Update 9th March 2017

Roscommon GAA Sporting Landmarks with Boyle personnel.

In trying to re-organise material I have collected over the years I came across a list headlined as above. While I have some extra work on it I am sure that there will still be gaps. Where they are please let me know. Someone from the Ladies Club might send me equivalent records for their short time also the Soccer club and so on. 

1914 Paddy Doogue x Carlow working on the railway in Boyle; Roscommon beaten All-Ireland semi-finals v Kerry.

1932 Paddy Maughan a member of the Roscommon Junior football team which was runner-up in the All-Ireland final v Louth.

1939 Micheal O’Callaghan, Connacht Colleges Senior Winner with Roscommon CBS v St. Jarlath’s.

1941 Timmy Lynch winning minor team v Louth.

1944 John Joe Nerine on the Roscommon Senior All-Ireland winning team v Kerry. Also in All-Ireland final and replay in ’46 v Kerry and semi-finals of ’47 v Cavan, ’52 v Meath and ’53 v Armagh.

1946 Timmy Lynch Snr. All-Ireland final v Kerry.

1953 Bill McQuillan All-Ireland semi-final v Armagh.

1955 Ned Moriarty represented Mayo in the All-Ireland Snr. Semi-Final

1964 Pat Nicholson Jnr. defeated All-Ireland semi-final v Cork.

1965 Martin Laffey forester based in Boyle Roscommon All-Ireland junior hurling final winners v Warwickshire at St. Coman’s Park.

1966 Pat Clarke, John Kelly, John and Pat Nicholson All-Ireland winning U 21 team; v Kildare.

1969 John Kelly, Rory Ahern and Mel. Flanagan of Rockingham All-Ireland U 21 beaten finalists v Antrim.

1972 John Kelly and Mel Flanagan All-Ireland Senior beaten Semi-Finalists v Kerry.

1974 John Kelly and Paraic O’ Callaghan, Maple Drive (x Castlerea and army) Christy Dolan beaten senior League Finals (draw and replay) v Kerry. 

1975 Martin Candon, Roscommon All-Ir. juvenile U 16 ‘B’ Champions v ?

1976 T.P. Toolan Roscommon All-Ireland Minor hurling ‘B’ v ?   

1977 Gerry O’Dowd, John Kelly beaten All-Ireland Semi-Finalists v Armagh.

1978 Gerry Emmett All-Ireland U-21 winner v Kerry.

1978 Gerry Emmett Snr. All-Ireland beaten semi-finalist v Kerry.

1979 Gerry Emmett Snr. National league winner v Cork.

1979 Gerry Emmett All-Ireland beaten semi-finalist v Dublin.

1980 Gerry Emmett All-Ireland beaten finalist v Kerry.

1981 Gerry Emmett beaten league finalist v Galway.

1982 Gary Wynne (Capt.) Roscommon beaten All-Ireland U 21 finalists at Carrrick-on-Shannon v Donegal.

1990 Gary Wynne defeated All-Ireland Semi-Finalists to Cork also in ’91 to Meath.

2000. Rory O’ Donohoe All-Ireland Junior winners defeating Kerry.

2001 Cillian Conboy Connacht U 16 team tour to Australia.

2006 Sean Purcell defeated All-Ireland junior v Kerry.

2006 Cian Smith, Ciaran Cox All-Ireland minor winners draw and replay v Kerry.

2008 Mark O’ Donohoe defeated All-Ireland junior v Dublin.

2009 Cian Smith, Damien Keenehan defeated All-Ireland junior v Cork.

2010 Sean Purcell and David Casey defeated by Cork in snr. quarter finals.

2012 Tadgh Lowe and Donie Smith U-21 defeated finalists v Dublin.

2014 Donal & Enda Smith defeated U -21 finalist v Dublin.

*Sigerson Cup winners Paddy Nangle & Tom Ryan UCG, (Dr. Bill McQuillan who played with Boyle in the early fifties has two medals with U.C.G.) John Kelly UCD, Donie & Enda Smith and Tadgh Lowe DCU. 

**Railway Cup players from or associated with Boyle. Timmy Lynch, Bill McQuillan, John Joe Nerney, Tom Ryan, Gary Wynne, David Casey, Sean Purcell.

Amongst those who have played or otherwise contributed to Roscommon teams as players and managers at various levels are Paddy McDermott, Dermot Moriarty, Tom Wynne, Paddy Conlon, G. Mullaney, Jamesie Clarke, Tom Mulhern, Sean Daly, James Dodd, Gerry Carty, Freddie Daly, Kit O’Connor, Bernie Shannon, Aidan Lavin, Jnr. Smith, Dessie Mcloughlin, Richie Fitzpatrick, Liam Young, Gerry & Raymond Nerney, Mark McGovern, John Kelly Jnr., Kieran McKeon, Ml. Tormey, Conor Nangle, Chris O’Dowd, Paul Simon, Lochlainn Conboy, Roch Hanmore, Eoin Lavin, Evan McGrath, Cian McKeon, Seamie Gallagher, Jonathan Conroy, Niall O’ Donohoe, Gerry Cregg with Jim Clarke, John B. Tivnan, Paddy Perry and Edwin Dooley much earlier. Of course there is also A.N. Other. Please let me know who the A. N. Others are. Also Limerick and Munster hurler P.J. Keane contributed while in Boyle with a mini-revival of hurling later emulated by Mister O’Dowd. 

Then there are County Board Officers going back to the beginning such with Jasper Tully and his brother George/Henry J. Feely/ Michael O’Callaghan, Bob Carr, John McGowan, Tom Mullaney, Pat Goldrick.

There have county team managers also such as Sean Young, Kevin Young, Gary Wynne, Fergal O’Donnell, David Casey, Stephen Bohan.  

I assume that is enough to be starting with!

Looking at Heaven through a paper telescope by John Mulligan.

I really enjoyed John Mulligan’s winning short story ‘Looking at Heaven through a paper telescope’. Recently it won the new Roscommon Writing award for 2016 sponsored by Roscommon County Council and was published in the Roscommon Herald of February 28^th.

“I remember a blue-sky day that summer and a cow swaying her way along the road, then lifting her tail to waggle a zig-zag stream of green scutter on the melty tar”.

I have not heard the word ‘scutter’ for quite a while but I was well aware of it going to fairs with my father or herding in the cows at milking time !

Then he refers to the boy in a car of the time and the ‘yellow stick’ indicators which a young person could hardly visualise today.

There were echoes of Paul Durcan’s fine poem ‘Going Home to Mayo’ with a phrase ……  ‘And a yellow moon peered in through the windscreen. 'Daddy, Daddy,' I cried, 'Pass out the moon,' But no matter how hard he drove he could …’

It has also echoes Heaney’s ‘Mid-Term Break’ in “I remember all the men coming to the house and Mammy going away’.

Anyway it was a lovely short sensitive piece sometimes referred to as ‘a delight’ and if you have not come across it, chase it down. The effort will be repaid.  

Boyle Celtic’s ‘Big’ Match and Hal Cawley.

This week-end has been closed off for a few weeks now as I, with many more Boyle people, make the long journey to Carrick-on-Suir for Boyle Celtic’s quarter final of the FAI Junior (soccer) Cup there. While I hope they win of course one always hopes that they give account of themselves and will be able to say whether od which that they did their best. I have been saying for a while that they are a good side and play elegant football which is easy on the eye. I won’t say much here as in fairness The Roscommon Herald gave Celtic a fine spread in this week’s edition. A real nice piece there was the tribute to Hal Cawley by Martin Wynne. Hal is Boyle Celtic’s longest and most faithful supporter. In the piece he recalled times and players of the past with a sense of nostalgia. Fair play to Gerry Emmett who has inveigled Hal to make the long trip to the South East and when boyle win there will be no one prouder that Hal.  

Barcelona Magic

If you missed last night’s finale to the Champions League last sixteen match, second round, between Barcelona and PSG Paris then you missed one of the greatest eight minutes or so  of sporting drama ever. PSG led Barcelona 4 to nil going into this second round in Barcelona. It was felt that if they scored early there was a chance. So they scored after three minutes and it was game on. PSG lead 4:1 on aggregate. Barca. constantly on the attack. 41 minutes a jumble in the PSG box Suarez header, Barca. 2 to 0 on the night 2 : 4 on aggr. Half time.

Second Half.

Soon into the second half Neymar plunders a dodgy penalty. The referee says ‘no’ the goaline assistant says ‘yes penalty’. Messi takes it, Barca. 3 to 0. Only a goal between them 3:4 agg. Barca. need 1 to draw 2 to win. 17 minutes in PSG’s Cavani scores a belter of a goal, an away goal, 3: 1 on the night 3:5 on agg. But Barca. now need 3 goals to win because of the PSG away goal. 43 minutes Neymar great free kick, goalie might have done better, Barca. 4:1 or 4:5 on agg. They still need 2. Suarez fouled, another dodgy enough penalty, Neymar goal Barca. 5:1, 5:5 on agg. PSG still leaders with the away goal.  Five minutes of extra time after a first suggestion of 3. PSG frazzled in shock. One minute left Neymar dinks in a ball over the defensive line and Roberto gets his boot to it and carries it over the head of the advancing PSG goalie. Barca. 6 PSG 5. Goooooooooooooaaaaal. A mayhem of celebration. Despite my reservations about Neymar he was ‘Man of the Match’. What a game it must have been for the Barca. supporters. Certainly one to tell the succeeding generations about. It tops the Patriots and the Cubs but still three jewels of sporting drama in close succession.   

Roscommon Do Pretty Well

Roscommon did pretty well against Kerry on Sunday last. They never really looked as if they would win it but they did open a window close to the end when they came within a point of the Kingdom. Kerry quickly closed that window in the final minutes. Still Roscommon have three games to go v Dublin, Monaghan and Cavan. While it would be a big ask to stay up in Division One now, the team could emerge better from the rugged experiences of the games so far. Dublin in Croke Park is a big ask next time out so it is something of an anxiety test but a performance like last Sunday would be good. Also playing in Croke Park under lights makes an extra occasion out of it. The return of Diarmuid Murtagh is encouraging. I was pleased to hear that Donie Smith’s injury was not as bad as first feared. He is a necessary component of a maturing forward division.

Two vignettes from Sunday at Hyde Park. Early or maybe even before the game started the announcer came on to say ‘would the owner of car number x y z please return to it as he has left the engine running!’.

In front of the main gate on the way out after the game stood a lonesome man holding his sign regarding Roscommon Hospital A&E high, much as one would see at Hyde Park Corner in London proclaiming ‘The End is Nigh’.    

Ireland on its Knees

There seems to be little ‘good’ news these days. The country seems to be riddled with one scandal or another. And a new word has risen to the top of the charts i.e. ‘scoping’ exercise. The Tuam story is a horror story. It is unimaginable and so difficult to comprehend how people could have acquiesced and descended to this level of inhumanity.

I suppose it is very odd to mention here the film ‘The Quiet Man’ of the early fifties shot in Mayo and Connemara. In it we were portrayed as quaint, friendly, kind of backward if amusing people. And we were happy with that portrayal and laughed with it. Yet underneath that surface image there was a dark underbelly of a culture the wider knowledge of which has been emerging over the past say 20 years. The zenith of this is exemplified by Tuam. Again it was the poor, the impoverished, the voiceless who were the victims. The middle and upper classes played footsie with the establishment and the dominant church ethos.

Many senior people will remember a Bishop of some place throwing in the football at the beginning of an All-Ireland after the team captains has kissed his ring going down on bended knee in obsequious humility. His traditional place then, with the backdrop of a regiment of clergy in the best stand seats.  

I remember in the early seventies walking towards Salthill from Nile Lodge and almost tip-toeing past the Industrial School there in Lower Salthill. We were so indoctrinated as a country into the sins of the incarcerated. We did not know what kind of a country we were part of.

But many people did know and were complicit in various dark elements of it. As the fine Mayo writer John Healy wrote –in a different context- ‘No One Shouted Stop’. Today we are ‘scoping’ into so much social injustice but there is a bleak prospect of anyone being held accountable after the ‘scoping exercise’ has moved on to the next horror.