School Visit- Denis McMahon
On Friday last, we were delighted to welcome Denis McMahon to St Flannan’s, who generously bequeathed his late father Jackie’s medal collection to the college. Jackie McMahon was a student at the college in the 1930s and taught Irish for eleven years here before leaving to teach in Dublin. As a teacher, Jackie was famous for consistently producing outstanding academic results with two of his students obtaining the gold medal in Intermediate Irish. Although living in Dublin, Jackie never forgot his St Flannan’s roots. During his time as a student at St Flannan’s, he won a number of medals, including one fascinating medal for a famous hurling competition-the 1937-38 O’Kennedy Shield. While we eagerly await this weekend’s Harty Cup final, it may be a surprise to hear that, for a period in the 1930s, St Flannan’s did not compete in the competition. Instead, in opposition to the GAA ban on foreign sports, the O’Kennedy Shield, a sort of dissident competition, was established to facilitate students who wished to play multiple sports. Named in honour of the former president of the college, Canon William O’Kennedy, St Flannan’s hurlers were victorious in 1936 and 1938. It is remarkable that a medal won nearly ninety years ago is back home in the college. While St Flannan’s would go on to enter the Harty Cup again in the 1940s, beating MIdleton in a replay to win our first title in 1944, it is wonderful to remember those hurlers who kept the flag flying in the 1930s. We are incredibly grateful to Denis and the McMahon family for allowing us to look after this medal collection.
