Moneygall GAA mark jubilee of golden era
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Moneygall - County Senior Hurling champions 1975 & 1976. Back row: Philip Ryan, Philip O’Meara, Seamus Hogan (representing his late brother Paddy), Joe McCormack, Noel Whyte, Seamus Doherty, Jim Guilfoyle, John Joe Comerford, Donal Kennedy, Seamus Ryan, Tim O’Connor, Phil Sheedy, Eugene Ryan, Betty Costello (representing her late husband Kieran), Jimmy Treacy, Betty McWilliams (representing her late brother Billy). Front row: Anne Jones (representing her husband Bobby), Anny Ryan (representing her brother John Gleeson), Dan Guilfoyle, Jack Ryan, Pat Sheedy, Philip Fanning (also representing his late brother Billy), Sean Doughan, Mick Doherty, Donal Fanning. PHOTOS: SANDRA QUINLAN PicasaImage 2 of 5
1975 captain Pat Sheedy and 1976 captain Mick Doherty are reunited with the Frank McGrath and Dan Breen Cups. PicasaImage 3 of 5
Brothers Seamus & Mick Doherty. PicasaImage 4 of 5
Brothers Jim & Dan Guilfoyle PicasaImage 5 of 5
Special guest Darragh Egan whose mother Mary hails from Dunkerrin. PicasaMoneygall GAA Club marked the championship successes of the clubs senior hurlers who won the county senior hurling titles of 1975 & 1976 with the golden jubilee of their achievements.
Players and family members of the panel and management gathered in Dunkerrin recently with the evening beginning with a vigil mass where deceased team-mates and friends were remembered.
After mass, the crowd gathered in the nearby community hall, where tea and refreshments were served as the crowd settled in and the chats began.
Moneygall GAA Club chairperson Fabian Jones formally welcomed the gathering and spoke of the significance of these historic achievements and the importance of marking them fifty years on, before introducing guest speaker, former Tipperary All-Ireland winning player and coach Darragh Egan.
Kiladangan native Darragh spoke of his own connection to the Dunkerrin parish with his mother Mary and his uncle Donal Kennedy who was a member of the team, his memories of summer camps in Moneygall in the nineties, and of the stories he heard growing up about the Moneygall team of the seventies.
He gave a detailed and amusing summary of the matches and events of 1975 and 1976 from his research through the Nenagh Guardian archives.
In a golden era for North Tipperary hurling, Moneygall had won their first North senior hurling title earlier in the campaign before going onto reach the county final where they drew with Kilruane MacDonaghs in the 1975 final, 3-9 apiece before easily winning the replay 3-13 to 0-5 with Philip Ryan (penalty), Donal Kennedy and Billy McLeish getting the goals.
In 1976, Moneygall proved their 1975 success was no fluke as they retained the county title, defeating another neighbouring club, Roscrea, in the final in front of ten thousand people at Semple Stadium. 1975 captain Pat Sheedy got the goal in the 1-9 to 2-5 win with Mick Doherty having the honour of lifting the Dan Breen Cup on this occasion.
Darragh Egan also spoke about recent conversations he had with some of Moneygall’s on-field opponents in those years, mainly from the Kilruane and Roscrea clubs. He also gave a special mention to Mike ‘Spike’ Nolan who contributed so hugely to both the Moneygall and Kiladangan clubs during his lifetime.
1975 captain Pat Sheedy then addressed the audience on behalf of the players. He gave a lovely account of those glory days from the players’ perspective, with special emphasis on the welcomes home received in the parish after each great success.
Each member of the 1975/76 panel was then called onstage where Darragh Egan presented them with commemorative jackets. There were also mementos presented to the family members of the team-mates who are sadly no longer with us.
The gathering also acknowledged the achievements of the current generation, including Joe Fogarty, Sean Kenneally, Andy Hoolan and Eoghan Doughan in winning All Ireland medals this year with the Tipp seniors and Under 20s.
Moneygall team v Kilruane MacDonaghs (replay 1975): Noel Whyte; Joe McCormack, John Gleeson, Mick Doherty, Jim Guilfoyle, Billy Fanning, Eugene Ryan; Philip Fanning, Jack Ryan; Donal Kennedy, Sean Doughan, Seamus Ryan; Pat Sheedy (captain), Philip Ryan, Billy McLeish. Subs: Bobby Jones, Jimmy Treacy, Donal Fanning, John Joe Comerford, Seamus Doherty, Dan Guilfoyle, Phil Sheedy, Michael ‘Spike’ Nolan.
Trainer: Mick Minogue. Masseur: Pat Cleary.
Moneygall team v Roscrea 1976: Noel Whyte; Michael ‘Spike’ Nolan, John Gleeson, Mick Doherty (captain); Jim Guilfoyle, Billy Fanning, Eugene Ryan; Jack Ryan, Philip Fanning; Donal Kennedy, Sean Doughan, Seamus Ryan; Pat Sheedy, Philip Ryan, Bobby Jones. Sub: Billy McLeish.