Death of a cherished former Offaly and Rahan hurler

THE death has taken place of a cherished former Offaly and Rahan hurler from the 1950s. Sean Grennan died suddenly earlier this week and leaves a great legacy to his native area.

90 years of age, he had been in great form recently – enjoying visits from and conversations with locals, looking forward to returning to London, where he worked for decades, for the Winter months and planning for the future. Just recently, he had purchased a motorised scooter and he was looking forward to using this.

A personable, pleasant, interesting, sociable man with a great appreciation of history, he lived a very full and active life. He was also a talented musician and he made a great contribution to the GAA in his home county and parish.

He lived at Glaskill between Mucklagh and Rahan and he was delighted when Shamrocks won the Intermediate Hurling Championship recently, beating Seir Kieran in a replayed final, meeting the victorious panel in Mucklagh Community Centre.

He was a very talented hurler himself and made a great contribution during his own playing career. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of the Offaly team that won the Leinster Junior Hurling Championship in 1953, losing to Tipperary in the All-Ireland final.

He made several appearances for Offaly senior hurlers in the 1950s, making his debut in a big National Hurling League win over Roscommon in 1950. He went on to make 26 competitive league and championship appearances for Offaly from 1950 until 1959 and his versatilty is demonstated by the fact that he played in attack, midfield and defence.

He played during an era when hurling was very different than it is now and the Offaly club scene became notorious for its toughness, roughness and violence with some famous rows involving teams and spectators. Sean Grennan, however, was remembered as a skilful hurler who played hard but fair.

He emerged onto the scene during an era when the Rahan club was very competitive but also engaged in some of the darker arts of hurling at that time and played central roles in long remembered games.

He played minor hurling for Offaly in 1950, scoring 1-3 from centre half back in a Leinster final defeat by Kilkenny. His talent was proven by the fact that he made his senior debut the same year. He also made the Offaly minor football panel, even though there was no underage football in Rahan at that time.

In 1949, both Rahan and Drumcullen were disqualified from the Intermediate Hurling Championship after their final was abandoned when spectators invaded the pitch – that championship was never finished and there is a gap for that year in the roll of honour.

In 1950, Rahan contested the Intermediate Hurling Championship final against Killeigh, with a young Sean Grennan at centre half forward. Again, the game was remembered for the wrong reasons as a free for all, involving players and spectators and including acts of violence resulted in the game being abandoned inside the last ten minutes, with Rahan leading by three points. A Killeigh player ended up being hospitalised with a head injury while a Killeigh supporter was later fined in court for disorderly conduct after being led out of the melee by a garda sergeant and garda.

The replay was an extrordinary affair but for much better reasons. Rahan led by 3-6 to 0-1 at half time, having played with a strong wind but were over hauled in the second half, losing by 7-3 to 5-6.

Sean Grennan and Rahan continued to persevere and in 1952, they finally got the reward they deserved, winning the Intermediate Hurling Championship. Rahan went senior and were not far off making the breakthrough in that decade – following Shinrone's win in the senior hurling final last Sunday, Rahan is now the only parish in Offaly without a senior title but they were close in hurling in the 1950s.

They competed well against a then powerful Coolderry in the 1953 Senior Hurling Championship final, losing by 4-4 to 1-6 and they were competitive against most clubs for a few years. Again, Rahan were sometimes the architects of their own misfortune – in 1956, a game against Shannon Rovers (a Banagher parish club) was abandoned with them trailing by 4-11 to 1-4: a player refused to leave the field after being sent off and the referee called it off but the game was awarded to Shannon Rovers.

In some of the above mentioned cases, the referee blamed spectators rather than players for the rows and that was the way Offaly hurling was in that era.

In 1959, Sean Grennan brought the curtain down on his hurling career in Offaly when he emigrated to London. He made a good life and career for himself here but a piece of Rahan and Offaly always remained with him.

In retirement, he returned to the parish in the early 1990s, moving to Glaskill and spending his time between here and London each year. He immersed himself in the then fledgling Shamrocks GAA Club and was particularly devoted to underage affais. He served as a selector and coach with several underage teams and had a great ability to relate to young people, despite the vast age difference.

He was a former president of Shamrocks GAA Club and loved remininscing over old times. He was a great conversationalist with a deep knowledge of his area and the GAA. He was a very obliging man and occasionally gave me valuable assistance when researching GAA history about the Rahan teams that he was a part of.

He was a member of the famous Ballinamere Ceili Band and actually played with them at the function where Offaly received their Leinster junior hurling medals in 1953 – he played the accordion and had an infectious passion for Irish culture and song.

The Grennan family were very highly regarded in the area and Sean Grennan leaves a vast legacy behind him.

Pre-deceased by his wife Maureen, Sean will be sadly missed by his family and friends.

Sean will be reposing in Lawless’ Funeral Home, Mucklagh on Monday evening from 4pm until removal at 6pm to St Colman’s Church, Mucklagh, arriving at 6.30pm. Requiem Mass on Tuesday at 11am. Burial afterwards in the adjoining New Cemetery. May he rest in peace.