The first live score from Croke Park on RTÉ
There are scores in GAA and then there are scores – the goals and points that live on in the memory long after the last fan has trudged out of Croke Park on the day of a big match. Say, Mikey Sheehy’s lobbed goal on Paddy Cullen in the football final of 1974 or Seamus Darby’s clinical goal for Offaly that stopped the Kerry four-in-a-row wagon train in 1982. But only one man has the honour of recording the first score ever to be broadcast on live television from Croke Park.
RTÉ was launched at the end of 1961 amid much anticipation as to what would follow. The following year, the first match shown on the new television network was a Railway Cup hurling final in Croke Park on Saint Patrick’s Day. It was part of a double-header which also included the football final between Leinster and Ulster. In the football final, Dublin’s Des Foley played midfield for Leinster and, incredibly, also played centre-field in the hurling decider against Munster. This was a terrific achievement and something that we are unlikely to see in the modern era where players give so much commitment to the cause of their county.
However, it was the man who partnered Foley in the middle of the field for the Leinster hurlers who would go on to create his own slice of history. Michael Kennedy from the Faughs club in South Dublin played alongside Foley on this occasion and had the honour of opening the scoring in this game, thus becoming the first player to score live on RTE. This is a massive distinction for a player and is something that can never be taken away from Kennedy. Leinster went on to win the game by 1-11 to 1-9 so Kennedy’s point was vital on a day when every score was going to be crucial.
A native of Tipperary, Kennedy played for the Faughs club from the late 1950s right up until the early part of the 1970s. He had made an impact with his home county before throwing his lot in with Dublin. He played senior football for the Premier men and was also a member of the Tipperary minor team that won the All-Ireland minor title in 1953. Partnering him in midfield that day was the team’s Captain Billy Quinn, father of former Ireland international and current Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn.
Billy would also go on to play with Kennedy at Faughs during a time when Faughs enjoyed a particularly successful period in Dublin club hurling. They won three Dublin Senior Hurling Championships in 1970, 1972 and 1973. Kennedy was one of the main components of this team and was also a part of the Dublin panel that last reached the All-Ireland final in 1961. On that occasion, they were defeated by Kennedy’s old county Tipperary.
When he eventually did retire, he no doubt felt a certain sense of satisfaction about what he achieved in his playing career, not least of which was that historic opening point on March 17, 1962. His contribution to hurling didn’t end there though, as he would later serve as selector with the Dublin Senior Hurling team in the early 90s when the Metropolitans were under the guidance of the late, great Lar Foley.
This management team was rounded off by Craobh Chiarain’s Sean Shanley and they oversaw something of a mini-revival as Dublin reached two Leinster finals in-a-row, both of which they lost narrowly. This was as close as they got to achieving Provincial success since their Leinster win in 1961 and with the encouraging start made by Anthony Daly in his first few games in charge this year, it is hoped that they can once again reach a Provincial final, which would be seen as a major stepping stone in getting the Dublin hurlers to match the exploits of their footballers.
Whatever may develop with the Dublin hurlers, it is hoped that the GAA will continue to thrive as the 150th anniversary beckons in 2034 and there will be many more moments to remember on our televisions screens like Kennedy’s opening score all of 48 years ago.