Tim Ahearne Olympic Gold
Submitted by Tom Aherne
Limerick are represented on the Irish team participating in the Olympic Games that commence in Paris this Friday July 26th and continues until Sunday August 11th. It will be the 116th anniversary of Tim Ahearne, from Dirreen Athea, who won the Hop, Step, and Jump gold medal in London on the same date in 1908. A brief look at Tim’s career to mark the anniversary. Dirreen is a townland in the parish of Athea in West Limerick, and it translates to Little Oak Wood. It is located a few miles outside the village on the R524 on the way to Glin. Its setting in the rural countryside has moved many poets and writers to pen very complimentary lines in exaltation of its virtues. It is a place of peace and tranquillity with the rugged beauty of the quarry, the mystery of the glen, and the rippling waters of the river Gale to inspire the mind. It is a rural bliss with nature close at hand to observe and delight in its trees, wildflowers, and open spaces containing a vast variety of wildlife.
From this background emerged Tim and Dan Ahearne to showcase their great talents to national and international audiences. They went from Dirreen’s fields of gold to Olympic and World athletic fame. Tim and Dan along with older brothers William and Mick grew up on the family farm, helping out with the jobs that needed doing. They enjoyed the freedom of the open spaces to play football and other games of that time, and they lined out with their local club Athea in Gaelic football.
They trained for their athletic events by jumping the Abha Bheag, a small river adjacent to their homestead. They attended school sports at Saint Michael’s College Listowel and other sports meetings. They often finished first, second third and fourth in the same event showing great promise for the future. They travelled by bicycle to meetings even as far away as Fermoy in Cork.
So, few people realise the dream of winning a gold medal or setting a new World record as Tim and Dan did. It must have been a very exciting time around Dirreen and Athea during those heady days of athletic victory abroad. Family neighbours and friends must have been so proud of the brother’s exploits as the news arrived slowly of their successes in England, Scotland Canada, and the US. There were no phones, airmail letters faxes, emails, or Skype at the time to speed the news to famed Dirreen.
Tim was born on August 17th, 1885, and he was of fair complexion, with fair hair and blue eyes and stood 5 foot eight inches, in competitive action. His jumping skills were first revealed at his College sports, when he jumped two feet beyond the long jump pit during practice. He also performed a remarkable feat by jumping across the river Gale, a jump of 21 feet from bank to bank. At the age of 18 he won the two jump events at Listowel sports, on July 27, 1904. Success followed success, and 1907 was an exceptional year for Tim, winning the All-Round Championship of Munster at Fermoy and the GAA Long Jump Championship plus sixteen first prizes in a near record year for any athlete.
1908 was destined to be Tim’s greatest year, and the following is an extract from David Guiney’s book Silver, Gold Bronze, describing Tim’s historic feat.
The triple jump at the fourth Olympic Games in London, on July 26th, 1908, brought together the most impressive field the event had known up to then. There were 19 competitors, representing 7 nations, and 14 of these had been over 46 feet in the months preceding the Games. There were 3 Irishmen in the competition Martin Sheridan representing the USA, and Tim Ahearne, and Michael Dineen, representing the United Kingdom.
Sheridan injured himself in the preliminary rounds and had to withdraw, and Dineen was surprisingly below form and was eliminated in the early rounds. The clear favourite was Eric Larsen of Norway who had cleared over 48 feet in the weeks coming up to the event. Calvin Bricker, the Canadian champion and Platt Adams, the American champion were seen as the likely threats to him.
In the first round 15 competitors cleared 44 feet, and 8 of these cleared 45 feet, and Tim Ahearne cleared 45 feet 8 inches which appeared good enough to earn him a place in the final 6. In the second round Larsen went to 47 ft,2 ½ ins and Bricker to 46 ft. 2 ins. Garfield Mc Donald from Canada surprised everybody with his best jump ever of 47 ft. 10 ¼ ins, and a new Olympic record. It was short lived as the 22-year-old Tim Ahearne finally showed his Irish form, and landed far out into the pit, to extend the Olympic record to 48ft 4 ins.
In the first round of the final Mc Donald had another magnificent jump which carried him out to 48 ft. 5 ¼ ins, and another Olympic record. None of the other five improved their distances, but Tim jumped well over 47 feet. The excitement was intense as the competitors assembled for the final round. Mountpleasant, Adams, Bricker, and Larsen all failed to improve on their best, and Mc Donald fouled his final effort. It was all down now to Tim and with his youth and lack of experience at top International level; few believed he was capable of anything better.
He was the essence of coolness as he went to the top of the runway for the last jump of the 1908 Olympic Games triple jump competition. He came in at a furious pace, hit the board with a little margin to spare, got in a fine opening hop, took a remarkably long step, and finished off with a great jump that landed him far out towards the end of the pit. Following a delay to measure and re-measure the distance it was announced that Tim Ahearne had set a new Olympic and World record of 48ft 11 1/4ins. ( 14.92 meters ) Tim Ahearne, was the youngest Gold Medal winner at the games and the Olympic champion of 1908.
His win in the British Championship in the Long Jump and second place in the High Jump gave him the Lord Alverston Cup in 1909. In 1911 he was awarded the Winged Foot Trophy for being the best individual athlete to score the greatest number of points for the New York Athletic Club. Tim died in December 1968 in New York.
Tim and his brother Dan, who died in 1949 brought great honour and glory to the village by the river Gale and were true ambassadors for West Limerick. Dan was the World Record Holder of the Hop, Step, and Jump from 1909 to 1920 and he finished 6th in that event at the 1920 games in Antwerp. Athea Community Council erected a Wing Foot Monument to the brothers in 1996 in Athea.
In those days all athletes were equal as there were no facilities, coaches, or drugs, and the true Olympic spirit shone through. It was harder to win honours making the achievements of Tim, Dan, and our other Limerick athlete’s achievements far greater. They did our country proud, and their deeds deserve to be remembered. I will conclude with a verse written about the brothers by the late John Joe Sheehy from Lyreacrompane.
The County of Limerick has produced the world’s best athletes.
And in the annals of sport recorded are their feats
Jack Grady and Dan Shanahan, Paddy Ryan, from Pallasgreen
And fit to stand beside them are the Ahearnes from Dirreen.
Can Anyone Help
I got this enquiry from our online version. If anyone out there can help please get in touch.
“Sheila/Julia Dowling/Dore
I’m looking for any information reference the above person. She died in 1976. Thanks DR Andrew Paul Roberts”
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The Way I See It
By Domhnall de Barra
What a hurling final! Clare and Cork served up what must be one of the best games of hurling of all time in Sunday’s All-Ireland final. It was breathtaking stuff from start to finish with a level of skill on display that brought the game to new heights. We saw players jumping into the clouds to catch a sliotar that had travelled up to 100 yards, points being scored from all angles, great struggles between individual players and two of the best goals, one on each side, ever to be seen. It was no surprise that the game ended in a draw at full time and it is a crying shame that it had to go to extra time. The players had left it all out there in a game that was fairly contested and everybody would be happy with another day out so what was the urgency to have extra time in a game as important as this? We are only half way through the summer but I suppose the staging of concerts takes precedence. This is not good enough and the G.A,A. need to rethink their approach to the staging of their games and hurling in particular. We have seen important hurling matches staged on Saturdays and not shown on RTE. They were available on GAA Go but that was originally intended for those living abroad, not as a cash cow for the organisation. In hurling they have the best field game in the world and they need to do everything in their power to nourish and promote it. Asking amateur sportsmen to take on extra time on Sunday was simply not right. Well done to Cork as well who could easily have come out on top, in fact it was such a pity that one of the two great sides had to lose. I have no doubt they will be back again but, for now, Clare are All-Ireland champions and there will be great celebrations in the Banner for the foreseeable future. I was thinking, while watching the match, of the difference between the hurlers, who gave and took hefty challenges and just got on with it, to the professional soccer players who roll around on the ground as if they had been hit with a baseball bat after the touch of a finger on their backs. The real men stood up.
I try to get a walk in most days of the week except on the days when I play golf. There are many great walks around the parish with a few on my own doorstep. They are on roads built between windmills on land that was once bogland. There is one along the top of the hill leading from Coole West to Keale that has fantastic views and another gong back through Tooradoo towards Park that goes through forest. I was walking on the latter the other day and I stopped to have a look at an area that was left as a conservation site. It has overgrown with briars and bushes but there are a lot of wild flowers there. Despite this there wasn’t a living thing in sight; no bees, wasps or any other flying insects that would normally be swarming around on a fine day. The only sound to be heard was a far off cry from a magpie. I walked on to where I usually turn and there was no change. It seems like I was the only living thing in the area. The forest is made up of Sitka Spruce and they must be very poisonous to say that nothing grows near them and wild life keeps away from where they are planted. Maybe it is not just in the forests. I have noticed a lack of insects and flies around the house in recent years. Not so long age, a feature of every kitchen was a strip of fly paper hanging from the ceiling or a light shade. This strip was coated with a sticky substance that trapped the flies when they landed on it. I well remember when, especially at this time of year, the air would be humming with the sound of bees, flies and other winged creatures. Every meadow had wild flowers that attracted swarms of bees that flew from flower to flower. As young children we would go out and trap the bees in empty jam jars. You could fill a jar in no time. We always let them go but I wonder did we do damage to them. The absence of flying insects could affect some of the birds that migrate hear for the summer. Birds such as swallows live on these insects and, if they are not plentiful, they will stop coming here. Dr. Tomás Murray, Senior Ecologist with the National Biodiversity Data Centre writes: “Fundamentally, insects are “the little things that run the world”, (E.O. Wilson, 1987) and this is why the current conversation about insect declines is so necessary. Given that insects outrank all other animals in terms of species, numbers and biomass both worldwide and in Ireland, and that along with other invertebrates they are our pollinators, predators, decomposers, soil engineers and simply food for other animals, changes in their diversity and abundance can have profound consequences for how our landscapes function and human well-being.”
Basically, without an abundance of insects, we are ruined so the next time a wasp comes into the house, instead of rolling up a newspaper to kill it, get a glass and a piece of card and rescue it. It is quite easy to do. Wasps will fly towards the light so they will go to the window and will usually perch on the pane, walking up and down. Simply place the glass over the wasp and slide the card between it and the window. The wasp is now trapped and can be moved to the nearest door or open window to be released. I have been doing this for years and have yet to be stung. Give it a try.
Church Notices
Parish Pastoral Unit (Athea/ Abbeyfeale/ Mountcollins/ Templeglantine/ Tournafulla).
Canon Tony Mullins 087 2600414, Fr. Willie Russell 087 2272825, Fr. Denis Mullane 087 2621911.
Masses this week- Tuesday morning 9.30am and Friday evening 7pm.
Eucharistic Adoration and The Devine Mercy Chaplet on Tuesday morning after mass.
Mass Intentions this coming week – Fri July 26th at 7pm: Paudie Mullane 2nd a/v.
Sat July 27th at 7.30pm: Micheál Kiely & all deceased members of The Crowley family. Danny Mulvihill. Jack & Josie Liston, their daughter Mary Ryan and son-in-law Michael Quinn. Margaret O’Sullivan. Bridie & Eamon Riordan. Timmy O’Keeffe. Josie Enright Moore 1st A/v and her parents Timothy & Margaret. All masses are streamed live on https://www.churchservices.tv/athea
Baptisms take place on the fourth weekend of the month. Parents who wish to baptise their child in the next few months should contact Siobhan on 087-3331459.
Parish Administration: Tues-Fri 11am-1pm. call Siobhan on 087-3331459, outside of these hours text or email [email protected]
Athea Community Council
Lucky Numbers Draw 22/07/2024
No’s Drawn: 4, 14, 18, 29. No Winner
Lucky Dips
Brenda McMahon, Athea
Mag, Mikey & Lisa, Upper Athea
Mary Lyons, Listowel
Kathleen Shanahan, Kilbaha
Sellers Prize: White’s and Collins’ Shop
Next Draw: 29/07/’24 Venue: Batt’s Bar
Jackpot €21,800
Congratulations to Joe Murphy, Cratloe who came 2nd in the U-12 boys singing at the Munster Fleadh in Thurles