all the year round. This works out at approximately 820DM , about £360, per cow per year. The cows are housed all the year round and are also fed on silage made from grass or maize. Helmut grows 5 hectares of maize, 15 hectares of barley, has 1 hectare of forest and the rest is grass. 

I asked him about the future of farming. He is a man in his seventies and has recently has a heart operation. As we drank beer at his livingroom table I noticed his was of the non-alchoholic variety. Forty years ago there were 40-45 farmers in his village. That number is now reduced to 20 and, he reckons. it will be down to 5 by the year 2000. He believes the minimum acreage a man will need to make a living will be 150 hectares, nearly 400 acres. Young people don't want to work the land anymore. They want a five day week and only eight hours work each day and the weekends free Already, many of the young farmers sons in the village have deserted the land for the big Mercedes factory in Bremen. 

Lack of Wives

And, there is another problem, women. German women do not want to marry farmers. Hermann has a 48 year old son working the land and he is unmarried. Another son, Christian, is living in Tasmania and married to an Australian. And, by the way they met in Ireland!! He and his wife were on holidays while I was on my visit and in response to my question could he see himself returning to farm in Hepstedt, he was very definite to the negative: No way. An interesting point made by Christian was that there were too many restrictions on life in Germany. In contrast Tasmania was a dream place in which to live, with great freedom. His wife was of the opinion that the disinclination of German women to go into farming is a rejection of the traditional role of the German farmer's wife which can be summed up in the three words: Kinder, Kirche, Kuche, children, church, kitchen. German women don't want this role any longer. I don't know if Irish women think the same way about marrying farmers but if they don't perhaps there might be scope here for the Knock Marriage Bureau. Maybe they should set up an office in Hepstedt. 

At any rate from the perspective of Hermann Holsten the outlook is bleak. He foresees the disappearance of family farms and their replacement by ranches and factory farms. This may lead to more efficient farming with higher production levels bringing about a lesser need for subsidies. In fact the future prospect may be very similar to that obtaining in Tasmania, where there are no subsidies but where the size of the farm is such that profit margins per animal or per acre need be much smaller than on smaller spreads. But, the price to be paid will be the disappearance of a strong tradition of family farming in the area and a way of life that stretches back into centuries of time.

<span class="postTitle">Tipperary Senior Footballers - All Ireland Senior Football B Champions 1995</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1996, pp 26-27

Tipperary Senior Footballers - All Ireland Senior Football B Champions 1995

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1996, pp 26-27

Tipperary senior footballers made history on August 27 when they defeated Longford by seven points in the All-Ireland 'B' Championship final at Birr. The win was most welcome for football followers in the county after a woeful league campaign, which saw the team failing to record a win in Division III. 

In the three post-Christmas games they lost to Longford, Antrim and Wexford respectively and these failures were followed by a massive McGrath Cup trouncing at the hands of Clare. It was more in hope than expectation the team looked forward to the Munster championship. 

Tipperary had a bye to the semi-final and the preparation of the team was hampered by injuries, curtailed by clashes with club fixtures and, to add to the tale of woe, the selectors had to do without the services of Anthony Crosse in the attack, as a result of an injury received in the hurling semi-final the previous Sunday. 

So the team travelled to Tralee on June 24 to take on Kerry, a team they hadn't beaten in a Munster championship game since 1928. The resultant defeat by 7-12 to 1-13 does not do justice to a fine performance from an injury-hit team. Tipperary went from being 0-2 to 0-1 up after ten minutes to being 5-2 to 0-2 down after seventeen minutes. The goals kept coming and coming during this six-minute period. 

However, between then and six minutes into the second half, Tipperary came thundering back and reduced the deficit to four points. But this fine effort did not last. Kerry gradually recovered their composure and by the final quarter were completely in charge, hammering home their superiority for a seventeen-point win. 

The losing side was as follows: P. Ryan, T. Macken, P. Gleeson, B. Lacey, J. Owens, J. Costello, T. Anglim, B. Burke, D. Foley, D. Hogan, P. Maguire, M. Sheahan, P. Lambert, C. McGrath, B. Cummins. Subs: L. Cronin for Anglim, G. Maguire for Costello. 

It is against this background, then, that the success in the 'B' All-Ireland must be viewed. The final was played on the same evening which saw the unveiling of a monument to the great Tubberadora team of a century ago. The game got little publicity and the attendance of less than a thousand people hardly did justice to the endeavours of the players and the significance of the win. 

An indication of this significance of this win is the fact that it's the first major win in county senior football since 1971. In that year Tipperary won Division 2 of the National Football League and were presented with a special trophy by the President of the Association, Pat Fanning. The team achieved a 100% success, defeating Carlow, Limerick, Waterford, Wexford, Clare and Kilkenny along the way. 

Victory was clinched when they defeated Waterford by 0-10 to 1-6 at Clonmel on May 16th. Babs Keating, the captain, punched a point five minutes from the end to give the team a one-point victory. The victorious side was: J. O'Donoghue, J. Harney, E. Webster, M. McCormack, D. Fitzgerald, D. O'Gorman, P. O'Donoghue, D. Burke, S. Kearney, P. Blythe, M. Keating, P. O'Connell, J. Cummins, D. Strang, C. McElwee. Subs: P. Moroney for Fitzgerald, L. Myles for McAlwee.

The selectors were Mick Frawley of Emly, Rev. Dr. Marsh of Ardfinnan, Michael O'Meara of Clonmel, Dick McGrath of Loughmore-Castleiney and Tom Larkin of Kilsheelan. 

But back to '95. Having beaten Wexford and Waterford, Tipperary qualified for the All-Ireland 'B' final. The victory over Wexford was of particular importance as it represented a tremendous bounce back after the championship defeat by Kerry. It was Longford's second appearance in the final, having lost to Clare in the 1991 decider. 

There was never any doubt about the outcome. Longford had no answer to Tipperary, whose appetite for the fray and technical ability were far superior. Playing with the breeze in the first half they established an eight-point lead, 1-7 to 0-2, after eleven minutes. 

Derry Foley was in inspirational form at centrefield while Sean Brett and Tom Macken were on top in defence. Davy Hogan scored the first-half goal while substitue Mark Leonard got the second. Longford notched 1-3 in the last ten minutes but there was never any doubt about the outcome. The final score was 2-12 to 2-5 in fvour of Tipperary.

The captain, Philly Ryan, was presented with the cup by Albert Fallon, Vice-President of the G.A.A. and chairman of the Leinster Council.

The sucessful side was as follows: P. Ryan (Commercials) capt., S. Brett (Mullinahone), B. Lawlor (Mullingar Shamrocks). P/Gleeson (Arravale Rovers), M. Sheehan (Nenagh Eire Óg), T. Macken (Ballyporeen), T. Anglim (St. Patrick's), B. Burke (Fethard), D. Foley (Moyle Rovers), B. Cummins (Ardfinnan), P. Lambert (Nemo Rangers), F. O'Callaghan (Commercials), J. O'Dwyer (Killenaule), J. Costello (Kilmacud Crokes), D. Hogan (St. Patrick's). Subs: M. Leonard (Aherlow), for Hogan; C. O'Reilly (Cashel) for Anglim, P. Costello (Garda) for Foley.

The selectors were: Seamus McCarthy (Galtee Rovers) manager; D. J. Gleeson (Eire Óg), Michael Power (Newcastle), Petee Savage (Ardfinnan).

<span class="postTitle">Seventy Years Ago - Rockwell College in 1925-26</span> Rockwell College Annual 1996, pp 191-194

Seventy Years Ago - Rockwell College in 1925-26

Rockwell College Annual 1996, pp 191-194

The first edition of the Rockwell Annual appeared in 1926. At the time the annual fee for students was £50 and, in the case of brothers (no sisters allowed in these days) attending together, a reduction of £2 for the second and £4 for any other was allowed. On top of that the student contributed ten shillings a week for games, five for the library, ten shillings per quarter for laundry and he could have meat and eggs for breakfast at market prices!

According to the Prospectus the student was expected to bring at least two suits of clothes, an overcoat, six day-shirts, three night-shirts, six pairs of stockings, six pocket-handkerchiefs, twelve collars, four towels, three pairs of boots, one pair of slippers, two pairs of sheets (8 feet by 5), three pillow cases (24 inches by 18), four napkins, a napkin ring, a knife, fork, dessert-spoon, tea-spoon, a dressing case, a College cap (which may be procured at the College), one pair of football boots and a rug. Apparently no blazer and no underwear! 

The Reason for an Annual

In a two-and-a-half page editorial in the new publication we are told why Rockwell is to have a College Annual. It was undertaken at rather short notice at the demand of the founders of the new Rockwell Union. In the previous December the Union was formed 'to strengthen the bonds of affection between us and our Alma Mater; to render more effective, through organisation, the feeling of loyalty to old comrades which should characterise the alumni of any great institution; to afford opportunities of renewing old friendships and of forming new ones; to render, as the opportunities arise, that mutual aid so profitably exercised by similar Unions in every sphere of life. ' The first President was Dean Innocent Ryan, P.P., Cashel. Eamon de Valera was elected vice-president. Joint Secretaries were Dr. J. P. Brennan of Dublin and Jack Sewell of Killarney and the Treasurer was Frederick T. Byme of Rathmines, Dublin. Among others the committee included Dr. Paddy Stokes of Fethard, W. J. Moloney of Thurles and Michael Ryan of Cashel. 

Inspired by the founders of the Union, the Rockwell Annual made its first appearance in the summer of 1926 and it was intended for the present students and for the past: 'The present will recognise therein many a scene in which they were, themselves, the actors or of shich they were the interested spectators. The past will see their long-lost youth live again. The college traditions they knew, they will see continued. The old haunts they can revisit. The old associations, revive, and old familiar faces see once more. It is meant to be a link between today and long ago.' And, there was much more in the same vein.

Outstanding Achievements

One of the purposes of a college annual is to highlight achievements and the first issue of the Rockwell Annual had something to shout about. There were a number of students who got first places in Ireland in the national examination. M. V. Duignan came first in history and won a Dublin City scholarship worth £60 and tenable for three years. Another student, J. Ryan, got first place in English. J. J. Kelly got first place in chemistry, second in mathematics, first place in the Limerick County Scholarship and an entrance exhibition to U.C.C. However, MichaeI D. McCarthy outshone them all. He got first place in Ireland in mathematics, second place in chemistry, second in English, second in French and fifth in Latin. On top of that he secured first place in the Cork County Council scholarship, first place in the Honan Scholarship, U.C.C. and first in the entrance scholarship to U. C. C. The pictures of these achievers and others, surrounded by ornate scrolls, illuminate the pages and make an impressive introduction to the first annual. 

Teaching Staff

The number of students attending is not given but from the pictures given of juniors, seniors and scholastics there would appear to have been about one hundred and sixty. Fourteen priests are listed on the teaching staff. Fr. John Byrne was the President and other familiar names included Fr. Crehan (presumably he of architectural notoriety) and Fr. Dan Murphy, who was with us until not so long ago. There were seven prefects and the lay staff were John Gallagher, Michael Nagle, P. J. Hanlon and M. Cremin. John 1.Buckley was to start in 1927. 

The annual reported the academic distinctions of June 1925 but it didn't mention a sad fatality which occurred in the same month, when a fifteen year old boy was drowned while bathing in Rockwell lake. His name was John Joe Bourke and was the eldest son of John and Mary Bourke, Cloone Cottage, Goold's Cross. The inquest revealed that the youth had died from heart tllilure. A large number attended his funeral and burial at Glankeen, Borrisoleigh.

Entertainment

The Annual reports on high-class theatrical and musical entertainment on St. Patrick's Day The proceedings commenced with an Overture of Irish Airs played by the College Orchestra (40) under the baton of Rev. Father Muller, C.S.Sp. This was followed by the side-splitting comedy, Heaps of Money, which was produced in an accomplished fashion by Fr. McCarthy. The actors could hardly be improved upon, so thoroughly did they portray the various characters. The program was interspersed with some very pleasmg vocal and dancing items in addition to instrumental trios and duets.

The Rockwell Union. which had been formed in December, held its first annual meeting in May. It already numbered 150 and, as a result of its deliberations during the year, had agreed to put up a General Excellence medal. This was presented to Richard A. Molloy for all-round excellence in the various departments of College life. The recipients was the choice of the students and their choice had been confirmed by the staff 

Another development in 1926 was the revival of the college sports and they were held on the same day as prizegiving. The sports were a great success and the whole program worked smoothly under the supervision of Fr. Heelan. The distribution of prizes took place in the Study Hall and were presented by Dr, Crehan, 'vho had taken over as Pesident from Fr. Byrne. In the course of his remarks, the Dean of Studies, Fr. Dan Murphy, welcomed the new developments in education, namely the new leaving and intermediate certificates. He had only one criticism. Whereas the leaving certificate papers included honours and pass, the intermediate had only one level. He would advocate that there be two levels in the intermediate as well. 

The month of June also brought good news for one of the brightest boys to leave in 1925. It was reported that Michael McCarthy, who had achieved so well in his final examination in Rockwell, continued to excel. He got five first places with first-class honours in the first University Examinations in UC.C. His successes were in Irish, Mathematics, Mathematical Physics, Experimental Physics and Chemistry. 

And, The rest of the World!

And, while these momentous events were happening in the world of Rockwell, how were matters in the rest of the universe! The founder of the Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin retired as head of the International Olympic Committee. Peter Sellers was born. The Charleston was becoming a hit. Mein Kampf was published. G. B. Shaw won the Nobel Prize for literature. The first 'motel' was opened by lames Vail in San Luis Obispo, California. John Logie Baird transmitted the first television pictures. There was an attempt on Mussolini's life by Violet Gibson, the daughter of an Irish peer. Queen Elizabeth was born. The first general strike began in Britain. Finnish athlete, Paavo Nurmi, sets a new world record for the 3,000 metres. Marilyn Monroe was born. De Valera came in from the cold and founded Fianna Fail. 

Finally, if you went to the cinema in Hungary during 1925-26 you would be greeted with a sign which read: 'Kissing in the dark prohibited.' The order, from the Hungarian Minister of the Interior, provided that a policeman be present at all movie performances. He had the right to turn on the lights at any moment and cast an eye over the assembly. Anyone attempting to spoon (sic) or even kiss under the cover of darkness would be promptly arrested. The order was issued following an earlier episode in a cinema in Budapest. When the lights were suddenly switched on a lady, belonging to the most aristocratic society was discovered in a kissing act with a man not her husband. There followed a duel and a divorce suit. The Ministry, by its order, wanted to prevent a reoccurrence. 

<span class="postTitle">The Senior Hurling Championship</span> County Senior Hurling Final Program 1996

The Senior Hurling Championship

County Senior Hurling Final Program 1996

This year is the twentieth running of the senior hurling championship in its present format. It came into existence at the 1977 county convention after a successful motion from the Gortnahoe-Glengoole club. It was "that the county senior hurling championship be contested by the divisional champions and one other team from each division'. The motion received the statutory two-thirds majority required to abolish the open draw as convention voted by 148 votes to 52 in favour.

The open draw senior hurling championship came into being in the 1969 county convention as a result of a large majority in favour of a motion submitted jointly by Holycross and Moneygall and moved by Philip Ryan of the latter club. Arguments used in favour included one to raise the status of the county championship and to give clubs a chance to play outside their divisions. It was also expected it would improve the standard of hurling in the county.

There was criticism of the new system from the beginning. At the 1970 convention Tommy Barrett was none too happy with it. It was in the overall devoid of interest. There were too many bad games. There was a motion to abolish it but it failed to get the required two-thirds majority. Another attempt to change it in the 1972 convention failed to get the requisite two-thirds majority. Further attempts in 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976 all failed to get the necessary two-thirds.

Until 1959 the county championship consisted of the divisional winners contesting the semi-finals with the winners going forward to the county final. In 1960 the county board introduced a new system which included two teams coming forward from each division. Mid winners Thurles Sarsfields beat south losers, Carrick Swans. Mid losers, Holycross-Ballycahill beat west victors, Kickhams. North winners, Toomevara, beat west losers, Solohead and north losers, Kilruane-MacDonaghs, beat south winners, Marlfield.

A variation was introduced in 1961 because there had been a number of poor games the previous year - Sarsfields beat Carrick Swans 10-14 to 1-2, Toomevara beat Solohead 3-20 to 1-0 and Kilruane-MacDonaghs beat Marlfield by 8-8 to 1-4 - the number of quarter-finals was reduced to two. Under this system the north runners-up played the south champions and the mid runners-up played the west champions with the winners joining the north and mid champions in the semi-finals.

This system continued until 1966 when a motion to county convention increased the number of quarter-finals to four by bringing in two teams from the south and west as well as from the north and mid. This system continued until the introduction of the open draw in 1969.

Since the abolition of the open draw in 1977 divisional champions have gone on to win the county final on fourteen occasions. The first exception was in 1984 when the mid champions, Drom-Inch were knocked out by Lorrha in the semi-final. Lorrha were in turn defeated in the county final by mid runners-up, Moycarkey-Borris.

On the other four occasions when divisional champions failed to win the county final, the north league winners came through. The first time was in 1986 when Borris-lleigh, as league winners, beat championship runners-up Toomevara in the play-off. Of course Borris-lleigh went on to claim an All-Ireland club championship. In 1992 and 1993 Toomevara came through by virtue of being league winners. In the former year they beat Lorrha in the play-off and in the latter, Moneygall.

Last year's winner, Nenagh, took the same route to county final honours when they beat north championship runners-up, Borris-lleigh, in the play-off.

Whether this is a good or a bad thing is a matter for debate. Some believe that county champions should be first and foremost, divisional champions. Others disagree and hold the county championship to be a separate competition that need not have any links with the divisions.

However, since qualification for the county championship is through the divisional championships, there is a very definite connection. Perhaps it is time to rethink the system of running our county championship and go for radical change. The open draw was discredited because there were too many bad games and too many teams masquerading as senior. In the last year of the draw no less than thirty-three senior teams participated. If they all numbered senior players we should have had the strongest county senior panel in the country. But they didn't and we were very much in the doldrums, inter-county wise, at that period.

Maybe there is an opportunity of a revised open draw with sixteen teams or less. Who would decide could be left to a specialist committee. It ought to be possible to decide on some system of relegation and promotion each year. All first round games could be played on the last two weekends of June, the quarter­finals at the end of July, the semis at the end of August and the final on the fourth week in September. Of course the divisional championship would remain intact. What about it?

ROLL OF HONOUR

Thurles Sarsfields (28) - 1887, 1904, '06, '07, '08, '09, 1911, '29, '35, '36, '38, '39, '42, '44, '45, '46, '52, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '74.
Moycarkey-Borris (14) - 1889, 1899, 1900, '01, '03, '05, '26, '32, '33, '34, '37, '40, '82, '84.
Tubberadora/Boherlahan-Dualla (13) -1895, '96, '98, 1915, 1916, '17, '18, '22, '24, '25, '27, '28, '41.
Toomevara (13) - 1890, 1910, '12, '13, '14, '19, '23, '30, '31, '60, '92, '93, '94.
Borris-lleigh (6) - 1949, '50, '53, '81, '83, '86.
Roscrea (6)-'68, '69, '70, '72, '73, '80.
Kilruane-McDonaghs (4) - 1977, '78, '79, '85.
Holycross-Ballycahill (4) - 1948, '51, '54, 1990.
Carrick Davins (2) - 1966, 1967. 
Moneygall (2)-1975,'76. 
Cappawhite (1)- 1987. Carrick Swans (1) 1947. Clonoulty (2)-1888, 1989. Drombane (1) - 1894. Lahorna De Wets (1) - 1902. Suir View (1)-1897. Moyne-Templetuohy (1) - 1971. Loughmore Castleiney (1) - 1988. Cashel King Cormacs (1) - 1991. Eire Og (Nenagh) (1) - 1995. Eire Og (Annacarty) (1) - 1943.

<span class="postTitle">Ken Hogan</span> North Tipperary Senior Hurling final replay September 15, 1996

Ken Hogan

North Tipperary Senior Hurling final replay September 15, 1996

This is Ken Hogan's seventeenth year playing senior championship hurling for Lorrha. He made his debut as a goalkeeper with the team in May 1980 even though all his play had been outfield up to then. It was as a fullback he helped Birr Community School to two Leinster Schools 'A' titles in 1979 and 1980. In the former year the team was beaten by St. Flannan's in the final.

It was only by chance that he became a goalkeeper. In the first round of the 1980 championship against Kilruane, Lorrha's regular goalkeeper, John Shelly, was sent to the line and wasn't available for the next outing against Silvermines at Cloughjordan on May 15. Brian Mannion became convinced that Ken would make a suitable substitute. As he was only 16 years old at the time, Brian went to see the father, Hubie, and, after some persuasion, secured permission to have Ken play in goals. He duly did, never looked back and has never failed to turn out for the club during the intervening years.

It was a fortuitous development for the young player. His displays with the Lorrha seniors sufficiently impressed the county minor selectors and he was drafted in to the side as the regular goalkeeper and went on to win an All-Ireland minor medal. His outstanding ability was recognised at the end of the year when he was given the Player of the Year award because 'his consistent top class displays in goal for county and club made him an automatic choice.'

Ken progressed to the county under-21 team in 1982 and was goalkeeper in 1983 and 1984 as well. The team won a Munster final in 1983 only to succumb to Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. In Centenary Year there was the disappointment of losing the All-Ireland to Kilkenny In the same year Ken had the added disappointment of losing the county final when Lorrha were beaten by Moycarkey-Borris.

It was obvious that Ken's talent would soon receive higher recognition and this came in 1987. The new management had taken over for the 1986/87 league and when the panel was announced for the 1987 championship debut against Kerry, Ken was named as goalie. From then until he retired from inter-county hurling after defeat by Clare in the 1994 championship, he never missed a championship outing for Tipperary, playing twenty-six in all and winning five Munster titles, two All-Irelands and two National Leagues

Is he satisfied with the achievements of these years? 'I suppose I'm not. As a team we didn't win enough. Looking back I think we should have won another All-Ireland.. Maybe it was we hadn't the necessary ruthlessness or, perhaps, the greatness to win a third. We lacked the consistency of performance required to win. And yet, when you put our achievements into a wider perspective our lot was not dissimilar to that of Galway, Cork and Kilkenny over the same period. They also found it difficult to win a third.'

There were a number of highlights during these years. One of the most memorable was playing in the 1987 Munster final, the replay and the extra time. Killarney was magical and it recalled for him another great occasion for Tipperary in 1949 when another Lorrha man, Tony Reddin, was in goals. That great year was capped for him by winning an All-Star Award. The winning of the league in 1988 against Offaly was particularly pleasing. Living so close to the county, having gone to school in Birr and knowing most of his opponents made the victory something special. Naturally, the All-Irelands are highlights, especially when beating Limerick, Cork -after two games -, Galway and Kilkenny on the way to victory in 1991

There were also disappointments. One of the most bitter was losing the 1988 All-Ireland. It was his first senior All-Ireland and defeat was particularly painful. Another lowlight was the loss of the 1992 league final against Limerick, after enjoying a substantial lead at half-time. Reflecting on this defeat he believes it was the beginning of the decline of the team, a crack in its invincibility. It was the first time they had been troubled by Limerick and the team went on to lose to Cork in the first round of the championship in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

Since 1994 Ken has confined his hurling to Lorrha but has continued his involvement with the county team in the role of selector. He is particularly pleased with Lorrha' s progress this year after an inauspicious start. Winning another north championship today would be tremendously pleasing and would put Lorrha in the proper frame of mind for the county championship, the holy grail that had eluded Lorrha up to now.

<span class="postTitle">Floppy Hats and Fierce Determination</span> Munster Final S.H. Program 1996

Floppy Hats and Fierce Determination

Munster Final S.H. Program 1996

The memories Tipperary supporters have of Thurles on July 29,1973 are in many cases confined to Richie Bennis' last puck from a seventy and whether or not it was a point. And the argument will continue on that it shouldn't have been a seventy in the first place!

If you ask the score not many will remember, it was a high-scoring game with Limerick 6-7 to Tipperary's 2-18. The scoreline tells its own tale, some fine goalkeeping by Limerick's Horgan and good defensive work by Limerick's backs. At the other end was a rampant Rea, giving an out­standing display at full-forward, flicking and placing balls for his fellow-forwards while drawing defensive attention on himself. According to Culbaire (Tipperary Star) 'no Tipperary defence has been in greater trouble against Limerick since John Mackey upset them in Cork in 1946. Six goals is a total, way above a Tipperary defence's par for the course in any game'.

What a contrast from the wet Killarney of two years previously! There was brilliant sunshine to warm a shirt-sleeved crowd. How easy it was to get in! The official attendance was forty-two thou­sand odd but there was no limit to how many might go in. It was the old fashioned first come, first served kind of game.

A couple of friends and I arrived at 3.25 and no difficulty getting through the turnstiles and made our way on to the grassy bank — Yes! we stood on grass and sat on it at half-time. In order to protect my head from the sun I had brought with me a wide-brimmed, floppy hat belonging to my wife. You know the kind women buy for weddings, which cost a fortune, and are worn once! Well, this particular one had further use. But not for long. Soon I began to get messages from behind that it was impeding someone's vision and I had better get rid of it. I suppose the heat, working on the few pre-match pints, made me compliant rather than aggressive so I removed it and got a good burning as a result. Like so many games between the sides during this period, this one produced hurling and excitement to please even the most discerning of followers.

Pat Hartigan is of the opinion that Limerick were built up to such a pitch of determination on the day, there was no way they were going to lose. For him and many other members of the team the defeat in Killarney had been shattering and they were all looking for some token of compen­sation. Their fierce determination to win was reflected in the breakneck speed with which they opened the proceedings and left Tipperary gasping. 'We were so fired up', according to Pat, 'that we would have gone through stonewalls. And, it's significant that most of our goals were rushed over the line rather than put away from a distance'.

Recalling rushed goals it is worth remembering that 1973 was the last year of charging the goal­keeper. The rule changes were to make him a protected species from 1974 onwards. This final was one of the first occasions on which the referee made use of his linesmen to place the sliotar for seventies. Clarecastle referee, Mike Slattery, who was in charge of the game, is proud to recall his contribution to this piece of common-sense to refereeing, which became a resounding success.
His abiding memory of 1973 is of the climax to the game. He told Bennis he had to score direct and waited near the goal for the shot to be taken. He didn't see the ball go over the bar but saw his umpire, Mickey Keane, raise the flag for the point. The game was over, Limerick jubilant and, as he walked to the dressing-room, Babs Keating caught up with him and protested it wasn't a point and shouldn't have been a seventy. Mike remembers it as an almost gentlemanly protestation.

One Tipperary back, Len Gaynor, was particularly annoyed about the point. He gave expres­sion to his feelings in a heated argument with Mickey Keane. Years later, when the anger had sub­sided and Len was preparing Clare for their road to Damascus, he became good friends with Anthony Daly, who happens to be a nephew of the same Mickey Keane. As a result of drinking tea in Anthony's house, Len renewed acquaintance with Mickey and today they're the best of friends.
Let Len have the final word on that famous Munster final. According to him the seeds of Limerick's success were sown in earlier league games between the sides that year, particularly in the semi-final replay at Birr. This game went to extra time during which Tipperary went five points in front. But Limerick came back with a flourish to score three goals and snatch victory. Len believes that victory was vital for Limerick, making them realise their worth and that Tipperary were beatable. Len also disputes an opinion, current among some, that Limerick would never have won the All-Ireland had Kilkenny had their full team. Instead, he is convinced Limerick were good enough to beat any team in 1973. A fine tribute indeed

<span class="postTitle">What Happened Since 1989</span> North Division G.A.A. S.H. Final Program 1996

What Happened Since 1989

North Division G.A.A. S.H. Final Program 1996

The last time Lorrha won the North final was in 1989. They had a successful year in the North that year, beating Borrisokane in the league final by 2-12 to 3-6 and overcoming Toomevara by 1-14 to 1-12 in the championship. With a bit of luck that year they might have won their first-ever county championship.

By defeating Toomevara in the North final, Lorrha qualified by play Carrick Swans in the county quarter­final. They won by double scores on a scoreline of 4-14 to 2-7. Kieran Hough was in brilliant form on the day, scor­ing 1-10 from frees and play.

In the semi-final Lorrha were pitted against Holycross-Ballycahill. In a dramatic game the North champions had a goal and a point disallowed by referee, George Ryan, in the space of only two minutes of the second half. Both were scores by Aidan Mclntyre and, on both occasions, the referee gave a free out for what he deemed to be square infringements. Lorrha protested, especially when they lost by the minimum of margins, 0-12 to 0-11, their arguments and protests proved fruitless. Holycross had snatched the winning score with a Tonto' Lanigan point in the dying moments. What might have happened had Lorrha got through is anybody's guess. Holycross lost the final to Clonoulty-Rossmore by two points.

In the following year they beat Shannon Rovers by 0-18 to 2-8 in the first round and qual­ified for the winners' group but were beaten by Newport 2-12 to 1-12 and lost their chance of improving on the previous year. There wasn't much joy in 1991 either. Getting a bye in the first round Lorrha beat Newport convincingly by 1-15 to 1-7 but lost the semi-final to Toomevara by the minimum of margins on a scoreline of 2-8 to 1-10.

In 1992 Lorrha qualified for the North final after playing five games in the champi­onship. They beat Newport, 2-6 to 0-9 in the first round and went on to defeat Borrisokane by 2-9 to 1-9 and qualify for the semi-final. This turned out to be a marathon against Toomevara. The teams drew 2-9 to 0-15 the first day, were still locked together 3-13 to 1-19 after extra time the second day and Lorrha eventually came out on top by 2-7 to 1-5 after the third attempt. Alas, for the men in blue and white the exhaustion, mental and physi­cal, of the three-game saga took its toll and they lost badly to Nenagh in the final by 1-18 to 0-8. Any progress they might have made outside the division, was halted by defeat at the hands of Toomevara, in the play-off between the losers and the winners of the league.

There wasn't much to shout about in 1993. After a comprehensive defeat of St. Odhran's - a combination of Silvermines and Templederry - by 4-16 to 1-15 in the first round, Lorrha were defeated, 4-9 to 1-9, by Nenagh in the winners' group. They won the first round in 1994, beating Borrisokane by 1-15 to 1-8 in the progress. They met Toomevara in the sec­ond round, drew the first day on a scoreline of 1-11 to 2-8 but were beaten in the replay by 1-16 to 1-12. Toomevara went on to win the county final and were beaten by Kilmallock in the Munster club final.

Lorrha played four matches in the 1995 championship. In the first round they drew 0-12 to 1-9 with Newport and were beaten in the replay by 0-11 to 0-10. Qualifying for the losers's group they drew with Moneygall, 0-8 to 1-5 but were beaten in the replay by 0-12 to 0-10.

And so the record since 1989 looks like this: Lorrha played 28 championship matches, won 14, drew 5 and lost 9. It will be interesting to see what will be added to that record after today's game.

<span class="postTitle">The All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship</span> Munster J.H. Final Program, Cashel, June 25, 1996

The All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship

Munster J.H. Final Program, Cashel, June 25, 1996

In the early days of the G.A.A. there was only one grade in hurling. Gradually, with the increasing popularity of the game and the growing num­ber of players, it became apparent that a grade other than senior was neces­sary. Dublin became the first county to establish a junior competition. A junior league was formed in the county in 1901 and so successful was it that a decision was taken to set up a minor competition also.

Limerick has the distinction of organising the first county junior champi­onship. A junior board was formed at the county convention on February 28, 1901 and, as well as establishing a junior championship, it also inaugurated the first juvenile competition. The next step was the organisation of inter-county games and the first such games, in junior and minor grades, were contested by Limerick and Dublin and took place at the Thatch Grounds, Drumcondra on August 14 1904.

The first national recognition of the junior grade was at the annual conven­tion or congress of the Association at Thurles at the end of 1903. At the adjourned convention on December 13, on the proposition of A. Murphy (Dublin), it was decided to establish a junior All-Ireland championship in hurling, the teams to consist of players who had not played hurling in a senior county championship, provincial championship or an All-Ireland championship since the year 1901. It was to be nine years before the deci­sion was implemented.

The first province to make a start was Leinster, where a provincial champi­onship commenced in 1905. The first winners were Kildare. Munster fol­lowed suit in 1910 when Tipperary took the first title. Ulster participated in 1913. Congress in that year graded Ulster counties junior for hurling and Antrim won the first provincial championship. They were beaten by Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final. Connacht also fell into line in 1913 and Galway contested their first All-Ireland final in 1924, going down to Tipperary.

The first All-Ireland junior hurling final was played at Jones' Road on February 23 1913. It was the final of the 1912 championship. The finalists were Cork and Westmeath and the Munster champions became the first winners of the competition by 3-6 to 2-1. The successful Cork side was: C. Hallahan (capt.), J. Long, J. Hallahan (Ballincollig), W. Finn, D. Aherne (Cobh), P. Prior, J. Murphy, W. Lombard (Douglas), S. Salmon, J. O'Brien (Emmets), T. O'Riordan, J. Cahill (Blackrock), J. McDonnell (Emmets), P. Singleton (Kanturk), W. Fitzgerald (Collegians), P. Vaughan (Blackrock), C. O'Connell (Sunday's Well).

Between 1912 and 1995 the championship was played on seventy-four occasions. It was suspended during the periods 1917-22 and 1942-45. During the period 1961-73 the championship was run in conjunction with the National League Division 3 and a limited number of counties compet­ed. The counties which opted out took part in a new intermediate champi­onship. The original format was restored in 1983. An important decision was taken in the 1927 Congress which was to permit teams from Britain to participate.

Twenty-one counties have won the All-Ireland junior hurling championship. Six more, Carlow, Laois, Longford, Antrim, Monaghan and Fermanagh, have unsuccessfully contested finals. Only five counties, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, Cavan and Tyrone, have failed to reach a final. As well, two English counties, London and Warwickshire, have won the champi­onship. Two other English counties, Lancashire and Hertfordshire, have contested finals without success. This success and participation rate compares more than favourably with the senior hurling championship in which only twelve counties, plus London, were successful and one, Antrim, unsuccessful.

<span class="postTitle">O’Sullivan Beare and Lorrha</span> O’Sullivan Beare March, Lorrha, 1996

O’Sullivan Beare and Lorrha

O’Sullivan Beare March, Lorrha, 1996

The epic march undertaken by O'Sullivan Beare to Leitrim through the counties of Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Galway, Roscommon, Sligo and, eventually, Leitrim arose as a result of the Irish and Spanish defeat at the Battle of Kinsale at the hands of the English. 

The battle of Kinsale began on the 17th of October, 1601 and, after the defeat of the Irish, Donal Cam, chieftain of the O'Sullivan Beara, rushed back to the family castle at Dunboy and began to fortify it against an English attack that started on June 6th and lasted eleven days before the English stormed the castle after bombarding it with cannonfire. 

Harassed by the English and having lost his lands and his herds of cattle and sheep, O'Sullivan Beare left the Beara peninsula and decided to travel to Leitrim to fmd sanctuary with the friendly O'Rourkes. Accompanying him were 1,000 men, women and children and this march through hostile country in the middle of winter stands beside many other great marches in history. 

In the middle of January 1603 the remnants of the party reached their destination with only 35 people remaining, many having starved to death, others killed and still more giving up and settling along the route of the march. Maybe the O'Sullivans settled in this parish on that occasion. Many of the localities where these people settled have been known since as the Bearas. 

The famous march entered County Tipperary at EmIy and continued on through Cullen, Solohead, Donohill, Annacarty, Hollyford, Upperchurch, Templederry, Latteragh, Toomevara, 

Cloghjordan, Knockshegowna before arriving here and then continuing on to Lorrha, Redwood and crossing the Shannon at White's Ford to Meelick. 

That is a general picture of what happened and the route the march followed. When O'Sullivan arrived in Toomevara he had done so by skirting the Slievefelim mountains and Keeper Hill. He was now through the hills and he had to make his way to some part of the Shannon before the river empties itself into Lough Derg in order to fmd a crossing. This journey took him through Cloghjordan and Knockshegowna. The latter hill had a castle on it at the time. From the top of it the Shannon is visible and the land in between is flat. Ballingarry, at its base, would have been a walled village at the time. 

The next stop was Lackeen. The castle was the chief seat of the O'Kennedy, who, together with the O'Mearas and the MacEgans, were he old rulers of this part of Lower Ormond. The O'Kennedys once owned eleven castles in two baronies, extending from Lorrha to the banks of the Shannon. They kept their independence until 1553, when they acknowledged the overlordship of the Butlers. Then, in the usual way, they lost their possessions after joining with O'Neill in 1600, forfeiting the last vestiges of their power to the Cromwellians. Donagh Kennedy of Lackeen, the son of the last chief of Lower Ormond was reported in the Civil Survey of 1654 as residing 'amidst the ruins of his father's greatness in the old ruined castle and bawne of Lackeen, the walls only standing and the mote an orchard and garden, a mill standing in a little brook running through the said land, and six thatch houses ... ' 

This description comes fifty years after O'Sullivan's visit to the place. And, to jump forward a little more into history, in 1725 the Stowe Missal, written on vellum, dating back to the earliest period in the Irish Church, was found here. It was wrapped in a dazzling metal shrine, refurbished by Philip Kennedy, Lord of Ormond, and his wife, Aine, between 1323 and 1350. The missal had once belonged to the abbey at Terryglass, but, after Terryglass declined, it came to Lorrha monastery. Later, during some war it was hidden in one of the walls of the castle, and forgotten until its accidental discovery. Since it was believed that no local man could translate it properly, the job was given to a West Clare poet named Aindrias Mac Cruitin, who was paid with expense money, a new suit and a horse.The missal's metal shrine is preserved in the National Museum but the missal itself is in the British Museum, as also is St. Ruan's Bell, which was preserved in or near Lorrha until the 19th century. 

Why did O'Sullivan Beara spend the night at Lackeen rather than Lorrha? Tradition has it that he camped beside an ancient church, which must have had very strong associations with the ecclesiastical stronghold at Lorrha. Possibly Lorrha was in the hands of the supporters of MacEgan at the time. The MacEgans were celebrated hereditary Brehons of the 0'Kennedys and professors of the Brehon Laws to all Ireland. Scholars, writers and teachers, Brehons had a lengthy education, which could take anything from twelve to twenty years and included learning a secret language of their own. In the fourteenth century, a MacEgan compiled a manuscript with the delightful title of Leabhar Breac, the Speckled Book': By the sixteenth century their scholarly talents were becoming rather run down although the MacEgans still kept up some of the old traditions of learning. In 1602 they were supporters of the English and, for this reason, 0'Sullivan may have preferred to stay out of Lorrha. 

It is, therefore, probable that O'Sullivan skirted the village of Lorrha on his way to the Shannon. There is conflict about the exact place the refugees camped before crossing the river. Philip 0' Sullivan wrote that the 0'Sullivans hid themselves in 'the thick and secure wood of Brosna'. This was an extensive forest situated between the loop of the Brosna river and the Shannon. A strong local tradition claims Portland, a surviving wooded ridge towards the present bridge of Portumna, as the actual camping site. Another view is that they camped quite close to Redwood castle, which was occupied by Donnchadh MacEgan, who was Queen's sheriff for this area. 

O'Sullivan Beare sent scouts forward to discover what boats and ferries existed to transport the party across the river. They discovered that all boats and ferries had been removed and the ferrymen in the district had received warnings and threats that the fugitives were not to be helped. The man responsible for the order was Donnchadh MacEgan. 

Redwood castle was a relatively new building when 0'Sullivan camped in the neighbourhood in the winter of 1602-03, having been erected in 1580. After the wars, the MacEgans, continued to follow the family traditions, using it as a school for teaching history and law. Its most distinguished scholar was Michael O'Clery, the main compiler of the Annals of the Four Masters. By 1654 the Civil Survey described it as 'an old ruined castle, the walls only standing, and two thatched houses. ' 

It is probably true that the Shannon came much closer to the castle at that stage, with much swamp and thickets between it and the river. From it the MacEgans became aware of O'Sullivan Beare camped at the river's edge and prepared to attack the party as it crossed the water. 

So, 0'Sullivan Beare found himself and his party cornered with their backs to the river and an enemy about to bear down on them. They had to escape to safety across the river or fight the forces of MacEgan. And, their escape was hampered by the disappearance of the boats and ferries. They were also on the verge of starvation. 'Every heart was hereupon filled with giant despair,' Philip O'Sullivan wrote. 'In this critical state of things, my father, Dermot O'Sullivan, announced that he would in a short time make a ship and put an end to the soldiers' hunger.' This Dermot was seventy at the time of the march and, having survived the ordeal and gone to Spain, lived to be a hundred. He is buried in Corunna in Northern Spain. 

Tradition has it that the crossing was made at White's Ford, where the electricity pylons now cross the Shannon. The place is known as poll na gcapall, the field of the horses, and is supposed to be the place where O. Sullivan Beare's men killed and ate their horses and used the skins for making boats. 

Philip O'Sullivan's account of the building of these boats is interesting as it gives a detailed description of the traditional method of constructing boats with osiers and wet skins. Two boats were built, one under the direction of Dermot of Dursey, which must have looked very like the long black currachs, which are still seen today in the west of Ireland, and the second under the direction of the O'Malleys, some of O'Sullivan Beare's Connacht mercenaries, who were members of a seafaring clan, and obstinately insisted on building a boat of their own. It seems to have been more like a coracle and it was made 'of osier, without joinings, having a circular bottom like a shield, and sides much higher than the bottom suited. It was covered with the skin of one horse pulled across the bottom.' 

The currach was much more elaborate. 'Two rows of osiers were planted opposite each other, the thickest end being stuck in the ground and the other ends bent in to meet each other, to which they were fastened with cords. To this frame the solid planks were fixed and seats and cross beams were fitted inside. Outside the skeleton of osier and timber was covered with the skins of eleven horses, and oars and dowels were fitted on. The keel was flat, both by the nature of the material and also so that rocks and stones could be avoided. The boat was 26 feet long, 6 feet broad and five feet deep, but the prow was a little higher in order to stem the tide. ' 

When most of the horses were slaughtered, the refugees had their frrst proper meal since they left home. But O'Sullivan Beare, his uncle Dermot and a man named Dermot Huallachain declined the unaccustomed meat. Obviously they had some prejudice against horsemeat even though, according to one contemporary, Fynes Moryson, horsemeat was then relished in Ireland. 'Yea, they will feed on horses dying of themselves, not only upon want of flesh, but even for pleasure. ' 

The construction of the boats took two days.. They worked within a palisade which they had made on a bank inside a ditch fortified with timber. Although they were hidden in the heart of the woodland, the activities of hundreds of people cutting down trees, building frres, slaughtering, skinning and cooking horses, could not have passed unnoticed. Yet, they were not attacked by MacEgan. Perhaps he did not want to attack fellow Irishmen. He may have considered that depriving the refugees of ferries and boats was enough. More likely he did not consider his garrison strong enough to' face 0'Sullivan Beare's seasoned soldiers. He did not move against them until they were divided by the river. 

The flooded Shannon would have been as much as a quartermile wide when the first launching" of the boats took place as secretly as possible on the night of January 7, 1663 under the dim light of a quarter moon. The two boats were carried down to the river on men's shoulders. Then the big boat began to ferry soldiers over, thirty at a time, while the surviving horses were drawn after them, swimming. Disaster occurred with the coracle of the 0'Malleys into which ten of them were crowded. Trying to direct it with the paddles they had fashioned, it overturned as it swirled and turned in the swift current and, in the darkness, they all drowned. 

The currach did better. F or the rest of the night it went back and forth taking its full load every time. By daybreak the majority of soldiers were over in Galway. On the Tipperary side the resourceful Thomas Burke, commanding about twenty pikemen and twenty musketeers, was detailed to look after the women, the non-combatants and the baggage. The motto of women and civilians last may seem unchivalrous but it was merely a repetition of the way they moved throughout the march -- vanguard, followed by non-combatants, followed by the rearguard. Over on the Connaght bank there were unpleasant surprises for the troops who had completed the crossing, since they would soon be attacked. The camp followers seemed to be in good hands guarded by Burke and his picked men. 

At dawn, after the currach had made at least six or seven crossings, Burke was arranging another load consisting of civilians and baggage, when MacEgan suddenly appeared with a small force. At first his men did not wish to inflict real harm on those left behind, merely to rob them and destroy their supplies, demonstrating their energy in the Queen's service. However, as they seized the packs, they found it too easy to kill the wretched sutlers who were guarding them and drive the shrieking women across the reeds into the river to drown. 

Apparently, Burke did not interfere with MacEgan and his men initially and by the time he did it was too late because, by then, the attackers were involved in robbery and slaughter. So, Burke attacked them and his fine soldiers soon routed them. Fifteen MacEgans were killed, including Donnchadh MacEgan himself. The Four Masters, in their account of the crossing, felt it was a tragedy that should not have happened and that MacEgan had brought his own death on himself. 'Donnchadh, son of Cairbre MacEgan, began boldly to attack and fire on O'Sullivan and his people, so that at length he was obliged to be slain ... ' 

By this time the noise of the firing had attracted hordes of people to the river, partly to sightsee but also partly to plunder anything that might come their way. Burke now decided escape 

was the best for him and the rest of the party. He herded his charges on the boat, which was much overloaded and sank close to the bank. A few of the men waded ashore. Some were caught by the mob while others went into hiding. Still more performed the astonishing feat of swimming the icy river. The survivors were able to relaunch the boat and make the crossing safely. 

It was a dreadful episode and I can only attribute it to the greed of man. Those who try to defend MacEgan claim he would have lost his castle if he had not proven himself an active Queen's man. Which may be true. As well the struggle to live was particularly difficult that winter and O'Sullivan was seen as an enemy consuming scarce resources of food. Conversely, he may have been perceived as an extra source of supply to eke out scarce resources. Overall, I'm inclined to see his actions as those of a man, who saw an easy target and the old tribal instincts got the better of him. Donnchadh does not come out of the episode with much credit and, of course, he paid the price of his folly and his greed with his death. 

And so, O'Sullivan Beare passed through Lorrha and continued his journey to Leitrim, From the perspective of over 393 years it was an epic journey, endured· with great hardship and starvation. The extent of this hardship and suffering can be gleaned for the fact that in the course of fourteen days his party was reduced form 1,000 to 35 persons. The episode represents an incredible level of decimation. On a beautiful July evening in the shadow of this castle it is difficult for us to comprehend the episode. The country has changed so much, communications have improved so greatly, our creature comforts have been satisfied to such an extent, that it is well nigh impossible to imagine a body of men and women, poorly clad by our standards, cold and wet and hungry, plodding on to an unknown destination in the depths of winter and so much at the mercy of the inhabitants that death stared around every corner and from behind every tree. It is right and fitting that we should recall their plight and remember that these inhabitants of Ireland passed this way all those years ago and left their mark on our landscape and, perhaps, left the O'Sullivans, who have been so much a part of the parish for so long, behind them. 

But, the epic journey has an added significance and a relevance to all who live in rural Tipperary. The way of life in many of the parishes is threatened by emigration or by migration to bigger centres of population. Fewer and fewer people chose to live in rural Ireland and many of the things that rural Ireland stands for and its way of life are under threat. Do people lie down and say this is inevitable because of an unstoppable impetus to urbanisation? Or, do they say this need not be if we stand up and be counted and make an attempt to stop what appears to be a tide of inevitability? 

I believe that the Slieve Felim Holidays organisation is a gesture in that direction. This group of people have said that something can be done, albeit small, to stem this tide of rural depopulation. They have organised this series of walking and clans festivals around the historic march of 0'Sullivan Beare and for that reason we are here this evening. I think it is a marvellous gesture, a sign of resilience and a defiant no to any inevitability in the course of things. I believe also that the organisation could not have taken a more suitable inspiration for their effort than the march of O'Sullivan Beare. He and his clan found themselves facing inevitable extinction back in 1602. They were not prepared to die. The instinct to survive was strong and the only way to survive was to undertake a perilous march to a friendly castle in Leitrim. The group endured incredible hardship, suffering and death and few survived to tell the tale. But the clan survived. I believe their action can give rural Ireland the kind of inspiration to take initiatives which will help its people to continue living in our parishes. We have a scenic land, we have mountains and valleys, vistas and streams, walks and scenic routes and many of the things that modern tourists are in search off. The Slieve Felim Holidays association is trying to develop this potential to bring people into the area and by doing so give employment and help revive it. It may be a small gesture but it represents a fine intent and a much nobler pursuit than sitting down and doing nothing. Let us all take inspiration from what O'Sullivan Beare and his people did so many years ago and translate it into practical endeavours for the future of rural Ireland.

<span class="postTitle">Patsy Carroll (1992-96)</span> Oration at his graveside, June 2, 1996

Patsy Carroll (1992-96)

Oration at his graveside, June 2, 1996

Members of the family, ladies and gentlemen.

I was privileged to be asked to say a few words at the burial of Patsy Carroll. He was a man I always held in the highest respect, having distinguished himself in the field of athletics and brought name and fame to the parish of Lorrha and Dorrha. In his day his achievements set him apart from his fellow men and his ability enabled him to run shoulder to shoulder with the best athletes in the land during the late forties and early fifties.

My earliest memory of Patsy was on a lazy Sunday afternoon at Rathcabbin sports in Mr. Bracken's field, lying on the grass and watching the three mile race. There were only two contestants, Mick Cleary of Moneygall and our local hero, Patsy. Cleary was in the lead from an early stage by about ten yards. Occasionally Patsy would make a burst to catch up but when he did so, Cleary accelerated. I was disappointed when the Moneygall man crossed the finishing line in front, not knowing then that Patsy had competed in and won the three mile championship of Ireland at Ballinree, Co. Carlow a few days earlier and hadn't yet recovered from the ordeal.

My last meeting with him was in August 1992. As we drank tea at the kitchen table he recounted the high and low points of his life. Then, suddenly he was under starting orders again. This time it was no starting gun but the call of commitment to travel to Tullamore for a training session with the Offaly under-21 hurling team. Since 1983 he had been the official masseur with the Offaly senior team and was then with the under-21 side. Nothing unusual about that until one realised that Patsy was then seventy years of age, having been born on February 18,1922.

These two activities, running and rubbing, occupied most of Patsy's life. I always think of him when I get the whiff of wintergreen. Many of you will recall the many legs of Lorrha players he prepared to go on to playing fields over north Tipperary and beyond. Do you remember the upstairs room in Foley's in Borrisokane where we used to tog out and the aroma of wintergreen filling the air? And, there in the midst of us all, his coat off and the sweat pouring down his face was Patsy, ironing out aches and pains, some real others imaginary, and sending us on to the field with no excuse for not playing well.

However, it's for his running achievements that Patsy will be remembered. When many of the legs that he rubbed have passed on, he will be remembered in the record books for his successes in the field of athletics. And these successes were impressive by any standards. The high period of this achievement was between 1945 and 1951. In these seven years Patsy won seven senior cross-country national championships with the county, running under N.A.C.A. rules. During that glorious period he was never outside the first twelve on All-Ireland day and was always in the scoring six, the only athlete to achieve that high level of consistency.

With no athletic ancestry, Patsy first became interested in running when he joined the L.D.F. in the early forties and began to run in their races. They were later to become F.C.A. races. Cross country running was taking off in a big way at the time and 250 people took part in the first cross-country race in Lorrha in January 1943. Mick Donoghue of Ballinderry won and Patsy came second. The race was out of Lorrha, up the Minister's hill and around for four miles. According to Patsy there was great interest in running as people had little else to occupy their free time.
If one is to find a peak in Patsy's achievements it must be 1949. The list of his successes is phenomenal. He won the Southern Command three miles. He dead heated -both got gold medals - with Mick Cleary in the Munster four miles. About 6,000 supporters watched that race in Kanturk and the crowd included intrepid Lorrha fans like Bobby Dillon, Joe Sutton, Jack Cleary, Tommy Carroll, Paddy Corcoran and Mick O'Meara of Roughan. Patsy won the Army three miles at the Curragh, after being runner-up in 1948 and he would retain it in 1950. He also won the All-Ireland three miles at Carlow and was second in the five miles national championships held at Moneygall. Other successes that year were achieved at Moyglass and Galway. He was second in the Guinness four miles on a Saturday and won the three miles at Killaloe the following day.
As I have already said an impressive record and one to stand with the best. When it is realised that athletics were much more popular then than now and that the number of athletes competing was far greater than today, Patsy's achievements become even greater. A contemporary and fellow competitor of Patsy's, Mick Blake of Ballincurry has told me how impressed he was with the Lorrha athlete. The two of them, together with Gerry Kiely of Aherlow, competed all over the place at a time when there was little reward for running. A national championship medal was much coveted but other medals on offer at the time were of poor quality and many of the other prizes were downright shabby. But yet Patsy and his fellow athletes competed, most of them barefooted, for the love of the sport and the camaraderie it generated. Among his peers Patsy was a gentleman and extremely popular. Nobody begrudged him victory and they all wished him well when it was achieved.

Patsy didn't have an auspicious start in life. Misfortune dogged those early years. His brother, Martin, died at the age of three.. His mother died when he was only twelve years old and his father was blinded as a result of the belt of a caveson in the eye from a rearing horse. He had to take responsibility on his shoulders very early on. Those who remember him at school recall one with plenty of brains and one who might have followed a different path in life had he been born in the era of free education. He is remembered as never having walked to school but running there and back home in the evening. He went working as soon as he left school and began drinking but took the pledge from Fr. Clune in 1945 and never looked back after that.. He gave the same effort to his work as he did to his running and lifted himself up in life and could be regarded as having made an equal success of that.

Today, as we bury him in this ancient churchyard we are sad at his passing. We share the sorrow of Celia and his family. By turning out in such numbers last night and this morning we are saying to his family that we regret his passing and that we express our deepest sympathy at his loss. That loss seems all the more poignant on a sunny morning in June and on a day when Tipperary are playing hurling. Patsy is no longer present to pick up the game on the radio but more than likely he is listening in on some heavenly airwaves. Perhaps he may have some influence in the way the game goes.

But I should like to see the occasion as not one completely of loss and sorrow. Even though we are returning Patsy to the soil, which he pounded over for many years, and saying goodbye to his physical remains, we are not forgetting him. He has made so much impact on our lives and has left such an imprint in his athletic record that he cannot be forgotten. We know that Patsy Carroll was a great athlete and that he proved his greatness by winning numerous All-Ireland medals. We also know that he represented the amateur ideal in sport at its noblest and that he led a life of honest endeavour in the field of sport with little or no material reward to show for such effort. We also recognise him as the greatest athlete that ever came out of this parish and as a man that brought more honour and glory to this small place than any other man. As I said in the beginning I was privileged to be asked to speak at his funeral. We here were all privileged to have known him and our parish is a much better place as a result of Patsy having lived amongst us.

Ar dheis de go raibh a ainm dilis.

<span class="postTitle">G.A.A. Publications</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1996, pp 115-116

G.A.A. Publications 

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1996, pp 115-116

After the famine of the past few years there's a respectable meal of new publications to write about this year. They include a history of a famous towns land, an impressive account of a famous club and an account of how the hurling famine ended in Tipperary.

But first to that townsland, the golden square mile that is Tubberadora. 1995 was the centenary of the first of three All-Irelands won by a famous band of men and, as well as building an impressive monument in stone to their revered memories, a booklet of 48 pages was produced to flush out their names and give them faces and histories.

The booklet was researched and written by John G. Maher and is complementary to two other G.A.A. publications from the parish, The Tubberadora-Boherlahan Hurling Story, told in 1973 by Philip Ryan, and Boherlahan and Dualla: A Century of Gaelic Games written by Philip Ryan and John Maher in 1987. John Maher, in Tubberadora: The Golden Square Mile, concentrates on Tubberadora, telling what happened and giving us interesting inforrmation on the men who made it happen.

Among other things we learn that Ned Brennan died in a shooting accident in 1912 at the age of 38. Tim Condon and Mike Wall died in 1918, the latter in faraway Australia, whence he emigrated in 1906 and where he continued to hurl. Another of the famous band, Jack of the Fields, died in California. We are also told of their descendants. Peter Maher's greatgrandson, for instance, Davy Hogan, is on the current Tipperary senior football team and another great grandson, John Hackett, was a member of the 1984 Tipperary minor football team which won Munster honours.
The booklet is a fascinating read and is a giveaway at £2. As well as telling us about the players it gives a brief account of the games played by Tubberadora. There is a picture of the 1898 side and a map of the place with the houses of the players marked.

Arravale Rovers

Tom O'Donoghue has been working on the history of the club for a number of years and it eventually saw the light of day in July, when it was launched with due pomp and circumstance by Marcus de Burca in the Royal Hotel, Tipperary. A very impressive publication, the book stretches to 564 pages in A4 size pages.

The first part of the book will be of enormous interest to everyone wanting to know more about the state of football in the county in the early days of the Association. There were no less than three teams from Tipperary Town, Bohercrowe, Arravale Rovers and Roseanna.
Bohercrowe won the county championship in 1888 but there was no Munster or All-Ireland championship because of the American Invasion. Bohercrowe and Roseanna met in the first round of the county championship the following year with Bohercrowe successfull and they went on to capture the All-Ireland title with a comprehensive victory over Maryboro in the final. The Spittle was the home base of the Roseannas and the rivalry between them and Bohercowe can be gleaned from a ballad to celebrate the All-Ireland victory, two lines of which ran as follows:
And coming up the Spittle/With neither dread nor fear.

If Bohercrowe were successful in 1889, it was to be Arravale Rovers turn in 1895 when they beat Navan O'Mahonys in the final. The game was played on March 15, 1896, and it was part of a double fixture, the second half of which was the Tubberadora/Tullaroan hurling final. It was the one and only time the two finals were played on the same day and the first time for finals to be played at Jones's Road. There is another interesting point about both finals. Jim Riordan played for Arravale Rovers in the final and his brother Paddy played with Tubberadora. Both were originally from Drombane and they have the rare, if not unique, distinction of winning senior All-Ireland medals on the same day in different games.

Paddy Riordan has a further distinction of being credited with Tubberadora's total score of 6-8. His achievement was confirmed in the weekly paper, Sport, in 1914, by Frank Dineen, who had been President of the G.A.A. in 1896.

But back to Arravale Rovers. The town of Tipperary was alive with political tension in the late eighties. New Tipperary was born and in July 1890 the three famous clubs of Bohercrowe, Arravale Rovers and Roseanna agreed to be united under the banner of the New Tipperary Club. However, this unity was not to last long. The Parnell Split was to cause this fragile unity to be well and truly riven.

The book traces the fortunes of the various clubs that came into existence. For the benefit of the reader I thought the author might have included an appendix with the names of all the clubs that existed in the town over the years. And, while on the question of additions, a roll of honour of the clubs' achievements would have been very helpful. Finally, a list of all the players from the town who had won All-lrelands in hurling and football would be most useful.

These few deficiencies should not detract from a very fine achievement. Of great interest are the exciting contests between Tipperary Club and Bray Emmets in 1904/5. The achievements of the club in later years are presented in detail. The selection of photographs adds to the value of the book and the numerous team lineouts will make it an important work of reference. Tom O'Donoghue has laboured long and assiduously to complete this book and deserves the gratitude not only of the people of Tipperary Town but of the county as well.

The Tipp Revival

Tipperary's hurling famine came to an end in 1987 with the capture of a Munster senior hurling final for the first time in 16 years. Since then the county has had a reasonable amount of success including five Munster finals, two All-lrelands and two National Leagues. The success of the county is more dramatically reflected in the number of All-Stars it received. Between 1972-86 the county had 11 All-Stars. Between 1987 and 1994 the number has been twenty-six.

Seamus Leahy has written an important book on these years. It is reviewed sepa­rately in this Yearbook. It is sufficient for me to mention that the book is not only an account of the revival but it seeks to put it in perspective. Chapter 2 traces the dominant position the county held in the hurling world up to 1971 and follows this up with a chapter on the famine years. It goes on to talk about the arrival of Babs and his efforts to put Tipperary back in its rightful place. The book writes about the players who made it possible, the successes and the failures. The final two chapters include an interview with Babs on these years and his part in it and the final chapter is entitled: 'Whither hurling, whither Tipperary?' The book is a very good read with plenty of insights, reflections and flashbacks to previous periods of Tipperary hurling and is to be highly rec­ommended.

The year 1995 is the 75th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and there is an account of the commemorative events surrounding the anniversary elsewhere in this publication. In connection with it, south division secretary, Michael Q'Meara, put together a very impressive and comprehensive commemorative booklet, which was launched at the opening of an exhibition on Bloody Sunday in the County Museum in Clonmel.

Comprising about 80 pages, the booklet tells the story of Bloody Sunday from the books and documents published about the event. It also contains a selection of photographs, some of them never before published. It includes an account of previous commemorations, pen pic­tures of the players, a piece on the Hogan family and a selection of ballads relating to the period. The publication is a credit to Michael O'Meara and his helpers. 

<span class="postTitle">The Nenagh Co-Op. County Senior Hurling Championship '95</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1996, pp 37-39

The Nenagh Co-Op. County Senior Hurling Championship '95

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1996, pp 37-39

The fifteen thousand crowd that came to the county final at Semple Stadium on October 15 was the biggest in years. The pairing was unique. Never before had Boherlahan-Dualla and Nenagh Eire 6g, met in a county final. Never before had the north side won a senior final. In fact, they had appeared but once in that stage of the competition, in 1993.

On the other hand, the mid side of the equation, with a noble fine tradition for appearing in and winning finals, hadn't appeared in a final since 1953 and hadn't won one since 1941! So, there was hunger on both sides and the supporters turned out in their thousands to find out which side was hungrier and whither the destination of the Dan Breen Cup.

As an entree to the main course was a fascinating minor pairing, Ballingarry Gaels, a rising force in hurling, pitted against Thurles Sarsfields, an ancient stronghold of the game in the county. On top of all was a favourable weather forecast which promised a dry day with above average temperatures for the time of year.

Divisional Finals

The long road to the county final began months p.reviously with the start of the divisional championship. The first to come to a decision was the south on August 13, an unlucky day for Carrick Davins, who were crushed by Mullinahone on a scoreline of 5-11 to 0-10. The guiding light in that crushing vic­tory was John Leahy, whose 2-8 not only inspired Mullinahone but won him the 'Man of the Match' award.

The following Sunday saw Toomevara and Borrisileigh fight out the north decider in Nenagh. Borrisileigh were surprise packets, having accounted for Nenagh in the semi-final, and the largest attendance in decades turned up in the expectation of a Borris breakthrough. Such was not to be and Toomevara went through comfortably on a scoreline of 0-18 to 1-12.

The mid final was played on August 26 with Boherlahan-Dualla making their first appearance in decades and attempting the breakthrough against Loughmore-Castleiney, who weren't a hurling force when Boherlahan previously won the mid final. There was great expectation and hope in the Boherlahan camp and it came good for the club on the day with a comprehensive win by 1-13 to 1-8. It was an occasion of great emotion when Seamus Murphy received the Leahy Cup, the first time in 47 years for his club to do so.

The following day, in a poor west final, at Cappawhite, marred by a sending-off incident at the interval, Cashel came through against Kickhams on a score of 2-11 to 0-10.

Quarter-Finals

On the same day that Cashel and Kickhams were slogging it out in the west, Nenagh Eire Óg, the Hogan League winners in the north, played Borrisileigh, the championship runners-up, to decide on the second north team for the county quarter-finals. The game ended in a draw as a result of a great come-back by Borrisileigh, who were ten points in arrears at the interval. At the final whistle the sides were level at 3-8 each. The replay didn't take place for three weeks. Nenagh showed much of the ability and many of the skills that would carry them through to ultimate honours. They scored a magnificent 2-16 from play and deserved more than their 8-point margin of victory on a scoreline of 2-21 to 5-4. In the middle of the second half, as if resting m their laurels, they let Borrisileigh through for four goals, which gave a respectability to the scoreboard.

Three of the quarter-finals took place on Saturday, September 16, two of them in the afternoon at Semple Stadium and he third with a 5.30 start at Holycross. In he latter venue Toomevara had an easy win over Carrick Davins. Whatever hopes he south runners-up might have had of creating a surprise were shattered in the first quarter when county minor scored three goals in an eight minute spell for the lorth champions. The score at the end of he hour was 4-16 to 3-5 in favour of Toomevara.

A small crowd came to the Stadium for the double-header. In the curtain-raiser, a late spurt by Boherlahan gave them victory by 2-12 to 1-11. The game was in doubt until the final quarter, with Kickhams, vho resurrected a creditable performance after their defeat in the West, leading by two points. However, a brilliant goal by Liam Maher gave Bohelahan the lead. Kickhams equalised but the mid champions ended in a flurry of four points to give lem that margin of victory.

In the second game Cashel King Cormacs scored a comprehensive victory over a disappointing Loughmore-Castleiney, who appeared tired and at the end of road. In contrast, Cashel gave one of their better performances with Timmy Moloney scoring ten points of their 1-18 tally. The goal in Loughmore's total of 1-11 came from a last-minute penalty by Pat McGrath.

The last of the quarter-finals was played at Semple Stadium on September 23 and Nenagh gave a lacklustre performance before beating Mullinahone by 2-16 to 3-9. The game will be remembered for the magnificence of John Leahy.s display. He scored 2-7 and his overall performance was excellent. His catching ability, his turn of speed, his ball control, his weaving runs and his striking ability were a delight to watch. They established him as the most accomplished and effective Tipperary hurler at the present time.

The Semi-Finals

The draws for the semi-finals seemed to point to a Cashel-Toomevara final. Cashel were drawn against Eire Og and were installed as favourites against a side which had not impressed in the quarter-final. Tomevara had been making steady pogress and, although Boherlahan had impressed along the way, hurling wisdom dictated they wouldn't have the class or the experience to dethrone the county champions.

The Cashel Eire Óg game provided the curtain-raiser. In a mediocre game it appeared that the West champions would come through for most of the game. Their lineout on the day surprised many and they didn't perform well in the first half with the aid of the wind. However, they led by 1-8 to 1-5 at the interval. Against the breeze they appeared to play better and by the final quarter they had opened up a seven point lead. At this stage the team seemed to lose its way, the players became lethargic, were slow to react and seemed to be leaving it to the next to do the work.
In contrast, Nenagh began to hurl with purpose and fluency and to notch off points and reduce their deficit. With a couple of minutes to go there were but two points separating the sides and in the final minute Robbie Tomlinson got the clinching goal for Nenagh, to the delight of their followers and the consternation of Cashel. In the dying seconds, Cashel made desperate attempts to get a point that would give them a draw but to no avail.

In the second game, Boherlahan defied their critics by dethroning the champions. Against the breeze in the first half they performed quite well and were three points behind after twenty-two minutes. Then in a great spell they got two goals by Aidan Flanagan and Liam Maher and went to the dressingroom at the interval leading by 2-2 to 0-6. On the resumption there was greater urgency in Toomevara's play.

However, it was Boherlahan who played the best hurling in the third quarter and this was reflected in the score (2-8 to 0-8) in their favour at the end of the period. It was then Toomevara began to hurl and in a great spell of about ten minutes they drew level. It looked as if they had weathered the storm and would go on to win. But Boherlahan were not giving up and in the final minutes they proved they had more in reserve than the triple champions. Two points during this period by Philip O'Dwyer and Conor Gleeson gave them victory by 2- 11 to 1-12 to the utter delight of themselves and their followers.

The County Final

The build-up to the final was the best for years. The villages of Boherlahan and Dualla were festooned with flags. The oldies caught a glimpse of the good old days when Boherlahan were a powerful force in Tipperary hurling. The vast number of their supporters had never experienced the sense of achievement and the joy of victory.

Expectations were also high in Nenagh. They had been trying a long time and this appeared to be their year. The removal of Toomevara appeared a good omen to many but there were others who believed that was a pity because the knowledge that Toomevara were their opponents would be sufficient to motivate the Nenagh lads to gargantuan efforts. It might be more difficult to motivate them against untried and unplayed Boherlahan.

A marvellous crowd turned up to see their expectations fulfilled. Nenagh were the bookies' favourties and Boherlahan were unfortunate to be without their freetaking and point-taking forward, Aidan Flanagan, who injured his wrist in the dying moments of the semi-final. Corner back, Dave Delaney, was also on the injured list, even though he lined out.

For the first fifteen minutes Boherlahan were very much in the game, having had a dream start with a goal in the fifth minute, which might have been their third. After twenty minutes the sides were level but after that the Boherlahan challenge began to falter. At half-time Nenagh were ahead by 0-12 to 1-5 and in the driving seat.

However, some believed that the mid men could resurrect their challenge again, as they had done in previous games and, what was four points in hurling? But that renewed effort never came. Instead, the crowd saw an outstanding Nenagh performance which became more fluent and perfect as the game progressed. The players reached into reserves of talent that had been lying dormant for years and gave an exhibition that was uninhibited and brilliant. They caught and struck the ball with ease and accuracy and scored some marvellous points. They clocked up the huge score of 2-25 to Boherlahan's 2-8.

It was Nenagh's day and the heroes were all on their side. The Tucker brothers - both got 'Man of the Match' awards from different sponsors - John Heffernan, Michael Cleary and Paul Kennedy were outstanding, while Conor O'Donovan played a captain's part in the back-line. It was a great occasion for Nenagh, an achievement that had proved elusive for over a century and a moment to relish by Conor O'Donovan, when he received the cup from county chairman, Sean Fogarty. In fact, as if making up for having to wait so long for the winners' podium, the Nenagh captain gave one of the longest acceptance speeches ever heard in Thurles.

The teams were as follows:

Nenagh-Eire Óg: C McLaughlin, N. Coffey, C. O'Donovan, P. Kennedy, J. Kennedy, F. Moran, D. Finnerty, C. Howard, C. Bonnar (0-1), M. Cleary (0-8 from frees), E. Tucker (0-3), K. Tucker (O-5), D. Quinn (0-1), R. Tomlinson (1-2), J. Heffernan (1-3). Subs: D. O'Meara (0-1) for J. Kennedy; R. Burns (0-1) for C. Howard; J. O'Donoghue for Quinn.

Boherlahan-Dualla: P. Ryan, S. Hickey, T.J. O'Dwyer, D. Delaney, G. McLoughlin, C. Gleeson, T. O'Dwyer, S. Murphy (0-1), M. Ferncombe (0-3, 0-2 from frees), D. Ryan, M. Murphy, G. Flanagan (0-1), P. Delaney (1-0), L. Maher (1-0), P. O'Dwyer (0-3). Subs: E. Maher for D. Delaney; K. O'Donnell for M. Murphy.
Referee: T.J. Corby (Clonmel).

John Quirke 'Man of the Match' award: Eddie Tucker (Eire Óg)
 

The 1995 County Senior Hurling Championship at a Glance

Final

Semple Stadium, 15/10/95:
Nenagh - Eire Og 2-25 Boherlahan-Dualla 2-8.
Referee: T.J. Corby (Clonmel).

Semi-Finals

Semple Stadium, 7/10/95.
Eire Óg, Nenagh 2-14 Cashel King Cormacs 2-13.
Referee: Tommy Lonergan (Kilsheelan).
Boherlahan-Dualla 2-11 Toomevara 1-12.
Referee: Paddy Russell (Emly).

Quarter-Finals

Semple Stadium, 23/09/95.
Eire Óg, Nenagh 2-16 Mullinahone 3-9.
Referee: Michael Greene (Upperchurch/Drombane).
Holycross, 16/09/95.
Toomevara 4-16 Carrick Davins 3-5,
Referee: Richie Barry (Cappawhite).
Semple Stadium, 16/09/95
Boherlahan-Dualla 2-12 Kickhams 1-11,
Referee: T. J.Corby (St. Mary's).
Cashel King Cormacs 1-18 Loughmore-Castleiney 1-11.
Referee: Ger Hayes (Moneygall). 

<span class="postTitle">Brother Patrick Victorinus Noonan</span> The Nationalist, Oct 16, 1995

Brother Patrick Victorinus Noonan

The Nationalist, Oct 16, 1995

The death occurred this week of Brother Noonan, who had a long association with Cashel. He taught as a primary teacher from 1962 to 1973 and returned again from 1986-90. During both periods he did more than most to promote Gaelic games in the town,

A native of Grange, Newcastlewest he attended to local primary school before going to Charleville C.B.S. for his secondary education. Later he joined the Christian Brothers and was trained as a primary teacher in Marino. His first job was in Inchicore, after which he was to spend periods of time in Tipperary, Mount Sion, Portarlington and O'Connell Schools before coming to Cashel. He was in Tralee between 1973 and 1986 and after his second stint in Cashel he went to Thurles for three years before retiring to Baldoyle in 1993.

On his arrival in Cashel in 1962 he devoted his after school hours to preparing children for the County Council scholarships. His work was successful and there were a number of successful candidates. When free education was introduced in 1967the scholarships were abolished and Brother Noonan found another outlet for his energies.

He decided to run a football league, non-stop, from September 1 to November 1. There were five teams of twelve each and games were played every evening, weather permitting.Operations were closed down from December to February when a similar league in hurling was begun and carried through to June, when the finals and play-offs took place. The boys developed a tremendous interest in the leagues and enjoyed them immensely. Brother Noonan subsidised the hurleys, selling them at half-price, with help from Cashel King Cormac's and Coiste lomana.

His efforts paid enormous dividends and translated into spectacular success for Cashel King Cormac juvenile teams in divisional and county hurling and football championships. The club qualified for the county under-13 hurling and football finals in 1969, losing the hurling to Ballina but winning the football against Thurles. In the following years there was continued success, culminating with a great county minor double in 1974. Many of these underage players, tutored by Brother Noonan, such as John and Tommy Grogan, Pa Fitzelle, Tony Slattery and others made names for themselves at senior and inter-county level later.

On the occasion of his death it is important to recall Brother Noonan's major contribution to the development of Gaelic games in the town. His contribution was part of a great and generous service by the Christian Brothers to the promotion of things Irish and placing emphasis on our culture and our games.

When he returned for a second time in 1986 he willingly offered his services again for the promotion of Gaelic games. It was typical of the man who was always generous of his time and who believed strongly in the value of Gaelic games to the youth of the town. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dílis.

<span class="postTitle">G.A.A. Publications - 1994</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1995, pp 85-86

G.A.A. Publications - 1994

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1995, pp 85-86

The highlight of G.A.A. publishing the past year has to be Maurice Davin: First President of the G.A.A. by fomer G.A.A. President and Moneygall man, Seamus O'Riain. 

Published by Geography Publications, which is owned by Dr. Willie Nolan of U.C.D. Geography Department and formerly of Ballinastick, it contains 236 pages of text and sixteen pages of excellently produced pictures and illustrations, which add enormously to the enjoyment of the book. 

There is a review of the work by Marcus de Burca elsewhere in this Yearbook. Suffice for me to say that I would recommend it not only to anyone interested in the early history of the Association but to all who would like to know something about the social life of the period in the south of County Tipperary. The book will take its place alongside Tierney's "Croke of Cashel' and de Burca's 'Michael Cusack' as essential reading for anyone interested in the lives of those who shaped the early years of the Association. It is to be hoped that the publication of the Davin biography at this time will bring to the notice of all the importance of the man and the terrible neglect he has suffered. 

Perhaps it is worth noting in this regard that he is not remembered in any stand in Croke Park. Belatedly he was recognised in the naming of Aras Daibhin. But a fitting gesture to his memory would be the naming of the Canal End after him when the redevelopment of Croke Park is completed. 

Finally, the book is excellent value at £11.95. The reason for such good value is the subsidisation of its production by both Croke Park and the Munster Council. The Tipperary County Board are also to be complimented on their decision to purchase two hundred copies of the book in order to present one to every National School in the county. 

Arravale Rovers 

Another publication that nearly saw the light of day in 1994 was the Arravale Rovers Story. The best laid plans of Tom O'Donoghue did not just work out and the publication date is now gone back to the first half of 1995. In a way, the delay will better suit the book. 1995 will be the centenary of Tipperary's second football All-Ireland and the successful club team was, of course, Arravale Rovers. 

It was the first All-Ireland to be played in Jones's Road and on the same day the famous Tubberadora won the first of their three AlI-Irelands. Tipperary is the only county to have won two senior All-Irelands on the one day. 

Another interesting statistic is that two brothers played that day, one in football and the other in hurling. Jim and Paddy O'Riordan had that distinction. They hailed from Drombane and Paddy set up a record in the hurling final that will hardly ever be equalled: he scored all Tipperary's score of 6-8! Against such a feat the achievement of Eddie Keher and Nicky English pale into insignificance! Much more beside will be found in this important book which will extend to over 400 pages and contain over 100 pages of photographs. 

A Newsletter 

Kilsheelan club are to be complimented on a novel idea, the publication of a club newsletter. I have two of them to hand that were produced during 1994. They each contain 4 pages, are properly printed and include text and pictures. One of them was produced in May and lists all the club officers and the draws for the South Tipperary championships. The other pages are full of useful information for members of the club. The second came out in October and was a kind of progress report on the club's achievements during the year. It appears a worthwhile exercise for any club and the costs don't appear to have been prohibitive. Indeed there are a few advertisements scattered throughout both publications and they probably offset ome of the cost. 

"God Save Ireland" by Pat Slattery of Cahir has little to do with the G.A.A. The look was launched in Brú Ború in early November and it set out to expose the great decline of traditional values and moral standards that had befallen Ireland in the name of progress, liberalism, modernism and pluralism. I don't mention the look for that reason but rather for an interesting tale the author told me. 

Pat Slattery spent the first twenty years of his career in Dundalk as a senior official with the New Ireland Assurance Company. While in County Louth his love of hurling led him to play with Armagh and he was on the county team which won the Ulster junior championship in 1949. I checked out the story in the Armagh G.A.A. history and he's there in black and white in the photograph of the team on page 132. Others who 'helped out' in that year were friends of Pat's: Joe Haniffy from Galway, Willie Rainsford of Kilkenny and Walter Lambert of Galway. They were all listed with Pat as playing for the Eire Óg club. 

Armagh played Clare in the All-Ireland final (Home) in Armagh, on August 14. The teams were fairly evenly matched until the final ten minutes when Clare rammed in two goals to take the laurels. Jimmy Smith, then a minor, played with Clare, who were beaten by London in the final proper. Smith's medal that year was to be the only inter-county championship medal he won during his long career. 

<span class="postTitle">The Nenagh Co-op 1994 County Senior Hurling Championship</span> Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1995, p 21

The Nenagh Co-op 1994 County Senior Hurling Championship

Tipperary G.A.A. Yearbook 1995, p 21

By their victory in the Nenagh Co-Op County Senior Hurling Championship on October 2, Toomevara confirmed their domination in senior hurling and established themselves as one of the great teams in the last quarter of this century. One has to go back to the seventies, to Kilruane MacDonagh's three-in-a-row team, to find a team of equal dominance in the county hurling scene. By winning their third-in-a-row Toomevara were equalling a club record achieved back in 1912-14 and became only the second club in the county to achieve this feat. (Thurles Sarsfields won three (or more) -in-a-row on four occasions. Kilruane-MacDonaghs, Roscrea, Moycarkey-Borris and Boherlahan did so on one occasion each). 

From early in the championshp, it was obvious that Toomevara would be the team to beat. Their performance in the club championship was a signal to all, that they were a powerful force once again. They did suffer a hiccup in the north championship when they were held to a draw by Lorrha, but came through the replay. They went on to defeat Kilruane-MacDonaghs in an emphatic manner in the north final, winning by 1-16 to 0-7. 

On the same day, August 14, the other three divisional finals were played. In a rather drab mid-final, Loughmore-Castleiney defeated a poor Thurles Sarsfields side by 0-15 to 1-6. In the south, Don Lyons contributed handsomely to Ballingarry's win by scoring three goals in his side's total of 4-9 over Mullinahone, who had 1-9 to their credit. The west final ended in a draw. In a dramatic ending Sean Slattery scored a goal to give Cashel King Cormac's a last minute draw with Clonoulty-Rossmore in a scoreline of l-16 to 2-13. 

County Quarter-Finals

The county quarter-finals were fixed for the weekend of August 27-28, and there were moves to have two of them put back in order to have the west final replayed. These came to nothing and the matches went ahead as arranged, with the west replay not taking place until October 30 and resulting in a Cashel victory by 2-12 to 1-8. 

The quarter-finals took place at three venues, Kilsheelan, Templemore and Nenagh. Cashel King Cormac's had an easy victory over Mullinahone, at Kilsheelan, winning by 1-19 to 1-7, after having no less than three goals disallowed for 'square' infringements. Up to half time the sides were close enough but a Cashel goal and a point soon after the resumption set the west side up for an easy victory. In the second game Clonoulty-Rossmore were never tested. From early in the game, they were on top and when the final whistle sounded they had sixteen points to spare in a scoreline of 0-20 to 0-4. 

Toomevara played their quarter-final game with Thurles Sarsfields at Templemore on Saturday, August 27. Two goals by the north champions 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. The most interesting of the four games was played at Nenagh on the following evening. Kilruane-MacDonaghs created something of a surprise by defeating a more fancied Loughmore-Castleiney side. Contributing greatly to their victory was the performance of the two veterans of the side, Denis Cahill and Jim Williams. In the end, the margin of victory was three points in a scoreline of 1-14 to 1-11. 

County Semi-Finals

The semi-finals were played at Semple Stadium on September 11 and the headlines in the 'Tipperary Star' the following week tell the story: Toomevara Trounce Listless Clonoulty- Rossmore and Cashel stroll past tame Kilruane. In the Toomevara-Clonoulty-Rossmore game the opening quarter promised differently. After eight minutes Toomevara's corner forward, Jimmy Dunne, was sent to the line and the west side led by 0-6 to 0-2 at the end of the first quarter. However, Clonoulty were not making full use of their chances and Toomevara came back into the game, chiefly through good work at centrefield by Pat King. At halftime the sides were level and prospects of a close encounter were still alive. For the early minutes of the second half, these feelings continued to be justified. But then between the 7th and 21st minutes Toomevara scored 3-5 and Clonoulty completely collapsed under the onslaught. The final minutes were painful to watch, as Toomevara completely dominated and were ahead by 4-17 to 1-12, at the final whistle. 

Cashel went one point better in their fifteen point victory over Kilruane MacDonaghs in the second game. In the first quarter the King Cormacs estabablished a 1-6 to 0-2 lead. At this stage, their chances were enhanced with the sending off of Martin Haverty for a foul on Conal Bonnar. However, the north men got a boost with a Dinny Cahill goal coming up to halftime and were only four points adrift at that stage. Cashel got off to a dream start on the resumption and were ahead by 2-11 to 1-4 after seven minutes. The King Cormac's got a third goal in the ninth minute and the sending off of a second Kilruane player, Ger Maher, tore the back out of their challenge. The final quarter dragged its slow length along until the final whistle when Cashel were in front by 3-19 to 2-7. 

County Final

Toomevara were two to one favourites going into the final and that favouritism had its basis in their impressive displays during the year and in the recollection of the outcome, when the two sides met in the quarter-final at Templemore the previous year. On that occasion Cashel had no answer to the physical strength and impressive array of hurling talent in the Toomevara side. With no new talent coming on to the Cashel side it wasn't to be expected, that they could create a surprise. 

And so it turned out. After a bright opening, Cashel were knocked back on their tracks by the concession of an easy goal from which they didn't recover until near the interval, at which stage Toomevara were ahead by 1-6 to 0-4. Instead of getting the goal they needed for a good start to the second half, it was Toom who scored. By the time the last quarter approached, they were ahead by 2-9 to 0-6. At this stage Cashel got a goal and a point to put only five points between the sides and there was hope of a grandstand finish. But Toomevara replied with another goal and that effectively killed off Cashel's challenge. In the end Toomevara were worthy champions by 3-11 to 1-9. Afterwards Cashel, while admitting the obvious supremacy of Toomevara, were to rue the concession of two soft goals, some questionable selectorial decisions and some dreadful shooting by the forwards. 

The teams were:

Toomevara: Jody Grace, Pat Meagher (capt), Rory Brislane, Declan O'Meara, George Frend, Michael O'Meara, Phil Shanahan, Terry Dunne, Pat King, Kevin Kennedy, Michael Murphy, Tony Delaney, Liam Nolan, Tommy Dunne, Tommy Carroll. Subs: Liam Flaherty for Rory Brislane; Brislane for Liam Nolan. 

Cashel King Cormacs: Kevin O'Sullivan, Liam Barron, Pat O'Donoghue, Michael Perdue, ]oe O'Leary, Colm Bonnar, Seamus Morrissey, Seanie O'Donoghue, Willie Fitzell, Conal Bonnar, T. J. Connolly, Raymie Ryan, Seanie Morrissey, Cormac Bonnar, Ailbe Bonnar. Subs: John Ryan for Seamus Morrissey. 

Man of the Match: Pat King (Toomevara). 

Referee: Michael Doyle (Holycross-Ballycahill)

<span class="postTitle">Eddie Ryan (1962-1992)</span> West Senior Hurling final program, July 1995

Eddie Ryan (1962-1992)

West Senior Hurling final program, July 1995

West final day is an appropriate time to remember a young man who made a significant contribution to the sporting life of Cashel and who infected all around him with his great joie de vivre.

Playing in the 1980 west final against Sean Treacy's at Dundrum Eddie Ryan ensured victory for Cashel King Cormac's by scoring the insurance point in the dying minutes of extra time in the replay. Still only eighteen years of age he played an important role in bringing a county minor title to the club the same year. It was the culmination of a successful underage career in hurling and football which saw Eddie win under 12 and under-14 titles, at divisional and county levels, between 1972 and 1975. He was to continue playing at under-21 and senior levels in the early eighties but probably never realised the promise of his earlier years.

Part of the reason was his departure from Cashel to study Agricultural Science in U.C.D. During his first year he played on the college team and also showed his prowess as a sprinter by winning the 100 metres in the college sports. However, of a relaxed nature and more interested in the craic and the joy of living, training began to take second place in his life and the hurler or footballer he might have been never got the chance to develop.

As well as G.A.A. rugby played an important part in his life. From the age of about sixteen he played with Cashel, either at scrum-half or first centre, and in the course of time won a Garryowen and a Mansergh Cup with the club.

A further interest was the Cashel Gun Club. For him November 1 was a sacrosanct day when everything else had to play second fiddle to a day's shooting. This aspect of his life is remembered lovingly every year on the first day of the shooting season by Tom Hayes, who places a pheasant's feather on his grave.

By your friends you shall be remembered. Eddie had a load of them both in Cashel where he never lost touch with the local scene and whereto he regularly returned to watch and support the local teams, and in his job as agricultural adviser with Bayer (Ireland) Ltd. Last year his friends in Bayer contributed in order to establish a fitting memorial to his name. They had a trophy specially sculpted, which they presented to West Bord na nOg and which replaced the Caiseal Ri Chormaic Cup for the divisional under-14 'B' hurling championship. The money outstanding after the commissioning of the trophy was presented to Cashel Bord na nÓg for the promotion of youth activity in the town.

It was a fitting way to remember Eddie Ryan, who had such a successful career as a young player with Cashel. The trophy was presented to Bord na nOg last year and the first winners were Lattin-Cullen. The second name to be inscribed on the trophy is that of Eddie's own club, Caiseal Ri Chormaic, who succeeded in beating Eire Og in the final last Sunday night. It was the club's first victory in the competition since 1983, a sign of the decline in underage success in the town since the glory days of the seventies when Eddie was in his prime.