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De La Salle G.A.A. Club was founded in 1927 by Br. John Murphy, then a young brother in St. Stephen’s school. He was originally from County Kildare and a man of great vision and energy. Having been successful at school level, he saw a need to form a club to cater for the sporting and cultural needs of his past pupils. The club was originally called St. Stephens, but was later changed to De La Salle to embrace all the De La Salle schools in the city i.e. St. Stephens, St. Declans and De La Salle College. The club is based on the schools rather than a parish and to this day has maintained very close links with the De La Salle order.
ST.STEPHENS - THE BEGINNING
Our club was founded by Brother John, then a young brother in St. Stephenschool. He was a Kildare man of great vision and energy and a supreme tactician for a football team. His great love of football was nourished
by the golden era of Kildare football when his native county swept to successive All-Ireland senior football titles of 1927 and 1928. It is a little wonder ten that we originated as a minor football club.
Success came early and strange as it may seem the clubs first success was in the 1929 Waterford City - South Kilkenny Hurling League. This was followed in 1930 by the first ever County Championship to come to the club when De La Salle won the minor championship.
At this time the De La Salle Pioneers had a junior hurling cub whose headquarters were in the old De La Salle Hall, part of the old Centre in Stephen St. The natural alliance of the two clubs merged into a single club giving the members a full range of junior and minor hurling and football ream s to play with. With this merger the origin al minor dub colours of red and white were forsaken for the green and red of the junior club.
A great spirit prevailed and the junior football title was won in 1935. The following is a personal recollection of those early days of the dub from Bro. John Murphy.
FOUNDINF OF THE DE LA SALLE CLUB
By Bt. John Murphy
I was born in Athy on May 19th, 1903. It was there, along with my older brothers and schoolmates that I learned the basic skills of gaelic football. My coming to the House of Junior Studies at Castletownaffored me the opportunity to take up hurling. Coming up against some hardy youngsters from Kilkenny, Tipperary and Cork, I had much leeway to make up in the acquisition of the skills of the caman. But I loved the game and by the year 1923, when I qualified as a teacher in De La Salle Training College, my mates from the hurling counties held no fears for me.
1935 Junior Football Champions
My first five years of teaching were spent in Dundalk, where along with Br. Aloysius O'Brien, I played both hurling and football. Then in 1928, our Provincial, Br. Benedict, transferred me to teach in St. Stephen's School, where I was joined by Brs. Thomas, Aloysius, Killian and Declan -- all of them lovers of the game of hurling.
At that time there were no properly organised games in St. Stephen's. Nobody had official responsibility for games of any kind. Money was hard to come by and even in those days hurling was expensive. Not even one Gaelic football team existed in the entire city. It was in 1928 that I decided to start a football team and enter the County Championships. But with no money and no jerseys, the future seemed bleak. Financial encouragement, however, came from predictable sources. Br. Leander McGrath, President of the College, gave me the then princely sum of £25 and this was supplemented by a £10 contribution from Br. Bernard Foley. Mr. Furnace. owner of the Tramore Buses, authorised me to buy two footballs and send the bill to him. This was but one of many kindnesses from Mr. Furnace. He was indeed a good friend.
Our outfit consisted of red and white hooped jerseys with matching hose,white togs. Following our first appearance inthe now Walsh Park, we received a complimentary paragraph in the Evening News and Star. Cost of the outfit was £25.
Football became popular with our new club and in a short time we had quite a useful side, winning the junior championship in '35. Hurling went on side by side with the football and quite a few of our players were involved in both games. As soon as I could muster a junior team I abandoned the minor grade, it being far easier to find 15 men of any age for the junior team as against finding 15 under age players. Because of this latter difficulty, few teams were legal, but attempting to prove this was simply a waste of time. While I never played illegal players, there was one exception to this rule. Georgie O’Grady, our outstanding goalkeeper un hurling, was chosen by Co. Board officials to play minor against Cork at Mitchelstown. I was aware of his being over age, and so the were the board officials. Prior to his taking the field, they wrote a false name in the palm of his hand so that he would not forget.
Now that the Co. Board approved of his playing, I fielded him in a championship game against Mt. Sion.
I expected an objection which would leave the Co. Board in quite a pickle. The objection did come, but itwas thrown out on a technicality - the wring rule was quoted.
Eventually we had established junior and senior teams in both hurling and football. We were much
in demand for ‘friendlies’, especially in the country. Indeed we were away most Sundays, playing two
games, hurling and football. Our teams were neatly togged out and behaved honourably. Generally, I myself played in both games. We travelled in a large coach which seemed to impress the locals in any area.
Our good friend, Mr. Furnace, let us have Sunday afternoon buses for £1.50 (30/-). Anybody could travel, there being no official charge. But a collection was made on the bus, usually by the captain. Normally these more than covered expenses.
Now that the club was running smoothly, we decided to invest our modest surplus cash in Post Office Saving Certificates. We felt that while the club was financially sound, there was less likelihood of its folding up in the then future. It was quite a few years later that Br. Brendan Fleming, on discovering the existence of this nest egg, forwarded papers to me for my signature to release the money.
Excursions: At a time when Kildare were one of the greatest forces in Gaelic, we had the Kildare county champions, Athy, down to Waterford for a challenge game. I billed it as Waterford v Kildare. Unfortunately, the heavens opened in a deluge of rain all the afternoon of the game. However, the attendance was sufficient to cover all our expenses and the Waterford people present were treated to an exhibition of real Gaelic football. Some of the Athy men I meet occasionally still speak of the great day they had in Waterford. We paid a return visit to Athy shortly after, and enjoyed it thoroughly.
On another occasion we had home and away games with the students in Mallow Preparatory College with the honours even. One of these visits has other memories for myself. I became ill on the return journey and spent six weeks in Cork's "Bons" with a burst appendix.
Each year a group of us travelled together to the All-Ireland Final. We used to hire a seven-seater taxi in Sallypark at a cost of £7.
For both entertainment and fund raising, we held Ceili dances in' the Gaelic League Hall, Lady Lane. They were well run and well attended, with Irish spoken. I myself made by speech asGhaeilge.
When thinking now of our then club officials, some men come easily to mind. Dick Dalton, captain of the hurling team, was a really sound full back with a fund of common sense. For this and his great loyalty, he was both liked and respected by all. Then there was Paddy Elliott, the brains of the bunch. He was far-seeing, good at Board meetings and spoke Irish quite well He was not particularly good at games, but interested and most willing to have a go -- one of those backbone men in any club. Both of these men and myself held our meetings in the Monastery parlour. If it was necessary to meet the entire club, we used a classroom in the school.
We played in all the championships for junior and senior hurling, junior and senior football. I have little memories now of winning or losing. Jimmy Mountain was the only player who comes to my mind for being on the Waterford senior team for some years. Georgie O'Grady played minor and junior for the county. He had a special wide boss, being a goalkeeper, and his puck-outs usually landed among the forwards. One of the Jacques, Jack if memory serves me correctly, when coming on the team for the first time I asked him where he might prefer to play. His answer -- "Put me in where there's a bit of pullen."
There was indeed a great spirit among our players. We enjoyed playing like people now enjoy jogging. We looked forward to our Sunday afternoons and rarely' was anybody absent. We had no rows, no bad language. Elliott was the man to calm any disturbance, to suggest changes at half time. When collecting for the bus, he knew the lad who had no money.
Finally, the College authorities never refused us the use of their field for training. This was a great boon in the long summer evenings -- Br. Leander McGrath and Br. Edmund Gleeson, bless them.
THE WAR YEARS
In 1936, Brother John was transferred to England and the club became rather disorganised with spirit sinking to an all-time low.
However, the arrival of Brother Brendan brought about a major transformation within the dub and almost immediately a golden era dawned. In 1938 the minor and junior football double was completed and the decade closed with another minor football championship in 1939. The war clouds then gathered over Europe as De La Salle struck terror in the hearts of other football clubs with a hat-trick of minor titles in 1941, 1942 and 1943.
The following is an account of Brother Brendan’s involvement with the club during this period.
SOME REMINISCENCE
The St. Stephen's Hurling & Football Club -- as it was when I knew it, was well established when I came on the scene in 1932. I wasn't involved in the running of the club from 1932 to 1937 -- Br. John Murphy was the President and Br. Jarlath for the year 1936 when Br. John had left for England. In 1937 the club consisted of just 19 players, and two teams, junior football and junior hurling. Due to lack of matches, the spirit of the club was at a very low ebb. But all that was needed to rekindle the spirit was games -- and still more games.
I got around me a splendid committee consisting- of Paddy Elliott, Dick Dalton, Mick McCarthy, Tommy Dalton, John and Billie Shortall and Dick Cullen. Challenge matches in hurling and football were arranged and gradually the interest grew. All through the year we played against different teams, mostly out the country -- Passage, Gaultier, Tramore, Newtown, Fenor, Dunhill, Portlaw, Mooncoin, Mullinavat, etc. We travelled by bus to these games, and funds were so low in the club that a 'collection' was taken up by our Treasurer, Tommy Dalton, as we travelled to these games. The fee was generally a "bob" a head and while collecting it, our treasurer had to use rather unusual "diplomatic" language to wheedle it out of some. But the spirit was improving and interest was growing.
In 1938 1 started a minor football and a minor hurling team. The beginning was weak, but interestgrew among these youngsters because of the number of matches they got. Like the juniors, they also were travelling almost every Sunday to matches -- and the bus had to be paid for out of their own pockets. We had four teams on the field for the 1938 championships and did very well. We continued all through 1939 with these challenge matches and right on to 1942, when we had six teams in the field-- 3 in hurling and 3 in football. We had now up to 100 members in the club. Things were thriving, the spirit was excellent, our finances splendid because of a top-class concert in the Savoy Cinema each year. That concert used nett us £80 or £90 each year -- a regular fortune in those days. I was transferred from Stephen Street to St. Patrick's, Newtown, in 1942 and handed over the running of the club to Br. ConlethLevins R.I.P.
We had no disappointments in the club during these years. Whether beaten in the championship or not, the lads knew that another match (challenge) was lined up for them on the following Sunday. Besides, a great spirit of camaraderie developed mainly due to the fact that I had got practically all the members of the H. & F. Club to join the Past Pupils Club in Stephen St. We had many top-class players, notably Dick Dalton, a great back; John Shortall, a fine centre-field; Paid Moore, Jimmy Walsh (back), W. Shortall, M. Cullen and R. Cullen, Jim Plunkett, Tommy Dalton, Sean Hetherington -- probably the best footballer the club produced, John Power, Georgie Grady, Paddy Nolan, Willie Nolan, Jim Jacques, Charlie Jacques, Paddy Cullen and J. J. Kelly, and many others. Br. Cornelius and Br. Conleth also played with our hurling teams.
The annual general meeting of the club was a wonderful event. The meeting was held in the old "Crit" Hall and the place was crowded. Quite a large portion of the business was transacted in Irish. The election of officers took place -- but the same members above were returned practically every year.
After our annual general meeting, and our annual concert that was enjoyed by all was the annual club outing to Youghal each October, where we were the guests of the local H. & F. Club, and were welcomed by the Youghal Club to the big Ceili & Old Time Dance in the Town Hall. A great spirit existed between Youghal and ourselves over all these years. In all our outings, Sunday after Sunday, the lads sang their way to the match and back – they had a wonderful selection of songs.
One evening our minor hurlers were playing Passage minors in Passage. One very excited Passage fan on the sideline attacked Paddy Cullen for rough play. Shortly after, the said fan came to me complaining about the vile language of one of my players. Anyway, coming home on the bus, I asked Paddy Cullen what eh said to him and he replied – “All I said to hom is “dun do chlabmor”!
We were playing hurling in Youghal and big Jim Plunkett was our full forward. It was a wet day. The ball came to Jim – he pulled, but the hurley slipped out of his hand and went flying over the crossbar and hit a donkey that was grazing behind the goals. The owner of the ass was standing nearby and when he saw what happened he raced onto the field, attacked Jim Plunkett and a regular battle ensued between the two big men. When they were separated, the language of the intruder should definitely have been taped.
My memories of the 10 years I spent with St. Stephens H. & F. Club are all pleasant ones. This was made possible by the whole-hearted co-operation accorded me at all times by the members of the club. In my old age t affords me wonderful pleasure to recall those bygone happy days, to re-live those wonderful days, and to walk again with my special friends of the past.
DIFFICULT TIMES
The outbreak of war in 1939 was to have a telling affect on the strength of the club as De La Salle lost many of its young and promising players. Some of these joined the Irish Army while more emigrated to England.
Throughout the war years the club had to surmount and confront with many difficult and serious obstacles, but the members and committee pluckily stuck together. None more so than TadhgO'Caoimh (R.I.P.), Dick Dalton (R.I.P.), Paddy Elliott (R.I.P.), and John Shortall (R.I.P.). The hard work and dedication of these men ensured the survival of our club in very trying and difficult circumstances and senior hurling status was maintained with the help of some army players who were stationed in the military barracks at the time, while club players stationed up the country were brought home for matches.. Despite all of these difficulties, the club still held its annual outing to Youghal with challenge games in hurling and football and a Ceili in the local Town Hall. This event was a great help in maintaining the spirit of the club and its players in very hard times. The end of the war saw the return to the club of many of those players who were in the army or working in England and -nee again the future looked bright.
In 1946 it looked as if we were in line to win that most coveted honour of all, the senior' hurling championship. But, alas, in 1947 De LaSalle struck rock bottom when we failed to field against Butlerstown in the first round of the senior hurling championship. The result of this failure was that some players retired altogether while others, like P. Bonny) Nolan and John B. Power, played with Erin's Own, on the instructions of the committee, and won a senior hurling championship medal with that club. The dub only fielded in junior and minor football for the championship campaign of 1947.