IRELAND AND LIONS rugby legend Willie John McBride insists he would not have made it to the top of his sport without farming.
He told TheScore.ie, “Without doubt, working on my family’s farm, growing up, developed me physically and taught me all about hard work.
“When I travelled to South Africa and New Zealand with the Lions, though, we came up against teams made up of men that farmed. We discovered, to our cost at times, that they knew all about hard work too.”
Perhaps the greatest meeting of farming greats on the rugby field was the 1971 Lions Test series against the All Blacks, when McBride went toe-to-toe with Colin Meads.
Following on from our tribute to sporting legends of An Garda Síochána, today we tip out (flat)caps to farmers that have invested their energy to sports after a 12-hour shift on the paddock.
Gaelic Games
Timmy McCarthy (Cork): Timmy Mac won All Ireland senior hurling titles with the Rebel County in 1999, 2004 and 2005 as well as five Munster titles. Still turns out for Castlelyons, a team he has twice won local hurling championships with.
John Doyle (Tipperary): The man known as ‘The Legend’ won 10 Munster titles with Tipp and was part of a dominant team that captured All Ireland senior hurling championship on eight occasions. The left corner back served in Dáil Éireann from 1969 to 1973 with Fianna Fáil.
Tim Kennelly (Kerry): The centre-back earned the nickname ‘Horse’ for his uncompromising defensive style. Won seven Munster titles with The Kingdom and was triumphant in five All Ireland football finals. His sons, Noel and Tadhg, also won All Irelands with Kerry.
Noel Hickey (Kilkenny): The Dunnamaggin man must have little room left on his mantlepiece – 11 Leinster titles, six NHL trophies, nine All Ireland senior hurling wins and three All Stars. Out of all that, Hickey probably cherishes his 1999 All-Ireland agricultural colleges title just as much. He retired in January and was praised for his contribution to hurling by the likes of Brian Cody and Eddie Brennan.
Other GAA stars that have tilled a field or tended to cattle include, Jim Langton (Kilkenny), Joe Rabbitte (Galway), Pa Dillon (Kilkenny), Lare Foley (Dublin), Johnny Leahy (Tipperary), John T. Power (Kilkenny), Dick Walsh (Kilkenny), Joe Cooney (Galway) and Philip Byrne (Tipperary), Des Foley (Dublin).
Rugby
John Hayes (Munster & Ireland): The Bull didn’t just earn the nickname because of his prowess in the front row. Hayes, capped 105 times for Ireland and twice for the Lions, declared there was nothing he liked doing better after a game than getting back to his farm ‘to relax’. Won Heineken Cups with Munster in 2006 and 2008.
Two player’s that are vying for the Pro12 league title this season find time to pursue their farming interests. Rory Best of Ulster and Leinster’s Sean O’Brien, no doubt, have plenty to talk about when they are on Ireland duty.
Nevin Spence of Ulster tragically passed away in September of last year when he was working on his family’s farm near Hillsborough, Co. Down.
Willie John McBride (Ireland): The Northern Irishman was a latecomer to the game, mainly due to the fact that he was needed on the family farm. Featured on five Lions tours and famously captained the team through an unbeaten tour to South Africa in 1974. Played 63 times for Ireland and scored his first Irish try on his last game at Lansdowne Road.
Olympics – Boxing
Pat O’Callaghan: Ireland’s first ever Olympic medallist threw the holy hell out of the hammer at the Amsterdam Olympics of 1928 and won Gold. He repeated the feat at the Los Angeles games of 1932. Moved on from farming life in Kanturk to study medicine at the Royal College of surgeons. O’Callaghan then joined the Royal Air Force Medical Service before setting up a medical practice in Clonmel.
YouTube credit: Leif Bugge
International farmers
We have already mentioned proud New Zealand farmer Colin Meads but mention must be made of current All Black captain Richie McCaw, who worked on the family farm in South Canterbury for many years. Dan Lydiate of Wales also has a passion for green fields, early mornings and dinner at 1pm.
Former Wimbledon and Wales footballer Vinnie Jones tried his hand at farming for several years before he starred in films such as Snatch and X Men.
US skiier Lindsey Kildow was not planning a farming career when she arrived in France for a Women’s World Cup downhill race in 2005. The American won the race and was duly rewarded with this cow.
The cow’s owner had a cheque for €1,000 to buy the bovine back but Kildow decided to keep the cow and transport it to a farm near her training base in Austria. Olympe the cow and Lindsey remain the best of friends.
*Are there any farming legends we have missed?
