Matty Power
Encyclopedia
Matty Power was a famous Irish
sportsperson. He played hurling
at various times with his local clubs Dicksboro
and Garda
. Power was also a member of the Kilkenny
and Dublin
senior inter-county team in the 1920s and 1930s. He is regarded as one of Kilkenny’s greatest-ever hurlers.
, County Kilkenny
in 1899. He was educated locally and later trained as a member of An Garda Siochana before moving to Dublin where he worked as a guard. Together with his wife, Nancy Walsh (1916–2003), they also ran a boarding house at Gardiner Place called Kilkenny House.
Matty Power died in 1965.
with his local Dicksboro
club just outside Kilkenny
and enjoyed some success. He won a senior county title with the club in 1923. Power later moved to Dublin
where he played with the famous Garda
club in the city. Here he collected five senior county titles in-a-row from 1925 until 1929. Power won a seventh county title in 1931.
senior inter-county team in the early 1920s. He won his first Leinster
title in 1922 following an eight-point victory over Dublin
. This victory allowed ‘the Cats’ to advance to the All-Ireland final where Tipperary
were the opponents. With three minutes left in the game Tipp were leading by three points, however, last-minute goals by Paddy Donoghue and Dick Tobin
secured a 4-2 to 2-6 victory for Kilkenny. Power had captured his first All-Ireland
medal. It would be 45 years before Kilkenny would beat Tipp in the championship again. He added a second Leinster title to his collection in 1923 following another trouncing of Dublin, however, Galway
accounted for Power’s side in the All-Ireland semi-final.
After moving to Dublin Power was allowed to turn out for the Dublin
senior hurling team. He won a third Leinster title in 1927 as ‘the Dubs’ defeated his own native-county on a huge score line of 7-7 to 4-6. In the subsequent All-Ireland final Dublin faced Cork, the reigning All-Ireland champions. On a team composed of nine members of An Garda Síochána Dublin were in the lead at half-time by 2-3 to 0-1. Cork fought back; however, Power went on to collect his second All-Ireland medal as ‘the Dubs’ won by 4-8 to 1-3. In 1928 Power added a fourth provincial medal to his collection as Dublin defeated Offaly
by 9-7 to 4-3. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final saw the Leinster and Munster champions come face-to-face as Dublin took on Cork in a repeat of the previous All-Ireland final. On this occasion Cork were well prepared and defeated Power’s side by 5- to 0-2. 1929 began well for Power as he collected a National Hurling League
title with Dublin. Dublin were later defeated by Kilkenny in the Leinster final. The team bounced back in 1930 and defeated Laois
by 5-7 to 2-2 giving Power a fifth Leinster title and a save passage to the All-Ireland final. ‘The Dubs’ faced Tipperary on that occasion, however, Power ended up on the losing side that day.
In 1931 Power availed of the newly-introduced non-resident rule and declared for his own native-county of Kilkenny. That year he won a sixth Leinster title following a narrow win for Kilkenny over Laois. A defeat of Galway in the penultimate stage of the championship set up a championship decider with Cork. On that occasion both sides finished level on a score line of 1-6 apiece. One month later both teams returned to Croke Park
to participate in the replay. Once again Cork took the lead at half-time, however, Kilkenny fought back with Lory Meagher
leading the attack. For the second time both sides finished level with 2-5 each. On November 1 Cork and Kilkenny returned to Croke Park for the third time, however, Kilkenny were without the services of Lory Meagher on this occasion. Cork went on to win the game by 5-8 to 3-4. In 1932 Kilkenny were back and Power collected a seventh Leinster title following a victory over Dublin. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Power's side take on Clare
. It was the first ever meeting of these two teams in the history of the championship. In a close and exciting match Kilkenny took the lead thanks to goals by Power, Lory Meagher and Martin White
. Clare fought back, however, Kilkenny hung on to win the game by 3-3 to 2-3 giving Power a third All-Ireland medal. Kilkenny retained their provincial dominance in 1933 with a defeat of Dublin giving Power an eighth Leinster medal. A defeat of Galway in the next game set up an All-Ireland final meeting with Limerick
. In another tight game Kilkenny sealed the victory with a 1-7 to 0-6 score line giving Power his fourth All-Ireland title, Kilkenny lost their provincial title in 1934, however, Power won a ninth Leinster medal in 1935. The All-Ireland final saw Kilkenny take on Limerick for the second time in three years. Once again the match was a close one, however, Kilkenny clung on and won by a single point – 2-5 to 2-4. It was Power's fifth victory in an All-Ireland final. At this he was thirty-six years old and most players would contemplate retirement. Power, however, decided to play on, a decision which paid off in 1936 as he collected a tenth Leinster title before lining out in yet another All-Ireland final. Once again, the two outstanding teams of the decade, Kilkenny and Limerick, were paired together in the championship decider. Limerick were coming into their prime at this stage and gained revenge for the defeats of 1933 and 1935 by trouncing ‘the Cats’ on a score line of 5-6 to 1-5. Power remained on the team and collected an eleventh Leinster title in 1937. The All-Ireland final saw Kilkenny take on Tipperary, however, ‘the Cats’ were definitely on a downward spiral now as they were walloped by 3-11 to 0-3. Following this defeat Power decided to retire from inter-county hurling.
in the inter-provincial hurling competition. He won his first Railway Cup medal in 1927 as Leinster defeated Munster
in the inaugural year of the competition. Power’s side were defeated by Munster for the next four years, however, he added another two Railway Cup medals to his collection in 1932 and 1933. He won a fourth and final title in 1936.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
sportsperson. He played hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
at various times with his local clubs Dicksboro
Dicksboro GAA
Dicksboro is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Kilkenny, Ireland.-History:Dicksboro GAA Club, founded in 1909, takes its name from a townsland about one mile west of the city on the Ballycallan road...
and Garda
Garda GAA
Garda is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1922. Garda have won the Dublin Senior Football Championship on six occasions in 1927, 1929, 1933, 1934, 1935 and 1948. Garda won the Dublin Intermediate Football Championship on one occasion in 1986, bringing them...
. Power was also a member of the Kilkenny
Kilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
and Dublin
Dublin GAA
Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Dublin GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin. The county board is also responsible for the Dublin inter-county teams...
senior inter-county team in the 1920s and 1930s. He is regarded as one of Kilkenny’s greatest-ever hurlers.
Biography
Matty Power was born in GraiguenamanaghGraiguenamanagh
-Recreation:Walking and hillclimbing are among the more popular pursuits of Graiguenamanagh area and with the South Leinster Way meandering through the lovely Barrrow Valley and traversing nearby Brandon Hill, scope is provided for the a gentle stroll or a vigorous,day-long hike. The Barrow's...
, County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. The territory of the county was the core part of the ancient Irish Kingdom of Osraige which in turn was the core of the Diocese of...
in 1899. He was educated locally and later trained as a member of An Garda Siochana before moving to Dublin where he worked as a guard. Together with his wife, Nancy Walsh (1916–2003), they also ran a boarding house at Gardiner Place called Kilkenny House.
Matty Power died in 1965.
Club
Power played his club hurlingHurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
with his local Dicksboro
Dicksboro GAA
Dicksboro is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Kilkenny, Ireland.-History:Dicksboro GAA Club, founded in 1909, takes its name from a townsland about one mile west of the city on the Ballycallan road...
club just outside Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
and enjoyed some success. He won a senior county title with the club in 1923. Power later moved to Dublin
Dublin GAA
Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Dublin GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin. The county board is also responsible for the Dublin inter-county teams...
where he played with the famous Garda
Garda GAA
Garda is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1922. Garda have won the Dublin Senior Football Championship on six occasions in 1927, 1929, 1933, 1934, 1935 and 1948. Garda won the Dublin Intermediate Football Championship on one occasion in 1986, bringing them...
club in the city. Here he collected five senior county titles in-a-row from 1925 until 1929. Power won a seventh county title in 1931.
Inter-county
Power first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the KilkennyKilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
senior inter-county team in the early 1920s. He won his first Leinster
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
The Leinster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Leinster in Ireland....
title in 1922 following an eight-point victory over Dublin
Dublin GAA
Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Dublin GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin. The county board is also responsible for the Dublin inter-county teams...
. This victory allowed ‘the Cats’ to advance to the All-Ireland final where Tipperary
Tipperary GAA
The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...
were the opponents. With three minutes left in the game Tipp were leading by three points, however, last-minute goals by Paddy Donoghue and Dick Tobin
Dick Tobin
Richard "Dick" Tobin was an Irish hurler who played as a right corner-forward for the Kilkenny senior team from 1916 until 1925.Tobin made his first appearance for the team during the 1916 championship and became a regular player over the next decade. During that time he won one All-Ireland...
secured a 4-2 to 2-6 victory for Kilkenny. Power had captured his first All-Ireland
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....
medal. It would be 45 years before Kilkenny would beat Tipp in the championship again. He added a second Leinster title to his collection in 1923 following another trouncing of Dublin, however, Galway
Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...
accounted for Power’s side in the All-Ireland semi-final.
After moving to Dublin Power was allowed to turn out for the Dublin
Dublin GAA
Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Dublin GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin. The county board is also responsible for the Dublin inter-county teams...
senior hurling team. He won a third Leinster title in 1927 as ‘the Dubs’ defeated his own native-county on a huge score line of 7-7 to 4-6. In the subsequent All-Ireland final Dublin faced Cork, the reigning All-Ireland champions. On a team composed of nine members of An Garda Síochána Dublin were in the lead at half-time by 2-3 to 0-1. Cork fought back; however, Power went on to collect his second All-Ireland medal as ‘the Dubs’ won by 4-8 to 1-3. In 1928 Power added a fourth provincial medal to his collection as Dublin defeated Offaly
Offaly GAA
The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Offaly...
by 9-7 to 4-3. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final saw the Leinster and Munster champions come face-to-face as Dublin took on Cork in a repeat of the previous All-Ireland final. On this occasion Cork were well prepared and defeated Power’s side by 5- to 0-2. 1929 began well for Power as he collected a National Hurling League
National Hurling League
The National Hurling League is an annual hurling competition between the county teams of Ireland. Contested by 35 teams , it operates on a system of promotion and relegation between four different divisions, with Division One...
title with Dublin. Dublin were later defeated by Kilkenny in the Leinster final. The team bounced back in 1930 and defeated Laois
Laois GAA
The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Laois GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Laois and the Laois inter-county teams.-History:...
by 5-7 to 2-2 giving Power a fifth Leinster title and a save passage to the All-Ireland final. ‘The Dubs’ faced Tipperary on that occasion, however, Power ended up on the losing side that day.
In 1931 Power availed of the newly-introduced non-resident rule and declared for his own native-county of Kilkenny. That year he won a sixth Leinster title following a narrow win for Kilkenny over Laois. A defeat of Galway in the penultimate stage of the championship set up a championship decider with Cork. On that occasion both sides finished level on a score line of 1-6 apiece. One month later both teams returned to Croke Park
Croke Park
Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...
to participate in the replay. Once again Cork took the lead at half-time, however, Kilkenny fought back with Lory Meagher
Lory Meagher
Lorenzo Ignatius Meagher , better known as Lory Meagher, was a famous Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Tullaroan and was a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team from 1924 until 1937...
leading the attack. For the second time both sides finished level with 2-5 each. On November 1 Cork and Kilkenny returned to Croke Park for the third time, however, Kilkenny were without the services of Lory Meagher on this occasion. Cork went on to win the game by 5-8 to 3-4. In 1932 Kilkenny were back and Power collected a seventh Leinster title following a victory over Dublin. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Power's side take on Clare
Clare GAA
The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....
. It was the first ever meeting of these two teams in the history of the championship. In a close and exciting match Kilkenny took the lead thanks to goals by Power, Lory Meagher and Martin White
Martin White (hurler)
Martin White was an Irish hurler who played as a centre-forward for the Kilkenny senior team.White made his first appearance for the team during the 1931 championship and became a regular member of the team until his retirement following the conclusion of the 1938 championship...
. Clare fought back, however, Kilkenny hung on to win the game by 3-3 to 2-3 giving Power a third All-Ireland medal. Kilkenny retained their provincial dominance in 1933 with a defeat of Dublin giving Power an eighth Leinster medal. A defeat of Galway in the next game set up an All-Ireland final meeting with Limerick
Limerick GAA
The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...
. In another tight game Kilkenny sealed the victory with a 1-7 to 0-6 score line giving Power his fourth All-Ireland title, Kilkenny lost their provincial title in 1934, however, Power won a ninth Leinster medal in 1935. The All-Ireland final saw Kilkenny take on Limerick for the second time in three years. Once again the match was a close one, however, Kilkenny clung on and won by a single point – 2-5 to 2-4. It was Power's fifth victory in an All-Ireland final. At this he was thirty-six years old and most players would contemplate retirement. Power, however, decided to play on, a decision which paid off in 1936 as he collected a tenth Leinster title before lining out in yet another All-Ireland final. Once again, the two outstanding teams of the decade, Kilkenny and Limerick, were paired together in the championship decider. Limerick were coming into their prime at this stage and gained revenge for the defeats of 1933 and 1935 by trouncing ‘the Cats’ on a score line of 5-6 to 1-5. Power remained on the team and collected an eleventh Leinster title in 1937. The All-Ireland final saw Kilkenny take on Tipperary, however, ‘the Cats’ were definitely on a downward spiral now as they were walloped by 3-11 to 0-3. Following this defeat Power decided to retire from inter-county hurling.
Province
Power also lined out with LeinsterLeinster GAA
The Leinster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Leinster. The Leinster Council has been partnered with the European County Board to help develop Gaelic Games in Europe...
in the inter-provincial hurling competition. He won his first Railway Cup medal in 1927 as Leinster defeated Munster
Munster GAA
The Munster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Munster.-Constituent counties:*Cork*Clare*Kerry*Limerick*Tipperary*Waterford-Honours:...
in the inaugural year of the competition. Power’s side were defeated by Munster for the next four years, however, he added another two Railway Cup medals to his collection in 1932 and 1933. He won a fourth and final title in 1936.