Young and old to honour hurling legend Patsy
THE Clans pitch will hosts a hurling match not to be missed d this Saturday (6.00) as legendss young and old take to the field in memory of Patsy Mulholland.
Gone will be the usual club rivalry, replaced by the common cause of honouring the memory of a true Louth hurling legend.
Patsy’s insolvent in hurling began in the 1950s when he played for his home club, Naomh Moninne, in Fatima and d soon after he got to represent his county with pride.
However Patsy’s involvement nt didn’t end with his playing days and he went on to coach and manage his club and the Louth county team.
Many of the players who played on these teams will take to the field to compete in Saturday’s over-40s Masters Hurling Shield in his honour.
The idea for the competition was formulated in the days after Patsy’s funeral last year. When discussing the sad events of the previous few days it was noted by family members that a huge number of the mourners who came to pay their respects at the family home, knew Patsy through his involvement with hurling and his close association to An Póc Fada.
Those in attendance ranged across all age groups, all generations and all clubs. Nothing brought this home to Patsy’s family more than witnessing his beloved Naomh Moninne forming a guard of honour outside the church, whilst among the Black and Amber was a Pearse Óg jersey stood to attention. It was with this image fresh in their thoughts that a seed had been sewn.
Some months later at a Póc Fada meeting in Ravendale Patsy’s son Pádraig brought a proposal to the table. He informed the committee of his family’s intention to hold an event in memorymem of his father and that the ffamily would be delighted if the ccommittee would be willing to ccome on board.
They were delighted to a assist in any way they could and have secured the use of jerseyse on the day.
They made contact with Mr MartinM Donnelly, the long term sponsors of An Póc Fada, and he very generously supplied the sliotars for the day.
T The efforts of organising and stru structuring such a game are man many fold but it is hoped that by con concentrating on making this gam game a success it may be the start of an annual competition that could expand over the years and become established as the start of a build-up to the Póc Fada event which traditionally is held in early August.
So if you were privileged enough to know Patsy, or you’ve got an interest in the ‘small ball’ game (regardless of your club colours), the Mulholland family and the Póc Fada committee would like to invite you to come on out to the Clans on Saturday at 6pm to enjoy an evening of hurling in honour of a great hurling man - or at the very least to witness some guys trying to relive their past glories, albeit at a much slower pace!