Honouring two men who made Gaelic Football All-Stars history

IT STARTED just over forty years ago and has the stood the test of time, the G.A.A. All-Stars awards' scheme. The first presentation banquet, a very special, high-prestige social event, was held in Dublin on December 15th 1971. It was particularly satisfying for Galway that although the footballers had lost the 1971 All-Ireland final and the hurlers did not reach the final, four Galway footballers were chosen â€â€ and John Connolly was at midfield, beside Kilkenny's Frank Cummins, on the hurling team. Two other Connacht men were honoured in the inaugural year of the awards, which were chosen by a panel of Gaelic Games writers and broadcasters, led by the late Mick Dunne (Irish Press and later RTÉ). The great Sligo forward Mickey Kearins was honoured and it was a great boost for Mayo that the footballer selected at right full-back was John Carey, from Bangor Erris in the north-west of the county. And that was a big boost for Galway club football, too. Remarkably, the first two positions in the All-Stars football team, in the inaugural year of the high profile awards scheme, were filled by Tuam Stars clubmen: goalkeeper P. J. Smyth and right full-back Johnny Carey. To this day, P.J. is remembered for his sensational saves in both halves of the 1971 All-Ireland football final against a brilliant Offaly attack; he was beaten only once, late in the game by a Murt Connor goal from point-blank range. Galway came back for an equalising goal by one of their most experienced players, Séamus Leydon, but Offaly hit back with three points for a 1-14 to 2-8 victory and, famously, their first All-Ireland S.F.C. title. P. J., from St Enda's Avenue, Tuam, came up through the under-age ranks in the Stars club. Mostly, as he recalls it, under the guidance of the late Philip Joyce who P.J. always regarded as an outstanding club officer and mentor. At the CBS Secondary School (later called St Patrick's) the goalkeeper went outfield to make his mark at centre half-forward on the team which won the 1966 Connacht Colleges Senior B Championship and ironically another future county goalkeeper, Gabriel Mitchell of Dunmore MacHales, was at full-back, with Declan Burke from Milltown the goalkeeper for the Connacht final against Ballinafad College, Mayo at Flanagan Park, Ballinrobe. In the same year, St Jarlath's won the All-Ireland Colleges Senior A final with another Tuam Stars lad, Tommy Davin, scoring the goal in a 1-10 to 1-9 victory over St Finian's College, Mullingar â€â€ as featured inside this week, on Page 26. After his Leaving Cert, P. J. Smyth moved to Dublin to work for Aer Lingus. He married his childhood sweetheart Mary Quinn from Dublin Road, Tuam; they have a daughter and son, Aoife and Aidan. The first All-Star football goalkeeper was thrilled to receive the award; he enjoyed the gala function, with the presentations made by the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, and on the All-Stars first overseas trip (footballers and hurlers) to San Francisco, P.J. got on particularly well with his rivals from the All-Ireland final, the Offaly lads. Other Galway All-Stars in 1971 were Jack Cosgrove, Liam Sammon and Séamus Leydon. The four Offaly All-Stars were Eugene Mulligan, Nicholas Clavin, Willie Bryan and Tony McTague. True to family tradition, P.J. Smyth's brother Declan, an exceptionally stylish, classy midfielder and centre-forward played county football and helped Tuam Stars to the Frank Fox Cup in 1984, the Centenary Year of the G.A.A. But it was another brother, Benen, who brought an All-Ireland football medal into the house; he was goalkeeper on a brilliant Digital, Galway team who won the national Inter-Firms Championship in 1979 under the inspired management â€â€ as my friend Liam Forde remembers it â€â€ of the legendary Cork maestro Mick Lynch. A very popular club and county footballer in his youthful days and a true gentleman to meet and talk with him about old times, P.J. is really looking forward to being honoured by Tuam Stars at their Club Social in the ÃÂrd Rí House Hotel on Saturday night. And so, too, is Johnny Carey.   IN his early schooldays in North-West Mayo, he was John Carey and his mother never called him Johnny but that's the name he was given at St Muredeach's College, Ballina in honour of his namesake from an earlier time, the legendary Manchester United and Republic of Ireland defender Johnny Carey who had captained Man U to win an F.A. Cup final. The Mayo Johnny Carey was a very talented sportsman too, who went on to captain his county to a National Football League title in 1970; he won a Railway Cup medal with Connacht in 1969, played on two Connacht Championship winning teams and earned a high reputation on a personal level, as a fit, physically very strong, dedicated, hard-working defender who took his sport very seriously and always showed respect to the game, his team-mates and opponents. John Tobin, who played for Tuam Stars alongside John Carey in the late 1960s and early '70s, says he made a major contribution to the club and set a personal example in everything he did, with high standards on and off the field. 'He was what we'd nowadays call a model pro' and coming up a few years behind him in terms of age, we learned a lot from him,' John Tobin adds. Having risen in the ranks of the Garda force to Chief Superintendent and now retired, Johnny Carey says he has happy memories of playing football in almost all the places he served as a young Garda and later as a Detective-Sgt, including Claremorris, Tuam, Kilconly, Dunmore, Castlerea, Loughrea, Bundoran and Portlaoise. He was based in Tuam between 1966 and '72 and he says they were good years for him. He was also close enough to his native county to drive to Castlebar for training, and he remembers the early days in the Guards as a more carefree time when the talk in the Barracks was mostly about sport. Johnny Carey and his wife Mary Anne are the parents of Michelle, Jacqueline, John, Brendan, Siobhán and Brian. Six lovely grandchildren are also very important players on the current Carey team! Tuam Stars are very proud to be in the record books for their association with the inaugural All-Stars football team; they are proud of the fine service P.J. Smyth and Johnny Carey gave the club in their playing days and are delighted to be honouring them this weekend. It is a really brilliant idea, for which all involved deserve the highest praise and there should be a big turnout to mark this special occasion. And looking back forty years, let us all say to P.J. and Johnny, thanks for the memories and enjoy your big night.