LEOS BANNER v BARROW FOOTBALL MEMORIES Got a number of texts and e-mails once the first ever SFC meeting Carlow and Clare was confirmed on Morning Ireland, said missives suggesting that, with a foot in both camps, I couldnt really lose though, to be honest, the divided loyalties do not extend to football or as one texter put it when theres no timber involved youll definitely be hoping for the locals! True for him! I am often referred to as a half-a-Clareman but, I suppose, you should reduce that to a quarter-Clareman for while I am an avid follower of the Banner County hurlers, I would not have the same interest at all in the fate of the footballers. Outsiders often forget, or are not aware, that the Munster quartet of Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford and Clare, predominantly viewed as hurling counties have significant pockets that are more football orientated and in Clares case the county, until relatively recently, was virtually divided half-and-half, East and Mid Clare lovers of the camán, the West almost completely devoted to football. My parents native village of Inagh was once referred to by Brendan OhEithir as the last hurling outpost before you entered the football mad West, Miltown Malbay just ten miles further on. Inagh, on an off, have had a Hurling Club going back to the early 1900s but, to the best of my knowledge, never fielded a football team and to this day anyone who dabbles with the big ball must do so with neighbouring Ennistymon. While my father inculcated in me a love of all things Clare, particularly the hurling and the song, football was not high on the list. Yes, we were told of Clare contesting the All-Ireland football final in 1917, of being beaten by the Wexford four-in-row team but the story didnt carry the same reverence as tales of Amby Power and his merry men winning the 1914 All-Ireland hurling crown. Fact is, though having attended hundreds of Clare hurling games, big and small, I have only attended ONE club football fixture of any description in Clare! And that a firsr round JFC match in Roslevan! The only time I was in Hennessy Park, Milltown-Malbay, scene of the Milltown Massacre (Kerry beat Clare something like 9-21 to 2-9 in the 1979 Munster football championship) was for the final of a Tug-of-war competition in the early 70s held in conjunction with the then famous Darling Girl from Clare festival! When Clare won the Munster Senior football championship in 1992, the famous day Seamus Clancy inspired a shock victory over the mighty Kingdom in Limerick, I was standing on the Canal End in Croke Park watching Kilkenny and Wexford in the Leinster hurling final! A communal gasp of disbelief and a ripple of surprised applause greeted the Public Address announcement of Clares victory. On getting home to Brownes Hill that night Daddy was relaxing in bed with a glass of whiskey having listened to the game on the radio and, as was his wont in those days, doodling the changing scoreline on the pages of the Sunday newspapers, the scantily clad models on the Sunday World a favourite location for such doodling! Anyway, moving quickly on, the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin in Croke Park was the ONLY time I have specifically travelled to a championship game involving the Clare footballers and I was not alone, a lot of Clare natives were also seeing the big ball men for the first time. Talk about fine-day followers! However, I firmly believe and again I am not alone, that the events of that day had a major impact on the Clare hurlers and helped set in the train the impetus that ended with the All-Ireland glory of 1995 and 97. Standing on the Canal End that day, the roar that greeted Clares arrival on the field put the hairs standing on the back of my neck and looking around at the stands, the saffron and blue flags flying proudly from the old Cusack and Hogan Stands a tear came to the eye. Imagine what it would be like if the hurlers were here I sighed to myself, a sigh, I would imagine, echoed by all lovers of the stick. Unbelievably, we didnt have to wonder for all that long more but to this day I believe that that Clare Roar that greeted the footballers in August 1992 surpassed anything that followed with the hurlers! Yes, even Eamon Taaffes goal to win the All-Ireland in 95 and Jamesies winning point two years later. I cant quite put my finger on it, but there was something primal, a real raw emotion attached to that football roar, a county starved of success in either code announcing their arrival on the biggest stage of all, Croke Park, the Mecca for all GAA followers. I reckon the hurlers heard, saw and felt the emotions engendered that fateful Sunday and wanted that for themselves. They got it! Alas, my father was gone by then but he died in January 93 with Clare the reigning Munster football champions and, you know, a little bit of luck in that All-Ireland semi-final against the Dubs could have seen them advance to the final for the Banner had a goal controversially disallowed for an alleged square infringement and eventually lost a high scoring contest by five points. Mind you, if Clare had won that semi-final and the search for an All-Ireland ticket was on I could have cited that fact that I was following the Clare footballers for 22 long years, sure wasnt I at their home National Football League game against Carlow in Lahinch in 1970! That was one of the first matches, football or hurling, my memory could put a definite year on. We were down in Inagh for the week-end and aware that Carlow were playing Clare in football just down the road it was decided to travel. I have a notion the game might have been originally fixed for Miltown but was switched, maybe due to ground conditions, to the seaside resort of Lahinch, not often before nor since the scene of inter-county football activity. We had often been in Lahinch during long, hot Summers, the placed packed with holiday makers enjoying sun, sea and sand but Lahinch in November was a far from inviting place, the sea breeze coming in off the Atlantic ensuring youd want to be well wrapped up. As a ten year-old I have only a few memories of proceedings that day. Standing near the wall behind the goal close to the gate where the teams ran out on to the playing field I recall the Clare natives being particularly struck by the colour of the Carlow jersies. It was, of course, still red, yellow and green back then but the design was green with red shoulders (similar the old Wexford design) and yellow cuffs and collars. The home support, sparse enough in number, were also taken by the size of the Carlow goalkeeper; he was small alright while the visiting free-takers bald features also came in for mention. Clare, at that time, wore an all blue jersey with saffron cuffs and collars and the home side, won well that day but it was not until I consulted the archives recently that I realized the extent of their victory as well as confirming the identity of the Carlow goalkeeper and free-taker. The free-taker and Carlows lone scorer in their 2-12 to 0-3 demise was Peter Roberts, a man who participated in six consecutive Carlow SFC finals between 1966 and 1971, playing in three and refereeing three but not necessarily in that order?! Peter lined out on 41 competitive occasions with the County senior footballers between 1959 and 1971, the majority at right half back but when the Kildavin clubman reached veteran stage he operated to effect in attack and had an another unusual distinction in that he scored all of Carlows tally in TWO consecutive NFL games which, as it transpires, were the first two Carlow matches I attended. The league outing prior to that Clare match in Lahinch was an opening round game against Tipperary in Dr. Cullen Park and I remember this game for two reasons, the presence of well known hurler Michael Babs Keating on the Tipp team the main one, taking up residence on the concrete seating behind the outside pitch goal to get a close look at a man who had already taken on legendary status and who notched up a fair few scores that day. The other reason was the Nationalist match report the following week which opened along the lines the scoreline on this report should he altered to Tipperary 2-15, Peter Roberts 0-5, a kind of super-hero performance that appealed to a young mind. Mind you, I must admit until consulting the archives recently I had thought that it was Sean King who kicked those five points against Tipperary. Strange the way the memory can play tricks with you! Peter Roberts it was, all from placed balls, as were his three against Clare in Lahinch so those who think Carlow football had been sinking to an all-time low might have to reconsider their verdict! Oh, and the wee Carlow goalkeeper was Georgie Coleman, also of Kildavin, and my memories of him making some fantastic saves in Lahinch was confirmed by the match report of the game which stated he saved his side from a much heavier defeat. That same report reveals that Clare were without their most famous player, army man Senen Downes, a Railway Cup star with Munster but their other inter-provincial, Paddy McMahon was a tower of strength at mid-field. The Carlow line out on the Shores of the Atlantic 44 years ago was: George Coleman (Kildavin); Tom Donohue (Kilbride), Brian Fox (Naomh Eoin), Sean Treacy (Palatine); Joe Sheeran (Ballinabranna), Pat McNally (Ballinabranna), Eamon Roberts (Kildavin); Jimmy Doyle (Kildavin), Joe Kirwan (Kildavin); JJ Canavan (Palatine), Peter Roberts (Kildavin), Kevin Conway Kildavin); Peter Farrell (Kildavin), Liam Fox (Naomh Eoin), Barney Ffrench (Eire Og). Sub: Mick Walsh (Tinryland)
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 20:44:29 +0000
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