PROGRAMME NOTES AS PER 2001 COUNTY FINAL PROGRAMME
STRADBALLY'S CAPTAIN
The honour of leading out the Taysiders for today's County Final has fallen on mid-fielder George Walsh.
George from the Carrigahilla area of the parish of Stradbally is one of five brothers on the Stradbally panel, the others being Lar, Tomas, Paul and Michael.
George's great interest in his beloved Gaelic games began in the local national school , Scoil na Croise Naofa, under the watchful eye of Kitty O'Brien and Tom Murphy and developed from there to Stradbally GAA club where he has become one of its most prominent members.
A dual player, he has won two intermediate hurling championships in 1993 and 1998. Obviously he would love to add a senior football medal to his achievements.
George toured Australia last year in the company of many fine inter county footballers and hurlers as part of an AIB Bank GAA tour of Oz. He has represented his county with distinction at under-21 and senior level over many years.
Most importantly his work off the field of play is a very important feature of Stradbally GAA club. He has been treasurer for the last four years and is at the helm of Stradbally's new development with the construction of new dressing rooms and future developments. He is the driving force behind Stradbally underage teams in both hurling and football and can be credited with under-12 and under-14 western titles captured by the Taysiders in the past month.
All in all, George Walsh, is the complete clubman in every respect. May his dedication be rewarded today.
STRADBALLY
AN tSRAIDBHAILE
1
Kevin Cunningham
C O Cunneaghain
Emmet Cummins
John HalpinTomas Walsh
E O Cuimin S O hAilpin T Breatnach
Kevin CoffeyOliver CostelloeLar Walsh
C O Cofaigh O O Coisteala L Breatnach
8 9
George Walsh John Hearne
(S Breatnach) S O hEatairn
Trevor CurranGer PowerJohn Coffey
T O Curin G de Paor S O Cofaigh
Niall CurranMichael WalshLiam O'Brien
N O Cuirin M Breatnach L O Brian
Subs: 16. Kieran Kirwan ( C O Ciarabhan) 17. Niall Cusack (N O Ciosag) 18. Paul Casey (P O Catasaigh) 19. Kevin Coffey (C O Cofaigh) 20. Denis Doyle (D O Duil) 21. Paddy Doyle (P O Duil) 22. Tomas Gough (T O gCoch) 23. Eoin Cunningham (E O Cunneaghain) 24. David Power (D de Paor) 25. Paul Walsh (P Breatnach) 26 Robert Fennell (R O Fionnaill). 27 Stephen Cunningham(S O Cunneaghain) 28. Eamonn Clancy(E O C ) 29 Trevor Costelloe (T O Coisteala)
Selectors: Sean Aherne, Michael Coffey, Tom Cunningham, David Kirwan, Jim Skehan.
AN tSRAIDBHAILE THE PAST, THE PRESENT, THE FUTURE.
Stradbally GAA club is one of the oldest clubs in Waterford having being founded in 1886 under the chairmanship of a Mr Whelan of Whelan's Hotel, Stradbally. Like all clubs at that time we were an athletics club, with our first athletics meet in October of that same year. Soon later we took to the football and as they say, the rest is history.
Nowadays we are a dual club with both hurling and football being played at Senior level and both codes are heavily encouraged at underage level. Stradbally Scor is very active and it was great to see our dancers winning the All-Ireland title in Belfast last year. We also boast a fine club house which includes a social centre with bar and dance licences. While one may point to the fact that our hinterland is quite small, we have turned this into an advantage. Our teams are based on a small panel of players who are bonded together for the love of Stradbally club and parish and for the continuation of the tradition of 115 years.
Our first title was captured in 1932 when we annexed the Junior County Championship. Five years later we annexed the county minor championship.
While we had the players, it was the arrival of a great organiser, Fr Pat Cummins to Stradbally that put us on the map as a football power. Between 1940 and 1944, five senior football titles came to reside beside the Tay. An interesting facet of Fr Cummins reign was that he brought along a set of red jerseys which became the colours of the club from there on. Before that it would appear that blue and white was our colours often in the design of hoops. It took until 1972 before another senior title arrived with the defeat of Kill in the county final. 1974 gave us our first under-21A title together with our first adult hurling title and to cap it off we were deservingly awarded club of the year.
The eighties were a fruitful decade for the reds. Three senior football championship were captured, those being in 1980, 1982 and 1987. In 1980 we were defeated in the Munster final by St Finbars from Cork. We had beaten Kerry Champions, Greeveguilla in the semi-final. The eighties also yielded us a Junior Hurling title.
The nineties were a case of hard luck stories for our Senior footballers losing in three county finals, 1990, 1991 and 1999 but looking on the bright side we took two Under-21A titles in 1997 and 1999. More importantly these teams are the springboard for success in the new millennium.
Hurling flourished in the '90's with Intermediate titles in '93 and '98 and an under-21 championship was captured in 1998.
At present we have almost completed the construction of two new dressing rooms and have ambitious plans to develop our facilities even further for our future generations.
We therefore go into this encounter today against one of the top football sides not just in Waterford but in Munster over the past decade. While we may be underdogs, we will battle like warriors to bring the Conway Cup back to a resting-place beside the Tay where it has spent nine years already.
The Stradbally team of 2001 is a mixture of youth and experience. Most of the side is made up of the teams who won the County Under-16 title in 1994 and under-21 titles in 1997 and 1999 while we have plenty of experience to be offered by players such as Liam O'Brien and Lar Walsh. Sean Aherne, Michael Coffey and David Kirwan, now selectors, were all members of the Stradbally squad who won the 1987 title. At the start of the year we were a little pessimistic to be facing into the championship without the services of Trevor Costelloe and Stephen Cunningham with long term injuries but the fact of losing to Rathgormack in the first round was a blessing in disguise. It allowed us four good competitive matches before we played Ardmore in the semi-final. May we win our tenth title today
We, the Stradbally GAA club, would like to thank our supporters, patrons and sponsors for their loyal support and may you be rewarded today for your loyalty.
Club Officers
Chairman:Pat Fennell, Secretary: Breda Kiely, Treasurer: George Walsh
HISTORICAL SNIPPETS
* Stradbally have nine senior football titles, 1940,1941,1942,1943,1944, 1972,1980, 1982, 1987.
* Stradbally GAA club was founded in 1886 under the chairmanship of a Mr Whelan of Whelan's Hotel. The first organised event was an Athletics meeting in October of that year. Some of the winners included Edmond O'Reilly of Comeragh in the throwing 56lbs event, James Walsh of Knock in the running long jump and Martin Power of Carrigarea in the 120 yards hurdle.
* Stradbally F.C. won the Stradbally Tournament in 1913 competing against Park Rangers from Dungarvan, Fenor and Killmolleran. The three outside teams had to pay a half crown to the County Board as a fee. It's gone up a small bit since then!
* Stradbally upset all football form in 1936 when they defeated Dungarvan in a Senior Championship match. As the writer in the Dungarvan Observer wrote "All current form was upset and the critics were left open mouthed with astonishment at the decisive manner in which Stradbally wrecked the Senior Championship ambitions of the Old Boro' footballers". Final Score: Stradbally 1-09, Dungarvan 1-04.
* After the heroics of the five in a row team, we drifted back to junior football but candle was re lit with the annexing of the junior title in 1957 when we defeated Gaultier. The caption in the Dungarvan Observer to the match report was "A Western Triumph, Welcome back Stradbally"
* In 1980 we beat the Kerry Champions Greeveguilla in the Munster semi final.
* 1999 and we return to senior hurling ranks where we remain since.
