ASHBOURNE CUP WINNERS, 1968

by Tom Kenny

As part of the national enthusiasm for restoring a Gaelic Ireland at the beginning of the last century, experimental rules for a female stick-and-ball game were drawn up in 1903 and the first public match took place that year. The game of camogie was officially launched. The first All-Ireland final was played in the Sportsground when Dublin defeated Galway in 1933.

The Ashbourne Cup was named after William Gibson, aka Liam Mac Giolla Bríde or Lord Ashbourne, who presented it to the winner of the highest division in inter-collegiate camogie. UCD won the first final in 1915 by beating UCC. UCG joined the competition the following year and since then, they have won the trophy 15 times.

“Siobhán McKenna was very good at camogie, a very quick runner. And the story that her father would be on the side line when she’d be playing and that he was quoted as having said when she put a good one in “Ah, there was porridge behind that one”.

Ó Máilles in Dominick Street opened for business in 1938 and they had a dress-making section, so UCG commissioned them to make the uniforms which the camogie team wore for many years. “The dress was maroon and you wore a belt which was maroon and white, a kind of knitted affair, and you wore a white blouse, any white blouse. It was quite free and easy. And then most people tied a ribbon or something around their hair”.

Professor Elizabeth “Nelly” Lee was the dedicated president of the UCG camogie club from 1965 to 1994 and presided over many of their Ashbourne victories. Our photograph shows the cup winning team of 1968. They are, back row, Prof. Nelly Lee, Ollie Hanniffy, Bernardine Ottara, Ann Nestor, Eileen Naughton, Grace Divilly, Rita Hanniffy, Kathleen Pyne, Mrs. Mary “Ma” O’Driscoll. In front are Jane Murphy, Mary Canavan, Kay McMahon, Barbara Glynn, Bridie Carr and Bernie Clarke.

All of this material is from a recently published book titled “An Oral History of University College, Galway 1930-1980” compiled by Jackie Uí Chionna. The book describes life in the college during those 50 years through a series of reminiscences of people who were there. A number describe their first days in college as a ‘Gib’, there are memories of lectures and learning, of social life, sporting life and experiences as an academic. While it is of great interest to ex-students and staff, there is a lot of social history of the city included. In good bookshops @ 25 euro. Recommended.

On the subject of UCG, the Schools of Archeology, Geography and Irish Studies are running a series of interesting lunchtime lectures on a variety of themes relating to Galway in the Town Hall every Thursday for the next several weeks. Admission is free but spaces are limited. Check it out at www.nuigalway.ie/archeology/