Kilworth GAA: the early days
KILWORTH HAS FEATURED IN THE ANNALS OF THE GAA FROM THE VERY BEGINNING
On November 1st 1884 seven men met at Hayes Hotel in Thurles. They shared a love for our national games and our national pastimes, and today they came together to address a matter of great concern. With the high levels of emigration that were denuding our parishes of their strapping young men, and especially so since the Famine, the organisation of our national games was in disarray and so much so that they now were now in rapid decline.
With a strong sense of purpose, these seven men established the Gaelic Athletic Association and today we acknowledge that its contribution to Irish life has been immense, and particularly so in respect of the preservation of our vibrant sense of identity.
Soon after that meeting numerous parish teams began to affiliate to the fledgling organisation in the knowledge that sporting tournaments on a well organised basis would follow. And additionally, they saw that an agreed set of rules was now emerging to provide a necessary uniformity and a vital sense of order. Up to now all this was was sorely missed.
We know there had been hurling since the 1300s or even before, but the game played tended to be no more than a hit and miss affair. And in respect of more recent times, there were hectic football matches open to all those who felt like joining in. These were melees between neighbouring parishes played with an unnerving passion to demonstrate the athletic skills and outstanding quality of the young men and women of neighbouring parishes. Referring in his court to such a rough and tumble affair in the 1860s on the streets and approaches of Mitchelstown and now subject to a law and order proceeding, the presiding magistrate declared that although he had stood on the bloody heights of Alma during the Crimean War in 1854, he could say that more blood was spilled on that day at that unruly match between riotous crowds from Mitchelstown and Kilbehenny. To put that in context, it is of note that the historical record shows that the British sustained 2,000 casualties at Alma!
FIRST MENTION OF KILWORTH
By 1886 no less than twenty-one clubs from Cork (city and county) had affiliated to the GAA, and in December of that year the first meeting of the County Board was held. We don’t know if Kilworth featured among the twenty-one but information to hand shows that Kilworth played Fermoy in April 1888 at Cahill’s Inch. The Kilworth team is described as composed of ‘fine muscular men (who) marched into Fermoy headed by their band’. We know that Kilworth did have a fife and dream band at the time and with it, future captain Patrick O’Connor (aka ‘Pats Connors’ on the big drum and his brother Will on the fife).
At the close of play, Fermoy were claiming victory by one point (1-1 to 0-3) but Kilworth disputed the verdict. In this regard incidentally, an examination of newspaper accounts of the time show that verdicts were regularly disputed, a matter indicative of an organisation and rule book still in infancy. Happily, a march report records that both teams agreed to disagree and that the teams ‘parted on the most friendly terms’.
THE BALLYHOOLY TOURNAMENT 1888
The 1880s and 1890s witnessed the organisation of hurling and football tournaments throughout the North and East Cork region. While their popularity can be closely linked to the second chance they gave to those clubs that were knocked out of the championship early in the season, clubs had a secondary reason to promote a tournament, and this was due to its value as a source of revenue at a time when activities were run on a shoe-string basis.
In May 1888, Kilworth and Fermoy met again in the Ballyhooly Tournament final, with Fermoy coming out out top by one point once more. Kilworth disputed the verdict - the common occurrence - and this was met by a Fermoy response claiming that its opponents had played an illegal team with men drawn from outside the parish! The matter went to the County Board for resolution and the match was awarded to Fermoy.
THE CASTLETOWNROCHE TOURNAMENT 1889
Castletownroche too saw the great potential for funding in the organisation of a tournament and the opening game of their competition saw Kilworth face Fermoy seniors on St Patrick’s Day, 1889. The match was reported in the Cork Examiner as a fine display and Fermoy ultimately came out on top. Kilworth was still only building up.
THE RATHCORMAC TOURNAMENT 1889
The Rathcormac tournament under the official County Board was probably the most important fixture in North and East Cork at the time; this was the one to attract the crowds (‘official’ is inserted as there were two other competing boards arising from an unfortunate split rooted in the land war politics of the time). People came from far and wide on horseback, in horse and carriages and on foot to cheer on their beloved champions. The venue was the Lisnagar demesne and the matches were held on the Sundays of May and June of 1889.
While both hurling and football featured and Kilworth fielded a hurling team (and lost, to Glenville), the primary interest of the crowds centred on the football. Entries came from Rathcormac, Ballyhooly, Castletownroche, Shanballymore, Glenville, Knockraha, Carrigtwohill, Fermoy, Coolagown, Castlelyons - and Kilworth.
In our mind’s eye we can imagine the throngs who proceeded to Lisnagar on that Sunday of 23rd June for the final, travelling in horse and traps, carriages, donkeys and butts, on horseback, and mostly on foot. The contest was between the NE Cork champions Rathcormac, and the men of Kilworth who were described by a writer of the time as ‘a splendid lot of men, tall, powerful, and vigorous’. My own maternal grandfather who saw them in action declared to me in 1962 that virtually every member of the team was over six-feet in height (except my own paternal grandfather who only made the 5’10’!).
Who were those men? We have the names of some of them: Jack Daly, Captain; Denis O’Neill, NT, assistant teacher in the Boys’ School (and later Principal); Pat Heffernan; Michael Hogan; the towering Jack Stritch, 6’7” in height; the Fenton brothers, Dan and Tom; the fair-haired Alec Heskin, not yet twenty; Michael Geary, described in a report as ‘an outstanding goalkeeper in the county at the time’; and ‘Patrick O’Connor’ as the report goes, but better known as ‘Patcheen’ or ‘Pats’ Connors.
The game has been written about elsewhere with the late P Barry NT, Rathcormac (father of the TD), describing it as ‘a magnificent exhibition of high class football furnishing an abundance of sustained excitement’. And there was that amusing incident that saw the wily Tom Gallig, just 5’2’ in height, upending the towering Jack Stritch and tumbling him over! The report goes on to say that ‘the great battle surged and swayed back and forth in furious fashion’ and when the final whistle was blown Kilworth emerged victors by 1-2 to 0-4. And, as usual, the score was disputed with Rathcormac claiming that Kilworth had been awarded an undeserved goal. But their cries of dismay and annoyance were to no avail and the score stood. A set of medals was presented to the conquering heroes from Kilworth and one survives (see picture).
NOTED KILWORTH PLAYERS
The years have passed, that generation is no more and today we have but little information on those men who graced the rough and rugged pitches of the 1880s and ’90s. But all is not lost and we can say something of a few of those stalwart sportsmen who sowed the GAA seed in Kilworth. On the basis of evidence to hand we can feature five, as follows:
1. JOHN DALY, CAPTAIN
John (Jack) Daly (1867-1932) lived in Ballinglanna House. Interested in politics, he displayed leadership qualities from an early age early and was elected to Fermoy Rural District Council after the passing of the 1898 Local Government Act; and subsequently he was co-opted to the next tier as a member of the County Council. A publican at Kilworth Cross, his business flourished thanks to the regular custom of the military at Moore Park. He also ran a bakery at the premises with a contract to supply the army in the Park, and this provided an extra source of income.
He offered himself as a Labour Independent in the 1923 general election and won the East Cork seat. Subsequently he transferred to Cumann na nGaedhal that later became Fine Gael. He died on 23rd February 1932 having headed the poll at the General Election that was held a mere seven days previously. He has given his name to Kilworth’s Daly’s Terrace.
2. MICHAEL GEARY, GOALKEEPER
Acclaimed throughout the county for his goalkeeping, a cruel accident befell him towards the end of 1894. that brought his football career to an abrupt and sad end. We know this from a match report in the Cork Daily Herald of 5th October of that year. The report details a ‘ Gaelic Football’ match between a Kilworth 1st and a Fermoy 1st, played in Kilworth before a large attendance ‘who were amply repaid by seeing one of the finest contested matches of the season’. Before the match, Kilworth captain, Jack Daly ‘referred to the sad accident that occurred to their goalkeeper (Mr M. Geary), who a few weeks ago had his hand amputated, the result of a machine accident.’. The report went on to record that prior to the game commencing Daly appealed to Geary’s landlord ‘ to reinstate him as he was the sole support of a widowed mother’ and that he was now unable to do any other kind of work. And the report tells us that captain of Fermoy, a Mr Dalton, ‘suitably replied’ on behalf of the Fermoy men.
As for the match, some fine passing was witnessed and ‘ the utmost excitement prevailed as Kilworth were forced on the defensive. But, goalkeeper (P. O’Connor) was all there and eluded the attack’. Ultimately Kilworth came out on top with a score of 0-3 against Fermoy’s 0-2. The Kilworth team was listed as ‘J. Daly (Captain), E. Rice (vice-captain), P. O’Connor (goalkeeper), M Connors, J. Stritch, Aherne, Heffernan, Byrnes, Fitzgerald, Hogan, Heskin, Healy, Lomasney, Yank and Walsh’.
In The Cork Constitution on 29th July 1895 we read that subject to agreement of the Local Government Board a sum of £13 was granted by Fermoy Union to Michael Geary, Kilworth, ‘for the purpose of enabling him to proceed to Dublin to procure and artificial arm, and have same successfully attached by Messrs Fanning, Grafton Street’. For that meeting, a John Magnier was in the Chair and a total of fourteen members were present, one of which was an Alec Heskin who probably championed Michael’s cause. This was a substantial sum at the time when officially an agricultural labourers wage was maximum of 2/6 per day and continuous work was not the norm. Did he get the hand? We don’t know and unfortunately the Geary family does not appear in either the 1901 or 1911 Census. Did they leave Kilworth, perhaps emigrate? Who could tell us?
3. JACK STRITCH
When we were growing up, Kilworth people would often unhappily refer to a garment much too large as ‘one that would fit Jack stritch!’. Referred to in one report as ‘the Herculean Jack Stritch’, he stood 6’7’’ and was a noted not only for his footballing skills but also for his prowess at throwing the 16lbs shot. Patrick Barry, NT, of Rathcormac, in his Green Flag (1945) described him as towering over all others on the sports field, and though spare and gaunt he made light of the handicap of light frame and proved to be ‘a marvellous weight thrower’.
4. PATRICK O’CONNOR
With the loss of Geary, Kilworth’s footballers appear to have begun a slide and the Evening Herald of 20th December 1895 records a loss to Mitchelstown by one point (and again the result was disputed!). Patrick O’Connor had become captain, succeeding Jack Daly. In his book Story of Champions (1941) John P Power wrote that at the close of the 1890s Fermoy found ‘new blood’ and that ‘in the little village of Kilworth was found a full-back who had no equal in this position in Munster’. Fermoy, a senior team, gave Pat the opportunity to win national honours and in fact they made it to the All Ireland but failed at that last hurdle. Power records that Pat invariably went on the field in his own white sweater (as a Fermoy team photo shows), adding that ‘he was strong, elusive, brainy’. And he follows saying that ‘his reputation was made on his grand kicking. Fifty and sixty yards punts, straight and accurate, came from either leg’. How Kilworth reacted to Pat’s move to Fermoy we do not know, but it appears he did not return and that he featured in the Fermoy team that won the County Championship of 1905 and 1906.
5. ALEC HESKIN
A Coolalisheen farmer and a formidable proponent of tenants’ rights at the time, he has been written of ‘as an incomparable master of football craft’. Of the medals presented to the winners of the Rathcormac Tournament of 1889 only one survives and that is Alec’s, featured on this page and now proudly held by his grandson, Mr Noel Scannell.
KILWORTH GAA TODAY
Kilworth today is seen as one of the great GAA strongholds that has produced men, and now women, who have graced the sports field in both codes. And Kilworth Gaels can look with pride on these men who planted the GAA seed in the 1880s and they know that they are founded on a solid bedrock. Enterprising and ambitious, and reflecting the ideals of the GAA founders, the Kilworth Gaels of today have now have embarked on a worthy project that will see a magnificent clubhouse and gym emerge beside its two fine pitches. The organisers are to be commended and are well deserving of our support as they bring their initiative to fruition.
We wish them success and our best wishes go also to our vibrant and rapidly growing soccer club. They might like to know that our GAA players of yesteryear were not averse to playing soccer. Denis ‘Bud’ Houlihan of Pound Lane used hold us boys spellbound as he regaled us of soccer matches played by Kilworth selections in Moore Park against British Army teams. The infamous ban on foreign games could by no means deter them from accepting the regular invitations to grace the Moore Park pitch when the reward - in those hungry days - was a magnificent meal, win or lose! And who would blame them?
Pádraig Ó Conchubhair a scríobh