Hanging on the words of Micheál O’Hehir

MENTION Micheál O’Hehir and Marty Crotty immediately responds with a twinkle in his eye.

The retired Kilbaha farmer is a GAA fanatic who lived for Mr O’Hehir’s memorable hurling, football and horse racing commentaries from 1938 to 1985.

Listening to and watching Gaelic games has given Marty great joy.

“Only for the GAA, I would be dead a long time ago,” he quipped.

Sometimes on Sundays he listens to one match on the radio and keeps an eye on another one on television with the sound turned down.

He can still recite all the names of the 15 starting Cavan All-Ireland winning teams in 1947 and ‘48 and the Meath all conquering side in 1949.

“It is a great past time. I don’t know how people who don’t follow GAA manage, what do they be doing at all? It is hard to do without the GAA,” he said.

His passionate love affair with Gaelic Games was fostered by legendary GAA commentator O’Hehir.

“My love for GAA came from when Micheál O’Hehir from Ballinacally would broadcast matches on the radio most Sundays.

“You will never get any commentator like Micheál O’Hehir because of the bits of information he included in his commentary.

“Hehir was as good as any television, but he had all the details you wanted. His voice was so clear. He was an outstanding man who will never be replaced.

“He never missed any bit. He had it 100%. What are the commentators doing now? They are not covering half of it. There is another co-commentator beside them talking about something that has already happened. What do I want to hear about that when I have seen it myself happening?

“I remember when Kerry footballer “Roundy” Landers was playing against the “Boiler” McGuinness from Meath. Micheál said “Roundy” gets around the “Boiler”.

“Micheál had a great turn of phrase. You could listen to him all day long. If there were games all day, you would do nothing due to the interest you had listening to commentaries.

“You couldn’t miss Micheál’s match commentary. That was the highlight of the week. The tight games were particularly interesting. People used to follow Kerry footballers because they were so successful.

“I wouldn’t miss the match, regardless of what was happening. I would be timing all the jobs and watching the clock to ensure they were all finished in time for the match throw-in.”

The 89-year-old can still recall key episodes in GAA inter-county championship games stretching back to the forties.

Marty described Micheál O’Muircheartaigh as a “good” GAA commentator.

Asked about the new split-season, Marty said he preferred when the All-Ireland championships ran until the third week in September.

Marty contracted Sepsis twice last December and February and on the second occasion, he didn’t realise Sepsis had lodged in his artificial knee, forcing him to spend six and a half weeks in hospital and preventing him from eating properly for three weeks before hospitalisation.

Two days after returning home on March 23, it was discovered he had contracted Covid-19, but he managed to recover quickly as he was receiving IV antibiotics at the time.

In 2016, the father-of-three had a triple bypass and a valve replacement. He attributes his long life to “fresh air, wind, cold and salt water”

He likes to sing the “Polo Grounds New York” about the 1947 All-Ireland SFC final and “The Five Pilots” about the men who were drowned after a currach accident in 1873.

Born in Kilbaha in 1933, Marty attended Moneen National School, which has since been transformed into a community hall.

Secondary school wasn’t established at that stage, which meant he left education at the age of 14 to work on the family dairy farm owned by his parents John and Mary Ann Crotty.

They milked about 12 dairy cows morning and evening, which was regarded as a good sized herd in the late forties.

“Things were tough back then, money was very scarce. I stayed at home on the farm. Another brother went to England, while another brother worked as a handy man.

“I remember most of the lighthouse keepers as most of them used to call to our house in the forties.

One of the lighthouse keepers was Mr Doyle whose children attended Moneen National School. There was also a Mr Fitzgerald and his children also went to the national school.

“I used to go up to the lighthouse tower because I knew the lighthouse keepers. I remember listening to GAA matches in the lighthouse because the lighthouse had a radio when radios were scarce. I used to walk and cycle to the lighthouse.”

Sometimes letters for the lighthouse would be left in Crotty’s by the postman and would be duly dispatched to the keeper if he hadn’t called to their house.

On July 24, 1949, when Cork defeated Clare in the Munster senior football final, Marty listened to Micheál O’Hehir’s exciting match commentary that came from a radio in the Loop Head Lighthouse.

He said there were two Bradley brothers – “Birdie” and Vincent from outside Kilkee who were athletes as well – who lined out for the Banner county.

One of the first houses to secure a radio was Henry Blake, who was a blind man that lived in Kilbaha.

“Blind people got a radio that time. I used to listen to a lot of GAA matches in Henry Blake’s house who was living down the road.”

Marty can still remember some of the great GAA players from the forties. A monument was recently erected in Cavan town in memory of Cavan stalwart John Joe Reilly by Kilbaha-based sculptor, Seamus Connolly.

One of the greatest GAA achievements, Marty recalled was completed by former Fianna Fail Leader and Taoiseach, Jack Lynch who won six All-Ireland medals in-a-row with Cork from 1941 to 1946, which included one football in 1945.

He said this Cork senior football team included Mick Tubridy, an army man from Kilrush, who was also a successful rider and rode a horse called “Kilbaha”.

Kilkenny defeated Cork by a point in the 1947 All-Ireland hurling final to prevent Lynch from winning seven All-Irelands in a row.

Marty recalled Roscommon defeated Laois by two points in the 1946 All-Ireland senior football semi-final.

In the other semi-final, he said Antrim won the Ulster final with a very skilful team only to be outmuscled by Kerry. The final had a dramatic finale.

“There was only six minutes to go and Roscommon were leading by 0-10 to 0-4 when their captain Jimmy Murray from Knockcrockery got a facial injury. Roscommon brought Jimmy over to the sideline for treatment and never put on a sub. The next thing was Kerry got two goals to level the game 2-4 to 0-10 that finished in a draw. Kerry won the replay.”

Cavan defeated Kerry in the Polo Grounds in 1947 in the first All-Ireland decider played outside the Republic of Ireland.

“Canon Michael Hamilton from Clonlara was one of the people who proposed at a GAA meeting the 1947 All-Ireland should be played in New York.

“The match was on at 3pm in New York but I listened to it on the radio in Henry Blake’s house at 8pm because we are five hours ahead. The house was packed. There wasn’t a sound. You would be put outside if you made a sound.

“It was a unique All-Ireland because it was played outside the country.

“Cavan won three All-Irelands in 1947, ‘48 and ‘52. John Joe Reilly helped them put two All-Ireland’s back-to-back, but died at 34 years of age. He wasn’t playing in 1952 when Mick Higgins was the Cavan captain.

“Mayo won the All-Ireland in 1951 and didn’t win one since. The Mayo No.7 was Fr Peter Quinn but they named him as Peter Quinlan because priests couldn’t play Gaelic football at the time. I never heard anyone saying it, but I know it happened. He had a brother who was also a priest.”

After twisting his ankle jumping off a ditch, Marty never played Gaelic football at club level, apart from national school.

He often walked to Carrigaholt and cycled to venues in Kilrush and Kilkee attending club games.

In 1949, he recalled two clubs from the one parish Carrigaholt and Doonaha met in the Junior “A” Football final in Carrigaholt. Carrigaholt triumphed thanks to a goal from Tommy Kelly, who Marty knew personally as well as his father.

In 1952, he recalled Liam Maguire lined out at corner-back and Des at centre-back for Cavan while their brother, Brendan featured on the opposing Meath side at midfield. Cavan prevailed after a replay.

He remembered there was huge interest and attendance at Railway Cups because there were no national league games or club championships.

He said Noel Crowley from Cooraclare scored a goal for Munster in one interprovincial game in the fifties, which was considered a big feat at the time.

“Members of the Coast Guard used also call to our house during the Second World Ward from 1939 to 1945 for a chat.”

In the early fifties, his parents purchased a radio, which made it easier for him to listen to matches at home.

In 1960, Down brought the Sam Maguire trophy back North of the border for the first time and retained the trophy the following year.

He remembered Down captain, Kevin Mussen lifting Sam Maguire to a huge roar in Croke Park.

“Down won the All-Ireland title in 1960, ‘61, 1968, 1991 and 1994. Their half back line in 1960 was Kevin Mussen, Dan McCartan and Kevin O’Neill.”

When Galway won the three-in-a-row All-Ireland football crowns from 1964 to 1966, Marty watched these finals on television in Keating’s Pub.

In 1973, Cork won the All-Ireland football decider with a star studded line up including dual star Jimmy Barry-Murphy, and Marty expected this team to win a handful of All-Irelands, which never happened.

“Cork had plenty of strength, speed and skill but they were gone again soon afterwards.”

While he preferred Gaelic football, Marty watched hurling games and attended a number of Munster senior hurling deciders including the 1954 final in Limerick when Cork defeated Tipperary by a goal.

Having defeated Cork and Tipperary on route to the Munster final, Clare were hot favourites a year later when they crossed sticks with “Mackey’s Greyhounds” in Limerick.

This was the only match Marty left early as Limerick had completely overwhelmed the Banner men at this stage.

In the late seventies, Kerry footballers enjoyed great success winning All-Irelands in 1978, ‘79,’ 80 and ‘81 only to be deprived of the elusive five-in-a-row by Offaly thanks to the famous Seamus Darby late goal.

“Kerry had great footballers – Jack O’Shea midfield, Sean Walsh, John Egan and Eoin “Bomber” Liston who would palm the ball to the back of the net. Kerry came back to regain it in 1984, ‘85 and ‘86.”

He was delighted when Donegal won the All-Ireland in 1991, the following year Clare were denied what appeared to be a legitimate Padraic Conway goal in the All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin. Derry won the All-Ireland in 1993.

On the day of the 1995 All-Ireland senior hurling final between Clare and Offaly Marty missed Sunday Mass because he wanted to be sure he had 600 gallons of water taken in tanks for his 20 cows and calves before the throw-in after the water mains was cut off due to leaks.

“We had three hours water from the mains in two weeks. I had to draw 600 gallons to the cattle most days. Beating Limerick in the 1995 Munster SHC final was special, but Clare slipped up when they lost narrowly to them the following year. Ciaran Carey went through the Clare defence handy enough for the match-winning score.

“Ger Loughnane must have drilled something into the Clare hurlers who won the All-Ireland again in 1997.

“The Clare players were strong men. They had six great backs, Ollie Baker and Colin Lynch were two powerful men at centre field. Conor Clancy was big and strong at centre forward. Fergie Tuohy scored four points in the All-Ireland final against Offaly. Jamesie O’Connor was a great hurler.”

Having seen Clare hurlers lose big championship games they could have won, Marty often wondered would they ever win the Liam McCarthy Cup.

In the mid sixties, he married Bridget “Delia” Costelloe, who lived “down the road”. The couple raised two boys and one girl.

Patrick Crotty, who is a dairy farmer, is married to Shona, while Gerard is married and has two children. His daughter, Mary, who lives in Kilkee has two children.

In 1996, he retired from full time farming, availed of the Farm Retirement Scheme and handed on the farm to Patrick. In October 2001, Delia died at the age of 62 from cancer.