The dodgy goalie!
Croker outing that Billy won’t forget
ONE DAY last week while out for a walk, I met Mick Morrissey from St. Martin’s, who stopped me for a quick chat.
He told me about a match programme from Croke Park that a friend of his was going to send him. The programme was from Leinster hurling finals day in 1977, an historic day for Wexford as we had three teams playing Kilkenny in Under-14, Minor and Senior.
I was part of the Under-14 squad on the day, the year I became an accidental goalkeeper.
Back in the day, the under-age county panels were mainly decided by spotting the talent in a couple of inter-District matches.
Of course, there were always a couple of players whose reputations preceded them and were cast-iron certainties for a jersey, but the trials were always an opportunity to stake a claim for a place.
The management team was usually made up of a selector from each District. That year Billy Walsh and I were lucky enough to make the panel, Billy due to his skill and hard work, and me due to a few goals in the trial matches, sly corner-forward ones.
The late, great Seán Ormonde was the team Secretary and he looked after the two of us like a father, picking us up and bringing us to and from training and matches as our own families didn’t have a car, always buying us something in the shop on the way home.
As it still is now, the main ambition of any young hurler or footballer at the time was to pull on the Wexford jersey to represent your club and family. But for any young townie lad there was always an extra incentive.to never give that jersey back and get away with it.
In those days, a pair of socks was usually the reward for a season of endeavour, so a coveted Wexford jersey was a prize that would improve your standing amongst your clubmates, nearly as important as winning a medal.
The concept of replica jerseys and accessories had not been invented at the time. Now the trick that always stood to us townies was never to take the jersey you wore for the game, something the streetwise Billy Walsh taught me early on.
Over the following years on various panels, it was very hard to outfox the wily G.A.A. kitmen Bill Peare and Mick Brennan, who were too streetwise and often caught us ‘after putting the jersey in the bag by mistake’.
Back to the Under-14, and the first game we played was against Offaly in Birr. The first thing I remember about that day was that Birr seemed like about 300 miles away, it took that long to get there on the bus.
Anyway, we togged out and were pucking around before the game. I was among about ten substitutes who were all called together by one of the selectors and asked if anyone had ever played in goal before.
The selectors had forgotten to bring a sub-goalkeeper. Instinct kicked in, the cute townie realised he would probably never get a game in the forwards and might even lose his place on the panel if we progressed, so before anyone else answered I said, ‘yes, I have’!
I didn’t tell a lie, as I had played in goal before, but what I didn’t tell them was that it was on the small green in Corish Park where we grew up, and also one day in school when I had a sore ankle.
I was told to stand in goal, and a few shots were taken. I caught some, I blocked some, I could puck out the ball; I did all the things any of the other subs could have done, and I passed the audition, I was the new sub-goalie.
I can’t remember one thing about the game that day, except sitting in the dug-out praying nothing would happen our goalkeeper.
Thankfully we won and were through to the final in Croke Park, fulfilling a dream already. We had a couple of weeks to get ready, and at least I got some practice in goal and improved a lot, but I was still hopeful of getting a run at corner-forward.
Leinster final day was a great occasion; three Wexford teams, a great buzz on the way to the game and, although our game was on early, there was a decent crowd there.
The first-half went quickly enough, and Martin Storey, Marney Burke, Billy, Ted Morrissey, John Grannell and Eamon Cleary were just a few of the players starring for us.
At half-time we were about to have the usual puckaround when I got the call from the selectors, ‘you are going on, in goal’.
I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, jump, or run away, but I just ran to warm up in goal… the biggest goal I had ever seen in my life.
I think I struggled to touch the crossbar with the hurl (I probably still would). I looked around, the stadium was massive, the green and white score flags were nearly taller than me…why did I open my mouth in Birr?
Eamon Cleary came out and reassured me, ‘I’ll look after you Dodd,’ and that he did.
The first ball was a mis-hit one from a Kilkenny forward that rolled along the ground. I ran out about ten yards to sweep the ball to the side to clear it from danger and missed it completely.
The ball rolled between my legs towards the goal-line. As I turned, I was passed by Eamon, who miraculously dived full length to stop the ball on the line. I thought it was over the line.
The umpires must have felt sorry for me and were probably thinking, what were the Wexford selectors at putting a ten-year-old in goal?
If goal-line technology was available, the referee would have got an electric shock in his arm, it was that conclusive. I picked it up and cleared it out the field.
After that there were no more scares. The colossus in front of me, Cleary, cleaned up everything that came in. I had a few catches to make and no real drama, and we went on to win the Leinster final.
The Minors lost and the Seniors also won, making it a memorable day for us. Walsh and I always claim that we put Martin Storey on the right path to glory, but I’d say he would beg to differ.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Wexford line-out on the day Billy blagged his way between the posts to share in a 4-4 to 2-6 win over Kilkenny (July 24, 1977, in Croke Park) was -
Pat Corbett (Geraldine O’Hanrahans); Andy Ronan (Geraldine O’Hanrahans), Eamon Cleary (Rathgarogue-Cushinstown), Paul Sinnott (Duffry Rovers); John O’Connor (St. Martin’s, 0-1), John Grannell (Naomh Eanna), Ger Franklin (Rapparees); John Codd (Rathnure, 0-2), Billy Walsh (Faythe Harriers, 1-0); Ted Morrissey (Rathnure, capt., 2-1), Simon Laffan (Glynn-Barntown, 1-0), Jim Doyle (Rapparees); Seán Clince (Davidstown-Courtnacuddy), Paul Gahan (Buffers Alley), Marney Burke (Buffers Alley). Subs. - Billy Dodd (Faythe Harriers) for Corbett, Martin Storey (Oulart-The Ballagh) for Burke, also Ned Barden (Adamstown), Eddie Doyle (Rathgarogue-Cushinstown), Laurence Roche (Oulart-The Ballagh), Denis Corrigan (Blackwater), Danny Murphy (Crossabeg-Ballymurn), Pat Kelly (Marshalstown), Jim Walker (Naomh Eanna), Tom Sherwood (St. Martin’s).
The mentors were former Wexford hurling stalwarts Jack Harding and Martin Codd, along with Seán Ormonde, Fr. John Grennan, John Barden and Michael Wall.
The long journey to Birr that Billy recalls happened on June 4, and the scorers in that 3-3 to 2-1 semi-final win over Offaly were Paul Gahan (1-1), John Codd and Simon Laffan (1-0 each), Jim Doyle and Ted Morrissey (0-1 each).
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