James Crowley and Eamon McKay, both past winners of the All-Ireland championship in football, have been honoured following their passing. Born in New York in 1930 to parents from Cork, Crowley moved to Dublin at a young age. In 1947, he joined the minors on the recommendation of Kevin Heffernan and later joined St Vincent’s. His first representation of the county juniors was in 1950 when they made it to the All-Ireland final against Mayo. Later that year, he made his championship debut vs Offaly.
In the 1953 league final, Crowley, who was a forceful, key player, played against the All-Ireland champions, Cavan. The following year, apart from goalkeeper Tony O’Grady who was with the Air Corps, all players on the team hailed from St Vincent’s. This team achieved Dublin’s first national league victory and won additional titles in 1955 and 1958. The notable loss against Kerry during the 1955 All-Ireland final lead to a modern rivalry and had an unprecedented attendance of 87,102 at Croke Park.
However, redemption came in 1958 when the team won against Derry for the county’s first All-Ireland since 1942. During this victory, Crowley held the centre back position. Professionally, he worked for the Dublin City Council and was an honorary vice-president of the Royal Dublin Golf Club. He was married to Mary O’Leary, who is the sister of his Dublin teammate, Cathal. The couple had seven children: Donal, Sheila, Helen, Gerard, Micheál, Conor, and Clare.
In related news, Down’s GAA has also commemorated two-time All-Ireland champion goalkeeper Eamon McKay due to his recent passing.
Born in 1936, Eamon McKay, an important member of the Dundrum club, was the goal-keeper for the team that claimed three consecutive Ulster titles from 1959-1961, including back-to-back All-Ireland titles in the last two years of that period. McKay was a Tyrella parish resident and had a career as a mechanic when he made his debut in county level football in 1957, before retiring in 1962 post the victories of the early ’60s.
The Down GAA paid tribute to McKay noting that the chronicles of Down’s football history will forever commemorate their victory over Kerry in the 1960 All-Ireland final, with a score of 2-10 to 0-8. Yet, the tale of McKay’s performance in 1960 is remarkable. In that year alone, he managed to keep his goal post untouched on three separate occasions in the critical finals held in Croke Park. This includes maintaining a clean sheet during Down’s first National League win against Cavan, which ended 0-12 to 0-9. Furthermore, McKay kept a clean sheet in the All-Ireland football final, earning recognition for repeatedly denying Mick O’Connell from scoring. He achieved yet another clean sheet victory against New York in the St Brendan Cup Final, an accomplishment that has been rarely paralleled.