The Earlier Years,
It is difficult to paint a clear picture of the early years of the Association in Templenoe as a
great deal of valuable information has been lost irrevocably. Because of the absence of any
sizeable amount of written records on the affairs of the G.A.A., especially in its infancy, I had
to rely a great deal on oral sourc es.
The older generations may love the past but one must realize that this is an expression of the
nostalgic romanticism of old men and old societies. But, without any disrespect to the older
members of our community one must realize that memories of participants in events can be
unreliable and sometimes games of the past can be viewed through windows of nostalgia
which can distort the facts surrounding such events. Therefore, I have attempted to correlate
the oral and written' sources at my disposal and, hopefully, give a balanced, factual and
readable account of the organization in Templenoe since the inception of the G.A.A.
Before the founding of the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1884 hurling and football were an
established pastime in Templenoe, and there is evidence of a club being in existence as early
as 1880, the year during which extensive renovations were carried out on their then playing
field, known as "Sullivan's Field", Cappanacuss. Strange as it may seem today, hurling was
by far the stronger of the two codes, and remained so until the early 1990's, when football
became the dominant sport.
Conflicting evidence has been put forward as to who started the first G.A.A. club in the
Kenmare district. There is no doubt that some form of an organized body existed in most
parishes throughout Ireland prior to the founding of the G.A.A. which administered competition
of some nature, though in a loose form. These administrative bodies became more
organised after the founding of the Association, but many of them were slow to affiliate with
the governing body of the infant G.A.A.
The fact that Templenoe had an established playing field as early as 1880, and had done
renovation work on it, is an indication that a club, in some form or shape, did exist in
Templenoe at that time. But there is no record of a club being affiliated with the headquarters
of the newly formed national organization prior to 1938.
Prior to 1800 another field was in use by the local sporting enthusiasts. It was known as
"O'Callaghan's Gleebe Field", which was to the west of the local Protestant Church. Pat
Spillane, great grand uncle of the present Pat, is on record to have been coach to the young men
of Templenoe at that time, which gives added credence to the existence of a sporting body in
the locality at that time. He was an all-round athlete but died at the early age of twenty six.
His brother Ned was equally outstanding.
By the 1920's football had taken pride of place over hurling, with very little of the latter being
played. After "O'Sullivan's Field" had retreated into the shadows of history the next sporting
arena was at Dromquinna, and this was known as the "Rockery Field", which was in use from
around 1915 to the late 1920's.
Up to this time no club had been officially formed in Templenoe. Two teams from the locality
were picked, one from the east and the opposing team from the west, with the Reen River
designated as the boundary line between the two contestants. Rivalry in these games was as
keen as any witnessed in encounters of far greater importance.
For a number of years prior to the founding of the club there had been no playing field in the
locality. In 1932 the "Bog Field", in Reen, was acquired, which was centrally situated to most
of the players at that time. From that year until 1965 it was the centre of all playing activities
within the club. At the beginning a fee of £3-10-0 was the charge per annum. The field is one
of the most renowned in the history of the club. Many stories have been told and many songs
'written about the teams that were moulded there.
The only indication to the strangers that it was a playing field were two goal posts. Dressing
rooms in club pitches were unheard of at that time and the players used to tog out inside the
gate beside the thick hedgerow. Not all players were endowed with playing gear in those days
with many lining out in,their everyday wear.
The first match to be played in the field was a challenge game between Ardea and Templenoe
in the summer of 1933. Many other games of local interest were also played there. One such
was a double header between Templenoe and Sneem in both minor and senior grades in 1938.
Derrynane were also a regular visitor for challenge games. After such games tea was served
in John Harrington's house nearby at a cost of 1/= p,er head.
During the 1930's sporting activities in the area were slightly hampered because of the dire
economic conditions which existed at that time forcing many of the young men of the locality
to emigrate, mainly to England, but also to America, in search of employment.
In 1938, with encouragement from Kenmare, a club was officially established and affiliated
with the G.A.A. Some of those who were instrumental in setting it up were Den and Dermot
Reilly, R.I.P., Joe Neill, Jerry Countney, Joe Casey, Teddy Clifford, R.I.P., and P.D.M.
O'Sullivan. The first meeting took place at the Marion House, Low Reen, with Den Reilly and
P.D.M. O'Sullivan elected as its first chairman and secretary, respectively Joe Neill was its first
treasurer and remained so for the next 33 years.
The initial years ofthe club were the most active from a playing point of view. Between 1939-
'45 emigration was reduced to a trickle because of the Second World War. A high rate of
unemployment, lack"of transportation facilities due to a shortage of petrol and car parts and,
also; an acute shortage of money irnmobilised the local population. So, with little to do and
nowhere to go, the "Bog Field" came to the rescue and filled in the vacant hours.
During the "War Years" the demand was so acute that the availability of the pitch had to be
scheduled into three training sessions on Sundays during the summer months. The first session
was between ten o'clock and one which was patronised by those who lived to the east of the
field who attended early Mass in Kenmare, such as the O'Neill, Crowley, Riordan, Shea,
Courtney families, etc.
After dinner, those who attended Templenoe Mass, had their claim to the 'hallowed' piece of
ground from two o'clock until five, These were the families who lived to the west of the pitch,
which included the Casey, Houlihan, Spillane, Grady, Neill and Coffey families, etc.
The third period was allotted to the younger grades from about sixteen down who displayed
their football abilities from seven o'clock until daylight faded into darkness.
During the week evenings, in the summer months, the field was a hive of acti vity with anything
from thirty to forty players taking part in practice matches. This over-zealous desire for the
game had its toll on the surface with the result that it was practically one black patch from goal
to goal. Because of the boggy nature of the soil many a player left the arena looking more like
a coalminer than a footballer, especially during wet weather. The advent of dressing rooms
and showers were a long way off at this time, with washing up facilities confined to a small
river across the main road.
Had it not been for the fact that Blackwater formed its own G.A.A. club in 1942 the playing
facilities in the "Bog Field" would have reached the upper limits of congestion. Up to this
many of the players in Blackwater travelled down to Templenoe for training, and many of them
played with distinction on the Templenoe senior team, the most noteworthy being Fr. Donal
Coffey, his brother Tadgh, Brendan Connor, John O'Neill and Packy Doyle.
6
Many players who got their first taste of football in the "Bog Field" went on afterwards to
distinguish themselves in the Green and Gold of Kerry and their names are worthy of mention:
Tom Spillane, R.I.P., played with Kerry at minor, junior and senior level and was the holder
of a junior All-Ireland, and two Railway Cup medals with Munster. Jerome Spillane played
junior with Kerry and is the holder of a junior All-Ireland medal. Donal Rice had the
distinction of playing for three consecutive years with the Kerry minors but retired from
football at a very early age. George Rice, R.I.P., played minor and junior with Kerry and with
the Munster Colleges. Jehr Sullivan (Big Jehr) played minor with Kerry, his brother Teddy
played both minor and junior with Kerry. Sean Rice played minor with Kerry. Paddy Fox'
Spillane, R.I.P., played at junior and senior level for Cork.
Denis 'Digger' O'Sullivan, his brother Tadgh, R.I.P., Gus Maybury, and his brother George
were all regulars on the Kerry Senior hurling team for a number of years.
The field was extensively used up to the early 1950's but from here on emigration began to take
its toll, and by the early 60's the club was, at times, stretched beyond its limits to field a team
The 'Bog Field', though a far cry from the ideal sports field, played a very important part in
the playing activities of the club. One song which has close connections with the field, and .
always brings back memories to the older people of the parish is "Toms Spillane's Football
Team of 1943", which was written by Jerome Coffey.
Mick Granville
