Íde Bean Uí Shé – The Cork woman who saw participation in Camogie as a step towards achieving equality for women in the male dominated Ireland of the 1940s
The first Cork camogie club was founded in 1905. and took the name of Fáinne an Lae. Sean Ó Coindealbháin (Conlon) coached the team in the basics of the game; his sisters Kate and Margaret Conlon and cousin, Christina Conlon also played. Sean’s daughter, Íde Conlon (or Ní Choindealbháin), who later became Íde Bean Uí […]
JACK LYNCH RAISED SPORTING FLAGS AND HORIZONS OF MANY
In a boy’s world of the 1920s, be it Shandon Street or anywhere in the world, money was not the main currency; athletic ability was. The boy who could run the fastest, climb the highest or puck the sliotar furthest, was king.
Jack Lynch could do all of these. His prowess was partly due to his natural athletic ability, partly due to the regular meals – which a regular wage provides, partly due to his home environment and partly due to the education provided by the nuns of St Vincents and the Christian Brothers of the North Monastery.
St Patricks Boys National School, Brian Dillons Hurling and Football Club and their entwined history
On the 29th of November 1937, almost 75 years ago, 261 boys came to school at the old St Patricks Boys National School at St Lukes Cross, Cork. When everyone was settled down and accounted for, the boys and their teachers marched up the Ballyhooly Road to the new school that had been built in […]
St Nicks v Na Piarsaigh Cork County Senior Football Championship Relegation Playoff. Part 1 – The Build Up
In or around 7pm next Saturday, barring a draw in Páirc Uí Rinn, the north side of Cork city will find that it has lost a senior football club. This is because St Nicholas and Na Piarsaigh will face each other in the relegation play-off of the Cork Senior County football championship. I have been […]
A Brief History of Donegal
As we head towards next Sunday’s All-Ireland football final it struck me that very little is known in this part of the country about Donegal, and Donegal football. Cork people have strong opinions about other counties. In most conversations concerning the inter-county affairs of the GAA it is quite normal to hear phrases like “That’s […]
Filling the stadiums could cost the sports organisations as much as the fans
Attendances are down at all the GAA championship games. And it is not just the GAA either. It is the same in English soccer, cricket and rugby where there is a far greater population base to support the games. If the NFL is suffering a drop in attendance you can be sure it is the same for every sport across the world.
Death of Teofilio Stevenson. Arguably the Greatest Olympic Boxer of All TIme
…by staying loyal to Cuba and its communist ideals, Stevenson snubbed the USA. Uncle Sam does not forgive such insolence. Cuba has survived a USA led economic embargo for 50 years. The success of Teófilo Stevenson in boxing is an example of Cuban defiance of this embargo.
Will the crowds ever come back to the Cork County Hurling Championships
Last Sunday’s attendance was paltry. A little more than 2,500 I would suggest. This made for a surreal atmosphere. There was never going to be the sight of a Glen and a Barrs supporter rolling on the ground like they used to during the Eucharistic Cup games at the Mardyke. But then the crowd last Sunday did not spend the interregnum between the end of the Eucharistic Procession and the beginning of the game at the Mardyke in various hostelries between the Grand Parade and the Western Road.
The tragic death of Willie John O’Connell
On Monday next, April 2nd, the under-14 hurling teams of the St Finbarrs and Blackrock will play at St Finbarrs. This will be the inaugural game of what will become an annual challenge between the clubs. A special trophy has been commissioned by St Finbarrs for the game. It is to be called the Willie […]
10 Sporting Hotspots in Cork
A couple of years ago BBC Radio 4 ran a marvellous series of programmes titled “A History of the World in 100 Objects”. The idea was simple. Staff from the British Museum chose 100 objects from their vast collection that would represent the history of the world over the last two million years. The Director […]