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Kerry's First American Tour of 1927
A Collection of Articles About This Historic Tour

Foreword:
Now Terrace Talk fans can, for the first time ever, read all
about this historic tour of America, an amazing undertaking by the county 76 long years ago. The plans were first to go to Australia, but the American promoter Mr. Ted O'Sullivan stepped in and organised this venture where Kerry would play in New York, New Haven, Springfield, Boston, Hartford and Chicago. All the local Kerryman societies held banquets for the Kerry men.
A municipal welcome was given to them in each city, and in Chicago they were granted the freedom of the city.
The Tipperary hurlers had visited the United States in 1926 and profits from Kerry's trip, it was agreed, would go to the development of the Tralee sportsfield and other Kerry grounds.
Kerry's first game against New York produced a sensational result as the home side beat the Kerry visitors 3-11 to 1-7.

This collection of articles, poetry and memoirs should not be missed as it is one of the greatest stories of Kerry's forgotten history.
The combined material of this special article is over 6000 words in length, but we have split it up into 9 sections for easier navigation and viewing.

Pat O'Donnell is the only surviving member of the chicago team that played Kerry inn soldier field Chicago in 1933. In fact he is the only man still living that played in that
memorable game.

His brother Pat also played against the Kerry touring side
in 1927 at white sox park June 12th.
Both men come form Tarbert north Kerry where their sister still lives.

Kerry's First American Tour 1927
It was the most historic and talked about trip Kerry Footballers had ever undertaken. A Tour of America and travelling with the team was that legendary sportswriter of The Kerryman newspaper "P.F." or, to use his proper title, Paddy Foley. Now for the fist time ever, Terrace Talk, with the help of newspaper cuttings, book extracts, family history etc, has pieced together the story of how that momentous journey was undertaken.

One man who has been of immense help in this is an extraordinary person named Pat O'Donnell from Tarbert Co Kerry who emigrated to American around this time. Now into his nineties, this remarkable man in a fascinating interview with me this year 2002 told how his brother Tom O'Donnell captained the Chicago team that played Kerry at White Sox park Chicago on June 12th 1927. Pat told me that Tom played with Kerry before he emigrated at just 25 years of age in 1926. He organised a powerful team in Chicago and under his leadership they won the 1926 league final for American teams and he also trained that team to play Kerry.

Pat O'Donnell himself emigrated to join his brother in Chicago and when Kerry next toured the USA in 1933, Pat played against them as Tom and himself were at midfield against the two greats of Kerry football, Con Brosnan and Bob Stack.

And the greatest part of this wonderful story is that Pat is still with us - the only man who played in that game of 1933 in Soldier Field Chicago. His story of emigration, his landing in America, is captivating stuff and in time we will bring it as he told me to our Internet Terrace Talk fans.
So now if you can add to this historic story or if you know of any story of Irish emigration whatever county you come from, email us at Terrace Talk.

The father of the O'Donnells, Thomas, a victualler in Tarbet was indeed a remarkable case of longevity as he lived to the ripe old age of 106 years, having been born in 1797 a year before the great rebellion.

And now the Kerry party who made that first ever trip to the United States. They set sail on May 15th 1927 - Johnny O'Riordan, Jack Walsh, Pat Clifford, Paud Sullivan, James Sullivan, Joe Sullivan, John J Slattery, Con Brosnan, Bob Stack, John Ryan, JJ Sheehy (cap.), John Joe Sanders, Tom Mahoney, James Baily, John Baily, Mike Coffey, Don J Conway, Denis O'Connor, Jer Hanafin, Con O'Leary, Stan Kerins, Michael Murphy, Jack McCarthy, Jack Sheehy, Phil O'Sullivan. Dick Fitzgerald was team manager and Dr Michael Lawlor, Ardfert, was medical advisor. Thirteen of this panel had played in the great games of 1926 against Kildare while the remainder had played junior for Kerry.

Those unable to make the trip were Joe Barrett, Paul Russell, Bill Gorman and Denis O'Connell.

Information on any of the above panel would be of great interest to our Terrace Talk website. Please email us - we would be most grateful.

Kerry's American Tour 1927 With the Boys to the States
The prospective emigrant to the United States is confronted with a series of regulations, a maze of formalities, which must be complied with before he is permitted to land on Uncle Sam's territory. Tourists though we were, we were not immune from these restrictions. We were not, however, subjected to vexatious delay which besets the ordinary emigrant.

Passports were readily and expeditiously obtained through the Irish authorities. The White Star people likewise afforded us every facility to make smooth our path. In the first instance, it was necessary to have the passport visaed by the American Consul at Cobh. The Consulate office is picturesquely situated on an eminence overlooking Cork Harbour. It is the sluicegate through which passes the steam of Irish emigrants for the land of the Stars and Stripes. Emigration from this country is, at the present time, a veritable stream. The number of emigrants at the Consul's office daily averages 75. On the morning we visited the office the waiting room was already filled. Most had an appointment made three months previously. All the emigrants were young people, mostly in their teens and early twenties. Girls preponderated. There was an elderly man, apparently a framer, his wife and family. If one wishes to thoroughly visualise the extent and realisation of Irish emigration, he must visit the American Consul's office at Cobh.

A form setting forth various particulars as to age, occupation, etc, having been duly completed, we were subjected to a literary test. Each person is asked to read an excerpt from a printed postcard. The standard does not appear to be uniform, but to ensure success an education, say equal to seventh standard in the National Schools, is required. This literary test should not be taken lightly, for failure means automatic disqualification. Our medical test was merely superficial. In the case of an ordinary emigrant it is vastly more severe. I understand the optical test is especially strict. The various regulations ensure that only the fittest, intellectually and physically, may gain admittance to the United States. To the prospective emigrant I would say, prepare in time and do not be perturbed with delays.


Rev Father Edward Fitzgerald, CC, Kinsale, who had done Herculean work in connection with the tour, sailed a few days before us to complete final arrangements on American soil, and to prepare a reception for the boys. He was accompanied by a member of the touring players, Michael Murphy, of UC, Cork, also Michael Walsh, the old Galway captain, familiarly known as Knacker, who will act as official referee of the Kerry games in the States.


Kerry people always give the boys a rousing send-off on the occasion of big games. So it was in the present instance. On Saturday afternoon, May 14th, a huge crowd assembled at the Tralee railway station to see the boys off. So dense was the crowd that many of the players had difficulty in reaching the carriages; others had to be dragged unceremoniously through the windows into the compartments. St Joseph's Industrial School Brass Band was in attendance, and played airs suitable to the occasion. Amid a salvo of cheers and a waving of hats and handkerchiefs, the train moved out of the station.


Heartening scenes of enthusiasm were repeated at Killarney. Here, too, a big crowd had gathered. The Seminary boys, wearing the Kerry colours, lined the platform, marshalled by their popular President, Very Rev. Canon Breen, Killarney Piper's Band, in the artistic regalia, struck up National airs. An address to the Kerry Team and Managers was read from Killarney UDC, to which Mr Dick Fitzgerald suitably replied.


A large crowd from Kerry made the journey to Cobh on Saturday evening to give the boys a final send-off. On Sunday morning, about 10 o'clock, they boarded the tenders. The Secretary and members of the Munster Council, Cork County Board, and many prominent Southern Gaels were also present. The two tenders, densely packed soon to reach the SS Baltic. There was a final round of hand-shaking and amid encouraging cheers the huge vessel put out to sea. Kerry's American Tour had begun.


Sunday morning, May 15th, ruled delightfully fine. The sea was calm and the wind scarcely perceptible. The ship skirted the Cork coast, the land lying just on the horizon. The various headlands disappeared, one by one; the Bull, Cow and Calf were soon left behind. The Skelligs hove into view on the horizon, and gradually receded in the distance. It was the last glimpse of Erin for many. The leviathan ploughed her way westward over the trackless waste, leaving in her wake a trail of fin-like foam. Dense black smoke issued from the funnels to form a sombre waving plume. We were soon in the open sea, while the good ship Baltic purred and hissed and continued ever westward into the infinity.


Life on the ocean wave, if only for some days' duration, is an eerie experience to the tyro. So it was with us. The Weather Clerk and King Neptune cooperated to make the voyage a pleasant one. The sea was comparatively smooth. I have seen more turbulent waves off the Kerry coast than on the Atlantic, basking under an early summer sun. Mal de mere was an almost neglible quantity, and, after the first few hours' experience, all on board were their normal selves. 'Twixt land and sea, our only neighbours the gulls and sea-birds; our world bounded by the horizon, life is quiet, almost monotonous.


The White Star officials kindly placed the promenade deck, about 90 yards in length, at the disposal of the players for training work. So the boys walked, ran and skipped and kept themselves fit for their American tests. This training broke the monotony for the players and ordinary passengers - for the passengers were intensely interested spectators of the daily doings of the "Kerries", as they called us.
A daily paper is published on board, viz., the Chicago Tribune Ocean Times. American and English news comes per radio, and thus we learn of latest happenings in the two hemispheres. Games on deck during the day while away the hours. In the afternoon, concerts, whist drives and dances relieve the monotony. Life on board is delightfully free and easy.


On Friday, May 19th, some rough weather was experienced. The ship pitched and rolled, so that there were many vacant seats during meal times. The following day, however, saw summer conditions once more prevail. Sunday morning broke beautifully fine. The ship glided smoothly along on a calm, smooth sea. Some vessels hove within view, proclaiming the approach of land. Early we passed the Nantucket Lightship, about eleven and a half hours' sailing from our voyage's end. Early on Monday morning we expect to arrive in New York.


Withal, it was a most pleasant voyage. The boys are bronzed, and very fit. Manager Fitzgerald has seen to it that the daily programme of training has been faithfully observed. Our boys will land on American soil fit as the proverbial fiddle. Dr Lawlor, too, has been unremitting in his attention to the party. All our little ailments found sympathetic hearing and a speedy remedy from the genial doctor.


Other comrades de voyage were Mr TJ Walsh, Chairman, Listowel UDC, who acted as Chairman of the Amusements Committee, and acquitted himself as capably in his new role as in the old. He was assisted by Mr Charlie Nolan, Tralee, a worthy aide-de-camp. With these gentlemen supervising the amusements section, we wanted for nothing in the way of enjoy - Bertie Graham, Kildare's left back, is also on board. He is bound permanently for the States, and will be a tremendous loss the All-White combination.
The captain, officers and men of the SS Baltic have been unremitting in their kindness to the Kerry boys. Every possible facility and courtesy was shown by them to make the voyage enjoyable. The boys wanted for nothing, and I take this opportunity, on behalf of the manager, captain and members of the Kerry team, to offer the Baltic staff our very sincere thanks.

In New York
On Saturday night, about 9 o'clock, the American shore came into view. A blaze of electric lights indicated Coney Island, the world-famous playground of the New Yorker. On the following morning we steamed up the Hudson and passed the Statue of Liberty. At Quarantine in the US medical officer boarded the Baltic, where emigrants underwent the final examination. Passports were finally visaed, and our luggage inspected and declared OK.

As we berthed alongside the White Star dock, the skyscrapers burst upon our vision. They rose sheer and stark above the haze which enveloped the great city in the early May morn. On the dock hundreds of Kerry people assembled to bid cead mile failte to the visitors. A huge banner bore the words "Welcome to the Kerry All-Ireland Champions". We met many of the boys who had worn the Kerry green and gold in the immediate past. Amongst others were Jerry Moriarty; Bill Landers and wife; Eugene McCrohan, manager New York Kerry Team; Henry P Lannen, President Kerrymen's P and B Association; and other prominent members of that society to whom I will later refer. Of the hundreds who greeted us, I recall Colonel Moynihan; Liam O'Shea and Jerry Lawlor, both of the Advocate; Maurice Kavanagh, Dunquin; Jerry Flynn, Kenmare; Bryan O'Rourke; Danny McCarthy, of the old Kerry Team; and a host of others.

Followed an automobile procession to the City Hall. Our feelings were somewhat akin to those of Alice in Wonderland as we wended our way through the forest of skyscrapers, rising dizzy heights into the clouds, amid a river of motor traffic and a perfect din of hooters and horns. The City Hall lies under the shadow of the mighty Woolworth Building 950 feet in height - the highest in the world.

In the unavoidable absence of the Mayor, we were welcomed by Judge McKee, acting Mayor, and head of the Board of Aldermen. In felicitous language he welcomed the Kerry Team, and wished them a good time in the United States. Rev. Father Fitzgerald, CC, replied on behalf of the Kerry Team. Eugene McCrohan then introduced the visitors in turn to the Judge. The party was then photographed on the steps of the City Hall. Cameramen clicked cameras for the ensuing ten minutes for the different American dailies, and we felt relieved when the picture-taking process was at an end.

We were next entertained to a banquet in the New York Press Club as "the Baron of Broadway." In the afternoon we drove to the Hotel Wellington, which will be the Kerry headquarters during the tour. Here we met Mr Ted Sullivan, the aged but enthusiastic promoter, who holds a high and honoured place in American sporting world.

A stream of Kerry residents flowed into the Wellington during the afternoon and early night to greet the invaders. One meets more Kerry people in New York than in the "Old Kingdom", to speak in Americanese. They are to be found in all walks of life in this great "Empire City." The "lights of old Broadway", constitute a scene nowhere else to be found outside the fiction of the Arabian Nights, and leave an indelible impression on the memory.

The immensity of the old buildings strikes the visitor especially. Those of us whose experience of great cities was limited to the Irish Metropolis were awed. Thousands of autos, all kinds and conditions, glide through the different thoroughfares. In the busy centres traffic is regulated mechanically by electric lights. A green light signifies that the traffic may proceed; red to halt. A pedestrian must keep his eyes skinned and tread warily through the maze of motors.

In all phases of American life the human factor is subordinate to the mechanical. On the elevators, on the subways, the nickel is the "open sesame." A nickel on the turnstile and the stile opens. There are no ticket sellers, porters, or checkers. Everything is done mechanically. One may travel over 50 miles for a nickel (2 ½ d) at a breakneck pace. The underground railways are on the typical American scale-massive. The Grand Central Depot surpasses any railway station in point of size in the Old World. Everywhere the nickel is in evidence. It is the unit of force which causes the American wheels of industry to revolve. It is indispensable for, while money speaks more loud-voiced, than in this land of the almighty dollar.

On Monday night I was ushered in by Eugene McCrohan to a Committee meeting of the Kerrymen's P & B Association. Thanks to the great circulation of the Kerryman amongst the Kerry "Wild Geese," my initials were pretty well known and I received a hearty welcome from the Chairman, Dan McCarthy, and the assembled members. We discussed Gaelic affairs in the "Old Land." The intimate knowledge possessed by the exiles of doings beyond the "Herring Pond" is amazing. The Kerrymen were preparing for a mammoth banquet at the Hotel Commodore - the biggest banqueting room in the world - in honour of the Kerry Team. Of this banquet more anon.

On Tuesday we visited the Central Park and Museum. Sculptures and paintings are there in profusion. I noticed a replica of the Cross of Monasterboice in clay and a painting depicting a Kerry mountain scene. I scanned the pictures carefully for a view of Killarney, but failed to locate same. There were models of the Roman Pantheon and a work of art in that of Notre Dame de Paris.

On Wednesday, the boys donned togs, and kicked about in Van Courtland Park. They were accompanied by the usual bevy of photographers. It was an hour's run from the hotel. Here the distance is reckoned by time. At night we usually visit American relative and friends.

I understand the Irish population of New York is 1,350,000; there are 18,000 police, about 80 per cent of whom hail from the Emerald Isle, and about 9,000 firemen to extinguish New York's periodical conflagrations.

Is this country dry? Nope. In the pre-"dry" days New York boasted about 10,000 saloons; now there are more than double that number. At home we would call them shebeens. Here they rejoice in the name of "speak-easys." All drinks are served with the inevitable lump of ice. The minerals are good and cheap; if the palate craves for something stronger, one may get an abundance of malt, sealed and labelled "Scotch Whiskey," though I doubt if the liquid were ever manufactured in a Scottish distillery. No! New York ain't dry. The dollar opens the "speak-easys," but the old coon song ever holds good: "Don't call here if you're broke."

As far as I could observe, the Volstead law is non est here. In the "Old Country" I have never seen poteen, but I have seen the article in the process of manufacture in Little Old New York; one finds it in every "speak-easy." The latter appellation is certainly a contradiction in terms. A "big noise" is the more correct cognomen. The average American does not believe in speaking easy, and certainly there is at times loud talking within the sacred precinets of the speak-easy.

Since our advent to this country, four days ago, it has rained daily. Our New York friends say we brought the rain from the "Old Country"; but I suggest they should have their adopted country roofed over. Not a far fetched idea in the land of gigantic schemes, where magnifying glasses appear the ordinary medium of vision.
Ground space in New York is valued at thousands of dollars per square foot. The teeming millions must be housed in the air; hence the skyscrapers. There is little difference between the fashions in the Old World and the New. The straw hat and horn glasses are the distinctive American characteristics. Rain has so far prevented the New Yorker discarding his coat and moving about in shirtsleeves. American's great heat has not been in evidence up to the present. So far we cannot enjoy a Turkish bath provided by King Sol, nor can we roast herrings on the sidewalks. There treats may be yet in store for the Kerry Kickers, but we've got to wait and see.


Another feature of New York which impresses the visitor is the large coloured population. One encounters numerous Negroes and negresses, young an old, on the streets, subways and elevators. They move with the whites and associate with them. I am informed the "colour line" is more pronounced outside New York state. As one journeys westwards, the coloured man is regulated lower and lower in the social scale. In the Middle West, and West of the Rockies, the nigger is taboo. He may not travel in the same bus as the white, dine at the same table, or move in white circles.
In this cosmopolitan population of millions one encounters all classes and conditions of people. While New York has a "Black Belt", it has likewise a Chinatown, like London. New York Chinatown is quite a respectable locality. Chinks, minus the pigtail and in American garb, have been assimilated by Western civilisation. The Chinese signs over the doors and on the windows however, proclaim the distinctive Oriental. One recognises also the stunted physique facial emaciation, and premature senility of the Chink.


From the outside, the Tombs is by now means suggestive of its name or function. It is not so formidable as most of our Irish prisons. The Court of Justice and the Tombs, are connected by a bridge; over this bridge convicted or condemned prisoners pass from the Court to the Tombs. It is called the "Bridge of Sighs." In appearance the Bowery belies it s reputation. Here the Jews plies his wares in unabashed fashion, reminding one of a Killarney jarvey at the railway station. This appears the Bowery's distinctive feature, though I am informed that, like Chinatown, it doesn't always wear an air of peace and quietude.



Killarney Scenes
Killarney, Saturday. A huge crowd assembled at the Killarney station this evening to wish the Kerry team God speed on their journey. The Pipers' Band marched to the station followed by an enormous crowd, and played a series of rousing National airs. The attendance included members of the public bodies and a number of priests, including Very Rev. Canon Breen, President of St Brendan's Seminary. Mr Eugene O'Sullivan, of Killarney Urban Council, himself an old captain of the Kerry Team, presented the following address on behalf of the Urban Council and people of Killarney:-


From: The Killarney Urban District Council to the Kerry All-Ireland Champion Team on their departure to the United States
Gaels of Kerry, the Stalwarts of your organisation which has since its inception been the mainstay of every national movement in this country, we greet you in the name of the people of Killarney. We bid you a hearty God speed on this voyage across the seas to join issue with the exiled sons of our race.


Your achievements need no recounting. Your name and fame in the realm of Gaelic sport and Athletics are known the world over. But we may be permitted to refer to one outstanding trait so conspicuously demonstrated in all your encounters for supremacy in which all Kerrymen are proud - that is your gallantry in victory as in defeat, your ability at all times "to play the game."


Killarney is justifiably proud of her contribution to your victories. To your Manager, Mr Fitzgerald, our esteemed colleague, is justly credited the distinction of having so materially helped to bring Gaelic football to the proud position which it occupies today in the life of the Nation.


We shall follow with pride and affection your progress from shore to shore of the great American Republic, and we pray that God may watch and guard you and ensure your safe return.
Signed on behalf of the Council, Eugene O'Sullivan, Chairman; Patrick J O'Shea, Clerk.


Mr. Dick Fitzgerald, under whose capable management the mission is being carried out, expressed how gratified the team were and how much they appreciated the action of the Chairman and members of the Killarney Urban Council. It would encourage them on their mission, and the people of Kerry could rest assured that the team's great concern would be to keep the Gaelic standard unsullied and to maintain the honour of the old Kingdom of Kerry.
As the train steamed out loud cheers were raised, intermingled with many benedictions and shouts of "Up Kerry."




Departure from Cobh (news article)
The All-Ireland Football Champions, Kerry, left Cobh yesterday by the Baltic in fulfilment of their engagement to play a series of matches in the various American cities. They were given an enthusiastic send-off by their admirers, and the best wishes were expressed for their success in the competitions in which they participate.

Amongst those who took part in the function were the Lord Mayor (Mr Sean French) and the following members of the Cork County Board: Messrs Sean McCarthy (Chairman), PJ O'Keeffe (Sec.), T Long (Hon Treasurer), John O'Regan, NT Kinsale; Liam Deasy, South-West Cork representative; JA Beckett, BA (Lees); Donal O'Donoghue, BA (Lees); WP Aherne. The attendance included: J McCarthy, Dunmanway; JJ Buckley, Sec. Cork Athletic Grounds Committee; E Buckley, Director, do; JJ O'Shea, Kerry athlete; Pat McGrath, Sec. Munster Council; M McMahon; P Maye; D O'Sullivan; John Madden; D Hickey; T O'Connor; J O'Sullivan; J Myles; J Duggan, Tralee. From Killarney were: J O'Connor; J Swell; C O'Brien; P Dillon; Miss Millon; C O'Shea; J Horgan. From Tipperary: John Leahy (captain), Tipperary HC Widger Maher, Sec. Tipperary County Board; DJ Bailey, Sec. Kerry County Board; J Barrett, Tralee.



Untitled
By: Patrick McCarthy, Boherbee, Tralee

To Kerry's famous champion team, those sterling lads and true,
On leaving for America, to you we bid adieu.
How often times you've proved your worth in many a hard-fought field
No matter who your rivals were, you never once did yield.
By Dublin's dear old Liffey's stream 'twas oft a glorious sight,
When Erin's greatest champion team, came down before your might.
The pick of Connaught's province, well trained though they had been,
Came down before our Kerry boys, the Kingdom's Gold and Green.
On leaving dear old Kerry's hills, and mountains far behind,
For the land of famed Columbus, fresh conquests there to find;
Your friends will not forget you, as days and time roll on ;
They'll watch your progress week by week in the dear old "Kerryman".
That land of many wonders, where forests wild do grow,
With mountains high, nigh to the sky, and mighty rivers flow.
From shore to shore of that great land, your colours will be seen;
The colours of our Kerry boys, the Kingdom's Gold and Green.
When landing on a foreign shore, with record proud and strong,
A record known the world o'er, in story and in song.
Céad Míle Fáilte you will get, from exile friends I ween,
As Erin's famous champions from Kerry's hills so green.
And when you meet in football feat, with courage bold, profound,
And down their greatest champions on their own chosen ground.
Your colours high will float above, and proudly will be seen,
The colours which you honour well, the Kingdom's Gold and Green.
Good luck! Good speed you Kerry boys, to you we'll say farewell,
May victory crown your progress, while from us you dwell.
While in that land beyond the sea your friends need not despair;
When you return back again, fresh laurels you will wear.
And when you land upon our shore, right welcome you will be,
Back to grand old mountains of Kerry by the sea;
And often in the future years the story will be told,
Of how all colours were brought down by Kerry's Green and Gold.

County Council wishes God speed and success
At a meeting of the Kerry County Council, Miss Kate Breen, UDC, presiding.
Mr. Flynn said that the Kerry County Council should mark their appreciation of the fact atht the famous County team, the All-Ireland football champions, were leaving for the United States, where they were to visit the principal cities and give exhibitions of the Gaelic football code. By their visit they would bring honour to Ireland and the County which they so ably and successfully represented. Theywould demonstrate to the peoples of the US, representative of almost every Nationality in the world, the strength and manly vigour of the Irish Race. Their own kin in the Great Republic were preparing to receive them with the most open hearted welcome and it was certain that as a result of the team's visit the happy ties existing between the Irish at home and abroad would be still more firmly cemented.


Mr. Foley said that they all took the greatest pride in the Kerry Team. It was a source of pride that they had raised such a splendid body of athletes. They wished them God speed and every success.


Mrs O'Shea hoped they would bring back further honours to the County.
Chairman said they were men of whom any county might be proud. Nationally and physically they were a credit to the County. They were second to none.

Splendid Function at the Press Club Baron Hanley's Generous Role Enthusiastically Welcomed by the Prominent Citizens
(From "The Advocate," New York)

Whatever other recollections the Irish football champions will carry back to their native shore that reception which Baron John J Hanley tendered in their behalf on Monday last at the New York Press Club is sure to always occupy a place in their memory. From the moment the champions arrived the Baron was right beside them, looking for their safety and making things as comfortable for them as possible. After the formalities at City Hall, where the squad was received by Acting Mayor Joseph V McKee, the team, with more than a hundred friends, were dined and wined in regal fashion. From the pier in West 18th street to City Hall a motor cycle police escort, with sirens blowing a right of way, with Baron Hanley's big Packard leading the procession of automobiles, made an impressive showing through the streets of cosmopolitan New York. Men prominent in Irish circles in Greater New York joined with the Baron in the reception of the invaders. There were Colonel Timothy Moynahan of World War fame, Captain Jack Clifford, Rev. Father Dooley of Corpus Christi Church, John Stratton O'Leary, James J Duffy, Patrick J Grimes, Dan McCarthy, Harry Lannen and scores of others who in every way reflected their appreciation for the kindness shown by Baron Hanley.

As the "Baltic" docked, the Baron delivered the following address of welcome:
"Captain Sheehy and members of the Kerry Football Team, on behalf of your many admirers - brother Irishmen and fellow Gaels - I am proud indeed to have the honour of extending to you a Céad Míle Fáilte to this great liberty loving Republic whose arms are always open to embrace the children of the Gael. Your love for the ancient games of our motherland has inspired you to great deeds in the old land, and I am convinced your country will appreciate the skill, splendour and daring of one of our national games and give you a welcome that will astonish you. You will find here a spirit that no other country can emulate - hospitality that is unrivalled, broadmindedness that absorbs the best characteristics of the people of the earth and appreciation of work and virtue that make you the nobility of the nation.
"I shall conclude by saying that I have arranged a luncheon at the Press Club in your honour, at which you will meet some of the most prominent men of New York's public and industrial life. I wish you a successful and pleasant visit, and sincerely hope you will take back with you gratifying memories of American and Americans - and I can assure you that I will be delighted to meet you all again in 1923 in Ireland.
"Good luck and God Bless you."



New York's Welcome to the Kerry (Ireland) Football Champions
By Dan McCarthy

You have come to us from Kerry, from our homes across the sea,
From Dingle to Killarney, from Listowel to Sweet Tralee;
At great sacrifice and danger you have crossed the raging foam
To show your exiled brothers how the game is played at home.
That success may crown your efforts, we fondly hope and pray
With "Up Kerry" as your slogan in whatever land you play.
You have raised your Gaelic banner in this great "Land of the Free,"
And you're as welcome to that honour as at home in Old Ciarraighe.
Led on by Captain Sheehy you surely cannot fail
To show in lands beyond the sea the manhood of the Gael.
And although you are invaders your mission here is peace,
For the men you'll meet in action are your own, your own "wild geese."
So Erin's sons and daughters, in this banquet hall I wean,
Will give homage without measure, to your famous football team,
And when you're back in Kerry in the homeland of the Gael,
Just tell them all you met us and we still love Innisfail.
And some day, perhaps, God willing, when old Ireland will be free,
And her people are untied from the centre to the sea,
We'll pack our bag and baggage, set our sails for Erin's shore,
And ourselves and our descendants live there for evermore.



Football Champions Kerry's American Tour (news article)
Arrangements on a very extensive scale are being made throughout the States with a view to extending to the All-Ireland Champions, the famous Kerry footballers, a worthy reception on their arrival in America. The team is scheduled to leave Cobh on the 15th inst.

A committee, composed of Mayor Walker and officers of the Kerrymen's Association of New York, will receive the visitors on landing, after which they will be the guests of Baron Hanley at a luncheon and reception to be held at the New York Press Club. On the 26th may a banquet in honour of the champions takes place in the Commodore Hotel. The Irish side of the tour will be in the capable hands of Mr Dick Fitzgerald, who, during his captaincy of the representatives of the great football county, played a big part in building up the enviable reputation which the Kerrymen have gained on Gaelic football fields.

On the American side the arrangements will lie with Mr Ted Sullivan, Washington DC, who has been the Nestor of the baseball game, for which he has done so much during his long and honourable association and with every form of manly sport in the States. In the hands of this distinguished veteran of sporting world of America, the arrangements for the tour should leave nothing to be desired. Matches are to be played in New York, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, St Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, 'Washington and other cities. In each city the All-Ireland champions will be opposed by all-star football teams drawn from the leading clubs.

It is quite evident that the visiting team will by no means have the rather easy time experienced by the Tipperary hurlers in their tour of last year. The American footballers, many of the Irish-Americans, take some beating and there is not the smallest doubt that the champions will have to extend themselves against the opposing forces.

The Kerry style of football, the dash and speed, will unquestionably appeal strongly to the American temperament and it is more than probable that the games will be enthusiastically and liberally supported.

The Kerrymen's P and B Banquet
The whirligig of American activity; the Yankee fashion of doing things leaves the Irish visitor spellbound. Thus when treating any phase of New York life, whether social or industrial, one is apt to indulge in the language of hyperbole. There are functions in the New World which amaze the dweller of the Old, which leaves him awed that this infant amongst the world's nations should conduct its affairs on a scale so massive. Of such a kind was the banquet provided by New York Kerrymen's P and B Society in honour of the Kerry visitors.

When the Kerry party entered the banqueting hall of the Commodore Hotel, the largest dining hall in the world, there was a thunder of applause and hand-clapping from 1,000 assembled guests. Just fancy 1,000 people seated to a table in one room. As the visitors marches in twos through the brilliant hall of myriads of variegated lights, the orchestra struck up "Killarney." All present stood to attention while "The Star-Spangled Banner" was played. This was followed by "The Soldier's Song," which ended in a further outburst of applause.

Mr. Henry P Lannen, President of the Kerrymen's Association, welcomed the guests, and introduced the toastmaster, Colonel Timothy J Moynihan. After the playing of the "Star-Spangled Banner" and the "Soldier's Song" by the band, grace was said by Rev. Edward Fitzgerald (brother of Dick Fitzgerald), who accompanies the teams. Songs were rendered by Miss Lily Meager and W Moylan. Dan McCarthy, the chairman of the Reception Committee, read a poem of welcome to the team written by him especially for the occasion.

Short addresses were delivered by Commissioner Garrett W Cotter, Commissioner Charles W Hartnett, John Straton O'Leary, Denis F MacSweeney, Thomas Delaney, President Eastern Division GAA, Jas J Duffy, Pres. New York GAA, Hon. Michael J Horan, Prof. MJ Donovan, and Ted Sullivan, promoter. Captain John Joe Sheehy and Manager Dick Fitzgerald responded on behalf of the team. All the members of the team occupied seats in the dais, also Dr M Lawlor medical attendant; Patrick Foley, press representative; John Walsh, Chairman Listowel UDC; Charles Nolan, Tralee, and others who came from Ireland with the team. Representatives of every Irish Society in New York attended.