St Patricks National School

With regard to the article last week on football in St. Patrick’s N.S and the response to it we would like to add a little more information. Pat Mc Carthy is correct in stating that the school leagues, as we know them, were begun or should we say revived by Master Timmy Hourihan in 1954.

It is wrong to say, however, that leagues were not run by Jack Young. Indeed they were run even before Jack’s time as there is a record of a school league being run in 1922 by a Brother Theodorus of the La Salle Brothers who ran the school in the early 20th century. When Jack Young became principal in the 1920’s he ran leagues on a regular basis but perhaps not as regularly as the present league. He also entered the school in the West Cork School Shields competition which was for boys under 15 still going to national school. St Patricks won the title in 1930 and 1933 and it is believed they went on to win the County in 1933.

The school league teams under Jack Young carried such noble names as Sam Maguires, Tadgh A Duna, Randal Og, the Fenians, Eamonn an Cnoic, the United Irishmen, Sarsfields, the Great Easterns, the Croppy Boys and the Kickhams. In 1939 the three teams taking part were Sam Maguires, Tadgh a Duna and Randal Og with Maguires defeatingTtadgh a Duna in the final which took 3 games to resolve. An M. Kearney, was it Micky Kearney, captained the Maguires team. On the Tadgh a Duna team was Florrie Deasy while James Daly, Frankie O’ Brien and Denis Collins were on the Randal Og team. In the 1942 league the teams were the Great Easterns captained by John O Regan, the Croppy Boys captained by Con Fuller, and White Boys captained by J(?) Collins. The teams included well known footballers like Jerry Bernard, Seanie Keane, Paddy Collins and Chris Corcoran, to mention just a few.
 
These leagues lapsed in the middle of the 1940’s and were revived by Timmy Hourihan in 1954. R.N. Butler, Chemist, Market Square, presented a cup for the winning captain which was replaced in 1975 by Corn na Muinteoiri, presented by Michael O’ Sullivan.
 
The following is a list of winning captains;
1954 – Pat Mc Carthy                          1955 – John Burke                                          1956 – Vincent Hurley                        1957 – John Burke                                       1958 – Michael O’ Rourke                     1959 – Anthony Mc Carthy
1960  - Donal Mc Carthy                     1961 – Donal Hurley
1962 -   Tommy Lyons              1963 – Donal Crowley
1964 – Michael Healy                           1965 – Vincent O’ Sullivan
1966 – Seamus O’ Sullivan                   1967  - Denis Crowley
1968 – Jerome Crowley                       1969 – Gerard Galvin
1970 – Michael O Donovan                  1971 – James Lordan
1972 – Sean  Hayes                           1973 – Billy Lordan
1974 – Conor Coakley                       1975 – Niall Duggan    
1976 – Kevin Sheehan                       1977 – Martin Walsh
1978 – Chris O’ Mahony                  1979 – Jerry Keohane
1980 – David Lordan                         1981 – Sean Coakley
1982 – Denis Carroll                          1983 – Dominic O’ Mahony
1984 – John Galvin                           1985 – Denis Mc Carthy
!986 – Brendan Farr
 
These names should bring memories flooding back and bring to mind some good stories. Why not share them with us.

Hopefully we will bring the list up to date at a later time.