Congratulations to Mick O'Brien, formerly of The Green, Hacketstown, who received the Hall of Fame Award at the Carlow GAA Awards Ceremony on Saturday, 17 January, in the Lord Bagenal, Leighlinbridge.
Among the 350 attendance were GAA President Elect, Aogán O Fearghaill (Cavan), Bishop Denis Nulty and Leinster Council Vice Chairman, Jim Bolger. This was the 25th year of the Carlow GAA Awards and two men have been involved throughout the 25 years – Tommy Murphy and our own, Eddie Forde. Well done to Tommy & Eddie on this great achievement.
It is a great honour for the town of Hacketstown and Clonmore club to have this prestigious award bestowed upon one of our clubmen. Mick is only the second Clonmore man to win the County GAA Hall of Fame Award, after Denis Cullen in 2002, albeit Paks Connolly was also honoured with a Hall of Fame Award in the Eire Og County Sports Awards in 1983.
Mick won a senior football championship medal with Clonmore in 1956 but is more famous for his exploits on the hurling field. The achievements of this man are too numerous to mention but the following are just some of them:
He played senior hurling for Carlow for 16 years (1955 to 1970) without ever being dropped or substituted and was at centre-field on the Carlow team that won the All-Ireland Intermediate hurling championship in 1962. That team also beat Galway, drew with Clare, rattled Tipperary and, most memorably of all, beat Christy Ring's Cork in Dr Cullen Park in the NHL in 1962.
Mick won two Dublin Senior Hurling Championship medals, one with a combined Junior Board team in 1962 (while stationed in the Air Corps) and a second with Kilmacud Crokes in 1965.
After moving to live in Arklow he captaine Arklow Rock Parnells to three Wicklow Senior Hurling Championships (1970-72), played for Wicklow and captained them to the All-Ireland Intermediate hurling final in 1971.
Mick was selected at centre back on the Teams of the Century for both Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin) and the Wicklow County Hurling Team and he also received the Hall of Fame Awards from Crokes and Wicklow.
He trained the Wicklow county hurling team for a number of years in the 70's and coached the Baltinglass senior football team to win a Wicklow championship in 1972.
A thorough gentleman and very modest individual inspite of his great sporting career, there could be no more deserving award winner than Mick. Clonmore GFC salutes you on your richly deserved award.
PHOTO: Mick O'Brien holds his Hall of Fame Award surrounded by family and friends. See more photos in the Photo Gallery – click on www.flickr.com/photos/cluainmhor/
