Ettie Kilbride paints a precious picture of a rich heritage
Guest Contributor
WHEN P.J. O’Loughlin came to reside in Tomacork in January, 1930, he brought with him that great tradition of hurling from his native Cork. As there was no hurling team in the townsland of his adoption he soon set about rectifying this.
He called a meeting, got tremendous response and formed a club. P.J. himself took on the Chairmanship, Tim Ryan was his running mate, John Moore was appointed secretary and Andy Kelly looked after the finances. On the committee were Tom Kelly, Mick Ruth and Berty Hilliard.
There was no official playing field, either in Carnew or Tomacork in those years. Not to be deterred the lads trained and practised in the bull paddock on P.J.’s farm and under his skillful eye, they were soon ready for the frey.
However, no man can do battle without the proper implements, and thereby hangs a lengthy tale. Money for hurleys was in short supply in those days and as one of the lads put it, ‘We hadn’t what ‘id baptise a witch’. They did the next best thing to buying the hurls – they made them.
There was a selection of good ash trees to be had around a place called Coolmealagh, but the getting of them wasn’t a daylight job. Jim Ryan said you’d want to be enrolled in the brown scapular to have any hope of finding the field even in daylight. All agreed that the job would take place at night.
After meditating on the darkness, Jim Ryan, Son Holmes, Jim Kenny and Paddy Ryan, set off around midnight with an ass and cart. They were back home by three in the morning with the making of their hurleys, legal or otherwise.
Jim Kenny, a member of the team that worked at the saw benches in the then flourishing Coollattin timber yard. He soon had their ash trees transformed into hurleys and it only cost the club the princely sum of two shillings for the 43 hurleys.
Tomacork entered in their first Junior hurling championship in 1932. Their affiliation was late, and as Carnew (their mile-away neighbours) had entered a Junior team, it was decided to amalgamate and play under Carnew Emmets. The team did include a few Carnew men, the goalman Peter Dempsey was from Carnew, as were Mick Molloy, Berty Hilliard and Mogue Mernagh. Later Mick Molloy, Peter Dempsey, Mick Doyle and McDonagh Fleming of Tomacork played Junior hurling for the county.
Lady luck must have smiled on them for they eventually found themselves in the semi-final against Woodenbridge. This game was a draw, and the Tomacork backed Carnew team went on to win the replay.
Glenealy was the opposition in the final which was played on December 8, 1932, in the Bottoms in Rathdrum. By beating Glenealy on the score of 3-0 to 2-2, the first Junior hurling championship ever came to the parish on the strength of a one-point win. An interesting feature of this game was that there were men from six counties playing on the team that day. They hailed from Wexford, Kilkenny, Clare, Galway, Cork and Wicklow.
The men on the victorious team were:
P. Dempsey (goal), John Edwards, Ml. Doyle, John McNamara, Mick Molloy, Campbell, M. Ruth, Sgt. Molloy, John Ryan, Berty Hilliard, Tom Kelly, Andy Kelly, P.J. O’Loughlin, Mogue Mernagh, Jim Kenny.
Tomacork played under their own name in 1933. Their first outing in the Junior hurling championship was against Avondale. The game was in Aughrim and Tomacork beat them by 1-1 to no score.
As always transport or the want of it was a big problem in those days. To fulfil their next fixture against Woodenbridge, they borrowed a spring car and horse from Johnny Sinnott who owned the local hostelry in Carnew.
They all must have thought it was their birthday, that is all of them except the horse, for no less than twelve of them sat up on the cart. They arrived in Wickow Gap only to find that the Woodenbridge team hadn’t turned up. Tomacork got the match and wondered at the same time how they were going to get home. The shafts were getting a bit shaky and would you wonder, but like the optimist who fell out of the 30-storey window. As he fell past each window, he used to say to himself, “I’m alright so far”. The Tomacork boys, said the same thing as they passed each landmark on the way home.
What they hadn’t allowed for was that the horse being used to hotel life, got the whiff of porter blowing across from O’Keeffe’s, (now the Little Moon) in Coolboy, and thought he was home. He stopped dead in the middle of a trot and way goes the shafts. The lads were seen coming home that night leading the horse and pushing the shaftless car around Somers Corner.
They managed to get into the final that year, Rathnew were the other contenders, and the game wasn’t played until June 24, 1934, at Aughrim.
Martin O’Neill who was later to captain the victorious 1936 Wicklow Junior football All-Ireland winning side was the referee. They beat Rathnew by 6-0 to 4-2 and we’re reliably told that Son Holmes went on a goal-scoring spree – scoring four of Tomacork’s six goals. Playing on the team were:- Berty Hillard, J. Rooney, Paddy Kenny, Mick Sheridan, Mick Mulhall, Jack Brennan, Peter Doyle Ballard, Mc Donagh Fleming, Andy Kelly, Jimmy Brennan, Paddy Ryan, Tommy Whelan, M. Brennan (Fr Crispin), Jim Kenny, Son Holmes.
Tomacork were senior in 1934 and met Ballinacor, Arklow in the first round of the hurling championship. It was played at Aughrim in the month of August. They got a wrinkle that Ballinacor had a dark horse in the ranks, and just in case they had any intention of playing him Tomacork thought it a good idea to advise them in advance.
P.J. O’Loughlin rambled up to where the Ballincor lads were undressing in the ditch, the dressing rooms hadn’t been built then. He was quite vocal well within earshot of the opposition that ‘he hoped Ballinacor weren’t going to play Paddy Rielly from Ballyjamesduff’. They obviously got the message for Tomacork were winning by 4-1 to 2 points just before half-time.
Then the strangest thing happened, the hurling ball burst and, of the two balls that were to be had before the match, Ballinacor had a convenient loss of memory and couldn’t remember where their ball went. It was a clever piece of gamesmanship when you come to think of it.
The game had to be abandoned for the want of a ball and the replay was won by Ballinacor. Garda Jim Conway who refereed the replay was stationed in Baltinglass at that time, but he later came to reside in Carnew.
His report to the County Board said “It was a pleasure to referee two such sporting teams”. Incidentally Peter O’Hara along with the Jimmy Ryan looked after the Tomacork’s welfare in those days.
Tomacork played in the Senior grade for a few years but failed to make any appreciable impression. They were drawn against a team called Glassnargate in the first round in 1935. I think Glassnargate is a small townsland near Rathdrum; in any event they didn’t field a team and Tomacork got a walkover.
They met Avondale in the second round and were badly beaten by them. This was Tomacork’s last appearance in the Senior ranks, they continued to field a Junior hurling team up until 1942.
The County Board abandoned this competition the same year and didn’t re-introduce it until around 1945. They got into another hurling final in 1937 against Greystones and were beaten. I think it was the 1936 final played in 1937.
The club went into decline, it seems, from the late forties. It was resurrected again in the mid-fifties by the late Tom Furlong and other interested parties. There were teams entered around 1955 and 1956 in Junior hurling and football.
Their first outing in the hurling was played in the Sports field in Carnew. Forestry College Arklow provide the opposition. Tomacork won easily, but the Forestry College objected and won the grounds that the field wasn’t property marked. The replay was played on the dog track in Arklow, the result was a draw. In the final decider, played in Aughrim, Tomacork were beaten by the College boys.
The next mention we have of Tomacork is 1958. Carnew beat them in a Junior football league game on March 23 at Shillelagh by 2-9 to 0-0. There were Carnew men playing on the Tomacork team that day.
The club continued into 1959 at their AGM held in February the following officers were elected. President – Revd. Fr Kelly, P.P., Chairman-Tom Furlong, Vice Chairman- Son Holmes, Treasurer-Mick Ruth, Secretary and Assistant – M. Lynch N.T. and Matt Cosgrave.
Committee were J Byrne, M. Byrne, P. Behan, K.Ryan, N. Kelly, K. Doyle, D.Browne, F. Byrne, J. Carney.
Captain and vice-captain in football were Pat Mulhall and Sean Doyle Ballard. Frank Byrne was the hurling captain and Jim Carney was elected vice-captain.
Tomacork had a juvenile team in 1959, and they also entered a team in the Junior football league the same year. Carnew beat them 4-6 to 0-7 in the Junior.
1959 seems to have been their final response to Cusack’s call and Tomacork, to their eternal credit, have contributed in their own small way, and for as long as they could to the furtherance of the Gaelic Athletic Association. They persevered to keep the flag flying on and off in their own corner of the parish, when they could have followed the line of least resistance. Many of the founding members have now gone to their eternal rest, men like the Ruths, Tim Ryan, the Kellys and Jim Ryan.
Let’s hope that the people who are entrusted with the future affairs of the GAA will not forget these men and indeed the thousands of others like them who have left their hallmark on the GAA for posterity.
Having said that I’m sure none would grudge a special mention to the late P.J. O’Loughlin who was an action-speaks-louder-than-words man. He not only served Tomacork well but was active at County Board level, where he served with distinction for many years.
He was elected to the vice chairmanship of the County Board in 1932, a position he held up to 1934.
The South Board elected him chairman in 1933. In the 1935 he came in as county secretary and held that portfolio until 1942. In his capacity as county secretary he was to see Wicklow win her first All-Ireland Junior Football Championship in 1936. Although a Corkman, he was proud to be associated with Wicklow that day.
Of Tomacork, one wonders has the hand of destiny written finished to this little club perched high on the mound of oats as is the English translation for the townsland. Who knows though maybe someday, someone will fly the flag up there again.
It would be inappropriate to close this chapter on Tomacork without paying a special tribute to the men from that area who have worn the Carnew jersey and helped them to many a victory down through the years. Men like the Furlongs, Mulhalls, and the Ryans. Jimmy Ryan who also wore the county jersey at Minor level looked after the Carnew treasury for many years and guarded it like that of Fort Knox. They have all given their services unstintingly, in the true spirit of the Gaelic Athletic Association.
The John McNamara who played for Tomacork in 1932 was a member of An Garda Siochana. He was transferred to Santry, Co Dublin.
Tomacork played in the Priests cup competition in 1928.
First game July 29, 1928 – Tomacork v Ballinglen – a draw
August 5, 1928 - replay at Carnew - Tomacork won.
September 2, 1928 - Arklow v Tomacork – no result.