Thomas St. George McCarthy
Encyclopedia
Thomas St. George MacCarthy (1862–1943) was an Ireland
rugby union
international and founder member of the Gaelic Athletic Association
, being present at Hayes Hotel, Thurles
, County Tipperary
, Ireland
at the Association's inaugural meeting on 1 November 1884.
He was born at Bansha
, Tipperary, though he was often erroneously described as being a native of Kerry. This was due to the similarity of name with his father, George MacCarthy (1832–1902), Lieutenant of the Revenue Police, County Inspector of the RIC and a Resident Magistrate who was from County Kerry
, though working in Tipperary and residing in Bansha. The family used the rarer MacCarthy spelling of their surname, which appears more commonly as McCarthy.
At the foundation of the GAA, MacCarthy was a District Inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary
based at Templemore
, County Tipperary
. He moved to Dublin in 1877 and became a friend of Michael Cusack
, who had a cramming school. He was coached by Cusack for an RIC cadetship examination in 1882, in which he took first place. In 1881, he joined Dublin University Football Club
and was capped against Wales
in 1882
. Later in 1882, he was a member of the Dublin University team which won the Leinster Senior Cup, the inaugural year of this competition.
His involvement in the GAA is notable because in a later period there would be a ban for many years in the GAA on people who played rugby and soccer joining the Association and this ban also applied to members of the British police and armed forces.
He had a great love of the game of hurling
, which he witnessed being played in his native village by the local local enthusiasts who were later to form the Galtee Rovers GAA
Hurling and Football club. He was a regular attender at matches in Croke Park
to where he travelled from his home at Oakley Road in the Dublin suburb of Ranelagh
. He died in 1943 and was buried without fanfare in an unmarked grave in Deansgrange Cemetery, Dublin, though there is a family plot in the old graveyard at Bansha village, where his sister, Kathleen MacCarthy, is interred. Unlike, the other six founding members of the GAA, very little has been done to commemorate MacCarthy - presumably due to his position as a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary. However, plans are in train to redress this injustice and as a first step, the GAA authorities have erected a commemorative gravestone at Deansgrange where it was unveiled on Wednesday, 18 November 2009, as part of the "Re-dedication of Founder's Graves" programme to mark the 125th Anniversary of the founding of the GAA, and there have also been calls for more recognition of his contribution to the GAA.
The two police forces in Ireland, the Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have already honoured him by presenting The Thomas St. George MacCarthy Cup for competition by members of the Garda GAA
(Garda Thirds) and the Police Service of Northern Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
international and founder member of the Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
, being present at Hayes Hotel, Thurles
Thurles
Thurles is a town situated in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty and is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly...
, County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
at the Association's inaugural meeting on 1 November 1884.
He was born at Bansha
Bansha
Bansha is a village in the barony of Clanwilliam, South Tipperary in Ireland. The village is part of the parish of "Bansha and Kilmoyler" in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. Bansha is co-extensive with the pre-Reformation parish of Templeneiry of which the townland name of...
, Tipperary, though he was often erroneously described as being a native of Kerry. This was due to the similarity of name with his father, George MacCarthy (1832–1902), Lieutenant of the Revenue Police, County Inspector of the RIC and a Resident Magistrate who was from County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
, though working in Tipperary and residing in Bansha. The family used the rarer MacCarthy spelling of their surname, which appears more commonly as McCarthy.
At the foundation of the GAA, MacCarthy was a District Inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
based at Templemore
Templemore
Templemore is a town in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty. It is part of the Roman Catholic parish of Templemore, Clonmore and Killea....
, County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
. He moved to Dublin in 1877 and became a friend of Michael Cusack
Michael Cusack
Michael Cusack was an Irish teacher and founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association.-His Life:...
, who had a cramming school. He was coached by Cusack for an RIC cadetship examination in 1882, in which he took first place. In 1881, he joined Dublin University Football Club
Dublin University Football Club
Dublin University Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Dublin, Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland.-History:...
and was capped against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
in 1882
1881-82 Home Nations rugby union matches
The 1881-82 Home Nations rugby union matches are a series of international friendlies held between the England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales national rugby union teams. This was the last season before the introduction of the Home Nations Championship and was the last time the teams involved faced...
. Later in 1882, he was a member of the Dublin University team which won the Leinster Senior Cup, the inaugural year of this competition.
His involvement in the GAA is notable because in a later period there would be a ban for many years in the GAA on people who played rugby and soccer joining the Association and this ban also applied to members of the British police and armed forces.
He had a great love of the game of 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...
, which he witnessed being played in his native village by the local local enthusiasts who were later to form the Galtee Rovers GAA
Galtee Rovers GAA
Galtee Rovers GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in the village of Bansha on the National Primary Route N24 in the shadow of the Galtee Mountains in west County Tipperary, Ireland. The club, founded in 1885, represents the parish of Bansha & Kilmoyler and enters gaelic football and...
Hurling and Football club. He was a regular attender at matches in 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 where he travelled from his home at Oakley Road in the Dublin suburb of Ranelagh
Ranelagh
Ranelagh is a residential area and urban village on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the postal district of Dublin 6. It is in the local government electoral area of Rathmines and the Dáil Constituency of Dublin South-East.-History:...
. He died in 1943 and was buried without fanfare in an unmarked grave in Deansgrange Cemetery, Dublin, though there is a family plot in the old graveyard at Bansha village, where his sister, Kathleen MacCarthy, is interred. Unlike, the other six founding members of the GAA, very little has been done to commemorate MacCarthy - presumably due to his position as a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary. However, plans are in train to redress this injustice and as a first step, the GAA authorities have erected a commemorative gravestone at Deansgrange where it was unveiled on Wednesday, 18 November 2009, as part of the "Re-dedication of Founder's Graves" programme to mark the 125th Anniversary of the founding of the GAA, and there have also been calls for more recognition of his contribution to the GAA.
The two police forces in Ireland, the Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have already honoured him by presenting The Thomas St. George MacCarthy Cup for competition by members of the Garda GAA
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...
(Garda Thirds) and the Police Service of Northern Ireland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....