JUST ABOUT EVERY student in Ireland can look back upon their primary school years and recall a teacher that was as passionate about sport, and sporting participation, as holding surprise spelling tests or finding gigantic acorns for the nature table.
These men and women would often stay behind, off the clock, coach teams and preach of the blissful simplicity of team sports or pushing one’s self to the brink in the search for sporting glory.
The added bonus came when that teacher happened to be really, really good at sport and would often show up on a Monday morning with tales of epic battles and scars gained in pursuit of triumph. Here are some of the finest primary school teachers to play sports in Ireland.
Gaelic Games
Tomas O’Sé (Kerry) & Stephen O’Neill (Tyrone)
Eight Munster titles, five All-Ireland Football Championships, three NFL trophy wins and five All Star awards for the wing back. The Ventry native plays club football with an Gaeltacht and is teaching at a Gaelscoil in Cork. O’Neill has won five Ulster titles, three All -Irelands, 2 NFLs and was named All Star, in the forward line, on three occasions.
O’Sé and O’Neill clash in 2003. (©INPHO/Morgan Treacy)
Men’s Football: Ian Ryan [Limerick], Gary Sice [Galway], Keith Kelly [Galway], George Hannigan [Tipperary], Liam O’Lionnain [Waterford], Paddy Kelly [Cork], Frank McGlynn [Donegal], Rory Kavanagh [Donegal], Martin O Reilly [Donegal, student teacher in Marino], Shane Ryan [Dublin dual star], Paddy Christie [Dublin]. Currently training in St Patrick’s teacher training college in Drumcondra – Cillian O’Connor [Mayo] and Ferghal Flannagan [Cavan].
Juliet Murphy (Cork – ladies football)
The Reblette star has won seven All-Ireland titles in eight seasons. She has picked up five All Star awards. Three members of the current Cork team, who are all primary school teachers, have 14 All-Ireland medals between them.
Juliet Murphy, Anne Fay INTO President, Nollaig Cleary (also a basketball player with Glanmire) and Laura Mc Mahon of Cork. (Credit: INTO)
Ladies Football: Elaine Harte [Cork], Nollaig Cleary [Cork], Laura McMahon [Cork], Orla Finn [Cork], Caroline Kelly [Kerry], Linda Wall [Waterford], Mairead Wall [Waterford], Emer Flaherty [Galway], Niamh Carroll [Wicklow], Elaine Harte and Niamh Ni Caoimh [both Cork].
Hurling
Kilkenny’s Tommy Walsh (currently doing his post-grad in primary teaching) tackled by Lar Corbett and Shane McGrath (teacher) of Tipperary. (©INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan)
Hurling: Shane O’Sullivan [Waterford], Luke O’Farrell [Cork], John Conlon [Clare], Conor Cooney [Galway], James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick [Kilkenny], Richie Hogan [Kilkenny], Paddy Hogan [Kilkenny], David Herity [Kilkenny], Brendan Maher [Tipperary], James Nagle [Waterford].
Brian Cody (Kilkenny) & Ger Loughnane (Clare/Galway)
Cody won three All-Irelands as a player with Kilkenny. He took up the management reins in 1998 and, to date, has led the Cats to nine All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship titles. Loughnane never won an All-Ireland during his 14-year playing career but claimed two NHL trophies with his native Clare. He managed them for seven season from 1994 and led The Banner County to two All Irelands. Both men are primary school principals.
Brian Cody and Ger Loughnane shake hands post-match in 2007. (©INPHO/Morgan Treacy)
Camogie
Claire O’Connor of Wexford has tasted All-Ireland success three times and one All Star accolade. The sport is popular in the O’Connor family as her sisters, Niamh, Ciara and Eimear, have all represented the county.
Breda Holmes [Kilkenny], Niamh Mulcahy [Limerick], Joanne O’Sullivan (Dublin), Sile Nic Coitir [Dublin - dual star].
Handball
Caitriona Casey won a world champion at underage level. The Cork native has been tipped as a future star of the high-tempo sport.
Boxing
Darren O’Neill, captain of the Ireland boxing team at the 2012 Olympics. The three-time national champion has also won Gold and Silver medals at the European Championships.
O’Neill was a father figure to young boxers Michael Conlan and Paddy Barnes at London 2012. (©INPHO/Cathal Noonan)
Athletics
Geraldine Nolan, Padraig McKinney, Ita Gallagher and Jerry Kiernan.
Hockey
Kim Daly, who teaches in Scoil Ide Corbally, is a former Irish youth hockey player and currently plays with Catholic institute.
Cycling
Philip Howard, cycling the Tour d’Afrique, a 12,000km trip from Eygpt to Capetown in aid of Pieta House teaches in St Pauls CBS in Dublin. Paul Curtin is another Dublin-based teacher with a passion for cycling. He is riding from Malin Head to Mizen Head this year in a charitable, fundraising endeavour.
Philip Howard: Cycling the long-haul for a good cause. (Credit: I.N.T.O)
Soccer
Peter White of Waterford United played with Limerick FC whilst studying to become a teacher. Claudia Hudner is an Ireland youth international.
Sailing
Katie Tingle represented Ireland in a range of international sailing events.
Ultra-marathon
Galway teacher Gary Thornton recently won the North Pole Marathon. He outdid the other 45 competitors by finishing the 42.195km (26.2 miles) course in a time of 3:49:29.
*Are there any sporting primary teachers we have missed?
Heysel hurt Everton more than any other English club. Denied their greatest side a chance to compete in Europe.
@@TJPPK: you are right but i think as a whole England tried (and succeed ) after hysel and Hillsborough.
@@TJPPK: as an Everton fan I can tell ya that damage is still felt at the club today to an extent. We aren’t bitter about it in the slightest but sometimes ya can’t help but wonder what could have been if it wasn’t for a bunch of hooligans that night, not just for Everton but for all English sides after that
@@TJPPK: Not really. If the tragedy hasn’t happened, Liverpool would have won that game; both Liverpool and Everton would have been in the European Cup. Liverpool suffered too.
@Ian Heaton: they lost the game if memory serves me right, what makes you think without tragedy they would’ve won it?? Jive great side then..
@Philip Mckenna: They lost 1-0 to a penalty that wasn’t, which was to possibly appease the Juve fans. Liverpool couldn’t exactly go out and try to win the game after what had happened. We had a great side too, and we were defending European champions.
I remember watching that game in my teens, shocking shocking scenes, as a Liverpool supporter myself and everyone at the time expected some sort of violence but what unfolded was surreal, the bodies on the field both captains trying to calm the fans before the game resumed, the subsequent inquiry about the state of the stadium, how opposing sets of fans occupying places in the neutral zone, but most of all the dead and injured fans who in the main went out to watch what should have been a great game of ball, and not least the disappointment and disbelief that a section of the Liverpool support caused the mayhem, I recall telling my uncle at the time “this is not why I support Liverpool” coz fu@k it people all them poor souls just went to watch a game of ball and never made it home.
Really interesting read, well done
More likely should be called 2 classes of supporters. 1 the normal decent supporters, 2 the thugs. And most people will remember those thugs ringleaders were from upper class bankers,office workers and other financial institutions looking for kicks total animals
These articles care superb reads lads. Love them!
The night it happened, I was 13 years old and I decided to never have anything to do with that game ever again.
Haven’t watched another soccer match since.
Some mullets in those days
The way in which thatcher is vilified in articles like this is getting tedious. Granted, she wasn’t universally popular and her record in Ireland is appalling, but you would think sometimes that she was a tinpot dictator like Putin rather than a democratically elected leader who comfortably won three elections in a row. If she represented the minority, why did a majority back her? Are all British voters essentially fascist? Or did they remember the utter disasters of a union dominated labour administration? Could it be that a significant number of the sainted working class actually supported her? No, surely not.
@Cathal O’Donoghue: Try being a Scouser living under her regime. There was wishes to run the city down to nothing.
Where’s the comments gone lads? I thought I was having a reasonable conversation with another poster don’t let the kids take over the asylum.
@Dae Monicus: i think its gone to a stage of just cutting the whole thread?
@Stephen Coveney: So much for unhateful free speech Stephen, cheers for the heads up squire.
@Dae Monicus: all my comments were removed. I posted nothing offensive. Journal is a joke. China has more press freedom.
@kevin: I couldn’t agree more Kevin but at the time all clubs had somewhat of an hooligan element and I can’t condone that, however not the clubs as such but those whos fans, patrticuary those with a strong Irish connection ie Liverpool, Utd, Birmingham, Everton did face a lot of bias to be fair and again it doesn’t justify what happened at games it was just a reflection of the times.
60k a year 3 times the average wage???? 20k was the average wage in mid 80’s really??? Apart from that good read