1980s football and hurling heroes to be inducted into Offaly GAA hall of fame

HEROES from Offaly's famous football and hurling successes in the early 1980s will be inducted into the Offaly GAA hall of fame at their annual awards night in January.

Footballer Brendan Lowry and hurler Paddy Kirwan will join the official pantheon of Offaly legends on the night and their induction will be the highlight of the function – the annual players of the year in the various codes will also be honoured and they will be announced in the coming days.

Two great characters, Lowry and Kirwan will be two very popular recipients and the questions and answers session with them should be both informative and entertaining.

Both men were pivotal figures during those never to be forgotten years in the early 1980s when Offaly emerged as a real dual county, winning the All-Ireland Senior Hurling and Football Championship in 1981 and 1982 – they competed in both finals in 1981 when Kerry proved too strong in football but Offaly turned the tables spectacularly a year later to deny them a then unprecedented five in a row.

Kirwan was a physically strong, hard working, accurate forward on the hurling team that won a first Leinster senior hurling title in 1980, retaining it a year later when they snatched a famous victory from Galway's grasp in the All-Ireland final.

Lowry was a deadly corner forward on the 1982 All-Ireland champions. A brilliant underage talent, he won Leinster U21 football medals in 1977 and 1979 and made his debut for Offaly senior footballers in 1978. However, it was in the winter of 1980 when he fully committed to county football and his presence was crucial. He was in great form as Offaly won the Leinster title in 1981 and reached that All-Ireland final, winning his All-Star award that year.

He continued that great form in 1982, scoring freely all year – the 1-3 he scored in a tough win over Laois and the 1-1 he got in the one point All-Ireland semi-final win when Offaly's dreams so nearly unravelled against Galway were hugely important. In ways, these were trumped by the three excellent first half points in kicked in the All-Ireland final win over Kerry, all scored from almost the same spot.

He was one of three Lowry brothers playing that year with older brother Sean, a survivor from the 1972 All-Ireland champions, centre half back, and younger brother, Mick at corner back.

That 1982 team quickly broke up after the win over Kerry with some either going or declining before their time. Lowry was one of the most notable exceptions as he continued playing into the early 1990s, scoring regularly during an era when the wheels quickly came off Offaly and they plummeted into Division 4 football.

He was also brilliant on the great Ferbane team that dominated Offaly football from 1986 to 1994, winning five in a row from '86 to '90. He formed an almost unstoppable full forward line with Paul Mollen in full and Pat Doyle on the other side and they broke the hearts of many a team.

Brendan Lowry, inside the Laois cover in 1981 and only one thing on his mind.

Lowry was the classic opportunist, who knew his strengths and stayed in close to goals. He was also an excellent goal scorer and his speciality was the daisy cutter – whereas some players loved to go for power and to see the net shake, Lowry knew that the goalkeeper's chances were greatly minimised with the hard low shot, either into the corner or close to him but under his body and he very seldom missed when in one on one with the goalkeeper.

He later managed Westmeath senior footballers and remains one of Offaly's great supporters. Married to Bridget Scanlon, a member of a big, very popular Clara family, they have lived in Clara for decades, rearing their family there and he was a selector on the Clara team that won the Offaly Senior “B” Football Championship title this year.

Paddy Kirwan's contribution to Offaly hurling in the same era was also profound. A native of Ballyskenach, he won a Leinster U21 hurling medal in 1978 and was one of a few of that team who went onto play big parts in the 1980s glory years. He had a terrific game when Offaly won their first Leinster senior hurling title in 1980, scoring an invaluable four points from play in a nerve tingling 3-17 to 5-10 win over Kilkenny.

He also played very well in 1981 and came on as a sub in the 1984 All-Ireland senior hurling centenary final when Cork swamped them in Thurles. He was not there in 1985 when Offaly won a second All-Ireland title and made a brief comeback in 1987 when he played a couple of league games.

Kirwan got two of the most iconic important scores in Offaly hurling history. He got a huge late free to earn Offaly a dramatic 3-20 to 6-10 win over Laois in the 1981 Leinster hurling semi-final – Padraig Horan was the Offaly free taker in that era but that free was outside his range and Kirwan went back and nailed it. It was well inside the Offaly half of the field and was one of the most memorable images of those years as they came so close to bowing out, conceding some disastrous goals.

Kirwan was later modest about that score and joined other team mates in labelling the preceding point to level it as Offaly's most important that day – slotted over by the late Pat Carroll, under pressure, and off his weaker side. His free, however, was massive and who knows what would have happened in a replay?

Paddy Kirwan in Croke Park in 2009.

He has lived in Birr for years and transferred to them during the 1980s. He was the goalkeeper when Birr bridged a long twenty year famine when winning the Offaly Senior Hurling Championship in 1991. He also got the winning score in that final against Seir Kieran, sending a last gasp “65” sailing between the posts – it was a tap over compared to the one against Laois a decade earlier but the pressure was huge and he showed nerves of steel.

Birr won their first Leinster club senior hurling title that year and them, Seir Kieran and St Rynagh's engaged in a fantastic rivalry in the 1990s before Birr embarked on a spell of great dominance from 1999 to 2008, when they won their last title. Hurling was very much his game but he also enjoyed playing football on a more social level and was effective as Birr won the Junior Football Championship in 1992.

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After the end of his playing career, he was a prolific trainer/manager of teams. He managed Offaly U21 hurlers, was a senior selector, he was nominated occasionally as the Offaly senior hurling manager without getting the job and he enjoyed success with a host of club teams, both inside and outside Offaly.