Rare claim to fame
Oliver won with Wexford and Kilkenny
OLIVER GOUGH - the last man to win All-Ireland Senior hurling titles with two different counties - passed away in Naas General Hospital on Wednesday following a lengthy illness.
Born in Graiguenamanagh, Co. Kilkenny, on August 25, 1935, Gough won All-Ireland medals with Wexford in 1955 and 1956, the only time the county claimed back-to-back titles.
Having transferred back to his native county, he went on to win the 1963 All-Ireland final with Kilkenny.
His father, Michael Gough, hailed from Ballyouskill, part of Ballyraggett parish in north Kilkenny, and was a close confidante of Michael Collins. His mother, Rose (née O’Reilly), likewise was a native of north Kilkenny, born in Freshford.
Gough came into the Wexford panel at 19 years of age during the 1955 campaign, scoring a goal and a point at a crucial stage of the Leinster final win over Kilkenny.
He came on as a substitute in the All-Ireland final victory over Galway, replacing the injured Ned Wheeler who later returned to the fray.
His mother became a primary school teacher and was working in Ullard, part of Graiguenamanagh parish, in 1955.
His brother was going for the priesthood at one time, and attended St. Peter’s College where Oliver followed him as a boarder, as to be a diocesan priest one had to live in the diocese.
His mother moved to Wexford after they had originally moved from Graiguenamanagh to Goresbridge when he was about ten years old.
It was following a move to Craanford in north Wexford that his hurling career changed. He went on to star for Gorey Young Emmets, and played Minor hurling and football for Wexford in 1952 and 1953, before going on to play adult hurling with Ferns St. Aidan’s.
It was on a special evening in 1955 that Oliver Gough made the breakthrough to Wexford hurling, becoming part of one of the county’s truly great teams.
It was in a club game for Ferns, that little-known hurler Oliver Gough broke onto the inter-county scene, having played with such authority and mastery.
In Nicky Furlong’s book, ‘The Greatest Hurling Decade’, Gough recalled the occasion.
‘The St. Martin’s midfield, Ned Wheeler and Jim Morrissey, was the Wexford midfield. I was on Wheeler, and they obviously felt it was a marker for afterwards I was picked for the Leinster final replay. Harry O’Connor of Enniscorthy, a great friend, dropped out, so I dropped in.’
Gough lined out at right half-forward, marking the teak-tough Johnny McGovern, one of the decade’s finest defenders.
Oliver had great talent and was one of the more skilful players with the hurl and ball in hand. Wexford beat Kilkenny by three points, and then went on to defeat Limerick and then Galway in the All-Ireland final.
Gough continued his club hurling with Ferns for a period, and was a substitute on the Wexford All-Ireland winning team of 1956, while in the late fifties he transferred to Rathnure.
He travelled to America in 1957 with the Wexford hurling team, and hurled brilliantly against Cork, scoring six points from play.
He added another four from play in the following year’s National League final win against Limerick.
Goff’s hurling gifts were deeply respected and admired by his peers. Billy Rackard’s ‘No Hurling At The Dairy Door’ (1996) remarked: ‘A natural midfielder. Oliver Gough was worthy of a place on any team in the country.
‘Due to the strength in every position of that Wexford team, a permanent place was not found for him. It was a tragedy to see a player of his talent seated on the subs bench.’
By the time Wexford won the 1960 Leinster final, he had left the county, moving to Dublin for work where he hurled with Moindearg, the Kilkenny-orientated club in the city.
Early 1961 saw him play for the Kilkenny exiles in a trial match. In 1962 he was on the Kilkenny panel, coming on as a substitute in the provincial final victory over Wexford.
Work had brought him to Thomastown by that stage, close to Graiguenamanagh and back on home soil.
1963 saw Kilkenny defeat Waterford in the All-Ireland final. Gough recalled Fr. Tommy Maher, the team coach, coming to him and saying: ‘If it was up to me I’d pick you first above nearly anyone. But there are two of the selectors not the same. I think the Wexford thing is counting a bit with them. There it was.’
Proving his overall hurling skills, Gough won the Poc Fada in 1964, while he had also collected an Oireachtas medal in 1955 with a final victory over Kilkenny by 3-11 to 3-4.
Following hurling, golf took centre stage in his life. He was a scratch golfer in 1970 and was still playing to the same standard in 1985.
The highlight of his golfing career was getting into the last 16 of the British Amateur Open in 1970, where he lost to Michael Bonallack on the 17th, with the winner going on to lift the title for the fifth time.
Gough worked in Wexford town for a period, being manager of the then Lombard & Ulster Bank on North Main Street. He was also a founder member of the Wexford Hurlers’ and Footballers’ Golf Society, established in 1982.