|
Michael
Murray
He appears for the first time,
named on a Killarney hockey team that played a Cork team
in the sportsfield in the summer of 1900. Also named on
this team were well known Dr. Crokes players, Dr.
William O’ Sullivan, D Moriarty, Eugene O’Sullivan and
Con O’ Sullivan and those four with Murray were on the
Dr. Crokes team that were beaten in the Kerry Co’
Championship final by Killorglin on December 4th
of that year. The Dr.Croke ‘Gaelic Century’ stated, this
ended the first year of the twentieth century and
disappointing though the year may have been, it did not
deter the club officials from soldiering on.
Early in 1901 Eugene O’Sullivan
and Michael Murray set about re–organizing the club and
the target they set their sights on was the winning of
the county championship. Throughout the 1880s and 1890s
cricket, rugby, hockey, athletics, football and hurling
were played fairly regularly in the town and it was
common to find the same men partaking in some or all of
the sports mentioned. Being involved in so many games,
it became impossible to achieve any degree of success in
any one sport and so the club management set about
changing this.
Under the new regime the team
trained in the cricket field – sprinting and skipping
being the main aspects of the sessions and great
interest was shown by the townspeople as they
congregated at the sportsfield on the long summer
evenings to watch the training. The records show that
the target set out early in the year was achieved and en
route to the title they beat Laune Rangers, Firies,
Tralee, ( replay ) and Cahirciveen. The team that
brought the first Co’Championship to the club was
–Eugene O’ Sullivan (captain), Paddy Dillon (goal ) P.E.
Valkenburg, Dick Fitzgerald, Willie Lynch, Jack Lynch,
Jack Myers, Denis O’ Keeffe, T O’ Keeffe, Tom
O’Sullivan, Dan O’Meara, Denny Kissane, Jack Kissane,
John Clifford, Tom Looney, Maurice Horgan, Michael
Murray.
At a meeting of the club in
October 1901 Michael Murray was unanimously elected
secretary instead of Michael O’ Leary who was leaving
for South Africa. From here on he was a strong voice in
both the club and County affairs and was seen to be
articulate and fair in his dealings overall. He was a
leading light in the club in those years and
was appointed captain
in 1905.
On August the 12th of
that year a Kerry trial was played as a result of a
challenge made by the Dr. Crokes captain and the result
caused an upset as Murrays 17 defeated the All Ireland
selected side 1-5 to 1-3. Between the two teams almost
all the Dr. Crokes panel were on the field for that
game. One must remember the 1903 All Ireland final
wasn’t finished until November 12th 1905 and
Michael Murray was prominent on the right back of the
team photograph as a mentor.
After 1905 Michael Murray seems to
disappear from the football scene , but in 1924 when the
Kerry County Board made an appeal for Kerry Team
Training Fund, Eugene O'Sullivan & Michael Murry
(Killarney U.D.C Clerk) were collectors in the Killarney
area. Overall Michael Murray had made a big impact in G.A.A. circles
in Killarney and Kerry during his time.
John Clifford (1879-1938)
Growing up in College Street,
John Clifford was interested in all sports but the Dr.
Crokes had to be the important one because his street
was very much a GAA. stronghold, where in every
laneway whole families supported the black and amber and
his family's Bar/Grocery was almost opposite Dick
Fitzgerald's Family business. The Dr.Crokes
were lucky to have people like him in those early years,
able and articulate men who were at the same time
players, and administrators who helped to keep the club
to the fore in Kerry.
Being a Dr. Croke player in the
first year of the 1900s meant disappointment once again
in a County Final but John kept faith with the
management and trained hard and got his reward by
winning his County medal in 1901.
During 1901 the Kerry County Board
was also trying to get its act together and held one of
its rare meetings on May 14th at which John
Clifford attended as a Croke delegate and he was very
active for another two years or so in all club affairs
and as a player.
Then we find that on April 14th
1903, at a specially convened club meeting, which was
well attended, a presentation of a gold medal was made
to John Clifford on the eve of his departure to
California and glowing tributes were paid to a staunch
Dr Croke man who had been prominently identified with
Irish sports and pastimes.
He Played with the San Francisco
Erin's Hope GAA Club and was there during the
devastating Earthquake in 1906, In 1911 he went to
Australia to an Uncle. Shortly after arriving he
received a telegram from his father to return to Ireland
as his Brother had died and he was needed to take over
the family business. He married Kate Spillane in 1912
and they were blessed with 4 Children Peggy (RIP)
Kathleen (RIP) Dermot (Fr Leo OFM) lives in Boston &
Denis (RIP).
Kate Spillane had booked her
Passage to America on the Titanic but changed to marry
John Clifford.
1912 was also the year that Dr
Crokes won the first of their 3 in a row Kerry County
Championships.
1913 John Clifford was elected
Chairman of the Dr Crokes Club.
In the late teens and early 1920s
there was very heavy restrictions on GAA. activities
resulting in the postponement of competitions and the
abandonment of many inter county competitions. The
effect at local level became apparent and at a meeting
of the Dr.Crokes club reported in the Kerryman newspaper
of October 18th 1924, it was decided to form
an Inter Street League and to present the winners with a
silver cup. It was considered the local matches would
produce the material and that the Black and Amber would
be carried with success again in the playing fields of
Kerry. The matches evoked tremendous enthusiasm between
both young and old with a wonderful spirit and were a
huge success for many years.
It was in this context we find
John Clifford as a mentor of the
College Street winning team of 1925. As a committee
member of the club he was appointed a team selector and
an organizer of the Street Leagues at the 1927 AG.M. a
task he obviously took to heart because a report of the
1935 Street final said the great Kerry centerfield
player Tim O’Donnell was cheered off the field holding
the silver cup presented by John Clifford vice-president
of the Dr. Croke club.
At the clubs 1930 A.G.M. he was
appointed on a committee with Eugene O’ Sullivan and Dr.
Eamon O’ Sullivan whose function it was to procure a
suitable site for a field to perpetuate the memory of
the late Dick Fitzgerald by building a memorial stadium
in his honour .The finished product is there for all to
see how successful their efforts were and John Clifford
was one of the main men in the field development.
John Clifford died suddenly in the
late 1930s and he is remembered as another who did so
much to move the GAA. association forward in Killarney
and Kerry during his time.
Back |
