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https://www.oneills.com/shop-by-team/gaa/ireland/austin-stacks.html
SUÍOMHANNA GRÉASÁIN: (i) Have you read what has been written by young GAA people? Check in at clubnewsletter@gaa.ie. (ii) Go to the club website and see what’s on on www.stacks100.ie. Bain taitneamh as! (i) Féach ar na gníomhaíochtaí ealaíne agus scileanna atá ar shuíomh gréasáin CLG. Go to www.gaa.ie/my-gaa/getting-involved/kids-activities?
90 BLIAIN Ó SHIN: What was happening in 1930….90 years ago? (i) In 1930 Kerry football was on ‘high doh’, having defeated Kildare’s ‘Lily Whites’ in ’29 and having brought ‘Sam’ to The Kingdom for the very first time. (The ‘Sam’ was won for the first time by Kildare in 1928). Kerry had an easy ‘run’ in Munster as only three counties entered teams. They played and defeated Tipperary in the provincial final. On a wet afternoon and on a slippery pitch the sides were level with 15 minutes to go but two late goals ensured a Green’n’Gold victory. Mayo faced us in the semi-final and the game was close until near the end when our men pulled away. Monaghan, who had surprisingly pipped Kildare in their semi-final, were our opponents in the final. (Kildare had lost their chance of winning a third All-Ireland in-a-row). Kerry won a lopsided game…3-11 to 0-2…and ‘Sam’ was brought to the southwest for the 2nd time. KERRY HAD ONLY TO PLAY AND WIN THREE MATCHES TO WIN THAT ALL-IRELAND!! Kerry’s 15 starters: Johneen Riordan; Joe Barrett, Paddy Whitty, Jack Walsh; Paul Russell, Joe O’Sullivan, Tim O’Donnell; Con Brosnan, Bob Stack; Jackie Ryan, Miko Doyle, Éamonn Fitzgerald; Ned ‘Pedlar’ Sweeney, Denis ‘Rory’ O’Connell, John Joe Sheehy (captaen). Nóta: In our last notes we noted that ‘a huge bonfire blazed at the railway gates in Upper Strand Street and there was much rejoicing’ when ‘The Sam’ was brought from Dublin. Why were there railway gates in the top of Strand Road? The Tralee-Dingle narrow-gauge railway line crossed Strand Street at the entrance to what is now the K-O’R Field. If that line still existed and if trains were running, one could travel by train from the top of Ashe Street, through Austin Stack Villas, to the K-O’R Field to see a match! (ii) What happened to our club footballers in 1930? Well, having defeated South Kerry (3-10 to 0-1) and West Kerry (3-6 to 1-3), The Rock faced K-O’R in the Kerry county final. Strand Road led at the break by 0-4 but our boys were 0-5 ahead at the final whistle. Bua maith! Pat ‘Mullins’ Curtin (cúl báire) was nominated by Joe Barrett to received the cup and to give a victory speech in Irish, rud a dhein sé gan dua! Painéal na Carraige: Pat ‘Mullins’ Curtin, Joe Barrett, Jimmy Kelter, Mick Healy, Tommy Barrett, Dan Ryan, Eddie Barrett, Tom Cashell, Denis Rory O’Connell, Micko Doyle, Jimmy Barrett, John Joe ‘Purty’ Landers, Martin ‘Bracker’ O’Regan, Archie Reidy, James Baily, Tim ‘Roundy’ Landers, Bobby ‘Rucky’ Kelly, Dominic Daly, Tadhg Drummond, Mick Landers.
CEIST: Can you name the footballer who marked Páidí Ó Sé in an All-Ireland U21 football semi-final in Austin Stack Park and…and who, in 1982, scored 2 goals in a World Cup match in Spain? Can you come up with the answer!
100 BLIAIN Ó SHIN: What was happening in 1920….100 years ago? Having won a 5th All-Ireland in 1914, Kerry football was a little subduded in 1920 due to the on-going troubles of the time. Only once during that period did our footballers get out of Munster…1919…but they were beaten by Galway in the semi-final. The War of Indepenence was occupying the minds of many. B’ainnis an bhliain í in Éirinn iathghlas oileánach! It was a horrible year! In October, a week of violence took place in Tralee as the Royal Irish Constabulary personnel tried to recover the bodies of two ‘missing’ RIC men. The term ‘The Siege of Tralee’ appears in some international newspapers! The RIC in Tralee warned that ‘unless the two Tralee policemen are returned before 10am on the 2nd of November (1920) reprisals of a nature not yet heard of in Ireland will take place in Tralee and its surroundings.’ On All Saints Day, the RIC fired at crowds leaving Mass in Tralee. A French journalist, and witness, wrote, ‘volley after volley resounded to the terror of the people…..I do not remember, even in the (1st World) War, having seen people as profoundly terrified as those of this small town.’ For the next seven days ‘The Tans’ made local businesses shut their doors and allowed no food in or out of the town. They imposed a strict curfew. By the end of the week, the international press, many of whose organs had correspondents covering the conflict in Ireland and who had come to Tralee, was reporting that the town was on the very verge of starvation. Some pressmen had some sympathy for the Black and Tans but many others, particularly those from continental Europe and North America, did not. ‘The Freeman’s Journal’ reported that ‘war on women and children’ was taking place in Tralee. On November 9th, orders came from Hamar Greenwood, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, that the ‘siege of Tralee’ was to be lifted. By the time of the truce in July 1921, up to 136 people had been killed in Kerry. Our own Austin Stack was involved with Arbitration Courts, authorised in June 1919, and which later became the the Dáil Courts. Apart from the policy of undermining British rule in Ireland, there was a necessity for such courts throughout the country. They decided the disputes of ordinary life more on the lines of common sense and neighbourliness than by strict law. Cork’s Lord Mayor, Terence McSweeney, had died while on hunger strike. An 18 year old, Kevin Barry from Wicklow, was hanged in Dublin. Mossie Reidy from Ballymacaelligott, who was an All-Ireland champion weight-thrower in 1919, was shot by Major McKennon at Ballydwyer on Christmas Night; his friend, John Leen, suffered the same fate. Terrible times! ‘Mór mo phian: bithnaimhde do mo shíorchiapadh. Mór mo bhrón: d’éag an dream inar chuireas dóchas. Mise Éire: uaigní mé ná an Chailleach Bhéarra.’ (P.Mac Piarais). Football and hurling, ní nach ionadh, took 2nd place! Some games were played in the 1920 championships but the competitions weren’t completed. We have no county champions for the years 1920 to 1924.