Louth GAA championship season of a century ago marked by turmoil

The War of Independence was at its height, and this was the reason for the Louth football championship season of one hundred years ago being as fractured as the one reaching its conclusion this weekend.

It can be said of this year’s that it has run according to plan, albeit compressed into less than two months. In contrast, the 1920 season extended into the following year, just one of its four competitions being finished in the year in which it had begun, and another, the premier event, reaching its conclusion without a final.

It’s perhaps an indication of how disruptive things were that it wasn’t until early July before the 1920 annual convention was held. The War of Independence, which had begun in June of 1919, had intensified in the first half of the year.

Motions to ban British military from GAA grounds were passed at several county conventions, including Louth’s, and when the Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence McSwiney, died on hunger strike, the County Board, as a mark of respect, cancelled all fixtures until October.

Then came Bloody Sunday, on November 21, when the reviled Black-and-Tans opened fire on the crowd watching a football match between Dublin and Tipperary at Croke Park. Thirteen people were killed at Croke Park, Michael Hogan, the Tipperary captain, among them. On the following week, a meeting of the Board passed a vote of sympathy with the relatives of the deceased. The country was in turmoil, and it was nothing short of a miracle that any games at all were played in this or any other county.

Joe Ward, the man who gives his name to the trophy on offer for next Sunday’s senior final, presided at the convention, but did not seek re-election as chairman.

Forty-three delegates were present and 25 of them cast their votes in favour of Nick Butterly, representing the Hitchestown club , in the election of Ward’s successor. Outgoing secretary, Paddy Duffy, also stood down and his place went to Drogheda’s Tom Burke, who had fought in the Easter Rising and was interned in Frongoch, in Wales.

The Drogheda Stars clubman was a noted footballer, playing with Louth in the 1912 All-Ireland junior final. He joined the newly-formed Wolfe Tones club in 1923, and when his playing days were over, he concentrated on his role as referee. In 1928 – when the Sam Maguire Cup went on offer for the first time – he had the honour of refereeing the All-Ireland senior final, in which Kildare beat Cavan.

In another election, this one for registrar, Paddy Meade (Boyne Rangers) defeated Joe Waller, of the Greenore hurling club.

Previous senior championships had been played on a divisional basis, the winners south and north county leagues meeting in the final, but for the 1920 renewal it was decided to have an open draw. Six teams went into the hat, Eamonn Ceannts (Ardee), Dundalk Rangers, Drogheda Stars, Drogheda Tredaghs, Dundalk O’Rahilly’s and Geraldines, who were listed as being based in Dromiskin.

Though it took only a handful of matches to complete the competition, it wasn’t until August of 1921 that a date was set for the final. Geraldines had made it through by defeating Eamonn Ceannts, while O’Rahilly’s got a bye in the semi-final.

Dundalk’s Athletic Grounds was chosen to host the game, but there was no need to put out the flags or mix the whitewash. Days before the games were due to take place, O’Rahilly’s notified the County Board they wouldn’t be fielding – a number of their key players, prominent among the Volunteers, had been imprisoned. It wouldn’t be possible to field a team.

The Board was then left with no option but to award the title to Geraldines, whose panel read; Larry Feehan, John Lynch, Joe Donnelly, Chris Carroll, Tom Carroll, Paddy Hoey, Artie Kinahan, Harry Grimes, Jim Morgan, Peter Rankin, Gerry Grimes, Joe Byrne, Paddy Neary, John Neary, Gerry Donnelly, Peter Kerr, Peter Doyle, Tom Sheridan, Hugh Hoey.

Geraldines had already been crowned junior champions by the time they were awarded the senior title. The junior was much more competitive, fifteen teams taking part.

At the time, new clubs were being formed on an annual basis, some of them lasting no more than one season. While it’s often commented upon the number of clubs there are in Dundalk today, back then there were six in the junior grade alone, and each of them had a representative in the championship, Con Colberts, Rangers, Sceiligs, Clan na Gael, GNR and Blues.

Cooley Kickhams and Valley Rangers came in from the peninsula, and flying the Drogheda colours were Stars and Boyne Rangers. Others in the line-up along with Geraldines were, Collon, Blackrock Rovers, Darver Hearts and Eamonn Ceannts, from Ardee.

Geraldines beat Valley Rangers, and Con Colberts had a win over Boyne Rangers in the semi-finals. Well-known Dundalk referee, Andy Rogers, after whom a North Louth underage trophy is named, had charge of the final, which was also played at the Athletic Grounds in August of 1921. It was a close affair, Gers holding out for a 2-1 to 1-2 victory.

Fr John Mulligan’s history of Louth GAA shows that the Geraldines panel was the same for both the senior and junior championships.

It was also a good year for Clan na Gael, four years after the Castletown club had been founded. They, too, brought up the double, winning the minor and second division championships.

Former County Board chairman, Peter Brannigan, recalls the under-18 win in Once A Clan, Always A Clan, his acclaimed history of the club, published in 1991:

“Further success (to the second division win) was not too far away. The minor championship was captured for the first time. The final, versus O’Mahony’s, was scheduled for the Athletic Grounds on Sunday, November 20; however, it was a drawn match and was refixed for February 13th, 1921. Another draw ensued, 0-1 each, and the teams met for the third time two Sundays following, again at Dundalk. This time Clans emerged victors, 2-2 to 1-1.

“Panelists were, Jack Hart, J Matthews, N Tuite, Joe Eaton, Thomas McNally, John Brannigan, Owen Quigley, Larry Clifford, Joe Martin, P McKenna, Harry Warnock, Harry O’Donaghue, Michael Melia, Tom Raynor, Tom Farrell, Christy Farrell, and Tom Cummins. Tom McArdle, Joe Byrne, Michael McGill and John Dixon were selectors.”

The second division final was the only one played in the year in which the competition had begun, and here Clan na Gael had a comfortable win over Hitchestown, 4-1 to 1-1. As was the case with most big matches at the time, the Athletic Grounds played host.

The winning team was: P Coburn, J Quigley, S Cunningham, Owenie Dowd, M Connolly, A O’Hare, B Devlin, Peter Woods, M Tuite, “Laddio” Plunkett, Tom McArdle, P Thornton, Matt Hearty, Owen McShane, Joe Byrne.

The War of Independence intensified even further in the first half of 1921, and as a consequence the only matches played here were the games carried over from the previous year. There was no county convention, and though fixtures were made, it wasn’t until 1922 before they were played.

A truce was called on July 11, 1921, bringing the War of Independence to an end; and it was six months later when the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed. However, there was more bloodshed to come; the summer of the following year witnessed the beginning of the Civil War, creating differences that manifested themselves on the football and hurling fields. Time healed, but not for a number of years.

Artie Kinahan, listed on the winning Geraldines team of 1920, was father of well-known Democrat photographer, Arthur Kinahan. An uncle of Arthur’s, Larry Feehan, played in goals.

Five members of the second division-winning Clan na Gael team, Joe Byrne, Owen McShane, Owenie O’Dowd, Tom McArdle and Philip Coburn, were founder-members of the Castletown club.

Current Louth County Board honorary president and former chairman, Paddy McMahon, is nephew of noted referee.