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Irish Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Cork chairman on Pat Ryan's future after All-Ireland final humbling
Cork chairman Pat Horgan has said that a 'time for reflection' is needed before any decisions are made on Pat Ryan's future. Ryan's three-year term as senior hurling manager ended with last Sunday's heavy All-Ireland final defeat to Tipperary and it remains to be seen what his intentions are for 2026. It is not believed that there will be any push against him from the county board, while he remains popular among the playing group, but whether the Sarsfields man will have the appetite for a fourth year at the helm is questionable, particularly given the circumstances of last Sunday's loss. He had said at the outset of his reign that if he didn't deliver an All-Ireland within the allotted three years that his term would be deemed 'a failure'. He doubled down on that at Cork's media event ahead of the final, saying: 'Failure, is it the right word? It's probably a harsh word at times. But it's true, to be honest with you.' He added: 'If you're not moving the needle along closer to where we want to get to, which is the ultimate - winning the All-Ireland - you just can't hog the job, for want of a better word." However, chairman Horgan insisted that this is no time for snap decisions. 'We are all tremendously disappointed after the weekend, but now is a time for reflection and we'll leave time for reflection,' he told 'The executive will sit down and talk to all the people directly involved over the next couple of weeks. 'The senior hurling is very simple; it is a time for reflection for a couple of weeks and then we'll sit down and talk to everybody concerned.' Horgan also pointed out that the team had performed well for the most part this year as they won League and Munster titles, backed by a huge following. 'In my few words at the banquet, what I said is 35 minutes should not define a team, or a group,' he said. 'The one point I made at the banquet very forcibly was that Sunday was our seventh championship game and every single one of them were sold out. That is something the GAA and business community have benefited from considerably. 'And we are very grateful to our fans for getting behind the team. We are also very grateful to the people who put their hands into their pockets to support the whole thing.' He also backed the decision of the players and management not to have a homecoming for the team in Cork on Monday evening. Horgan added: 'We respected it and we said fine. The thing about the homecoming is that we had never actually put it in place until we saw what the result was. We respected their wishes that they just didn't want to go through with it, and we said that is fine. 'I think that is fair and reasonable. We had it last year, and I think they deserved a bit of space to themselves. I just think it was going to be so, so difficult for everybody involved. We understood.'
Irish Daily Mirror
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Cork v Tipperary live score updates from the All-Ireland hurling final
All-Ireland SHC final: Clare 3-29 Cork 1-34 AET It took 90 minutes of non-stop action to separate Clare and Cork in what has already been dubbed one of the greatest games of hurling ever seen. In the end, it was a point from substitute Shane Meehan that ensured that the Liam MacCarthy would be heading to the Banner county for the first time since 2013. Clare defeated Cork that season after a replay and it seemed written in the stars that this game would be replayed in a fortnight's time. After Meehan's point put Clare three ahead in stoppage-time, a brace of scores from Patrick Horgan left the fate of the final in the hands of Johnny Murphy. The Limerick referee allowed Cork one final chance and substitute Robbie O'Flynn had a golden opportunity to force a replay. However, in the final twist of a gripping decider, he pulled his shot wide of the posts at the Hill 16 end. The red and white jerseys of Cork fell to their knees while the yellow and blue of the Banner rejoiced as Murphy's full-time whistle brought the contest to its conclusion. For the Rebels, their drought now extends to a 20th season - the longest in their history. If ever there was a game when neither side deserved to lose, this was it. The Rebels enjoyed the better of proceedings in the early stages and led by three on two occasions in the first quarter. Brian Hayes, Tim O'Mahony and Seamus Harnedy were on target from play while Patrick Horgan was unerring from frees. Worryingly from a Clare perspective both Conor Cleary and Adam Hogan picked up early bookings. Things went from bad to worse for Brian Lohan's men when Robert Downey surged through unchecked to fire the game's opening goal. Aidan McCarthy converted a free to settle Clare back into the game and a bit of brilliance from Shane O'Donnell had them back in contention. Murphy played advantage for a foul on Peter Duggan and O'Donnell burst through the Cork challenges to set up McCarthy for a superb goal. Clare fought back to level the game, 1-12 each at half-time. The second half was a reversal of the first with Cork needing a late comeback to force extra-time. O'Mahony's second point had briefly given Cork the lead after the opening four scores were split evenly but Clare struck for their second goal via Mark Rodgers. Cork fought back to level the game once again before Banner skipper Tony Kelly plundered a stunning goal. Cutting inside two Cork defenders, Kelly beat Patrick Collins with a deft finish before Horgan replied for Cork. However, a brilliant sideline cut from Peter Duggan put Clare three ahead. Yet again, Cork fought back. Horgan, Eoin Downey and the impressive Harnedy with his fourth made it a draw game, 3-16 to 1-22 with a little over 10 minutes remaining. Back came Clare with a hat-trick of points, but they couldn't quite close the game out as Darragh Fitzgibbon and a brace of Horgan frees had the sides level. Kelly looked to have sealed the game once more, before Horgan forced extra-time from another free. As the players took time to draw breath, some fans had to be called back into the stadium as it appears not everyone was aware that extra-time would be played before a potential replay. A further 10 minutes failed to separate the teams, with the scoreboard reading 3-25 to 1-31. The next 10 minutes might well go down as the most dramatic in the history of the famous game. Tony Kelly, Aidan McCarthy and Shane Meehan landed a rally of points that should have put the game beyond doubt. Two Horgan points cut the gap to two with time all but up. However, Murphy allowed Pat Ryan's side one final play to salvage a replay. A free from Patrick Collins dropped into the danger area and was plucked from the sky by O'Flynn. He turned to shoot and appeared to have his jersey held by Conor Leen. The free wasn't given and his shot flew wide of the posts. It proved to be the final act of a pulsating final. Clare are All-Ireland champions for 2024, but Cork deserve equal plaudits for their part in a game for the ages. Clare captain Tony Kelly lifts the Liam MacCarthy Cup after the 2024 All-Ireland final (Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne) Clare scorers: Aidan McCarthy 1-7 (0-3fs, 0-1 65, Tony Kelly 1-4, Mark Rodgers 1-3, Diarmuid Ryan 0-3, David Fitzgerald 0-3, Shane O'Donnell 0-2, David Reidy 0-2, Peter Duggan 0-2 (0-1 sl), Ryan Taylor 0-1, Ian Galvin 0-1, Shane Meehan 0-1. Cork scorers: Patrick Horgan 0-12 (0-10fs), Seamus Harnedy 0-4, Robert Downey 1-0, Mark Coleman 0-3, Tim O'Mahony 0-3, Shane Barrett 0-2, Brian Hayes 0-2, Darragh Fitzgibbon 0-2 Shane Kingston 0-2, Robbie O'Flynn 0-1, Eoin Downey 0-1, Ciaran Joyce 0-1, Alan Connolly 0-1.
RTÉ News
20-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Preview: Cork can shoulder great expectations in novel All-Ireland hurling final against Tipperary
Tipperary travel in hope and Cork in expectation. Or so we are led to believe. This year's All-Ireland SHC decider has been billed as one team fulfilling their destiny and another ahead of schedule. But there's plenty of scope for a twist in this novel tale. Hurling's second and third-most successful counties have had many memorable battles down the years - think Christy Ring and John Doyle trading blows in front of 70,000+ at the Gaelic Grounds, Nicky English kicking goals and Mark Foley running riot, but the neighbours' 95th championship meeting (including replays) will be the first in the final and just the second at Croke Park. All the evidence points to Cork ending their record wait for Liam MacCarthy at 20 years. Favourites since being pipped by a point in last year's first extra-time final against Clare, they thumped Tipp by 10 in the league final and 15 later in April in Munster, though their opponents did have Darragh McCarthy sent off even before the start in championship. Cork then reversed a hammering at the hands of Limerick to end their six-year reign over the province, albeit on penalties, and hit seven goals past the slayers of the green giants, Dublin, in the semi-final. They have done all this roared on by fans desperate to see Patrick Horgan and Seamus Harnedy finally get their hands on an All-Ireland medal, ensuring unprecedented full houses at headquarters for their last two semi-finals, and making up about 75% of the crowd against Dublin earlier this month. The 82,300 in attendance today will be much more evenly split, but so far their heroes have shouldered the burden of hope. What kind of game can we expect? Cork will go for goals, and go for them early, as manager Pat Ryan openly admits is the plan. In the league decider, they scored three in the first half, through Alan Connolly, Darragh Fitzgibbon and Ethan Twomey, the latter left out of the 26 today. Three weeks later it was the same, Tim O'Mahony - one of Cork's less heralded heroes this year - Horgan and Connolly rattling the net against the 14 men. Declan Dalton added a fourth as Tipp were restricted to points again. They have developed more of a goal threat since (as Kilkenny found out to their cost), scoring 2.14 per game to Cork's 2.83, but the key to an upset today surely lies in Tipperary at least slowing, if not fully stopping, the Rebel goal rush. The 6'4" full-forward Brian Hayes (5-08) has been central to many of Cork's green flags. He will probably be marked by Ronan Maher, Tipperary's best defensive fielder, who did a good job on TJ Reid in their semi-final. But then Hayes is more mobile and doesn't need clean possession to cause havoc – a lot of Cork's goals have come from him breaking ball for Horgan (2-11 from play), Connolly (4-09 and a hat-trick hero against Dublin) or Shane Barrett, who then lay it off to one of the other forwards in space, or over the shoulder to a runner like O'Mahony. Tipp might be willing to concede short puckouts so they can sit their half-back and half-forward lines deeper and deny their opponents' three-man inside line the space they are experts at exploiting. At least in the first half. A similar approach meant Limerick conceded only two goals to Cork in over 160 minutes in Munster. Will Cork be happy to let Dalton and Darragh Fitzgibbon try to outshoot Willie Connors/Conor Stakelum and Jake Morris? Easier said than done, of course. Corner-backs Michael Breen and Robert Doyle are both superb athletes but also converted forwards. Doyle has thrived in his new role but Connolly has caused him more problems than any other opponent this year. Breen is good on the ball but has been turned a few times, something Kilkenny didn't target enough. The Dublin game suggested that is something 37-year-old Horgan still has in his locker. "A little smile there and he's entitled to it..." A fifth goal for Cork, it's come from the stick of Tim O'Mahony. 📺Watch LIVE on RTÉ2 & the RTÉplayer 📻Listen on RTÉ Radio 1 📱 Follow Live Updates on — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 5, 2025 Rain would probably suit Tipp more. While the majority of Cork's goals in their semi-final were the result of slick interplay – and too much space – Tipperary's were all skill and opportunism on a slippy day. Two-time All-Ireland winners John McGrath (30) and Jason Forde (31) might not have the fastest legs but their wrists could put you to sleep before you hear the light-switch click. McGrath has scored more from play (5-14) than any of the Cork forwards. Forde was also flawless on the frees after McCarthy had received his second yellow card against Kilkenny. If McCarthy starts, as indicated, he will probably take the dead balls, as he has all year, an immense show of faith in the 19-year-old by manager Liam Cahill. Both McCarthy and Horgan are in 8/10 form on that front. But Cahill had already switched the frees to Forde even before McCarthy's second dismissal of the summer against Kilkenny, and he doesn't have the same aversion to dummy teams as his counterpart. Could we see semi-final matchwinner Oisín O'Donoghue or Alan Tynan start instead? Paddy McCormack, younger brother of Dan, could make his senior debut off the bench. Unless Cahill is tempted to go full Shane O'Donnell on it altogether. Ryan's main dilemma is whether to keep Harnedy (35), who sat out the semi-final with a hamstring injury, in reserve and hope his aerial ability and point contribution isn't missed too much early on. Though Dalton, also handy for a long-range free, is a capable replacement. Harnedy could also potentially come in for first-year starter Diarmuid Healy, whose pace might be even more damaging off the bench. One of the reasons Tipperary wanted Cahill to succeed Colm Bonnar was the chance to pair him with the players he managed to back-to-back U21/20 titles in 2018-19. But the Ballinagarry man chose to fast-track even younger men after a miserable second season – one point in Munster last year – and the gamble has paid off spectacularly. McCormack scored 2-01 in the Under-20 All-Ireland final victory over Kilkenny last month and is one of four of that team in the 26 today, alongside McCarthy, O'Donoghue and starting wing-forward Sam O'Farrell, the U-20 captain. Doyle and midfield replacement Peter McGarry also made their debuts this year. There will still be plenty of the class of 2018-19 involved today: Morris, now the key man in a dynamic half-forward line alongside late bloomer Andrew Ormond, set for a battle with Rob Downey, midfielder Conor Stakelum, defenders Bryan O'Mara, Craig Morgan (the 2019 captain) and long-range threat Eoghan Connolly. But Conor Bowe and Gearóid O'Connor have gone from starters last year to not even being in the 26. Cahill has been ruthless when required. Tipperary beat Cork in both of those underage finals, and as big underdogs in 2018, something they will hope is an omen today. Today's Cork starters Niall O'Leary, Mark Coleman, Fitzgibbon, O'Mahony and Dalton and all played in '18 when Stakelum's late goal sunk them, as did subs Shane Kingston and Robbie O'Flynn. Ger Millerick, Tommy O'Connell and Brian Roche were involved in 2019. Ryan then succeeded Denis Ring as U20 manager and won two All-Ireland titles in five weeks (the 2020 final was played in July '21) with the likes of Eoin Downey, Cormac O'Brien, Ciarán Joyce, Brian Roche, Barrett, Connolly and Hayes. One of the managers will join the elite double club today but their shared history goes back as far as 1997 when they lined out against each other in the Munster U21 decider, as did Cork selectors Wayne Sherlock and Brendan Coleman, along with Tipp coach Mikey Beavans. They were both also All-Ireland senior winners as panellists, Ryan in 1999 and Cahill two years later. Tipperary have not beaten Cork in championship since 2020, the year Cahill led Waterford to another unexpected All-Ireland final appearance. This feels like more of a free shot, but that doesn't mean they can't score it. If Tipp can survive the early onslaught, they proved against Kilkenny that they have the grit to survive a dogfight. Cork might feel the heat if it's tight or they are behind down the closing stretch but they have proven more than once that they can stand it. Against Limerick last year, when they needed a late goal to stay alive in Munster. In the All-Ireland final, when they fought all the way against Clare and should have had a free to earn a replay. In this year's Munster final, when they won a 65 at the end of extra-time to force penalties. As Ryan said after the semi-final, being fancied to win means you're playing well. But he also pointed it out that that didn't count for much this time last year. The weight of expectation aside, Cork are deserving favourites, and if the drought doesn't end today then Tipperary will be deserving champions. Cork: Patrick Collins; Niall O'Leary, Eoin Downey, Sean O'Donoghue; Ciarán Joyce, Rob Downey, Mark Coleman; Tim O'Mahony, Darragh Fitzgibbon; Diarmuid Healy, Shane Barrett, Declan Dalton; Patrick Horgan, Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes. Subs: Brion Saunderson, Damien Cahalane, Ger Millerick, Cormac O'Brien, Tommy O'Connell, Luke Meade, Brian Roche, Séamus Harnedy, Robbie O'Flynn, Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston. Tipperary: Rhys Shelly; Robert Doyle, Eoghan Connolly, Michael Breen; Craig Morgan, Ronan Maher (capt), Bryan O'Mara; Willie Connors, Conor Stakelum; Jake Morris, Andrew Ormond, Sam O'Farrell; Darragh McCarthy, John McGrath, Jason Forde. Subs: Barry Hogan, Joe Caesar, Seamus Kennedy, Paddy McCormack, Brian McGrath, Noel McGrath, Peter McGarry, Oisin O'Donoghue, Johnny Ryan, Darragh Stakelum, Alan Tynan.
RTÉ News
19-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Good old days - hurling's veterans still centre stage
In the 41st minute of their All-Ireland hurling semi-final thrashing of Dublin, Cork's Brian Hayes picked up the sliotar near the sideline, 45 metres out. He looked up and played a pass that bounced at the edge of the D. Veteran forward Patrick Horgan was first to the ball, then turned his marker David Lucey - at 19, a full adult younger - who was left vainly chasing the 37-year-old before he handpassed to Tim O'Mahony to put the fifth nail in the Dubs' coffin. Hurling's all-time record points scorer is not even the oldest on the inter-county scene – his closest challenger, TJ Reid of Kilkenny, has six months on him and turns 38 in November. Horgan's team-mate Seamus Harnedy, who made his debut five years later in 2013, celebrated his 35th birthday on Thursday while one of their opponents in Sunday's All-Ireland final, Tipperary's record appearance-maker Noel McGrath, will be the same age in December. Waterford's Tony Browne was 40 when he retired in 2014 while in recent years his Déise team-mate Michael 'Brick' Walsh (36) and Westmeath's Derek McNicholas (37) set the standard. It's not quite Christy Ring levels, the Cork legend wore 'the blood and bandage' until he was 43, but their longevity as outfield players stands out in the modern era of GPS-tracked running stats. In 2023, Stephen Cluxton became the oldest player to win an All-Ireland SFC, his eighth, aged 42, but there's a bit less running in goals. Though Nickie Quaid's five-month recovery from an ACL at 35 to play for Limerick this season was still staggering. The man who has played the most hurling championship games, Reid with 94, is still the most accurate free-taker in the game. Horgan isn't too far behind him and also scored a couple of points from play against Dublin. Harnedy was averaging 2.6 per game before missing the semi-final through injury. McGrath, who also suffered from testicular cancer at 24, is still so good that he gets a point even when the ball goes wide. In March, shortly before breaking Eddie Keher's hurling league scoring record, Horgan suggested that all this age talk was getting old. "It's a hard one because you get reminded of your age all the time," he said. "Age shouldn't be a thing. When you actually break it down into what do you need to do, to play at the level we're playing, I think I'm able. "You probably hear from a lot of players that have moved on, they say you get a feeling at some stage: 'I can't do this, I can't do that, I don't really have the appetite to go and do the extras before training or afterwards'. But for me nothing like that has happened yet. I love it. I feel like I'm competing really well, same as anyone else down at training." "The feeling never gets old, it's as good as ever," McGrath told The Sunday Game after pipping Kilkenny to reach his eighth All-Ireland final (including one replay). The three-time winner played the final 20 minutes, an impact role he also fulfilled in the quarter-final victory over Galway, and he is listed to start on the bench again this weekend. "Everybody wants to play. There are 38 lads on our panel that want to play and I'm no different. But you do what you're asked to do. If Liam wants me for 70 minutes or he wants me for 10 minutes, I'll be ready. "I'm 34 years of age. To be out here in Croke Park is unbelievable. I'm loving every minute of it. I'll stay doing it as long as I'm wanted, as long as I'm able and as long as I'm enjoying it. I don't know how you couldn't enjoy days like today." Tipperary's Noel McGrath joins The Sunday Game panel in the aftermath of his side's dramatic All-Ireland SHC semi-final victory over Kilkenny. — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 6, 2025 Brendan Cummins was 38 when he called time on his 20-year Tipperary career in 2013, having won the second of his two All-Ireland medals alongside a then 19-year-old McGrath playing his second campaign. He feels there are a combination of factors involved in holding down an inter-county jersey for so long. "These fellas are clearly being managed properly by Liam Cahill and Pat Ryan but they also have that fire burning inside them that says 'I am not going to let go of this until I win another All-Ireland'. And it is inspiring their counties," the five-time All-Star goalkeeper told the RTÉ GAA podcast. "Everyone wants to play forever, but are you allowed the space to rest? Can you keep the diet going? The amount of training that goes on... it is so difficult. I was lucky at home because people were able to look after the kids. "The family life at home allows them to do it and it's great to see them with their kids out after the game. Thanks to their families for giving them time to do it. "That for me is the absolute key but then of course the drive is in them, and they're blessed that they have minded their bodies that they are still able to do it. They keep themselves really well and there's a pride in the way you try to keep yourself." Jackie Tyrrell won nine All-Ireland medals with Kilkenny, calling it a day at 34 in 2016. He was an unused sub for that year's final and is particularly impressed by how central the old guard remain to their teams. "What the guys are doing is phenomenal," he said. "It's so hard to play at the top top level. To stay going into your 30s, the mental resilience of picking up injuries and knocks, not having as much time to rest and recover. "But it's not like they're hanging in. These guys are in pivotal roles. Noel McGrath could win the game when he comes on. Seamus Harnedy is so important. Hoggy is on the frees and still one of their main men. We [Kilkenny] will be in such trouble when TJ goes, hopefully it won't be next year. "Brendan is right. It's your support network. When I played, I had no kids. You can't lie on the couch on a Saturday to recover because you're wrecked after training, [if] you have to get up and mind kids. When they wake at 3 or 4 in the morning and your missus has to carry that burden, that's tough for them. "To be still at that elite level is a testament to them and how they look after themselves, and the S&C [strength and conditioning] and teams that look after these guys. We are very privileged to be witnessing this." "If you are 35 or 37 and still playing inter-county, you are a robust player" But what does a player in their mid to late 30s have to do differently to cope with the demands of the inter-county game? Paul Conneely has been the team physio for the Meath and Carlow senior footballers, and was lead physio for Team Ireland at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. "The big thing is that they need to recover better and they take a little bit longer to recover from games and training," he told RTÉ Sport. "It's all about getting them in early into pre-season and building them up a little bit slower, knowing that there is a bit of muscle memory there. Managing their load throughout the league, but by the last few games, they should be doing everything that everyone is doing. "Pre-season will often be a little more creative for those players. Injury history is very important. A 35-year-old player with a history of ACL reconstruction and degenerative changes in the knee, there's a strong chance, that you're going to say 'More bike work or a rowing machine rather than hard running', to take the pressure off the joints. "But if you are 35 or 37 and still playing inter-county, you are a robust player. They might have had a few more hamstring tears but there's a strong chance those lads didn't have a history of big injuries. "Secondly, their gym programme will be different and have more of a mobility or rehab focus than a bulking focus. Patrick Horgan has had 18 seasons so he won't have to do as much heavy lifting as a 20-year-old in his second year on the panel, because he will have that in the bank. He was always a corner-forward. A lot of his gym-based training will be about speed. You don't have to develop him any more, just make sure he's going onto the pitch with fresh legs. "Often players try to lose a bit of weight as they get older, to stay more mobile and have less pressure on the joints. TJ Reid looks to have bucked that trend. At full-forward, he's not required to move as much, therefore he can afford a little bit of extra good weight. He's not breaking out to the wings. He's horsing lads out of the way and he still has a serious leap. "You will find that the older lads in squads prioritise recovery. They have been around the block so many times and they know if they don't do it they are fecked. And they do it really well. Because they are not young lads, they often live slightly quieter lives. They might finish work, then they're in the pool or doing a bit of stretching. Then they go home and eat well. Often you will use them as an example to younger lads in the squad: 'This is one of the reasons why they are still playing, 18 years down the road'. "As the season rolls on, you go into league and it's all about managing load, often based off GPS stats. The whole team's training volume will be down but theirs will probably even be a little bit less. But they still have to train, so by the end of the league, coming into championship, they are fully in with the sessions. "They have to be able for that, and if they're not, unless they are a gifted, generational talent, they are probably not going to be able to hold down a place." Three-time All-Star half-forward Harnedy sat out the semi-final with a hamstring injury but has been named on the bench for tomorrow, and presumably wouldn't be taking up one of the 26 places if he wasn't in contention to play. Does it take much longer to recover from a muscle injury at 35? Or is the science catching up with the greater intensity of the modern inter-county game? "Not twice as long," said Conneely. "It doesn't slow that much. In general, maybe an extra four or five days. But that could be the difference between making the All-Ireland final or not. "I don't think sports science has cancelled increased demands just yet. Some injuries are increasing year on year, for example, ACL ruptures. The severity of hamstring injuries is also increasing, but the overall amount of them is decreasing. There are still a lot of joint injuries, but more and more, SSMED [Sports science and medicine] staff are exploring non-operative options where appropriate. "As SSMED teams get bigger, there is an increased opportunity for individual approaches for players carrying an injury or an older athlete. Managers and selectors are getting more clued in to the idea that one size doesn't fit all. The SSMED staff can do all they want, but if the manager wants to ignore the science and overtrain the player, then the player will do what he says. The relationship between the physio and manager is crucial." Lorcan McLoughlin played with Horgan and Harnedy on the Cork team beaten in the 2013 final replay by Clare. Injuries played a part in his early inter-county retirement just five years later, and though he is still playing football and hurling with Kanturk, he is actually only eight months older than Harnedy. "I'll be stiff for the week after training but fair play to them," he said. "It's unbelievable. "There was this perception that you hit 30 and that's it, your days are numbered, but it's brilliant to see the likes of John Conlon from Clare [36], TJ Reid, Patrick Horgan, Seamus Harnedy. Those lads are proving that they've an awful lot to give yet." Just how much Horgan, Harnedy and McGrath have left in the tank could be crucial to their teams' chances tomorrow.
Irish Examiner
19-07-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Horgan brothers: the Youghal pioneers who brought photography, film and animation to Ireland
The Horgan brothers, the pioneers of photography, film and animation from Youghal, Co Cork, have been called the Irish Lumières, but the story of their life and work might also be entitled 'Tales of the Unexpected'. Take, for example, the extraordinary photo they took in 1924, which captures a very early example of the cultural repatriation of looted artefacts. It shows a representative of the Chinese government looking at a set of ornate gates at the one-time home of Walter Raleigh, Myrtle Grove in Youghal, just before they were handed back to China. It says something about its then-occupant Lady Edith Blake, a noted botanical illustrator and writer, that she was willing to return the gates appropriated by her late husband, Henry Arthur Blake, when he was governor of Hong Kong a few decades before. The gates — 'objects of pride' to the local community — were blown out of the ancient walls of Kam Tin when the region resisted British occupation of the New Territories in 1899. The residents within pelted rotten eggs and chanted 'foreign devils', but their attempts at resistance were quickly quelled. In what was described as an act of submission, the villagers then removed the gates and carried them to Flagstaff Hill (now the Tai Po district of Hong Kong). There, Blake admired them and, according to one account, arranged to have them transported back to Myrtle Grove where he lived after his retirement until his death in 1918. They remained in Cork until the Chinese government petitioned to get them back in 1924. Unusually for the time, Lady Blake was open to the request and, in May 1925, their return to Kam Tin was greeted with a ceremonial salute of small guns and firecrackers. And much publicity. That is how we know of them, but we might have been completely unaware of their short stay in Ireland had it not been for the Horgan brothers. 'Not for the first time, the brothers photographed an important event that might have been lost to history; in this case, a momentous and progressive example of repatriation of colonial artefacts,' says Darina Clancy, author of a mesmerising new book — with contributions from Jim Horgan and Patricia Horgan Whyte — called The Horgan Brothers, The Irish Lumières. The story had been stitched into the family lore but it took a bit of detective work on Darina Clancy's part to find irrefutable evidence that the photograph was actually taken in Youghal. Photo: Horgan Family Collection She found a reference to the location of the gates in an 1973 article by Peter Wesley-Smith, which adds a few interesting details. He wrote: 'In 1924, when the residents of Kam Tin petitioned for the return of their gates … the assistant superintendent of police (New Territories) recalled their whereabouts. His wife had formerly been maid and companion to Blake's daughters, and she remembered seeing the gates at Myrtle Grove in 1902.' He also revealed that there had been two sets of gates but both were defective, having, over decades, 'suffered from the back-scratching of itchy Kam Tin pigs'. Blake made a pair of the ones in the best condition and went about sending them to Youghal. The photograph of an official preparing to have them sent back to China shows how far-flung world events can sometimes find expression locally. But then, it is not unusual to find the global on your own doorstep. As Darina Clancy puts it: 'During their own lifetime, and using their own community as their canvas, the Horgan brothers captured key moments of national and international historical significance that may otherwise have been forgotten.' For instance, another photograph captures a visit by 'The Maharaja of Sarawak', Malaysia, to the Blakes at Myrtle Grove, although the image is only partial and the story behind it vague. James Horgan at work. Photo: Horgan Family Collection By contrast, there is much to say about the brothers' photo of tea magnate Thomas Lipton's famous steam yacht, named Erin to honour his Irish heritage, when it visited Youghal. The yacht was fitted as a hospital ship during the First World War and the three children, dots in the photo's foreground, would go on to play important roles in the world war that followed it. Paddy McGrath was torpedoed three times when he joined the merchant navy in the Second World War and, sadly, died at the age of 24. The two girls featured, Nancy and Eileen McGrath, grew up to be nurses and worked in London during the blitz. It is that level of detail that makes Clancy's book so fascinating. To stay with the war theme, the photograph of the O'Sullivans making rope with flax along the Rope Walk in Youghal stands on its own as an important social history of the town, but there's more to the story. Larry O'Sullivan, who is helping his parents, would later join the British royal navy. He was a gunner on the HMS Exeter when the Japanese sank her in the Java Sea in 1942. Local lore has it that Larry jumped from the ship into the shark-infested waters, and shouted, 'Moll Goggin's corner, here we come'. He survived, was picked up by the Japanese and held as a prisoner of war in Nagasaki. Marietta Horgan sitting in a row boat. Photo: Horgan Family Collection He endured hellish conditions at the camp and the atomic bomb detonated over the city in 1945 to make it home to that well-known corner of the world. Between 1890 and 1940, the Horgan brothers, Thomas, James, and Philip, took a staggering array of photographs that casts them, retrospectively, as social historians and news reporters. In their day, however, they were chroniclers and innovators who captured local people at work — and at play. They took thousands of photos of local people, immortalising the important moments of their lives: births, communions, confirmations, and graduations. The scope of their surviving portfolio, however, is much greater. It offers us a peephole into an Ireland that is far more various than we might have imagined. There are images of the jugglers and acrobats who performed at their travelling magic lantern shows; the schooners, ferries and paddle steamers that sailed on the Blackwater; the soldiers who left to fight in the First World War, many never to return; the hunger strikers who did return from Wormwood Scrubs prison and, in 1922, the bombing of Youghal quays by the IRA during the Civil War. Darina Clancy writes: 'What is very special in all their work is that the Horgan brothers captured life at a time when Ireland was emerging from centuries of British rule through to the formation of the Republic. This was all captured through the lens of Youghal and its hinterland.' As both managing and creative director of Cormorant Films, she has already showcased some of the Horgans' pioneering work in a TG4 documentary Na Lumière Gaelacha (Na Deartháireacha Uí Argáin). It charts the sweep of their remarkable achievements, which include a long list of firsts. The Horgans made some of the earliest films in Ireland between 1904 and 1920. In 1917, on the advice of American industrialist Henry Ford, they opened a 600-seat cinema, the first to have electricity. The Horgan Picture Theatre screened its own newsreel called The Youghal Gazette, another first. They were visionaries and experimenters who used photographs and models to produce one of the earliest animation films in Ireland, a decade before Disney. It features the famous Youghal landmark, the Clock Gate Tower, pirouetting and dancing around the town. They also pioneered the publication of picture postcards in Ireland, turning the endeavour into a lucrative business that allowed them to open their own photographic studio. That opened another new chapter for the brothers whose creativity and sense of fun is evident in the props and costumes visible in the surviving glass plates that form an exceptional collection of photographs. It is that collection which prompted Darina Clancy to produce a book; she wanted those unrivalled images to be seen by a wider audience. 'There was no one place where the wealth of photos could be accessed. Some family members had photos that had never been seen, and others are available on the Cork County Library website. 'I also did this because to have such a wealth of historical moments captured and unavailable to the public seemed wrong,' she says. There are almost 300 images in the book, including one of the Horgan matriarch, Elizabeth. Elizabeth Horgan with her children in the studio. Photo: Horgan Family Collection 'It's quite fantastic that we have a portrait of this woman with the town's singular lace, but also because she was the key to their success. 'She was the driving force behind them getting their shop open in Brown St and monetising their hobby.' None of it might have happened because Elizabeth was left destitute after the death of her husband Timothy when the boys were still very young. The Famine was still a recent memory when the eldest, Thomas, was born in 1875. James was born in 1877, and Philip, the youngest, was born in 1879. Shortly afterwards, and just seven years into their marriage, Timothy died of an asthma attack. His widow, then 39, was on the point of going into the workhouse when she found a sovereign that he had saved. That, in turn, saved the family and allowed the young Horgans to train to be shoemakers like their father. Mary Ellen Horgan, her grandmother Elizabeth, her mother Norah and Marietta Horgan in the studio. Photo: Horgan Family Collection At the same time, they developed an interest in photography and ran the two businesses side by side. 'In the beginning,' writes Clancy, 'their mother would ask customers, 'Is it Mr Horgan, the shoemaker, or Mr Horgan, the photographer, you'd like to see?' 'If the request was for the shoemakers, the brothers would arrive in leather aprons. If the request was for the photographers, they wore white coats.' It is difficult to do justice to the brothers' range of achievements. Working at the intersection of art and technology, they were trailblazers whose work is of international significance. The Irish Lumières They have been compared to another set of brothers, Auguste and Louis Lumière, who invented cinema. The French pair projected moving photographic pictures on a screen for a paying audience in 1895. While the Horgans did not invent cinema, they did adapt a projection device purchased from the Lumières to make a camera that they used to film King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra during their visit to Lismore Castle, Waterford, in 1904. The strange-looking contraption — which was covered in a black cloth bag and operated by all three brothers — aroused the suspicion of the RIC who questioned them at length. But the Horgans won the day, as this wonderful account from 1948 shows. 'One herculean constable insisted on standing immediately in front of the lens and it was only possible to get the picture by pushing him aside suddenly as the royal party passed. His helmet slipped over his face and the picture was taken before he could adjust it. However, as the queen passed in her carriage, she apparently recognised the camera as such and, bowing graciously, smiled into the lens.' The film, sadly, does not survive but hundreds of photographs do. They are fanciful, imaginative, and daring. James, a lover of amateur drama who painted sets for local dramatic productions, began to create sets and backdrops to allow for more imaginative photos. James Horgan sitting by a backdrop. Photo: Horgan Family Collection 'They always injected fun, creativity and an opportunity to experience; you could, for example, drive your own motor car or fly in a hot air balloon,' explains Darina. The Horgans took photos of themselves, too, to show what was possible in an age of invention. There's a photo of James sitting astride a half-moon playing guitar. In another, he's King Lear, then a sailor, then a giant on stilts. There's a photo of the Horgan women in a set of a blimp and several showing them, bonnet-clad, in cars. There's a particularly risque image of James, his wife Marietta, and family in their bathing suits. At one point, the local priest asked them to stop displaying similar beach images in their studio, but his request was ignored. The Horgans were early 'photoshoppers' too, manipulating and adapting images to add details. They famously turned Youghal's main street into a Venice of the North with boats rowing under the Clock Gate Tower. 'There was one key theme,' says Darina Clancy. 'They mixed with everyone, from the gentry and business moguls to the poorest labourers, and they knew how to put everyone at their ease. People were very relaxed and they were having a lot of fun!' The Horgan Brothers, The Irish Lumières by Darina Clancy, with contributions from Jim Horgan and Patricia Horgan Whyte, is published by Mercier Press, €19.99. Read More Retired fireman in the running to be named Ireland's best lollipop person
