cumannlúthchleasgael

I read one time that before that match some of the dignitaries including Collins had a bit of a puck around and that he (Colins) showed great skill at doubling on the ball overhead and seemed to be a proficient hurler. Doubling is the art of striking the ball in mid flight to drive it further on or to potentially score without catching or slowing the ball down and takes great skill and hand to eye coordination! Do you see the Kilkenny player on his mobile phone telling the folks back home that he has met the "Big Fella"?

Swordscookie A good story anyway (about the doubling)! Everyone I've shown this photo to has laughed about the Kilkenny player on "his mobile"... :)

I wonder if he actually played wearing those sock suspenders.

philip ward It is very odd. All of his team mates have proper thick knee length socks. Do you think he got on the train or bus to Dublin without his playing socks and had to wear his normal ones?

Given how difficult it was to travel in those days and the risks that were still there it may be that he was a former player who was pressganged into the role. It would not have been uncommon for less well off people to play in their street clothes and I saw matches in the 50's where guys in shirts, trousers and football boots played full games!

football!great shot!!!!!!

There's probably a Kickhams club in every county in Ireland. I note that the Ballymun Kickhams club was formed in 1969 when CJ Kickhams and Ballymun Gaels merged. There is a Kickhams club in Dundrum Tipperary but I imagine that the photograph comes from the old CJ Kickhams on Dublins north side! The Glasnevin Ballymun area in those days was rural and they are a healthy bunch of young men.

Swordscookie Thought that too! ONLY nagging doubt is that most Poole photos were taken in South/South-East of the country, and that's why I was slightly veering towards a Tipperary team. On the other hand, might indeed have been the Dublin team pictured before/after a match in the South-East...

cool

Replaced with a higher res image...

Depending on how badly weathered that chap beside the captain is, and assuming it's his own name on the stick, he's one of two people: John Feehan or Edward Feehan: www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/results.jsp?searchM...

With a bit of faff, we can see that the captain's stick is called Baker. Possibly also the captain. If we limit ourselves to Waterford City (no idea where this crowd were based, but Feehan is in the city), he's 20-ish year old Thomas Baker. www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/results.jsp?census_...

derangedlemur As they won the Waterford Hurling Championship they're based in Ferrybank.

Sharon Corbet It's a bit of schlepp up from John's hill or Kneef's Lane but not so far that you'd rule it out. The lads are clearly less lazy than me or they wouldn't be playing hurling.

This is the only Hector in Waterford City in the census.