Tullamore GAA Club enjoy poignant celebration as team that ignited new golden era feted

TULLAMORE GAA Club enjoyed a very poignant and special celebration when they held a dinner dance in the Tullamore Court Hotel on Saturday night.

In the midst of their latest and one of the greatest golden eras of their long and distinguished history, their current well-being was evidenced by the plethora of medals that were presented on the night: Senior and U20 Football Championship, Division 1 and 3 Football League, with some players collecting all four.

In 2024, the club knocked two very big and important monkeys off their back: retaining the Senior Football Championship for the first time since 1926, when they completed three in a row, and winning their first Leinster Club Senior Football Championship game since 1977.

They also won their fifth U20 Football Championship in a row in 2024 and these achievements ensured a smile of satisfaction on the faces of the large crowd who gathered.

However, the whole occasion and the feel-good atmosphere of the night was enhanced by a special commemoration of the Tullamore team that won the Senior Football Championship 25 years ago in 2000. That team and management were honoured for the silver jubilee of their memorable final success over Shamrocks and the importance of that win has become truly apparent in recent years as Tullamore have embarked on a new spell of sustained excellence – they have won three of the last five Senior Football Championship titles.

Back in 2000, Tullamore were in the throes of a long and hugely traumatic 23 year famine. Offaly football's most successful club at that point – they have since been overtaken by Rhode at the top of the roll of honour but their recent run has seen them narrow the gap to one -, Tullamore hadn't won the Dowling Cup since 1977 in 2000. Back in 1977, the future looked very bright as they won a famous treble of Senior, U20 and Minor Football Championship titles, and no one could have foreseen that two full decades would pass before they won again.

A number of factors contributed to that long barren period – emigration took key players abroad while competition from other codes saw outstanding footballers opt for soccer in Puttaghaun or rugby in Spollanstown. The quick emergence of a brilliant, unbeatable Walsh Island team, who won six in a row from 1978 to 1983, ensured that the immediate benefits of 1977 were not built on and as the years elapsed, the pressure mounted on the whole club, the mood in the wider GAA community and town not good.

They lost Senior Football Championship finals to a Ferbane side then at the height of their powers in 1988 and 1992 and most traumatically to Shannonbridge in 1996. In 2000, the pressure lifted as they finally entered the winners' enclosure once again. In a final delayed until December because Kevin Martin was on the Offaly senior hurling team that went to the All-Ireland final, Tullamore found their form in the second half to over turn a two point half time deficit and win by 1-9 to 0-10: the wisdom of delaying the championship for Martin was justified as he powered through the middle, hopping off players, to score the all important goal after being introduced in the second half.

It was a hugely important win for Tullamore, who won championships at regular intervals since: most of that team were still there as they won again in 2002, several were around when they won in 2007 while they also captured the Dowling Cup in 2013 before the current great run began with a success in 2021, followed by wins in 2023, '24. That 2000-2002 team has stamped their imprint on every subsequent success, providing the managers for 2007 (Phil O'Reilly), 20213 (John Rouse) and 2021/'23/'24 (Niall Stack).

Members of the 2000 squad have managed other club adult and underage sides and served as selectors as well as managing or helping select county teams. They have made a tremendous contribution after their playing careers and their introduction to an appreciative crowd was the highlight of Saturday's dinner dance.

The occasion was tinged with sadness as the memories of three key 2000 figures were remembered with great fondness with heartfelt tributes paid to them. A long serving a hugely popular footballer, Niall O'Dea had been the manager at the start of 2000 but sadly illness forced him to opt out and he passed away some time later, though he did get to see them win. Corner back on the team, Richie O'Mahoney, a teak tough footballer who brought his Kerry mentality to the set-up, died suddenly last year while the sudden death of a hugely popular panel member, Shane Daly, several years ago devastated the club and town.

The contribution of those three was ever present in the formal part of proceedings as speakers talked about the impact that Niall O'Dea had on them. Ian Lee, who stepped in as manager after O'Dea had to vacate the position, recalled how a defensive switch involving Richie O'Mahoney was instrumental in the 2000 final win over Shamrocks – Shamrocks' forward Shane Cunningham had ran amok in the first half, registering four points before being curtailed in the second half and then controversially replaced after 48 minutes. Niall Stack made reference to an incident involving O'Mahoney and Cunningham in the old tunnel as the teams came out for the second half, when Cunningham received a belt and Shamrocks' players were looking around for the culprit while O'Mahoney was bounding out onto the field.

Stack said: “Shane Cunningham was having a really great game and we were walking out. My job was to mark Ronan Mooney, I had nothing else to do and it was a hard job. Ronan Mooney was cracking up when I got to the other side of the tunnel. It was a dark tunnel and a bit dodgy, there was darkness for twenty yards. Shane Cunningham came over the other side of the tunnel and all you could hear was screaming and then I saw Richie and he had the two hands down by the side. I was not a detective then but I added one and one and immediately knew Richie had done the job but all the Shamrocks lads were trying to figure out who was responsible and he was gone. He had split Cunningham.”

Niall Stack also paid an eloquent tribute to Shane Daly, noting that he had featured in some of the earlier games and had played a defining moment in one of the turning points of their year, a bitterly contested 2-5 to 1-7 group defeat by Shamrocks – Shane Daly scored a spectacular late equaliser but Shamrocks' county goalkeeper Padraic Kelly fisted the ball out from over the crossbar and the umpires didn't give the point. “It was a fantastic point by Shane Daly, the type he was always capable of kicking, and Padraic Kelly chances his arm and gets away with it. In an indirect way that could have won us a championship. We were really angry they had got one over on us and we met in the final and that wasn't going to happen again.”

Stack added: “When we were looking at the video there, the air went out of my lungs when I saw Shane and Richie and I hope we really, really remember them. They were great lads.”

Other famous club stalwarts, men who contributed powerfully to the club in a variety of capacities, playing and off the field, were remembered in the presentation of the annual club awards – the late Liam Whitney was among the select group who won senior, u21 and minor football medals in 1977 while another of them, Ollie Bracken was home from America and attended the function.

These awards went to the following:

Liam Whitney underage award – Patrick Kenna;

Shane Daly award for outstanding dual player – Cillian Bourke;

Stevie McDermott senior hurler of the year – Aaron Leavy;

Niall O'Dea senior footballer of the year – Harry Plunkett;

John Lonergan club person of the year – Jim Loughman.

Master of ceremonies at the function was sports presenter Will O'Callaghan, who kept things moving very efficiently as well as conducting a very entertaining questions and answers session with the 2000 captain Phil O'Reilly, manager Ian Lee and midfielder and 2020-2024 manager Niall Stack.

Club chairman Tom Moloney thanked journalist Pat Nolan who came up with the idea of commemoration for the 2000 squad, concentrating on their subsequent legacy to the club as well as writing the humorous citations about each panel member. He also extended a special welcome to Offaly GAA chairman, Tom Parlon, joking: “It is a while since the Offaly GAA chairman came here” - a reference to a row between the County Board and Tullamore GAA Club over the terms of the O'Connor Park lease a few years ago and the absence of then chairman Michael Duignan from dinner dances.

He paid tribute to the current team and management, stating: “They have changed the culture and great credit is due to them”.

Mr Moloney noted that 2025 will be a challenging year for Tullamore with a new football manager, Paul McConway in place while he hoped Kilcormac-Killoughey's Shane Hand will give the hurling a big boost.

“There is not many clubs in Offaly or Ireland celebrating like we are celebrating tonight,” he concluded.

Mr Tom Parlon paid tribute to Tullamore and their many achievements over the years. “Tullamore is a fantastic club and they have had a fantastic year,” he said, paying tribute to the work that Jim Loughman and others do behind the scenes.

Mr Parlon added: “It is incredible. I didn't realise ye had a drought for 23 years. A club with the legacy you have, it is incredible but it just shows how fickle success is and when you start winning, ye can be a bit like Kilcormac-Killoughey in the hurling and can't be stopped. It is very important to enjoy winning because it doesn't happen all the time.”

He praised Tullamore for the facilities they have provided, noting the competition they face from other codes.

Mr Parlon also spoke about the investment and work Offaly GAA are making in young players. “Great progress has been made over the last five years and to keep that show on the road is important. We don't want to hit a lean spell after the success we have had. Our footballers seem to have found a whole new way of doing stuff, whether it is the Mickey Harte factor or we are better adapted to the new rules, but they are certainly good to look at. Hopefully they will get promotion and the hurlers have gone up a division, hopefully they will hold their own.”

The 2024 joint captains Michael Brazil and Declan Hogan paid a special tribute to Niall Stack and his management team. “We were trying for a few years to get standards established and when Niall came in, he made sure that nothing less would be accepted. They definitely set the standards,” Brazil reflected.

Hogan smiled: “The team he put together was absolutely fantastic. The work those buys did behind the scenes was unbelievable. The biggest compliment we can pay those guys is that as players all we had to do was turn up for training. The platform was there for us to succeed. The managers put the standards in place, thankfully the players responded to that and we have had a fairly fruitful couple of years. Seven trophies in five years is no mean feat.”

Hogan also paid tribute to the 2000 team, describing them as massive role models for them. “To have those guys to look up to was brilliant and hopefully in the future, we can provide that sort of inspiration to youngsters coming up over the next couple of years,” he said.

2000 win

The interview about 2000 with Phil O'Reilly, Niall Stack and Ian Lee ended the formal part of the night with serious comments being interspersed with light hearted banter – for example O'Reilly joked about the presentations made to Niall Stack and his backroom team of 13 people but Stack replied very quickly that they won a lot more than he or anyone else did!

“Ian had only two men with him, I had only two men with me, I don't think there was enough room on the stage for all Niall had,” O'Reilly poked with Stack responding: “I was kind of preparing for that. Ye only won one championship each, that is the difference.”

O'Reilly spoke about the whole emotion of winning in 2000, noting that he was 32 and had lost finals in 1988, 1992 and 1996. “The whole thing was winning it for the first time and it was a great feeling,” he said.

Ian Lee and selectors Gerry Fagan and John Dowling was the management in 2000 and Lee recalled that he had been overlooked for the job for several years despite managing successful underage teams in the club. He joked that they had “scraped the bottom of the barrel” when they eventually gave him the job. “I couldn't understand why the problem was with me. Seemingly it had been brought up three or four times at meetings but there was no gathering or rush to embrace me.”

He talked about Tullamore's history up to 2000, criticising their defeat in the 1996 final and the playing of backs in the forwards. “I also felt that there was a certain clique but there were certainly people who wouldn't take kindly to being told what to do so I went in with that attitude.”

Lee paid tribute to the late Tommy Kelly for his advice and guidance, recalling an early hammering by Clara in the league in 2000 before they turned the guns spectacularly in the group stages of the championship, when they won by 1-15 to 2-1. He recalled the stunned silence in the Clara dressing room when he went in to speak after Tullamore's very impressive win.

After this they took it one match at a time with Lee paying tribute to the team. “Once those lads believed and the momentum started, we were a different team. Momentum was the big thing and if you haven't got belief you are going nowhere,” he noted.

Lee described the cult of managers as “nonsense”, noting that they are faced with situations and that if a decision worked, they were a “genius” but if it didn't, you were a “fool”. He mentioned the players that starred in 2000, the toughness of Richie O'Mahoney, the way Michael Flynn marked people (Flynn was rock steady in 2000, occasionally tasked with curbing opposing danger men and playing all over defence), the way Phil O'Reilly adapted at wing forward instead of his usual wing back position. “It was a great year. That was one of the great years in my life,” he added.

Lee also talked about the mental toughness the team developed in 2000

Niall Stack talked about the influence of Ian Lee and the way Tullamore played to their strengths, relying on Paul Rouse's accuracy from frees as they were a low scoring team but with other players contributing important scores. “We had a good mix and great belief,” Stack said.

Stack also reflected on his recent role with Tullamore, stating that he didn't have the time to continue on. He spoke with great positivity about their recent success. “I have never been energised before like I was by this group of players and management,” he said, recalling 77 adult footballers training in pods in the early stages of Covid. “I think we really benefited in a mad way from something really bad that happened at that time. Everyone came back to their roots and life was simplified in those couple of years,” he outlined, singling out the way a forward Peter Fox developed and scored in the 2021 win.

He talked about how close knit the group was with no “energy sappers” and the code of confidentiality that prevailed – he mentioned how they announced the team one night and players were warned not to divulge it to anyone: this was fulfilled to an extreme by defender Ciaran Burns who was rang by panel member Shane Dooley, who had missed that session and Burns wouldn't tell him the team.

“For a club that has patchy form and history, we expect to win county titles,” he said about the pressure in Tullamore, urging people to be patient and give time to new manager Paul McConway. He defended the football they played and the criticism they occasionally received for keeping the ball – criticism voiced from both inside and outside their club, rather than in the media. “I think we have scored more than any other Tullamore team in history. We have the biggest spread of scores, 17 out of 21 players. I think we were the most attacking team,” he reflected, also praising their defence.

“It never bothered me at all and we had to be that way. We were a big group but we were extremely tight and nothing got out,” added Stack.

Phil O'Reilly concluded: “Winning is everything. It wasn't the most wonderful to watch but I would always rather win ugly than lose nicely.”

The 2000 team and panel was: Ken Furlong; Gary Heffernan, John Rouse, Richie O'Mahoney; Ray Martin, Cathal Daly, Michael Flynn; Joe Hughes, Niall Stack; Phil O'Reilly, Alan Hogan, Peter Kelly; Paul Rouse, Briain Fagan, Gareth Lee. Subs – Jimmy Beatty, PJ Martin, Tom Cusack, John Berry, Joe Owens, Brendan Owens, Simon Byrne, Shane Daly, Kevin Martin, Edwin Finnerty, Paul Dillane, Robert Lee, Ciaran McNeill, Alan Martin, Peter Martin, Brian O'Reilly, Sean Keane, Nigel Mannion, James Buckley, Brendan Dagg.