Kieran Purcell and Windgap’s first All-Ireland Senior Hurling medal

Windgap’s first All-Ireland Senior Hurling medal arrived fifty years when Kieran Purcell lined out at full forward against Cork in the All-Ireland Final victory on September 3, 1972.

Scoring two points Kieran will be part of the victorious Kilkenny team that will be honoured at the St, Canices Credit Union Senior Hurling Final on Sunday next as guests of Kilkenny County Board and the Springhill Court Hotel.

THE EARLY DAYS
After attending Windgap National School, where no hurling was played Kieran spent two years in St Kieran’s College before returning home to run the family farm. With his first organised game, being with the Lamogue under 16 footballers, he then hurled minor against Dunnamaggin when he marked John White.

Kieran’s first game at Junior level was as a fifteen year old in goal in a challenge against John Lockes on the Fair Green in Callan. It brought about the reality of adult hurling when playing behind the fullback line that included Paddy Houlihan, and Dan Phelan in for Phil Cronin, a clean overhead strike on the first ball by Martin 'Boxer' Lynch saw it fly in, and on, and with no nets or ball catchers it travelled on to break a window in the Vocational School.

BLACK AND AMBER
Kieran’s first county trial came in goal at minor level when only one keeper was chosen. His final year in 1963 he played in goal when Kilkenny went down in the final to Wexford. On the way, he left his mark when the great commentator Michéal O Hehir commended him on air for his outstanding performance in the Leinster semi-final replay against Dublin in Croke Park.

Following it Kieran went straight to the senior team at nineteen to play in the 1964 Oireachtas Final and later on in a league matches at centrefield with Ned Power and Andy Comerford and another Oireachtas final in 65 and the league till 1967. During this time Kieran was involved with the county under twenty ones for three years in a row playing in goal for the first two. In the third he rotated between centre and fullback marking Tony Doran when Wexford were the dominant side. Elsewhere he played Intermediate Hurling in goal behind Thomastown's Cha Whelan.

PEIL
Following in his and father’s Watt and uncle Mikes sporting prowess in handball, Kieran followed his father’s inter-county footballing footsteps who had played at fullback with Eddie Keher's father Stephen in the corner as they went down to
the eventual All Ireland Senior Champions Kildare in 1927.

After Kieran donned the Kilkenny colours he was noted for scoring a goal in each half against Wexford in the Leinster senior championship in Croke Park. Later on whilst alongside Fan Larkin, Frank Cummins, Eamon Morrissey and Mick Brennan they went down in the Leinster Junior Final in Croke Park in 1971 to a Dublin team that saw ten or eleven of them go on to be All-Ireland Senior Champions in 1974

ALL-IRELAND BREAKTHROUGH
Recalled to the Senior Hurling side as sub for the league in 1970 he was a crucial part of what was considered by many to be the greatest ever Kilkenny side until recent times. The following year he scored one of the most famous hurling goals in the final against Tipperary. Described by a stranger at the recent ploughing in Ratheniska who excitedly related one of his great sporting memories “he (Purcell) slipped John Kelly and John Gleeson to score an amazing memorable goal into the Canal end and I can still see the drops failing off the net” and admirably added “Purcell had a lot of good hurling done before he played for the county”.

The victory in 72 brought huge joy and pride to the parish as Windgap’s All Ireland hurling winning trailblazer went on to win three All Ireland medals in 72, 74 and 75 along with, five Leinster, three Railway Cups and three All-Star Awards. A potential four in a row was thwarted when Kieran came on as a sub after an appendicitis operation to a severely injury hit team in 1973. With Kilkenny his terrible twins play with Pat Delaney saw him listed in Brendan Fullams book where many players including Pat Henderson found him the hardest player to mark.

SENIOR CLUB
With the club Kieran played outfield versus Dunnamaggin in the Southern Final of 66. Four years later he went back in goal to catch a potentially last puck match winning twenty one yard free from Mullinavat. With the scores standing at 2-13 to 2-11 it occurred in the cauldron of the clubs first ever Southern Junior Final win in Piltown in 1970.

Playing with the clubs star laden senior and intermediate team of the 70’sand 80’s they had great clashes with Bennettsbridge,
James Stephens and The Fenians with the mentors of the time including Pearse Barry, Seamus Horgan and Jimmy Butler,
when the Clubs Home of Hurling was in Walsh’s Bog Field.

Kieran was born in Lamogue of County Senior football fame and was one of a family of five with Jim Lamogue, Willie
Carrick, Kitty Smith Dublin and Nora Honeyman in Hong Kong. The Purcell’s sporting legacy with no camogie being played in Jo Jo’s time in Drangan, saw his first cousins Lal Holden Tipperary and Seamus Horgan Kilkenny play against each other
in the All-Ireland minor final of 49. It continues through numerous sports led by Walter who played for school, club and Kilkenny in the Centenary minor hurling final and replay in Thurles and the families of daughters Elaine and Pat.

The new generation in Ewan, Hugh and Muireean Martin in Donabate-Portrane, The Dunphy’s Elana in Canada and Eimear playing ladies Gaelic football in Holland and young James Purcell just starting out hurling in Bearna na Gaoithe. Féar Mór láidir with great hands, Kieran was an inspirational player for club and county and is a regular at training and the local games.
Unassumingly he trains a few horses, with his latest winner Quaresome with seventeen year old Pat Cody on board coming in
at a nice price in Roscommon a fortnight ago.

WELL
“Did you ever see a match like that” asked a former player on the phone, hours after Windgap qualified for their first
County Junior Final in twenty one years. The County Junior Hurling semi-final played in UPMC Nowlan Park on Saturday had all the drama of a big screen epic, with high scoring and intensity, changing match winning leads, injury time and extra time down going down to the last minute dreaded penalties. Leaving home for the first of the trilogy of county semi-finals, the early morning sun cast long watery yellow shadows across the landscape as the local hurling season had extended into October.

Starting at twelve o’clock on a perfect surface the heavy dew flew off the ball when it passed under the retreating shadow of Ardán Breathnach. As the game extended beyond normal time expectations and then past two o’clock, supporters
arriving for the second game got to see the thrill a minute play and the penalty shootout, whilst those arriving early for the
third game thought they were in a different time zone.

For the early comers that saw Bearna na Gaoithe eight points ahead with twelve minutes to play there were many tense heart stopping minutes and nail biting moments as they went four points down in injury time. With some Whattsapp groups calling for prayers and then more prayers please, before the roof nearly lifted off Ardán De Grás when the final result was achieved over a gallant Dicksboro team on a 4-2 penalty scoreline.

WHAT IT MEANS
On Saturday local supporters came from near and far and from their sick beds, with some visiting the Park for their first time along with a band of neutrals that quietly supported the underdogs. Others tuned in to Martin Quilty, Aoife Lanigan and Aidan Fogartys excellent commentary on KCLR. It was heard into the early hours in Australia and by the sowers of winter barley nearer home, whilst in Quebec Twitter was cursed for not delivering the scores in sequence.

NOTHING WON YET
Twenty one years ago a county final appearance brought its own rewards with a Southern title, the Canon Kearns Cup, The John Lonergan Perpetual Shield and rare Southern medals. The new championship format of the all-county competition means, absolutely nothing has been won on the way to the final.

Recent results with The Blacks and Whites the County Final opposition saw last year’s championship defeat in Inistioge being followed by a worse result in the Paddy Cahill Cup final on the July 12. The game takes place on Sunday week at 1pm. See Robert Cribbin's match report in the Sports Pages.