Limerick’s deadly rivals ready to renew old battles

YOU’D never think so today but there was a time when Shannon and Garryowen were close allies! Legend has it that towards the end of the 19th century and for much of the 20th, Shannon were the junior partners and annually passed on the cream of their crop so that Garryowen could dominate the coveted Munster Senior Cup for years.

You can easily understand why the arrangement didn’t always meet with the approval of Shannon supporters and as the years went by, they fought to be granted senior status, the vote finally going in their favour in 1953.

Shannon were now able to hold onto their players and Garryowen were forced to go elsewhere in search of talent.

Those were the days when the Munster Senior Cup meant everything. Each friendly, each league game was contested with a view to finding the best possible XV to put on the field come cup day. It took Shannon just seven years to find a way of measuring up but they still rejoice at the memory of their replayed final victory over UCC in 1960. College had a brilliant back line that included Lions Tom Kiernan and Jerry Walsh but the older and cuter Shannon pack led by men like Jim O’Donovan (father of Ireland forward coach Niall), skipper Michael Noel Ryan and Frankie Flynn ensured UCC hardly saw the ball. “There Is an Isle” shook the Thomond Park rafters at the end of the game and Shannon had arrived. Ironically, their one-time friends at Garryowen were going through a slump, one that didn’t end until 1969 when they regained the old trophy. They were now entering a golden era that saw them also claim the cup in three of the next five years. In 1974, a fine all-round side containing greats like Larry Moloney, Johnny Moroney, Liam Hall, Seamus Dennison, Pat Whelan and the late Shay Deering hammered Shannon 29-0 in the final.

Shannon pledged there would never be a repeat of such humiliation. They readied themselves for the next final meeting of the clubs and it came at Thomond Park in April 1977.

Tony Ward was in his heyday as the Garryowen out-half and the likes of Moloney and Dennison were there for good measure. However, just as UCC couldn’t get the ball off the Shannon forwards back in 1960, neither could Garryowen on this occasion. Brendan Foley (father of Anthony) was an inspiring captain for the “Parish” club and he, Gerry McLoughlin and Colm Tucker were among those who inspired their side to a 6-3 triumph.

How the Shannon fans loved it. The Lloyd Webber “hit” song of the day was: “Don’t cry for me, Argentina” but Tommy Creamer and his mates changed that to: “Don’t cry for me, Garryowen.” And it got a good airing again a year later when Shannon won the ‘78 final, this time 16-10. The tables had been well and truly turned although Garryowen were to enjoy some revenge as the significance of the cup receded on the arrival of the All-Ireland League at the beginning of the 1990s.

The sides clashed again in a great game at a packed Thomond Park when a teenage Keith Wood scored a terrific try for Garryowen as a crucial victory pointed them to the first of their two AIL titles in 1992. They won it again two years later as Shannon looked on enviously but with a very real dream of their own in mind. Inspired by the indomitable Mick Galwey and with Anthony Foley, Brian Rigney, Pat Murray, Eddie Halvey, Mick Fitzgibbon, New Zealander Rhys Ellison, Marcus Horan, John Hayes and Alan Quinlan, they went on to win the title four years in a row from 1995, at a time when the opposition could hardly have been stronger.

There was the year when Shannon won it on a day when they were otherwise engaged in a Munster Cup match at Musgrave Park. Garryowen needed only a draw at Dooradoyle to capture the title for a third time but Young Munster beat them, leaving Galwey and Co to celebrate at the expense of their greatest rivals. And, by and large, it has remained thus ever since, with Shannon somehow finding the resources to put out successful teams in spite of losing Anthony Foley, Alan Quinlan, Mick Galwey, John Hayes, Marcus Horan, Peter Stringer and more recently Jerry Flannery, to the professional game.

Recently, they captured the Munster Cup for the seventh successive year and are the current League holders. As for Garryowen, nothing at all since 1994! And that’s a very good reason why they have a great deal to play for at Dooradoyle this afternoon.