Cosgrove, Jack
January 13, 1995
Jack Cosgrove
The First All-Star Full Back
As a full back Galway's Jack Cosgrove was among the very best. Tall, skilful, strong, a sturdy guardian of the square with a good kick out Cosgrove had few equals when it came to fielding high in-coming centres. He was as he will readily admit, a fully paid up member of the 'old school of full-backs", players who may have been short a yard or two of pace but who had enough in their armoury to make life extremely difficult even for the best full forwards.
The Connemara native achieved many things in his eventful career not least of which was an All-Star Award in the very first All-Star team picked back in 1971. Cosgrove was chosen at full back, a position his name became synonymous with. But he also has the heart breaking distinction of having played in three All-Ireland Senior finals and ending up on the losing side on each occasion.
Recently Garda Cosgrove, who is stationed in Recess, close to Clifden in Connemara, had the opportunity to look at videos of the 1971, '73 and '74 All-Ireland finals and the viewings brought back a strong feeling of nostalgia and an even stronger sense of golden opportunities missed.
"In one way it was brilliant to see these games again. It was the first time I had a chance to watch them but I couldn't believe the amount of good scoring opportunities we missed, we threw away, literally threw them into the wind, especially when it came to frees. The problem we had was that we had no recognised freetaker. In '71 against Offaly Joe McLoughlin was out injured and they had Tony McTeague, in '73 Cork had Ray Cummins and the following year Dublin's Jimmy Keaveney rarely missed anything inside forty or fifty yards. We created the chances, but just couldn't put them away", he recalls.
The disappointment of losing three finals has become less acute over the years yet the loss to Dublin in '74 still rankles. "When you get to your first All-Ireland and lose you are disappointed but you get over it, the second time you are very disappointed but the third time is probably the worst because it is make or break. It is hard to come back after the third setback. So much time and effort has been put in to get to that stage".
Yet there were the good times. The trip to the United States with the All-Stars, the small triumphs at club level, the friends made in many parts of the world and the four appearances at Wembley Stadium in the now defunct Wembley Tournament. "It was a great feeling to play in Wembley and it is a pity players today don't have a chance to appear in that competition. There was a lovely surface there for football and I can remember the time when crowds of 25,000 plus came to the games although in the latter years the crowds certainly had got smaller. It was a pity though because we had a fabulous time over there and it was a real bonus for the four semi finalists to go over and take each on in such a competition".
These days Jack Cosgrove spends much of his spare time coaching underage players at Clifden happy to be involved in football once more following a lengthy break. "After I gave up playing in the late seventies I wasn't directly involved in football in any way for ten years. Instead I played mostly golf but since my son Brian started playing my own interest has been reawakened and I got involved training and coaching the young lads in Clifden and I must say I enjoy it very much. They are a lovely group of lads who will do what you ask them. I am over the Under 16s and last year we reached the "B" final and won the League".
From his own experience the former All-Star knows the value of a good footballing education. As a student in St. Mary's Secondary School in Galway in the mid 60s Jack was coached by Bosco McDermott, the current Galway manager who was then at the height of his powers as a player.
"It was only when I started going to St. Mary's and came under the influence of Bosco that my career started to take off. He was a major influence on me and a very good trainer and of course he was a member of the Galway three in a row team and we looked up to him as a hero. He would arrive with the Sam Maguire into the school and we would get our picture taken with him and the cup. It was a big thing for us".
The career of Jack Cosgrove at club level was, to say the least, varied. Growing up in Cleggan on the blustery Atlantic seaboard the young Cosgrove spent his early club career with nearby Clifden. His job in the Garda Siochana brought him to Midleton before a further transfer saw him ending up in Cork City and play with St. Nicholas - Glen Rovers who counted among their numbers top class players as Denis Coughlan and Teddy O'Brien. In the early 70s the Galway Garda moved back to play in the colours of Spiddeal where he stayed until the end of his career.
At intercounty level Jack played Minor, Junior and Under 21 for Galway before making it into the Senior squad. His first chance with the Seniors came in a challenge against Meath in 1969. By the following year he was securely entrenched as the regular number 3, finally solving the considerable headache for the selectors of finding a replacement for Noel Tierney.
Although he missed the 1970 Championship because of the difficulties of getting to squad training sessions from Midleton, Jack was back in the fold the following year, helping Galway to a Connacht title and gaining his first taste of playing in an All-Ireland final. "That Galway team of the early seventies was a very good one but it was a very young team. Yet despite our inexperience we were undaunted when we faced Down in the 1971 semi final, we played very well and deserved to win. I was marking Sean O'Neill which was a great experience for me. We went on to the final but I still can't understand how we lost to Offaly".
Jack's intercounty career lasted for just eight years. He received an achilles tendon injury and was forced to hang up his boots in 1977. Ironically the injury was picked up playing badminton. "I never received a bad injury playing football, I was very lucky in that way but I injured my achilles during a badminton game and I never really recovered from that. I was 28 when the injury struck. It was a young age to have to give up playing but I was fortunate to enjoy a good career up to then".
In 1972 Jack Cosgrove's life, never mind his career, was seriously threatened when he received gunshot wounds while pursuing his duties as a Garda. He spent five weeks in hospital, recovered and by the following summer was back in the Galway colours chasing Championship glory. The manner of his recovery spoke volumes for his courage and determination.
In '77 when the long kicking Jack retired from football, things were changing fast. The game of the long clearance and the high fielding was being replaced by the short passing, quick moving tactics adopted so effectively by Kerry and Dublin, the Galwayman felt he was leaving the game at the right time.
"After 1975 and the success of Kerry's tactics the game changed and teams started to retain possession a lot more. There was not near as many long distance kicking as there was a few years before that and this new style didn't really suit me, but I loved to watch Kerry and the way they used the handpass, they were a joy to watch. I would have hated to play against them but they were very entertaining. Their game was all about pace and making use of the extra man".
In 1974, Jack married Margaret, a Clifden native and they have two children, daughter Olivia (19) and Brian (16). No longer involved with a club at Senior level the former Galway full back keeps a close watch on footballing affairs in the county and, like many, is dismayed by the lack of success at the top level. "It is very hard to put a finger on why Galway haven't won an All-Ireland since 1966. The balance of power in the county has shifted.
Once it was teams from Mountbellew and Dunmore who enjoyed most of the success but in more recent years, Salthill took over and they have quite a few players from outside the county but that shouldn't matter too much. Maybe soccer and rugby has got stronger and that has taken players away. It's probably a combination of factors, but whatever it is it will take a while for Galway to regain the status the county once enjoyed". A few players of the calibre of Jack Cosgrove would certainly help for a start.
Written by The Hogan Stand Magazine
13/1/95.
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