jerseys

The Aberavon Wizards were always a great team when I was growing up and always seemed to have players on the great Welsh teams. I can imagine that the game was very rough as the Welsh lads were all from the mines and factories and tough cookies and Rugby in Cork in those days was for the more privileged members of society. The Cork crowd were no shrinking violets but the Aberavon lads would have perceived them as "soft". The knee protection was probably just that as the game in the pack in those days was very rough with "hacking" as a normal practice though I think that it had been outlawed by then. Hacking was literally kicking your opponent on the shin to clear him out of your way! Nice shot

so amazing

They are still alive, kicking and sometimes providing players to the Ospreys. I think they would like to see this picture! www.aberavonwizards.co.uk/1876-1914.htm

Brian Mulligan Great idea! I just tweeted them a link, so we'll see...

Ruggers!

Rivals:

Well there will be no trouble with the date anyway???? 1916 it is! The chap with the medals on his waistcoat is looking very self satisfied - did Waterford have All Ireland before '16???

Photo ordered by Mr. Hogan of 31 Morley terrace, which is here on Gracedieu Road.

John Hogan was 20 in 1911.

In 1916 Young Irelands were beaten by Ferrybank in the Waterford Senior Hurling Final, they seem to have disbanded after that.The referee in the 1916 All Ireland Final was a W. Walsh (Waterford). There are two other Young Irelands GAA Clubs, in Gowran (Kilkenny) and Dundalk (Louth). -- A fantastic photograph.

There's a great range of ages, some promising moustaches and some mature ones. They were no inter -cert classs at any rate. Look at the banding on the hurl of the young lad to the priests left? It is almost a lethal weapon with that metal banding. I had a hurl like that once and it was positively dangerous and a threat to life, it lasted for years but! The writing on the hurl held by the man third from the left in the middle row says "Coolagown" which is a place near Fermoy in Cork and seems to have had strong Waterford connections. See www.castlelyonsgaa.com/clubHistory.php

Best to remember that it was a teacher training college and thus attracted students from all over. Funny though, most people in Waterford never use the word hurl, except when throwing things. Hurley is the preferred description, Perhaps that explains a lot?

A wonderful old photo and taken at my old school. When I went here in the 70's there were boarders from all over the country there.

Paul O'Farrell Ah, a De La Salle boy! And desmondg47 when did it stop being a teacher training college?

I believe it was in 1936 when the Minister for Education Tom Derrig (FF) refused to have it made a constituent college of the NUI.