Club Achievements

Key to NY city hall

T.W.A. hurlers arrange fine gesture.

The key to New York’s City Hall, an honour usually confined to heads of state and foreign dignitaries’, was presented to Mr. James Mackey, Nenagh, U.D.C. chairman, at a function in O’Meara’s on Saturday night by Mr. Jim Callery, of T.W.A., who brought with him the greetings of the Mayor of New York, Mr. John V. Lindsay and Mrs. Lindsay.

The occasion was the visit of a group of hurlers from the T.W.A. Hurling and Football Club, New York, who earlier in the day had lined out against Eire Og and all involved in the game were entertained by the visitors.

Mr. Callery, who was mainly responsible for the visit, is a native of Cloughjordan and is uncle of Eire Og player Noel Shoer, who has spent the last two summer holiday periods working with T.W.A. in New York. The visit was arranged by both men and the Eire Og Club were delighted that their team should have been selected for the only game on the visitors’ short tour.

The T.W.A. club was formed only two years ago and judging from the standard of play demonstrated on Saturday (they failed only by seven points, 6-7 to 5-4), there is a wealth of talent among the ranks of the 250 member strong club.

Mayo born Mr. Michael Prendergast, assistant president of the T.W.A. club, speaking at the dinner, thanked the members and players of the Eire Og club for their part in making the occasion a memorable one.

It was a bewildered and surprised U.D.C. Chairman who accepted the magnificent bronze key (a facsimile of the key to New York’s City Hall, first manufactured in 1812) from Mr. Callery. He was unaware of the exact nature of the presentation until just before the function.

Mr. Mackey said it was his pleasure to extend to their American visitors a hearty cead mile failte. He congratulated them on their wonderful effort to keep the great games of hurling and football alive among their many Irish employees.

He also paid tribute to the organisational ability of Mr. Callery who had worked so hard to ensure the success of the trip. Before emigrating, he had been a member of the Nenagh ceili class when the town boasted one of the finest troupes in the country.

The Chairman also thanked the Eire Og club for their part in the success of the trip and he hoped that the future would see many more visits from the TWA hurlers.

Accepting the key, Mr. Mackey said it was a great surprise to him to receive such a gift. He felt it a great honour, not alone because of his position on the Council, but because of its implications for his native town.

It was something that Nenagh would always. treasure with deep affection and he was deeply grateful that Mayor Lindsay should honour them in that way.

“Some day, I might use this key,” quipped Mr. Mackey, and he added that it was the wish of all Nenagh people that Mayor Lindsay and his wife should visit their town some day in the not too distant future.

Mr. Martin O’Connor, chairman, Eire Og club, said his club felt extremely proud and honoured that TWA should select them as the only opponents of their brief tour. It was a unique occasion, not alone for the club, but also for the town of Nenagh and Eire Og were privileged to have been part of it.

He paid tribute to the TWA club, to Mr. Callery and to Mr. Noel Shoer for their part in the organisation of the trip and he assured their visitors that they would always find a hearty welcome whenever they chose to visit Nenagh in the future.

He also thanked the Board Secretary, Mr. Donie Nealon, who had refereed the game and the members of the McDonagh Park Committee for putting the park and dressing rooms at their disposal at such short notice.

Mr. Nealon, as an official of the Board, also joined in welcoming the visitors. He apologised for the absence of their Chairman, Mr. Hubie Hogan, Lorrha, and said there would always be a welcome in North Tipperary for them, whenever they might choose to visit them again.

Referring to the game he had refereed earlier in the day, Mr. Nealon said it was a most enjoyable one and he couldn’t but admire the high standard of hurling the visitors had demonstrated. They had been most sporting and on the other hand, they couldn’t have chosen a nicer team to play against than Eire Og.

He said that during his time on the Tipperary team, he had experienced the generosity of the New York people on many occasions. Over there, the Irish couldn’t do enough for visiting teams and it was too seldom that they in Ireland had an opportunity to reciprocate that generosity. He hoped this visit by the TWA hurlers would be the first of many more to come.

Demonstrating a fine degree of skill and combination, the TWA hurlers belied their position as a junior club with a top class display against a strong Eire Og side.

Their display was all the more noteworthy when one considers that on Friday they did their day’s work and only arrived at Shannon a few hours before lining out.

The game produced some good patches of hurling and the fitter Nenagh men who had a 4-2 to 3-2 lead at the interval had seven points to spare in the end, 6-7 to 5-4.