Treaty Sarsfields GAA

Treaty Sarsfields GAA
Founded: 1886
County: Limerick
Nickname: Sodacakes
Colours: Royal Blue and White
Grounds: Shelbourne Park, Limerick City
Coordinates: 52°40′13″N 8°38′19″W / 52.67028°N 8.63861°W / 52.67028; -8.63861Coordinates: 52°40′13″N 8°38′19″W / 52.67028°N 8.63861°W / 52.67028; -8.63861
Playing kits

Standard colours
Senior Club Championships

All Ireland Munster
champions		 Limerick
champions
Football: 0 0 12
Hurling: 0 0 4

Treaty Sarsfields was a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club based in the Thomondgate area on the Northside of Limerick city, Ireland. The club participated in competitions organised by Limerick GAA county board.

History

St Munchin's parish in Limerick city was one of the first parishes in Limerick to have a GAA club when Treaty Stone Hurling Club was founded in Michael Brew's house at 58 New Road, Thomondgate. It was officially registered at the second annual GAA convention at Hayes' Hotel on 27 September 1886.

The club changed its name to Treaty in 1900. On 9 November 1940, a breakaway club called Sarsfields was formed in Thomondgate. At the time most families in Thomondgate had someone involved with Treaty so this new club caused splits in neighbourhoods and families.

William Naughton who was the Treaty secretary responded to the fact that a new club had sprung up in the parish at the 1941 Treaty AGM by saying that "the Treaty Club would always be there" while a Treaty committee member stated that "Sarsfields were formed by people who had some mythical axe to grind with Treaty."[1] William Murphy who was the secretary of the Sarsfields club said at their AGM that "Sarsfields was formed due to the practice of intemperance and that was why he resigned from the Treaty Club and that the rule of temperance must on no occasion be broken in the Sarsfields club".[2]

Treaty withdrew from all competitions in 1943 as a protest against the actions of the Limerick County Board Chairman, Canon Punch, in suspending many of their outstanding players. There was a decision taken at the 1943 County Convention to enforce the rule concerning foreign games and to accept any conclusive evidence in regard to breaches. Some 21 city players were suspended for breaches of the rule, including eight Treaty players suspended for playing soccer.[3] Treaty stayed out of football and hurling until 1946 when they joined up with Sarsfields and one strong club was once again representing the St Munchin's parish. The new name was Treaty Sarsfields and the club who wore the Royal blue jerseys with the Treaty Stone as their crest became a famous name in Limerick GAA circles.

Hurling

The original Treaty Stone club won the ultimate prize in Limerick GAA when they captured the County Senior Hurling Cup in 1891, defeating South Liberties in Mungret. Treaty Stone went onto represent Limerick in the Munster Championship that year and got a bye into the Munster Final which was played in Newcastlewest where they faced Kerry who were represented by Ballyduff. Thomondgate emptied out that day and the Sodacakes were said to outnumber the Kerry men by fifty to one. Treaty got a point near the end of the game to give them what they thought was victory but the Ballyduff mentors objected that the referee had blown before the sliotar had gone over the bar. Ballyduff lodged a protest with the Munster Council and a replay was ordered which was played in Abbeyfeale and the Kerry men won. Ballyduff went onto win Kerrys first and only All Ireland Senior hurling title which made it all the more bitter for the Treaty Stone club.[4]

After the 1900 name change, Treaty won their first county Junior hurling title in 1902. Treaty had a very bad start to the 1902 season when Emmets HC defeated them on a scoreline of 7-11 to 1-7. This was played on 4 May and the Limerick Leader reported that "Treaty were short a lot of their regular team who came from the Strand area as they had been down river fishing at the beginning of the salmon season".[5] Thomondgate at this time was like a mini Claddagh with lots of cottages tenanted by fishermen and their families.[6] The team got back to full strength later on in the year and won the first Limerick county Junior hurling championship final on 10 August in the Markets Field where they beat their old rivals St Patrick's.[7]

Troubles

After the 1916 Easter Rising, many men from the Thomondgate area joined the Volunteers and most of the young men led by Tom Glynn joined the East Clare Brigade of the IRA. This, along with men from Thomondgate joining the British Army to fight in the Great War, decimated the Treaty club.

In 1919 the Treaty club looked to the future with hope as the War was over. Treaty had a disappointing year as they were beaten by Claughaun, Young Irelands and Shamrocks.[8] In 1919 Treaty and the Thomondgate people will be remembered for the part they played in the Limerick Soviet on Easter Sunday. A general strike was called by the Limerick United Trades and Labour Council in reaction to the British declaring the city a Special Military Area in April 1919. The military had checkpoints on the bridges over the Shannon and those going to and from the city were required to have a special military permit. General C.J. Griffin declared most of Limerick City a Special Military Area but the North Bank of the River Shannon was outside it.[9] Ruth Russell from the Chicago Tribune who was based in Limerick at the time described how the Soviet amusement committee printed posters announcing that a hurling match was to be played at Caherdavin which was on the North bank of the river on Easter Sunday, April 20. About one thousand people left town for the match. Russell said that 'at sunset, two by two, girls with yellow primroses at their waists, and boys with their hurling sticks in their hands, marched down the white-walled Caherdavin road towards the bridge. The bridge guard hooped his arm towards the boat house occupied by the military. Soldiers,strapping on cartridge belts, double-quicked to his aid. A machine gun sniffed the air from the upper story of the boat house. A squad of fifty helmeted constables marched to the bridge, and marked time.But the boys and girls merely asked if they might go home, and when they were refused, turned about again and kept up a circling tramp, requesting admission to the city. Down near the Broken Treaty Stone, in St. Munchin's Temperance hall, in a room half-filled with potatoes and eggs and milk, women who were to care for the exiles during their temporary banishment, were working. A few of the workers' red-badged guards came to herald the approach of the workers, and then sat down on a settle outside the hall.St. Munchin's chapel bell struck the Angelus.The red-badged guards rose and blessed themselves.'[10] The Limerick GAA History book titled One Hundred Years of Glory states that Treaty and Meelick took part in this match at Caherdavin while Liam Cahill's book says that the match is still shrouded in some mystery with some survivors asserting that no match was, in fact, planned and that in reality, the exodus was nothing more than a ruse. The real aim,apparently, was to test the military's resolve.[11][12] Even if this match never did take place, the Thomondgate people will be remembered for the solidarity that they showed to the people who were not allowed back into the city.

In 1920 Treaty were beaten by Star from the Irishtown district at the Railway Field and by Young Irelands in what was their last match for four years because the Black and Tans came to the city and no hurling was allowed during this period because they viewed the camán as a weapon. After the War of Independence Ireland was thrown into Civil War and hurling was neglected again.

Later 1920s

Things had come back to normal by 1924 and Treaty won their second Junior hurling title that year at Croom, when they defeated the West Champions, Cappagh. Many fans left Thomondgate by bike or pony and trap, with music for the journey being provided by the musicians and bards of Thomond. They returned to Thomondgate that night and were cheered all the way up the High Road before lighting bonfires.

Most of the Treaty team had worked on the Shannon Scheme in nearby Ardnacrusha and there was a keen rivalry for the tournament match at Meelick in 1928 against the Shannon Scheme workers. There was a big crowd at the match and they witnessed a fitter Treaty side triumph over a more robust Shannon Scheme team on the scoreline of 4-6 to 3-4. Meelick beat Treaty by one point in the final of the tournament which was also played at Meelick.

Rivalry with Ahane

Treaty Sarsfields won their third county senior hurling title in a row in 1953 played before a record attendance of 7,524 in Kilmallock. Thomondgate emptied that day as hundreds of Treaty fans travelled south to Kilmallock by road and rail. Treaty beat the famed Ahane by 2-5 to 0-5 with Tom "Dasher" Cronin getting a goal in the second half to clinch it for the Sodacakes.[13] Treaty Sarsfields had an intense rivalry with Ahane in the 1940s and 1950s, with one match having to be abandoned in Adare when Treaty spectators invaded the pitch after an incident involving the Treaty goalkeeper and John Mackey. Treaty had a large following who often came out from the city on double decker buses.[14] The Treaty battle cry at this time was "shake it up Treaty".

In what turned out to be his last time playing for his club, the great Mick Mackey was sent off against Treaty Sarsfields in the 1951 county semi-final. This was the year in which Treaty Sarsfields won their first County Senior Hurling title when they defeated Geraldines at the Gaelic Grounds. It was the first County Senior hurling championship win for a St Munchin's parish GAA club since 1891, and three of that team were present at the match including the 1891 captain and club founder, Michael Brew. Treaty were leading Geraldines by 1-4 to 0-0 at half time with the three O'Shea brothers getting all Treatys scores. Geraldines came back in the second half but Treaty held on to beat the men from the East on a scoreline of 1-6 to 1-2. The men who brought the Senior hurling cup back to Thomondgate for the first time in 60 years were Mick McDonnell, Capt., Seamus Keating, Jim Sadlier, Michael Fitzgerald, Jim O’ Donaghue, Johnny Fitzgerald, Billy O’ Callaghan, Timmy Murphy, Joe Mitchell, Michael O’Shea, Billy O’Shea, Mick McInerney, P.J. O’Dea, Liam McInerney, P.J. O’Shea. Sub Christy Aherne.

In 1956 Treaty Sarsfields played Ahane in the final of the Redemptorist Retreat House cup at Páirc na nGael. Treaty won by 2-7 to 1-9. Both teams were later entertained to dinner at the Shannon Arms Hotel and the Limerick County Board Chairman, Canon Punch, said that he had just witnessed one of the greatest games he ever saw. Tom Hayes of Young Irelands who played for Limerick and was one of Ireland's greatest referees said of the game that in 50 years' experience of first class hurling he could say that he never saw the likes of it.

Honours

Gaelic football

1930 was the first year that Treaty entered a Gaelic football team and the year that St Munchin's CBS began to be a nursery for the club.[15] For a few years in the thirties the football teams in Thomondgate played under the names Seoirse Clancy's and St Munchin's, but in 1937 all the teams in St Munchin's parish agreed to play under the name Treaty.[16]

Following the 1940 split, Treaty and Sarsfields met in a Junior football match at St Patrick's field on 8 June 1941. It was a great game of football but a Treaty player was sent off in the second half, and after a player got injured fights broke out between both spectators and players. The match was then called off by the referee, Liam Brawn of the Commercials club.[17] It just proved how deep the GAA division had gone in the parish.

Both clubs fared well in 1941 and amassed six city championships and three county championships that year.

Golden era

The amalgamation with Sarsfields in 1946 was the start of a golden era for Thomondgate, and Treaty Sarsfields brought home the first County Senior football title in that same year, finally beating Abbeyfeale after three matches.

Treaty won five of the six county championships in 1951. The five county championships were senior hurling and football, minor hurling and football and Junior football. Mick O'Shea had the distinction of playing in four of the winning teams, and got five medals as he was a substitute on the senior football team. He also captained the minor hurlers to victory on the same day as he won the senior hurling county.[18]

Treaty Sarsfields won the double in 1951 when they defeated Claughaun in the senior football final. They won the senior hurling and football double again in 1952 after beating St Patricks in the hurling and Claughaun in the football. Treaty Sarsfields won their fifth senior football title in a row when they defeated Claughaun.

Western Gaels defeated Treaty by two points in the 1953 County Senior football final and this was Treaty's first defeat in six consecutive county finals. This was a golden era for Thomondgate hurling and while they won more senior football titles after this, 1953 was the last senior hurling title that the men from Thomondgate would ever win.

At this time Treaty also had success when they played clubs from outside the county and in 1951 they beat the Kerry county senior football champions, Castleisland Desmonds, at Newcastlewest in a tournament game. They also defeated St Finbarr's of Cork at Kilmallock in the final of the St Munchin's Parish Building Fund senior hurling tournament in 1956.[19]

Street Leagues

Treaty Sarsfields organized street leagues in 1965 and these proved a great success with Shanabooley Road, Killeely, Ballynanty, Farranshone, Thomondgate and Mayorstone taking part. The committee for the street leagues were Brother Howard of St Munchins CBS, Moss O’Grady and Noel Drumgoole. Drumgoole was Chairman of Treaty in 1966/7 and O'Grady was Treasurer in the same years. Both men later left the Treaty club and were instrumental in forming a new club in 1968 called Na Piarsaigh. Treaty Sarsfields had great underage success in 1967 with the U-14, U-15 and U-16 teams winning every trophy on offer from the Bord na nÓg. This could be attributed to the Street leagues.

The "Ban"

Due to the ban on foreign games still in existence in 1969, Treaty lost a number of players to soccer and rugby and at the 1969 AGM, Treaty Sarsfields Chairman, Donal Jackson called for the deletion of rule 27 from the GAA constitution.[20] When the 'Ban' finally ended in 1971 players freely played with the other codes in the parish without the fear of getting suspended. There was a strong sporting ecumenism in the St Munchin's parish and the Royal blue of Ballananty Rovers FC, Treaty Sarsfields GAA and Thomond RFC were interchangeable between players and supporters alike. It was not unknown for some players to play an FAI Junior Cup game in the morning, a Munster Junior Rugby Cup tie in the afternoon and when the seasons overlapped, there are some recorded instances of players appearing at all three codes on the one day![21]

Honours

Camogie

Camogie was also played in St Munchin's Parish and the club which was called St Munchin's had a good team in the 1940s and 1950s, and defeated Monagea in the 1949 Limerick Senior camogie final.[23]

Handball

St Munchins Parish has a very strong tradition of handball and All Ireland Handball champion J.J. Bowles of Thomondgate honed his handball skills at Quiltys Ballcourt in Thomondgate in the early 1900s. St Munchins Handball club was formed in 1952 and the club was so successful at one time that it was said that O‘Callaghan Avenue in St Munchins parish probably had more all Ireland titles than any other street in the country. When mass was over at St Munchins church on a Sunday morning many people would head to the handball alleys in Killeely to watch the top handball players in action.[24]

Facilities

Seoirse Clancy Memorial Park was an ambitious project undertaken in 1935 by the progressive St Munchin's parish GAA committee. By January 1936, £70 had been secured towards the purchase of the Park. The Park was named after the murdered Mayor Seoirse Clancy who was killed in St Munchin's parish. There were many under-age matches played by all the city clubs for a couple of years and it was quite a busy venue but Clancy Park was not always playable especially in the winter months. The clubs of Thomondgate like Seoirse Clancy's, St Munchin's and Treaty all used this park, and there were plans to develop the grounds but the project never materialised because the Treaty club lost the lease of the ground in October 1937.[25] The grounds were situated between Killeely Road and Thomond Park at Hassett's Cross and there is still a small green area left where the old field was, and in recent years Inter Pub soccer matches have been played there.[26]

On 30 March 1941, the first match was played in an area that was then known as the Broad acres, fronting Shelbourne Road. This match was played between Sarsfields and Claughaun, and the field, which later became known as Shelbourne Park, was to become Treaty Sarsfields main playing field for the next 60 years.[27]

Decline

1975 was the last really successful year for Treaty Sarsfields as they won their third County Senior football title in a row and also won the Junior Hurling county final. 450 people attended the annual dinner dance that was held at the Parkway Hotel that year and on the surface things never looked better but after 1975 the slide began for the great Treaty Sarsfields. The cracks started appearing in 1978 when the club gave walkovers at senior, junior, minor and juvenile levels and the once mighty Treaty Sarsfields were in real turmoil.[28] Pat Spillane was playing with Thomond College in the Limerick county senior football championship during this period and he speaks disparagingly about the Treaty Sarsfields team of this time. In his autobiography he refers to the Treaty team as being composed of soccer and rugby players and that every time Thomond College were due to play Treaty he always came up with an excuse not to play against them because of their rough style of play.[29]

During the 1980s Treaty went into freefall and the Treaty GAA notes in the Limerick Leader on 17 June 1986 had the dramatic headline "Saddest day for 100 years". It was referring to the walkover that the Treaty senior footballers gave Galbally in the Limerick County senior football championship on 15 June in Pallasgreen. Only four Treaty men turned up out of a panel of twenty seven. This was the first time a Treaty team had ever given a walkover in a senior championship match.[30] Things did not improve in 1987 and the club had to call the AGM no fewer than three times before they got sufficient numbers to turn up. Ten people finally turned up at the Temperance Hall in Thomondgate for the 1987 Treaty Sarsfields AGM.[31]

In one of the last times that a Treaty team qualified for the county championship knockout series, they suffered a heavy defeat to Ballysteen in the county Junior A football quarter final in 1992 on a scoreline of 3-12, 1-2. This match will be remembered for the interesting fact that there were two Irish senior rugby internationals playing on the same field in Ballyagran that day. Eddie Halvey was playing for Treaty Sarsfields while Mick Fitzgibbon lined out for Ballysteen.[32] The Treaty Committee were trying hard to get their famed club back to their former glory days and on 20 January 1996 there was a large attendance at the Treaty Sarsfields A.G.M. at the Temperance Hall in Thomondgate. Stephen O' Shaughnessy said in his Chairmans address that the incoming committee had a major task of implementing the 5 year development programme that they had drafted in order to revise the club to its former glory. This plan included the provision of a club pitch and the re-introduction of under age hurling and football teams. It also planned to bring a strong Junior Football team to Senior status over the 5 Year Development Programme.[33] Things looked to be improving and Treaty Sarsfields won the under 14 C hurling and football City double in 1997 and these were their first championship wins in years.[34] This proved to be a false dawn for the club and not long after, Treaty Sarsfields disbanded.

References

  1. ↑ Limerick Leader (6,11 January 1941). Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ Williams, Tony (1987). The Boys in Blue, 1886-1987, A History of St Munchins Parish GAA.p.44.
  3. ↑ Limerick Leader (April 5,14 1943). Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ Williams, Tony (1987). The Boys in Blue, 1886-1987, A History of St Munchin's Parish GAA. p.9.
  5. ↑ Limerick Leader. 5 May 1902. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ Kevin Hannan (1990). The Old Limerick Journal 27. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ O' Ceallaigh, Seamus (1987). One Hundred Years of Glory, A History of Limerick GAA, 1884-1984.p.317
  8. ↑ Williams, Tony (1987). The Boys in Blue, 1886-1987, A History of St Munchins Parish GAA.p.13,14.
  9. ↑ Cahill, Liam (1990). Forgotten Revolution, Limerick Soviet 1919.p.36
  10. ↑ Russell, Ruth (1920). Whats the Matter with Ireland?.
  11. ↑ Cahill, Liam (1990). Forgotten Revolution, Limerick Soviet 1919.p.38
  12. ↑ O' Ceallaigh, Seamus (1987). One Hundred Years of Glory, A History of Limerick GAA, 1884-1984.p.664.
  13. ↑ Irish Independent (October 5, 1953). Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ Martin, Henry (2011). Mick Mackey, Hurling Legend in a Troubled County.p.99
  15. ↑ Williams, Tony. Missing or empty |title= (help)p.17,21.
  16. ↑ Limerick Leader (9 January 1937). Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ↑ Limerick Leader (14 June 1941). Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ Irish Independent (September 17, 1951). Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. ↑ O' Ceallaigh, Seamus (1987). One Hundred Years of Glory, A History of Limerick GAA, 1884-1984.p.177
  20. ↑ Williams, Tony. pp. 125, 135. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ↑ www.thomondrugby.com.
  22. ↑ Williams, Tony (1987). The Boys in Blue, 1886-1987, A History of St Munchin's Parish GAA.p.161.
  23. ↑ Williams, Tony. p. 23. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. ↑ Williams, Tony (1987). The Boys in Blue, 1886-1987, A History of St Munchins Parish GAA.p.155.
  25. ↑ Limerick Leader (25 January 1936, 8 October 1937). Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. ↑ Limerick Leader (29 Oct 1997). Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. ↑ Williams, Tony. p. 47. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. ↑ Williams, Tony (1987). The Boys in Blue, 1886-1987, A History of St Munchins Parish GAA.p.144.
  29. ↑ Spillane, Pat (1998). Shooting from the Hip.p.92.
  30. ↑ Limerick Leader. 17 June 1986. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  31. ↑ Williams, Tony (1987). The Boys in Blue, 1886-1987, A History of St Munchin's Parish GAA.p.154.
  32. ↑ Limerick Leader. 24 October 1992. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  33. ↑ Limerick Leader (February 3, 1996). Missing or empty |title= (help)
  34. ↑ Limerick Leader (July 26, 1997). Missing or empty |title= (help)
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