From London back to Wexford: Fr Murphy’s celebrate 60 years

FR MURPHY’S GAA CLUB 60TH ANNIVERSARY

OVER 300 people packed the main ballroom at The Riverside Park Hotel recently after the Fr Murphy’s GAA Club made the journey from London to Wexford to celebrate the club’s 60th anniversary.

Since its foundation in 1958 the club has played a vital part in providing a link with home for countless Wexford emigrants, as well as fostering a love of hurling, football and camogie with an entirely new generation of Londoners. In pre-internet times, the club was a wonderful first point of contact for people from Wexford to meet up with fellow Wexfordians as they embarked on a new life and it often proved fertile ground for emigrants to find work and accommodation, as well as the chance to tog out in competitive hurling and football games.

There was a great turnout on the night as current players met with some of the club legends of days gone by, many of whom made the move home to Ireland. Over the course of their visit, the London team also lined out for a hard fought victory in the Mickey Connors Memorial Cup which saw them defeat Shamrocks of Enniscorthy, who had overcome Oylegate/Glenbrien, in the final at Crossabeg.

They swapped their kits for glitz and glamour at The Riverside and enjoyed a delicious meal, presentations and music from Thunderbird in the company of Wexford GAA Chairman Derek Kent, members of the Enniscorthy Municipal District Council and TDs Paul Kehoe and Michael D’Arcy. Former players made a great effort to attend the event and one or two were even said to have travelled specially from America.

The following day, Fr Murphy’s Club members were guests of honour at a packed Wexford Park for the Allianz League semi-final against Kilkenny and received special acknowledgement over the tannoy before the game.

Unfortunately, the result didn’t go our way, but at least Fr Murphy’s will be taking a bit of silverware back to London with them on the return journey. The club thanked everyone involved in making the event such a success and hope that the link with Wexford will be one that will be maintained for the coming 60 years as it has been with the preceding.

Michael Thorpe, Gillian Phillips, Batty Brooks, Biddy Brooks, John Ryan and Ann Slattery.

Paudie Casey, Alisha Grant, Aoibhe Lewis and Darra Casey.

Chloe Redmond, Gerard Redmond and Catherine Redmond.

Mary O’Leary and Helen Hennessy at the Fr Murphy’s GAA Club dinner dance and reunion in the Riverside Park Hotel.

Fiona Ryan, Tommy Ryan and Trish Barron.

Sean Ryan, Jackie Ryan and Chloe O’Connell.

Jack and Sinead Fortune.