KEOGH’S CORNER
THE MAIN GAA activities moved indoor at the weekend with the annual Convention taking pride of place.
Chairman Martin Coleman was behind the top table for the first time and, as always with a new man, we had a new format.
The 'workshop' idea was on trial in Wicklow for the first time and was deemed a success. Certainly, the end result was more questions for the men at the top table and that has to be good.
Some delegates were unhappy because out of 28 motions submitted, only nine made it on to the agenda. The other 19 were referred back to the first meeting of the County Board.
Where are they now?
Plenty of people around that could tell us that last week's picture was of a Carnew football team. However, few enough could tell us what team it was or what they had won. However, my old friend Tommy Glynn broke the ice with the email below.
'Peter, I won't take up to much of your space this week. I think your photo is the Carnew football team that won the Intermediate Championship in 1965. I know most of the lads in it and it looks like Noel Moynihan on the far right of the back row, he won a Senior hurling championship medal the same year, but I don't remember him being around much longer after that. Carnew beat Glenealy in Aughrim that year. It was Glenealy's last appearance in Senior ranks until 1972. Emigration had hit hard. My immediate opponent that day was Peter Deegan'.
Straight away Tommy, I can tell you that with Peter Deegan around you did not too many soft pucks at the ball.
Tommy Coleman from Enniskerry was also able to give us the names of a number of players on the team but my guess is that it was from his hurling days. He would have played with some of them on successful Wicklow hurling teams.
Jackie Napier, who would spot a Carnew man a mile away, was also able to name most of the team.
Aggie Summers from Carnew was also able to name that team and the players.
Assuming that Tommy Glynn is right then, 1965 was a great year in the history of the Carnew Club - in fact, I would even say that it was the best up to that time.
They also won their third Minor hurling championship that year.
Looking back through the records, one would conclude that making the breakthrough in Minor in the early 1960s was the real turning point in the history of hurling in that part of Wicklow.
Carnew won their first ever Senior hurling championship that year, beating another south Wicklow team, Arklow Geraldines, in a great final and a lot of the players in the picture would have been involved.
Their big day was August 22 when they beat the Gers by 1-8 to 2-4, but it took a late point by substitute, Jim Byrne, to seal victory.
It was the start of one hurling dynasty and the end of another. Sadly, Geraldines, who came so close to claiming a place in history that day, never appeared in another Senior final. Carnew went from strength to strength and in a little over 20 years had taken over at the top of the championship winners table from Avondale.
The men in the Picture
Front row: Tom Collins, Liam Collins, Billy Hillard, Edmund Hyland, Sid Brennan, Judge Byrne, Sean Doyle, Martin Brennan, Noel Moynihan.
Back: S. Hallihan, Pat Dunbar, Rory O'Shea, Peter Deegan, Toss Whelan, Tom Gregan, Jack Kilbride, Frank Fleming, and Christy Gregan.
Carnew double
Staying with Carnew, I regret very much that I missed the nice little gathering in The Lodge, Carnew last Saturday when the club were celebrating the 40th anniversary of pulling off the great double - winning both the hurling and football championships in 1973.
That had to be the greatest year in the history of the club. That feat has not been equalled since.
To put that achievement in context: Carnew were bridging a gap of 41 years back to 1932 when Rathnew beat the holders, Annacurra, in the football final, and Barndarrig in the hurling final.
I have several memories of both finals of ' 73, first the football. The fierce rivalry between Rathnew and Carnew at the time drew the biggest crowd that I ever seen in Aughrim. Eamonn Moules was the referee and he was at his brilliant best that day. The exchanges were hectic - some might even say fierce but ' Fitz' never once let the game stop, not even when Jim Darcy saved a penalty from Mosie Coffey near the finish and half of both teams piled up in the goal mouth; a recipe for trouble if I ever saw one.
John Sullivan had got the rebound and set off on a solo run. Moules was beside him every step of the way, or perhaps a yard or two in front, and the crowd in the goalmouth could either fight or follow.
And with the game in the melting pot and the next score likely to decide the issue I am offering no prizes for guessing which way they decided to go. The game, in fact, ended level but Carnew won the replay.
I have even clearer memories of the hurling final and for a very good reason. I was the manager of the West District team that Carnew beat in that final.
At that time, a fierce hurling rivalry existed between Carnew and Arklow Rock Parnells. The ' Rocks were the champions and at that time were going for a history making four in a row. Aughrim was going to be taxed to capacity again for this final.
Then along came the men of the west - a team of no hopers, not one of them had ever played Senior hurling before.
In fact, we did not know if we would have a team at all on the day. I stood at the dressing room door in Aughrim the day of the semi-final - note book in hand and ticked off the names as they passed in - 12, 13, 14 - and there it stopped. This was a semi-final, the all conquering Rocks were out on the field warming up and there was a fine crowd of their supporters present. We could not give a walk over.
Dunlavin footballers were in the other dressing room after playing a match and there was nothing for it but go with the begging bowl. I made my plea for help and Johnny Kelly volunteered. The day was saved.
The referee was tooting his whistle and I did not even get time to read out the team. Just as we were heading for the gate a little Mini skidded to a halt beside us. It was full back, Joe Kelly, so Johnny was not needed after all.
We won that match by a point or two and Nicholas Lawlor described it in the Wicklow People as ' the shock to end all shocks'.
One man in the crowd that day was county secretary and treasurer, George Nicholas, and I believe that if he had a gun he would have shot the whole lot of us.
We had no earthly chance of winning a championship. We would bring, at best, 100 supporters from the west with us to the final. What we had done was spoiled another great day at the turn stiles for a cash strapped county board.
The men who did the double
Hurling - Tom Molloy, John O'Sullivan, Martin Doran, Tom Collins; Peter BBrennan, Tadhg Collins, Jack Kilbride; Pat band 'Sid' Brennan; Tom O'Sullivan, Sean Doyle, Tom Kennedy ; Liam Collins, Edmund Hyland and Martin Byrne
Football - All but four of that team shared in the football win over Rathnew. Jim Darcy took over in goal; Dinny Hillard came into the defence; Pat (Horse) Doyle came on in attack while Mick Doyle, Matt Doyle, Din Doran, and Syl McEvoy were also involved.
Doing the double in Wicklow is a big, big call. Will we see Carnew, Bray Emmets, Eire Og or someone else doing it in the next decade?
Tommy Glynn, again
'Hi Peter - very interesting article about goalkeepers last week. I might be able to better it, but first things first, the name of your correspondent was very interesting and I wonder does he have any Glenealy connections.
‘0A McCall family lived in Glenealy pre 1900s. They had land and a shop in the middle of the village and played a big part in Glenealy GAA; some of them playing foootball with Glenealy as far back as the late 1880s.
‘The last surviving member who lived in the village was Jim, who was President of the club in the 1950s. He actually presented the members of the first three-in-a-row hurling side with their medals in Glenealy Hall in 1960.
‘Jim never got married and the family name in Glenealy died with him in 1980. Jim's brother, John McCall, was a very prominent footballer with Bray and won two Senior championships with them in 1934 and 35 and he was a captain of Bray at one stage. Another brother, Tom, was on the Rathnew team that won three Senior titles in a row in 1941, 42, and 43 and along with the great Joe (The Dane) Byrne and Dinny Kavanagh, he made up an all Glenealy halfback line.
‘John died in 1987 and is buried in the family plot in Glenealy with Jim. Tom died in 1982 and is buried in Tipperary.
Peter, getting back to Tom's piece about goalkeepers.
‘On the Glenealy hurling team that won the four-in-a-row this year we had three Wicklow Senior intercounty goalkeepers who started the match, Joe Driver, Wayne O'Gorman, and Jonathan O'Neill. Keith Snell, who was county goalkeeper when Wicklow won the Senior B All-Ireland in 2003, was in the dugout, as was Alan Conyard who has wore the county jersey at under age, and if you add in M J O'Neill, who played in goal for the Glenealy Junior team beaten by Bray by a point in a final in the early 90s, and Leighton Glynn, who was in goal when Glenealy defeated Michael Dwyers in a Feile final in mid 90s, and Danny Staunton, who was in goal when Glenealy won their last Minor championship in 2011 and has also wore the county jersey underage, I make that eight goalkeepers Glenealy had involved on county final day.
‘Oh, before I forget, Peter, one of our selectors, Eamonn Esmonde, was also Glenealy Senior goalkeeper for a while in early 80s, so that makes it nine’.
Go Games
One of the great innovations of recent times, in my opinion has been the Go Games and the mini festivals. That is where you see young players really enjoying themselves and having fun.
The great thing about the Go Games is that there are no dug-outs with substitutes waiting patiently for the call that may never come.
Everyone is a player and all are involved in the action. While the papers are likely to be filled with reviews of the year over the coming weeks, it will be mainly the winners that are featured.
In Go Games they will tell you that there are no winners and no losers. Don't you believe it for one minute; every player out there wants to win and all of them will tell you after the match, “we won”, and in most cases by how much.
While you are not likely to find the young boys and girls from the Go Games or mini festivals featuring in the reviews, they still like to see the names of their clubs or schools in the paper. It's the winners and the big hitters that make the headlines and, while that is not going to change, I do believe that the young players that figure in the most enjoyable of all events - the festivals and Go Games should still be remembered.
Here is a list of the festival finals where every club were involved.
Football mini festival finals - Winners: An Tochar, Baltinglass, Bray Emmets, Carnew Emmets, Dunlavin, St Kevin's, Blessington, Kiltegan, Avondale, Rathnew, Donard-The Glen, Barndarrig, Enniskerry, Stratford/Grangecon, Annacurra
Runner Up: Tinahely, Eire Og Greystones, Blessington, Aughrim, Coolkenno, Newtown, St Patrick's Wicklow, Laragh, Naoimh Caoimhin, Kilcoole, A.G.B, Ashford, Fergal Ogs, Kilmacanogue, Kilbride/Lacken
Hurling mini festival finals - Winners: Tinahely, Western Gaels (A), Bray Emmets, Arklow Rocks (A), Eire Og Greystones, Kiltegan, Fergal Ogs, Arklow Rocks (B)
Runners Up: St Patricks Wicklow, Carnew Emmets, Avondale, Glenealy, Barndarrig, Aughrim, Kilcoole, Western Gaels (B).
Seamus McCormack R.I.P.
The Bray Emmets Club and Bray people in general were saddened to hear of the death of Seamus at the weekend.
Seamus was a mentor in the Emmets Club for many years. He was joint manager of a great Minor team that won the Wicklow Minor football championship in Centenary Year, 1984.
Removal from his home to the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, Bray took place on Monday morning for requiem mass, with burial in St Peter's Cemetery afterwards.
Our sympathy to his wife, Margaret, son, Jim, a mentor with Wicklow county teams; daughters, Margaret, Anne, Fiona, Cindy, Claire, and Louise and extended family.
May he rest in peace.