Dave Hyland (1922-2013) in conversation with John Ahern, reflects on his involvement with Araglin Hurling Club
Dave Hyland together with his brothers, James and Mossy, helped establish Araglin Hurling Club in the early 1940s. A native of Barnahown, he spent his early life in Araglin before moving to Carrigmore, between Ballyporeen and Clogheen. In this interview, he recalls the formative years of the club.
Dave was born on April 16th, 1922 and educated in Ballyheaphy National School. His parents were, Tom, a wheelwright and his mother, Bridget, a school teacher. He came from a large family of 7 boys: Tom, Michael, Pat, John, James and Mossy and 5 sisters: Catherine, Nell, Theresa, Bridget and Rita.
He attended Ballyheaphy National School where his teachers were, Mick Shanahan and Pat O’Neill (principal). Mr O’Neill introduced the boys to Gaelic football and it was in their spare time that the Hyland brothers played hurling. The first hurling game organized by the club was in 1940 when a team from Araglin travelled to Kilmurry to take on the local side in a challenge game. According to Dave, 30 or 40 young men cycled to the venue on a fine Sunday afternoon for this historic fixture. The biggest problem facing the Araglin players at the time was a shortage of hurleys.
“Hurleys were very scarce, we eventually bought half a dozen of them in Cork,” he recalls.
His older brothers, James and Mossy, were carpenters and they helped ease the hurley shortage by manufacturing some of their own. A set of jerseys (green and white) was purchased from Elvery’s in Cork.
In 1942 Mossy and another Araglin man, Jeremiah ‘Jerm’ O’Mahony, travelled to Dungarvan to formally affiliate the team in Dungarvan. Dave credits Mossy with getting the Araglin hurling team off the ground.
“Mossy was vital, he was great to organise things and get people involved, he moved to Lismore afterwards and was a big loss to us, I think Connie (Con Donovan) came in as secretary when Mossy got married in 1947.”
FIRST OFFICIAL GAME
Araglin’s first official game came in 1943 against Moorehill in Lismore. Araglin won the game but in keeping with a trend at the time, Moorehill launched an objection to Araglin’s Tom Foley. The objection was eventually thrown out and the original result stood.
The first Araglin hurling team was made up of men like John ‘Jack’ Kearney, Ned Carey, Mickie Flynn, Mick Carey, Bill Drislane, Jer O’Mahony, Jackeen O’Mahony, Tom Foley, Willie ‘Muris’ Scanlon and the 3 Hyland brothers, James, Mossy and Dave. The team started training in the Small Inch near Ballyheaphy National School.
In later years, they moved to the Big Inch (now Araglin Community Field). Transport to and from games was another stumbling block and a bicycle was essential.
Most hurling games took place on Sundays and if the weather was good, a large crowd from Araglin would travel to venues such as Toureen, Ballyduff, Castlelyons, Conna and Currabeha. The normal routine was for the team to meet up at O’Mahoney’s Pub.
“Most of the team would meet at Mahoney’s, we might be missing a few, but still pressed ahead. During those early games, we always had good support, especially if it was a fine Sunday. I remember a man called Dick Burke, being at nearly all the games, he was a big strong, heavy man, he’d join up with us around Clamper. Most of the games were fine, but of course things did hot up from time to time, matches against Ballyduff were always tough, they had some great players like Charlie Daly, Mick Beecher, Johnny Hannon and Joe Daly,” Dave recalls.
He reserves special praise for Mick Beecher.
“I thought Mick Beecher was one of the best hurlers I ever came up against, he was definitely the most skilful.”
During the 1940s, challenge or tournament games were almost as important as championship games.
Matches against neighbours, Kilworth didn’t feature much in the 1940s, according to Dave, that rivalry only got going in the 1950s.
“To the best of my knowledge Araglin and Kilworth joined up as a hurling team in the 1940s, what does stand out is that there was also a separate football team in Araglin around this time called ‘St Michaels’. We knew them as ‘the creamery crowd’, Jack Allen and Joe Beary would have been the main men with them at that time. They had a good bit of success, I was with them in 1948 when they won a novice title, I have that medal around somewhere, I played a bit of football, but hurling was my game really.”
HAYLEN THE WHEELWRIGHT
While most of this interview deals with Dave’s involvement with Araglin Hurling Club, he also spoke about a carpentry apprenticeship with his uncle, Maurice, in Castlecooke.
“The Hylands were mainly wheelwrights, a lot of the old people called my father who was Tom, ‘Haylon The Wheelwright’. I didn’t take any notice of it, that’s just what they called him.
“I’d say, all together I spent about 3 years with my uncle Maurice in Castlecooke, it was a very exact business and there was a good bit to it. It was all horses and cars and horses and butts that time, everything had to be spot on when it came to making the wheels. The stock was made from elm and the spokes from oak, we got most of the timber from
Ballyin, near Lismore. We were always kept fairly busy; having the edge up on chisels was vital, there would be trouble if you ever dropped a chisel. We made a pile of wheels, I’d say a lot of them are still thrown around in haggards and places like that,” Dave said.
During his time in Castlecooke, he found time for a puck around in the evening with Mick Russell from Ballinvoher.
Dave also got to know Willie Magnier, the famous Kilworth full back.
“Willie Magnier is a name that stands out, he was a great full back, you never got anything easy when you were marking him. I also admired Jimmy Hanlon, a very fit and agile player.”
THE 1950S
If anything, hurling in Araglin improved during the 1950s, helped in no small way by the addition of the O’Donovan brothers, Jimmy and Johnny, better known as the ‘Myles’ O’Donovans.
Looking back, Dave has no doubt the duo were exceptional hurlers.
“Jimmy was a forward and did a lot of scoring, Johnny started in goals but played mostly out the field, his striking was excellent, he was always in the right place, both of them were talented hurlers, but Johnny was as good as anyone I can remember, it wouldn’t just be me saying that, people who saw Johnny Myles playing, all had the same opinion.”
The team would go on to win a novice title in 1959. Prior to that, there were some great tussles with near neighbours, Kilworth. These games are clearly recalled by Dave.
“The mid ‘50s would have been the time of the Beamish Cup, they were great games. Araglin and Kilworth would have been evenly matched then. You had huge crowds, the whole thing would finish up in Cotter’s Bar. When the Kilworth players went in, they were praised to the last by Tom Cotter, when we went in, we were praised even more, whether we won or lost, the Beamish Cup was a big tournament back then.”
The championship win of 1959 marked the highpoint of Dave’s career - he was 37 years old. Marrying Mary Keane from Gortnaskehy, moving away from Araglin and providing for his family (Thomas, Annemarie, Breeda and David) would put hurling on hold, however, there was to be one more hurray.
“I left Araglin in 1965, some time before that, Araglin were playing Ballysaggart and the old story, they were short players. I was asked to play, I was delighted, I scored 5 goals, I’ll never forget it.”
IN CONCLUSION
This interview took place in January 2009. Prior to that, neither interviewer or interviewee knew each other. Being the secretary of Araglin GAA at the time (still am), I knew Dave Hyland was one of the few surviving individuals who helped form the club in the 1940s. I found Dave Hyland to be a very courteous and obliging individual. Like a lot of people, who are asked to put their memories ‘on the record’, he was a bit reluctant, stating ‘he didn’t know an awful lot’.
Again, in keeping with a pattern, once Dave got going, the information started to flow. Hopefully, the end result gives a flavour of a very decent man who loved his native place, loved the game of hurling and loved wearing the green and white of Araglin.
Dave Hyland passed to his eternal reward in February 2013.