Turning back the clock to 1960 Sigerson Cup glory

FIFTY years after University College Galway – now NUI Galway – claimed its 14th Sigerson Cup, the players from that 1960 championship winning side will meet for what is sure to be an emotional reunion at their old alma mater.

There is nothing like a good trip down memory lane and when Kilkerrin native Martin Glynn – a panellist with the victorious 1960 UCG side, who also served as club secretary – calls for the chat, his visit offers just that. Indeed, Glynn, himself, is a hugely interesting character and you cannot be but drawn in as he recounts the days surrounding the Sigerson Cup weekend, and the direction his life took afterwards.

To say Glynn is excited about the reunion – which takes place at the Quad in NUIG on Friday afternoon, November 19 – is an understatement. The anticipation of reminiscing about the days when they were truly kings among their peers and of, once again, meeting old friends is almost too much . . . not surprising, as some have not seen each other in almost five decades.

“Absolutely, a lot of us haven’t,” begins Glynn, who outlines just how the golden jubilee celebrations came about. “I meet George Glynn (Kilconly native and 1960 UCG captain) regularly in Dublin and I said to him, ‘look it, we better do something to mark the occasion’.”

His namesake – no relation – agreed, with Martin as the former secretary spearheading the initiative. “I got all the players addresses and George helped me with that,” continues Glynn. “Of the 21 on the panel, 20 are alive and well and 18 of those are coming. Joe Langan (Castlebar Mitchells), God rest him, sadly passed away two years ago.”

With the support of the university, which is to host a dinner and make a presentation of a scroll to all panel members, the reunion promises to be an occasion to remember . . . a day for memories of those fateful victories over rivals Queens and UCD in the semi-final and final respectively to be recalled.

“We were complete outsiders going into the Sigerson Cup weekend; we weren’t expected to feature at all and it was a complete shock to everybody when we won it,” smiles Glynn. “In fact, we had very few supporters with us. I remember when I rang Professor (Eoin) McKenna from Belfast with the news, he couldn’t believe it. He was in shock. So, we came back and we were met at Moneenageisha Cross. We were put on an open back lorry and drove through the city, which was the ‘done thing’ at the time. So, I suppose, it was a big occasion for us.

For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.