CBS Superior has hurling pedigree

September 1984

A man with an enviable record in coaching hurling teams is the new principal superior at Wexford CBS.

His arrival is a huge boost for the school, but not so good for Wexford hurling fans who may have expected him to help put the county back at the top, because Bro. Michael O’Grady says he will be too busy with his new duties to involve himself with either club or county hurling.

But he will coach the school team, and that is good news for a school with such a thirst for success.

It may even help Wexford CBS to threaten the supremacy of St. Peter’s College in town and county.

Bro. O’Grady comes to Wexford from Limerick CBS. It is his first appointment as principal, where he also becomes superior of the congregation.

Bro. O’Grady is a native of Patrickswell, Co. Limerick, and he has hurled for both his parish and for University College Dublin. While he has never played county hurling, he has certainly made a mark from the sidelines.

In 1976, he coached the Tipperary minor team to an All-Ireland title. Two years later, he brought the Tipp U-21 team to the All-Ireland Final, but they lost in a replay. The next year, they returned to take the title.

Also in 1979, he coached the Tipperary senior team to a National League title. He had moved from Cashel to Dublin at that time, and commuted to Tipp for training sessions. He then took UCD to two Fitzgibbon Cup triumphs, before returning to Limerick and coaching his native county to National League success, beating Wexford in the final.

He also managed the Munster team that won this year’s Railway Cup.

He says his new appointment and new duties in Wexford will now end such an active involvement in the game, though. ‘I won’t have time for such involvement now,’ he says, and he envisages that his relaxation from school duties will be a quiet game of golf.