Gaelic Games and Irish Transport By Mattie Lennon

John Cassidy is a voluntary steward in Croke Park and as such he has witnessed spectacular victories, defeats and draws in football, hurling and camogie.

He is a Donegal man who won’t let you forget that his county won the all-Ireland final in 1992. His day job is as a supervisor with Dublin Bus, one of the CIE group of companies. In October 2008 he was responsible for bringing CIE Transport Gaels to Gaelic Park, New York, to play teams from the NYPD and FDNY; the first time any CIE team played in America. In his memoir he has written of how his childhood interest in Gaelic games was honed, “In McGettigan’s field in Clogher” and how, “two older boys would select the opposing teams: every one present was included which meant we often played twenty a side. As our pitch consisted of the entire field this was no problem. With the goalposts (four jackets) in place the game would begin. It would end for one of the following reasons: Hunger, darkness or a pitch invasion by Mc Gettigan’s cattle.”

John Cassidy’s experiences, literary ability and research skills have been, once again, juxtaposed to bring us his latest publication.

“Buses, Trains and Gaelic Games” is a history of Gaelic games in Irish transport from 1885 to the present day. The author traces the path of Gaelic football, hurling, handball and camogie teams from the days of Charles Bianconi (the father of public transport, in Ireland) to the twenty-first century.

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