Landmark 1972 victory laid ground
With the help of goalkeeper Bill O’Keeffe, John Tarrant recalls Boherbue’s landmark 1972 Duhallow Junior A Football Championship title
MANY great clubs had to endure agony before reaching the pinnacle, that can be said of Boherbue, a famous campaign from 1972 won the hearts of faithful supporters that helped bridge a barren spell to capture the Duhallow Junior A Football Championship.
Dwelling back on an Olympic year in Munich, one recalls Mark Spitz seven gold medals to Mary Peters’ achievement of becoming the first Irish woman to win a gold medal. Nationally, the country voted by an overwhelming majority to join the EEC; Muhammad Ali traded punches against Al ‘Blue’ Lewis in Croke Park while the great Pele played across the city in Dalymount Park.
Back in Duhallow, a new Blue wave was emerging with Boherbue GAA returning to the local mountain top as goalkeeper of that era Bill O’Keeffe takes up the story.
“It may be a surprise to some that though Boherbue are more accustomed to green and gold colours, for a few years during the early 1970s, we paraded a blue and white jersey. They were the original club colours back in the 1930s and it brought success, interestingly, when Duhallow took to the field in 1973, they wore the blue and white colours of Boherbue,” he said.
Within a short time span, Boherbue had returned to the green and gold yet the men of 1972 inspired the club to undertake a major project that entailed securing a permanent home base of its own.
“The club decided to purchase the ground it had rented from Christy Feehan and an adjoining half acre culminating in 1979 with the official opening of the Patsy O’Sullivan Memorial Park by former GAA President Con Murphy and the meeting of Cork and Dublin in a senior football tournament,” said Bill.
The late Patsy had passed away, untimely at a young age. A proven player and administrator for club and division, his forge within the village became a hub centre for many a GAA conversation.
Winning a long awaited championship a few seasons earlier had sparked a rejuvenation in the overall development of the club, and rekindled a new passion within the community for improved facilities. However, the foresight of a previous generation is also acknowledged, the club earlier purchased eight acres elsewhere at a modest cost only for a survey determined the land would be unsuitable for such a development project.
For a numbers of years, Boherbue
operated out of Feehans Field, the ground would become the club’s home, costing €30,000 to develop and it was a fitting tribute to the endeavours of all club members who worked for the fruitition of a dream come through. The club had got off to an excellent start when the original land bought at £600 sold for €16,000 and this allowed the club go ahead with the development of their new home at Gneeves close to the village.
“Further fund raising efforts were undertaken from a festival, a team of volunteers devoted much of their time and efforts to working on the ground and the results of their endeavours is evident at the current Complex,” says Bill O’Keeffe.
Back to the 1972 season, there was no such thing as goalkeeping coaches, one learned by watching other ‘keepers or reading about the big names of the game. And O’Keeffe honed his own skills on the great Alex Stepney who made 539 appearances for Manchester United and was part of Sir Matt Busby’s European Cup-winning side from 1968.
“Alex was an idol of mine, he became a legend and a heroic figure, his reflex save from Eusebio stands out on denying Benfica a dramatic late winner at Wembley where in extra time, United took over to win 4-1 and become European kingpins,” said O’Keeffe, a Red Devils fanatic who later served as Chairman to the Duhallow Branch of the Manchester United Supporters Club.
The roots of the Boherbue club dates back to the founding of the GAA and the birth of Duhallow division. And success came quickly, Boherbue taking victory from Kilcorney to collect the 1935 divisional title.
Thirty-seven lean years followed before the spirit of the men from 1972 bore dividends and Boherbue were back in business. Indeed Boherbue’s fortunes were improving in the preceding years, despite disappointment in 1967 after a defeat by Cullen in the final.
Little doubt about that outcome, Boherbue never got closer than four points and with little or no goal threats evident, they were always going to be second best. The outcome left the Boherbue side frustrated and players such as Jerome Ryan, Donie
Buckley,
Pat Moynihan, Bob O’Riordan, Brendan Dennehy and Corney Vaughan would be granted their wish to return to another final.
Easier said for the Duhallow championship was competitive, some encouragement for Boherbue, Buckley captained a team to land the 1971 Nevin Cup.
“There may had been pressure on to add to the previous outright triumph from 1935 but a new crop of young players were coming on board, newcomers Jeremiah Breen, Frank Lenihan and Frank O’Sullivan were excellent additions,” said O’Keeffe.
On the field, Boherbue enjoyed a decent run in the Examiner Cup only to come up short to Kiskeam in the Final. Of course, the championship was the priority, many of the teams were evenly matched.
“That league campaign and a place in the decider helped built up momentum but the Examiner Cup Final came just one week ahead of the championship opening round. To lose any final takes a few days to recover and facing Millstreet’s second team was always a difficult proposition,” said O’Keeffe.
Indeed, Boherbue ground down a stubborn Millstreet resistance in a thrilling contest, a pair of Andy Kiely goals for Millstreet matched by likewise strikes from Boher’s Patsy McAulliffe for the latter secure a two point triumph.
Round 2 saw Boherbue perform exceptionally well, made all the more easier by an out of sorts performance from Castlemagner. For sheer excitement, nothing compared to the semi final, drama right at the end, joy for Bohebue and heartbreak to Kanturk to lose by a goal.
“It might well had been so different at the finish, Kanturk were awarded a penalty, Bill O’Mullane stepped up to take the kick. I held my concentration and saw the ball flash right of me and wide of the post, to this day, that incident continues to be a regular source of conversation,” says the net minder O’Keeffe.
The outcome secured Boherbue a place into the decider