As I Roved Out: Strange but true story of the 1955 Carlow Camogie final
70 years ago, Goresbridge beat Ballylinan to win the Carlow Camogie Championship
’Twas Kilkenny v Laois in the 1955 Carlow Camogie Final! Surely the most unusual county final ever played? Yes folks, there were strange goings on in Carlow camogie circles 70 years ago! It all started harmlessly enough when early in the year Ballylinan, finding themselves the only affiliated camogie club in Laois, applied to be allowed play in the Carlow championship. With Carlow themselves low on numbers - only Ballymurphy and Ballinabranna affiliated- Ballylinan’s request was granted at the Carlow Camogie Convention held in the McGrath Hall, Bagenalstown in late May. In July we read in the ‘Kilkenny Journal’ that a new camogie club had been formed in Goresbridge on the Kilkenny side of the Carlow-Kilkenny border “with the Rev Fr Foynes as President, Mr Luke Morrissey, Chairman, Eileen Dalton, Treasurer, and Miss Lily Holohan, Secretary.” The same report announces that “Goresbridge has been admitted to Co Carlow for camogie purposes.”
: It was decided to play the four-team championship on a league basis, everyone playing everyone else once. A number of early fixtures went by the wayside for a variety of reasons before Ballylinan beat Ballymurphy 5-1 to 1-0 in Ballylinan on a Thursday evening, the local notes suggesting that the original postponement had been a “blessing in disguise” as the Laois girls had, “in the mean time, worked up much needed practice.” Round that same time also Goresbridge beat Ballinabranna at a Ballinabranna venue, possibly Tomard.
The Round 2 games, which pitted Ballymurphy v Goresbridge and Ballinabranna v Ballylinan were, effectively - should the two ‘guest’ teams win - two semi-finals but, as it turned out we didn’t even have a Round 2! The ‘Barrow Valley Notes’ in the ‘Kilkenny People’ tells us “Ballymurphy, Carlow Co. Camogie Champions, conceded a walk-over to Goresbridge last Sunday. Ballymurphy were one-an-a-half hours late in arriving and had not a full team.” As Ballinabranna also conceded a walk-over to Ballylinan, the dye was cast and the 1955 Carlow Camogie final was going to be contested by Ballylinan of Laois and Kilkenny's Goresbridge! As Ballylinan were due to have home venue in the now surplus to requirements third round, that third round game became the final and so not only was the Carlow County final a battle between a Laois and Kilkenny club but was being played on Laois soil!
A short preview in ‘The Nationalist’ under the heading ‘Camogie final’ - it didn’t say what county! - reckoned “a hefty and strongly fancied Ballylinan team might have to fight hard for the honours against a young and enthusiastic Goresbridge side.”
And so on Sunday, October 2, 1955 Goresbridge crossed the border into Carlow and having reached the county capital crossed the border out of Carlow and into Laois, landing in Ballylinan for what must surely rank as the most unusual county final ever played. And in keeping with the strange goings on, the first half was scoreless! Mind you there had been a dozen wides. By the final whistle one team had scored no point, the other team had scored no goal! One team had scored once, the other team had scored twice! The team without a point that scored once won! Goresbridge 1-0, Ballylinan 0-2.
Goresbridge goalkeeper P Dalton was chiefly responsible for the blank scoresheet at half-time with a string of good saves and on the restart Kathleen Curran shot what was to prove to be the winning goal. V Donohue (10th minute) and AM Brennan (free) scored points for Ballylinan and the small match report in ‘The Nationalist’ tells us “that the last minutes of the game were best when with only a point separating them, both teams fought hard for supremacy.” The report also reveals that “Ballylinan fielded the days best player in A.M. Brennan, B Hovenden was a strong defender. A Walsh was a dependable goalkeeper. N Donohue was the best forward.” That A.M. Brennan was Anna May Brennan, later Anna May McHugh of National Ploughing fame. “Brighest star on the Goresbridge side was A Keyes with B Keyes, B McDonald, and K Curran all playing well.” In a different report on the match in the ‘New Ross Standard’ - a Wexford paper taking an interest in a Carlow final played by teams from Kilkenny and Laois! - we learn that “Goresbridge can be rated lucky because in the closing minutes of a thrilling game, Ballylinan put in a storming finish during which four close-in frees to Ballylinan, when they were only a point in arrears could have levelled, if not won the match.” THE TEAMS: The teams - camogie was 12-a-side back then (1-1-3-3-3-1) with a second crossbar beneath which points must be scored! - were: Goresbridge: Mrs P Dalton; T McDonald; A Gleeson, E Dalton, A Keyes; B Keyes, Lily Holohan (Capt), M Walsh; Bernie McDonald, M Nolan, Kathleen Curran; M Kelly.
Ballylinan: Anna Walsh; Kathleen Donoghue; Brenda Hovenden, B Dempsey, Eileen Brennan; T Delaney, Bernadette Whelan, Anna May Brennan; Eileen Donohue, M Donohue, M Clandillon; R Hovenden. Sub: P Keightley for Dempsey (injured)
Mr J Byrne was the referee. We are assuming he was from Carlow but that, in this instance, would be a dangerous assumption.
In the “New Ross Standard’ the week after the match we read that “after the match the cup was presented to the captain of the winning team, Miss L Holohan, by Mr P Tuite, Chairman of the Carlow Co Board. When the winning team arrived home with the captain carrying the cup, they were met by a large crowd on the outskirts of the village and escorted to the Fair Green corner where bonfires blazed. Mr M Gleeson congratulated the team on winning the Carlow camogie championship. Rev J Foynes, CC., President of the Camogie Club, joined in the congratulations to the team.
Wait, hold the back page. This Kilkenny v Laois Carlow County final did, in fact, see a Carlow woman in action. Cathy Dalton informed us that the ‘P Dalton responsible for the blank scoresheet at half-time’ was none other than her late mother Patty (nee Quigley), a proud Carlow woman. “She married my father and moved to Goresbridge in 1954. She used to play camogie in St Leo’s. As far as I know her father Ned Quigley played on the Carlow county teams in the 1920s.” Cathy is indeed correct, Ned (Eamonn) Quigley hurled with Carlow, most notably in a 1928 Leinster Junior Championship victory over Kildare in ‘The Bog’, Bagenalstown, that Carlow victory their first since 1907! Patty’s brother Liam was a dual star with Carlow, scoring a hat-trick for the hurlers in the NHL Division 2 final victory over Laois in Athy in September 1958. Another brother, Kevin, an Army man, moved to Limerick and his son Damien Quigley hurled with Limerick, scoring 2-3 in the 1994 All-Ireland final when the Treaty men were beaten by a late Offaly surge. Of course Pádraig Amond, the current top scorer in the 2025 League of Ireland (having netted 13 goals for Waterford FC) is of the same Quigley stock, his mother the former Patty Quigley.
Seventy years on the 2025 Carlow Camogie final will definitely feature two Carlow clubs and will take place in Carlow too, Netwatch Cullen Park to be exact. The long time champions Myshall and challengers Mount Leinster Rangers, seeking an historic first title, should provide a cracker. Congratulations and best wishes to Setanta who play Rangers in the curtain-raising Junior final. This is the first time the town club have contested an adult championship final and the girls are there on merit, due reward for their hard work.
