Kieran’s Speech, Deputising for the Lord Mayor

Cork Branch, Irish Soccer Referree Association, 22 May 2010, Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork

 “Temporal Voyages”

Chairman, ladies and gentlemen,

Many thanks for the invite this evening. Fifty years is indeed a great milestone and it’s great to see the branch taking time out, taking stock and reflecting on fifty years of hard grafting and building.

I read from your history that you were founded in September 1960. Time is an interesting thing and time brings its own problems and achievements. If one catapults oneself back into that month and begin reading the Evening Echo, one is presented with a very interesting world.

On the international news front, one reads of the Congo republic in its first couple of days after Belgian troops withdrawing. You can read about the space race and the proposed vision of living in domes on the moon and growing the earth’s crops there; the Russians creating Sputnik is featured and a new war was beginning as Communist troops invaded Los in North East Vietnam

The Paris fashion gurus were saying that short hair and big eyes were in and hair colour that could be stroked on your head as it had been invented. And a new Electric Clothes Dryer had also been invented and in the sales pages of the Echo.

 If you couldn’t get the newspapers, you could always tune into Radio Eireann, the BBC Home Service, The BBC Light Programmes, the BBC Third Programme, Radio Luxembourg or the American Forces Network.

In Ireland, debate raged on the idea of television as Sweden’s television network got the editorial review in the Evening Echo.

Eamon de Valera had just being elected third President of Ireland. Sean Lemass becoame the new leader of Fianna Fáil and The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is formed. And Ireland began negotiations to join the EEC but failed in 1961.

Wexford was preparing to meet Tipperary in the Hurling final

In Cork, new housing schemes had just appeared in Churchfield and Ballyphehane. Preparations were nearly there for the opening of Verolme Dockyard and Cork Airport;,  Gouldings Fertilisers opened as did St Catherine’s Primary School in Bishopstown. fundraising for a new Cork Opera House  was still ongoing and Cork City Council was contemplating a Cork Main Drainage Scheme. Clinics were held at City Hall for chest problems and Diptheria immunisation.

The Evening Echo was filled full of sporting reports – filled to the brim with hurling, football, rugby and soccer programmes. And in the midst of all those things going on For September 1960, The Cork Branch of the Irish Soccer Referees Society was founded A.O.H Hall on Morrison’s Island. Twelve members were present;

Sam Alan, Joe Bray, Frank Casey, Jim Mullins, Joe Hurley, Joe Riordan, Owen Mc Carthy, Sylvester Greger, S O Connell, C.Crowley, W Horgan, and Sam Spillane joined latter by other greats such as Derry Barrett and Rory O Conner among others.

And here we are fifty years later, the branch has evolved as the needs of its members changed over time to incorporate what they saw as relevant to the contemporary and future of soccer in Ireland. Each successful season is immortalised in the memories of all those who took part over the five decades and probably numerous photos exist in members’ memory drawers at home.

Any sport is a great thing. Your branch has brought increased professionalism amongst your members but also amongst each player that stands before a game.

In a sense, you have wielded sport and its power to grasp, inspire confidence, self-purpose, provoke questions and the imagination and and so much more. You have also given hope and have no doubt have saved souls.

So ladies and gentlemen there is so much to learn from you.

You have seen much talent, confidence self pride, self belief and a desire to perform their sport, a self purpose and how to create and nurture those traits

Ladies and gentlemen, in this world, we need more of such confidence, pride and belief – we need to mass produce these qualities,

Ladies and gentlemen, we need to continue to build a legacy in our sporting traditions in this city and also continues to present us with the question

 

– well what are we doing in our own lives to push forward?

Your branch has come this far – fifty years but I have no doubt has more distance run in it. What will your branch look like in fifty years time?, even ten years. We don’t live in 1960 but in another time when ideas once more are needed and true professionals like yourselves are needed to offer leadership.

I would like to encourage everyone to keep fighting, keep setting an example to all of us. I congratulate all the members both past and present on this achievement and wish you well for the next fifty years

And would like to finish with this; if one had an interest in the cinema in September 1960, the theme in Cork’s cinema was also about life

The Palace played the film last voyage, the Savoy, Never Let go, The Lee cinema, The Earth is mine,

If you wanted a piece of Heaven – well the Capitol played Samson and Delilah but if you wanted Heaven with a bit of an alternative, well there was the film The Hot Angel playing at the Colliseum

And if you wanted you wanted to know what hell was, well the Pavillion played Hell is a City

Many thanks for the invite and enjoy the evening.