Thanks to our gentleman in residence  Damien O'Connell we've a little piece of nostalgia to share. This is a photograph of a1956 u16 St. Johns team accompanied by Mentors, supporters and winning trophy in Nowlan Park. Anyone wants to share more info on the characters in the photograph please feel free to do so. 

Back Row: Jim Morrissey (Rip) mentor, Paddy Madden (Rip), John O'Rourke (Rip), Eddie O'Neill, John Lynch, Joe Cummins, Tommy Jordan (Rip), Eamon Ryan, Ned Nolan (Rip), Bro. Ailbe Mentor (Rip).

Front Row: Mick O'Connor (Rip), John Brophy, Peadar Malone, Tommy Ward (Capt), Mickey Foley (Rip), Sean Power (Rip) Joe Roche, Paddy Quinn (Sub).

We wish Damien a speedy recovery as we need him to be the first man to greet us and inform us as to what's really going on around Johns Park!! Get well soon DOC.

A gathering of people for a teach ceoil after mass in dunmore community hall earlier today . The aim is to rekindle the interest in some of the great old tunes and today we had a great mix of young and more seasoned singers . A great time was had and hopefully this will become a more regular event in the coming months.

A number of weeks ago we circulated an old photograph of a St John’s Parish based team and asked people to make contact with us regarding the personnel in the picture. This reporter is happy to say we got a very positive response. The team pic relates to O’Loughlins Hurling Club and was taken in 1923. O’Loughlin Gaels would like to thank the following for their help: Jim Rushe, John Joe Cullen, Billy Sullivan, Conor Denieffe and Eamon Doyle. The picture itself can be viewed on our website: www.oloughlingaels.gaa.ie and simply go to The Continent >>> Dunmore & Johnswell.

Back Row (standing) L to R: Tom J Bergin (Johnstown), Jack Howley (Mooncoin), Jack Shea

Second Row (also standing): John Jackman (Chairman, John Street), Tom Doherty (USA), Andy Phelan, Paddy Murray (Wolfe Tone Street), John Rice C.C. (President), Dick Comerford (John Street), John Talbot, Martin Madigan, Joe Timmins (Secretary & Treasurer),

Seated: Tom Talbot, James Kavanagh (England), Mick Walsh, Arthur Rushe, Jim McEvoy (Dunmore), Paddy Fahy (Wolfe Tone Street),

Sitting: Tom Wyse (Maudlin St & England), Alfie Rushe, Bill Murphy (Michael Street)

This reporter believes this team played and trained in an area known as the Asylum Flats on the banks of the River Nore.  We can also confirm the following pieces of information concerning some of the team members. Tom J Bergin was a former Chairman of the Northern County Board. Jack Shea went on to be a high profile athlete and was originally from the south of the county. John Jackman was known as “Jacksie”. He was a founder member of a re-incarnation of this team known as St John’s in the 1930’s. Andy Phelan was the groundsman in St John’s Church for many years. Martin Madigan was known to his friends as “Junie”. Joe Timmins was a founding member of O’Loughlins Hurling Club and was also Town Clerk. Tom Talbot (brother of John) took up athletics when he finished hurling and would become a county champion long distance runner. Arthur Rushe is a very important link between this team and the present day O’Loughlin Gaels Club as we know it. Arthur was a founder member of OLG in 1969. He was treasurer and selector 1969 to 1975 and indeed a special “This Is Your Life” style commemoration of his achievements was held for him in the club in 1975. Jim McEvoy was an uncle of Billy Sullivan. Jim was a mechanic and was also a dab hand at the cards. He emigrated to Canada.  Alfie Rushe (brother of Arthur) went on to be a successful chemist in Templemore. Bill Murphy was known to his friends as Galtee. He managed the Royal Liver at John’s Bridge for many years and his son J.D. was also well known in the financial and sporting life of the city. 

Road Hurling will take place on Saturday 19th July at 6.30pm in Johnswell Village. Teams of 3 @ €30 per team. Under 14’s will get a discounted rate of €15 per team. Registration from 5.30pm onwards. Senior County hurlers Brian Hogan and Tommy Walsh will be in attendance.

Claire Prendergast
 

The earliest recorded game in Johnswell is a juvenile football challenge against Castlewarren in November 1890. The Johnswell team, captained by J. Holohan, earned a draw in a very keenly contested match refereed by Mr W. Bennett. However, the earliest living memory of an organised GAA club in the Johnswell area is the formation in 1931 of the Castle Rovers club. Drawing its members from the Johnswell and Higginstown areas, Castle Rovers was predominantly a football club that trained and played its home matches on “Lynch’s field” in Sandfordscourt. Their first match was against O’Loughlins in 1931 when Johnswell Pipe & Drum Band played the teams onto the field. However, Castle Rovers ceased to exist after they exited the 1934 championship to Muckalee. It would be 17 years before the next Johnswell team was formed in 1951. Prior to its formation, players from the area played with a number of clubs in Kilkenny city. At this time there was a three-parish rule and the new club had players from Johnswell, Ballyfoyle and Reevanagh. Its players trained in a field belonging to the Bennett family in Ballasallagh and fielded a team in the North Kilkenny Junior Championship. Meetings were held in Johnswell and training took place on Sundays and on several evenings during the week. Training sessions lasted for many hours with players coming and going at different times as work and other pursuits allowed. Hurleys were homemade and varied in style and when a sliotar was needed everyone donated a few pence and the next person travelling to Kilkenny purchased one.

Back then the level of organisation in the GAA was very different to now. With so few cars in the area, transport to games was difficult to organise and players cycled or walked. On some occasions a truck was organised to carry the entire team. Players and supporters alike could never be certain that a game would actually take place until they turned up at the venue. Often the fields were unmarked and matches were frequently cancelled. The Johnswell club ran a very popular tournament in Sanfordscourt in the 1950s.  Teams such as Dicksboro and Éire Óg (from the city), Dunnamaggin and Ballycallan took part. The club hosted a camogie tournament at the same time. A marquee was erected on site and the Sanfordscourt tournament was a great festive occasion for the area.

The one-parish rule was introduced around 1953 and this resulted in the Ballyfoyle and Reevanagh players moving back to their own areas: consequently Johnswell struggled for players and ceased to exist after the 1954 championship. Some members went to play with city clubs while others continued as an affiliated unit, training on a field belonging to the Agars family and playing in 7-a-side tournaments and challenge games until the Johnswell club was reformed in 1969.  Playing in blue and white stripes, Johnswell played a hurling challenge against Dunmore in 1969 which is remembered vividly because of the very robust pulling and earthy language which prompted referee Revd. Bro. Michael to blow up early, hop on his bike and head for home. Thankfully, players from both sides put the match behind them and within a year lined out together for the united parish team, O’Loughlin Gaels.

Fr. William Bennett from Johnswell played for the Kilkenny minor team defeated by Waterford in the 1948 minor All Ireland final and some years later Paddy McCullagh also represented Johnswell on a Kilkenny minor team. Of course the area continues its very rich contribution to parish GAA, for example the much appreciated work of current Club Officers Martin and Margaret Hanlon, and through the strong involvement on and off the field of many more Johnswell ‘Gaels.

Special thanks to: Tommy and Edward Gormley, Tom Kinsella and Conor Denieffe (author of “The Continent Abú”).

We've come into possession of a very old photograph of a team that pre-dates the founding of our club. We'd simply like to know who were they, where were they from and what was the story behind the photograph? We'd love to hear from you - simply contact [email protected] and we'll do the rest. 

Like most villages around the country, Dunmore has a proud GAA tradition since the beginning of the Association. And while both Hurling and Football were being played on a very regular basis in various fields around Dunmore over the years, the players did not play for club teams for long periods.
However, the Dunmore lads did start early. Conor Denieffe did an amount of research on the history of the GAA in Dunmore for his excellent book "The Continent Abu", and he recorded that a Football team from Dunmore played a game against Garrybricken in Killemary in 1886. It is difficult to believe that 4,000 attended the game, and even if 1,000 travelled from Dunmore, I cannot help but wonder how did they all get there?

A Dunmore team was also very active in 1887 and played games in Threecastles and Ballyragget, but they did not play in the football championship of that year. In fact the first Dunmore team to play in a championship, was Junior Football was in 1919. They played Blanchfieldspark in Gowran and by all accounts it was indeed a very rough affair.

I often heard my father Jim saying that football was very strong in the area for the first twenty five years of the last century, and both himself and his brother Ned Burke were part of the Ballyfoyle Primary Schools team that won the Schools League in 1922. My father and his brothers completed their Primary education in Ballyfoyle following a disagreement with a teacher in Dunmore.
The same year - 1922, my grandfather Bill Burke became ill after he had attended a football match on a very cold Sunday. He actually died aged 57 from severe "flu a few weeks later.  The game was played in a field called "Mickles" now Dowlings at the first bend on the Kilkenny side of Heneberrys cross.

A hurling team from Dunmore finally entered the Championship in 1929, and it is recorded in Conor’s book that John Butler represented the club at Convention. John Butler was the grandfather of Patrick the current O’Loughlins midfielder. My father Jim Burke represented the club the Convention for following year. Dunmore played and defeated St Riochs in the first round of the junior hurling Championship in 1929, and then believe it or not came up against O’Loughlins in the next round. They drew the first day and in the replay, Dunmore defeated O’Loughlins by 2-1 to 1-2. Dunmore also defeated O’Loughlins in the championship the following year,1930.

Billy Burke who also happened to be my uncle was generally regarded as the most prominent hurler in Dunmore during those years. He played with Dunmore in the late twenties and early thirties, before going on to represent Kilkenny in five Senior All-Irelands finals. He won just one senior medal in 1939 together with Jack Mulcahy and Seanie O’Brien - also from St. Johns parish.

A number of Dunmore players were also prominent members of the St John’s team that won the County Minor Hurling final of 1939.  Paddy Henneberry of Heneberrys Cross was a great character, and he often spoke about playing full-forward.  "Trap the ball with the hurl, and then pull really hard, and if your mans leg is in the way, all the better," I often heard him say. Jim Brady was also a member of that St Johns winning team of 1939 was born next door to me. He was fine half back, and was father of the famous Brady folk group who made it big in the United States. Billy Leahy was from the Glendine part of Dunmore, where he farmed with his aunt. He died relatively young.

Conor Denieffe in his book also stated that hurling must have been in a very strong state in Dunmore in 1940 when two teams entered the championship. The first Dunmore team defeated Conahy in the first round, and then overcame Freshford, before going down to Threecastles. The second team was beaten by Gowran in the first round. Dunmore teams were beaten in the first round of the championship all through the forties, and in the fifties Dunmore was not represented in the championship in either hurling or football. Then in 1959 Tom Gregg, Mick Kealy, and Jim Gibbons played a big part in helping to unite the parish with one club team.

The last time that a team from Dunmore played in the championship was 1969. They were defeated by Danesfort in the first round. Many of these players later played a big part in helping to reform OLoughlins, while excelling both on and off the field.

Liam Burke