The Late Michael Dalton Michael (Mick) Dalton, Goolin, Ballymurphy, Borris who died on Tuesday, September 28, was part of Ballymurphy's golden era in Carlow senior football, playing on the south county team which won the SFC titles of 1947 and 1953. Mr Dalton died at Borris Lodge Nursing Home, following a brief illness, at the age of 84. A native of Headfield, Ballymurphy, Mick Dalton, who always played at left full back, was on the Ballymurphy side which defeated Kilbride in a low-scoring (1-4 to 0-1) 1947 county senior football final to bring a first SRC title to the club. Six years later, Mick again occupied the number 4 position when the men in the green jerseys with the distinctive white sash were again crowned county kingpins when defeating Palatine 1-7 to 1-5, thus avenging the previous year's final defeat by the same opposition. The Kildare border side had won 0-6 to 0-4 in the replayed 1952 final, after the sides had initially finished at Ballymurphy 1-3, Palatine 0-6. Mick's displays had caught the attention of the Carlow senior football selectors after the 1947 championship success and in 1948 he played at left full back on the Barrowside senior county team which defeated Wicklow 3-11 to 1-5 in the opening round of the Leinster SFC at Belfield, Enniscorthy. The Ballymurphy clubman helped his county defeat Laois next time out at Dr Cullen Park on a 4-4 to 1-7 score line before Carlow went down to Wexford at Croke Park in the Leinster semi-final by a narrow 4-5 to 3-9 margin. The winning goal for the Model County came late in the game from the great Nicky Rackard who was to spearhead Wexford's rise to hurling fame during the 1950s. Mick later lined out that year in a National Football League game for Carlow against Wexford. It is worth noting that Mick Dalton's colleagues in the Carlow full back line of the 1948 Leinster SFC campaign were no less than the outstanding Andy Murphy of Tinryland at full back and Jim Archbold of Tullow at right full - Jim had been full back when Carlow won the Leinster SFC title four years earlier. In a career which lasted the best part of 20 years, Mick won a Carlow JFC medal with Ballymurphy in 1939 and four years later was part of the club's intermediate winning county championship side. But there was also final disappointment for Mick. In 1944 Ballymurphy lost the county final to Tinryland after a second replay. The following year they lost the SFC decider to O'Hanrahan's and lost out again in 1946 to Tinryland in a game after the first was abandoned. Following their break through success of 1947, Ballymurphy fell again at the final hurdle to Tinryland in 1949. And, as stated earlier, there was further disappointment in 1952 when Ballymurphy lost to Palatine in the 1952 SFC decider, before reversing that outcome in the final a year later, which brought Mick Dalton his second county senior football championship medal. So Mick was certainly involved in more than his fair share of county finals during his career. He was a member of a very committed footballing family whose dedication to the game included training in the winter months by running around fields on the Dalton farm in Headfield. Five brothers, all of whom played for Ballymurphy - Andy, Gerry, John, Martin and Christy, predeceased Mick. His surviving brother Ben Dalton resides in Naas. The remains were removed from Joyce's Funeral Home, Borris on Wednesday, to St Patrick's Church, Ballymurphy, where they were received by Fr Eddie Aughney, PP St Mullins - (although he attended Ballymurphy National School and played his football with Ballymurphy, Mick resided just inside St Mullins parish). Former Ballymurphy football colleagues of Mick's formed a guard of honour at the church. The Ballymurphy and Carlow county jerseys were placed on the coffin. Fr Aughney celebrated the Funeral Mass on Thursday morning, assisted by very Rev. Moling Lennin, who played left full forward on the 1953 Ballymurphy championship team. In a homily during Mass Fr Aughney paid tribute to the life of Mick Dalton and recalled his personal recollections of the man, particularly relating to his GAA days. Mick was laid to rest immediately afterwards in the adjoining cemetery with Fr Aughney reciting the final prayers at the graveside. On both occasions the church was filled to capacity as the local community said a final farewell to a popular figure. The deceased, who lived all his life in his native area, carried on a small scale mixed farming enterprise at Goolin. Mick is survived by his wife, the former Katie Cummins from Inch, Ballymurphy, his son Jim (Goolin), daughters Kathleen Ryan (Crossneen, Carlow) and Brigid Taylor (Scotland). He is also survived by his brother Ben, sister Elizabeth Deering (Ballybit, Rathvilly), brother-in-law Micheál, sisters-in-law Bridie, Ellie and May, sons-in-law Larry and Alan, daughter-in-law Bridget, his nine granchildren and his great-grand children Jordan and Stephen Lowndes (London). Six of Mick's colleagues from the 1947 Ballymurphy SFC team survive him. They are Mosey Byrne (goalie), Matty Doyle (left full back), Tom Doran (full back), the midfield pairing of Martin Lennon and Ted Joyce, and Dan Moloney (left full forward). Seven of the 1953 winning side survive - Aidan Mc Gee (goalie), Mattie Doyle (full back), 'Fair Willie Walsh (right half back), Billy McGee (left half back, team captain Martin Lennon (midfield), Joe Lennon (left half forward) and Fr Moling Lennon (left full forward). Courtesy of the Carlow Nationalist, October, 2004. Tweet

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