Bill Walsh (1912-1985) of Cappagh
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The Glenmore I.C.F. Cycling Club
This week we are recognising the 50th anniversary of Pat Walsh`s participation in the Tour of Ireland race held in August 1972. Pat, formerly of Jamestown, and now in Robinstown, is the only Glenmore man to take part in the Tour of Ireland, we believe. In a recent chat with Pat, he recalled every stage, from Dublin to Athlone, to Galway onto Fermoy, to Dungarvan onto Arklow and finishing in the Phoenix Park. Pat, being an amateur cyclist, finished 16th place overall. The race was won by Liam Horner from Dublin. Pat was cycling against the top Irish riders and cyclists from Europe as well. The McQuaid brothers were some of Irelands’ finest at the time and Pat McQuaid went on to be the president of the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale), the worlds governing body for cycling. .
Pat was a member of the Glenmore Cycling Club in the 1960`s and 70`s which was part of the ICF body. The club was formed by Bill Walsh, of Cappagh, Pat Roche, of Haggard and Paulie Fitzgerald of Moulerstown. Pat Walsh recalled other club members of that time including: John Hennessy, of Graiguenakill; John Hennessy, of Busherstown; Robbie Hennessy, of Graiguenakill; Patsy and James Kirwan, of Gaulstown; Pat Power, of Forristalstown; John Joe Murphy, of Ballinlammy; Noel and Kevin Walsh, of Ballyedeen (Tullogher); Pat Greene, of Jamestown; Pat Power, of Snowhill (Slieverue); Gus Malone, of Milepost (Slieveruue); and Tommy Grennan, of Ballyreddy (Tullogher).
Competitive Cycling
For generations, the bicycle has been a part of all our lives. Used for work, commuting and for pleasure. The bicycle has evolved since its inception way back in 1817 by a man called Karl von Drais. Since this first creation, others have had a cut at putting their stamp on it. In the 1860`s French inventors, Pierre and Ernest Michaux created prototypes with pedals attached to the front wheels. These machines were the first to be called bicycles, but also called boneshakers for their rough ride. The penny farthing was created by James Starley and these oversized front wheeled machines were all the craze in the 1870`s and 1880`s. The name has been noted to have been derived from the comparison between the penny and farthing coins at the time. They were made from all steel with a rubber tyre. Starley’s nephew, John Kemp Starley is credited for inventing what was known as the safety bicycle which had two same size wheels and a chain drive. Brakes and tyres followed shortly after. The pneumatic tyre invention was credited to John Boyd Dunlop, who developed it in Ireland in 1888. Robert Thompson, of England patented the pneumatic tyre 43 years earlier. Both men were not aware of the others work. For the earliest cyclists in Glenmore see our post of 29 December 2019.
Cycling for sport seemed to have first started in Ireland in the 1860`s. The Dungarvan Ramblers Cycling Club, is recognised as the first official club set up and records show that they had a trophy race in 1869. Governance for the sport was set up in the 1870`s in the form of the Irish Champion Bicycle Club (ICBC). This was an all-island body as Ireland was then part of the United Kingdom. Since the formation of the Free State in 1922, two governing bodies had control of Irish cycling in a 26 and 32 county set up. The ICF was the 26 county body and NCF was the body for the 32 county set up. The two groups amalgamated in 1987 and are now known as Cycling Ireland. During the time of the two separate bodies, they both had their national road race. The ICF had the Tour of Ireland and the NCA had the Ras Tailteann.
The Tour of Ireland–13th-20th August 1972
The Raleigh Dunlop Tour of Ireland bicycle race in 1972 attracted 120 riders from eleven regional teams representing six countries. Teams from France and the United States competed, and it was noted that the American team that participated were racing in France as preparation for the Olympics. The tour started on Sunday the 13th of August 1972 and consisted of eight days or stages totalling 738 miles. Day 1—Dublin to Athlone (96 miles); Day 2—Athlone to Salthill, Galway (75 miles) with an evening time trial held over a 4.5 mile circuit; Day 3—Around Connemara finishing back at Salthill (96 miles); Day 4—Salthill to Limerick (89 miles); Day 5—Limerick to Fermoy (92 miles); Day 6—Fermoy to Dungarvan (94 miles); Day 7—Dungarvan to Arklow (95 miles) and Day 8—a 60 mile dash from Arklow to Dublin, followed by a final 18 lap race around the two miles circuit of Dublin’s Phoenix Park (Liverpool Echo, Sat. 12 Aug. 1972, p. 20).
Glenmore Racers and Races
A number of newspaper reports obtained from the early 70`s detail events run by the Glenmore ICF Cycling Club. The best known of the Glenmore races was the Senior McCalmount Cup which was presented to the winner of the 70 mile road race that commenced at the Scow Bridge, on the Main Road in Ballinaraha. It followed a route past Dan Whelan’s at the Pink Rock, up to Ballycurran, on to Ballyfacey, down to Ballinclare and back to Ballinaraha. Several laps of this route were required to complete 70 miles. In 1970 a Junior race was held the same day consisting of 28 miles duration, and a Beginner’s Race was held. Unfortunately no details concerning the Beginner’s Race were provided in the newspapers. Most of the honours in 1970 went to representatives of the Dublin Wheelers’ Cycling Club. The Glenmore races attracted “a big attendance of spectators.” (Munster Express, Fri. 12 June 1970, p. 38).
In 1971, the Glenmore Club held two race dates. On 3 April 1971 two 50 K. races were held, a senior and a junior open cycle race. The senior race went from Glenmore to Mooncoin and back, and the junior covered the same distance and went from Glenmore to Ferrybank and back. All leading cyclists from Leinster and Munster competed, including representatives from the home club. (Kilkenny People, Fri. 2 April 1971, p. 10). The Cork Weekly Examiner (Thur. 8 April 1971.p. 9) proudly announced, “The 50 K road race, under I.C.F. rules, promoted by the Glenmore Cycling Club, was won by Ballincollig (Cork) rider Donal Crowley, who won by a wheel in front of Pat Hegarty of Fermoy, after local rider Pat Greene was caught with just 200 yards to go.”
In late May the second race date was held in 1971. The results were published in the Waterford News and Star, (Fri. 4 June 1971, p. 13) as follows:
Beginners Race: 1st P. Kirwan, Glenmore C.C.; 2nd J.J. Murphy, do.; 3rd C. Bryrne, Dublin Wheelers.
Unplaced Locals—1st P. Kennedy, Glenmore C.C.; 2nd P. Power, do; 3rd Gus Malone, do.
Junior—1st J. Kelly, Carrick Wheelers Road Club; 2nd T. Ryder, Eagle C.C.; 3rd D. Crowley, Ballincollig C.C.
Senior Race—McCallfont (sic) Cup; 1st T. Colbert, Tailteann C.C.; 2nd S. Lally, Obelisk Wheelers; 3rd T. Ryan, Carrick Wheelers Road Club; 4th J. Keenan, Orwell Wheelers; 5th P. Schweppes, Tailteann C.C.; 6th N. Harte, C.D.R.C.
2nd CATEGORY—1st J. Foley, Dublin Wheelers; 2nd P. Fitton, Ballincollig C.C.
Members of the Glenmore club often competed in racing events across the southeast. At the Avonree Festival in Callan it was noted that competitors from the southern area of the county won first, second, and third places in the five mile road race for ordinary bicycles. Fifteen competitors took part in the race, and according to the newspaper account all three places were won by Glenmore Club members. Mick Murphy, of Glenmore came in First; Second Place was won by Dermot Campion, do; and third went to Tommy Grennan, of Tullogher, (Munster Express, Fri. 19 June 1970, p. 37). The Irish Examiner (Thur. 8 July 1971, p. 13) reported in 1971 that “Pat Greene, the 22 year old …was in fine form at the Ballyduff Upper annual open sports day on Sunday where he completed a double in the one mile and three mile cycle events. In the mile scratch Greene scored easily from Peter Hegarty (Fermoy). In the three mile open handicap he came home in similar style over his clubmate Pat Walsh.”
In addition to road races track cycling was also popular. Pat Walsh explained that the tracks at that time were held on grass and laps of the track were done on fixed gear bikes. An article from the New Ross Standard from 24 August 1968 gave a report from a sports event in Gorey which included both athletics and track cycling. Pat Walsh raced in the 2 mile track cycle event and was beaten into second place by Liam Horner from Dublin. Horner went on to represent Ireland in the Olympics held that year in Mexico. The Rathgormac Cup was another track event, which seems to have only run for one year around 1970. Pat raced and won that cup on that occasion. Enquiries made to former cyclists from that area, confirm that the event took place for only one year. No explanation was provided as to why it did not continue.
Some Supporters
Lastly, we came across information concerning the annual Club raffle held on 21 December 1971. It provides the names of a lot of local people from fifty years ago as well as the prizes from that era. The following supporters won the following prizes:
1st Prize—£15 Dick O’Shea of Scart;
2nd Prize—£10, James Tobin of Mullinavat;
3rd Prize—£5 Triona Mackey of Glenmore;
4th Prize—bottle of whiskey, Michael Coady of Carrigcloney;
5th Prize—Sweep ticket, Patrick O’Connor;
6th Prize—bottle of wine, Thomas Hartley, Ballinclare;
7th Prize—100 cigarettes, Alice Forristal, Slieverue;
[The 8th prize and winner are missing from the newspaper article.]
9th Prize—box of chocs, Jim McBride of Robinstown. (Waterford News & Star, Fri. 24 Dec. 1971, p. 5).
Thanks to Pat Walsh for his excellent recollections and explanations. The feature photo above is Pat Walsh taken by Danny Dowling at one of the Glenmore race days around 1970.
Pat Dowling
Please send any additional information or corrections to glenmore.history@gmail.com.
The Glenmore Cinema: William “Bill” Walsh (1912-1985)
Over the last couple of years while typing up Danny Dowling’s notebooks and writing articles for this blog there have been several times when I wished that I could have met some of the interesting former Glenmore residents. One such person was Bill Walsh (1912-1985) who before television was available brought films to Glenmore, and other local areas, and often took films to individual homes for people who were ill. He was instrumental in the founding of the popular Glenmore Athletic Club, was an avid cyclist and operated a dancehall in Mullinavat. Thanks to Marion Coady Hendrick née Walsh we now have further information regarding her father and the social history of Glenmore of the twentieth century created by his endeavours. Information not part of Marion’s article, gleaned from public records, is included in square brackets [ ].
My Father, by Marion Coady Hendrick née Walsh
Family Background
William “Bill” Walsh was born 110 years ago this coming week on 2 March 1912. He was born in Cappagh, Glenmore and lived his entire life in Glenmore. He was the youngest child of Patrick Walsh (1857-1933) and his wife Margaret “Maggie” née McGuiness (1868-1952). Patrick and Maggie met when Maggie came from the North of Ireland to stay with relatives in Gaulstown. [The couple married on 12 September 1893 at St. John’s of Waterford. According to the marriage records Patrick Walsh, of Glenmore, was the son of John Walsh (deceased weaver) and Maggie McGuinness was residing on Hennessy’s Road, in Waterford, and was the daughter of James McGuinness (retired policeman).] Patrick and Maggie Walsh had nine children, including (1) Annie Walsh (b. 25 Oct. 1894); (2) Katie “Kit” Walsh (b. 12 Oct. 1896); (3) Jim Walsh (b. 30 Nov. 1898); (4) Mary “Molly” Walsh (b. 19 Feb. 1901); (5) Ellen “Eily” Walsh (b. 4 Aug. 1902); (6) Sarah Walsh (b. 4 April 1904); (7) John “Jack” Walsh (b. 10 June 1906); (8) Margaret “Gretta” Walsh (b. 5 Oct. 1908); (9) William “Bill” Walsh (b. 2 March 1912).
Patrick Walsh died in 1933 at the age of 76. Patrick worked in the dairy in the Glenmore Creamery up until his death. Bill at 15 years of age took over his father’s job in the dairy. Sometime later there was an exam for the storekeeper’s position in the Creamery. Bill got the highest marks in the exam and got the job. He was a man of great intelligence, and this was borne out over his lifetime. He also had the greatest attribute of all which cannot be picked up in any university, he possessed common sense in abundance. [Bill worked full time in the Creamery until his retirement in the late 1970’s.] In addition to Bill being employed at the Glenmore Creamery, his sister Molly Walsh (1901-1988) was employed there as the dairy maid. While working at the Creamery she met Larry Fortune, of Shanbogh and the couple later married.
In 1946, Bill Walsh married Margaret “Peg” Roche (1917-2012) when Peg returned from England after working there throughout WWII. They had been engaged for 5 years. Peg was the daughter of Edward Roche and Mary Roche née Forristal, of the High Road, Rathinure, Glenmore. Mary was born and reared in Forristal’s Mill in Graiguenakill, Glenmore and was a sister of Nicky “the Miller” Forristal. Bill Walsh and his wife Peg had six children. The eldest three children were boys and the youngest three were girls. Their names are: (1) Pat Walsh; (2) Eamonn Walsh; (3) Jimmy Walsh; (4) Marion Walsh; (5) Ann Walsh; and (6) Monica Walsh. Sadly, Jimmy passed away at 3 years of age.
Athletic Life
In the St. Joseph’s Athletic Club, Third Annual Yearbook, 1984/85 a tribute was penned about Bill by Danny Dowling (1927-2021) under the heading “Well known athlete of former years passes away.” Danny described Bill as an “indefatigable worker for the advancement of athletics in the South East, particularly in the Glenmore/Rosbercon area, his lifelong association with the sport earned him the admiration and esteem of all who had the pleasure of knowing him. His colleagues in the sport of cycle racing included such well- known personalities as Richie Cotterell of Ballycroney, Tommy and Dick Hamilton and Jack Doolan of Tinneranny, and the late Paddy O’Brien of New Ross and the Parish Pump.”
Bill was a keen racing cyclist for many years, particularly in the 1930’s and 40’s when he took part in almost every road and track event in the South East. His intense interest in the sport was mainly responsible for the foundation in 1943 of the Glenmore Athletic Club, and some of his colleagues in this venture included Larry and Pat Roche of Haggard, Peter Egan of Mullinarrigle, Stephen Walsh, Rochestown, Tommy Cotterell, Ballycroney and Tommy Fitzgerald of Moulerstown. The Glenmore Club remained active for many years and was responsible for keeping alive a vibrant interest in local athletics. Its success in that regard is mainly due to the dedication and enthusiasm of Bill Walsh. Local athletes, of both the present and future, owe him a debt of gratitude for his unselfish dedication and service which he unstintingly gave in the interest of youth and sport. He was the personality portrait in the Munster Express on more than one occasion, as Hon Secretary of the Glenmore Athletic Club, highlighting the annual sports day at Skow Bridge the only one of its kind to be held annually in South Kilkenny.
Cinema in Glenmore
Before television came into use in the early 60’s the weekly film was a huge event in the social life of Glenmore. JK Walsh’s was the venue right next to Danny Dowling’s house in the village. Every week the new film arrived. First, they came as 3 reels but later one large reel the size of a bicycle wheel. Bill had two projectors one large and one smaller. He built a high wall behind the screen to mount the screen on, but also to make the cinema easier to heat. The excitement before the film started was palpable. Some of the films included: Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, all the old cowboy films High Noon, Gunfight at the OK Corral. The boys in the village would run around firing cap guns for weeks after a cowboy film. The Song of Bernadette he showed “Pro Bono” to the Good Shepherd Nuns and girls. On different days of the week, he showed films in Mullinavat, Hugginstown, and Bigwood. When he had a free night, he showed his film of the week to whatever invalid or bedridden person in the parish who wished to see it. For a screen he used one of his wife’s starched white sheets.
In 1961, Bill installed new state of the art seating, it seemed the height of luxury to us after the benches. The winter of 1962/63 was savage, the coldest for more than 200 years. It began freezing on Christmas day 1962 and didn’t relent until March 1963. The roof of Bill’s cinema collapsed under the weight of the snow. For a while he continued to show films in the old school, but with the advent of television the popularity of local cinema died out it was the end of an era for Glenmore cinema.
Mullinavat Dance Hall
In 1957, Bill in partnership with Paulie Fitzgerald Moulerstown, bought Mullinavat Dance Hall, known locally as Harney’s Hall. They installed a new maple floor which cost £1,000 (which is €1,269.74) an enormous sum at the time when the average wage was £8. (or €10.16) per week. How we loved to slide around on that floor! There was a long tube which contained a kind of floor wax like Lux flakes that you shook on the floor, and it gleamed.
The dancehall became a popular venue during the 50’s and 60’s. It is where love stories began. A wonderful place full of music and song, youth and vitality, noise, and energy. Girls and boys from all over the country came to dance the night away, they waltzed and fox-trotted to the big bands, they huckle-bucked and jived, and twisted the night away. The excitement of the Sunday night dance.
A lot of girls and boys cycled miles to get to the dances as evidenced by the headscarves, raincoats and bicycle lamps hung in the cloakroom. Hundreds of bikes were parked in Walsh’s Garden on the corner near Mill Bridge. The girls dressed in beautiful dresses of every hue and the men wore suits.
The dance halls had to close down during Lent, the torment of that, never had 7 weeks seemed so long. During Lent we all had to lend a hand painting and refurbishing the hall for the grand opening after Lent. St. Patrick’s Day was the exception when the hall opened for concerts and anyone off drink for Lent could have a drink on that day only. Of course, there was no drinking in the dance hall, there was only a mineral bar, tea, and sandwiches. There was a license with the hall when it was first bought from Harneys, but Bill and Paulie having kept it for a while decided it was better to just have a mineral bar as most other dancehalls did at the time. The drinking was done beforehand in the local pubs. On Sunday nights the pubs all closed at 10 p.m. A big night which stood out in our minds as children was when Maggie Barry came to the Dancehall and all the mothers in the village went to see her. My mother made the tea on a Sunday night and welcomed the girls from around the area into the house, they were waiting for our father to give them a lift to the Dance after he had finished showing films in one of the halls around the country. We remembered as children the girls sitting us on their laps, they wore hoops in their dresses to make them stand out, and we would wiggle on their knees to get comfortable. All consigned to history now.
Mullinavat Fete
The Fete’s were also held at the Dance Hall, but in a huge marquee tent adjacent to it, to accommodate the crowds that came. The Junior and Senior hurling tournaments and the excitement of the hurling final. The Victors Showband and the Barrow Boys, Sean Dunphy and the Hoedowners. Buses came from all over, people got a lift, walked, and cycled, it was the highlight of the summer. There was a spinning wheel, where you bought a ticket and if your number came up you got to pick a prize. Pongo, a tea tent which served the best homemade cakes, buns and sandwiches, fish and chips and ice cream were served. Loud music and great excitement, people everywhere and of course the big bands and dancing in the Hall. Mullinavat was booming at that time.
Bill sadly passed away on 1st March 1985 the day before his 73rd birthday. It was sudden and shocking to us all, he was always so full of vitality. The day before he died, (he was in hospital for 2 days) when asked what he wanted for his birthday he said “I just want to go home, I’m only going to dig half the garden this year.” He stayed busy to the end.
On 19th January 1987 the Hall was sold to Monsignor Maher, Parish House, Mullinavat. There was a one off “Last Dance” held there on Sunday 1st June 2014 and the hall was demolished in July 2014. Today the area where the Hall stood now house the local school and community hall.
Special thanks to Marion for sharing her knowledge, memories and photos and writing the above interesting article.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh