The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Team of ‘57 paved the way for a decade of success
SIXTY years ago to this month of November the Valentia Young Islanders won the South Kerry senior football championship by defeating Renard on a score of 3 points to 1. It ended a famine and marked a watershed of success up until 1964.
From 1957 to ‘59 they completed a three in a row. St. Marys, Cahirsiveen won in 1960 and the Young Islanders won again in 1961 and 1962.Waterville won in 1963 and Valentia were again victorious in 1964 to give them six titles in that golden era.
An extract from an article on the ’57 match written in the An t-Oileánach magazine reads:
All was now set for what promised to be a great final.It was getting late in the year but teams did not let the darkness upset the training. Renard were improving every day and they also set up an APR searchlight to help them train in the darkness.
Valentia had no notion of being outdone in this way by the Renard men so they gathered the tractors on the island and turned their headlights on the Cracow field. Anyone travelling along the Waterville to Cahirsiveen road could see the training pitches of both teams lit up.
Valentia suffered a slight blow before the match. Their centre back, John O’Connell, and mid-fielder, Frank Burke, were unable to play. Mick Lynch returned to college and John Murphy fell ill.
Despite these handicaps, Valentia were still determined. “What men have done, men can do,” said Tadhg Murphy, who came from London for the final.
“Keep it dark about my coming.
“I am the happiest man in Hayes tonight,” were his immortal words. Michael Murphy and Patsy ‘Pageon’ Murphy came from Birmingham and Denis Lynch came from Dublin.
A poem in the same An t- Oileanach magazine commemorating that victory of November 10th sixty years ago reads:
Three cheers for the players from the island. At home and far over the sea,
Who played with Renard on a Sunday, A beautiful sight to see,
The date was the tenth of November,
It being rather late in the year,
But our friends they were there by the hundreds,
Our boys for to give them a cheer.
Their captain was brave Sonny Curran, A man that’s well known to you all, Who kept the Renards in their places, And always made use of the ball.
O’Connell and Murphys and Lynchs, their equals are hard to be seen, They played with such vigour and labour, They were cheered on by Cahirsiveen.
Donovan, Burke and O’Donoghue, Likewise the O’Connor boys,
Who brought home the cup to our island, To Renard sure it was a surprise.
Shanahan always our goalie, McCrohan being there on the wing, And Daly our fine big supporter, Played well sure the game for to win.
Now that my rhyme it is ended, I can give the boys no more praise, Bu I hope that the Lord in his mercy, Will grant them all length of days.
TEAM: John Shanahan (RIP), John Lynch, Sonny Curran (RIP), Patrick Daly, Des Burke, John ‘Dasher’ O’Connor (RIP), Michael Murphy (RIP), Mick O’Connell, Tadhg Murphy, Nealie O’Donovan (RIP), Denis Lynch (RIP), Owen McCrohan (RIP), Mickey O’Donoghue (RIP), Patsy ‘Pageon’ Murphy (RIP), Tony O’Connor (RIP).