Pure Gold: 1956 golden jubilee reunion
December 08, 2006
They won gold in 1956 and on Friday October 20th, almost 50 years to the day since Monaghan lifted the All-Ireland junior football championship title by defeating London in the final in Carrickmacross, the players who had made that major breakthrough for the county were the guests of honour at a special presentation in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan to mark the Golden Jubilee of that event. By John P Graham.
That game against London ended a seven match sequence that had started back on April 8th 1956 when Monaghan defeated Down by a single point in the first round of the Ulster junior football championship. They went on from there to defeat Antrim in the semi-final and Cavan in the final setting up an All Ireland semi-final meeting with Kerry in Clones on August 19th.
That first meeting ended all square with Monaghan edging the result in the replay to set up a home final meeting with Kildare, a game that saw Monaghan with their biggest winning margin of the campaign, six points in Navan.
The final itself in Carrickmacross on Sunday, October 14th was not a classic according to contemporary reports but that meant little to the huge crowd that turned up with the victorious Monaghan players being carried shoulder high from the field.
Thirty four players in all took part in that championship campaign and while the first 15 was more or less a settled entity throughout the series - the biggest change was the introduction of Tommy McArdle as goalkeeper for the All Ireland part of the campaign. McArdle had won a MacRory Cup medal with St. Macartan's College earlier in the year and went on to gain national headlines for his performances against Kildare and London. One report stated that "Monaghan had certainly found a goalkeeping star equal to the best in the land in the Young St Macarten boy, Tom McArdle. It was a most extra ordinary experience for him to be making his debut in an All Ireland final but if he had any big game nerves they certainly didn't show on the surface," Asked on the night for his memories of the MacRory Cup win he talked of the atmosphere in "The Sem" a place he described as being "a fairly tough spot but if you were on the team it did make a difference" although he went on to add that "if you were on the team Fr. Enda (McCormick) always asked you the Latin text in class on the morning of the match".
Ten of that panel of players have passed to their eternal reward: Denis McGuigan, Clones, Paddy McGuigan, Cremartin, Dessie Ward, Ballybay who all played in all seven games, Matthew Dooley, Inniskeen, John Tavey played in early stages of Ulster championship, Benny Connolly, Emyvale, played in the Ulster final v Cavan, Jim Duddy, Carrickmacross, played v Kerry in the semi-final replay, Fergal O'Hanlon Monaghan Harps who was also Registrar of Minor Board that year, John Freeman, Threemilehouse, played v Down and Michael McCarney, Clones who played in the Ulster semi final v Antrim; but there was almost a full turnout from the remaining 24 at the function in the Hill Grove Hotel.
The entire management team of Fr. Enda McCormick, team trainer, selectors; Paddy O'Rourke, John Gilsenan, Christy Fisher, Percy McCooey and Pat McGrane have also departed this life but they were all represented by members of their families. The response to the event was amazing with players travelling from many parts of the country and one, Eamonn "Dodo" Murphy coming over specially from New York to meet his old comrades in arms.
"It was worth it, its great to see these guys and it was great to be involved. I scored in the win over Kildare and that is a great memory for me," he concluded.
Leo Burns of Donaghmoyne who was Secretary of the County Board at that time was among the guests at the function and he presented the specially commissioned mementos to the surviving players and the family representatives of both deceased players and team management.
Some newsreel footage of some of the action from the games against Kildare and London had been unearthed and the audience was enthralled watching the action. The pièce de résistance however was definitely when Leo Burns produced the football that had been used in the game against Kildare in Navan, lovingly preserved as only an aficionado of the games would do.
Leo was complimented on his service to the GAA by John Connolly, chairman of Monaghan county board and Danny Murphy, secretary of the Ulster Council while Paraic Duffy, son of the late Mick Duffy who was chairman of the County Board in 1956 recalled his boyhood memories of 1956 and his father's talk of this great team.
"Play the shirt of your back" Paraic recalled were nearly always the last words said by the chairman before the games. During the presentations a number of players recalled certain aspects of the matches and the people involved with Ollie O'Rourke reiterating the confidence he expressed when he said in the dressing room before the first game in the Ulster championship. " I want to know if the All Ireland final will be in England or Ireland because we'll be there." Was he that confident he was asked on the night. "Of course I was, I knew we had a good strong team and I thought I might get a trip to London out of it. We didn't but we won it anyway."
In reports to the post match celebrations it was noted that Gene McArdle was congratulated by Fr. Enda McCormick "on his recent marriage" and a surprise presentation on the night was made to Gene and his wife Letitia to mark their golden jubilee as well.
Another fitting contribution on the night was the music provided by the All Ireland Scor winning Scotstown Instrumental group, "All Ireland champions entertaining All Ireland champions". The Social and Awards Committee produced a special souvenir booklet with contemporary reports and photographs from the 1956 series which also excited great interest while a display of stills re-produced from the newsreel footage also elicited a great and at times emotional response.
THE RESULTS
Ulster Junior Football Championship.
April 8th in Newry: Monaghan 2-5, Down 0-10.
April 22nd in Ballybay: Monaghan 0-10, Antrim 1-5.
May 3rd in Clones: Monaghan 0-10, Cavan 0-2. (Ulster final)
All Ireland Semi-final:
August 19th in Clones: Monaghan 3-7, Kerry 3-7
September 2nd in Newbridge: Monaghan 2-6, Kerry 3-2 (replay)
All Ireland "Home" Final:
September 16th in Navan: Monaghan 1-8, Kildare 0-5.
All Ireland Final: October 14th: Carrickmacross: Monaghan 3-7, London 2-6.
Victory Was Well Deserved.
The report at the time read. "Monaghan have won an All Ireland title. The historic event occurred in the Farney capital, Carrickmacross last Sunday (October 14th) before nigh 10,000 fellow countrymen when the junior county team, kingpins of the home front for some time, swept aside the challenge of a team of London domiciled exiles to become undisputed wearers of the junior crown. Undoubtedly Monaghan's achievement ranks as the outstanding event of the year in Gaeldom for never before has the county won a premier title in any grade.
It mattered little to the huge hosting of Monaghan fans that the game itself fell well below the standard of even the ordinary run-of-the-mill club game that can be seen every Sunday on a half hundred parish venues. They gave their team every possible ounce of vocal encouragement throughout the hour and at the end chaired their heroes triumphantly from the field of battle.
Monaghan's victory was richly deserved for throughout the year the team has given really splendid displays in practically all its games and especially in the sterner tests with such traditional strongholds of the football code as Cavan, Kerry, Kildare, all of which were beaten convincingly in succession.
As for the game itself it must be said straight away that not even the most partisan of the big Monaghan following would describe it as anything in the nature of a classic. Throughout the hour the football was scrappy and disjointed with the majority of the players, especially the home team, kicking tentatively and hesitatingly. There were of course notable exceptions but broadly speaking the team took much too long to settle down and it was hard to believe that this was the same flashy, ebullient and swashbuckling team which steam rolled through Ulster and after whacking Kerry gave Kildare a football lesson. There is no doubt but that for the eminent soundness of the defence this title would have sailed across the Channel. As it was, the rock like defence of veteran fullback Ollie O'Rourke, the safe, sure goalkeeping of young McArdle and the quick tackling of the lively Dessie Ward at left half back were all trump cards in Monaghan's victory.
If the remainder of the defenders were a little behind these three they were, nonetheless equally resolute and workmanlike in their approach to the game and gave nothing away soft. This defence as a whole was easily able to master a rather fitful London attack and at the same time bolster up their own flagging midfield sector. In the opening half Monaghan's forward line was nothing to write home about and missed a great number of chances. However after the change of ends and strangely enough against what little breeze there was, there was a big transformation in this department.
Ted Duffy got into his stride on the '40 and was the mainspring of practically every attack while "Dodo" Murphy, who switched to left-wing, and his inside man, Eamon McCooey, struck a partnership which spelt danger in every move. Noel Ward on the fringe of the square came right into his own in this half and continually menaced the opposing goal when in possession.
Monaghan led at half-time by 0-4 to 0-2 and of those six scores in the first half four came from frees. London opened the scoring with a point by Sean Mulderrig and it took Monaghan some time to draw level but if scores were few and far between in the opening moiety things began to hum in both attacks after the interval. Monaghan stepped up the tempo considerably and added no less than three goals and three points while the visitors forced two major scorers and four points. The Londoners final goal came well into broken time when referee McArdle awarded a penalty at a time when the game was not only virtually but well beyond doubt. The score was more or less in the nature of a gift.
Monaghan had been leading comfortably by seven points and viewing the game overall that margin was about the measure of the home team's superiority on the day's play. The exiles team was drawn from 10 different counties with Mayo supplying three players, Kerry, Meath and Longford two each, Cork, Galway, Kildare, Wicklow, Donegal and Armagh one each. Subs who came on during the hour were from Kerry and Longford.
Team v London: Monaghan: Tommy McArdle (Drumhowan), Gene McArdle (Donaghmoyne), Ollie O'Rourke (Inniskeen), Brendan Hamill (Aughnamullen), Denis McGuigan (Clones), Pat McGuigan (Cremartin), Dessie Ward (Ballybay), Joey Byrne (Inniskeen), Seamus McElroy (Latton), Seamus Mulligan (Threemilehouse), Ted Duffy (Clones), Pat Murphy (Clontibret), Pat Clarke, captain, (Clontibret), Noel Ward (Ballybay), Eamon McCooey (Donaghmoyne). Subs; Eamonn Murphy (Ballybay) for Seamus McElroy.
Others on the Monaghan panel throughout the series were: Peter McGinn (C'Blayney), Matthew Dooley (Inniskeen), John Tavey (Donaghmoyne), Matt Conlon (Carrickmacross), Ritchie Moore (C'Blayney), Pat Sherry (Scotstown), John Moen (Ballybay), Matthew O'Dowd (Carrickmacross), Dermot Connolly (Killanny), Benny Connolly (Emyvale), Jim Duddy (Carrickmacross), John Slevin (Carrickmacross), Jim Woods (Clontibret), Jimmy Sherry (Scotstown), Fergal O'Hanlon (Monaghan Harps), Pascal McArdle (Monaghan Harps), John Freeman (Threemilehouse), Michael McCarney (Clones).
Team Management: Fr. Enda McCormick (team trainer), Paddy O'Rourke, John Gilsenan, Christy Fisher, Pat McGrane, Percy McCooey.
Most Read Stories