Tony Mansfield: A
Great Abbeyside Man
Despite the fact that it is over a week now since Tony
passed away, the news of his passing still does not seem to have sunk in with
us all in the club. Talking to many people at his funeral and burial the one
thing that most people seemed to say was that we all felt that Tony would be
actively working in our club forever, such was the time he dedicated to our
club throughout his life. Whilst Tony had a keen interest in the GAA at all
levels it was the club that was everything to Tony, and not
just his beloved Abbeyside / Ballinacourty. Tony was passionate about
protecting clubs from what he saw was an ever increasing over emphasis on inter
county activity which impacted negatively on clubs in many ways. At County
Board meetings where Tony kept a variety of Chairmen on their toes, he would
scrutinise every proposal, checking to see how it might impact on the clubs of
the county and if he felt that it would damage the clubs in any way you can be
sure that he would fight it tooth and nail!!! Writing in The Sunday Independent
in 2003 Colm O’Rourke wrote an excellent article about the role of the club in
the GAA. Describing the work of the club volunteers he said “Give any half decent clubman a choice
between his club winning a Junior Championship and his County winning the All
Ireland and it is no contest. The club win every time and rightly so - every
savage should love his native shore.” This was very much true of Tony
Mansfield as despite his great love for Waterford it was always Abbeyside / Ballinacourty
first.
Tony first became involved as a player with our club
over 70 years ago as his name was posted on a list of under 14s who were called
in for training for the upcoming championship. I’m sure little did he realise
then as sprightly 12 year old that for the 70 years or so his life would be
consumed by the GAA. Tony’s first recorded success in our club history book,
came in 1955 when he was wing back on the club minor hurling team that won the
Western Championship defeating Cappoquin Rovers in the final 3:07 to 0:05.
Unfortunately they were defeated by Na Risigh (Mt.Sion) in the County Final but
this was the first of many victories for our club featuring Tony Mansfield. The
following year Tony played on the Abbeyside Senior hurling team that recorded a
famous victory over Tourin in Cappoquin. A victory over Fourmilewater in the
next round set up a County Semi Final clash with Mt.Sion who ended Abbeyside’s
interest in the Championship on a scoreline of 6:10 to 5:02. In 1957 Tony was
again on the club minor team that defeated Cappoquin in the Western Final and
advanced to the County Final where once again Na Risigh awaited the Villagers.
Unfortunately Tony was sick for the County Final and unable to play and his
absence was too big a loss to the team who were narrowly defeated. Following
Waterford’s appearance in the All Ireland Senior final in 1957 Abbeyside
produced a fantastic display of hurling to shock Erins Own in the County Semi
Final and advance to the County Final with a young Tony Mansfield playing at
corner back whilst still a minor. Despite giving their best Abbeyside were
defeated by an exceptional Mt. Sion team which included the likes of Phil
Grimes, Seamus Power, Larry Guinan and Frankie Walsh. In 1958 Abbeyside entered
a football team of their own and Tony lined out in goal but 1958 is more
significant for the fact that it was the year that Tony joined the club
committee marking the start of a remarkable career in club administration. 1959
began with a meeting that certainly encompassed Tony’s desire to unite the
parish clubs as he was part of a delegation that met the officers of the
Ballinacourty Club officers where it was agreed that Abbeyside would not enter
an adult football team that year, thus sowing the seeds for the future
amalgamation of the clubs. It was to get even better for the club that year as
on December 20th the club defeated Tramore in the Minor Football
County final on the remarkable scoreline
of 0:01 to 0:00. Along with his fellow selectors Tony, who was team
trainer, introduced 15 year old Austin Cashin at top of the right at half time
and with only eight minutes remaining it was the young Cashin who scored that
winning point!! Thus the decade
concluded with Tony leading the club to a County Title for the first time with
many more to come and for good measure he was also Assistant Secretary to his
great friend Seamus O’Brien. This was an administrative double act that would
serve the club for many years to come.
The 1960’s began with Tony very much continuing to
push for the amalgamation of the two clubs and at the Ballinacourty AGM in 1960
he was elected on to their club committee following a request from the
Abbeyside club. 1960 was also the year when the first official divisional under
16 hurling championship took place and following victories over Ardmore,
Fourmilewater and Dungarvan, Abbeyside defeated Cappoquin in the Western Final
in Lismore on a score line of 4:07 to 3:01. Despite Tony’s best efforts as team
trainer they were beaten in the County Final by Mt.Sion. In 1961 the Western
Title was retained but unfortunately De La Salle proved too hot to handle in
the County Final. 1962 was another historic year for the club as Ballinacourty
won their first title, in the form of the Western Junior Football League with
Tony lining out at wing back. Also in 1962 the Club’s good run in under 16
continued where with Tony as coach they won the Divisional Double but
unfortunately the bad luck in County Finals continued. 1963 saw Ballinacourty
enter a second football team for the first time and throughout his time in the
club entering Junior teams to ensure that every player got games, was something
that Tony believed strongly in. Also in ’63 Tony trained the Minor Footballers
who were defeated by Tramore in the County Final. 1964 saw Abbeyside back in
the County Senior Hurling Final where Tony lined out at wing forward, and
despite being rank outsiders against Mt.Sion the team put up a heroic effort
before being beaten by two goals. The year did finish on a good note as the
Senior Hurlers claimed the first official title since entering the Senior Ranks
in 1951, as they won the 1963 Sargent Cup. The following year it was the turn
of Ballinacourty to shine on the playing fields as they won the County
Intermediate Football title defeating Rathgormack in the County Final where
Tony lined out at corner forward whilst he was also team trainer as well as
being the Ballinacourty Secretary!! The success kept on coming in 1966 when the
club won the first ever U21 Hurling Championship defeating a hotly fancied De La
Salle side in the County Final and throughout his coaching career the under 21
grade was on that Tony placed a great emphasis on. 1967 saw Tony’s efforts to
unite the clubs of our parish come to fruition as they finally amalgamated with
Tony serving as the club’s very first Secretary. At the AGM in 1969 Tony was elected
as Club Chairman and this decision proved to be a shrewd one as the club went
on to have a great year winning club of the year for the very first time. On
the field of play Tony was still performing and he was on the Senior Hurling
team that shocked County Champions Ballygunner in the County Semi Final, but
that old bogey team Mt Sion lay in wait in the County Final and inflicted yet
another defeat on the club.
If the sixties had ended well, the seventies got off
to an even better start as with Tony still serving as Club Chairman the Club
won the Club of the Year accolade for the second time. Tony was trainer to the
minor side who recorded a historic County Double and also to the under 21
footballers who won a divisional double with the footballers going on to beat
John Mitchells in the County final but unfortunately the hurlers were beaten by
a strong Ferrybank side in the County Final. As if that wasn’t enough Tony also
trained the under 14 hurlers who won the first ever divisional championship
defeating Tallow in the Final. This was part of a great rivalry that was
building up between Abbeyside and Tallow as the sides would clash in numerous
Western Championship finals. No doubt Tony and Ned Power were putting into
action the skills they had acquired at the Coaching Courses in Gormanstown
College in 1965. 1971 saw more new ground broken in the club as firstly
extensive improvement works were carried out in the club grounds under Tony’s
watchful eye as Chairman. Success on the playing fields continued with the
under footballers retaining the County Title and the under 16 footballers
winning the first ever County Title for the club in this grade. 1972 saw the
emergence of a great under 14 team in the club and under Tony’s guidance they
won a Western Double going on to defeat Roanmore in the County Final. The
following year finally saw the Mt. Sion bogey laid to rest as the under 16
hurlers defeated the Monastery side in the County Final to claim another
historic first for the club. In 1974 Tony stepped down a Club Chairman but
continued his success on the coaching front as the under 16s won a divisional
double going on to defeat Roanmore in the County Final. In 1976 that promising
bunch of under 14s from 1972 won a historic Minor County Double defeating Roanmore
in the hurling County Final and Cuchullainn in the football final. 1977 saw the
club win the under 14 football County Title and this victory saw Tony complete
the clean sweep of underage County Titles as coach. Interestingly when Jim
Morrissey went up to receive the cup, who was waiting to present it him only
Tony, who at this time was Chairman of County Board na nÓg.
Having led the club to so much underage success it was
only natural that Tony would be involved when the club finally won the County
Senior Football title, and that dream was finally fulfilled when they defeated
Clashmore in the County Final on a score of 0:13 to 2:04. They say it takes a
good team to win a title and a great one to retain it so it was only fitting
that in 1979 that the title was retained with victory over Ferrybank in the
County Final with the club also being named Club of the Year. Whilst the County
Championship was surrendered in 1980 the side showed great commitment and
determination to reclaim it in 1981 with Tony once again as team manager. Tony
continued to train teams in the club for many more years and whilst they may
not have had the success of the previous two decades they were always
meticulously prepared for the battle. In 1990 Tony was manager to the under 16
hurlers that won a County Title, and in 1994 he was manager of our Intermediate
Hurlers who were defeated in the replayed County Final. In the mid 1990’s Tony
again saw the need in the club to enter a third football team and over the
course of a number of years he headed up this team winning Divisional Honors.
Tony was always a proud Waterford man and the County
certainly benefitted from his time and commitment in many ways. As a player
Tony was a member of the County Panel for a number of years and he was on the
panel for the 1963 All Ireland Final. When he finished playing Tony took up
refereeing and went on to referee County Senior Finals. On the administrative
front he served as Chairman of County Bord na nÓg for five years putting in
place structures that ensured the smooth and efficient running of the underage
championships. At his side throughout this time was Vincent Mulligan who if
anything was even more efficient than Tony and helped him greatly in re-organising
the Board. But it is a team manager that Tony made his greatest Contribution to
the County. In 1974 he was manager of the County Under 21 team that were
defeated in the All Ireland Final and in the late 1980’s with the county teams
fortunes at rock bottom he took over the County Senior side and over the course
of three years he resurrected the County from division four hurling to division
one. Tony was presented with a National Manager of the Month award in 1987 in recognition
of his great work. In 1989 he was at the helm as Waterford defeated Cork in a
replay to qualify for the Munster Final. 1992 saw what was undoubtedly his
proudest day as in Nowlan Park the County under 21 hurlers defeated Offaly to
claim a historic All Ireland title after a replay. In the mid 1990’s Tony
returned as County Senior Manager and in the late 90’s he again took charge of
the under 21 side for three years during this time many of the stars of the
Waterford Senior team of the past decade first came to public attention.
Through his weekly newspaper column Tony shared his
thoughts on GAA affairs at local and national level. When reporting on games
Tony never sought to be sensationalist or to seek popularity, just to give an
accurate and fair account of the game whilst always trying to present the GAA
in the best possible light. He would try to give every club the best possible
treatment and would regularly hand out old photos at County Board Meetings
seeking names of the teams included in the photos. Once again for Tony it was
always about trying to help clubs in any way possible.
With our club’s fortunes at a bit of a low ebb at the
end of the 1990’s Tony again answered the call to help the club, returning as
Chairman, a position he held until his passing. Tony set about reorgainising
the club on a variety of fronts. On the administrative front he held regular
club meetings and thanks to diligent planning turned the club finances around
ensuring that the club was always kept in the black. As previously mentioned
the under 21 grade was one very close to Tony’s heart and he priortised this
Championship in the Club to help bring our under age players through to play
Senior. Tony still felt he had something left to offer on the Coaching side and
he led our Junior Hurlers to two County Titles continuing to work with the
Intermediate side which also helped bring more young players through to play
Senior Hurling and Football. It is worth noting that since his return as
Chairman 13 years ago the club have won 49 Western and 36 County Titles,
showing clearly how a well-run club can lead to success on the playing fields.
The highlight of this time must surely be the victory over Kilcummin in
Killarney in 2007 in the Munster Club Football Championship, when after the
game Tony was in his element dealing with all the media enquires as to who were
Ballinacourty. The club also returned to the ranks of Senior Hurling during
Tony’s tenure and won the Club of the Year accolade on two occasions. Yet,
perhaps his greatest legacy to us is the re-development work that has taken
place in our grounds in recent years. Throughout this work Tony was always
careful not to place too great a financial burden on the club but at the same
time he was determined to have the best facilities in place for our players.
The installation of state of the art flood lighting brought him great
satisfaction, as did news before Christmas that we has received a grant to help
construct a ball alley. However it was the acquisition of a new club pitch that
brought him most pleasure as it had been a burning ambition of Tony’s to get
extra land for the club for some time. Despite being unwell in recent weeks he
kept himself fully up to date with the negotiations and was thrilled to hear
that the negotiations finally proved fruitful. Up until his final moments it
was the future of Abbeyside / Ballinacourty that occupied his mind.
I hope that this tribute goes some way to illustrating
the remarkable contribution that Tony Mansfield made to our club. No doubt
there are some things which I have left out as in a life as full as the one
Tony lived it would not be possible to cover every aspect of Tony’s time in our
club. As I said last week it is his great friendship, loyalty and always sound
advice that we will miss the most. We have lost a true legend of the GAA from
our midst and it behoves us all to endeavour to make our club the best that it
possibly can be, continuing to work in the spirit that Tony did for so many
years.
Jack The Joker
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| No. Drawn - 14 |
Our popular Jack the Joker Fundraiser will continue
this Sunday night in Kennedy’s Live where the Jackpot will be €9,308 as on Sunday
night James, Jack and Joey were drawn out of the drum but did not find the
Joker, however they did win €50, while Dennis Cosgrave and Pat Grant won €25. The
following are the numbers that haven’t been turned yet 2, 3, 9, 11, 12, 17, 18,
23, 26, 30, 32, 34, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53.
Under 21 Football
On Friday night last we defeated St.Olivers in the
Western Final on a scoreline of 2:12 to 1:12. This was a cracking game of
football and despite building up a big lead twice during the game we had to
withstand a fierce comeback from our opponents to retain our Divisional Title.
This victory was a great boost to all in the club coming so soon after the
passing of our Club Chairman and team captain Ronan Sheehan paid a fitting
tribute to Tony in his acceptance speech. We now move on to face Rathgormack in
the County Final on Wednesday night next.
TEAM: P. CASHIN, S. O’CONNOR, B. LOOBY, S. O’GORMAN, E. BERGIN, D. COLLINS,
A. KEANE, R. SHEEHAN, R. DUNFORD, B. HENLEY, E. COLLINS, D. SWEENEY, R. PROCTOR,
C. KINDREGAN, M. MAHER.
SUBS: D. RYAN, M. RAHER, P. COLLINS, T. McGRATH.
Congratulations
On behalf of all in the club we would like to congratulate
Niamh Briggs on her fantastic achievement of being part of the historic Ireland
Ladies Rugby team who won the Grand Slam on Sunday with victory over Italy. Niamh
scored all of Ireland’s points on the day and emerged as the top points scorer
in the Championship. Niamh is an all-round sports star as she played football
for many years for our Ladies team as well as the County team and we look
forward to following her sporting career for many years to come.
Club Bingo
Our Bingo continues this Sunday night in the CBS Hall where
the jackpot is €1200.
Membership
Membership fees are now due and can be paid to Jonathan
O’Donovan or Kevin Tobin or indeed any member of the club committee. We would
ask that all players make an effort to pay their membership as soon as possible
as training has now resumed with a number of Championships beginning in the
next number of weeks.
Deise Development Draw
Over the next number of weeks members of our club will
once again be calling to the people of our parish seeking your support for the
Deise Development Draw which will begin at the end of March. The format of the
draw is similar to previous years with nine monthly draws costing €10 a month.
Each month there will be a prize fund of €15,600 so as well as supporting our
club you will be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes.
