Article March Week 4
Weeshie Fogarty remembers the late Martin
"Bracker" Regan
Going
through life one can be extremely lucky to meet a person who leaves
a lasting impression on one's memory, and for me meeting and befriending
former Kerry footballer Martin "Bracker" Regan from the
town of Tralee was memorable in it's own right. His recent death
has taken from our mist the one last remaining links with that great
Kerry football team of 1931,in fact one of the sides from that era
that won Kerry it's first four in a row All Ireland titles, these
were the times which laid the foundation for the great Kerry tradition
which we know to day and indeed only for these men of that golden
span of Kerry history it is doubtful if the county would have achieved
the magnificent success we know to day, and there with
the best of them was
"The Bracker"
I got to know him through my great friendship with his son Tommy
who lives in Killarney, he carries on his fathers title, "Bracker"
and in the following years I interviewed him on a few occasions
and he also very kindly accepted my invitation to appear on my
Radio Kerry programmed, Terrace Talk where he would regale one
and all with his multitude of stories.
stretching back through the decades, and he was a wonderful racunture.
Always in great form this 95year old man would put many to shame
with his great memory, wonderful wit, humor and the ability to
sound so serious when he was telling one of his tall tales and
it is in recognition of all of this that I remember "Bracker"
this week in my column.
Since his death I have been listening to one of my interviews
with him
conducted at his home in Tralee on a beautiful summers day five
years ago and in the these transcripts I include what are in my
estimation some of his great stories, and what footballer today
could tell yarn in the same manner as what "Bracker"
could, well I don't know of even one, or as he would add himself,
"I might be wrong in that".
He was born at the top of the Rock, Gallows Green Tralee in 1909,
his father came from Cork and he became foreman of the C.W. S.
Bacon factory in Tralee, he had three brothers and one sister,
he learned his football at the CBS school where Brother Johnny
Young and Turner trained him in his first years of football, in
fact he had vivid memories of the great John Joe Sheehy being
brought into the science room to teach the moves of football on
a blackboard. Austin Stacks, then known as The Rock were his club
and he won a host of county championship medals with them both
at Hurling and football. His memories of his first time playing
for Kerry were vivid ashe recalled those wonderful days for me,
"my first win in football was in 1930 when we won the
junior All Ireland, we had a great team and we beat Dublin in
the final, the match was played in Cork and on our team was Jackie
Flavin who was dropped off the team afterwards and went on to
play with Galway, they beat us in 1938 and Jackie had a blinder",
this word, I played a blinder was a great saying of his.
In 1931"Bracker" made a sensational debut for the Kerry
seniors, picked at full fordward against Tipperrary in the Munster
final he scored 4-1, Kerry won 5-8 to 0-2 and he was the talk
of the county, he recalled how he learned of his selection. "I
did very well in my exams that year, I was going to be a teacher,
Latin was my pet subject, I went to half past nine mass and was
going down to the green for religious instruction when I met John
Hickey, one of the Kerry selectors under the clock in Castle Street
and he told me, ""you are on today instead of John Joe
Sheehy, he has retired and we are also missing John Joe Landers
and Ned Sweeney, they are still in New York, so get your boots
ready". Kerry beat Mayo in Tuam in the semi final
1-6 to 1-4.
And so "The Bracker" prepared to meet Kildare in the
final and the big Question was, could Kerry's all Conquering run
be halted? That run had started in April 1925, when Kerry beat
Dublin in the 1924 All Ireland and six of that team was still
there, Joe Barrett, Paul
Russell, Jack Walsh, Con Brosnan, Bob Stack and Jackie Ryan, so
"Bracker" was, as he would say himself lining out with
a galaxy of stars. "Even I got a huge shock when I learned
in the dressing room
that Johnny Riordan was being dropped in goals and Danno Keeffe
would replace him".
Once again his crystle clear memory was evident as he recalled
former that famous day in 1931, Kildare were on top for the first
half and the score stood at o-7 each with ten minutes in to the
second half, a high centre from Paul Russell came in I thought
it would drop in the square
and I raced in for the break but the ball went into the net over
Walsh head and we went on to win 1-11to0-8, I was thrilled to
win my All Ireland medal. Con Brosnan was captain and Eamon Fitzgerald
was outside me, he would go to the Olympics the following year
and finish high up for Ireland in the hop, step and jump, what
a team, we were all stars.
"The Bracker was a loveable rouge and I loved nothing better
than listening to the multitude of stories he would tell once
you put a mike before him and the two eyes would light up and
twinkle brightly as he launched into another priceless tale of
days gone by, it was wonderful stuff and how fortunate I was to
capture it on tape. ON one of his trips to America with the Kerry
team he recalled, “We were playing in Yankee Stadium, there
were ninety thousand people watching us, now we have lads saying
that there was no football in our day but of course you must listen
to thunder. They asked the great boxer Jack Dempsy the world champion
to throw in the ball, he asked me , "what will I do when
I throw it in, " and I said throw in that ball fast and
get out of her before you get a hiding, I met him after the game
and I said to him, I hear you have a good runner here called Jesse
Owns, well watch me I am like a scalded cat the fastest you will
ever see, one of my favourite songs is "O Lord it's so hard
to be Humble", and another is "They will never believe
Me". Jackie Walsh took a parachute jumping America, he paid
ten Dollars, Gegga asked me what would happen if the chute failed
to open, I told him if it didn't Johnny would get his money back.
I loved going back to Dingle to meet Paddy Bawn, he introduced
me to Fungie, I was never afraid of sharks, Joe Barrett said if
a shark bit me he would die of poisoning.
So what did he think of the modern game, "now Jack o Shear
got a goal against Roscommon, it took five minutes and forty seven
seconds and one hundred and fifty four passes to score that goal,
now I might be wrong in the number of passes, please check, but
if that is not pure true then I will eat my hat. Going over to
America in 1939 with the Galway team I wore a straw hat, white
shirt and green pants, I was running around the deck, doing a
bit of training, John Joe Landers said I was the champion wrestler
of Kerry, John Joe asked the Galway lads if any one of them would
take me on, no move, I said I would like to have a go at any one
of them, I pointed to the small guy sitting at the back. His name
was Bobby Beggs and when he stood up he was like a gorilla, he
had long hands and was build like a tank, he was taking off his
coat and I ran off to my cabin never to be seen again. A true
story.
I went to Dan Springs funeral and I met some of the old and young
players, they started talking about training for the Munster final.
Now think of this carefully, if someone suggested training for
the Munster final in our day he would be put in the big house
in Killarney and the
fellows with the white coats would come for him, we had thousands
at the finals and they would be gone away after five minutes due
to goals by M Regan, I was always fascinated by the net.
I was always very worried about the goalie bending down picking
the ball out of the net when I was playing, so I would bring two
bottles of Wintergreen, give them to the umpires for the goalie
to rub into his back, I was all heart, so I said to the umpires
you will want them for the bending down and putting up the green
flag and don't forget the goalie, a true story.
This is only a fraction of my interview with "Bracker";
my memories of him will remain forever with me, because in my
humble opinion he was unique in every way. A loving husband, father,
grandfather and great grandfather, he was pre deceased by his
loving wife Mary and to his sons Tommy, Jimmy, Martin, and Denis,
Daughters Ina and Mary and all his relations we extend our deepest
sympathy. "The Bracker" was laid to rest in Roth Cemetery
on Wednesday last March 16th.
"Bracker" thanks for the memories and may your gentle
soul find happiness and peace.
Weeshie's Week 
