The Late Christy Twohig The recent passing of Christy Twohig has left a huge void in the lives of all who knew him. Although he was in his 83rd year, he was until his recent illness, very young in mind and heart. Outside of his great love for his family, which was always his first priority, he had a great passion for all things Irish and, in particular, the GAA and the game of hurling. His early interest in the game came from his father who took him to all the games both at Club and County level. His young years were spent hurling on the road in Little Island with his brothers. His first competitive activity was with Little Island N.S at the age of ten in the Parish Leagues against Knockraha, Glounthaune and Brooklodge, the other primary schools in the parish. In the 20's, these Leagues were extremely competitive and created huge interest within the parish. He often commented on the great fun these games created and the many arguments afterwards - debating results. From here he played with the Island Minors at 14-15 and, for the last two years in the grade, with Carrigtwohill. He played on Christy Ring in a minor championship game in Riverstown in 1939, and he again had this privilege some years later whilst playing Senior Championship with Sarsfields. In 1941, he played Junior with Little Island and starred in the team that won the B Championship in 1942, playing at centre back. He started his long administrative role within C.L.C.G. in 1943 when he took over as secretary of Little Island. As playing numbers decreased in the mid forties and the Island found themselves unable to field a team, Christy transferred to Sars. He played four years with a very good Sars team which was most unlucky not to win the Senior Championship, being defeated in the final of 1947 by a point, when the Barrs scored a goal with the last puck of the game. During this period he also played a major role in the formation of Glanmire Football Club. Christy returned in 1948 to re-form the Little Island Club. A period of great success followed, resulting in the winning of the Divisional Junior A Hurling Championship. Following this success, Christy once again took over as Secretary. He also took on the role of delegate to the Divisional Board. This began an involvement which was to last the rest of his life. In the early 50's he joined the G.P.C. of the Board and in 1953 he took on the position of Divisional Delegate to the County Board. He held both these positions until the mid 60's. The early 60's was an extremely lean period for both teams in the parish - Little Island and Knockraha. Examining the difficulties to be faced Christy, with some friends from both clubs, decided to hold talks re the formation of a parish club. From these talks was born the present Parish Club, Erin's Own. Christy became the first secretary. His steady hand guided the club through the formative years. He took over as Chairman in 1968 and stayed in the position until 1975. It was during this time the club began to progress with Christy's knowledge and management skills proving of great assistance. Success was attained on the field - U-21 Hurling in 1970 a team trained by himself, and the breakthrough in 1973 - the winning of the first A Junior Hurling Championship, followed by a second success in 1975. He took over as Treasurer in 1978 and in 1981 returned for a second term as Chairman, finally retiring in 1985. Further success followed in this period - J.H.Championship in 1977 and 1979. In the 1980 the decision was taken to upgrade to Intermediate level and Christy was vocal in supporting this decision. He saw it as a sign of further progress and challenge for all the club. The year 1982 was especially memorable as the County Intermediate final was reached. Off the field, also, huge strides were taking place - the field purchased in 1977 was officially opened. It was only fitting that Christy, as one of the driving forces on the Fields Committee which had initially purchased the field, was at the helm as Chairman to oversee the celebrations. The winning of the Intermediate Championship in 1984 and 1987 and the Junior Football County in 1994 and the many successes at Underage and Minor levels in the 90's were a source of great joy to him. He saw these as guaranteeing our future. On the field, his proudest moment was in 1992 when we won the County Senior Hurling Championship. After his retirement from an active role, he continued his work on behalf of the club. He played a special role in the development of the Club Aras, which was built in 1996. Our current development, which is just completed, was seen by him as the final piece of the jig saw. As he told us during a walkabout just before Christmas, we now have no more excuses. He took over as Club President at the A.G.M. held in the Community Centre Glounthaune on Friday 16th December 1988. He held this position up to the time of his passing. One of his greatest strengths in latter years was his ability to develop the role of Club President and to involve himself with even the very youngest attending our Club in Caherlag. He held the position of President of the Divisional Board since the passing of his great friend, Bertie Murphy. This was a position he looked on with great respect. Indeed, he felt it was a tremendous honour to have bestowed on him by his fellow East Cork Gaels. Courtesy of the Imokilly People, March, 2004. Tweet

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