April 23rd, 2021

A Chairde,

This week’s 4 page edition which includes “Bits & Bytes” from the past week, a Quickfire question round with Kildare Senior Hurler Brian Byrne and Kildare Senior Footballer David Hyland. Also within is an article on Mick Sammon (referee in the Bloody Sunday All Ireland Final) whose 75th anniversary of his death occurs tomorrow.

“Bits & Bytes”

  • The 2021 Provincial Championship Draws took place during the week. Kildare will play the winners of Offaly & Louth in the Leinster SFC Quarter Final. The Hurlers were paired with Carlow & Westmeath in their Joe McDonagh Cup Group.
  • Allianz National League fixtures were released yesterday. The footballers will play Cork in Thurles, Clare at home & Laois away. The hurlers will play Donegal & Derry at home with the Roscommon & Mayo fixtures in away venues.
  • The deadline for Club Membership subscription was extended to 31st May 2021. All Clubs are asked to ensure all players are registered ahead of their return to play dates.
  • Kildare GAA Coaching and Games are seeking applications for coaching rolesin hurling & football for this year’s Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps. Requirements: All applicants must be over the age of 18 years & have proven experience in a GAA coaching role. To request an application email: murphy.gda.kildare@gaa.ie Deadline for applications is Friday 21st May.
  • This summer’s Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps are fast approaching. The camps will be held throughout the county during the months of July & August. Registration is now open via https://www.kelloggsculcamps.gaa.ie/
 

Quickfire Questions with Kildare Senior Footballer David Hyland

Age: 27
Club: Athy
Senior Inter County League Debut: 2013 v Mayo in Castlebar
Senior Inter County Championship Debut: 2013 v Offaly in Leinster SFC Quarter Final
Pre-Match Day Routine: Like to get a wholesome carb heavy breakfast, do a bit of farming to distract myself from a game & then top up with lunch before departing home.
Pre match rituals: No
Toughest opponent: Conor McManus – His ability to win ball & ability to score from a variety of angles
Team you most like to beat: Laois
Proudest Day: County – Being named the Kildare Captain in January 2020, which is a huge honour to hold. Club – Captaining Athy to win the Senior Championship in 2020, being surrounded by great friends & family.
Toughest or most disappointing day: Losing to Dublin in the Leinster U-21 final
Biggest influence on your career: My Mam & Dad without a doubt. Coaching wise – Joe Kelly
Joker in the panel: Mark Donnellan
Best Dressed: Conor Hartley
Worst Dressed: Few too many in here like a pair of flairs. Very difficult to look beyond Mick O’Grady though.
Player do you admire from another sport: Bit cliche, but Tom Brady – His self-belief, work ethic and mental strength have allowed him to overcome adverse scenarios in a physically demanding sport, culminating in him being the most successful athlete in the history of the sport.
Manager from another sport do you admire: Ronan O’Gara – Seems to have transferred a lot of his playing knowledge into a managerial role. His attention to detail and his ability to command respect is refreshing for a young manager. No surprise success if following him.
 

Quickfire Questions with Kildare Senior Hurler Brian Byrne

Age: 25
Club: Naas
Senior Inter County League Debut: 2017 v Armagh
Senior Inter County Championship Debut: 2016 v Antrim
Pre-Match Day Routine: I’ll try get up at the same time each morning. I’ll get breakfast and then depending whether the match is around lunch or in the evening, if it’s in the evening I’ll go for a walk. I’ll try take my mind off the match as much as possible. I’ll have food again roughly 3 hours before the match starts.
Pre match rituals: Thankfully, no!
Toughest opponent: The few previous times playing against Antrim, Neil McManus has been top class.
Describe yourself in three words: Relaxed, determined and hard-working
Proudest Day: Both Christy Rings in ‘18 and ‘20 were brilliant and special but I think our Club Championship with Naas in 2019 meant a huge amount!
Toughest or most disappointing day: Leinster U21 Football Final 2016
Biggest influence on your career: Several people in my family have a big influence in my career
Joker in the panel: Paul Dermody
Best advice you were given: There’s always room for improvement
Best Trainer: Niall O’Muinicheain
Teammate most likely to be a future manager: Paul Divilly
If there was a transfer market, who you buy: Someone like Gearoid Hegarty would be ideal
 

Mick Sammon – Bloody Sunday Referee from Kildare

This Saturday, 24 April, is the 74th anniversary of the death of Mick Sammon who was referee of the Bloody Sunday football match between Dublin and Tipperary in Croke Park on 21 November 1920.
In all the accounts of what happened on that day, little mention is made of the referee. Who was he and why was he appointed to such a significant role?

Mick Sammon, born in February 1893 in Clane, was a prominent footballer with Kilcullen, Clane and Celbridge. He represented the Lilywhites from 1918 to 1921 winning an All-Ireland medal in 1919 which he proudly wears in his wedding day photograph.
According to match reports, he was known as ‘the best man in Ireland to take frees’. He also played with the Hibernian Knights Club and Kickhams Club in Dublin.
While in Celbridge, he represented the county on Leinster Council in 1920.

The Tipperary v Dublin challenge match was in aid of the Republican Prisoners Dependents Fund, a cause dear to him, a former political prisoner. One year later, he refereed a Tipperary versus Dublin challenge match when he presented the football for the game.

The whistle he used on Bloody Sunday is on display in the GAA Museum at Croke Park.  
Sammon refereed the 1923 All-Ireland Junior football final and the 1924 All-Ireland Junior semi-final. In addition to involvement in the GAA, he also had interest in dogs and enjoyed major success at dog shows and coursing.

Having completed his apprenticeship in the vintner trade in Dublin, he worked in Kilcullen and captained the club to the 1917 county final against Kilcock. He was a Sinn Féin officer, and he served time in three prisons due to reading a Sinn Féin manifesto in Kilcullen on 15 August 1918.

When he moved back to Dublin, he served on various sporting committees, including the Tailteann Games Committee, the National Athletic and Cycling Association of Ireland and a sub-committee of GAA Congress to report on the formation of an Irish Athletic Governing Body.

His playing days over, he continued an involvement with the Kickhams Club.

In 1922, Mick married Elizabeth Gill from Clane. They had two daughters, Betty and Maura. He purchased The Railway Hotel (now The Abbey Lodge Pub) in Celbridge. He died on 24 April 1947 at a relatively young age of 54.