‘Fat Mile’ gives no honour to the great Bracker O’Regan

SIR, During this centenary year of The Austin Stacks GAA Club, The Rock, Tralee, I have been cajoling, browbeating, enticing and sweet-talking all and sundry to stop referring to the road linking Monavalley and Mounthawk in Tralee as ‘The Fat Mile’ and to reclaim it for the man to whom it is dedicated.

People tell me that Bracker O Regan Road is a bit of a mouthful and maybe it is. But the Local Authority granted this singular distinction to Martin Bracker O’Regan and his family for his outstanding contribution to the sporting life of Kerry. So let’s give credit where credit is due. I’ll settle for The Bracker Road or even the The Bracker Mile as long as people do right by this great man. I have already asked Kerry County Council to increase the signage along the road for name visibility.

Martin was one of the most talented players to wear the famous black and amber jersey of The Rock during its illustrious 100-year history. His brilliance on the field of play was matched only by his modest, humble and salt-of-the-earth persona. He won All-Ireland senior football medals with Kerry in 1931 and 1932. He also won four county senior football championship medals (1930/31/32/36) and two county senior hurling championship medals (1929/31) with The Rock.

Martin was one of the great characters of The Rock. He had a lifelong interest in greyhounds and horses and he was a popular and much loved figure at the dog track and the racecourse. He carried his fame lightly and he passed on his love of Kerry, Tralee, The Rock and the sporting life to his wonderful family. Martin died in 2005, aged 95, after a life well lived.

It would be a pity if the civic honour bestowed on Martin Bracker O’Regan was to be permanently undermined by a humorous but depriving nickname. So, in the centenary year of the Austin Stack GAA Club, let’s give Martin his due. What more fitting centenary birthday present could be given to Martin, The O’Regan family and The Rock Club from the people of Kerry? Sincerely,

Billy Ryle,

Spa, Tralee.