Golden jubilee of famous Moneygall hurling successes centre piece of latest Dunkerrin history journal

THE golden jubilee of two of the parish's most celebrated and iconic success stories form the centre piece of the latest edition of the Dunkerrin historical journal.

Moneygall's first Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship title win in 1975 has been the source of great nostalgia in the parish this year. They retained the title a year later in 1976 and members of those teams went away to Adare for a reunion some weeks ago and more celebrations are planned.

A picture of the 1975 team adorns the front cover of the journal, Under Crimblin Hill, which was launched by a team member, Philip Ryan in front of a large gathering at the Barack Obama Plaza in Moneygall on Friday evening.

It is the fifth production of the journal, named for a famous landmark close to Moneygall, which is produced by the Dunkerrin Parish History Society every second year. The chairman of the Society is another team member and the 1975 captain, Pat Sheedy, a retired teacher from Cistercian College, Roscrea.

The production of the journal is a great local resource. It features historical pieces about events, places and personalties from Dunkerrin parish, as well as very evocative memories of a way of living that is almost forgotten now.

The fifth edition devotes some of the early pages to Moneygall's famous 1970s successes – a very unique parish, the majority of it is in Offaly but the GAA club switched to Tipperary in the 1910s after a fallout with the Offaly County Board and have played a great part in the Premier County since then.

There are over fifty articles in the new edition, which is available for sale locally. It is very professionally produced and there is something for everyone in the book: Bill Leahy has an interesting article on two Tipperary faction fights. Shinrone GAA stalwart Joe Cleary has a lovely piece about a family descendant, Elizabeth Coonan; former Offaly and Edenderry footballer, Kevin Guing wrote about Patrick Guilfoyle, a Moneygall exile who fought for the Confederates in the American Civil War; Julie and Seamus Doherty write about local holy wells; Eugene Ryan recalls the Moneygall Horse and Pony Races from 1923; Andy Ryan recalled a 1974 incident when a truck destroyed a dwelling house in Moneygall; Seamus Doherty has a piece on a long forgotten village at Crimblin and on they go.

Pat Sheedy thanked everyone who helped bring the book to production while Philip Ryan gave a passionate address about the local community and parish. A son of the late GAA president from Moneygall, Seamus O'Riain, Philip quoted poems and articles from the journal as well as speaking about his own memories of the area and his pride in his parish.

The editor of the book Salvador Ryan also gave a moving speech about the parish, the book and the importance of preserving local history for future generations,

The journal committee consisted of: Seamus Doherty, Kathleen Kennedy, Eugene Ryan, Salvador Ryan and Seamus Ryan.