Fr. Tom Shannon Sodality Papers: Up for the All-Ireland in 1966
PART TWO
By Tom Gillespie
THE late Fr. Tom Shannon spent 14 years as a curate in Castlebar, during which time he was responsible for the boys Sodality, to the members of which he wrote monthly typed letters. From November 26, 1964, to July 12, 1971, he sent out 81 missives.
On learning of their existence, I approached their keeper, Ernie Sweeney, for permission to feature extracts from them in The Connaught Telegraph.
As a young priest in Castlebar, he took charge of a choir of 40 boys and 20 men in the Church of the Holy Rosary, and was also in charge of the altar boys. In 1964 he set up a boys Sodality, of which we were members.
On September 22, 1965, Fr. Shannon wrote to the Sodality members: “Will it be Kerry or will it be Galway? Yes, that is the big question. You may be interested in going to Croke Park (for the All-Ireland) to see the issue decided.
“In fact, just to show you that I am grateful to you and all the members for your loyalty over the past year and for the tremendous success you have made of the Sodality, I wrote to the General Secretary (of the GAA), Sean O’Siochain, and asked him for a few tickets to be raffled among you.
“This evening he sent me six tickets to the Special Boys' Enclosure at the scoreboard. I will raffle these at four o’clock on Saturday evening in the community centre.”
On September 30, he reported: “There were 285 numbers in the draw. The first number drawn was 221, Michael Sweeney. He was followed by Hugh O’Malley (Tucker Street), Jackie Jordan, Chas. Guthrie (St. Patrick’s Avenue) and Sean Staunton. As Jackie Jordan had made no plans about going to the match, he allowed us to draw for his ticket.
The lucky winner was Noel Hynes, (Newtown) but sickness prevented him from accepting it. Good enough of him, he allowed us to draw again. This time the winner was Michael McNally.
“All in all, it was a satisfactory draw. All sections of the Sodality were represented in the result - the College, the Vocational School, the Apprentice Group and the Farm.”
A year later - September 22, 1966, Fr. Shannon wrote: “‘Mayo or Down colours’. ‘Wear your colours for the match’. Yes, these are the cries that will be heard on all approach roads to Croke Park from an early hour on next Sunday.
“I know the colours you will buy if you are lucky enough to be there.
“You are hoping for a Mayo victory. So am I, so are all of us. Indeed, our anxiety for a Mayo victory was never greater than this year for the simple reason that two of our members, Benny McHale (Marian Row) and Gay Nevin (Brize), are playing for the county.
“As they take up their positions in Croke Park on Sunday, we will associate ourselves with them as fellow-members. They have served us well in the Sodality; we hope that we will serve them well by our good wishes now and by our prayers and encouragement on Sunday.”
For the record: On September 25, 1966, Mayo won the championship following a 1-12 to 1-8 defeat of Down in the Minor All-Ireland final.
NEXT WEEK: Complaints were aired over teenage socials