Dreams and tributes
Dear Editor,
I’m thinking tonight of four great and decent men who have now long passed to their eternal Paradise. With St Patrick’s Day upon us and the Easter weekend not far behind, the men I write of here were true Republicans and to my mind, deserve to be remembered.
I refer to none other than the old Sinn Feiners out there in Castlelyons - one of whom was Tommy O’Connell (Bridesbridge), known in his time as ‘ The Smasher’ - he being such a stylish man, usually donned in a trench-coat; There was Billy ‘ Bronco’ Buckley (Ballyhampshire) who more than played his part in the fight to free our country; another was John ‘ The Milkman’ Hurley from Bridesbridge and finally, the fearless Simon Broderick of Bawnard.
I would urge Castlelyons GAA to permanently honour these four men in some form as they would be deserving of a tribute to their memory. The were the greatest supporters (sometimes practically the only ones) of the Castlelyons junior football teams of 1967-’71. As they would for their country, they would have died for Castlelyons GAA back then. As the song goes: “We may have brave men / But we’ll never have better / Glory-o, glory-o / To the bold Fenian men.”
Believe it or not, but I am a past pupil of Loreto, Fermoy having attended play school there from age five to seven (1951-’53). Unlike my other alma maters, I have a soft spot for Loreto. When my Auntie Mae was young and in her prime (the ‘roaring twenties’), hockey was the ‘in’ game in Loreto and indeed was played quite a lot in the town. Today, camogie holds sway there and proud Loreto can be of their coaches and players. In 2018, they captured the All-Ireland Senior Schools camogie title when they defeated the gallant Offaly side, Colaiste Naomh Cormac in the final. The girls can thank their coaches and mentors, Michelle Gould and Aoife Hennessy, for their work and commitment with the team. Commenting on the win, Michelle said the girls ‘showed great heart’ and said she was ‘more than proud’ of their achievements.
I must ask though what happened to Loreto camogie since then? We have heard little or nothing about them - they are not mentioned any more? One would hope that Michelle and Aoife are still involved. I support the St Catherine’s squad. There are lots of Bride Rovers, Castlelyons, Fermoy and Catherines’ girls in Loreto who are keen on camogie. Let us hope that when Covid takes a back seat, we will see more once again about the feats of the girls from Loreto!
If I was given one wish today, it would be to bring together a seven-a-side team camogie team from St Catherines and pit them against some legends from the hinterland. Catherines would be represented by Y O’Neill, A M Rohan, O Neville, R O’Callaghan, L Hayes, F Neville (captain) and Aoife Hurley.
Fining that team down to seven is no easy job!
My hinterland seven would include (though not all camogie players): in goals Alison Bergin from Kildinan - an international rower with Fermoy Rowing Club, Aisling Hutchings (Fermoy Ladies Football Club and a Rebelette in Croke Park), Leah Lyons (Ballyhooly Lioness - rugby International), June Mangan (Shankiel, Conna - professional jockey), Emma O’Hagan (Fermoy Ladies Football Club), Eleanor Walsh (Barrack Hill - World Ladies Pitch and Putt champion in Norway in 2017) and Catherine McAuliffe (Ballytrasna - captain) who was injured as a teenager and who never recovered to play camogie.
I would love to be on the sideline and watch the sparks fly! Here’s hoping we can have a summer full of sport.
God be with the old folk,
Yours sincerely,
Tom McAuliffe,
Cluain Dara, Fermoy.