Titanic Event for Antrim 1912 Team
Ulster GAA is to host a unique commemoration of one of the most distinguished teams in Ulster Gaelic games history. The event will celebrate the Antrim footballers who set a record of five consecutive Ulster championship victories between 1908 and 1913; became the first Ulster side to reach an All-Ireland final; beat Kerry by twelve points in an All-Ireland semi-final; and played in two separate All-Ireland finals in the year of 1912. This special event will take place at tomorrow evening (Thursday 29 November 2012) at 7:30pm sharp in Titanic Belfast (The Olympic Suite). All photographers and media welcome.
Some 200 people will be in attendance on the evening, which will feature a talk about the remarkable achievements and personalities of the Antrim players of a century ago. Among the details to be revealed on the night is the recent discovery that one of the 1912 All-Ireland final team, William Manning, was killed by gunfire as a member of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers in France in 1918.
In recognition of the fact that Antrim’s five-in-a-row teams received no medals for their Ulster triumphs at that time, tomorrow night’s event will culminate in a presentation of special medals by the President of the Ulster Council, Aogán Ó Fearghail, to descendants of the players of that era.
Speaking in advance of this special commemoration Ulster GAA President Aogán Ó Fearghail stated, “This will be a really special evening, commemorating the great Antrim teams of a century ago. A lot of hard work has gone into tracing the stories of team members and it will be very poignant for the descendants of the players to congregate together in honour of such an esteemed team. And Ulster GAA is delighted, after 100 years, to present specially commissioned Ulster medals to the family members of the Antrim 1912 teams.”
For Further Information contact:
Donal McAnallen: 02837517180 / 07435769095
PHOTO CAPTION 1: The Antrim team, wearing black and white stripes, pictured before the 1912 All-Ireland semi-final victory over Kerry. Back: P. L. Kelly, R. Murray (official), Peter Moylan, Edward Ward, Thomas Clear (official), Matt Maguire, John Monahan, Peter Meaney, J. Mulholland, William Manning. Front: James Murphy, Edward O’Gorman, Louis Waters, Seán Coburn (captain), J.H. Mulvihill, Alex Mullan, Joe ‘Hack’ Gallagher. Absent: Harry Sheehan, Willie Goggan, Joseph Mullan.
PHOTO CAPTION 2: Although the Antrim players received no medals at the time of their 1908-13 victories, they received one for all five years in 1927. This was the medal presented to former player Charles McCurry in 1927.
