Retiring councillor made his name on the hurling field with Offaly

As well as having served with distinction as a public representative, retiring councillor Danny Owens also made his name on the hurling field, playing for Kilcormac/ Killoughey and Offaly, the highlight of which was being a member of the All-Ireland senior hurling winning teams which defeated Galway in 1981 and 1985.

Cllr Owens announced this week that he does not intend to stand in the 2024 local elections having served as a Fianna Fail county councillor for two decades in the Tullamore area.

Looking back on his hurling years this week, Danny Owens recalled his introduction to hurling in the late 1960s.

He outlined: “When Master Keary, a teacher in Kilcormac national school. came to visit my local school in Mountbolus, he encouraged the older boys to come to Kilcormac that very evening to be part of Na Piarsaigh U12 team. Once school was over, I rushed home to tell my mother and father about it.”

“That evening, I headed for Kilcormac on my bike with only a hurl and spare pair of shoes. The square in Kilcormac was awash with young lads like myself, bursting with enthusiasm. From there, we journeyed to Rath to play Drumcullen, hoping to get a chance to play.

“At the time, I hadn’t a clue who most of the boys were, but from that point on they became my friends. As for the match, we had about 15 players starting the game, with the rest of us looking on in anticipation. In the second half, Master Keary came up and called out for someone to get ready to go in. 'Was it me he was talking to?' Just then, some other young lad came out of the forest of subs, and boy did I feel a sigh of relief. I thought 'what if I lost the ball and Drumcullen won the match? Would I ever be allowed to pay again?' Oh, the innocence of youth! Thereafter, I got to play in some games, we all did. And so started my club career.”

Cllr Owens said that when he was 14 he got called up to play for the county at U14 level.

He recalled: “It was my first time to be involved with a county team and it had an interesting introduction. I was playing with the U14 club against St Rynagh's, marking one of their better players. He was a fantastic player and well recognised as the key player in the county at his age.

“I must have played well as a couple of days my father and I were in the field thinning turnips, complete with bags rolled around the knees and tied with bailer twine. Only people of a certain age will know what I mean! We had been there a couple of hours, around midday, when we saw a man approaching us. My father, clearly knowing him, said 'how are you, Joe?' I learned later that the man in question was a great servant to Offaly, the late Joe Dooley from Drumcullen. He looks at me and said 'young Owens, we have a match in Tullamore this evening against Dublin. Are you free to come along?' 'Am I what?' I said to myself under my breath. I looked at my father and he was more excited than I was. 'I will call to you later on,' Joe said. 'No need,' said my father. 'The turnips will still be there tomorrow.' And so, we headed off to Tullamore that evening to play a huge Dublin team who beat us well. But I will never forget my first game in an Offaly jersey.”

He added that from that point he played both hurling and football at minor level but to no avail, except for a minor football final against Dubin in 1976 where Offaly lost by just one point.

After that, the Killoughey man was mainly football focused, playing for Carmelite College Moate, from 1976-78, during which time they won three Leinster titles and one all-Ireland, the Hogan Cup. Success followed with Offaly in 1978 when the county won the Leinster U21 hurling championship in Carlow against Laois.

Continued Cllr Owens: “A number of players from that team went on to play in the historic All-Ireland winning title for Offaly in 1981. The summer of 1978 also saw Offaly U21 footballers contest the Leinster final against Louth. Unfortunately, we lost by a point but gained our revenge in 1979, beating Louth by a big score in Navan. Fast forward to 1980, to the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship. Little did I know sitting in a little digs in Edinburgh, that I was about to hear a game of hurling that would transform the future of hurling in Offaly. “

“The style and manner in which Offaly won that historic Leinster final for the first time, sowed the seeds for what came after, and I was determined that I would be part of it,” stressed Cllr Owens.

He added: “Moving up to senior hurling was a big step up compared to what we were doing before. Getting to play with that team was like all my birthdays in one. When I arrived on the panel, we were made feel very welcome. Within a few weeks, we were part of the family and playing League matches together. The first League appearance was a game against Limerick and was a real thrill. I did my best to look cool but inside I was bursting with pride.

“The atmosphere on the panel was very special, and there was a feeling that something big was about to happen. However, in that League (1980/81) despite playing all our group games away from home, we lost to Cork in the final. We were very disappointed, but it did give us the confidence to believe that we could live with any team from that point forward.

“And so it was. We got back to training for the championship and you could get the feeling that something was about to happen. I was working in Sligo and neither the Curlew mountains or the 97 mile each way, three days a week, could deter me from being at every training  session that summer.”

He said that Diarmuid Healy's leadership and experience was vital during all of it. “Things like preparing and reminding us of the sound of the crowd as we took the field. He described it as a booming sound and boy was he right about that. He wanted us to make sure what to expect and not to be distracted by it, another was to remind us not to be distracted by somebody in the crowd and to stay focused on the job in hand.”

He recalled that on the morning of the final Mass was celebrated in Scoil Mhuire in Tullamore. “Fr Sean Heaney said during the Mass that we could not pray for Galway  to have a bad game but pray for Offaly to be the best that they could be. After that we boarded the train for Dublin.”

“What happened next has been covered in the media many times but will never be forgotten - Offaly taking to the field . . the noise . . the early worries. . . the last 20 minutes . . . the fight back . . the point blank save . . . that goal . . . the final whistle . . . the pride,” he outlined.

Continuing he added: “The years 1982/83 taught us that it's never over until it's over. We performed well in these years but with nothing to show for it. The year 1984 saw the team reach a second All Ireland but unfortunately lost to Cork. Then came 1985 - The result of 84 spurred all of us on. We played Galway in the final and once again, we won. It was a huge time for Offaly, winning All Irelands in hurling and football, with huge crowds driving almost every week to follow The Faithful.”

Towards the end of his hurling career, Cllr Owens was chosen as captain of the county senior hurling side, the team that captured the National League trophy in 1991.

“I felt very honoured to be asked and indeed grateful and privileged to take it on,” he added.

Cllr Owens recalled that Offaly was in transition at senior hurling level at that time but little did people think that the county would go onto to win their first and only National League title.

“I have been lucky in my hurling career and have played and admired many talented Offaly players down the years, players a lot more skilled and talented than me.”

He continued: But if there is one thing I know, and it is persistence will take you a long way both in hurling and in life,”.