Fighting for Survival
Originally published: C’mon The Town Portlaoise G.A.A. 1887-2016 by Teddy Fennelly and Brian Delaney
1929 Championship Success
After almost every highpoint experienced by Portlaoise, these were immediately followed by a lull in club activities and success. It happened after the famous wins of the footballers in 1889 and again in 1929. Hurling was flying high at this time and the club had just won its first senior hurling title in 1928. But their beaten opponents in that final, Clonad, got a measure of recompense when turning the tables on the Town in the 1929 championship.
It was a very weakened side from the team that won the championship in the year previous. No less than nine players were making their championship debut. Despite this, however, the Town side were superior in the opening half and points by Martin Delaney, Bill Quinlan and Paddy "Guy" Doran left them 0-3 to 0-0 ahead at the break.
Clonad improved on the restart and after some loose play in the Portlaoise defence they scored a controversial goal. The score was not flagged and after a long dispute the referee awarded it fully five minutes later. With about six minutes remaining Clonad scored another goal and despite the best efforts of Guy, Quinlan, Coss and John Delaney in attack, and John Dunne, John Kelly and Pat Dunne in defence, Clonad held out for a hard-earned win.
Portlaoise recovered from this setback, however, and by beating Ballacolla qualified for the final again.
The Injury Controversy
The progress had been made at a considerable cost as this article from The Nationalist indicates.
The Nationalist, 8 February 1930
One topic of discussion since the Annual Convention is the withdrawal of the Portlaoighise senior hurling team from the 1929 final. As readers of these notes are aware, the reason of the withdrawal was the refusal of the chairman to entertain an application for a grant in aid of an injured player. Portlaoighise held that this was unfair and the pity was that no delegate thought of a simple way out of the difficulty. Had anyone suggested a match in aid of the player, all would have been well. It goes without saying that the medical and hospital expenses must be paid and as Portlaoighise Club had a rather precarious existence during the year having to play many games and travel to many venues, their finances hardly permit of them doing so.
A County Board meeting in February considered an application for a grant to help cover the medical expenses incurred by Mr Delaney following an injury sustained in the 1929 senior hurling semi-final against Ballacolla. Chairman Lar Brady ruled that such an application could not be entertained as players should have been insured by their clubs.
As a result, Portlaoise delegate Mr W. Carroll stated that his team was withdrawing from the competition and would not play the hurling final against Kilcotton.
At a County Board meeting in April 1930, with Lar Brady presiding, Kilcotton were formally awarded the 1929 senior hurling championship after Portlaoise refused to play the final.
Withdrawal from Competition
The Town footballers had a try-out against Patrician College, Mountrath in February 1930. Quinlan and Delaney were prominent in defence while Loughlin, Redmond and Fennell were among those to shine. Patricians won by 1-5 to 1-0.
In protest against the County Board decision, which forced the club to refuse to play in the county hurling final despite being county champions, the club set up hurling and football leagues and confined participation to members.
These were the teams that took part:
- Division No. 1: Grattan Street, Abbeyleix Road and The Square.
- Division No. 3: Green Road, Harpur’s Lane and Ridge Road.
Otherwise Portlaoise club was dormant during the rest of 1930. Hurling fans not only from the town but countywide were shattered by the loss of such a fine set of hurlers from county competitions.
A Call for Return
A letter published in The Nationalist on 12 April 1930 summed up the sense of loss and disappointment felt throughout the county.
"What a pity the final was not played. Let us forget the past and look to the future. I believe that Portlaoighise can be easily won back to the fold by the gentle persuasion of their many friends."
The writer appealed directly to Sean Nos, Larry, J. Fortune and Guy to return once more, arguing that the old timers were ready to follow them.
Larry was Larry Cushen, J. Fortune was Jimmy Fortune and Guy was Paddy Doran, three hurling icons of the day and the equivalent of All-Star hurlers of modern times.
Back to the Fold
Later in 1930 there was finally some positive news for hurling followers.
The Nationalist, 1 November 1930
The Hurling and Football Club has been reformed in Portlaoise and it has been decided to affiliate three teams to the County Board. John Dunne is senior hurling captain, D. Coss is in charge of the junior caman wielders and J. Fortune is captain of the junior football team. Messrs Delaney and Kavanagh are secretary and treasurer respectively and T. Territt is delegate to the County meetings.
The Return of 1931
Following their withdrawal from the 1929 final and non-participation in the 1930 championship, Portlaoise hurlers returned to the winning trail in 1931 by beating local rivals Clonad 4-0 to 1-1 in the first round of the Feis Shield.
The Nationalist reported that "wonders never cease" and suggested that Portlaoise had made an emphatic comeback despite being handicapped by the lack of a pitch for practice and training.
Portlaoise, now playing in distinctive black and white jerseys, were nicknamed "the magpies". The newspaper humorously suggested that perhaps this was why Clonad found them an unlucky first-round team.
Abbeyleix soon brought Portlaoise back to earth in the next round of the Feis Shield, winning 2-2 to 1-1. Later in the championship the same opposition again proved too strong, defeating Portlaoise by 3-4 to 1-2 after overturning a halftime deficit.
Among the players noted during this period were John Dunne, Paddy Doran, Matt Walsh, Dan O'Brien, Bill Coss, John Kelly, Mick Conroy, Martin Delaney, Tim Delaney and Bill McKiernan.
Further Challenges
Owing to some of their players being involved in a hurling game with Ballytegan, Pallas refused to play Mountmellick in a senior football championship match at The Heath. Sean Barrett represented Pallas at County Board meetings.
Portlaoise also failed to field a team against Ballyroan in the senior football championship.
In the minor football championship at Emo, Portlaoise defeated the local side by 1-4 to 1-3, with Nolan and Conroy sharing the points and Dowling scoring the goal.
In the final played in March 1932, Abbeyleix again got the better of the Town side by 1-2 to 1-1. The teams were level at 1-0 each at halftime and it was only in the closing stages that Abbeyleix snatched the winning score.
Paddy Campion and the Rebuilding Years
Paddy Campion became the club's first Honorary President in 1943, the year Portlaoise won its second senior hurling title. He had scored a vital goal when Laois won its only All-Ireland senior hurling final in 1915.
Paddy came to the Town in 1933 and immediately threw in his lot with the local club. He soon became chairman and directed the club through many of the lean years of the 1930s and 1940s.
He was one of those great supporters who reformed Portlaoise GAA in 1949 and from then it prospered. Two of his sons, Ned and Hugh, played with Portlaoise. Ned was a mentor and delegate for many years and Hugh went on to become chairman of Kildare GAA.
Legacy
The story of Portlaoise between 1929 and 1932 is one of resilience. What began as a dispute over the treatment of an injured player led to the club withdrawing from county competition and effectively disappearing from the championship scene for a period.
Yet within a short number of years, the club had reorganised, returned to competition and laid the foundations for future generations. The efforts of figures such as Paddy Campion and many dedicated volunteers ensured that Portlaoise GAA survived one of the most difficult periods in its history and emerged stronger in the decades that followed.