College Footballers on the "Pill"
Michael O'Ruairc recalls Kerry's College
Football in the late 20's
Long before the “war of the three stripes”, in the
Autumn of 1977 when it’s fury, furor and fulminations rent
the air above the banks of Cork’s lovely Lee, there had
been pregnant periods of peace which gave birth to new progeny
in G.A.A. affairs.
In 1902, the Cork County Board of the Association presented a
pair of shields for competition in hurling and football in secondary
schools and colleges. In 1907, J. J.Walsh - later Minister for
Posts and Telegraphs - called a conference of Munster schools
in Mallow, to initiate Gaelic games championships into the province.
Representatives of seven of these attended, one being, Rev. Fr.
Brosnan of St. Brendan’s, Killarney, who entered his college
for senior football and - note - senior hurling. But where were
the other Kerry schools?
In 1910, a slight wind of change blew from the west, and on its
warm passage it brought Dingle C.B.S., Tralee do. and Presentation
Monastery, Killarney, to awaken and start a school league for
their footballing youth. Games were played on Saturdays only and
due to the small number of schools participating, the venture
was not a success. Dingle won the humble laurels.
Shot In The Arm
After such a hectic display of energy and effort these schools
went back to sleep and Rip Van Winkle - wise took a fine long
stretch lasting sixteen years. In 1926, the good fairy or Dr.
Eamon O' Sullivan - the latter, I think, was called upon and these
sleeping beauties or bruties were given a shot in the arm, told
to pull up their socks and get cracking. Which they did, to give
them their due. Never even a cat-nap since, and in 1977 we find
twelve schools participating under chairman, Jim Deenihan of Tarbert;
Tralee C.B.S., Dingle C.B.S., Cahirciveen C.B.S., St. Brendan's
Seminary,
Killarney, St. Michael's College, Listowel, Killorglin, Ballybunion,
Causeway, Castleisland, Tarbert, Kenmare and Abbyfeale.
Hats off, therefore, to Dr. Eamonn, Killarney, to whom the main
credit is due for establishing school championships in the Kingdom.
He got the Bishop of Kerry, Most Rev. Dr. O' Sullivan and Mr.
Howard Harrington of Dunloe Castle, Killarney, to donate cups
for senior and junior football, respectively. He then formed a
County Colleges Committee from the following: Very Rev. Canon
Breen, Chairman, St. Brendan’s, Killarney; Rev. Brother
C. Pascal Turner, Tralee C.B.S., Rev. D. O' Herlihy, the Jeffer's
Institute, Tralee; Seamus Wilmot, St. Michael's College, Listowel;
Rev. Brother Ryan, Dingle; Sean Dwyer, Killorglin Secondary School,
Rev. Brother T. S. Ryan. Cahirciveen, Rev. Brother de la Salle,
Presentation Monastery, Killarney, and D. D. O' Sullivan, Tralee
Technical School, Dr. O' Sullivan acted as Hon. Secretary.
Denny Curran
Before
the advent of these competitions, in senior and junior grades, the
footballing youth of Tralee practiced and played in an aimless fashion
in the outlying corners of the town. l lived in Ballymullen where
Denny Curran of the 1903 Kerry team resided and there were scores
of young and lively fellows, eager and bursting to kick the daylights
out of anything that was round, light and inflated. Footballs were
scarce, but we, indeed, were lucky that Denny still retained possession
of a football of two in his house from his early days. One of these,
an extra large green ball, he handed over to the tender mercies
of his sons, Paddy and Eugene when they were showing promise in
their middle teens.
Little mercy, howerer, was shown by us to this ball and in a short
time it was a thing, if not of shreds, at least of many matches
and it faded out of our lives when we made a street collection
and bought a new one.
Playing pitches, as such, were few and far between. We trespassed
on many nearby fields and a great part of our physical fitness
and agility was acquired from being chased by unsympathetic farmers
or caretakers. It was our custom, in such fields, to form goal
posts by placing two coats the regulation distance apart and depended
on the honesty of the goalie not to alter their position. Not
all goalies, however were trustworthy, and one such, not too pleased
with the performance of the backs in front of him, thought of
reducing the goal space by almost a quarter or more. Being charged
with cheating by an angry forward who had just driven inches wide,
he coolly replied that there was a terrible drought between the
“posts” and that he had moved one of the coats just
a bit to keep out some of the cold!
Very few of us had football boots, and as for togs or knicks we
neither had them with or without “three stripes” -
Adidas was light years ahead then. This Bohemian approach to the
game, we dearly loved, disappeared when we became potential players
for the school team. Mothers now had to show their proficiency
in the making of durable, well-made togs, and fathers could scarcely
let their promising sons on the hollowed sod of the Tralee Sportsfield
in anything less than the best of football boots - boots that
came up over the ankles and gave them needed protection, unlike
the sawn-off brogues of today that players are compelled to wear.
Solo Run
Tralee Sportsfield was then a place of beauty, oval shaped, with
a celebrated cinder cycling-track encircling the playing pitch.
As youths we had occasionally pushed our way to the top of the
bank overlooking the track and pitch and watched Kerry and Boherbee
teams in their green and gold V-necked jerseys.
My abiding memory of that time was seeing the sturdy, speedy J.
P. Murphy of Cavan flying through the centre of the field on a
hand-to-toe| solo run, the first time I and many adults witnessed
this gambit. This was in the l 925 All- Ireland Senior Semi-Final
when Kerry beat Cavan by a bare point. A subsequent objection
by Cavan deprived Kerry of its victory on the field of play that
day.
Viewing a game from the bank was often the nearest young people
could hope to enjoy and we daren't impose our feet on the field
itself. The grim, gruff, forbidding caretakcr of the day didn't
suffer schoolboys badly. Came the day in 1926 however when Brother
Turner marched his boys through the Sportsfield gate and we raced
up and down the pitch to our hearts delight, kicking points over
the same crossbar, in similar fashion as done by John Joe Sheehy
and Con Brosnan, the previous Sunday. If we had any tiny hope
that we would one day too wear the green and gold, we kept it
in the backgrounds as our nearest and realisable dream was to
don the blue and gold of the C.B.S.
Dunloe Cup
That dream became a reality in 1926 for me and many others when
we were elected to play for the school in the junior competition
for the Dunloe Cup. We beat a very good St. Michael's team in
Listowel and on June 4th we defeated St. Brendan's in Tralee by
1-7 to 1-1.
The C.B.S. fifteen were; Willie (Pop) Ryle, Tim (Roundy) Landers,
Capt. Pat (Mullins) Curtin, Hugh McCarthy, Tim O’ Leary,
Dick O'Neil1, Denis (Daingean) Hogan, John (Brud) Costelloe, Jim
Duffy, Tom Kelly, Barry Reaney, Jack O'Neill, Michael O' Rourke,
Martin (Bracker) O’ Reagan and Johnny Galvin.
The defeated St. Brendan’s team were: R. Lucitt (goal),
Bob Murphy (capt.), J. Murphy, Michael Cronin, J. O' Leary, G.
Dillon, D. Buckley, Harry Turner, George Powell, F. Fitzgerald,
P. Casey, E. Healy, J. Lynch, W. McMahon and Johnny Walsh.
The other seven teams taking part in the junior grade were: Jeffer's
Institute, Tralee Technical School, Dingle C.B.S., Killorglin
Intermediate School, Caherciveen C.B.S., St. Michael's, Listowel
and Presentation College, Ki1larney.
In the same year some of us juniors made the senior team, but
were beaten in Killarney by St. Brendan’s in the first semi-final
of the O'Sullivan Cup, April 30th. Our team, including three subs,
I note from a photo of the time, Leo Fitzgibbon, Barry Reaney,
Eugene Powell, M. O'Rourke, Mick Healy. Tom Foley (Pembroke St.),
Jack O’Mahoney, Tim Landers, Liam Skinner, Eugene Curran
(son of 1903 Dinny), Dick Lenehan, Paul Driscoll, Tom Twomey,
Denis Hogan. Pat Curtin, James Duffy, Paddy Walsh, Capt. (Moyderwell),
Tim O' Leary.
The final between St. Brendan's and the Technical School, Tralee,
was played on June 30th that year in Killorglin. The Technical
School had many useful players, three of whom were Mike Doyle,
Bill Kinnerk and Burdy Quill. The Tech had already beaten St.
Michael's, Listowel. Victory went to St. Brendan's which had the
great honour of being the first winners of the O' Sullivan Cup.
The teams did not appear in the Kerry papers of the time but for
the record these were the players:
Tralee C.B.S.: D,. Curran (Capt.), D. Sheehan (goal), T. McGillicuddy,
J. O’ Connor, T. O’ Sullivan, T. Brosnan, Pat Clifford,
George Powell (brother of Eugene, Tralee), John (Bob) Murphy,
now Tralee's Parish Priest, T. Moriarty, M. Foley, W. McMahon,
Johnny Walsh ( later star of the Kerry team ), M. Murphy and F.
Fitzgerald.
ST. BRENDAN'S TEAM LIST: not available but substantially the
same as that which won in 1926.
1926 was a good year for me as I was a member of the schools junior
and senior teams. I usually played on the mark or full-forward
and on one occasion I was “imprisoned” in the goal,
but effected a dramatic breakout in quick time.
Cage
One evening in the Sportsfield Brother Turner picked two teams
from the school for an important practice game which would decide
our being selected for our next game in the next senior championship.
Gathering us all around him, he read out the placings of his two
teams and to my honour, I was to act as goalie for one side. He
must have thought - since I was then nearly six feet tall - that
I’d be handy for stopping points without much trouble. In
those days, you could not pipe out “But Brother, I don't
want to or can't play in goals”. I snailed down to my cage
and, animal-like, paced to and fro between the posts, plotting
how to thwart my “jailer”. In the course of the first
quarter of the game, I dealt with some attacks on my portal, stopping
a few raspers and hauling down from above the bar (Brother Turner
had his point!) a few balls that tried to sneak over. Then I moved!
I fielded a high ball in the square “absent-mindedly”
walked behind the goal line with the leather, around the goal
post and cleared to midfield. Immediately, the umpire raised the
green flag and Brother Turner raised Cain! Rushing down to the
goal, he ordered me out with an angry “Get out of that,
you madman, and go down to full-forward and send up the boy who
is there.” Never did such disapproval fall so sweetly on
my ears. I trotted down to the other end of the field and redeemed
my betrayal of Team B by scoring a couple of goals. Well, I, as
the Irish seanfhocal says: Is cuma no muc fear (no garsun) gan
seift!
The most memorable and exciting game of the first years was the
meeting of St. Brendan's and Tralee C.B.S. on May 22nd, in the
final of the O'Sullivan Cup in 1927. The venue was Killorglin,
in a large field outside the town lent for the occasion by a farmer,
named Joy. The Tralee reporter who covered the game wrote, “that
the field could have been idle had the grass been somewhat shorter”.
Canon Breen and Brother Turner were not that critical and surely
did not expect Mr. Joy to deprive his stock of necessary fodder
in the month of May. This was probably the same field where the
1926 Final took place between Brendan's and the Tech. Brother
Turner, I remember, before agreeing to play on a pitch already
familiar to the Killarney players, took a car load of us to vet
the field, before he gave his assent.
Iron Jelloids
This was about two or three weeks before the game, but long before
that he had been laying his plans for victory. Apart from having
us well trained, he arranged for John Joe Sheeny and Paddy Cahill
( 1904 Kerry team) to visit the school and talk to us about the
skills, essentials and strategies of the game.
Last but not least was the chemical buildup for this game. We
were - some of us - put on the pill! I won't say that Brother
Turner put us on the pep pills, but some of us had to take an
extended course of Iron Jelloids. They were not “toastier
than Pete's Peanuts'' but they were reckoned the real thing to
strengthen blood and muscle and put the colour on your face. Brother
Turner looked at the lanky, leggy pupil in front of him and decided
that I was not a boy of iron. As the Brendan’s full back
was a huge, intimidating-looking proposition, I had to consume
several boxes of Jelloids. And so had others low in iron as per
our trainer’s diagnosis Was all that fair to the Sem?
Great Boost
The second last Sunday in May, we went by train to the Puck and
it seemed as if we had the whole town if Tralee with us. Apart
from the tremendous interest in the game itself, all the attention
of the county was focussed on school football, as the Kerry senior
footballers had just sailed to play in America. We had, however,
the famous Joe Barrett with us and his presence and backing was
a great boost. Well, we came, we played, we conquered to the score
of four goals and six points to four goals and one point. The
referee, Jery Beckett of Cork, one of the best-known officials
in Munster, a native of Kilgarvan, but who won a senior All-Ireland
football medal with Cork in 1911, was in charge of a pulsating
game.
Eventually the Iron Jelloids had a big say in deciding the game
for Tralee because there was sufficient iron in me to score four
goals. Religion possibly misdirected, in my opinion, also brought
down the Sem. For me this match has many memories, the most vivid,
and yes, amusing, being the sight of St. Brendan’s goalie
blessing himself whenever our forwards drew near him with the
ball. In the process, his concentration was divided between Heaven
and Earth and Canon Breen was the loser. Let it be said, in fairness,
however, that C.B.S. goalie, who engaged in no such devotional
exercises, fared no better, as you may see from the scores.
Only Objection
Our great joy on returning to Tralee lasted but a few short days,
when we learned that St. Brendan’s had lodged an objection
questioning the legality of one of our players, Denis Hogan. After
two hearings, the verdict was given in our favour. This was the
only such objection that I can remember in the College games.
The Tralee team was made up of: P. Walsh (Capt.), T.Landers, Con
Gorman (goal), Mick Healy, P. Curtin, Jim Duffy, D. Hogan, E.
Curran, J.(Brad) Costello, T. O' Leary, L. Fitzgibbon, Barry Reaney,
M. O'Regan, M. O'Rourke and Dick Linehan.
Tralee C.B.S. retained the O'Sullivan Cup in 1928 with the following:
T. Landers (Capt.), M. O'Rourke, John Clifford, Con O'Gorman (goal),
Denis Hannafin, Pat Ashe, Pat Curtin, Barry Reaney, Gus O'Neill,
Jim Duffy, Jim Cummins, Billy (Binks) McCarthy, P. Drummond, Jn.
Galvin and M. O’ Regan.
Tralee C.B.S. also won the Dunloe Cup in 1927 and Dingle won in
1928 making it their first championship victory. Score: Dingle
4 - 2. Tralee C.B.S. 0 - 4.
DINGLE TEAM; W. Fitzgerald (goal). T. Devane, M. Cleary, M. Devane,
J. A. O'Connor, T. O'Connor, P. Devane, J. O'Shea. T. Falvey,
G. Graham. J. Dillon, M. O'Shea, J. O'Connor, M. McKenna, J. Long.
TRALEE C.B.S.: Jn. Kerisk, Brendan Hurley, Con Moriarty, Dan Joe
McCarthy, T. O'Connor, P. Drummond (Capt.), John Paul Doyle, Tim
O'Sullivan, Richard Deane, Tom Chaill, Ned O'Mahoney, Pat Hickey,
Jas O'Connor, Rob Kelly, Dan McCarthy.
No Medals
Some time ago l was talking to V. Rev. Cons. Bob Murphy about
these days and mentioned that though I was a member of these winning
school teams I have no medals to show for it. I thought I had
lost them or given them to my best girl. “No such”
he replied. “We didn’t get any.” I was stunned.
And I praying for all these twenty or thirty years for the happy
repose of the Canon and Brother Turner, etc.
Well, who knows when we meet a symbolic restitution may be made
by the above, in the above and the least that I’ll expect
them to arrange is a seraphic Cead Mile Failte. I can anticipate
what the Canon will say. “We had no money in those days,
boy.” And Brother Turner may whisper, “Nor have we
now.''
I did get one medal - I was dealing with a more affluent body
- the All-lreland Colleges Council, in l 927. As well a organizing
the games in Kerry, Dr. Eamon O'Sullivan was busy in arranging
inter-provincial games in both football and hurling. The first
year, 1927, only two provinces competed - Munster and Leinster.
To pick the Munster Senior football Colleges' team, a trial game
was held in the Mardyke Ground, Cork, and such was the supply
of talent from the Kerry schools, that thirteen were elected to
play in Croke Park, May 8th. The first visit to Dublin for me
and most of us. Who should be still in charge of us? The Ver.
Rev. Canon and Brother Turner! None better! On the Saturday night
we were all brought to a film in the Metropole Cinema. No traipsing
round the city and then dragging our legs on the Sunday. After
Mass on Sunday - the day being very warm - we were taken by train
to Phoenix Park, kept under the shade of the trees, watching a
game of Polo and sucking oranges. No, we didn't have any Iron
Jelloids. Too many fellows from the Sem around. Do you now have
to be told the result of the game? Just cruel! Munster 6 goals
5 points, Leinster Nil! The Munster hurlers went one step better
the same day, beating Leinster 7 goals 7 points to one point.
The Munster Colleges Football Team consisted of T. McCarthy (Capt.
of the Sem.), T. Moriaty (Sem.), George Powell (Sem.), Pat Clifford
(Sem.), Bob Murphy (Sem ), W. McMahon (Sem.), Paddy Walsh, John
(Brud) Costello, Barry Reaney, M. O'Rourke, M. Landers, all the
Tralee C.B.S., M. O'Hanlon (goal), St. Michael's, Listowel, Eugene
Powell. Tralee Tech., P. Murphy (St. Coleman's, Fermoy) and M.
O'Connor (High School C.B.S., Clonmel).
Disappointed
Munster reached the All-lreland Colleges final again in 1928,
having beaten Connacht and met Ulster (who had disposed of Leinster
in the decideing game in Croke Park on April 14th ) Ulster was
victorious to the score of l - 2 to l - 0. I was playing but as
the Daily Independent did not publish the teams, I cannot say
who else from Kerry participated.
In writing about these years of the Kerry Colleges I am most disappointed
that in local reporting of the games, only in a few instances
were the names of the participating players given. It's a long
shot and after fifty years or more, some of those who participated
in these games may be able to supply the missing data which I
would be most grateful to have. One would like to know the names
of the youth who played with Brian McMahon of St. Michael's, Listowel,
in the 1926 Junior Schools Championship with Bill Kinnerk, Mick
Doyle and Brud Quill of the Tralee Tech in 1927 in the Senior
Championship and with Paddy Whitty of the Jeffer's Institute the
same year, etc.
Let me finish by quoting the words of Dr. Eamon O'Sullivan (who
was also Hon. Sec. of the Munster Colleges
Committee, established in 1927), spoken to the representatives
of the schools and colleges on that first year, l 926.
“From my childhood, I always felt that competitions under
the aegis of the G.A.A. should be run in our schools as was done
in connection with other games.'' How right he was! The following
is a list of some college teams of the 1927- 1928 period from
Cahirciveen, St. Brendan’s, Dingle and Jerrer’s:
C.B.S. Cahirciveen Junior Team, l 927: P. O'Connor (Capt.), Jas
O'Shea (goal), D. Walsh, P. Courtney, P. Walsh, T. Sullivan, J.
Sugrue, J. Drummond, E. Curtin, J. Daly, P. Murphy, D. O' Shea.
P. J. O' Sullivan, W. Shanahan, T. McCrohan.
St. Brendan's Killarney Junior Team, 1927: Johnny Walsh (Capt.),
Tom Spillane (goal). David McMahon, Frank Cremins, Teddy Fitzgibbon,
S. Roche, J. Corridan. Thomas Powell, Ds. Buckley, T. Mullins,
D. Collins, Tom Fitzgerald, Jn. Doherty, Jas Houlihan, P. McGillicuddy.
Dingle Junior Team, 1928: L.Fitzgerald, Ml. O’ Shea, J.Long,
J.A. O’ Connor, T. Falvey, G. Graham, J. Brosnan, M. McKenna,
J. O’ Shea, J. O’ Connor, T. O’ Connor, P. Devane,
M. Devane, M. Cleary, P. Devane.
Jeffer’s Junior Team, 1928: Eddie Dunne, J. Twomey, J. Morris,
P. Morris, T. Flaherty, W. Brick, T. Hayes, J. Moynihan, J. Mara,
J. Heeney, C. Ronan, T. McCarthy, P. Walsh, J. Whitty.
School Colours, 1926: St. Michaels: Red with Black Band; St. Brendan’s:
Green, white and gold; Tralee C.B.S.: blue with gold sash; Dingle,
black and amber; Killorglin: red with white sash; Jeffer’s,
white with a shield; Cahirciveen C.B.S.: blue with white sash;
Presentation Monastery, black with white vertical stripes.
On the Pill 
