The Irish Whales

[ludermor]

With the Olympics fast approaching i find myself stumbling opon artlicles about past Irish sportsmen but the stories of these lads are rivetting expesially in the context of where Ireland was politially at the time

Irish Whales
For over two decades — from the second Modern Olympic Games in 1900 to the Los Angeles Games in 1932 — Irish-born athletes did exceptionally well competing for other countries — and Ireland after independence in 1922 — particularly in the strength events (i.e., shot put, discus, hammer throw). In the seven Olympic Games including the Intercalated Games in Athens, many athletes from the Irish-American Athletic Club alone won 26 gold, 22 silver, and 8 bronze medals with 21 of the medals coming in the strength events.[1]
The Irish Whales: John Flanagan, Martin Sheridan, James Mitchell    
The Irish Whales (1904)
John Flanagan, Martin Sheridan
and James Mitchell

In particular, the hammer throw was money for many Irish Whales. Beginning with the great John Flannagan in 1900 and continuing through to Pat O'Callaghan in 1928 and 1932.


John J. Flannagan (1873-1938) From Kilbreedy County Limerick, Flannagan began the Irish domination of the strength events in the early century by winning three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the hammer throw in 1900, 1904, and 1908 when he threw for an Olympic record 170' 4-1/4" on his last throw and besting world-record holder McGrath (silver) and Cork's Cornelius Walsh competing for Canada (bronze). (Note: the hammer throw was not an event in 1906). Between 1896 and 1909, Flanagan broke the world record 15 times. His last record in 1909 was 184' 4", more than 37' longer than his first record. This made him the oldest world record breaker in the history of athletics at 41 years and 196 days old. Flanagan returned to Ireland in 1911 and later coached Dr. Pat O'Callaghan to two Olympic gold medals.[2]
   

Martin J. Sheridan (1881-1918) The leanest of all the Whales, Sheridan was one of the greatest U.S. Olympic athletes who successfully competed in a variety of events. Sheridan won 9 Olympic medals — including five Gold medals — in jumping and discus events in 1904, 1906, and 1908. Sheridan also set the AAU U.S. All-Arouond record (later broken by Jim Thorpe in 1912).
   


Matthew J. McGrath (1878-1941) From Nenagh County Tipperary, McGrath had one of the longest and most consistent careers of any athlete. His second world record, set in 1911, was 187' 4". He won silver in the hammer in 1908 and then succeeded Flannagan in 1912 by winning gold in truly dominating fashion: his shortest throw was over 15' longer than any of the other competitors' best throws. In 1920, he finished fifth after injuring his knee and then took another silver in 1924 becoming the oldest American medalist ever at age 47. He barely missed making the U.S. team for the 1928 Games. He attained the rank of inspector in the New York City Police Department and received the NYPD's Medal of Valor twice.[3]


Pat "Babe" McDonald (1878-1954) The massive 6' 5" and 300lb McDonald, from Doonbeg in County Clare on Ireland's west coast was the son of poor farming parents. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1901 and joined the New York City Police Department in 1905, serving with distinction for 41 years. As a traffic officer in Times Square, McDonald was called the "Living Statue of Liberty" by the local press. In 1912, he won the gold medal in the shot put with a throw of 50' 4" and the silver medal in the two-handed competition (adding the best throw from each hand together to get one distance) with a total of 87' 2". At the 1920 Antwerp Games, he won the 56-pound weight toss (36' 11") at age 42.[4]


Patrick J. "Paddy" Ryan (1887-1964) From Pallasgreen County Limerick, Ryan emigrated to the U.S. in 1910. Not eligible to compete for the U.S. team in 1912, he set the official IAAF world record the following year with a hammer throw of 189' 6-1/2". This mark stood as the world record for 25 years and as the U.S. record for 40 years until 1953. In 1920 at age 33, he stood 6' 3" and weighed 265lbs. He won the Olympic hammer throw with a toss of 173' 5-3/4" with the largest margin of victory ever (14-1/2' over Swede Carl Lindh). He retired from competition in 1921 and returned to Ireland in 1924 to work the family remaining there until his death.[5]

Pat O'Callaghan (1905-1991) From Kanturk in County Cork, Dr. O'Callaghan was the first person from an independent Ireland to win an Olympic medal being a surprise gold medalist in 1928 with a throw of 168' 7". Shortly after, he was invited to compete for Great Britain in a meet against the U.S. He declined, stating, "I have seen too many Irish boys shot down in front of their homes to be willing to represent the British and I know too well how America has provided homes for the Irish, to compete against her."[pat] In 1932 he experienced a gut-wrenching surprise: the hammer circle had a cinder surface instead of the usual grass or clay surface and Dr. O'Callaghan had three pairs of shoes with long spikes for grass or clay that caught in the cinder and impeded his throws. He made it through the preliminary rounds, and before the medal round, he filed his spikes down to get a better grip and ended up winning the gold with a throw of 176' 11". Dr. O'Callaghan became physician and operated a private practice until he retired in 1984.

James Sarsfield "Jim" Mitchell (1864-1921) This 265-pound villianous-looking man from Tipperary won bronze in the 56-lb weight throw at the 1904 St. Louis Games. On the S.S. Barbarossa in 1906, Mitchell dislocated his shoulder saving distance runner Harvey Cohn from going overboard during a storm. The same huge wave slammed other athletes into the deck. Mitchell was favored to win the 14-lbs. stone throw, but couldn't compete due to his injury.


and Simon Gillis (birthplace unknown) who settled in Nova Scotia and competed for Canada.
Con Walsh (Cornelius E. Walsh; born April 24, 1881, County Cork, Ireland; died 1942) was an Irish Canadian athlete who represented Canada at the 1908 Summer Olympics. He won a bronze medal in the hammer throw, finishing third behind fellow Irishmen John Flanagan and Matt McGrath, both of whom represented the United States.[1] Another Irishman, Robert Kerr also represented Canada at the same games. Walsh had earlier played Gaelic football and represented Cork [2].

Walsh also competed for both the Irish American Athletic Club[3]and the New York Athletic Club.[4]He was part of a group of Irish weight throwers that were collectively known as the "Irish Whales."

In 1910, Walsh set the record for throwing the 56 pound weight for height, breaking Pat McDonald's record by throwing the weight 16 feet 7/8 inches high at the second annual athletic meet of the New York Press Club Athletic Association

While it is not entirely clear when this moniker came into use, and was likely not used in the face of any of these giant men, it seems to have first appeared in print in 1937 in John Kieran's New York Times column, "Sports of the Times," written by John Drebinger (who was substituting for Kieran).[3] The term was further popularized in "Sports of the Times" columns written by Arthur Daly in the New York Times, with the first reference to "The Whales" in 1942. On the subject of the origin of this nickname, Daly wrote:

    "It was on the Olympic trip of 1912 that the 'whale' nickname took hold. Dan Ferris, then a cherubic little boy, recalls it with relish. 'Those big fellows,' he related, 'all sat at the same table and their waiter was a small chap. Before we reached Stockholm he had lost twenty pounds, worn down by bringing them food. Once as he passed me he muttered under his breath, 'It's whales they are, not men.' They used to take five plates of soup as a starter and then gulp down three or four steaks with trimmings. That Simon Gillis would think nothing of having a dozen eggs for breakfast. But what fascinated me was the way he ate them. He'd put a dab of mustard on each and eat it whole, shell and all.' The Irish American A.C. behemoths always were the life of any party."[4]

Another tale of the Irish Whales voracious appetites came from Arthur Daly's typewriter twenty-two years later. In a Times column in 1964 he wrote:

    "Some of their more prodigious feats were at the table. The Irish American A.C. was competing in Baltimore when (Simon) Gillis placed an order for a post-meet snack with the head waiter at a local restaurant. He ordered 27 dozen oysters and six huge T-bone steaks. Slight Miscalculation - The waiter was ready when Gillis, McDonald and McGrath arrived. The table had been set for a party of 33. 'Do you want to wait for the rest of your group?' asked the headwaiter. He turned pale as he watched three whales devour 27 dozen oysters and six huge T-bone steaks."[2]


Also another great story is Tom Kiely who would not represent Britan or the US
Tom Kiely
Gold    1904 St Louis    Decathlon

Thomas "Tom" Francis Kiely (25 August 1869 – 6 November 1951) was an Irish athlete who competed mainly in the all-round championship, the forerunner of the modern decathlon.

He competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, Missouri, in the all-round, which consisted of 100 y run, shot put, high jump, 880 y walk, hammer throw, pole vault, 120 y hurdles, 56 pounds weight throw, long jump and 1 mile run. He won the gold medal.

Kiely was thirty-four at this time. The British team had approached him with promises of his fare and expenses, and American sponsorship was also offered but, as a committed nationalist, he decided to go on his own, representing his native country. He raised the fare partly by selling many of the prizes he had won over the years and sailed for the States at the end of May.

In America he had several more offers to join the American or British teams. But again he declined and made it clear in statements carried in all the American papers of the time[citation needed] that he would represent only Ireland in the Olympic Games. As Ireland was not independent in 1904 the IOC lists him as representative of the team of Great Britain and Ireland at the 1904 Summer Olympics.

Kiely hailed from Ballyneale just outside Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, and achieved his gold in 1904 becoming the first Olympic multi-event track champion for 16 centuries. All ten events were held on the same day.

[AQMP]

There was also Ken McArthur born in Dervock, Co Antrim who won the gold for South Africa in the marathon at Stockholm in 1912.

[Olly]

It is one of my main regrets that poetry, essay writing and painting are now not Olympic events. Ireland did well at them. I think even one of the Yeatses won something. I have penned a great essay on the near extinction of the corncrake and would have high hopes.

[rrhf]

Could it be made into a song ie eurovision.  There is also a poetry competition every year at the annual "revere the lough" midsummers night mass in Derrytresk. 

[Olly]

I wrote this in the appendix:

That Corncrake was my friend;
I heard it every day.
He made a strange noise;
'my love' I heard him say.

I lay on my bed;
On me, not a stitch.
He'd call to me at 7;
I rose, I was his bitch.

I'd open my front door;
He was nowhere to be seen.
The Corncrake broke my heart;
Do you know what I mean?

Then one day I saw it;
I was so happy I cried.
My neighbour b**tard shot it.
The Corncrake died.

Now I hear they're few
And no one seems to care.
I think about it in the morning
As I lay there, completely bare.

[Dougal Maguire]

I always thought that you were a decent guy, but now I fear you are a hypocrite. Here you are singing the praises of the corncrake and blaming your neighbour for shooting it, yet you yourself posted this a couple of weeks ago under the 'How to become a morning thread' or whatever it was called. Kindly explain yourself young man

This might seem radical but bear with me. I had the same problem as you and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. You'll be miserable, almost suicidal, in the mornings until you die.

I have embraced the darkness and at 7am, every morning without fail, I take a gun and sit in a field away from roads. I wear just a blanket, a real one, not a heavy duvet. I also have a lunchbox full of sandwiches and a 90 mm Gun M1. I shoot anything that moves - birds, squirrels, badgers, cats, dogs you name it. That's the way I roll and after a few weeks the wildlife know to stay still like statues from 7:00 til 7:30 when I cease and return home, shower and go on my errands. Sometimes a postman etc veers off course - he's still game and I'd clip his leg or ear from a good distance. Just once does the trick normally.

Listen, it's probably not legal but I've been going it for 11 years now and the carnage at times might be horrible but it keeps me from the darkness.

[Harold Disgracey]

Nice wee story about Sheridan & McGrath at the 1908 London Olympics:

http://www.thedrillmaster.org/dipping-the-american-flag/

The 1908 Summer Olympics were held in London, England were extremely controversial. Many of the medals were won by Irish and Irish-American athletes who were not only members of the Irish American Athletic Club of Celtic Park in Sunnyside, Queens, but also members of the New York City Police Department. Ian McGowan, Archivist for CUNY's Institute for Irish-American Studies is currently creating an exhibit of the Club's trophies, photographs,and other ephemera, including vintage trading cards celebrating the feats of athletes such as John Flanagan, Johnny Hayes, Pat McDonald, Martin Sheridan and Matt McGrath, collectively known as "The Irish Whales."

During the "Parade of Nations," it was a customary for teams to dip their nation's flags as a show of respect for the ruling monarch of t he host country. Martin J. Sheridan, a Discus thrower, born in 1881 in County Mayo, Ireland was part of the American Olympic team. Sheridan immigrated to New York in 1901 and joined the NYPD in 1906. Patrolman Sheridan held a grudge against the English because he believed that they helped make the Irish potato famine so bad. Members of the Olympic committee knowing his dislike for the English replaced Sheridan – who was scheduled to carry the American flag – with Ralph Rose as bearer of the flag.

Irish-Americans had a strong sense of patriotic pride to their new found country. NYPD Patrolman Mathew McGrath at 6'2″, 245 pounds was a hammer thrower and native of County Tipperary, born in 1878. As the Americans approached the Royal Box, McGrath broke ranks and stepped up to the American flag bearer – Rose – and said, "Dip our flag and you will be in a hospital tonight."

The flag was not dipped which caused an international incident. During a news conference, Sheridan spoke for the entire Olympic team; he pointed to the American flag and said, "This flag dips to no earthly king." That precedent was set which is still followed today during the Olympic Games. The American Flag has never been dipped to anyone since that day in 1908. In fact, the United States Flag Code was officially changed to read, "No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing." (See Title 4, United States Code, Chapter 1 § In 1924 Olympics McGrath earned the silver medal...at the age of 45. During his police career McGrath attained the rank of Inspector, and was awarded the NYPD's Medal of Valor twice. Inspector McGrath died in January of 1941.

Martin Sheridan attained first place on the eligibility list for the NYPD and was appointed to the 'finest' in 1906. He helped organize the Police Carnival and Games for the benefit of the welfare fund of the Department which, for many years, was an outstanding athletic event in New York.

To perpetuate his name for the future generations the Martin J. Sheridan Award for Valor was established and given each year to a member of the Police Department for bravery above and beyond the call of duty. Sheridan, a First Grade Detective died of pneumonia in 1918 while while working a double shift for a sick NYPD colleague on March 25 at the age of thirty-seven and is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Woodside, Queens.

Not to mention Peter O'Connor at the 1906 Athens Olympics.

In 1906 O'Connor and two other athletes, Con Leahy and John Daly, were entered for the Intercalated Games in Athens by the IAAA and GAA, representing Ireland. They were given green blazers and cap with a gold shamrock, and an Irish flag (the 'Erin Go Bragh' flag). However, the rules of the games were changed so that only athletes nominated by National Olympic Committees were eligible. Ireland did not have an Olympic Committee, and the British Olympic Council claimed the three. On registering for the Games, O'Connor and his fellow-athletes found that they were listed as Great Britain, not Irish, team members.

In the long jump competition, O'Connor finally met Myer Prinstein of the Irish American Athletic Club who was competing for the U.S. team and whose world record O'Connor had broken five years previously. The only judge for the competition was Matthew Halpin, who was manager of the American team. O'Connor protested, fearing bias, but was overruled. He continued to protest Halpin's decisions through the remainder of the competition. The distances were not announced until the end of the competition. When they were, Prinstein was declared the winner, with O'Connor in Silver Medal position.

At the flag-raising ceremony, in protest at the flying of the Union Flag for his second place, O'Connor scaled a flagpole in the middle of the field and waved the Irish flag, while the pole was guarded by Irish and American athletes and supporters.

In the hop, step and jump competition two days later, O'Connor beat his fellow-countryman, Con Leahy, to win the Gold Medal. At 34 he was the oldest ever Gold Medal winner in this event. Prinstein, the champion in 1900 and 1904, did not feature in the medals.

[Olly]

1924 Olympics. Oliver Gogarty won a bronze medal for his piece "Ode to the Tailteann Games".
1924 Olympics. JB Yeats won a silver for his painting "Liffey Swim".

1948 Olympics. Letita Hamilton won a bronze for her water-colour "Meath Hunt Point to Point Races".


http://onlinecollection.nationalgallery.ie/view/objects/asitem/204/1/sortNumber-asc;jsessionid=8144B4E971D2BB43B6D890330A59B0BA?t:state:flow=abc2096b-c2e5-4dd9-b9ae-d88682b97779

[Bord na Mona man]

The flag was not dipped which caused an international incident. During a news conference, Sheridan spoke for the entire Olympic team; he pointed to the American flag and said, "This flag dips to no earthly king." That precedent was set which is still followed today during the Olympic Games. The American Flag has never been dipped to anyone since that day in 1908. In fact, the United States Flag Code was officially changed to read, "No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing." (See Title 4, United States Code, Chapter 1 §

These sources suggest it was dipped since then.

http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/news/mc080608.htm

http://www.stripes.com/news/america-s-refusal-to-dip-the-flag-has-complicated-olympic-history-1.183741

[Hardy]

1924 Olympics. Oliver Gogarty won a bronze medal for his piece "Ode to the Tailteann Games".
1924 Olympics. JB Yeats won a silver for his painting "Liffey Swim".

1948 Olympics. Letita Hamilton won a bronze for her water-colour "Meath Hunt Point to Point Races".


http://onlinecollection.nationalgallery.ie/view/objects/asitem/204/1/sortNumber-asc;jsessionid=8144B4E971D2BB43B6D890330A59B0BA?t:state:flow=abc2096b-c2e5-4dd9-b9ae-d88682b97779

Gogarty should have entered his famous acrostic "Ode of Welcome" on the return of the Dublin Fusiliers from the Boer War (I think). It would have walked away with the gold (but not at the London games, maybe).

The Gallant Irish yeoman
Home from the war has come
Each victory gained o'er foeman
Why should our bards be dumb.
How shall we sing their praises
Our glory in their deeds
Renowned their worth amazes
Empire their prowess needs.
So to Old Ireland's hearts and homes
We welcome now our own brave boys
In cot and Hall; neath lordly domes
Love's heroes share once more our joys.
Love is the Lord of all just now
Be he the husband, lover, son,
Each dauntless soul recalls the vow
By which not fame, but love was won.
United now in fond embrace
Salute with joy each well-loved face
Yeoman: in women's hearts you hold the place.