Shameful day in New York’s GAA history
In 1970 New York GAA was on a high and its hurling and football teams were equal to the best Ireland could offer. Only three years earlier in the National League two-leg final, the New York footballers hammered the great Galway three-in-a-row side in both games, 3-5 to 1-6 and 4-3 to 0-10, for a 10-point aggregate win. It was the third league title for the footballers.
The hurlers had never won the league but in 1970 this looked set to change. In October 1969 New York beat the newly-crowned All-Ireland champions Kilkenny in what was called The World Cup, trouncing the Cats in the first leg (3-13 to 1-7), drawing the second leg, to win comfortably on aggregate. Trained by former Wexford great Mick Morrissey and backboned by Pat Kirby, big Jim Carney from Clare and Bernie Ahern (a former team-mate of Christy Ring’s in Cloyne), New York went on to record another bit of history when beating a star-studded Munster side in the 1970 Cardinal Cushing Games.
