Article August Week 1 2005
Kerry In All Ireland Semi Final and A Tribute to Cavan's Tony Tighe
As expected by one and all Kerry continued on their winning way last Sunday, however for many people the win has been completely overshadowed by the tragic death of young Kieran Cahillane who lost his life in a drowning accident in Killarney. A highly promising young athlete Kieran’s death once again puts into perspective just how unimportant winning and losing is in life’s greater picture. The sad news reached us on the train journey to Dublin on Sunday morning and all his friends and Dr. Crokes club mates whom I spoke to were as one expects devastated. To his parents and family, Dr. Croke and Killarney Athletic club mates we extend our deepest sympathy and all we can offer is, to remember his family in our prayers.
Despite not playing free flowing scintillating football Kerry’s win was in my opinion very impressive in many aspects, once again Jack’s half time talk did the trick, (just like Mick o Dwyer with Laois) and the players were probably told in no uncertain fashion that unless there was a vast improvement in work rate, (that is the big buzz word in to days game) there would be big changes. Last week we mentioned that the subs bench would be crucial. Kerry have the best bench left in the championship and not alone is the interduction of a sub vital as Paul Galvin proved with three superb points but the threat of the players on the line warming up has the desired effect of galvanizing every player into greater effort on the field, and it certainly worked with Kerry.
And staying on the subject of subs., it was only when Kerry introduced five new men that Mayo began that come back, to put it simply Kerry took their foot off the pedal and the same fluency was lacking for the final ten minutes. Nevertheless Gooch and Kieran Donaghy should have goaled, and we must not forget that we also missed a penalty so looking at the overall picture it was a satisfying victory.
Before the Munster final we wrote extensively here of the greatness of Billy Morgan and what he means to Cork, they looked very impressive and had the stamp of the master all over them. Lots of time to look more closely at this forthcoming mouth watering clash of the age old rivals, but one bet I might lay down is that Paul Galvin will be back in the starting fifteen and his job, marking the outstanding Cork centre back Anthony Lynch and stop his runs forward. Roll on the 28th.
All GAA fans of the time remember where they were the day of the All Ireland final of 1947. It was a famous first, never to be repeated, Michael Hehir pleading for extra time to finish the commentary from the Polo Grounds New York and his request falling on friendly ears. It was one of his greatest moments, just as so many other stars were immortalized by him before and afterwards the names of Garvey, Keohane, Lyne, John Joe o Reilly, Peter o Donoghue, all now gone to their eternal reward and others from that long ago Polo grounds Final went into the pantheon of legends.
And so the sad news reached us last Saturday week that another member of that great Cavan team of “47 Tony Tighe, (pronounced Tie) had answered that eternal final whistle. While every young fellow in Kerry should be familiar with the story of the Polo Grounds, it is one of the great Kerry footballing stories and for myself I had very special interest in that Kingdom side, the o Sullivan and Lyne brothers from my own club Killarney Legion were members of that star studded side. However the Cavan team of that day has been more or less just that, names that deprived Kerry of that final victory and prevented my own club man Denny Lyne of captaining Kerry to glory in far away America.
Then on Monday May 23rd of this year I had the great privilege of meeting a number of these legendary Cavan men when I attended a function in Dublin. This once in a life time opportunity came due to the very generous invitation of that exemplary doyen of broadcasters Jimmy McGee one of the men organizing the function to honor the teams of ’47. And it was here just a few short weeks ago that I met Tony Tighe. A lovely quiet spoken mild mannered and gentle person, he appeared to be in the very best of health that day and I took the opportunity of guiding him to a corner of the function room away from the hustle and bustle of the football banter and talk of bygone days. There in that corner for close to an hour he transported me back in time to that memorable day in the Polo Grounds for him and his team mates. Blessed with a wonderful memory it was in many ways now in hindsight a very poignant interview as he spoke about his deceased friends and wondered if for him that would be the final coming together of both teams. And sadly it was.
Tony was one of the all time great of the game; he first donned the Cavan Jersey as a minor at the tender age of fourteen and played senior before his seventeenth birthday, winning every honour the game had to offer. When I asked him how he was enjoying the get together he was high in his praise for his Kerry opponents. “Yes this is something special, and I love meeting Kerry people, always great company. In many ways this is a sad day, I was recently given a picture of a group of us on the Queen Mary sailing home from the States and believe it or not I was the only one of that large group still alive”. So how did the ’47 final change his life, “well it did in many ways, I was never a great scholar going to school, I was too fond of all games, I played football, hurling, tennis and rugby and neglected the study. I did not know what to turn to and then one day a friend said to me, Tony you are a well known name around here you should go into the insurance business, so I did and I never looked back.
He went on to tell me about the match itself, the blazing sun, men running on with buckets of water, the baseball mound in the middle of the field, Eddie Dowling soaring to the clouds and coming down on his head badly injured. “ This changed the course of the game together with and Mick Higgins and me switched to mid field, Paddy Kennedy was the greatest I ever saw. The Sam Maguire cup was not in New York, it was presented to us in the Greshem Hotel Dublin the following Friday. We sailed home in the Queen Mary on Wednesday September 24th arriving in Southampton on Thursday October 2nd, we were paraded through o Connell street by the Artane Boys Band, more receptions in the Mansion House and Aras An Uachtarain. We arrived back in the town of Cavan in the early hours of Monday October 6th. Traveling in an old bull–nosed bus with our entire luggage piled high on the roof rack, preceded by fifteen bands. I will never forget it.
For me it was moving experience to sit before this lovely man and be transported back in time to that far of day in the New York Polo Grounds and listen to as the fellow said the other side of the coin. The Cavan coin. May the sod rest lightly on his gentle soul and from Kerry Gaels all over the world we send our deepest sympathy’s to his family. Tony Tighe, one of the men who prevented Kerry from winning the All Ireland in 1947, but more importantly we should remember as a man who enriched all those who were fortunate to befriend him. As Jimmy McGee remarked to me a few days ago from far away Estonia, “wasn’t it great to have brought those men together, never put off till to morrow what you can do to day”. Wise words from the wisest of all.
Weeshie's Week 
