Lord of the Rings, the GAA's Olympic Story is available now.
Lords of the Rings: the GAA’s Olympic Story is a new five-part podcast series that looks at the fascinating links between Gaelic games and the Olympics, featuring some of the many players who have won gold, silver and bronze while competing on the biggest stage in world sport.
Hosted by award-winning Sunday Times journalist and author Michael Foley and GAA journalist and historian Cian Murphy, they are joined by a panel of experts to look at some of the truly weird and wonderful aspects of the GAA link to the Olympics and recall some of the forgotten heroes who played hurling and football and became some of the greatest athletes in the world.
This year marks a centenary of Team Ireland at the Olympics. That involvement was secured by Limerick’s JJ Keane, arguably Ireland’s greatest ever sports administrator who successfully oversaw the GAA passing the baton of athletics administration to a new National Athletic and Cycling Association of Ireland in 1922.
A member of the GAA’s Central Council and an All-Ireland football winner with Dublin, Keane’s ally in the new Free State government in the promotion of sport was JJ Walsh a former Cork GAA Chairman.
In Paris in 1924 were footballers Larry Stanley and Seán Lavin. High jumper Stanley was an All-Ireland champion with Kildare and later Dublin, while Mayo footballer Lavin was the man credited with inventing the solo run.
Long before 1924 however, the GAA link to athletic excellence was well established. Its first President Maurice Davin was chosen, in part, because of his status as a renowned weight thrower.
Edmund Barrett of Ballyduff in Kerry won an All-Ireland senior hurling medal in 1901 representing London and was later part of the City of London police team that won gold in 1908 in the tug of war. He also won a bronze in wrestling – making him the sole holder of All-Ireland and Olympic gold medals.
Forced emigration brought many GAA athletes to Britain, the US and Canada where they were able to successfully revive their careers. Others, like James Mitchell, were prominent players who were part of the GAA-sponsored US Invasion Tour of 1888 who opted not to return to Ireland and would go on to land Olympic success.
John McGough was born in Ireland, raised in Scotland and worked as physical fitness coach for Celtic and Manchester United. He ran the Olympic 1500m in 1906 and later trained the Cavan team that won the Sam Maguire at the Polo Grounds in New York in 1947.
Then there was the great Tom Kiely of Ballyneale in Tipperary who was a Tipperary and Grangemockler footballer, sometime hurler and GAA Central Council representative who was also regarded as the greatest athlete in the world in his heyday. He was a gold medal winner as an all-rounder in 1904 in St Louis. Resisting offers to officially represent Great Britain and the US, Kiely declared himself to be representing Tipperary, and Ireland.
On the first eight occasions that the hammer event was staged in the Olympics, there were seven first-place finishes for Irish-born athletes with GAA links and the Gaelic games connection continued in Olympic history, right up to the 2024 team with 1500m medal hopeful, European champion and Portaferry camogie player, Ciara Mageean.
Michael Foley previously produced popular podcasts for the GAA on the Croke Park Bloody Sunday centenary in The Bloodied Field in 2020 and last year with the Summer of 98. Olympic historians and authors Kevin McCarthy and Tom Hunt and Cultural Historian and author Siobhán Doyle and Irish Times athletics correspondent Ian O’Riordan shine a light on the great stories that illuminate the GAA and its Olympics link in this year of milestones.
Lords of the Rings: The GAA’s Olympics Story is a podcast available today from gaa.ie, Spotify and usual platforms, produced by Andrew Foley and GAA Digital Manager Niamh Boyle.
https://gaalordsoftherings.podbean.com/
https://open.spotify.com/show/5jxBDaXIjweehrUtD9OPep
15 GREAT GAELIC GAMES OLYMPIANS
Tom Kiely
Arguably Ireland’s greatest ever sportsperson, winning the decathlon at the 1904 Olympics as a global superstar. Played football for Tipperary and Grangemockler and was Tipperary’s GAA Central Council delegate
John McGough
From outside Castleblayney and raised in Glasgow, won silver in the 1500m at the 1906 Intercalated Olympic Games. Worked at Celtic and Manchester United before returning to Monaghan. Helped form Blackhill Emeralds GAA club, coached Monaghan to Ulster junior football titles and Cavan to the 1947 All-Ireland football title
Ciara Mageean
Winner of Ulster camogie All Stars and a key player with Portaferry before winning gold, silver and bronze 1500m medals at three different European championships and fourth place at the last Olympics
Dr Pat O’Callaghan
Ireland’s most successful Olympian winning gold in the hammer at the 1928 and 1932 Games, also played football and hurling at home in northwest Cork and later coached Clonmel Commercials to three successive county football titles in the mid-1960s
Edmund Barrett
From Ballyduff, Co Kerry, emigrated to London and won an All-Ireland hurling medal with London Emmets. Won tug-of-war gold at the 1908 Olympics and bronze in freestyle wrestling. Remains the only holder of an All-Ireland hurling medal and an Olympic gold medal
John Flanagan
From Limerick, won three gold medals in the hammer at the 1900/04/08 Olympic Games for the USA. Also played interprovincial hurling and football games for Munster at Stamford Bridge on the same day in 1896, and broke the world hammer record at the same event
James Mitchell
From Emly, Tipperary. Went on the Invasion Tour of America with the Tipperary hurlers in 1888 but never came home. Excelled as a weight thrower, winning bronze at the 1904 Olympics, aged 40
Bill ‘Stonewall’ Jackson
Winner of two All-Ireland medals with Roscommon in 1943/44 before lining out for the Irish basketball team at the 1948 Games in London
Eamonn Fitzgerald
Part of Kerry’s four-in-a-row All-Ireland-winning team between 1929-32, he finished fourth in the long jump at the 1932 Games, before returning home to make the bench as Kerry made history
Joe West
From Carrigaline, won an All-Ireland junior hurling medal with Cork in 1948 and played in the 1948 Munster senior final. Ran the marathon in the 1952 Olympics
Larry Stanley
Footballer with Blacktrench and Caragh, captains Kildare to the 1919 All-Ireland SFC. A high jumper who wins Irish and British titles including the high jump event that marks the opening of Wembley Stadium. Competes in Paris in 1924, later finishes second to the Olympic champion in the Tailteann Games at Croke Park and that same summer wins a second football medal, representing Dublin.
Seán Lavin
A brilliant handballer and footballer, Lavin plays for Mayo and switches to athletics after a wrist injury. While playing football he is credited with inventing the solo run which he performs for the first time at Croke Park in 1923. A 200m sprinter in Paris ‘24 and Amsterdam ‘28. In later years is the team doctor.
John Daly
A Galway GAA athlete who won an Olympic silver medal in the Steeple Chase in 1904 and wore a GAA singlet when running the marathon in 1906 in Athens.
Con Walsh
From Cork, won a bronze medal at the hammer in London in 1908 when representing Canada. Was the official holder of the Gaelic football long kick record in the GAA with a distance of 84 yards which is 76.81m.
Martin Sheridan
A proud Mayo man who won nine Olympic titles for the USA. Was a staunch nationalist and GAA supporter who was given a special reception by the GAA when he made a triumphant return to Ireland after winning his ninth medal at the 1908 Games.