Hogan Stand Shield, from the 1965 Capuchin Annual.
I recently picked up the 1965 Capuchin Annual, which included a very fine tribute to Pádraig Ó Caoimh (1898-1964). A Roscommon man who moved to Cork at a young age, he served in the ranks of the Irish Volunteers throughout the War of Independence and was imprisoned in Britain for his activities. In 1929, Ó Caoimh became General Secretary of the GAA, a position he would hold for more than three decades. At the time of his passing, an obituary noted that “under his administrative genius the GAA became by far the strongest sports organisation in the country and reputedly the biggest amateur association of its kind in the world.”
One of the images in the piece shows Ó Caoimh beside the historic shield of the Hogan Stand. Entirely As Gaeilge, the translation provided states:
This Stand was erected by the Gaels of Ireland in fond memory of Michael Hogan from Tipperary and thirteen others whom the British Army foully killed here on Sunday, 21st November, 1920.
The Hogan Stand was dedicated to the memory of the slain athlete on Saint Patrick’s Day, 1926. The Fintan Lalor Pipe Band and James Connolly Pipers performed, and the President of the Association told a large gathering that “the invasion of Croke Park on November 21st 1929 was an attack on an organisation whose membership was closed against the invader. The sister organisations – the Gaelic League and the GAA – had helped to save the spirit of the nation – its greatest asset.”
