However, perhaps more so than anything else, for many Club members it is Michael’s fundraising efforts on behalf of Shamrock Gaels, particularly in the 1990’s, that he will be best recognised for. Thereafter, Micheál continued playing with the Gaels at Junior level throughout the 1970’s but unfortunately without much further success. This team again fell at the county semi-final hurdle. The new club, Shamrock Gaels, contested at Senior and Junior levels in the 1972 Championships and Micheál again featured at corner-back on the first Shamrock Gaels team to win the Foley Cup, when they defeated Keash by one point and thus gained revenge for 1970. Sooey went on to contest the county semi-final but were beaten by St. Sooey emerged victorious on a scoreline of 1-9 to 1-4 and Micheál, by now a permanent fixture at corner-back, was again to the fore in what was a fiercely contested match between these two great rivals. It was perhaps fitting therefore that these two great clubs would contest the 1971 Foley Cup final before a huge crowd in Ballymote. A notable teammate of Micheál’s on both of these Foley Cup final teams was Seamus Cawley, our ex-Chairman.Īnd so to 1971, the last year that the famous green and gold of Sooey would grace the playing fields of county Sligo, before the amalgamation of Sooey and Knockalassa the following year to form Shamrock Gaels. Micheál again featured in the Sooey team that reached the 1970 Foley Cup final when they unfortunately lost out once more, this time to Keash. By this time Micheál was renowned as a tenacious corner-back and his performance in this game earned him an honourable mention in the newspaper report on the game. Micheál was corner-back on the 1968 Sooey team beaten by their great rivals, Knockalassa in the Foley Cup final played in Ballymote. One of the most prestigious titles in the county was the Foley Cup, which was awarded to the winners of the East Divisional Junior Championship. At this time, Championship football was organised on a Divisional basis and Sooey, following the heroics of the Senior Championship winning teams of the 1940’s and 1950’s, were contesting in the Junior ranks. This followed encouragement from then Secretary of Sooey, the late Leo Kearns and indeed Micheál and Leo would go on to become lifelong friends. A native of Roughan, Sooey, Micheál first made his mark in the GAA world on the playing fields of the late 1960’s, when he lined out for Sooey.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |